New to Dayton (Huber Heights, Beavercreek, Xenia: for sale, rentals, how much)

[StewBrue]

Hi all, there are some great threads on here- thanks for giving your time to help newcomers to the area. We are moving to Dayton in the coming months. My husband will be working at WPAFB. We have 3 kids, ages 5, 3, & 1. We're trying to decide whether to buy or rent, partially depending on whether or not we can sell our home here in PA- leaning towards buying but not sure how long we'll be in the area so resale is important.

We're curious about the Huber Heights area- can't wrap our heads around it. It looks like we could get a lot of house for our money, and newer homes, but why are there so many homes for sale there? What would resale be like 5 years down the road? And it doesn't seem like the schools are very good from school rating websites?

Our price range is $140-180. Oakwood sounds charming but is probably out of the question since we are really hoping for 4 bedrooms/2 baths. Based on the thread by the woman moving from SLC, we're really curious about Centerville. Can anyone tell me what the commute would be like into WPAFB from Centerville/Washington Township?

Our ideal situation would be a home on more or less half an acre, close to outdoor recreational areas. My husband is a big road/mtn biker and we love exploring nature parks, creeks, and hiking trails. We try to eat pretty raw/organic so semi-easy access to whole foods stores and/or rural areas or farmer's markets would be ideal. My husband loves riding his bike into work now but it seems like Centerville would be too far for that?

We're curious about Xenia. We like rural areas that are close enough that the commute isn't horrible, but the schools don't seem very good in that area?

Beavercreek is a lot closer to the base, but we were there for a few days earlier this month and focused our time on Beavercreek and didn't see anything we loved in our price range. Are the schools in Centerville and Beavercreek comparable?

Lastly, can anyone suggest a good realtor? Or recommend a way to narrow down whom we should work with?

Thank you in advanced!!

[wrightflyer]

Huber Heights has both nice areas (off Kitridge, around Forest Ridge, and north of I-70), and areas that can be a little rough around the edges. Most of the place is blue collar, small, brick ranch homes that probably have 3beds 1-2baths. Parts of Huber Heights north of I-70 is in Bethel Township Schools (Miami County ones, not Clark County). This is probably the northern suburbs best bang for the buck. There is new construction up there, plus you are close to much of the commercial areas of Old Troy Pike. It would not be bikeable to the base.

The only really bikeable suburb is Beavercreek. Dayton's metro is pretty spread out, and the roads themselves are not really bike friendly. There are, however, and you probably know this already, plenty of rail-trails in the whole metro. The other problem with Wright-Patt is it is a little isolated, meaning the roads that surround its gates are pretty much all high speed highways or boulevards.

Xenia schools are just ok. You can get a decent education there. I know people who went there that have done really well after graduating. Still, parts of the city are rougher than others. I'd stay out towards the township SW of Xenia or out in the township altogether.

Centerville schools are on par or a little better than Beavercreek. Both are great suburbs to raise a family. Both would also put you close to Trader Joe's/DLM, which both carry "ok" amounts of organic stuff. The best stuff is usually found at the local farmers markets around town, especially on weekends. Check out 2nd Street Market just outside downtown Dayton. Plenty of farmers there sell produce on Thursday through Saturday. There are really neat places to eat and vendors there too.

Centerville is too far (and probably too dangerous) to ride to WPAFB.

As far as buying vs. renting. There are plenty of rentals around if you need them. militarybyowner is a good resource for listings. If you buy in Centerville, Oakwood, Bellbrook, or Beavercreek, resale should not be too hard. It just depends on pricing and location. As usual, these are always big factors in a sale no matter where you buy or sell.

[StewBrue]

Thank you! I think we'll focus on Centerville during our next visit. Can you tell me, how much does the housing market slow down there during the fall? Here in Erie, people just pull their homes off the market b/c with our winters, no one really moves after September. The hiring process has been slower than expected and it looks like we'll be moving in November. We'll probably still try to sell on this end as soon as we can. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the post-summer lull in Dayton is not as extreme as it is here...

[chickychacha]

It doesn't slow down much, you should be fine. You won't have the pick of the litter because like Erie people here focus on getting their homes to the market in Feb. but you should have no trouble.

[stdatwmu]

Miamisburg/Miami Township are a reasonable drive to WPAFB - probably about 25 minutes on average.

We've lived here over 2 years now and ours (and many other) neighborhoods are definitely in your price range. Good schools as well, so I'd definitely at least keep it on the list of places to check out if you come down to visit.