Buying a home near Downtown for 125k or less? (Dallas: real estate, apartments)

[sk8drummy]

Is this possible. My finance and I love lakewood, kessler park, uptown, but these places all seem out of our price range. We're currently considering North Oak Cliff, I just am unsure of which neighborhoods are just kind of gritty verses unsafe for a female who will at home alone for periods of time. Any suggestions? Price is an issue, safety is an issue, size is not. I'm pretty handy so cosmetic repairs are acceptable or even non-cosmetic as long as the cost isn't overbearing. Again we need this to be 125k or less, preferable around 100k. Thanks!

[sk8drummy]

Also a garage or at least safe parking would be a plus.

[cityconvo]

My girlfriend and I have been trying to achieve the same thing for the last 2 months. The short answer is yes it is possible but it will require a great deal of research, drives, and patience. Here is a brief summary of my experience. Since it appears you will be attempting the same thing I hope this helps.

Mount Auburn in East Dallas zip 75223. The advantage of this neighborhood is proximity to Lakewood, White Rock, and Uptown. The downside is that many of the homes are poorly maintained and the architecture of the homes does not really provide much of an opportunity for rehab/appreciation. For me, there were too many chain linked fences in the front yard and stray dogs patrolling the streets. Lakewooder responded to an earlier post that most real estate agents think this area will go teardown.

Claremont in East Dallas zip 75228. This is bounded by Highland rd to the south, Ferguson to the North, Lakeland to the East, and I30 to the south. There are some really nice ranch style homes in here until you cross St. Francis then they become 70s Fox and Jacobs and lose a lot of the charm. The big problem here is that the homes that fall in your price range are going to be real close to Highland and Ferguson both of which have very marginal/shady apartments right across the street. If you can find something in the interior of this neighborhood you might be ok. I think there was something on Sweetwater for around 117k.

In North Oak Cliff you are going to find 12th street to be a real barrier. Most of what is north of 12th is going to be really nice and out of your price range. South of 12th will have homes within your range but you will have to drive it to see if that works for you. There also some nice areas just west of Hampton such as Ravinia Heights and there was a house on Alden (a really cute tudor) listed for 130K, but you will be hard pressed to find anything else in there in your range.

A little further south is Elmwood and Wynnewood zip 75224. Elmwood has some really charming tudors, bungalows, and I think I even saw a Dilbeck or Dilbeck inspired home in there. At the same time there are a lot of homes that are not that well maintained. Again, you will need to drive it to make up your mind. Wynnewood sits just to the east of Elmwood and is out your price range.

Even further south at Kiest and Hampton (southwest corner) is Kiestwood. There are some really nice ranch style houses built in the 50s and 60s and the neighborhood seems to be well maintained. A lot of the homes have had recent updates at least on the exterior to enhance the curb appeal. The problem here is that it may be too far south if you are trying to stay close to downtown.

Beckley Club and Cedar Oaks zip 75216 sits just east of 35 and to the southeast of Beckley and Clarendon. This is a really cute neighborhood with hilly streets, creeks, and winding roads. The architecture is spectacular (tudors, austin cottages, bungalows, etc.) You will be on the fringe of your price range here but there are a few listings under 125k. The problem here is that the surrounding neighborhoods are all very questionable. It also got hit over the weekend by the serial car arsonist in Oak Cliff (21 cars in last couple of months).

Parkdale, Urbandale, and Piedmont zip 75227. These areas sit a little south of 30 around Lawnview, Military Pkwy, and Sceyene rd. I have not driven Piedmont yet, perhaps this weekend, but Parkdale and Urbandale are real similar to Elmwood. They have nice tudors, austin stone cottages and bungalows. Some are well maintained, others are not. There will be a DART light rail station opening soon that might provide a real spark to the area. A major problem with this area is lack of grocery and basic services. At least I didn't see any when I drove it.

I hope this helps.

[cityconvo]

I should add that if you find something you like in your range. Don't waste time. To date we have been outbid on 2 properties in which we bid above the list price. They were both foreclosures listed well below market value. Also, there were 3 other properties that we wanted to see but went under contract within 5 days of being listed. So, we did not get to see the inside of those.

[sk8drummy]

Thanks Cityconvo! I'm google streetviewing these areas rather than working as we speak. I've driven some of these areas. Thanks for the advice!

[Lakewooder]

Re: Mount Auburn -- get as close as you can to Hollywood Heights or close to Santa Fe (new East Dallas Veloway/Tenison Trail) or closer to the park -- however, up from the shopping center). There's a listing on close-to-Hollywood-Cristler for $99K, have no idea what it is like - no pic. There is one on Santa Fe more in Hollywood for $155K. But those are the slim pickings - even I was a bit surprised that there is virtually nothing for less than $200K in the whole area. I did find a small (900 something sq ft) fixer upper in Junius Heights Historic District on Glendale for $139K -- pretty good bargain -- look in 75214.

[pepper131]

I drove through Piedmont a couple of weeks ago - I love the area's landscape and scenery...hilly. Small ranch homes. You'll just have to search carefully to find neighbors that you can deal with.

[Spree]

Just throwing this out there, what about the "L" streets of Lake Highlands? Starter homes, ranch style with a sense of community. I'm not sure the prices of these homes, but you might want to take a look-see.

L Streets Neighborhood Association Blog

[cityconvo]

Lakewooder:
I kept seeing that house on Glendale during my search. I kept running the numbers every which way to see if I could make it work because of the location. I drove by it a couple of times but never went in. I figured it would be a total redo. How was it inside?

[Lakewooder]

I haven't seen it but I figure it's probably bad. However, there was a listing on the next street, Lowell, for $450K -- not sure if that is still active or has sold but you can see the potential.

I can put up with a few 'deficiences' myself, and my sacrifices over the years have turned out to be lucrative. If you go in expecting everything to be perfect or to make everything perfect, you probably won't have the same outcome. I try to keep my rentals nice (they are nicer than my own home) and if someone throws out too many objections during showings, I will just say, "maybe an old house is not for you".