City vesus Suburbs (Cincinnati, Lebanon, Reading: middle-class, section 8, foreclosure)

[kjbrill]

Reading through the various forums contained herein, I can see there is a distinctive difference between those who advocate living within the City of Cincinnati versus those who prefer the suburbs. I expect this is true of most larger cities.

I am not going to proclaim one is preferable to the other. But in Cincinnati we seem to have another unique situation - Eastsider vs. Westsider, why I have no idea.

I have an appreciation for those who advocate buy in the City, these houses were constructed during the era when craftmanship prevailed. But then I consider the negatives:

• Beware of the plumbing, it is ancient and needs to be replaced.
• The electrical, forget it, plug in your new Microwave and it will blow the circuit.
• Kitchens and bathrooms - just gut them and start over.

When I look at the current costs of remodeling, I go WOW! You not only have to pay for the replacement, but the cost of removing the old, plus any patching, repair required.

Waitrng for you rebuttals.

[austiNati]

Nice topic

Are there any tax incentives in the city for remodeling older/derelict properties?

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by austiNati

Nice topic

Are there any tax incentives in the city for remodeling older/derelict properties?

Ah snap! austinati coming in with the common sense.

My house ...

Built: 1875
Earthquakes: Survived
Tornados: Survived
Plumbing: Awesome
Electrical: Awesome

There are so many lawsuits against your new homebuilders today, that it's embarrassing to even create this thread. A lot of it is crap, plain and simple.

[Ohiogirl81]

Meh. I've said in other threads I wouldn't live in a house built after 1960.

Your caveat likely applies only in the most extreme of situations. My house in Madison Place was built in 1926(ish), and is probably typical of homes its age: Most of the mechanics, wiring and plumbing had been replaced at least twice already, in some instances three or four times over.

Sure, very little about the house was brand spanking new, but that wasn't what I was looking for. It was solidly built, and everything worked flawlessly. Can't say that about new homes.

[Hartwell Girl]

My house was built in 1890....was a 2 family rental of a slum lord for over 40 years. Solid as a rock.

Tell me what house doesnt need repairs and updates? Kitchens & baths get gutted and remodeled ALL the time, that is why they are the most expensive jobs but ALSO give you the most back in the value of your home. My husband is an electrician...he does more work in newer homes than older ones-the horror stories he tells. And aluminum wiring, good luck with that.

[Cincy-Rise]

^ Good points, ladies.

It is seriously out of control.

You have two completely mindsets, business models, price-points that make the gap very-very large ... And we happen to live in an area where the craftsmanship was EXTREMELY spectacular. Cincinnati has a plethora of solid homes still standing today that put any new home to shame, even after a century of use.

There are details on a lot of older homes that would be unspeakable to address in a new home, it simply wouldn't make sense cost-wise. Hell, my bedroom door is about 3 inches thick and 7 feet tall and weighs about 80 pounds and solid wood. What'd you think Lowes would charge for something similar?

Our older homes is like going into Home Depot and saying I want the best of this, this, this, and this ... and that's how every middle-class home was built.

[kjbrill]

First of all, if you go to Lowes or Home Depot you don't get the best of anything - strictly run of the mill, unless you go to the special order desk and then gulp how the price goes up.

I don't expect to win anything in this discussion, since I have seen how passionate many of the respondents are concerning living in the city. I also agree the quality of construction there was miles ahead years ago. I commend those who are determined to restore many of the inner-city neighborhoods. But I also read multiple times in this forum, this street is great but don't venture two streets in either direction.

So if I have to advise a young couple either with or desiring a couple of kids, and wanting a safe place to live - it is hit the suburbs. So the house won't last 100 years, neither will you. Are you concerned about posterity, or what you can enjoy here and now.

As far as aluminum wiring, I have it, for over 35 years now. Not a single problem. What I do recognize was the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire was blamed on aluminum wiring, and many manufacturers simply quit due to the fear of liability suits. I have recognized all of the electrical outlets in my houss were designed for aluminum and its greater expansion ratio. Whether this be wall outlets, switches, light fixtures, etc. they are different. Of course today if one fails I cannot buy a replacement as everyone ran scared. So I have to be very careful to use a splicing kit to connect aluminum to copper. This took me a long time to find.

Again, I would like to see the various Cincinnati neighborhoods restored to the vibrancy they once had. But I am too old to fight the fight - good luck to those who do.

[Ohiogirl81]

Anyway, now that I've embarked on my new house rant, I'm not seeing where old house vs. new house is equivalent to city vs. suburbs. You don't have to live in the city to live in an old house, or live in the 'burbs to get a new house. Heaven knows there are old houses even in West Chester, and new houses in Hartwell.

I could have stayed in my 100-year-old rental house in Lebanon (talk about a plumbing nightmare!), but chose to move to Cincinnati to take advantage of the city lifestyle, not because of the housing stock.

[kjbrill]

Ah yes, the lifestyle. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that is. I live in a suburb which has a great Community Center, with all kinds of facilities and programs geared to seniors, at very affordable rates. Within two miles or under, I have the selection of dozens of places to buy food, or virtually anything else I need. As spring approaches I can busy myself, and also get a bit of exercise, renewing my flower beds and otherwise digging in the dirt on my one acre lot. My neighborhood is older, and has a large percentage of people just like me - retired and all the kids gone. We meet and greet each other, discussing such things as putting down crabgrass preventer for the lawns, how to avoid being taxed out of our homes, etc. And all of this in what I consider a quite peaceful and tranquil setting. So exactly what is my lifestyle missing?

[restorationconsultant]

We bought an 1871 Second Empire Cottage that needed everything in Knox Hill (fairmount). Our house was built as a weekend cottage because where Christian Park now stands was once an exclusive German Club. Some of the wealthiest people in the city at the time had weekend places up there. After the club burned in 1885 most of the homes were turned into year round homes and were bought by mostly German businessmen. The neighborhood pretty much stayed a German enclave through the 1940's. Our house had basically two family ownership for much of its life. the park is now a 19 acre nature preserve and we see deer and other wildlife all the time in our neighborhood. I've never been able to live 5 minutes from the urban core in this kind of environment and we have great views of the downtown.

We found the original neo grec stencilling under layers of paint in the front parlor. Yes we are spending a lot of money on restoration but I can't imagine living in the burbs. We are minutes from downtown, have all the shopping we need and our neighborhood is remarkably quiet

Our neighborhood is in the process of preparing our National Registry Nomination too . Sure there are issues with living in an urban neigborhood, but its turning around. We have everything from 1000 square foot cottages to 7500 square foot mansions in our neighborhood. I like the diversity of architecture and the people. Despite everyone WARNING us on this board about the westside and the Fairmount area, I have trully great neighbors. Lot of people have moved in (mostly from out of state) and are restoring here.

We chose Cincinnati after looking at several other cities. You only need to look at cities like Indianapolis, Louisville and Chicago to see where Cincinati is headed. In a few years people will be on this board talking about how cheap property used to be downtown and in urban neighborhoods.

I don't begrudge people living in the burbs , but I personally don't understand why anyone would want to. Especially with gas prices rising, the congestion, the sprawl, and yes the increasing crime and movement of section 8 which seems to be on its way out of urban areas and headed to the foreclosure heaven of the burbs.

Cities are inherently cyclical in nature. Urban neighborhoods will come back in the next decade while the near burbs and suburbs see some decline.

Where you live boils down to what makes you comfortable. Me I can't imagine not living in an old house!