North Avondale - nice on the prime streets or still too dangerous? (Cincinnati: 2014, house)

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

Actually, the taxes on a $400,000 house in NA are $10,023, rounded to the nearest dollar.

Totally wrong, yet again.

A $424,000 listing on Rose Hill Ave. (https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/C...ndale-OH-45229) pays $5,735:

[Investor001]

When I look on the property appraisers site the millage rate for NA, Hyde Park, Clifton, etc seem to be almost the exact same.

[Investor001]

So I made my first house hunting trips around the city in a long time. I've been back to Cincinnati off and on throughout the years but was not looking at areas critically for home buying. It's surprising how some areas seem the same and some look completely different.

Maybe because it's pretty drab and overcast right now but North Avondale on the prime streets I've been focused on and Grand Vista/Orchard area look pretty similar. I really like both streets, I just wonder with young kids if the nice streets are a big enough area for them to run around and play with friends at. I felt a little safer on Grand Vista but that could just be in my head. Gaslight Clifton is definitely a larger area of niceness that they could roam around in but I'm not sure if I'd let my kids run around unsupervised in any inner ring urban/suburban area until they are much older.

Reading Road around NA looks more run down than Montgomery Road. Some houses on Reading look completely abadoned. But both had some sketchy characters walking on the main roads.

The Xavier area looks improved from the last time I visited. It seems like they've added on to the campus and more shops/restaurants adjacent to campus. I did check out that Listerman area and it looks improved from before. I wonder how much further that campus can push out/spur development around it? It's not a huge campus compared to say UC. It'd be pretty hard for me to walk from NA to Xavier campus to enjoy the new coffee shops, etc there. Not because of distance but because it doesn't seem super safe to make that walk. Seems like car would be necessary in NA. Contrast that with Gaslight Clifton where I wouldn't be afraid to walk from Middleton to UC campus.

Wilson, I know you said that the homes in NA were built much better than Grand Vista but from my untrained eye it's hard to tell the difference. Definitely a few more mansions spread out in NA area but not every house is a mansion there. I love both streets where the nice homes are. Once you get on to the main roads around there I'm not as big a fan. Definitely not like Delta, Observatory and Erie in Hyde Park. Looks significantly rougher in NA and around PR.

Well, those are my first impressions... I'm going to look around more areas/make the trip around Clifton, Wyoming, East Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout, Oakley, Columbia Tusculum, Mariemont later today/this weekend.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Totally wrong, yet again.

A $424,000 listing on Rose Hill Ave. (https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/C...ndale-OH-45229) pays $5,735:

Please, Jacob, you just continue to step in it.

When the Auditor starts valuing real estate based on Sibcy Cline's listings, call me. In the meantime, any house that sells for $400,000 will be taxed exactly as I said. The house you posted is valued by the Auditor at $229k. If it sells for $424K the Auditor will get a copy of the DTE100, revalue the house to $424K and the taxes will be $10,624 per year. I hope you are not engaged in any aspect of the real estate business if you can't even understand how the taxes work.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Investor001

. . .

Wilson, I know you said that the homes in NA were built much better than Grand Vista but from my untrained eye it's hard to tell the difference. Definitely a few more mansions spread out in NA area but not every house is a mansion there. I love both streets where the nice homes are. Once you get on to the main roads around there I'm not as big a fan. Definitely not like Delta, Observatory and Erie in Hyde Park. Looks significantly rougher in NA and around PR.

Well, those are my first impressions... I'm going to look around more areas/make the trip around Clifton, Wyoming, East Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout, Oakley, Columbia Tusculum, Mariemont later today/this weekend.

Great observations! And very intuitive. As for the superiority of 1890's over 1930's, there are pluses and minuses. Many 1890's homes have artifacts that are expensive to repair and maintain. The Depression Era was much more conservative. You won't find much leaded glass or curved glass or mosaic marble flooring in a Depression house. But, the examples on GV are very nice. I live in a 1927 house, pre-Depression, but not ancient. Very substantial construction. Poured concrete basement and foundation instead of the typical stone found in 1890's era. My family home had stone foundation, but it was 3 feet thick and plenty secure, so I think you are looking at fine houses either way.

I know you don't need another sales pitch on HP, but years ago I lived in a little HP house (a "Sears" house that came on a truck if you can believe it) but on a great street not 300 yards from HP Square. Loved every minute of it because of the neighborhood. And, when the time came, I upgraded the house and stayed in the neighborhood. Just sayin.

[SalamanderSmile]

Originally Posted by Investor001

Well, those are my first impressions... I'm going to look around more areas/make the trip around Clifton, Wyoming, East Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout, Oakley, Columbia Tusculum, Mariemont later today/this weekend.

I will be interested to see where you choose. Everybody wants a beautiful mansion for $2 but as you house shop you may be surprised what you will choose to sacrifice to live in a place that offers the lifestyle and experience you want for your kids. We downsized significantly from our Boston house to live in Mariemont (and still have disposable income). But we too toured multiple NA mansions that we ended up talking ourselves out of. Our little spur street is perfect for us and has at least fifteen elementary playmates within five houses in any direction.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by Investor001

Well, those are my first impressions... I'm going to look around more areas/make the trip around Clifton, Wyoming, East Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout, Oakley, Columbia Tusculum, Mariemont later today/this weekend.

In view of this, is it safe to assume that the time to drive from the house to the workplace in the hospital district (15 minutes or less) is no longer a necessary criteria? If so, it considerably weakens any reason to move to North Avondale, other than to purchase a particular home.

[Investor001]

Originally Posted by motorman

In view of this, is it safe to assume that the time to drive from the house to the workplace in the hospital district (15 minutes or less) is no longer a necessary criteria? If so, it considerably weakens any reason to move to North Avondale, other than to purchase a particular home.

I'm checking out the further away areas to rule them out. I'm not interested in driving more than 15 minutes to work but I also do not want to regret it if I never looked there. A $400k+ home is a big expense and I want to vet everything thoroughly.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

Please, Jacob, you just continue to step in it.

When the Auditor starts valuing real estate based on Sibcy Cline's listings, call me. In the meantime, any house that sells for $400,000 will be taxed exactly as I said. The house you posted is valued by the Auditor at $229k. If it sells for $424K the Auditor will get a copy of the DTE100, revalue the house to $424K and the taxes will be $10,624 per year. I hope you are not engaged in any aspect of the real estate business if you can't even understand how the taxes work.

You are wrong yet again. The auditor consistently under-values properties relative to their sale price, often 20-50% or even more than 50%. The appraisal and precise calculation of the sum to be taxed is very complicated, but the bottom line is that property taxes are pretty damn reasonable in the city.

Here's just one example of an auditor's valuation more than $100k less than the sale price:
http://wedge1.hcauditor.org/view/re/...0/2016/summary

It's also important to note that the total collection of Cincinnati's property tax is limited to $29 million. Each year the city adjusts its millage in order to collect that exact amount. So if this practice continues after properties are reappraised in 2020, the city's millage will continue to decline.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

Please, Jacob, you just continue to step in it.

When the Auditor starts valuing real estate based on Sibcy Cline's listings, call me. In the meantime, any house that sells for $400,000 will be taxed exactly as I said. The house you posted is valued by the Auditor at $229k. If it sells for $424K the Auditor will get a copy of the DTE100, revalue the house to $424K and the taxes will be $10,624 per year. I hope you are not engaged in any aspect of the real estate business if you can't even understand how the taxes work.

I'd say Jacob has never purchased or owned a house, at least not in Hamilton County, or he couldn't be exhibiting this level of confusion even if he tried about how the auditor's site and the reassessment process related to a property sale works. It doesn't, of course, make him unqualified to have opinions about neighborhoods and the like, it's just worth making note of in terms of issues about the factors that go into a decision to purchase a given property. I know from experience, it's an entire different mindset when you can just pick up and move when your lease is up.