Decent suburbs with newer ranches? (Franklin, Smyrna: real estate, HOA fees, houses)

[swale]

We might be moved to Nashville, in which case I would be working downtown at Broadway and 9th Ave. Our house needs are pretty specific, as my wife is disabled. We would need a true one-story ranch (no walkouts basements or garages under the house) and she prefers the suburbs, as well as newer houses (built in the last 25 years or so). So a lot of the usual suggestions won't apply.

From browsing Redfin and friends, it looks like the town with the most newer ranches is Spring Hill, but that looks like an awful commute. I'm sure you guys can do better.

Our budget is up to $240K, and we have no kids. What say you?

[brentwoodgirl]

My first thought was Bellevue. I did a quick Real Tracs search and only came up with 11 one story houses under $240,000, but that still gives you a place to start.

The best real estate website here is realtracs.com. You can search by county, and then enter your price and choose a maximum of 1-story. If you are willing to consider adding mid-century ranches to your search, I would look at Donelson. It would be a good commute and most of Donelson is single story ranches. We have friends who drove to every part of town that was in their budget during rush hour to find the best commute to downtown, and they said Donelson was the best. They lived right on the Donelson/Hermitage line.

[septimus]

Donelson.

[CountryGirl2b=]

I'd look in Fieldstone Farms in Franklin . . . the three sub sub divisions (it's a big development) in your price range would be Prescott Place, Trent Park, and Maytime. In those little pockets are SOME one story houses. There aren't any on the market at the moment but spring is coming and you never know? They are always in the corners of each little cul de sac and would be about in your price range. Keep in mind that one story houses cost more to build than two story ones. I live in one of those sub sub divisions and have a downstairs master which was for my Mom. It worked out well for her.

I think this one has a downstairs master:

RealTracs Mid-South Real Estate Property Finder Listing Details

In realtracs you can search for single story houses in the search engine. And you can search by sub division. Keep your eye on Fieldstone if you'd like to live in Franklin. They have some one story over 55 houses, too . . but the HOA fees are high. I can tell you what they're called if you have no desire for a yard to take care of?

[Siamese Kitty]

Originally Posted by swale

We might be moved to Nashville, in which case I would be working downtown at Broadway and 9th Ave. Our house needs are pretty specific, as my wife is disabled. We would need a true one-story ranch (no walkouts basements or garages under the house) and she prefers the suburbs, as well as newer houses (built in the last 25 years or so). So a lot of the usual suggestions won't apply.

From browsing Redfin and friends, it looks like the town with the most newer ranches is Spring Hill, but that looks like an awful commute. I'm sure you guys can do better.

Our budget is up to $240K, and we have no kids. What say you?

If you would consider 60s and 70s ranches, looking in Crieve Hall/Caldwell Hall/Whispering Hills would open up a lot of options. While older, these areas have seen a lot of gentrification and many have been completely updated. There are also some newer (late 80s/90s) developments along Old Hickory Blvd in Area 1 Brentwood and Nippers Corner that may have options.

Spring Hill is nice, but definitely a commute.

Mt. Juliet also has some very nice new developments that have great one-level plans. These would be some of the newer options. There would be a commute, but probably not as bad as SH.

I love the Donelson ranches, as well as those in the Glencliff, Glencliff Estates and Glengarry areas. Hot areas, lots of character, but definitely not newer.

I hope this helps and good luck!

ETA: Is lot size important to you? That will narrow it down.

[Shakeesha]

Definitely check out Brentioch (the area between Nolensville Rd. and Nippers Corner areas, Donelson, and Smyrna. All great areas.

[artemis]

Crieve Hall or Donelson.

[brentwoodgirl]

Crieve Hall has gone up in price so much that it's rare to find something for under $250,000 in there.
Some of the other areas nearby, especially the ones east of Edmondson Pike might be in the OP's price range, but Crieve Hall has really gone up in the last few years.

Here are the current listings for Crieve Hall, almost all of them between $300,000-$500,000.
http://www.realtracs.com/SearchResul...ZivroZ3LVLfYyQ

[swale]

Thanks to all for some really good info. Yes, we will also be considering 2 story houses with first floor masters, and I'm sure we will look at a few older houses. I didn't mention it because it's rather picky, but she also insists on a sunroom/Florida room in the house. That's a bit of a random item, but they are out there. She also wants to be near a decent mall/shopping district.

Mt. Juliet and Donelson both look like they will would work for us, and if they are on the train line, so much the better (at least for Mt. Juliet). One thing I like out here in Denver is that the public transit is pretty good; having lived in areas north of Nashville (Louisville & Cincinnati) I know those cities had a bit of a stigma towards taking the bus. Is that the case here?

We're not eligible for 55+ communities (yet); she has MS. We do have dogs, so lot size is a bit of a bugaboo. I guess anywhere from an 8-10K square foot lot up to a half acre would be fine. We had 2/3 of an acre in Cincinnati; the dogs loved it but it was a pain to mow that much area (even with a John Deere riding mower).

Again, great info here! We appreciate it!

[Siamese Kitty]

Originally Posted by brentwoodgirl

Crieve Hall has gone up in price so much that it's rare to find something for under $250,000 in there.
Some of the other areas nearby, especially the ones east of Edmondson Pike might be in the OP's price range, but Crieve Hall has really gone up in the last few years.

Here are the current listings for Crieve Hall, almost all of them between $300,000-$500,000.
RealTracs Real Estate Mid-South Search Results

It has gone up, but I would direct OP more to the Crieve Hall in the 37211 zip code. It would be tough to find something in 37220 Crieve Hall Estates, but "Crieve Hall" is often used as a descriptor for those properties in the Crieve Hall school district (such as parts of Whispering Hills, E of Edmonson like you're saying), as well as Caldwell Hall revised Crieve Hall. Even areas that are technically still Caldwell Hall or Abbay Hall will use it to indicate the area.

I do not mean this at all to contradict your post, just explain how "Crieve Hall" can mean a lot of things at VERY different price points. The reality is Crieve Hall 37211 vs 37220 are pretty different areas, both very nice, though. I lived in the 37211 one for years and thought it was great.