Moving to Cinci. Any great areas (Cincinnati, Hamilton: short sales, real estate, foreclosures)

[meimei:)]

I found a job in Cinci and we are relocating. My job will be in downtown Cinci. Any suggestions on where to live? I'm looking for a house that would be around 150k. I'm hoping to find a safe neighborhood that is 25-15 minutes drive from work. ( I won't complain if my drive is less than that either) People have told me that northern KY could be an option. What are some areas I should be looking for?

[Briolat21]

What size of house? New, old? What size yard? Okay with kids in public schools, or planning on private?

there are plenty of nice neighborhoods in Cincinnati that are pretty safe. That said, most of the people on these boards are in favor of the suburbs (in general). You will get more yard in the suburbs, but depending on where downtown you are working, may have a slightly longer commute.

the one thing I would watch regarding N. KY - is that you must take a bridge into/out of Cinci. Fine, I know ... but seriously when it backs up/stops. You are STOPPED. I could not drive it daily, I would be ANGRY.

$150K is okay, especially as now is a buyer's market. However those are going to be smaller (under 2000K) sq feet.

In cinci I would look at Northside, Pleasant Ridge, Norwood .. to start. In that price range you should still have some options.

Oakley, Hyde Park, Mt. Lookout, Columbia-Tusculum are awesome (and generally highly rated on this board), but for $150K it will be a struggle. Maybe you'll find something in Oakley.

Suburban, you've got wider options, but again, most of the suburbs that are super highly thought of on these boards (Montgomery, Glendale, WestChester, Mason) have mainly moved past the $150K mark, so you might be looking at fixer uppers or foreclosures.

That said - it IS a buyer's market, and foreclosures /short sales are every more prevalent.

Good luck!

[cincyUK]

There is better real estate value in NKY and the bridge commute is NOT that bad. Take if from someone who has done it. In fact it is way closer than any of the places mentioned by Brio. I would certainly not live in Montgomery, Glendale, WestChester, Mason or areas out there... its more like rural OHIO than cincinnati.

[Pathwalker]

Originally Posted by cincyUK

There is better real estate value in NKY and the bridge commute is NOT that bad. Take if from someone who has done it. In fact it is way closer than any of the places mentioned by Brio. I would certainly not live in Montgomery, Glendale, WestChester, Mason or areas out there... its more like rural OHIO than cincinnati.

Let's be serious - that's a bit of an exaggeration. Those areas are NOT like rural Ohio. Have you been to those communities lately? Yes, you will still see some farmland in Mason and West Chester, but it's far from what I would consider rural. I should know - I live in WC, and the traffic along SR 747 and Union Centre Blvd tells me so all the time.

Let's not forget, there is a WHOLE western part of Cincinnati that we keep neglecting to mention to people. Granted, Price Hill and parts of Westwood aren't the safest, but get out west of Glenway, and west of Pedretti Avenue, and there are GREAT neighborhoods out there! And they would be a lot cheaper than other areas in the east or north.

meimei - honestly, the best bets for finding a home in the price range you specified, in conjunction with the commute time you're looking for, would be in the areas Briolat21 mentioned. Out of those areas, I would suggest checking out Oakley or Northside. Or maybe Fort Thomas in Kentucky. You COULD conceivably find a place in the western areas, such as Delhi or Western Hills, but you'd be pressing it as far as your commute is concerned. There are no direct highways that cut through those areas - and it's all hilly, curvy terrain to get to downtown from there.

Most other areas that would afford you the commute you seek would either be out of your price range, or in high-crime areas.

Best of luck to you!

[back2cincy]

I personally agree with Oakley, Norwood, and the Delhi areas. I really cant say the same for Northside. I grew up there and still have a sister and Sister in Law living there. If you do move to Northside live west of Hamilton ave or the northside (up the hill). East of Hamilton is very dangerous even in the day time. Thw west side has faired better in recent yrs as the homosexual community has done a great job in preserving and repairing these great buildings.

[Briolat21]

back2Cincy ... I'm living in Northside right now, yep - East of Hamilton (but really close to Hamilton).. I would say it is definitely the more questionable area of Northside. However, I have seen homes on the market in Northside in her price range in the really nice parts of Northside, so I would hope of course that she would look at the area before buying.

That said, I haven't felt unsafe where I'm living, but I personally wouldn't buy on the streets near where I'm at right now.. (I live with family right now, while my husband sells our house in MI and we relocate permanently to Cinci) I would definitely want to buy on the West side of Hamilton, as you suggest.

Pleasant Ridge seems pretty nice and has some affordable homes. I've not heard much bad about it and have driven around it quite a bit.

Norwood has some affordable homes and is very close to Oakley. Additionally Norwood seems to have a very good police presence. I would stay on the Oakley side of Norwood, as while I personally think safety is about the same in all of Norwood, it is the neighborhood right next to Oakley that has the nicest looking streets/homes/yards, etc.. That's where the property appreciation (if any) will be. Streets like Floral, Forest, etc..

Oakley is super cute, and seemingly very safe. Some people from work (in WestChester) commute to Oakley to live. But it can definitely be pricier.

I don't know much about Delhi (it was too far out to be on my commute list to WestChester).. so I'll bow to the wisdom of my board compatriots.

N. Ky is super cute (MainStrasse and the like), but I wouldn't want to auto-commute over the bridge, just my annoyance with getting stopped. Pedestrian commuting over the people bridge might be okay (or riding a bike).

Good Luck!

[RockyMtnr]

I would be a bit remiss if I didn't kick in my 2 cents.
I said it nearly 40 years ago when I lived in Cincy ... I said it 13 months ago when I lived in Cincy ... the only great place to live in Cincy is Newport Kentucky. If the bridge traffic stops ... who cares? Well, coming into town, anyway. Going home, it could add two hours to your 15 minute commute. Out in the burbs, take a look at Landen and/or Maineville. Smaller, homey, still tied to U.S. Rte #22 (Montgomery Road) to get you in. A bunch of new housing "Projects" slightly higher than your stated range - but loads of older "cottage-style" homes with decent yards - and near the interstates.
The "crush" actually extends outward from Cincy about 35 miles in all directions these days. I used to live in downtown Cincy - you don't want that anymore unless you can afford Mt. Adams. I used to live on Price Hill - don't want that anymore either - turned from "Austriatown" into L.A. I used to live in Clifton - dang, they tore most of it out! (College area). I lived in Sharonville, West Chester and way out above Morrow.
None of it seems very appealing any more - city-sprawl seems to turn everything "generic".
Good luck in your search.

[Pathwalker]

Originally Posted by Briolat21

Oakley is super cute, and seemingly very safe. Some people from work (in WestChester) commute to Oakley to live. But it can definitely be pricier.

Oakley does seem to be getting a bit more expensive. I used to live in an old townhouse a couple of streets east of Madison Road - it had belonged to my grandmother, and then later my uncle. When he sold it, he got about $40,000 for it, and that was around 1998. The house needed a lot of remodeling done on the inside. This past Spring, I was curious about how things had changed with it, so I went to have a look at it. It was on the market, and had been totally gutted on the inside. Completely new kitchen, which had been relocated to the upper floor. The bathroom had been totally reconfigured, with a new shower installed. Brand new doors were put in, as well as central air. A huge deck was built on the back, too. When I got home, I looked it up on the realtor's website and it was going for about $110,000!! I was floored! In that neighborhood, that was quite a substantial hike in value. So I imagine if they start doing a lot more of that all around Oakley, the place will become a lot more expensive than what it used to be.

Originally Posted by Briolat21

I don't know much about Delhi (it was too far out to be on my commute list to WestChester).. so I'll bow to the wisdom of my board compatriots.

Delhi's primary downfall is that it lacks a major direct route to downtown. There is virtually no traffic flow to bring new residents or businesses to that part of the county, because you have to cut up through Price Hill or Western Hills to get to it, and that involves a series of turns and hilly terrain. Either that or you have to head out River Road (US 50) and cut up Delhi Avenue, and there's only so much that can be done along there without blasting out whole hillsides.

So in some ways, that's okay if you don't like a lot of change taking place in your neighborhood. But it's also why the area is going down the tubes commercially, and has become rather stagnant.

[cincylifer]

CINCY UK,

Surely you jest??????? Rural indeed! I have to agree with WCRob, I live in Montgomery, and there is NOTHING rural about it...Now there are still some rural areas of West Chester, but Wyoming, Montgomery, and the likes are not rural. If you want a commute less than 25 minutes, I would not recommend Mason or West Chester.

[cincyUK]

I guess by rural I meant "flat as a pancake"... I think about Cincy as starting really where the hills start (if you happened to be heading south on 75). Some might call that narrow minded I guess... hell this muddy river and these hills are my life though.