Is Virginia-Highland my Utopia? (Atlanta, Boston: real estate, condos, mortgage)

[stellar]

Okay, I live in Tampa and am on my search for "Utopia." I want a warm(er) climate, (GA would qualify,) city life, but a quaint section of downtown with shops, etc, a homey, artsy, atmosphere. Victorian condos or bungalows would be great. Oh, and did I mention "affordable," like under 150K, give or take. Is that the Virginia-Highland area? Little Five Points was also mentioned to me. If not, is this somewhere in another section of Atlanta?

[ATLTJL]

Yup, Virginia-Highland is going to pretty much fit the bill of what you mentioned better than any other area of Atlanta.

Oh, except for the $150k price point that you mentioned. You absolutely are not going to find any single family home, bungalow or otherwise, for anything less than double that price. For a condo? Well, I know of a couple around there at that point, but they are teeny tiny studios, like we're talking 400 square foot range. If that kind of living is cool with you, then you can do it, but if your definition of liveable space is closer to that of most people, you're going to have to adjust your price point up. Probably considerably.

[lorilove]

ATLTJL is absolutely right - VA living is going to cost you more.

When I was in my late 20's, I had a firend that bought a tiny home at a steep price which seemed silly. I am considerably older and when I look back, a part of my wished I had made that same leep. Today I could afford it much easier but as you get older and retirement savings become a priority, it does not make sense to get into a bigger mortgage and tie your money up in real estate

So if you are going to make that type of life style decision, do it earlier rather than later in life.

[Iconographer]

Really, a 150K price point on a SFH in any of the eastside Atlanta neighborhoods is a near impossibility unless the place is absolutely decrepit.

[stellar]

Thanks, this price issue is my real dilemma! Thanks to, who? our government, the banks, Wall Street, maybe voter apathy, our houses here in FL (Tampa) are worthless. My semi-retirement plan to sell my house which sold for 220K in 2007, and then downsize to a small house (not 400 sq ft) for the lifestyle and have no mortgage, is out. If I could even sell here in FL, I might get 120K...I just wonder if those responsible for our economy realize the breadth of pain they have caused good, hard working Americans. In all honesty, I doubt it, they made their fortunes and are off to a different way to stick it to the people...I guess I will keep my good, reasonably secure job, and my nice house here for a while longer, even though I am bored to death, and travel every 3-4 months or so until I see where the market goes Atlanta seems like a great city though.

[ATL Golfer]

single family home is out of question…but, you can get an older two or three bedroom condo at that price point. Plenty of options in that neighborhood if you go that route.

[lastminutemom]

If you wanted a house, even before the market fell, your price point of 220K for VA HI wasn't realistic. A condo or townhome, maybe... but SFH have been pricey for many years in VAHI

[ATLTJL]

It isn't anybody's fault real estate values collapsed. They are where they belong and have been corrected.

It's the speculators' fault for artificially driving them up to begin with.

Everybody wants to blame somebody, but the fact of the matter is real estate values are where they should be. Once the market clears out all the people who never should have been homeowners to begin with, they will begin to creep up again, but don't expect 2007 prices anytime soon. Maybe not even within 10 years.

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

It isn't anybody's fault real estate values collapsed. They are where they belong and have been corrected.

It's the speculators' fault for artificially driving them up to begin with.

Everybody wants to blame somebody, but the fact of the matter is real estate values are where they should be. Once the market clears out all the people who never should have been homeowners to begin with, they will begin to creep up again, but don't expect 2007 prices anytime soon. Maybe not even within 10 years.

Agree completely. The artificially high prices were the result of a level of demand that was not realistic (i.e. many of those people really couldn't afford it).

Once the demand fell back to only the pool of buyers that were realistic, obviously prices went way down.

[stellar]

I am not sure I agree with the thought that the average person should not have purchased a home they couldn't afford; the market was what it was, there were no "cheap" homes to buy. Should no one have purchased a home before all this in CA, or Boston, or NYC? Owning a home is an American value that runs deep, like 200 years deep. And I also do not blame the average American who does not understand a financial system that has become so complex not even money savvy business people can follow it. And what of the federal agencies that were supposed to be our in-the-know watchdogs who were either so incompetent or corrupted they let it happen; like weren't they the guys that were having sex orgies with bank lobbyist when our country's financial system was being plundered. Hey, I'll admit it, I do not fully understand what deriviatives are, or speculation, or leveraged closed end funds and on and on, but I do know what a ventilated patient is and complex critical care treatment modalities are, and going to work every morning to give that care, and how to pay my taxes and support my community. Too bad the people I elected to do their jobs which was to protect our country both locally, and on the state and federal levels, were more interested in cashing in on this fabricated real estate bubble being sold to good Americans, and then from the bankers that took it nuclear by bundling these over-priced mortgages given to "unqualifed" suckers, sold to even bigger conglomerate corporate suckers... All I know is now we are all screwed, well, except for all those bankers and politicians. They are doing just FINE!