Relocation to evergreen san jose area 95121 (Newark, Country Club: sale, crime, buying a home)

[chennaivaasi]

Is the 95121 part of evergreen a safe place? we are currently looking at buying a home in that zipcode. We are currently confused about it since realtor tells us it is not a great area,, Any inputs in this regard will be highly appreciated,, thanks so much!

[mstnghu2]

95121 is one of San Jose's zip codes that is somewhat extreme as far as the quality of its neighborhoods go. Most of it is actually not very nice and is close to or in some of SJ's highest crime east side neighborhoods.

The neighborhoods southeast of Silver Creek Rd. and centered around Yerba Buena Rd. are the better ones. It's like night and day compared to most of the other parts of 95121. There are many luxury homes in this area. I have a friend whose parents live just north of Yerba Buena Rd., off of Nieman Blvd. in a very upscale neighborhood. It feels like an extension of nearby Silver Creek Valley Country Club which is just a couple minutes south of there. The issues they've had that I'm aware of are mail theft and some home burglaries close by. It's definitely a transitional area of the city.

[Semiworker]

Zipcode 95121 is indeed a very mixed zipcode and most of it is not good. It is also known as the West side of Evergreen. The previous poster MSTNGU2 is correct in his assessment.

I'm attaching a picture of the zipcode and although NOT 100% accurate, I attempt to highlight in yellow the good or upscale neighborhood. In general, you will want to be as close to San Felipe road as you can, and be close to the south east corner of the 95121 (San Felipe road and Yerba Buena road).

Yerba Buena Road is beautiful as it borders the Silver Creek country club to the south and also the Ranch golf club development. It definitely turns bad when it hits Silver Creek road. The elementary schools in this zipcode are also not as good as the rest of the Evergreen Schools, except for the James Franklin Smith elem. school which is one of the outstanding schools of the district.

If you can give the closest cross street I might be able to help you better. I've lived in Evergreen for most of my life.

Attached is also a link to San Jose crime report. You can enter 95121 and see how safe the area is.
http://www.sjpd.org/CrimeStats/CrimeReports.html

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by Semiworker

Zipcode 95121 is indeed a very mixed zipcode and most of it is not good. It is also known as the West side of Evergreen. The previous poster MSTNGU2 is correct in his assessment.

I'm attaching a picture of the zipcode and although NOT 100% accurate, I attempt to highlight in yellow the good or upscale neighborhood. In general, you will want to be as close to San Felipe road as you can, and be close to the south east corner of the 95121 (San Felipe road and Yerba Buena road).

Yerba Buena Road is beautiful as it borders the Silver Creek country club to the south and also the Ranch golf club development. It definitely turns bad when it hits Silver Creek road. The elementary schools in this zipcode are also not as good as the rest of the Evergreen Schools, except for the James Franklin Smith elem. school which is one of the outstanding schools of the district.

If you can give the closest cross street I might be able to help you better. I've lived in Evergreen for most of my life.

Attached is also a link to San Jose crime report. You can enter 95121 and see how safe the area is.
CrimeReports Map

Very useful for many people here thanks

[mstnghu2]

One more little detail I should add in case the OP isn't too familiar with the area is that Silver Creek Rd. and Silver Creek Valley Rd. aren't the same thing. Silver Creek Rd. goes through some sketchy areas, while Silver Creek Valley Rd. goes through some of San Jose's most exclusive areas.

Heading north, Silver Creek Rd. becomes King Rd. which is historically one of the highest crime corridors in east SJ.

Silver Creek Valley Rd. heads south from Yerba Buena Rd. toward some very exclusive areas, including the Silver Creek Valley Country Club.

[chennaivaasi]

Hello friendly ppl,,, thanks a lot for all the valuable information,, We are a family of four (one 8 yr old kid and 3 adults) ,,the one we are looking at is near Aborn Rd and Capitol Expy intersection behind Aborn Compounding pharmacy,, (Maple leaf ct and Lochness way area) Please throw some light about this area,,, Thanks a lot once again everyone,, is it worth going for it? We are really confused,,

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by chennaivaasi

Hello friendly ppl,,, thanks a lot for all the valuable information,, We are a family of four (one 8 yr old kid and 3 adults) ,,the one we are looking at is near Aborn Rd and Capitol Expy intersection behind Aborn Compounding pharmacy,, (Maple leaf ct and Lochness way area) Please throw some light about this area,,, Thanks a lot once again everyone,, is it worth going for it? We are really confused,,

I wouldn't consider that specific area to be "bad" per se. In my honest opinion though, it's very close to some areas that I would consider bad. The traffic is also horrible near there and I think you may encounter many quality of life issues that you won't be happy with.

I have lots of experience with this entire area. Back in my 20s I hung out around there every weekend because I had friends that lived about a 1/2 mile away from the neighborhood you're looking at but on the other side of Capitol Expwy.

On a totally unrelated side note, if you plan to spend some more time searching this area, go check out Brigadoon Park and take your kid. Your kid should appreciate the cement slides. I still drive there with my son sometimes all the way from Newark just so we can ride them together.

[Semiworker]

Originally Posted by chennaivaasi

Hello friendly ppl,,, thanks a lot for all the valuable information,, We are a family of four (one 8 yr old kid and 3 adults) ,,the one we are looking at is near Aborn Rd and Capitol Expy intersection behind Aborn Compounding pharmacy,, (Maple leaf ct and Lochness way area) Please throw some light about this area,,, Thanks a lot once again everyone,, is it worth going for it? We are really confused,,

Both Redfin.com and Zillow.com show a 4br 2.5ba on sale for $900K in the neighborhood you mentioned, so I assume this is the property being considered. Here’s what I think:

First, the location. This is a case where one street is good and well kept, and the next street is bad. Assume your interested property is on a good street, will your good street turns bad over time? Are you willing to take that risk? I would drive by at different times of day and week to check out the area. Is the street packed with cars at night? On the weekends do people party all day in their garage? There’s nothing wrong with all that, but just know that when there’s a lot of people, there’s more chance for noise, louder music, arguments.... If you’re looking for peace & quiet, and a quiet stroll after dinner, then you should think about these issues. Is it safe? Again if the next street is bad, at a minimum you should have a house system alarm and not be out walking at night alone.

Second, school. This neighborhood goes to John Montgomery elementary, one of the worst performing schools in Evergreen (rated 3/10). If your 8 yrs old goes to private school, then it’s not a problem. But it can affect your resale value. Also I read that this school is on the list of school closure due to fewer students. That might not be a bad thing, if the students are consolidated into a nearby better rated school (one rated 5-6/10?), or worse case another school with similar low ranking but a little further away.

Third, the price. While $900K for a 4BR in Evergreen seems like good deal in today’ housing market at first glance. It is not a good deal in this case when considering the neighborhood & school. That’s my opinion. For that price you might still be able to find a 3 BR house or town house in a safer/quieter area with better school in Evergreen or south San Jose. I would go with a smaller house but better neighborhood instead of a larger house in a questionable neighborhood. Again, it’s just my opinion.

[bobby_guz_man]

Actually, for that specific corner of that neighborhood, $900k for a 4b, 2.5ba is a fair price currently. I know that neighborhood and the house are a decent size and newer to boot.

OP, my childhood was spent growing up near that specific corner of the neighborhood. Lochness and Laddie were my playgrounds. I also went to John J Montgomery I will give you a very quick rundown:

That neighborhood is bounded by Capitol, Aborn, Daniel Maloney, and Neiman. It generally is what I would call a below-average neighborhood. People who live in Evergreen generally ignores this area and many would not even call it as part of "Evergreen".

However, within this neighborhood there is a pocket where the homes are newer and the pocket is better than the rest of the neighborhood, due to this pocket being very close to Aborn and can be accessed directly from Aborn. This pocket consists of the streets Maple Leaf, Locnness, Pine Spring, and Turnhouse. I would rate this pocket as average, and I would also not mind buying into this specific pocket.

Mind you, Loch Ness Road south of Laddie Way is considered below average.

If you're asking regarding crimes and safety for that pocket of the neighborhood, I would say go for it. I don't know anything bout how good John J Montgomery or Silver Creek HS are in rankings so I can't help you there. I went to John J a long time ago and I don't remember having much issues.

Also, I generally refer to this area as Silver Creek, I don't really refer to it as "Evergreen".

For Evergreen folks, what are your definition of Evergreen's borders? I generally only refer to the hilly portion and the area east of White as "Evergreen".

[chennaivaasi]

Thank you so much Semiworker, mstnghu2 and bobby_guz_man for taking the time out to answer my question, I really appreciate it,, This info will be very helpful in making a decision,, thanks once again!!