need in the know Baltimorean advice (Frederick, Bladensburg: middle-class, for sale, real estate)

[girlfriday]

I am seriously considering buying a house in Balt City but is it possible to still get a house in BC around John Hopkins under 100K ? The 21217 zip code
is in what neighborhood? 21223? Is Irvington a community of stable African American homes? I saw it -it looked nice ..well kept..Charles Village how big is that ? Is it safe? Hamden which I saw during the Xmas holidays is that affordable ? Really worried about burglaries in BC and car theft ...vandalism.. Greektown is that affordable ?
Is that still have a sizable Greek population ?
What neighborhoods are horrible and stay out of ? Info please. ...

[emsgoof]

Hospital or University?

[dickens]

Originally Posted by girlfriday

I am seriously considering buying a house in Balt City but is it possible to still get a house in BC around John Hopkins under 100K ? The 21217 zip code
is in what neighborhood? 21223? Is Irvington a community of stable African American homes? I saw it -it looked nice ..well kept..Charles Village how big is that ? Is it safe? Hamden which I saw during the Xmas holidays is that affordable ? Really worried about burglaries in BC and car theft ...vandalism.. Greektown is that affordable ?
Is that still have a sizable Greek population ?
What neighborhoods are horrible and stay out of ? Info please. ...

The whole city is a freakin' mess and unaffordable to boot. You may want to google the phrase Baltimore Crime. Property taxes are through the roof along with auto insurance. There is no housing for 100K let alone under.

There are alot of do gooder, everything-is-swell-in-Baltimore types that will tell you that anything is possible with a can do attitude. Um, perhaps, but not here.

[barante]

girlfriday -- Your query deserves a serious answer. Hundreds of thousands of Baltimoreans live in the city and like the city. Baltimore continues to be affordable; whether you can get anything livable for $100K will not be easy. In the end, it depends on your luck and negotiating skills.
Because I simply don't know enough about current prices, let me just say this: During the past few years, a lot of Baltimore real estate was sold to out-of-town investors who paid ridiculously high prices (by local standards) for marginal property. As a result, it can be expected that as the sub-prime crisis works its way through the market, many of those properties will become distressed and head for foreclosure. When will that be? When will the bottom be reached? No one knows the answer to those questions, although I suspect that we are still a long way from the bottom.
(1) Irvington. This is an undiscovered gem. Just visit Augusta Avenue, a wonderful street.
My take: Irvington has been going downhill rapidly in recent years. There is reason to believe this slide might come to an end. I know of at least two projects to build new homeownership townhouses along Frederick Avenue. Some of the problematic apartment complexes have already come down. Also, the city's major, major investment in rebuilding nearby Uplands (google it) may contribute to Irvington's turnaround.
I hope you feel that I am hedging, because I am. Logically, Irvington ought to be a very desirable neighborhood because it is so convenient to everything. But turning a neighborhood around in any city is a tough task and in Baltimore it is doubly so.
Good news: If you are considering Irvington, keep an open mind. They have a National Housing Service program going on there (google). You might want to talk to them and see what kind of housing they have available, because it would be rehabbed.
Ethnic mix: Mostly African-American now, with some whites.
(2) Charles Village. If you define its borders by the borders of the taxation district (benefits district), it includes both stable areas and iffy ones. In general, prices are well out of your price range, although I might look into Remington as an alternative. Its in between Hampden and Charles Village.
Ethnic mix. The heart of Charles Village is substantially white, but multiracial.
(3) Greektown. Still the location of Greek churches and restaurants, this is a neighborhood in transition. Prices have been going up on speculation because the waterfront is not that far away and big things have been proposed for the waterfront.
Ethnic mix: Not many blacks, but Hispanics are making inroads.
If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do: I would contact the Live in Baltimore center (google), put the question to them and ask for affordable neighborhoods with incentive programs. For instance CHAI Baltimore (google for CHAI and under homeownership you will see some houses for sale) operates on the Park Heights Avenue area of Baltimore -- safe streets, improving conditions. Now, $100,000 is not likely to be enough for that area (is it enough for any area?) but you might be able to get a special situation (=unrenovated but livable) rowhouse for that price on a lucky day.
Anyway, what special financing deals like CHAIcan do is to package a loan in a way where the price may be higher but payments are still manageable.
You are embarking on an exciting exploration. But instead of real estate agents and speculators, I would suggest contacting organizations like the National Housing Services, CHAI and Tri-Churches in Pigtown and see what they say.
In coming months, there will be a lot of rehabilitated distress property for sale in Pigtown because the speculative market is collapsing. Whether buying a house in an area that was rising on speculation and then falls because of speculation makes any sense is a question only you can answer. It depends on your time horizon, mostly.
Hope this helps.

[barante]

It so happened that my wife and I drove through Irvington this morning before I even read your message. She was wondering what St. Joseph's private school for boys was up to because major construction was taking place.
If I were you, I'd take a careful look at Irvington. So many things are in the pipeline that will affect its future in a positive way.
Irvington has a nearly iconic status among nostalgic lower-middle-class whites, who used to inhabit the area. I did go to mass a couple of years ago at St. Joseph's Monastery church, a wonderful sanctuary (and I am not Catholic). At least on that particular morning the congregation was mostly white but with several blacks in visible leadership roles.
As with so many neighborhoods, racial change meant disinvestment. As a result, Irvington has no real shopping facilities. But a good and very busy Shoppers supermarket is five minutes away by car, off Route 40. Plenty of other shopping on Route 40 (Baltimore National Pike).

[carolott]

If you need to live near 21223 for whatever reason, consider 21230 instead. If you move to 21223 you'll pay higher car insurance rates and you'll have double the number of registered sex offenders than in the 230 zip.

[girlfriday]

This is what inside the beltway has for me : at 74K 1 bd condo with Prince Georges County Inspectors condeming the balconies as unusable and the swimming pool and exercise room locked up and in unusable. This is in Bladensburg. 100 African - American. The residents seem weary, middle class, friendly with some obviously out of control residents in the building who are raising cain ...the neighborhood has some very very rough apts with
population literally pouring out of the bldgs. hanging out, not looking friendly at all. This is what my money buys here. Reminders of what the neighborhood was : Elizabeth Seton HS nearby.

[barante]

If it is a condo you are considering in Baltimore, some of the best buys are in the Park Heights corridor. Aging Jewish community that is rejuvenating. You should be able to find a two-bedroom unit in the $100,000 range.

[girlfriday]

I am not computer literate ..is the forum getting my comments about Bladenbsburg INSIDE THE BELTWAY remark...wanted people to see how dismal it is here INB

[girlfriday]

I hope my messages are getting thru. A Jewish community would be great. I would feel very comfortable.