Retiring to Dayton? (Kettering, Huber Heights, Beavercreek: where to stay, sales, condos)

[padenful]

Short version:

If someone was looking to retire in the Dayton area and get a condo/small single level place where should they be looking to buy?

Longer version:

My husband and I moved to Centerville from Oklahoma last year, my husband's brother has been living in Huber Heights for a decade and his wife grew up in Farmersville, and the two of them have an uncle who now lives in Fairborn. Their parents have been saying for years that when they retire in 2017 they'll sell their house in the suburbs of D.C. and move to the suburbs of Nashville (where another of their uncles live) but now that we're living so close to my husband's brother they've mentioned that they're tossing around the idea of buying a house in TN and a condo in the Dayton area and splitting their time between the two.

The retirees have said they'd want something not too expensive, don't care about school districts, do care about safe area and ability to resell it eventually. I was thinking Beavercreek was sort of in between the three of us, if you're going up 675, but when I stuck it in zillow for them I realized I don't know the Dayton area very well at all safety-wise or resale-wise. I know my sister in law would prefer their toddler to not go to school where they're currently living, so they may not be there any more by the time the grandparents possibly move here, but I don't know if they'd move closer to the base and get into one of those school districts or further west to VVSD where she grew up.

Any advice?

[weatherphotographer]

Honestly, this is not the ideal place to retire to. Plenty of snow in the winter. Are you sure you can't find something better?

[padenful]

Did you read the longer version? They're looking to buy a condo here to have somewhere to stay so they can spend time with their siblings/children/grandkids and they're planning to buy their main retirement house in Tennessee.

[padenful]

Or were you trying to say there aren't a lot of retirement options here since not many people choose to retire here?

[RDriesenUD]

I'd look in the Centerville/Kettering area for a condo. There are a lot of nice ones. I can think of one in Kettering (may be Beavercreek) that is close to The Green, Kettering Rec Center, etc.... There are some off of Bigger Road in Centerville that are good.

[Amandarthegreat]

Originally Posted by padenful

Short version:

If someone was looking to retire in the Dayton area and get a condo/small single level place where should they be looking to buy?

Longer version:

My husband and I moved to Centerville from Oklahoma last year, my husband's brother has been living in Huber Heights for a decade and his wife grew up in Farmersville, and the two of them have an uncle who now lives in Fairborn. Their parents have been saying for years that when they retire in 2017 they'll sell their house in the suburbs of D.C. and move to the suburbs of Nashville (where another of their uncles live) but now that we're living so close to my husband's brother they've mentioned that they're tossing around the idea of buying a house in TN and a condo in the Dayton area and splitting their time between the two.

The retirees have said they'd want something not too expensive, don't care about school districts, do care about safe area and ability to resell it eventually. I was thinking Beavercreek was sort of in between the three of us, if you're going up 675, but when I stuck it in zillow for them I realized I don't know the Dayton area very well at all safety-wise or resale-wise. I know my sister in law would prefer their toddler to not go to school where they're currently living, so they may not be there any more by the time the grandparents possibly move here, but I don't know if they'd move closer to the base and get into one of those school districts or further west to VVSD where she grew up.

Any advice?

Howdy! What are you looking to spend? What amenities are important to you guys?

[padenful]

It depends on how much they get for their house (and this is still a couple years away, but they were asking while they were here for the holidays and I'd feel better being able to say "oh yes, there will be great places available to you here here and here whenever you guys want to buy") but I'm guessing their max is probably about $125k for their Ohio home. They'd probably like to go lower than that so that they can put more money into their main retirement house. I know that they like to walk and that they buy all their food organic (and were boggled that we were *finally* getting a Whole Food here)... They're used to DC congestion but also that nearly every store or restaurant you can imagine is with within driving distance if you're interested in going to it and I think they think they're ready to 'get away from all the bustle' but that both Nashville suburbs and here are going to be a big adjustment for them.

[ohio_peasant]

For a retired couple with winter-plans elsewhere, the Dayton region isn't necessarily bad. The main downside in my view is taxes, at least as compared to tax-havens such as Tennessee. I'd examine whether it is possible to remain a Tennessee resident for purposes of state/local income taxes. Ohio is notorious for having local income taxes, which can be quite high (commonly 2% of gross income, including interest/dividends/capital-gains). For this reason, I'd recommend Beavercreek, Bellbrook or Washington Township (NOT Centerville itself).

For resale purposes, I'd recommend a detached-house instead of a condo. The Dayton region just doesn't have enough lucrative white-collar jobs to support a pool of transient yuppie-types who would buy condos. Condo fees can also be high, compared to the value of the property. It might actually be cheaper to buy a smaller detached house and to hire a yard-maintenance crew, than to pay condo fees. And because prices per square foot are so low, it might be sensible to buy a larger house in the Dayton area, with room to store furniture/cars/etc., and a smaller house or condo in Tennessee.

[Amandarthegreat]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

For a retired couple with winter-plans elsewhere, the Dayton region isn't necessarily bad. The main downside in my view is taxes, at least as compared to tax-havens such as Tennessee. I'd examine whether it is possible to remain a Tennessee resident for purposes of state/local income taxes. Ohio is notorious for having local income taxes, which can be quite high (commonly 2% of gross income, including interest/dividends/capital-gains). For this reason, I'd recommend Beavercreek, Bellbrook or Washington Township (NOT Centerville itself).

For resale purposes, I'd recommend a detached-house instead of a condo. The Dayton region just doesn't have enough lucrative white-collar jobs to support a pool of transient yuppie-types who would buy condos. Condo fees can also be high, compared to the value of the property. It might actually be cheaper to buy a smaller detached house and to hire a yard-maintenance crew, than to pay condo fees. And because prices per square foot are so low, it might be sensible to buy a larger house in the Dayton area, with room to store furniture/cars/etc., and a smaller house or condo in Tennessee.

Yeah, but Tennessee gouges you on that sales tax.

[Amandarthegreat]

Any of these seem good?

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...67-26903?row=9

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...8-29251?row=11

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...3-79730?row=14

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...4-04503?row=15

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...1-50438?row=23

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...5-97929?row=25

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...0-67838?row=33

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...ex=OH571345553