Cherokee County, Woodstock area? Advice, Comments :) (Atlanta, Alpharetta: house, neighborhood, buy)

[kad1974]

Hello,

Looking for any input on Cherokee County ( Woodstock ) for Schools, Shopping, Doctors, Hospitals, things to do with kids, Safety etc.

We thought we were going to move to Alpharetta (it's not out of question) however, we found this other area that seemed to provide more land. The schools seemed comparable on greatschools.net to the North Fulton schools in Alpharetta and John's Creek.

It's always hard just to read scores on school informative websites, I love to hear comments from families first hand.

Are budget is up to $300,000, we really want our own pool, and would love to have at least 1 acre. We seemed to only find this in Woodstock. My husband would commute to Norcross and mapquest gave us 30mins. Looked like back roads as the way to go?

Any advice is helpful and wanted, good or bad

[BobKovacs]

For $300k with an acre and a pool, you're not going to have much actual house.

The Woodstock area is great- there's plenty of shopping in the Towne Lake area, and you're close to the new shopping center in Canton and the stuff in Kennesaw near the 75/575 intersection.

Something to consider- if you're looking for an acre of property, you're not going to be in a development with an HOA. While some would see that as a good thing, it can also be bad because there's nothing keeping your neighbors from using a bathtub as a flower planter, or parking 10 junk cars on the front lawn. In the price range that you're looking at, such things aren't all that uncommon outside of the HOA-controlled developments. By comparison, in a newer subdivision, you can get more house, a pool (either comunity or on your lot) and some regulations to keep the neighborhood nice, but your lot size will be smaller.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kad1974

Hello,

Looking for any input on Cherokee County ( Woodstock ) for Schools, Shopping, Doctors, Hospitals, things to do with kids, Safety etc.

We thought we were going to move to Alpharetta (it's not out of question) however, we found this other area that seemed to provide more land. The schools seemed comparable on greatschools.net to the North Fulton schools in Alpharetta and John's Creek.

It's always hard just to read scores on school informative websites, I love to hear comments from families first hand.

Are budget is up to $300,000, we really want our own pool, and would love to have at least 1 acre. We seemed to only find this in Woodstock. My husband would commute to Norcross and mapquest gave us 30mins. Looked like back roads as the way to go?

Any advice is helpful and wanted, good or bad

And...

Woodstock to Norcross--while not that bad, would not be the best commute (complicated, indirect, etc.).

If you are looking for more land, etc (and considering the Norcross work location), focus on Forysth County/Cumming.

[BobKovacs]

As Aries said- Norcross will be a bear of a commute- there's no direct route, and the 2-lane and 4-lane roads that you'd be traveling get pretty backed up during rush hours. Depending on where exactly in Woodstock you're starting, and where in Norcross you're trying to get to, 45 minutes to an hour would be more realistic. I drive from my house in Holly Springs to Lawrenceville/Duluth and it can take an hour even without traffic.

[kad1974]

Thank you. Cumming is the other area we are looking at, I had forgotten the name. We'll be heading down next week and I didnt want to be wasting time in the wrong area or skipping a great area! thanks everybody!!!

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

For $300k with an acre and a pool, you're not going to have much actual house.

The Woodstock area is great- there's plenty of shopping in the Towne Lake area, and you're close to the new shopping center in Canton and the stuff in Kennesaw near the 75/575 intersection.

Something to consider- if you're looking for an acre of property, you're not going to be in a development with an HOA. While some would see that as a good thing, it can also be bad because there's nothing keeping your neighbors from using a bathtub as a flower planter, or parking 10 junk cars on the front lawn. In the price range that you're looking at, such things aren't all that uncommon outside of the HOA-controlled developments. By comparison, in a newer subdivision, you can get more house, a pool (either comunity or on your lot) and some regulations to keep the neighborhood nice, but your lot size will be smaller.

Kennesaw has terrible traffic.

Don't buy a house with a pool if you are planning to ever sell it. Pools are not a favorite in Atlanta. You'll get about 3-1/2 months of use only. This is not FL.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kad1974

Thank you. Cumming is the other area we are looking at, I had forgotten the name. We'll be heading down next week and I didnt want to be wasting time in the wrong area or skipping a great area! thanks everybody!!!

Well, even though Woodstock/Cherokee County is great, I recommend marking it off your list.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by staywarm2

Don't buy a house with a pool if you are planning to ever sell it. Pools are not a favorite in Atlanta. You'll get about 3-1/2 months of use only. This is not FL.

I think this is good advice. Some former neighbors of ours moved here from the UK and spent a lot on putting in a very nice pool in their back yard. A couple of years later their plans changed and they moved back to the UK. They were expecting to get a much higher price for their house because of the pool improvement, but that didn't happen, and the pool just made the house harder to sell.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

I think this is good advice. Some former neighbors of ours moved here from the UK and spent a lot on putting in a very nice pool in their back yard. A couple of years later their plans changed and they moved back to the UK. They were expecting to get a much higher price for their house because of the pool improvement, but that didn't happen, and the pool just made the house harder to sell.

This is why I think the community/neighborhood/subdivision pool (and tennis!) works very well here in Metro Atlanta.

We have a nice, warm subtropical climate that makes water activities (and tennis!) very desirable for a lot of the year. However, we are not Florida or Arizona--so having your own pool is really not worth the cost or hassle.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by staywarm2

Don't buy a house with a pool if you are planning to ever sell it. Pools are not a favorite in Atlanta. You'll get about 3-1/2 months of use only. This is not FL.

You are generally correct, but having sold a house in New England with a 20x40 inground pool, and having sold it in 3 weeks at more than asking price (in July 2007), I can tell you that the specifics of the house and the deal matter more.

Some people absolutely hate pools, but some people love them, even in New England. You just have to market the house to the folks who want a pool.