Homer3D

My wife and I have been looking for a new home for probably close to 2 years now. We live in San Jose right now and looked in the surrounding areas only to be fed up with the insanely high prices for brand new homes. We started looking in the Antioch area (where most of my family is right now) and saw what we could get for the money. Only bad part was location. I travel for work and didn’t want to drive 2+ hours to get to a major airport so I needed to put some “must haves” with one of them being no more than 30 minutes from a major airport.

We decided to look outside the bay area at Sacramento. Checked out new homes in Elk Grove, Roseville, etc, but found an amazing house and an equally amazing price in Woodland.



This actually wasn’t the first house we picked. We were leaning towards a more ‘modest’ home at roughly 2300 sqft, 4 bed/2.5 bath/2 car garage. Since it is just my wife and I (and pets) this would be more than enough room. But then saw the home above. For only $30k more, 3200 sqft, 5 bed/3 full baths/3 garage (tandem) and with no backyard neighbor. And only 10 minutes from SAC airport.

The view from the upstairs loft.



Anyways, long story short…we put a deposit in on 12/22/13 and escrow closes on 2/7/14.

Now I need input from people living in or around the Woodland area. For car stuff like clubs/meets/events, places to go for service (oil changes/tires/good dealerships/etc), house stuff like general contractors/landscape designers or other recommendations (restaurants, places to see/visit and any other inputs you might have.) All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I know it is much warmer in Woodland than San Jose so I am already looking into getting solar installed but might have to wait until next year once I see our AC bill. When the home inspector was giving us the report on the house he told me to look into getting something called "solar screens". Never heard of this before but it is some sort of mesh that you put over the windows on the outside to block the amount of heat coming into the house through the windows. Anyone have an experience in these screens and do they work? I am also going to need some landscaping done since the backyard is just dirt.

This is our first new home and we are very excited but know there is going to be some upfront/unforeseen cost when being the first ones ever living in the home.

stafftech

Welcome to the area, I am in Folsom just a short cruise up the road. Yes it is going to get hotter than you are used to. Not sure if you are going to get any of the delta breeze in the summer down in Woodland but if you don't your nights won't be as cool. Solar screens really do work wonders in the summer for reducing the amount of heat that gets into the house from direct sunlight and worth the investment. Not sure if you are in SMUD zone or PG&E but I believe they both offer rebates for sunscreens, (review the info on their websites before selecting a product and installer).

I have solar panels on my home for power, 3300 sf house, 5 years old and insulated very well and our 2k system keeps our annual electric bill at around $800.00. Without solar our summer time bill would be between 350 - 400 per month. I calculated 7 year payback when I purchased it and it will more likely take about 8 years.

Another must for our area is a whole house fan. They are about 1300.00 installed and most utility companies offer rebates, again check their site for specifics. You open the windows in the evening, turn on the fan (they are a bit noisy so be sure to place as far from your bedroom as you can) and you wake up in a nice cool house. Close the windows once you get up and your house stays much cooler much longer than without one.

Hope this helps, enjoy.

doje

You'll have Richie as a neighbor if I recall correctly.

Homer3D

Thanks for the info. WOW $400/month for PGE. That will be a sticker shock since my bill is no more than $120 during the summer months. Of course my current house is only 1700 sqft so a higher AC bill is to be expected.

I looked into whole house fans as well. My parents have one in their Antioch home and it is loud as F$%# but I was at a home and garden show a few weekends ago and they had one ($1600/installed) that was super quiet. From turning on/off you couldn’t hear the difference.

How much was it to get those solar screens installed? I know the back of the house is going to get hit hard by the afternoon sun so at the minimum I plan on getting the back windows covered, which is roughly 10 windows.

kimmer

Congrats on the new house, mines 29 years old now but did buy it new and it's a great feeling. Bty, nice crop back there.

smellya

Yeah I went from 40 dollars a month for pg&e in the city to brentwood and the most I paid was 520 last july. Now I avg 70-150 dollars in our new house in brentwood. We have a whole house fan with a remote and 2 speeds. Its nice. Also look into a honeywell thermostat that you can control from your phone. You want it a little cooler before you get home you can set it. Congratulations on the new House...

Boomer111

I wonder how long the field will be vacant of building.

Congrats on the move.

We have too much family to move away from. But I too would like to downsize and get rid of the house payment.

In your case it seems like up upsized!

Also a bit out in nowhere for me.

Should be hotter and windier.

Homer3D

I am hoping it will be a field for a really long time. It was one of the selling points of the house when we looked at it. But I guess if the city grows my view might change.

All my family moved away. I am the last one in San Jose. Everyone else was smart enough to move to much cheaper areas.

Oddly enough it is a downsize as far as monthly payments but upsized in the amount of room we have.

moose.b3

If we ever get some rain in Nor Cal, I'd put in a pool in that back yard. Woodland summers get pretty hot. You'll also learn about the delta breeze that does come in some summer nights and that's when you'll want the whole house fan. I don't know if you do any HPDE, but if you do Thunderhill is only 1 hour up I5. You might also see a red C7 in town. Make sure you wave.

tuxnharley

Be sure to check out the Tractor Museum in Woodland! Seriously, there is a lot of interesting machinery there; it's just not very fast.................

RichieRichZ06

Howdy neighbor. I've lived in Woodland for nearly 10 years and I love it. Still somewhat of a small town atmosphere, but large enough that you have restaurant choices and close enough to Sac for convenient trips in and out.

I grew up in Davis, but always wanted out of that town. I found that Woodland offered the same houses for much less money and not as many hippy bicyclists peddling around in my way.

It does get hot in the summer, but the new houses are so well insulated that it really doesn't make much difference from the inside. We installed a patio cover across the back of the house and some trees to help with shade.

There is not much of a hot rod following in Woodland, but you're close enough to catch all of the Sac area get-to-gethers etc.

By the looks of your pictures, it appears to be the Spring Lake area, off rd 102 maybe ?? If so, you'll be very close to me. Carrie and I live off Meikle ave, close to Farmers Central. I have zero complaints about the neighborhood and we've never had any issues with crime or vandalism. The newer neighborhoods of Woodland are quiet.

In terms of where to get the car worked on, that's easy. You'll have me for a neighbor and just like many other local Corvette owners, I can pick up and deliver your car for you. Hopefully you won't mind driving a ~650+ HP C6Z or a 2014 Stingray for the day

Homer3D

Yeah, my wife and I looked at Davis as well and as “cute” of a town it was I could not bring myself to spend the money they wanted for homes in that area. There was a drastic price difference just going 9 or 10 miles north on 113. It will take some getting used to living in a small town since I lived in San Jose my entire life. But it might be a nice change of pace.

You are correct, we are in the Spring Lake area. Right across the street from the Woodland Community & Senior Center. The division is called “Huntington Square” which is just on the other side of the 113 from you. Glad to hear you have no complaints about the neighborhood.

It would be awesome to have a 2014 for the day while my 2013 gets worked on. Although I probably wouldn’t actually drive it since I work from home. But at least you know it will be safe and sound sitting in my garage.

RichieRichZ06

Nice choice of area. I have a couple friends that recently purchased in that neighborhood also. Carrie plays softball at the fields behind the senior center.

We'll have to take y'all out to dinner once you get settled in.

weez58

Congrats on the new house!

Homer3D

Wow I can’t believe the day has finally come. Still a little in shock but very excited. It seems everything fell into place at the last minute.

3 weeks ago…
- Wife and I put our current San Jose up for rent and was getting worried that we got no hits.
- Wife’s new job was in limbo because she was not getting any reply after multiple calls/emails
- I began to stress that we moved for her job (since I work from home) and with no renter, I would have to cover 2 mortgages on my own.

Well, this past weekend I received tons of calls and emails from people wanting to view the home I have for rent. I think a total of 10 people came view the home on Saturday with some of them submitting their rental application in on Sunday. On that same Saturday, HR at her new job finally called her back to let her know she got the job and she will be starting Feb 18th.

On Monday we reviewed all the rental applications (5) did a background check and interviewed 3 of them. We decided to accept a brother/sister that grew up in this neighborhood and wanted to move back to be closer to their Mom (who lives around the block from here). We sent them the lease agreement and they will be moving in March 1st.

Today my wife is heading up to Elk Grove (where her new job is as vice-principal at a Jr High school) to fill out paperwork.
Now I am just sitting here at home (trying to do some work) waiting to get the call from the Title Company that escrow has closed and that we can pick up the keys to our brand new home.

Moving is stressful enough as it is but then add possible no job for wife, no rental income from the San Jose house, me trying to cover 2 mortgages…CRAZY!

I am sure by March things will have settled and I can finally relax. My wife will have a new job earning her a higher salary than her teaching job in Morgan Hill. The renters would have moved in giving us additional income and I guess for me, nothing changes. Same salary, same job, still working from home. But I guess moving to an area with a lower cost of living is kind of like getting a raise. Right?

RichieRichZ06

You're forgetting the added benefit of not having to deal with Bay Area traffic all the time either.

Homer3D

You've got that right. Even though I work from home, when I do drive somewhere it is so annoying. Just going 10 miles can take 45-60 minutes depending on the time of day I go.

l8te apx

Welcome to the real NorCal....someone mentioned Thunderhill is an easy one hour drive away...check www.hookedondriving for upcoming events. In Sacramento check out Eurosunday.net for monthly gtgs...always well attended, organized, and a lot of very cool cars. Last Sunday of every month.

Homer3D

My corvette and my wife's beetle have safely made it to their new home.

Hogtos

Welcome to the Central Valley! Garage is looking good!