23rd Street, Wilmington Questions (for sale, apartment, foreclosure) - Coastal North Carolina - North Carolina (NC) - City-Data Forum

user456 · 04-09-2008, 11:46 AM

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated from Penn State and am moving to Wilmington to start a job at General Electric. I'm considering buying a forclosed house on 23rd Street. I've never lived in Wilmington, but I have some friends there that say the area around 23rd Street can get a bit shady. My realtor said there are projects about a mile away but he didn't think I'd have any real problems with crime. So I was hoping that you wouldn't mind giving your opinion on the matter. If you wouldn't mind answering some questions, here are a few:

-Do you think I would have any trouble in that neighborhood with crime? Would it be safe?
-How much do you think I could rent out a room for? How much do you think I could rent out the house for? (in case something happened and I had to leave Wilmington) There's an apartment over a separate garage at the house I'm looking at, so I'm thinking of renting that to one person and then having one of my friends live in the house with me.
-Is there anywhere around that area that I should be cautious about driving or walking into?
-What kind of people primarily live in the neighborhood? Is it an older crowd or younger? Quiet or loud?
-Do you feel it's an area that will easily allow me to sell the house when I want to leave?
-Do you have any advice about buying a foreclosure in general?

Thanks in advance for all of your feedback. I really appreciate it!

lgavrich · 04-09-2008, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by user456

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated from Penn State and am moving to Wilmington to start a job at General Electric. I'm considering buying a forclosed house on 23rd Street. I've never lived in Wilmington, but I have some friends there that say the area around 23rd Street can get a bit shady. My realtor said there are projects about a mile away but he didn't think I'd have any real problems with crime. So I was hoping that you wouldn't mind giving your opinion on the matter. If you wouldn't mind answering some questions, here are a few:

-Do you think I would have any trouble in that neighborhood with crime? Would it be safe?
-How much do you think I could rent out a room for? How much do you think I could rent out the house for? (in case something happened and I had to leave Wilmington) There's an apartment over a separate garage at the house I'm looking at, so I'm thinking of renting that to one person and then having one of my friends live in the house with me.
-Is there anywhere around that area that I should be cautious about driving or walking into?
-What kind of people primarily live in the neighborhood? Is it an older crowd or younger? Quiet or loud?
-Do you feel it's an area that will easily allow me to sell the house when I want to leave?
-Do you have any advice about buying a foreclosure in general?

Thanks in advance for all of your feedback. I really appreciate it!

I think you are wise to consider these things. I have a son a few years younger than you so I may be faced with responding to this type of question in three years. Pardon the personal tone it may take. First of all, if you have a good job with an outstanding and stable company, why start your independent life wondering about crime in your neighborhood? The fact is, Wilmington's crime stats are not good; the FBI rates them 7 out of 10 (worst) on both violent and property (burglary) crime. Burglaries, according to the data, are among the worst in the nation. Get yourself a serviceable car and find a nice condo with your friend just outside the city; make sure it has XM radio or a good sound system because the traffic is a little iffy, but if you are just 15 minutes away, that won't be a burden. Concentrate on your career not on security precautions and work on the house. Be a renter until you know the area. Seems silly to own right off the bat (I know you are chasing a foreclosure bargain, but be careful what you wish for.) Sorry to sound like a father, but I is what I is.

user456 · 04-09-2008, 03:06 PM

Thanks for your opinion. My mom's trying to tell me the same thing

FYI, the area I'm talking about is near 23rd and Princess Place.

jmarquise · 04-09-2008, 05:44 PM

it's not a bad neighborhood. that house is in my backyard. have you seen the house? the thing with wilmington is that no matter where you go, you are only a mile from a bad neighborhood. even the new subdivisions back up to trailer parks. I have lived here for a while and haven't experienced any problems. I can even tell you about all the neighbors, as I can see the house from my window!

user456 · 04-09-2008, 06:12 PM

Cool, so I know my neighbors already! Haha...

What do you think about it? Would you say it's a good value? Would you say it's a fairly easy area to sell your house in? I've been looking at some comparisons of what has sold around there in the past two years and there's quite a wide range of house prices. So it's hard for me to really say what it's worth.

So if I live in this area, I won't have to worry about hypodermic needles on the streets and people ringing my doorbell at 3 or 4 AM to see if they want to rob me? I just read this on another post.

user456 · 04-09-2008, 06:14 PM

P.S. Yes, I've seen the house. I walked through it with my realtor. It needs work, but I like it, and it's on the right side of town for me. (close to GE)

jmarquise · 04-09-2008, 06:21 PM

I am not sure how much the note on it is. what is the price? there are a good amount of houses for sale in this area. the ones along that part of 23rd go up to $300,000. not sure what they want for this particular house although the other ones don't have that garage apartment in the back. I personally love this area. so close to everything. it's like 15 minutes to the beach, 5 minutes to the airport and 5 minutes to downtown. the bad neighborhoods the people are talking about are around a mile away, and they usually stay a mile away. one is called creekwood. it's at like 30th or 31st street. they deal drugs out of the neighborhood, but don't canvas door to door. plus they are building new homes up there and have been closing down other projects around town, so, things are looking up! heading towards downtown, it's more than a mile before you hit anything bad. this area is just on the other side of market street from forest hills. forest hills is the nicest neighborhood in wilmington. you might see the occasional weirdo riding a bike, hear a train, or hear a police car, but that's it. the front of my house is actually on princess place so I see a lot more of that stuff!

jmarquise · 04-09-2008, 06:23 PM

well if it is the house I am thinking of, you know where I live. put it this way, we share a common alley!

user456 · 04-09-2008, 06:33 PM

Haha. Yea, it's definitely the house you're thinking of. It's listed for $235,000, but I was hoping they'd go down.

jmarquise · 04-09-2008, 06:40 PM

I hope not! I am probably going to try to sell my house this summer! they probably won't go down too much unless it needs a lot of work. is it a big house? I better not lose too much money on my house!