W-S neighborhood advice, west end? (Winston-Salem, Washington: to rent, houses, neighborhoods)

[L0ve]

Can anyone recommend some neighborhoods to look at that are similar to the west end, but cheaper?
We really fell in love with this area and the downtown vibe filled with history. The prices are just way out of the range we will look in, with all of the updated homes starting around 350k. We can afford that, but we are trying to downsize right now into a smaller home and dont need to paying all that extra cash for a huge 4+ bedroom home. Do any smaller homes ever come onto the market there - smaller homes on the pretty streets? The lack of garages is another concern, since we have 3 cars. I did see some of the areas branched off into streets with ranch homes, and I absolutely hate ranches.

Outside of the near west, or northwest end, where should we look? It is so hard to find your way around, being from out of town and driving in circles. We cannot contact a realtor yet, because it may be several months until we can move and I dont want to waste their time this early-on.

[arbyunc]

Check out Ardmore. It's a large downtown neighborhood near Baptist hospital. There is a wide range of houses there, from large Victorian to small craftsman style. You should be able to find something more in line with your needs.

Good luck!

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Bmachina

We really fell in love with this area and the downtown vibe filled with history....
It is so hard to find your way around, being from out of town and driving in circles.
We cannot contact a realtor yet, because it may be several months until we can move...

Don't be in a rush to buy.
Plan to rent for your first year and then take your time to look as a local.

[CNYLion]

We just bought in Ardmore and saw quite a few homes during our search. Some impressions:

* An updated home will likely be in the range of $250k-300k, depending upon size, location, etc.
* A fair number of homes have one car garages and/or off street parking. A few have more than a one car garage, but it seems uncommon.
* Typical size range seems to be roughly 1,400-2,200 sq ft.
* There are plenty of pretty streets, though I am not partial to the busier streets like Hawthorne.
* You will find quite a few bungalows and some ranches, but there are also quite a few multi-story homes.
* Age of homes seems to range from the 1920s-1950s.

Overall, it's a very nice historic neighborhood with easy access to downtown amenities. I suspect you would be able to find something that fits your needs. Here is a website with some additional details: Ardmore Neighborhood Association

edit: I found a nice overview of Ardmore architectural styles: http://www.ardmore.ws/wp-content/upl...CHITECTURE.pdf

[L0ve]

Thank you all! The lack of garages seems to be the biggest challenge. Here in the north we have a 4 car garage. 3 car garages are even very common. We sold off our 4th vehicle, but my husband cannot depart with his sports car that keeps us at 3. I have noticed that many homes down there have no garage at all or car ports which is a huge detriment for us.

Are there no other nice historical neighborhoods with smaller homes, other than Ardmore? Just trying to broaden our horizons as much a possible for a search.

I am also wondering if these near-west areas are notorious for anything like high taxes, etc, that we should be aware of?

[arbyunc]

I think it will be difficult to find a 3-car garage in any W-S historic neighborhood. Most of the historic neighborhoods were being built before there were multi-car families, and coupled with the milder climate, multi-car garages weren't really necessary. Here are a couple more areas that you might consider, but again I'm not sure you'll find any 3-car garages there:

Washington Park
Buena Vista (most houses here are relatively expensive, but you may find a few in your range)
West Salem

Here's some info that may help:
Winston-Salem Monthly » Welcome to the Neighborhood


Regarding your taxes question, the property tax rate is the same for everyone inside the city limit.

[L0ve]

Thanks arbyunc. Great article. Wish I could get all of the pics to load.

[arbyunc]

Originally Posted by Bmachina

Thanks arbyunc. Great article. Wish I could get all of the pics to load.

Yeah, the photos wouldn't load for me either. Perhaps they've been taken down. Anyway, you can always use Google street view to check out any of these neighborhoods.

[wstransplant]

Just a thought--we hated ranches too until we rented one for a year and then started house-hunting in Winston. Turns out an updated ranch got us the most bang for our buck, including an oversized 2 car garage. Our neighborhood isn't super historic and it's not somewhere where you can walk to restaurants but it is a lovely, quiet place with beautiful large trees and friendly people. The houses are all from the 50s or 60s. Many of them are being bought up for low prices, updated, and then resold easily. It's in North Winston and called Town and Country.

[L0ve]

Thanks, wstr. I will check that area out.

I did cruise through a few west end ranch neighborhoods and noticed a lot of big old Buicks and Cadillacs at each house. They kind of reminded me of retirement communities. Hopefully I can make it back soon to check things out in person again.