Berea (Greenville, Welcome, Saluda: real estate, rent, crime)

[cartman]

Is anything with a Berea school district going to be a bad real estate investment? I keep hearing bad things about the west side. Looking at real estate online can be misleading. What are zip codes that you want to avoid?
Feel fre to pm me if this is not a good thing to be public about. I don't want to step on any toes.

[NoodlesKnowles]

I live near the Berea area, on Saluda lake(on the border of the county). there are some amazing properties here on the lake, and I have seen a few in the surrounding areas that are very nice as well. It seems to be a strange area though, there are some very nice areas, and some not so nice ones, I would do my homework before purchasing any real estate

[p2y2r7o]

The saluda lake area is completely different than a lot of Berea, though. Seems to be a lot nicer.

[tony123]

p2, I'll agree with that. Saluda Lake is one of the few exceptions on the west side.

Chances are better than not, that you will find undesirable properties. Definetely research with first hand knowledge.

[justNancy]

I just saw a couple of listings for the Glenlea Community, but I remembered reading negative comments about the Berea area. The prices are really affordable too. D.R. Horton has some new homes and they've been discounted to sell. What's wrong with this part of Greenville? The homes look perfect for me, since I only need a small house.

[NoodlesKnowles]

I think its just a poorer area of town for the most part, and therefore has a higher crime rate, etc. I don't mind where I live which is right on the edge of the county, because its mostly a wooded area, not a whole lot of neighbors, but I may have to reconsider if I ever have kids, I haven't heard very good things about schools over here... But I definitely love the home I am in right now and I'm not trying to knock the area, just stating things I have heard, again, if you were going to move around here I would put as much research into it as you can, might be for you but it might not. also something to think about, the city has been trying to redevelop the west side of the city, starting with the new baseball stadium and stuff, so in a few years things might be looking up for the area, ok blah blah blah i'll stop rambling

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by NoodlesKnowles

I think its just a poorer area of town for the most part, and therefore has a higher crime rate, etc. I don't mind where I live which is right on the edge of the county, because its mostly a wooded area, not a whole lot of neighbors, but I may have to reconsider if I ever have kids, I haven't heard very good things about schools over here... But I definitely love the home I am in right now and I'm not trying to knock the area, just stating things I have heard, again, if you were going to move around here I would put as much research into it as you can, might be for you but it might not. also something to think about, the city has been trying to redevelop the west side of the city, starting with the new baseball stadium and stuff, so in a few years things might be looking up for the area, ok blah blah blah i'll stop rambling

Thanks for your reply. The only reason I would care about a school system is for resale and the fact that it often indicates the quality of the area. However, I hope that this will be my final move, meaning I am getting too old to keep changing my life. My main concern is that I won't feel I need to sleep with a shotgun under my bed. Without going off on a tangent, I'll give you an example. I rent 1/2 of a duplex now. Last night I just felt like getting something from my car around midnight and had no second thoughts about walking to the driveway which is in front of the house. I've driven to the 24/7 Walgreen's when I've needed something badly in the middle of the night (although it's not a regular habit of mine, thank goodness) and never felt threatened. I also believe a lot of local safety is related to the attitude of the police. What I mean is that the stereotype of the police in Beverly Hill Cops isn't so far off. I've lived in areas where the police are definitely biased and treat the wealthy residents a lot differently than those in the poorer neighborhoods.

I know I need to simply drive to Greenville and see for myself. I'm just trying to get an idea of where the houses I see on real estate sites are located. I saw this thread and figured it would be a good place to ask about the neighborhood.

[gvlgal]

The zip codes in the Berea area are 29611 and 29617. Part of 29617 is in the Furman University area, which has some nice homes, but the schools aren't great.

[justNancy]

I found a site Journal Homes Report : Welcome! that has lists of neighborhoods and many photos/videos of subdivisions. The pics on the MLS show a home, but this gives me an idea of the general area. My opinion from these photos is that most of the newer developments have no trees and it looks as if you can shake hands with your neighbors without leaving your home. So the older areas look prettier to me, but so far all the homes I see listed that I like are near Furman University in area 61. I don't have children, but I do care a lot about feeling safe.