Timberlake, Woodside, Crosswoods - Worth Looking Into!

Last evening I went condo shopping with a new client to Timberlake on Fulton Avenue, Sacramento. This client wants to buy a rental property close to where she lives, so she can rent it out and have the rent cover the mortgage and other costs. I have to admit I had never been to the gated complex of Timberlake before and was quite impressed.

Here are condos that are surrounded by well maintained pools, and running water gardens, little bridges to get around the complex, fountains and so on. In other words you don't once feel like you are in the middle of the city of Sacramento. One bedroom condos range from $135,000 - $165,000. Association dues are around $250 a month.

While I was there, another such complex came to mind. Crosswoods in Citrus Heights. Crosswoods, also built around the same time, in the late 1970s, while not a gated complex like Timberlake has a greenbelt, jogging trails and definitely classifies as a world in itself, again in the middle of Sacramento but you would never feel it once you're inside. Prices for 2 bedrooms are between $250,000 - $300,000 with association dues at $265 a month.

I have been known to say I am not too fond of condos as investment properties. The reason for that dislike is that condos usually stay a little longer on the market than single family homes and mainly because some associations have rules about how many units in an association have to be owner-occupied and those rules are adhered to pretty strictly. I just don't like the idea of a homeowner's association for an investment property because in my experience it creates a lot more red tape than I can handle.

That being said, these condos are worth looking into. When the number of condos on the market dwindle, people gravitate toward the "Timberlakes" and the "Crosswoods." They definitely have an aura about them!