Omaha to Hoover (Birmingham, Bessemer, Homewood: credit, relocating, budget)

[clarekoz]

Thank you! I've already learned a lot about the greater Birmingham area just by reading the threads already posted, but I'd like to get some specific advice... my family and I are relocating to take a job in Hoover, and we're trying to find a house to rent. We'd like to stay within a 30 minute drive of Hoover, in a 3-4 bedroom home for $1,000 or under. Good neighborhood, of course. We have kids but I homeschool them so school districts are not a concern. I'd love to live near a small downtown area where the kids and I can walk to things like the library, playground, coffee shop. These are the areas in which I'm finding possibilities in the classifieds: Trussville, Tarrant, Alabaster, East Lake, Bluff Park, Cahaba Heights, Norwood. (Hoover and Hometown seem to be too expensive.) I've also heard that Forest Park, Indian Springs, and Southside are good areas.

Give me advice! Lots of it! And if anyone has a home up for rent that fits the bill for me, feel free to email me privately and let me know about it. We need it by Oct. 1!

Yikes! Thanks in advance for your help!

[fishmonger]

Tarrant, East Lake, and Norwood are all mostly poor, low-income areas with substansial crime... I think there are some nice areas of East Lake & Tarrant, and Norwood is being spruced up some, but there's a lot of blight in those places and the public schools have a bad reputation... the other choices don't sound bad.

[harry chickpea]

Frankly, I think you might be better off increasing your housing budget a little and accepting that it is a tradeoff to added fuel costs and less desirable neighborhoods. Home rentals are typically higher cost in the Birmingham area than you might expect. I rented my two bedroom home in Centerpoint for a number of years before selling it, and I was amazed at the prices charged. I was told by my agent that he had to charge a premium rate to keep out the renters who would trash the place and end up being a liability. It worked, and I don't regret his decision even though the house sat unrented for periods of time.

I don't normally suggest the Alabaster area because of past racial issues, but if you are willing to put up with an occasional encounter with someone with attitudes from the 1950s, it might be a little less expensive and less dangerous than some other areas. Your time frame is WAY to short for you to do much research and exploring. You might also consider duplexes in your search. There are some around, and they can provide many of the benefits of home rental at a lower cost.

My main advice though, is to contact a few of the local realtors and find out which ones are handling the bulk of the rental market. A personal visit to one of them, plus a willingness to undergo a credit check and background check, might open up some properties that aren't listed on the open market.

[clarekoz]

Thank you for the information. I had a feeling about those areas you mentioned, fishmonger. And I did also have a feeling I might have to go up a little in housing costs. Frankly, I don't mind some "backwards" attitudes in an area - I'd much rather deal with that than with higher crime or unsafe neighborhoods. It is important to me that we are able to walk to destinations, as I mentioned. Do you think Alabaster would be good for that? Or are there certain areas of Birmingham itself which would be good? I haven't heard anything about Irondale yet - what about it?

Tell me the truth - what is a good housing (rental) estimate for a four bedroom, with a decent yard for the kids, in a good neighborhood, within 30 minutes' drive time of Hoover?

(P.S. I'm not afraid of traffic at all; Omaha has 400,000 residents to Birmingham's 240,000 - and our "rush hour" here is nothing compared to Ann Arbor, where I'm originally from. Honestly, I think Omaha has better civil engineers than Ann Arbor, since the population here is much larger.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Threestep]

Walking will be an issue for you. Particularly in your given budget range.

[harry chickpea]

Irondale doesn't have much of a downtown. Development of the businesses is along the road paralleling I-20. That road is not pedestrian friendly. If you like railroads, there is a major yard in Irondale where you can see trains being marshalled and sent on their way. That is one of the major reasons I like going to the Irondale Cafe (The real Whistlestop Cafe from the movie Fried Green Tomatoes).

Alabaster has a downtown that is somewhat exposed to traffic, and there is a rail route nearby that can back up traffic from time to time, but the scale is such that walking is possible. Birmingham has sucked the life out of the downtowns in the surrounding small towns, which is why your requirements are as difficult to meet as they are.

Homewood comes the closest to the ambiance you want, but I think you ruled that out. There is an upscale area nearby called English Village, which might be worth drives to visit. As for what you should expect to pay, it wouldn't be helpful for me to suggest a particular amount. You would do much better to establish contact with some of the property managing realtors and lay out your needs. They should be able to guide you.

[urbups]

Talk to people who live in Norwood before making claims about "substantial crime". There is not "substantial crime" in Norwood. It's so quiet around here most times it's amazing.

Norwood resident of 4 years.

[Eeyore]

Walking is a problem in almost all areas of the greater B'ham area. We just dont walk here. We would just about take our car to visit our next door neighbor.

I live in Trussville and it has everything you want. Less than 30 minute drive to Hoover even tho it is on the opposite side of town. If you want to walk to stuff tho' you will need to live in the downtown area. Especially in "the projects". Sounds bad, but they are actually more expensive because they are "historical". They are beautiful and often very quaint. If you were to be able to afford a home in this area it would be alot like living a Norman Rockwell kind of life. lol And still be with 20 mins or so of everything in Bham.

I strongly advise you not to move to the East Lake area.

Homewood is nice and has everything. But you would likewise have to live very close to the downtown area to be able to walk. I dunno where the Library is there.

Let us know.
eeyore

[fishmonger]

Originally Posted by urbups

Talk to people who live in Norwood before making claims about "substantial crime". There is not "substantial crime" in Norwood. It's so quiet around here most times it's amazing.

Norwood resident of 4 years.

Okay, I lose and am ignorant.

[clarekoz]

Norwood's all right, then. What about Hueytown or Bessemer? Also there seem to be a lot of large, inexpensive homes out in West Blocton - is that unreasonably far from Hoover (i.e. more than 30 minutes drive)?

Irondale has a rail yard, which my boys would love... Trussville has a decent everything it seems... Alabaster might be okay but a little backwards... Homewood would be good but probably too expensive...

This is great! Thank you - keep it coming!