Subdivisions in SW Fort Wayne (Covington, Hope: for sale, houses, neighborhoods)

[questionask]

Please suggest the best subdivisions in the $150.000-$200.000 price range in SW Fort Wayne. I value walking distance to parks and trails and I really dislike the treeless "tract house" feel. Thank you.

[jodyrose]

Originally Posted by questionask

Please suggest the best subdivisions in the $150.000-$200.000 price range in SW Fort Wayne. I value walking distance to parks and trails and I really dislike the treeless "tract house" feel. Thank you.

I lived in SW Ft Wayne for 5 yrs. I suggest looking in and around the Time Corners Shopping Center/Coventry School area. There are some nice older developments there that have a wide range of homes in styles and prices. I lived on Sun Valley Drive. Google it...look around that area... or head a bit further south and go into Waynedale. Not tons of NEW stuff there, but the price range you are looking in would be very doable and you can find more charm and less "tract" like homes. I cant think of too many spots around town that do not have a park nearby. Find a good realtor to work with you, tell them what you have told me, I am sure you will find something soon. I envy you, I miss living there!

[fabumom07]

The Haverhill addition area would be perfect for you, along with LibertyMills, Saratoga Park and all the other additions that connect. That price will be easy to meet and you can walk in the charming, tree lined streets or go walk to the very nice new YMCA /Indian Trails Park. For tree areas there is also Forest Ridge,which connects I think to the walking trails.

Your investment will be better in SW Allen Schools than Waynedale, kids or no, due to the desirable schools. Happy househunting- fabumom07- not an agent just a SW Allen mom.

[questionask]

Thank you for your answers - that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
fabumom07 - If I increase my price limit to $200-250.000 - what would be the neighborrhoods one step up from the ones you mentioned? Thanks.

[mbuszu]

Within the 46804 and 46814 zip codes there are no less than 20 neighborhoods that fit your initial criteria. If you look along Illinois Rd, Covington Rd, or Aboite Center Rd you cannot go wrong. In the $150-200k price range there must be 150+ homes in that area currently for sale; many of them 4 bedroom with 2000+ sq feet of space. If you increase your price range there are even more houses available (but once you leave the annexation area you lose bang for the buck as equivalent homes are simply +50k in price).

The truth is that when construction is completed on Illinois Rd (between Hadley Rd and Scott Rd), both sides of the road will have fantastic bike trails... so I would look in the neighborhoods off of Illinois Rd such as Shorewood which offer tremendous bang for the buck - yet homes new enough to not be in dire need of upgrades.

[questionask]

Thank you, mbuszu. I read a few of your previous post about the southwest area.
So you suggest subdivisions like Shorewood off Illinois over Haverhill farther down south? Are there any other subdivisions in my price range that really stand out as far as their desirability is concerned? Thanks.

[3rivers]

We are mostly talking about the Aboite area right in this thread. For your price you can live in a number of areas that are off of Aboite Center Rd, Covington Rd Illinois Rd (hwy 14), Liberty Mills Rd or Jefferson (hwy 24). The neighborhoods off of Illinois Rd tend to be newer, so not too many trees in that area, and the homes don't have the character of the older homes. There are some exceptions though, Covinton Dells has very large lots, trees and the homes aren't so cookie cutter looking. It is an older addition, but there are some very large homes in the area, and it was considered to be an upscale neighborhood at one time. It's still nice.

The subdivisions off of Jefferson (hwy 24) seem to have large lots and lots of trees, again because they are older. Forest Ridge and Briarwood are two names that fit the bill.

Covington Rd has many subdivisions and they can be priced very reasonably to quite high end. Sycamore Hills, Chestnut Hills, Heron Preserve are all quite expensive. They are all beautiful neighborhoods. Houses in those additions would start at around $300,000 and go over a million.

If you live in Aboite you are going to be very close to shopping, schools, parks, and tons of restaurants. It doesn't matter where in Aboite you live, you'll be close to everything. If you want to walk to a park, any of the subdivisions off of Aboite Center would work for you. Haverhill is really close to shopping, the park and everything, and there are some trees in that subdivision.

As far as Waynedale, you wouldn't have to spend $200,000 to get a home. You wouldn't be in the wonderful SWAC school system and you'll be driving further to get to most restaurants and shopping centers. The homes are older and smaller, but they will have more trees.

Also, when you say SW Fort Wayne, are you thinking mainly Aboite? If you really want to see plenty of home character, the area around Foster Park is full of amazing old homes. This is not a suburban area, such as Aboite, it's more city living. Lots of mansions on Old Mill Rd and nice homes surrounding that area.

[3rivers]

Also, if you could give us some more information we could better help you.
Do you have children? Where will you work? How big of a house do you need? What type of house do you really want?

I have friends who wouldn't be caught dead living in the suburbs and I know others that can't stand living in an old city neighborhood.

The good news is, there are great bargains everywhere right now!

[fabumom07]

Sorry the delay question ask, here are some hints I hope are helpful:

I have noticed that properties over 225 G or so are moving much slower than those under 200, because in Ft Wayne you get a pretty darn nice house and lot for that higher price. I am sure you can get a great house right now up to $250, but I am cautioning you in case you want a home that you could easily resell for any reason.

We have an "annexation line in Aboite township(all SW Allen Schools) that means one part of the township is annexed into the city, with city water and trash, but markedly higher taxes. Ask if a home is in/out of this area- there is no one meridian line so I can't really give you a boundary.

These are the prettiest 200-250 and up neighborhoods IMHO- Bridgewater, Eagle Creek, Inverness Lakes.The market has lowered prices in these exclusive neighborhoods. For moderate to nicer homes(225 and under) on 1/4 acre lots I like Jonathan's Landing, Haverhill, Saratoga Park, Liberty Hills Maybe Falls of Beaver Creek- which is on Hwy 14 with Shorewood and Whispering Meadows-somewhat less expensive. I prefer Timberlake and Covington Woods and the additions off Covington to the previous ones off 14, as there seems to be more stability.
Obviously these are my subjective opinions, and as mbuszu stated, there are many nice areas off Covington, Aboite Ctr Road and 14 that connect to the walking trails. Going across 14 may be a pain as its really busy if you want to walk/bike the trails and park.

Hope this helps in some small way! There certainly is alot on the market right now.

[Buy with Jared and Amanda]

I am very familiar with many of the subdivisions here in Fort Wayne. Take a look around and feel free to ask here if you have any questions. Thanks!