Home buying in Cincinnati-neighborhood suggestions? (Fairfield, Mason: house, theater, public schools)

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by AeroGuyDC

A few observations from my 3 years in Cincinnati:
. . . .

In my opinion, i'm not sure that anyone who suggests Hyde Park and/or Mt. Lookout as an option totally has a grasp on what diversity really is. Those areas are among the most buttoned-up, starchy white, expensive areas Cincinnati has to offer.

Well, it helps to actually respond to what my comment was. Here it is again, maybe this will help:

If you are looking for the absence of discrimination, come to Mt. Lookout. We don't discriminate here against anyone. But if you want obvious minority role models, and a substantial white population, then you have your work cut out for you.

[Hartwell Girl]

After seaching the sibcy cline web site for homes under 90k in Mt Lookout, Hyde Park and Oakley...wow, not much of a selection. Unless you want to live in a 1 bedroom box. Come on, how about giving the OP some suggestions on where to find a good home in her value instead of sticking to big name neighborhoods only a hand full of people can afford to live in. There are many great neighborhoods in this city with more bang for your buck in value when it comes to housing stock.

[Beckyfx]

Yea, I noticed the small selection when I checked into those areas after getting responses the other day myself, Hartwell Girl..I was hoping some stuff might turn up in those areas to at least have them as an option, but the more I've been looking they do seem more out of our price range :/ I'm still gonna keep checking back though just in case! Sibcycline.com will probably be my best friend for the forseeable future. We have at least a few months before our lease is up in our apartment, and we can always renew if we don't see anything we like (although it would be nice to be able to take advantage of the first time home buyer's tax credit). I've been (occasionally) getting on Sibcy Cline for a few years now (long before we were ready to have a house!) just for fun (sad, I know lol) and there were always houses on there that I really liked and now that we are about ready to buy I'm just not seeing many that I like a ton..although I know seeing the house in person normally does a house more justice than the little pictures online so we'll just have to pick some that look like something we might like in person and at least give them a look in person and get a feel for the neighborhood and stuff. Thanks again everyone for your time and suggestions, I really do appreciate it!

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Beckyfx

Yea, I noticed the small selection when I checked into those areas after getting responses the other day myself, Hartwell Girl..I was hoping some stuff might turn up in those areas to at least have them as an option, but the more I've been looking they do seem more out of our price range :/ I'm still gonna keep checking back though just in case! Sibcycline.com will probably be my best friend for the forseeable future. We have at least a few months before our lease is up in our apartment, and we can always renew if we don't see anything we like (although it would be nice to be able to take advantage of the first time home buyer's tax credit). I've been (occasionally) getting on Sibcy Cline for a few years now (long before we were ready to have a house!) just for fun (sad, I know lol) and there were always houses on there that I really liked and now that we are about ready to buy I'm just not seeing many that I like a ton..although I know seeing the house in person normally does a house more justice than the little pictures online so we'll just have to pick some that look like something we might like in person and at least give them a look in person and get a feel for the neighborhood and stuff. Thanks again everyone for your time and suggestions, I really do appreciate it!

Becky, in this market, you can't take the listing prices too seriously. There are deep discounts to be had on existing homes because many people do not have the luxury of waiting out a return to the sellers' market in which many of these prices were conceived. Try to find what you want and then work on the price. And, you want to live in a nice neighborhood, so maybe your budget needs to be adjusted a little.

[Ohiogirl81]

Becky, for your price range try Madison Place, a small neighborhood in both Cincinnati and Columbia Township on the east side. The homes there are small -- typically a 3-bedroom, 1 bath, 1.5 story Cape Cod. The homes are mostly owner-occupied. It's a working-class, mixed and friendly area, about a 20-minute car ride or a 35-minute bus ride into downtownm, and within walking distance of Mariemont Square.

It's in the Cincinnati school district, but many of the parents send their kids to a couple of private schools in the area.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Becky, for your price range try Madison Place, a small neighborhood in both Cincinnati and Columbia Township on the east side. The homes there are small -- typically a 3-bedroom, 1 bath, 1.5 story Cape Cod. The homes are mostly owner-occupied. It's a working-class, mixed and friendly area, about a 20-minute car ride or a 35-minute bus ride into downtownm, and within walking distance of Mariemont Square.

It's in the Cincinnati school district, but many of the parents send their kids to a couple of private schools in the area.

I would add Fairfax to that suggestion. And, I believe that Fairfax feeds into the Mariemont School system, one of the best, which would save private school tuition.

[Joe 4520832257]

Originally Posted by Hartwell Girl

After seaching the sibcy cline web site for homes under 90k in Mt Lookout, Hyde Park and Oakley...wow, not much of a selection. Unless you want to live in a 1 bedroom box. Come on, how about giving the OP some suggestions on where to find a good home in her value instead of sticking to big name neighborhoods only a hand full of people can afford to live in.

I agree, HP/Oakley/MtLookout don't make sense in this scenario. But I think people are suggesting them because the OP didn't include her rather low price range in her first post, so it's easy to skim over the details.

[Hartwell Girl]

Originally Posted by Beckyfx

Yea, I noticed the small selection when I checked into those areas after getting responses the other day myself, Hartwell Girl..I was hoping some stuff might turn up in those areas to at least have them as an option, but the more I've been looking they do seem more out of our price range :/ I'm still gonna keep checking back though just in case! Sibcycline.com will probably be my best friend for the forseeable future. We have at least a few months before our lease is up in our apartment, and we can always renew if we don't see anything we like (although it would be nice to be able to take advantage of the first time home buyer's tax credit). I've been (occasionally) getting on Sibcy Cline for a few years now (long before we were ready to have a house!) just for fun (sad, I know lol) and there were always houses on there that I really liked and now that we are about ready to buy I'm just not seeing many that I like a ton..although I know seeing the house in person normally does a house more justice than the little pictures online so we'll just have to pick some that look like something we might like in person and at least give them a look in person and get a feel for the neighborhood and stuff. Thanks again everyone for your time and suggestions, I really do appreciate it!

Doing your homework is not sad....its wonderful. Being familiar with how long a home is on the market gives you better leverage when making an offer. I think you know your own comfort zone with a mortgage payment and doing your homework will find you the best fit for your budget. Last thing you want to do it get into a home in the top of your price range and end up hating it because the payment is a struggle each month. Good luck to you, sounds like your homework is going to pay off!

[wolden]

You also have to consider which "direction" a neighborhood is going. In other words, will you be under water and have immediately lost your equity within 3 months of purchase? The question is, what will happen to various Cincinnati neighborhood real estate values if the current downturn gets worse. You can find houses in Clifton for around 100k, and those neighborhoods could be considered "diverse". However, you might have real trouble selling your house in 5-10 years depending on what happens to the neighborhood over time. Therefore I recommend really thoroughly getting to know these neighborhoods. One way to do that is to rent for a while before you buy a house. Nice thing about renting is there is no need to try to sell your house if/when its value drops.

[HuskerDu]

The eastern portion of Norwood, near (as in walking distance to) Rookwood Commons/Pavillion, is much less expensive than Oakley or Hyde Park while being located in the same general area. It would be a good place to explore.