Moving towards Cincinnati this summer (Dayton, Springfield: for sale, real estate, condos)

[ccardoza65]

Hello all, I had some questions and wondering if anyone is able to help out.
My fiancee is going to be starting work in Feb at UC Medical Center in the ICU and then hopefully starting UC's CNRA program. We both live in Dayton and since I'll be graduating with my RN in May, we figured it would be for the best for him to commute between Dayton and Cincy for now until I am done. He just received an inheritance from a family member passing and we were talking about possibly trying to buy a house. We are both in our 20s and do not have children and this would be our first house together. Anybody know of any excellent real estate agents and areas to look for to live? I believe we would prefer to stay in between Dayton and Cincinnati, or a little more towards Cincinnati... Preferably 30 minutes or less for commute to UCMC.

I've looked into these areas: Deer Park, Forest Park, West Chester, Sharonville, Mason, Loveland, Springfield Township, Hamilton and Hamilton Township, Fairfield, Deer Field Township, and Goshen Township. I've also been trying to research a realtor named Derek Tye and his ReMax group. I found a lovely home for sale in Springfield Township that looks fitting for us. I believe our budget for a house would be about 100,000 to 140,000 for a single family home, preferably a 3 bedroom and at least 1.5 baths. I would love a finished full basement and I'm not too picky with size just as long as there is big backyard so we could hold our wedding ceremony/reception for 100+ people. I would prefer this to be in a safe, low crime area and maybe a good school district for once we have children. I was also wondering if there was an advantage over living in a township, since I have overheard some people talking about it.

[goyguy]

Springfield Township overlaps several communities, and while most of its neighborhoods are quite pleasant a few areas are in fairly sharp decline. A goodly portion of the township is served by the Finneytown school district, long considered an acceptable alternative to that of the more expensive (and socially "stuck-up") Wyoming and proud of its drama and soccer programs but lately having problems of its own. Part of it falls within the Mt Healthy schools, never quite as high-ranked and also undergoing challenges. The remaining, eastern and northeastern, sections are respectively considered part of the Cincinnati and Winton Woods districts. Valleydale (aka "Springfield Township East" on realtors' sites) is an easy walk from CPS' Hartwell Elementary, which is now one of only eight schools in the city to have attained an "excellent" rating. Although the houses are on fairly small lots, there's an excellent and relatively inexpensive function facility with the unlikely name of Centennial Barn located "right there." (To me it seems that having the size of a yard be based on a single day's festivities - which are dependent on the weather at that - is, um, short-sighted.)

Honestly, the price point is also on the low side for most suburbs. But there are a few very nice houses in Hartwell itself, appealingly remodeled by investors looking to "flip," which are on the affordable side. These days, though, properties thereabouts are generally turning over fast so "s/he who hesitates is lost."

I'm also a fan of Deer Park and its neighboring 'burbs Silverton and Reading, all unpretentious communities with schools that are good but not "pressure cooker" and safe streets and convenient necessity shopping. The main trade-off would be that most of the housing stock is post-WWII split-levels, Cape Cods, and ranch homes which may be well constructed but are decidedly unfashionable.

Due to C-D restrictions we're constrained in terms of recommending realtors and agencies, but I'll send the link to this thread to an agent friend who posts here from time to time.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by ccardoza65

I was also wondering if there was an advantage over living in a township, since I have overheard some people talking about it.

Since your fiancee will be working in the city, there's really no economic advantage to living in a township over an incorporated village or city.

What you probably heard people talking about was that if you live and work in a township you don't pay local income taxes -- even if you live in one township and work in another -- because Ohio townships cannot levy income taxes. Township residents do, however, pay plenty in property taxes to fund services such as police, fire, etc.

Just to illustrate a point, I lived in Cincinnati and my next-door neighbor lived over the line in Columbia Township (this was handy because our trash days were different - if we missed our own pickup, we could just wheel our cans over to each others' curbs). We both worked in Cincinnati, both paid the same Cincinnati income tax, and both paid the same county and school property taxes. But his municipal property tax to Columbia Township was a little over twice what I paid to Cincinnati.

If he had worked in a township, he'd pay no income taxes. But if I'd worked in a township, I'd still be required to pay 2.1 percent to Cincinnati.

[kjbrill]

Ohiogirl81 ... Very good post on the subject of taxes and dead on. No advantage to a township unless you both live and work in a township. Even then the township property tax rates to provide services may wipe out any advantage to no city income tax.

OP ... Your price point for a home purchase will limit your areas to select from.

Deer Park, while most of the property is quite old, is generally considered to be holding its own. This is probably due to location, Amberley Village on one side and Blue Ash on the other, two very stable communities. Silverton to the south has been experiencing difficulty with its business district, but the community itself is doing well.

Search Sharonville thoroughly. Should have a variety of prices and is a good commute distance to UCMC.

[KMiller84]

I second Deer Park. It is a quiet area and houses are modest but they will be within your price range. Deer Park is also close to a lot of shopping and I-71.

[lydunn]

What Monroe/Lebanon area or Trenton their both off of 1-75 or even Fairfield township...just a couple of suggestions..Springfield Township and Forest Park taxes are very HIGH.....I would move to Butler County

[kjbrill]

Absolutely no sense in Lebanon/Monroe with working at UCMC, just burning money in commute cost. Now if you can find something in southern Butler Co. nearer I-275 would be more reasonable. But I still say Deer Park or Silverton.

[flash3780]

Have you considered living in Cincinnati proper? You'lll save a ton on the commute, and there are plenty of great houses available for under $140k. You might have a look at Pleasant Ridge, Oakley, Hyde Park, Mt Lookout or Clifton. There are places with great views of the city in Mt Auburn that may interest you (Milton St, Boal St, etc.). If you're adventurous, you may consider Northside, which is currently undergoing something of a gentrification and has a great art/restaurant/bar scene. Downtown has also been built up quite a lot in recent years... there are cool condos on Vine St in OTR which are within walking distance of some of the best restaurants and bars in the city... lots of young professionals live there.

There are also tons of great benefits to living within the city... you're closer to tons of great parks, community centers, museums, ballgames, and great restaurants downtown. If you're buying a house, it's also great to be central in the metro area, in case you need to change jobs or something.

Good luck on your hunt!

Oh, and since you mentioned getting married and are considering venues, check out this thread about wedding venues in the area:
https://www.city-data.com/forum/cinci...ng-venues.html

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by flash3780

Have you considered living in Cincinnati proper? You'lll save a ton on the commute, and there are plenty of great houses available for under $140k. You might have a look at Pleasant Ridge, Oakley, Hyde Park, Mt Lookout or Clifton. There are places with great views of the city in Mt Auburn that may interest you (Milton St, Boal St, etc.). If you're adventurous, you may consider Northside, which is currently undergoing something of a gentrification and has a great art/restaurant/bar scene. Downtown has also been built up quite a lot in recent years... there are cool condos on Vine St in OTR which are within walking distance of some of the best restaurants and bars in the city... lots of young professionals live there.

There are also tons of great benefits to living within the city... you're closer to tons of great parks, community centers, museums, ballgames, and great restaurants downtown. If you're buying a house, it's also great to be central in the metro area, in case you need to change jobs or something.

Good luck on your hunt!

Oh, and since you mentioned getting married and are considering venues, check out this thread about wedding venues in the area:
https://www.city-data.com/forum/cinci...ng-venues.html

I will differ with you on these plenty of great houses under $140K. Sure there are plenty of houses under $140K, but just how great are they? A young couple just starting out must avoid major mistakes. Since they are not building professionals, they must follow the advice of people in the field. I am not in the field, but this much I know, if you want to survive in Cincinnati and not get burnt, particularly if you would rather have that property nearer the $100K level than $140K, direct your attention to Deer Park.

[American Luxury]

I noticed pretty much all of the places you looked at are east of I-75. Why not try looking on the westside? You'll be more likely to find a house that you like in your price range. Green Township, Miami Township, Miami Heights, and Bridgetown are really good places to live. I live in Miami Heights, very quiet area with low crime. The same came be said to a lesser extent in the other areas I mentioned. Three Rivers School district has a good system and they just built a new K-12 school. Oak Hills School district is pretty good as well.