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My husband and I (early & late twenties) currently rent right on the division between downtown and Barelas. We LOVE the area, walking distance to downtown, the zoo, a nearby dog park, the bosque. Close to UNM, CNM, and the central location means fairly short drive to ANYWHERE in Abq.
Recently we've decided it's time to purchase instead of continuing to rent, our price range is on the low side (100-120) and we told the realtor we were interested in the Barelas area. We looked at a few there, fairly run-down, BUT we don't have very high expectations being in the price range we are.
Now my realtor is trying to talk me into considering some housese further out on the west side. She's thinking I can get a better investment for my money by heading that way. I'm a little put off by the westside for a couple reasons, but am wondering if I'm being too hasty in my judgements.
One of the big things for me is I'm not attracted to a house just because it's "New". I couldn't care less about most the "upgrades". I really want to live somewhere I can enjoy the culture and the community surrounding my house. As stated above, we love walking through the parks, the bosque open space, strolling downtown and going to the summer nights on the plaza. Am I going to hate the westside?
If you love the Barelas area and the amenities of that area, then I would try to stay there. Go ahead and check out some of the Westside areas and houses, you want to know what the alternatives are, but don't move there just because of the supposed "investment." There is a market too for Barelas. I like the older houses also, and don't care about upgrades. I hate it when I have visitors who start to tell me about all the upgrades I could do to my kitchen. I say, "when did I ask for your advice?" I like the original 1950's look. You might also check out some houses in the close-in North Valley.
Anyway, don't be afraid to check out other parts of town, see as many houses as you can. But don't buy where you don't think you'll be happy just because of what a realtor says.
Now my realtor is trying to talk me into considering some houses further out on the west side. She's thinking I can get a better investment for my money by heading that way. I'm a little put off by the westside for a couple reasons, but am wondering if I'm being too hasty in my judgments.
That *may* be true. A lot depends on how Barelas "develops" over the next few years.
So far, Albuquerque hasn't shown many signs of developing a real "urban pioneer"
mentality of fixing up older, smaller, blue collar areas. It might happen, but it
might not.
Solely based on that, I'd say that a carefully chosen house elsewhere may possibly
be a better financial investment, but in your price range, you aren't going to see
major movement in any new development for a very, very long time so I would
think you may be better off concentrating on what suits your needs best, not
what may give you a very small improvement in potential return.
The flip side is that a carefully chosen "fixer-upper" may require far more sweat
equity than actual cash in which case a house in Barelas may give a better or
equal return. I'm past the age where I want to do that, but I have done so
and not only did it pan out financially, it also allowed me to live where I wanted
to comfortably.
To be blunt, your agent is going to have far more chance of locating a "suitable"
property (from the agent's standpoint) on the Westside than in Barelas and that
is at least part of the reason you are being steered away from Barelas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dallasdalice
One of the big things for me is I'm not attracted to a house just because it's "New". I couldn't care less about most the "upgrades". I really want to live somewhere I can enjoy the culture and the community surrounding my house. As stated above, we love walking through the parks, the bosque open space, strolling downtown and going to the summer nights on the plaza. Am I going to hate the westside?
Yes, you will hate it, and I say that as a very happy Westsider..
What you are looking for really doesn't exist on the Westside in any price range.
We've lived in two areas like that (Virginia and Panama) and really loved them, but
bluntly both were significantly more upscale than Barelas and we wanted a more
upscale environment here as well so we confined our home searches to the Northeast
and Northwest edges of the city and are happy with our location.
From the outside, Barelas appears to be a settled, multi-generational
community, not an overnight creation with renters, and if you feel secure and
happy there, you should stay.
The Northern edge of Barelas (Iron St.) has seen a tremendous amount of gentrification these past few years. There are many houses that have gone the "urban pioneer" route.
Have you seen those shot-gun shacks on Iron and (9th maybe?)? They're being renovated one-by one and probably fall into your budget.
$100-120k is a small budget, but if you don't have kids... you may be able to find a nice one room, one bath little ditty.
Most of the people I know that enjoy the west side (massive generalization to follow) are people who really want a brand new house, wouldn't walk somewhere over taking the car no matter where they lived and want as much house as their money can buy.
As far as an investment consider this:
If you buy a new house on the far west side for 120K, in five to ten years there will be brand new houses 2 or 3 miles further down the highway for 120K, how much will your 5 - 10 year old house with a (maybe) 5 minute less commute have appreciated?
If you like the area you are in now I don't picture you enjoying the west side and I personally wouldn't consider it an investment unless you are really long term, or if by investment you mean best use of your money and you place a priority on newer/larger housing with more modern amenities already there.
I think you guys might be to late to take advantage of the $8K refund (you would have to close before the end of the month), in which case there is no hurry. Take your time building a bigger down payment and finding the right house in the area you want to live. A far worse thing than renting is buying a house and realizing you hate it and being stuck or sell it losing a bunch of money.
Recently we've decided it's time to purchase instead of continuing to rent,
What brought you to this decision?
Not all rent is "wasted" if that's where you are heading. Until you can
afford what you really want, why not rent and enjoy your lifestyle?
Commiting to ownership will tie you down, financially and time-wise.
You don't have much of a budget. What happens after you buy
something and it needs a $5,000 roof repair or foundation work that cannot be put off?
You'll have less money to try eating out at the places you like.
You'll have less time to enjoy walks and exploring.
I haven't seen the houses Rybert was speaking of, but I haven't seen much gentrification
in the main areas of Barelas.
I can't speak for the whole of Barelas. I don't think they want gentrification in the first place, and that's ok. However, it's alive and well in Downtown and the border regions between Downtown and Barelas. I see prices trending upward, quickly...
Not all rent is "wasted" if that's where you are heading. Until you can
afford what you really want, why not rent and enjoy your lifestyle?
FYI several lifestyle choices have influenced this decision. If I waited to afford what I REALLY wanted...I'd be waiting a long long long time.
Quote:
If you buy a new house on the far west side for 120K, in five to ten years there will be brand new houses 2 or 3 miles further down the highway for 120K, how much will your 5 - 10 year old house with a (maybe) 5 minute less commute have appreciated?
This is an interesting point I hadn't considered, the realtor does keep bringing up the resale value question...
Quote:
Have you seen those shot-gun shacks on Iron and (9th maybe?)? They're being renovated one-by one and probably fall into your budget.
Yes I had, the cute little brick one is adorable and is listed under 100, it looks to have some major foundation problems though.
Our budget is small but I was kind of thinking along the same lines as Mike
Quote:
The flip side is that a carefully chosen "fixer-upper" may require far more sweat equity than actual cash in which case a house in Barelas may give a better or equal return.
I have the ability, and know-how support of family to do most minor things. In my budget I'm obviously trying to avoid something that's going to require major expensive contractor-required type repairs.
I just needed a feed on whether or not the westside might offer some of the amenities I'm hoping for. Doesn't sound like it.
Quote:
Yes, you will hate it, and I say that as a very happy Westsider..
What you are looking for really doesn't exist on the Westside in any price range.
Do the shacks have concrete stem walls? CMU? Does the seller say something about the foundations, just you observations?
We want to look more closely at those properties... all of our friends are Downtown.
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