Relocating to Cleveland area... need "heights" advice (Euclid: foreclosures, renting)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by wosmama

Which is why we picked the Heights. And Lakewood, originally.

Honestly those are the only suburbs I would personally consider. I think those are good choices. Some posters have told about some of the negatives, such as high taxes, but for me personally, it's still worth it. Lakewood is not a bad thought, though I can only speak from experience in regards to the Heights. Have you ruled this out?

[wosmama]

yeah. just commute time. we live 3 miles fr the hospital right now and my husband told me he feels like hes going to fall asleep at the wheel pretty frequently

[L2DB]

There is a lot of noise here. FWIW, I lived in CH for 10 years and moved to Beachwood this summer in prep for our oldest going to Kindergarden next fall. We considered SH and Orange as well.

If I were you, I'd find a SFH to rent in any of the heights (CH/UH/SH). When you're closer to your child actually attending school, re-evaluate whether to rent in a different school district or buy a house at that point. You'll have a better feel for the neighborhoods and the cities and where you will be long term (in CLE or elsewhere).

If you absolutely can't find anything to rent and have to buy, I'd buy in Shaker Heights. You can still re-evaluate and potentially move pre-kindergarden, but if that doesn't work out, the schools will be fine for awhile still.

20000 Fairmount Blvd, Shaker Heights, OH 44118 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

[wosmama]

thanks for breaking through the noise, L2DB. We will only be in the area 5 years. There are very few, very expensive SFH rental options in the good neighborhoods in the heights. Our ideal would be to rent for $1200 ish, but looks like $1500 is what gets you 3 br 1.5 bath and a fenced yard. IF they allow pets.

[L2DB]

Originally Posted by wosmama

thanks for breaking through the noise, L2DB. We will only be in the area 5 years. There are very few, very expensive SFH rental options in the good neighborhoods in the heights. Our ideal would be to rent for $1200 ish, but looks like $1500 is what gets you 3 br 1.5 bath and a fenced yard. IF they allow pets.

I under-charge my tenants then.

I think more available homes will show up in the spring, but by then, if you don't find something, you're kind of screwed with buying.

If you've got experience doing the long distance rental thing (owning and renting it out to someone else), then I guess I'd buy in SH. Though money-wise, you might be better off buying in CH (cheaper) and eating the 1-2 years of private school tuition. When you think about it, if you're willing to do up to $180K, you can get a perfectly serviceable house in CH for $115K and use what you save for private school.

[usernametaken]

I lived in Cleveland for 10 years before moving in the summer of 2010, and only discovered Cleveland Heights in my last 3 or so years there. I still regret that I never lived in Cleveland Heights. Probably my favorite place in the whole of Cleveland. Love Coventry, Cedar Lee area, the relatively new Melt Bar & Grilled, nearby Little Italy and University Circle, and much more.

With Case Western enrollment and University Circle both booming, combined with Cleveland's favorable reputation in the health care industry, I fail to see how eastern parts of Cleveland will decline any more. Homicides have also generally trended downwards over the past several decades, and that seems to be a national phenomenon. The most violent of our gene pool is being slowly exterminated, while obesity and excess screen time are making us less prone to murder too.

As an aside, I bought a house in Euclid in early 2010 against most peoples' advice. By the end of this year, I will have recovered all of the initial investment I made in the house as well as most of the repair spending. Moreover, the property price has increased by over 30 percent since I bought the house, and property taxes FELL recently.

I recently broke my leg, or else was strongly considering buying another sub $50k property in eastern Cleveland.

[Cali1976]

There's always real estate opportunities, and Cleveland is no different. Your biggest opportunity is buying up houses cheaply near university circle, and renting them out to doctors doing fellowships or residency at Cleveland clinic, university hospitals, etc. Downtown seems to have some strong rental demand from professionals, too. In suburbs like Euclid etc, I think your best opportunity is buying ridiculously cheap and renting out as section 8

[Cali1976]

Like I've said before, if anyone can provide me with data that contradicts my statements (read: data), then I'll retract

[Cleverfield]

Originally Posted by Cali1976

Like I've said before, if anyone can provide me with data that contradicts my statements (read: data), then I'll retract

Data about what is the smartest place to invest in houses? That's not something that can be more easily described with data than personal knowledge of the area and experience. And besides, what data have you provided? I love it when people make baseless claims and then ask for evidence to support their contradiction. Things are not true until proven false, they are false until proven true. There are no houses you can buy cheaply near UC that Dr.'s would be willing to rent. Glenville and EC, while they have (or once had) great housing stock, are now some of the most impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods in the city, that will take many many years to gentrify. Euclid is a smart place to buy, because the working poor, and lower-middle class still need places to live. Not all of those people are on section 8, and Euclid is still a pretty decent place, that is affordable. Again, you take snippets of things you pretend to know and draw "conclusions" based on limited to outright imagined "information".

[usernametaken]

As far as Euclid goes, no need at all to go section 8. Each time I needed a tenant, I posted an ad and got 20 responses on average.

Originally Posted by Cali1976

There's always real estate opportunities, and Cleveland is no different. Your biggest opportunity is buying up houses cheaply near university circle, and renting them out to doctors doing fellowships or residency at Cleveland clinic, university hospitals, etc. Downtown seems to have some strong rental demand from professionals, too. In suburbs like Euclid etc, I think your best opportunity is buying ridiculously cheap and renting out as section 8