Where to rent a house if I work in Fairfield? (Cincinnati: for sale, real estate)

[theglassman]

Hello.

I have just been offered a position in a Fairfield Ohio firm. I will be trying to sell my house in another state before the move, but if not, I will need to rent a 3 bedroom home in a nice quiet area that is not more than 30 minutes from my work site.
My wife and I are expecting our first, so we are looking for a nice but not too expensive area.
Any help would be appreciated, as we are new to Ohio as well as the Cincinnati area.

S.G.

[Bigbluelandrover]

Fairfield, WestChester.

[wilson1010]

Not many people really want to rent a single family residence because you can't make any money on them and you have a bunch of money tied up. Also, the real estate agent only makes a few hundred on a one year lease so they have no incentive to offer rental when they get a listing. So, you won't find many really nice houses for rent.

That doesn't mean that there are not a lot of owners who will rent as opposed to having a vacant house where they have to carry the mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. So if you look at houses for sale, concentrate on the vacant ones and then offer to rent, you might find one. And, if you structure the rent as a land contract with no liability for turning the house back, other then the seller keeps the rents, you can get a tax deduction for the interest (rental payment). I have no idea why more people don't do this.

[aquila]

Originally Posted by theglassman

Hello.

I have just been offered a position in a Fairfield Ohio firm. I will be trying to sell my house in another state before the move, but if not, I will need to rent a 3 bedroom home in a nice quiet area that is not more than 30 minutes from my work site.
My wife and I are expecting our first, so we are looking for a nice but not too expensive area.
Any help would be appreciated, as we are new to Ohio as well as the Cincinnati area.

S.G.

I have to echo Wilson a bit. You really didn't say how long you plan on staying in the home, and I kinda doubt anyone is going to want to rent a house if they don't think you're going to be staying there a long time - precisely because they don't make a lot of money doing that, and it wouldn't be worth their time to rent it for a short stay, only to potentially see it empty again. Nevertheless, there ARE homes out there for rent. My mom and step-dad rented a house for about a year or so until they bought their current place. It was a small 3BR ranch in Sanders...which is a neighborhood in West Hamilton. If you want, I could contact her and get the landlord's name/number so you could see if he has any other homes for rent, but last I heard he was really trying to sell the house they were living in.

But truthfully, I think you'd probably be much better off renting a townhouse or large apartment until you find another house to buy in this area. And there are some great communities that offer 3 BR apts. close to Fairfield. One I would highly recommend is Northwest Woods in Forest Park. I've seen those places inside, and they are incredibly nice. Forest Park is on the southern border of Fairfield, and easily within 30 minutes.

In West Chester...which is on Fairfield's eastern border...you have some great apartment/townhome communities as well. Let me know if you want more info on them.

[Joe 4520832257]

Could you provide some more info about what kind of neighborhood you prefer and your price range? Since "nice and inexpensive" are so relative, it could lead to bad suggestions.

I think Wyoming is the nicest neighborhood within a guaranteed 30 minute drive. It's a traditional neighborhood with beautiful historic homes.

Westchester is your typical "anyplace USA" suburb. New construction subdivisions, national chain stores. It might be a good place to start, since no matter where you are from, it will at least feel somewhat familiar.

Depending on how close to I275 your job is, a lot of the nice Eastern suburbs are in your 30 minute commute range. You'd just want to make sure that your home had decent fast access to I71 or I275. But places like Blue Ash, Montgomery (and even parts of Mason) are theoretically in your commute range.

Now, all these neighborhoods (except Wyoming) are rather suburban. They're all expensive for Cincy, but affordable by national standards. But those would be my bet's for "nicest" near Fairfield. And in this market, you can probably find a seller desperate enough to rent regardless of the neighborhood. So you're in luck there.

[lydunn]

Northwest Woods in Forest Park has been trashy in fact all of Forest Park has turned into a Lincoln Heights. I live in Fairfield it's a nice area I would recommend this area. Village of wildwood is a nice apt community. I can't think of the name of the townhouses in Springdale behind Hooters anyone know the name. You may try to see if a private owner will allow you to rent for a short time...especially if you explain your situation...Also I know people who live in Timber Hollow in Fairfield and they seem to like it. Good luck and Welcome to Ohio.

[aquila]

Liberty Township is also another option to look at. Much like West Chester, it's a very nice suburban area. Like the above poster said, it all depends on what you mean by "nice and inexpensive".

[aquila]

Originally Posted by lydunn

Northwest Woods in Forest Park has been trashy in fact all of Forest Park has turned into a Lincoln Heights. I live in Fairfield it's a nice area I would recommend this area. Village of wildwood is a nice apt community. I can't think of the name of the townhouses in Springdale behind Hooters anyone know the name. You may try to see if a private owner will allow you to rent for a short time...especially if you explain your situation...Also I know people who live in Timber Hollow in Fairfield and they seem to like it. Good luck and Welcome to Ohio.

I honestly mean no disrespect, but I would NOT recommend Timber Hollow. I lived there, and TRUST me....it's not an experience I would recommend for newcomers.

As for Northwest Woods, I highly disagree with your assessment of the community.

[theglassman]

Thank you!!

I have great deal to digest here as many of the names you gave me mean nothing...but I will be in the area this weekend so my wife and I can check out some of the areas you mentioned.

Since you were so helpful, let me be a little more specific. The house that I am selling, due to the downturn will only yield about $230,000.
Should it sell, what areas in or within 30 minutes from Fairfield can I go to to look for a 3 - 4 bedroom house for about this much money...or am I on a fools errand?
As my wife is pregnant, good schools, and a safe and quiet community are important to me.

Thanks again for your help.

S.G.

[aquila]

Originally Posted by theglassman

Thank you!!

I have great deal to digest here as many of the names you gave me mean nothing...but I will be in the area this weekend so my wife and I can check out some of the areas you mentioned.

Since you were so helpful, let me be a little more specific. The house that I am selling, due to the downturn will only yield about $230,000.
Should it sell, what areas in or within 30 minutes from Fairfield can I go to to look for a 3 - 4 bedroom house for about this much money...or am I on a fools errand?
As my wife is pregnant, good schools, and a safe and quiet community are important to me.

Thanks again for your help.

S.G.

I'm sorry we've been tossing names out there that you aren't familiar with. Please feel free to ask for any clarification.

This all really depends on whether you want urban, suburban, or country...although I will say the best school districts within 30-minutes of Fairfield would primarily be Lakota (West Chester and Liberty in Butler County along I-75), Kings (Mason in Warren County along I-71), and Sycamore (Montgomery and Blue Ash in Hamilton County along I-71 and I-275).

Given the recent drop in housing prices around the area, for the amount of money you're wanting to spend you'd easily be able to find what you're looking for in certain areas of West Chester, Liberty, and Montgomery. Mason might be pushing it a bit, but I'm not sure.

All areas I've mentioned are very good and safe areas...very suburban, very clean, very safe...lots of families.

I'd throw Oxford into that also, because it's a really cool area with a good school district - Talawanda. But it's not really "suburban" so much as it's a small town with a huge college...Miami University. You'd have a mix of families as well as singles. The thing is, not only would you be pushing it with respect to a 30-minute drive to Fairfield, but the prices are a tad higher up there. However, it's a very pretty area with a great state park nearby. For a small town, it's very active and alive.