Family of 4 W/ 2 toddlers moving to Indianapolis (Lawrence, Marion: real estate, 2015)

[coleman427]

Family of 4. 3yr. Old and newborn moving to Indianapolis looking for west side up to meridian hills as far north as Westfield and anywhere in between. Hoping to find a 3br house for 200k or below. Is this realistic? Looking for any tips on housing, safe areas, good schools, crime areas to stay away from. Any and all help is welcome. Thank u folks so much!

[GraniteStater]

$200K in Meridian Hills northward is highly unlikely. The much more likely price point in most of the area is generally between $325K-450K at a minimum.

[sweetana3]

My first question is always where is your job? Indy inside the beltway is big and then you have added the suburbs and the search is almost impossible.

First look at a map and divide the areas to look at that are in a reasonable commute area. Then do a quick check using Zillow or some real estate site to see what is generally available. Ask questions regarding specific areas you find that are interesting. The city of Indianapolis, as have many others, has had extreme price increases. Your price range is popular with families and investors.

[Kluch]

200k seems very low. I'm not sure you'll find anything for that price that's move in ready in a safe/decent area unfortunately. Have you considered renting? We live in Avon and rent a 4bdrm house in a pretty nice area.

[domergurl]

agree with all being said here. I'd suggest you rent, find a place with good schools and proceed from there.

[WestsideMac]

Not sure you'll find much in good school areas for that price point. Renting, as already mentioned, is probably your best bet.

Best chance of 200K and still decent schools/area might be Speedway or Beech Grove.

I don't think you will find anything in the suburbs that meets your request, so my responses will only focus on within Marion County borders.

It seems you want Northside, but within Indy limits and a good school district that will have some homes available would be Perry school district area on the Southside of Indy. Not sure how that fits with your job and commute.

My first house I owned was in that area and prices are crazy now, but I think the area was generally safe and we loved living there. Traffic to my job and closer to family on the Westside of Indy is main reason we moved. That first house is almost double what I sold it for back around 2015 and over 200K now. However, Homecroft area would have some older homes in decent shape with 3 bedrooms for around 200K I would guess.

Other districts you might consider if you can find 200K (only listing Indianapolis) would be North Central schools area (encompasses Meridian Hills). There are some rough areas, but mostly safe. There are some nice neighborhoods that could fit the bill just not sure the price would fit. Some parts of Lawrence could be good though I think they'd be more than 200. You want ones that feed into Lawrence North vs Lawrence Central HS if possible though. the areas that aren't nice go downhill really quick though. Franklin Central area probably won't have much housing stock at 200K but would be a generally good area too.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by WestsideMac

Other districts you might consider if you can find 200K (only listing Indianapolis) would be North Central schools area (encompasses Meridian Hills).

That would be Washington Township Schools.

Originally Posted by WestsideMac

Some parts of Lawrence could be good though I think they'd be more than 200. You want ones that feed into Lawrence North vs Lawrence Central HS if possible though. the areas that aren't nice go downhill really quick though.

LN and LC are both about as good as the other in my opinion. This is based on the feedback from people I know who teach in the district, as well as friends and co-workers who send their kids to the district. Lawrence is a diverse district, with Geist in the north and more challenged areas in the south and everything in between. The high school zones are drawn up to try to balance parts of each diverse area in each school. A lot of people outside the district think LN is Geist and LC is everything south of 56th St, but that is not the case at all. LN and LC both have zones in Geist and south of 56th St.

[WestsideMac]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

That would be Washington Township Schools.




LN and LC are both about as good as the other in my opinion. This is based on the feedback from people I know who teach in the district, as well as friends and co-workers who send their kids to the district. Lawrence is a diverse district, with Geist in the north and more challenged areas in the south and everything in between. The high school zones are drawn up to try to balance parts of each diverse area in each school. A lot of people outside the district think LN is Geist and LC is everything south of 56th St, but that is not the case at all. LN and LC both have zones in Geist and south of 56th St.

Yes sorry I meant to say Washington Township not North Central schools.

Ok good to know. I knew someone who works at LC (haven't talked to him since COVID) and he described LC as having most, though not all of Geist, but most of the most expensive neighborhoods then some of the lowest socio-economic homes and combining them. He made LN sound more middle-of-the-road, not the most expensive or cheapest, just all the homes/incomes in between. They could have redistricted or he was just oversimplifying descriptions for us when we talked to help us understand easier. Either way good to know, thanks for correcting me.