Lavergne area...west of the 24 (Smyrna, La Vergne: for sale, crime, house)

[Betsey Lane]

Hi all! Recently relocated here to beautiful TN!! Trying to find a home to purchase. Can someone please tell me about the west side of Lavergne, down near Smyrna where the school falls in the Rock Springs Elementary and Rock Spring Middle zone. Yes, Smyrna is definitely on the list! The prices there in that part of Lavergne seems pretty awesome though........ Is there a catch that I should be aware of? Is that area gonna be the next "Lake Forest" pretty soon? Your comments and thoughts, advice are welcomed and needed!! Thanks and blessings.

Oh, before I forget, can you please also let me know what parts of Lavergne (in that area) and Smyrna are more prone to floods if any? Will be purchasing in the next month! I been doing research for quite some time, you're inputs are highly appreciated.

Betsey

[vivelafrance]

If you are at all concerned with resale value, I would avoid LaVergne at all costs.

[Betsey Lane]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

If you are at all concerned with resale value, I would avoid LaVergne at all costs.

Thanks for your quick response. Since posting this question I've decided to do a search of LaVergne on this forum (should have done this sooner) and found this, amongst others: https://www.city-data.com/forum/nashv...-lavergne.html.......

Yes, we are concern about resale value, one never knows huh? We heard so many negative comments from people about the Lake Forest area and ruled that out totally. That is such a shame. When we first got here we were taken immediately by a realtor that insisted on showing us homes in that subdivision, I mean the guy was ADAMANT about showing these "lovely homes for half the cost"; that in itself was a red flag for us. That's when we started doing intense research on the area and soon found out why!!

We thought being away from that particular area, down to the area where I was inquiring about was very different. No? So the whole of LaVergne now has this stigma? That's sad. We absolutely love Smyrna very much and most likely will purchase there. The reason we were looking in that area of LaVergne is because we cannot seem to find a house in Smyrna with a basement. Really need that additional space, yes part of it is the ""tornado" thing and we really need that extra storage. We are down there every weekend when off from work searching. Any particular "flood" worries down there?

Betsey

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Betsey Lane

We thought being away from that particular area, down to the area where I was inquiring about was very different. No? So the whole of LaVergne now has this stigma? That's sad.

Betsey

Unfortunately, La Vergne has gained that sort of stigma as a whole. Obviously, I don't think every area of that town is bad...but the perception is that the town is bad, and getting worse. It is sad...but in a way, the leaders of La Vergne are the ones to blame. They were the ones that pretty much allowed any and all development to happen there, regardless of the consequences...and as some of the lower income people sought to escape the bad parts of Nashville, they landed in La Vergne because of the abundance of cheap housing, and the fact that it's reasonably close to Nashville. Unfortunately, some of the crime seemed to follow them.

The city has all sorts of problems, as recently evidenced by the various petitions to dissolve the city's charter and/or remove the mayor/people in power.

To segue this into another topic, I think a number of Nashville's suburbs are experiencing some sort of problems (not necessarily on La Vergne's scale) due to the rapid growth in the area. Not all are in bad situations, but I think you have a number of small towns that have grown into decent sized suburbs, and they are severely lacking in infrastructure (especially a good road network) because they simply allowed a lot to get built without prudent planning.

My take on the issue is that a lot of these now cities are still being run like small towns...the people in charge have no idea on how to deal with the rapid expansion, or all the responsibilities of running a city. They don't know how to plan, they don't know exactly what they need, and (in cases like La Vergne and Spring Hill) they don't know where to set the tax rates to ensure that everything that needs to be done can be paid for.

In La Vergne's case, we've seen a virtual meltdown of what used to be a decent small burb. Spring Hill is a bit farther out, but I'm hoping we don't see the same thing with it.

[Betsey Lane]

Wow! Thanks for that bit of info, all helps, again, as I'm new here. It saddens me to see the amount of homes, beautiful homes might I add, in Antioch and LaVergne going for "pennies" on the dollar and no buyer's for most! It's as if, the homeowners want out at any cost. I bet they never could have dreamt up such tragedy would befall them huh? How do you fix that? And, most importantly to my family and I, how do we avoid that happening to us? What's to stop such a thing from happening to Smyrna? I pray not.

Betsey

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Betsey Lane

Wow! Thanks for that bit of info, all helps, again, as I'm new here. It saddens me to see the amount of homes, beautiful homes might I add, in Antioch and LaVergne going for "pennies" on the dollar and no buyer's for most! It's as if, the homeowners want out at any cost. I bet they never could have dreamt up such tragedy would befall them huh? How do you fix that? And, most importantly to my family and I, how do we avoid that happening to us? What's to stop such a thing from happening to Smyrna? I pray not.

Betsey

I suppose it could happen (almost) anywhere around town. A bad element moves in (or even to an adjacent area) and things go down hill. That's what happened to virtually all of the inner city neighborhoods decades and decades ago....and it's only recently (well, past 10-20 years) that some of them have come out of that. Some of those areas were really nice when they were built...and they still went downhill.

I don't think that there's an area you can pick (that isn't upper middle class+) that's completely safe from this sort of thing happening. How can you defend against that? Keep your ear to the ground, and watch the trends. I'm not saying move out if a little random crime happens in your area....but if there starts to be a consistent dip in house values (that's not totally related to the poor economy/market), you might consider packing up.

Hopefully that won't happen. Smyrna seems to be a nice town...it just needs to learn from the mistakes of its little brother, La Vergne.

[Betsey Lane]

Originally Posted by nashvols

I suppose it could happen (almost) anywhere around town. A bad element moves in (or even to an adjacent area) and things go down hill. That's what happened to virtually all of the inner city neighborhoods decades and decades ago....and it's only recently (well, past 10-20 years) that some of them have come out of that. Some of those areas were really nice when they were built...and they still went downhill.

I don't think that there's an area you can pick (that isn't upper middle class+) that's completely safe from this sort of thing happening. How can you defend against that? Keep your ear to the ground, and watch the trends. I'm not saying move out if a little random crime happens in your area....but if there starts to be a consistent dip in house values (that's not totally related to the poor economy/market), you might consider packing up.

Hopefully that won't happen. Smyrna seems to be a nice town...it just needs to learn from the mistakes of its little brother, La Vergne.

You seem very knowledgeable of the areas and I do want to thank you so much for such great information! I can assure you as a newcomer to TN...to Smyrna, we come with the utmost respect and appreciation of all that TN in itself has to offer! What you guys have here is wonderful! Beautiful state, wonderful, friendly, warm people. I walk down the street on my way to taking the children to their school buses and I'm in awe of the beauty and wondrousness of His creation! I feel so much closer to God here than any other time in my life ( yeah, I know a little sentimental)......

I just want to find my little piece of heaven (well, this side of eternity anyway, lol). I only have one time to do this right, know what I mean? This will be my last stop until God comes, or calls, either which way, I don't have another move left in me and want it to be right. So we'll be down again in Smyrna this weekend, pounding the pavement so to speak.

If anyone knows of a basement home that up for sale, please by all means drop me a DM. Take care all and remember to love one another, the greatest of all!!

Betsey

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Betsey Lane

You seem very knowledgeable of the areas and I do want to thank you so much for such great information! I can assure you as a newcomer to TN...to Smyrna, we come with the utmost respect and appreciation of all that TN in itself has to offer! What you guys have here is wonderful! Beautiful state, wonderful, friendly, warm people. I walk down the street on my way to taking the children to their school buses and I'm in awe of the beauty and wondrousness of His creation! I feel so much closer to God here than any other time in my life ( yeah, I know a little sentimental)......

I just want to find my little piece of heaven (well, this side of eternity anyway, lol). I only have one time to do this right, know what I mean? This will be my last stop until God comes, or calls, either which way, I don't have another move left in me and want it to be right. So we'll be down again in Smyrna this weekend, pounding the pavement so to speak.

If anyone knows of a basement home that up for sale, please by all means drop me a DM. Take care all and remember to love one another, the greatest of all!!

Betsey

Definitely a good idea to get it right and not have to do it again.

As far as the area you are talking about...the Rock Springs area (as well as everything south/west of I-24) is a bit less developed than the rest of La Vergne/Smyrna...so I don't think it has the same problems as Lake Forest (which is massive) right now. I don't know where exactly you are looking, but I would guess it would be better to be a little farther from the interstate rather than closer.


Also, what other places are you considering? Do you have, or will you need a job when you get here? Do you have a price range in mind? What sort of things are you looking for in where you live? Mind you, no place is going to be perfect...and it likely won't meet all of your wants/needs...but finding the best possible fit is in your best interest. As you say, you want to only have to move once. It will help us give you more/better advice if you give us a little more background on your situation.

If you have any more questions for us, ask away.

[tngal22]

Basements will be hard to find here due to the ground...it is more rocky here.

We moved to Smyrna last year and love it! One thing you will notice is there are alot of police patrol the streets...from what I was told was in efforts to keep what happened in Antioch and La Vergne happening here. Hope you find a great house to make your home soon!

[Mary_Moon]

You definitely want to stay far, far away from Lake Forest Estates as well as any home that puts you in the LaVergne High School zone. Even if you don't have school-age children, it will damage resell value.

That said, there are some very nice, safe areas in & around Smyrna. It will help to know your price range and whether you have children that will attend public school. I've lived in this area practically my entire life and a willing to help point you in the direction of some good areas.