In which states besides West Virginia are nice big houses $30-$50k? (sale, how much)

[Need_affordable_home]

Firstly, I want to say a big thanks to all who has participated in my thead! Positive reputation for all of you! [moderator cut]

Originally Posted by heathersmom

Our home is 4 bedrooms, an office room and a work out room, built 1910-beautiful hardwood through-out and we have it priced below $50,000. Upstate NY

square foot? If you have a link, can you PM me it? Thats a good price for a nice big house! Is there broadband internet? Thats the one thing I must have

Originally Posted by MidniteBreeze

Look in the upper peninsula of Michigan. You can find houses under $20K! Granted most in that price range are older and in need of some TLC, but they do exist! I know a guy who bought an charming older house in Ironwood (on the Wisconsin border) for about $19K. He put a little work into (paint and that sort of thing, nothing too major) it and it's actually a pretty nice little place now. It was built in the late 1800's and has a lot of beautiful woodwork and "old world" charm. But of course with houses that old you'll want to look closely at the condition of the plumbing, wiring, roof, etc.

As you would expect, though, the economy there is as flat as the real estate market, but they do have some nice tax incentives for new businesses. Might be worth a look for you.

As you mentioned in your original post, you might also want to look at the Dakotas (especially in rural/small town areas). Idaho and Montana aren't cheap anymore...too many West Coast people moving in.

Good luck!

Thanks! Why do the West Coast people prefer Idaho and Montana? Wont they start spilling over to other states that are cheaper and raise the price there too? If so, I need to get a house(or two!) there before prices shoot up. I have long been priced out of Florida and those cheap states are my chance! Dad doesnt think prices will ever go up much there, what do you think?

Originally Posted by mystree66

Northwestern Pennsylvania in the Meadville,Erie,Oil City area,these too are older homes my family lives in those areas. The homes are nice and alot of home for the price but many may need updated wiring or plumbing.

How much would any repairs and updating set me back?

Originally Posted by travelling_paws

Much of Michigan, as well as the UP. Parts of more rural mid-MI you can find houses in that price range quite easily.....here in Flint (not that I'm recommending it) you can find crappy houses in dreadful areas for under 10K and you certainly can find nice larger homes in better areas in your price range. The economy is bad here, it's a buyers' market, foreclosures are at an all time high. Check the "job opportunities in Michigan" thread in the MI forum.
Apart from deserted, rural places like parts of the Northern Plains states, TX/OK prairie (just you and tumbleweeds for about 20 miles) and probably quite a few of the ailing, rust-belt Midwestern cities.

I paid $15K cash for my house in Flint (ick), it was a bank repo. Very nice small house, marginal neighborhood.
I have a friend who bought a mobile home on a humungous lot for $10K about 4 years ago, near Jackson MI. Kind of rural where she is, about 20 minutes to Jackson and an hour from Ann Arbor.

Honestly with the whole country at your feet, I sure wouldn't recommend Michigan! But you asked about cheap real estate...

Do you think that area will appreciate soon, when, if ever? Is there much to do there? how big and nice are the $30k, 40k, 50k houses? Is the crime low?

Originally Posted by mystree66

Yep Usually if they are that cheap theres a reason,economy or maybe crime.

I will not even look at any high crime areas. Economy isnt an issue as I plan to have a home business over the internet. Just need broadband internet in a given area I also need a walmart, a supermarket and some stores to buy my basic stuff. Ill want some restaurants as well as a mcdonalds I dont really need all those huge glitzy malls that are found in expensive metro cities.

Originally Posted by Waterlily

Now this is an interesting subject. If I could just find a place that was a bit warmer then those mentioned for under $50,000 then I could buy a home for retirement and have money leftover. That would sure be nice.

I did see that northern Maine has some homes under $50,000. It's just too cold there for my liking.

I wonder why it's just cold places that are cheaper? Not that all cold places are inexpensive.

If you are 55+ there are lots of retirement condos here in south Florida for $60k to $100k! I am supprised they are so cheap! Dad says thats because only those 55+ can live there so the market is much smaller. Great for your hard earned retirement money!

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

I think you forgot a "0" .

There are smaller towns in Iowa where a nice house runs in the $80,000-$130,00 range but nothing for $50,000 (except a fixer-upper). Why do you need such a cheap home though? Isn't it possible to find a good job and buy an average home (national average home price is around $220,000)? Go to Houston, it's more of a laid-back, thought of as a blue-collar town by Dallas residents, and yet has many high-salary jobs. If you don't mind working in a blue-collar job such as a plumber, oil worker, etc etc, you can command a high salary.

80k isnt too bad, but why is idaho more expensive than West Virginia? Better, higher paying jobs? More big cities? I know that in WV, only the capital and Huntington have over 50k and just barely so. WV is mostly towns and small cities of 10k to 20k people. Good low crime areas and country living.

LOL 220k national average? Two median incomes cant afford that! I want a cheap house because I dont want to be house poor, risk debt and forclosure by biting more house than I can chew and dont want to pay thousands in property taxes. Also houses on a global scale have stopped appreciating and are undergoing a price correction, the house bubble is over. Only the rich are still buying expensive houses. The middle class has been squeezed in a tight place, its not just me but many millions!

Originally Posted by elfyum

I have seen nice houses in KS, NE & IA (and ME & upstate NY but those were already mentioned) for 15k up...They're not fixers, but they are older homes & usually small or have small yards. But not all...Also ND...


You're not seriously asking this are you?
Check out weather dot com when they have polls about favorite seasons...
The VAST majority of people prefer summer!!!

MOST people prefer "comfortable", (I guess 40's - 70's) not COLD! (Or HOT - except some of us... )

I will have to deal with a little cold. My parents did back in Toronto and admitly didnt like it Ill just get used to it and theres something called heat and fireplace I could afford a smallish house in Houston but I can get so much better elsewhere and Houston is way too hot in the summer, but probably just the way you like it. You and your husband could consider moving there

$15k and up for a house that isnt broken? That is insanely cheap, cheaper than mobile homes here in Florida in fact!


To summarize, the states and locations that have nice cheap affordable homes are:

1. West Virginia(been reserching this extensivately)
2. Kansas
3. Maine
4. Iowa
5. Nebraska
6. Michigan
7. Both Dakotas
8. Tennessee(going to reserch that)
9. North New York.

Any other places I should reserch?

[chiroptera]

Oh....housing in Flint may never appreciate in our lifetimes! You can buy really nice homes in your price range...depending on the neighborhood. Put the price parameters into realtor.com. The largest city zip code is 48506. I bet you could even find homes with pools!

For 15K, my house is 900sf with full basement. Siding, windows, roof, central air, new furnace & water heater, all new seven years ago. The inside was kind of trashed. Regular city lot, large covered back deck. Iffy neighborhood - not blighted like the north part of the city, but a high % of renters so many houses are not well kept.
Luckily my block is OK and I'm very close to a really nice park. While it might appraise for twice what I paid for it, in reality I couldn't sell it for $30K.

Much of Flint is quite blighted; there are pockets of really nice homes and beautiful neighborhoods but most of the city is pretty shabby. Unemployment and crime is high. Not a whole lot in the way of culture or nightlife.
I would not recommend this city, to be honest.

[mystree]

How much would any repairs and updating set me back?

Honestly I can't answer that one,but that would probably be a good thread to start

Economy isnt an issue as I plan to have a home business over the internet. Just need broadband internet in a given area I also need a walmart, a supermarket and some stores to buy my basic stuff. Ill want some restaurants as well as a mcdonalds I dont really need all those huge glitzy malls that are found in expensive metro cities.

The Oil City/Franklin area would fit that bill,I lived in OC for awhile,my sister was living here in SC but moved back to OC 3 years ago,she bought her house for $26000,hers just needed cosmetic work which she did while living there ..paint and new wood floors that kind of thing so she got lucky.

Also warmer climate areas have you checked San Antonio? It sounds like a great place with alot to offer.Remember if you are a 1st time home buyer there are programs for that and there are alot of homes say 80-100000 that
are awesome and ready to go you just have to look. Also when they say the median price is $220000 this means half are higher and half are lower.
Just a thought,but Good luck in your hunt.

[benedicta33]

Maine has very cheap housing.

[katzenfreund]

Check out western Maryland, like Cumberland. We looked there a couple of years back and were amazed at the cheap prices there. Lots of older nice homes with charm. Beautiful landscape, too! We liked it there, but there weren't all that many well paying jobs, so we didn't move there, but for someone who wants to start their own business, it could be perfect. Good luck!!!

[RedNC]

Problem with finding a home @$50k is you will not be able to find any work. You may end up with a $50k house that you are struggling to pay for because there is nothing but minimum wage jobs.

Believe me any place that has what you think is affordable is that way because there are either no jobs, it’s a miserable place to live, or both.

[MidniteBreeze]

Thanks! Why do the West Coast people prefer Idaho and Montana? Wont they start spilling over to other states that are cheaper and raise the price there too? If so, I need to get a house(or two!) there before prices shoot up. I have long been priced out of Florida and those cheap states are my chance! Dad doesnt think prices will ever go up much there, what do you think?

I'm guessing the west coast people are "spilling over" into places like Montana and Idado because they aren't as far away from home, plus those states still offer mountains and "western" lifestyle, winters not as harsh as in the midwest, etc. Though I do hear they're starting to "discover" places like the Rapid City, SD area. I wouldn't be surprised if they started moving further east than that in the future.

As far as homes appreciating anytime soon in places like the Dakotas or the UP of Mich, I don't see that happening either. Though there are some exceptions...like the Fargo area is really growing and while prices are still very reasonable, they're starting to creep up.

More rural areas, though are just kind of dried up economically. Their primary industries used to be things like farming, mining and logging which just aren't very lucrative for the average person anymore. The UP is very beautiful though, so there is a tourist industry (lots of snowmobilers go there in the winter because they're known for LOTS of snow!) but not many high paying jobs. I just don't see their economy getting any kind of boost in the forseeable future. But, on the flip side, it is a cheap place to buy a house if you can find a way to live (or if you're a cold-weather loving retiree!)

[Karnak]

Hi - We bought a house in Wilkes-Barre, PA (Northeast PA area - Pocono Mountain area) for 56K. We are 2 hours from NYC, and 2 hours from Phila, and 2 hours from the Jersey beaches.

Like you, jobs weren't a concern (retired and home biz), but price was. We wanted to get out of having a mortgage.

Our house is 3600 sq ft, and we love it and our neighbors are great. There is plenty of shopping and restaurants, and it's a college town, so we have been fairly happy here. There is also nearby skiing, lakes, camping, etc. Prices are going up somewhat, but still affordable.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by travelling_paws

Oh....housing in Flint may never appreciate in our lifetimes! You can buy really nice homes in your price range...depending on the neighborhood. Put the price parameters into realtor.com. The largest city zip code is 48506. I bet you could even find homes with pools!

For 15K, my house is 900sf with full basement. Siding, windows, roof, central air, new furnace & water heater, all new seven years ago. The inside was kind of trashed. Regular city lot, large covered back deck. Iffy neighborhood - not blighted like the north part of the city, but a high % of renters so many houses are not well kept.
Luckily my block is OK and I'm very close to a really nice park. While it might appraise for twice what I paid for it, in reality I couldn't sell it for $30K.

Much of Flint is quite blighted; there are pockets of really nice homes and beautiful neighborhoods but most of the city is pretty shabby. Unemployment and crime is high. Not a whole lot in the way of culture or nightlife.
I would not recommend this city, to be honest.

After reserching this area, you are right. Most of the houses there are tiny, 700-1200 square feet. Ironically the house doesnt get much bigger/nicer as the price goes up. There are 100-150k houses that are only 1200-1600 feet. Why such a large discrepancy? Someone moving there might as well get a 15k house like you did because for alot more $, they dont get much more house. Does location make that much of a difference within the city? What is so special about being 5 miles here or there?

Originally Posted by mystree66

Honestly I can't answer that one,but that would probably be a good thread to start



The Oil City/Franklin area would fit that bill,I lived in OC for awhile,my sister was living here in SC but moved back to OC 3 years ago,she bought her house for $26000,hers just needed cosmetic work which she did while living there ..paint and new wood floors that kind of thing so she got lucky.

Also warmer climate areas have you checked San Antonio? It sounds like a great place with alot to offer.Remember if you are a 1st time home buyer there are programs for that and there are alot of homes say 80-100000 that
are awesome and ready to go you just have to look. Also when they say the median price is $220000 this means half are higher and half are lower.
Just a thought,but Good luck in your hunt.

Oil city has some nice houses! It appears to be priced similar to much of West Virginia. How is the climiate there and what do people do for fun in Oil city? Any nice snow covered mountains in the summer to hike? I love mountains!!!!!!

San Antonio, TX is borderline affordable. The $50k houses there are old, ugly and in questionable neighboors. The $100k houses are nice but smaller and lacking a basement compared to WV or Oil City. San Antonio would be good to find a job but if I start a home business, that city wont be my choice as I can get more house for less elsewhere.

Originally Posted by benedicta33

Maine has very cheap housing.

Checking it out now, will comment back!

Good lord! Portland, Maine is super expensive! Perhaps its due to the close proximity to the beach/ocean, the fact its the only city over 50k at 64k(second is 35k, third is 31k) and the fact its an upscale area for the rich with good jobs/businesses?

I must be missing something. I searched 10 towns and cities in ME and they all cost alot! As much as north Florida in fact! The nice houses are a couple hundred thousand in ME! The simple small ones are still 6 figures at $100k! I did see a huge 22,000 square foot mansion for 1.9m, not bad for a mansion in expensive ME!