Prime Areas to Live In

Hi Desertdweller & All,


Trout has offered an extremely helpful post. Like many, I came to be a homeowner through a lot purchase on ebay. I won't go into the whole history, because it would be a topic in itself. My point is simply that I would be one of those folks trout refers to that bought a lot and later purchased a home.

Like many, also, I purchased my first few lots "sight unseen." It would have done me a world of good to visit back then, but it all worked out favorably for me -- in one case, very favorably in terms of location. I suspect it did for a few others as well.

After the initial run of inexpensive tax lots on ebay, it seems to me that the general market conditions everywhere have been reflected in the ups and downs of CV lots. The issue as trout points out is that there are many undeveloped inner lots in the Village, which is not to say that many of them aren't lovely. It is simply a case by case examination.

Value has everything to do with location. When you buy "inner" lots away from the lakes or golf courses or mountain tops, you are competing to resell them against a large pool of ebay lots that people will buy without having visited the Village. Locals may know an inner lot is a good one, but that is a relative small pool of buyers. Lakes, golf course, river, mountain top, these are the sure things. Even these can be hard to sell at a really good return if the market is down.

Look at the local Real Estate ads and see what homes are going for in certain areas. It will give you some good sense of what a lot in the same area might be worth to a potential buyer who intends to build. Remember, the potential builder will be judging the value of developing a lot relative to purchasing an existing home in many cases.

Right now, I wouldn't discourage someone from grabbing a few "prime" lots but I wouldn't go on a buying binge without visiting and staying for a time to "get a sense of things." There's a whole lot to love about Cherokee Village. It's really about the good living here in the end.

If you look at the history of the village you will find land prices move up and down. Most purchases were from out of towners who were purchasing land cheap and hoping to build here and retire. Some did and some didn't. Many 1,000 of lots (out of a total of about 25,000 available lots) have gone back for taxes. Afew years back a group named Par Lago out of Newport CA bought a large group of lots with the idea of making a bunch of money fast. They were selling and finanacing them for $12,500 at 12.9%. Thier website used some not so true information about the village and created quite a stir. Well then the economy tanked and they disappeared off the map. Lot values have been as low as $500 to $1,000s. Lake and golf course lots are naturally higher. The lot next to me is worth about $8-10K but the guy from FL who owns it is asking $44K for it. An appraiser I know just laughed when I told her about it. So value is in the eye of the beholder so to speak. There are more houses and lots for sell than you can shake a stick at. This is just the village. People like the village for many reasons but as they later learn and their needs change, they move out or pass away and heirs who are younger really don't appreciate the village since it is not close to big shopping areas, hostipals, entertainment, etc. These are just facts and everyone has their own reasons for being here. I hope I have been able to give you an insight into the area. It is a nice quite and beautiful place to live. Schools are very good and if shopping at a mall is not your thing then come on over and enjoy.

Hello Paul and Springri,

Thank you for your replies. Do either of you believe that investing in CV is a good idea from a
Real Estate Investment point of view? There seems to be a lot of land ownership but not much
building in CV.

Is it your opinions that people are simply purchasing land in CV for their potential Real
Estate values or do you believe that some/most of these purchases will translate in to
actual home ownership in the form of owners actually putting homes whether for vacation or
permanent residents in CV?

Another question I have is: As you both mentioned that purchasing land close to the lakes
and Golf course would be a wise decision. Would land purchased within let's say 1 mile, 1/2
or 1/4 away from the lake and golf course would that be a good purchase or would 1 mile away
be consider just common or normal valued properties?

Oh anyone else can chime in on this one also (smile).

Hi Desert Dweller---
 
I agree with Paul:  Any of the major lakes in Cherokee Village usually hold their value and rise in value over a relatively short period of time.  In the last 10 years, many of the lake properties have risen between 20-30% on average, particularly lakefront properties with homes.  Anything on Lake Thunderbird (the lake big enough to "ski on" and that has a marina, Lake Sequoyah (joined to Lake Thunderbird by a canal--boaters can go back and forth through both) and Lake Omaha is nice because it is big.  Least favorite due to property values are Lake Cherokee, Lake Navaho. More remote are Lake Chanute (small but nice as a fishing lake and private area) and Lake Aztec.  There are also some established nice mountain view homes but hard to find lots with panoramic views of the Village from Cochise streets, Goti, and Hondo--somewhat limited.  A lot of people do not know about those.  There are still a few nice lots on Sequoyah and Thunderbird for sale

Hi Desertdweller,

You may get some different opinions on this subject. As a general rule, if you are on or near the lakes, you are doing well. The lakes do vary in perceived desirability, but Thunderbird, Aztec, Chanute, and Omaha are my personal first choices. Of course, they vary in level of lot development and lake size. The high up lots that give panoramic views are desirable. Also, river and golf course lots. As a rule, you can tell a good bit by the average house price in the area.

The "curve ball" is that very high quality inexpensive lots show up from time to time these days. But you are right to want to know the areas. There are folks on the Forum who might be willing to look at a few that you have in mind or offer a general opinion. It sounds like what you already have on Aztec is fantastic and maybe you want to visit before adding too many more. All the best.

As I previously mentioned I own several lots in CV. Now I am serious trying to investigate which areas of CV are really nice to purchase lots in. I know that there are some residents of CV on this board who have a great deal of knowledge that may assist me in making wise future purchases.

It doesn't matter which county i.e. Fulton or Sharp. I would just like to make wise purchases and I am sure input from actually owners of CV will help me make wise choices.

So which areas would you recommend?