North VS. South (Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood: renting, credit, construction loan)

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by CravenClan

Southside shrek......what makes it boring? Just curious??

CravenClan
Simply put, there are just many more nice homes, schools, malls, stores, shops, theaters and restaurants on the North end as opposed to down south. Overall, there is obviously more money or at least obvious signs of it. I happen to like economically upbeat areas. Contractors like it too because they are buzzing all over the place.

[CravenClan]

Hi all....Thanks again

I have heard it is nicer,(the North side) so we will see when we visit.

We are self employed contractors as i stated...and in another post i did i asked about work in the winter, Funny the responses were basically it was slow (which i figured) and one was that they were unemployed from Dec-April...How is that?? Not many people (especially us) can pay their bills on unemployment, even if it is only for a few months. That would not even come close to my car payment!!!

Yes i am from CA traffic, so that is of no importance to me, LA traffic (which i do not do) has been the worst for a while, and i live in Riverside County which has one of the worst air qualities around!!

While i would love to rent, i posted about that either and got no responses!!! BUT i would like to rent in an area where i would know i would be staying, as i do not want to chnge my kids schools (again) So i am open to renting, BUT in an area i like...and hope to stay in long term.

This is not a trial thing for us, we are tired of California, for many reasons, and we have wanted to make a change for a few years....We are looking for a place to be our HOME, YES i know the weather will be different, but believe me, as i have lived here for ever, Weather is not everything, especially when you are raising kids.

[Zoo Animals On Wheels]

Originally Posted by BCLead

I'm not trying to start a p****** match here, but as I read this I was watching the AM news and saw the traffic cams. 69 and 465: bumper to bumper and moving slowly. 65 and 465: bumper to bumper and moving slowly.

Emerson and Southport. It has taken me 15 minutes to get from the I65 ramp to Meijer during evening rush hour. Just 2 weeks ago, after dropping our son off at IU, we decided to have dinner in Greenwood. County Line Rd from SR37 to US31, 45 minutes. Yes, Northside side traffic is bad. But let's not paint the Southside as a traffic utopia. It's bad there too. But absolutley nothing like the Dan Ryan at 5:30.

OK...maybe I haven't been at the places you mentioned on the southside at rush hours. I didn't mean to imply I did a scientific survey...it was merely anecdotal observation on my part.

Agreed, the southside isn't "traffic utopia." I don't think anyplace not SmallTown, USA is anymore.

You might try Fry Rd. to get to US 31 instead of County Line, next time. It doesn't extend to 37, iirc, but from 135 to 31. It's not a cow path, but not as congested as County Line by any means.

[Zoo Animals On Wheels]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

CravenClan
Simply put, there are just many more nice homes, schools, malls, stores, shops, theaters and restaurants on the North end as opposed to down south. Overall, there is obviously more money or at least obvious signs of it. I happen to like economically upbeat areas. Contractors like it too because they are buzzing all over the place.

From my time in south Florida, I know that the appearance of wealth is not remotely the same thing as the reality of wealth.

Before we bought our house and were shopping for loans, the mortgage broker told me (take it with a grain of salt, this is hearsay):

People in Carmel tend to have a huge (4000+ sq. ft), fancy house with a 5% (or less) down mortgage.

People in Greenwood tend to have a smallish (2000 or less sq. ft), modest house that they paid cash for.

I know which way of life I prefer. Not everybody does...it's totally subjective.

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by Zoo Animals On Wheels

From my time in south Florida, I know that the appearance of wealth is not remotely the same thing as the reality of wealth.

Before we bought our house and were shopping for loans, the mortgage broker told me (take it with a grain of salt, this is hearsay):

People in Carmel tend to have a huge (4000+ sq. ft), fancy house with a 5% (or less) down mortgage.

People in Greenwood tend to have a smallish (2000 or less sq. ft), modest house that they paid cash for.

I know which way of life I prefer. Not everybody does...it's totally subjective.

That mortgage broker doesn't appear to have a very high opinion of all the doctors, dentists, company executives, professionals and even the Governor living in Carmel. Poor Mitch, I hope he was able to put more than 5% down.

[CravenClan]

Just because you put a little or a lot of money down, is a matter of credit....and your situation, i know VERY few people that can only put 5% down on anything. Especially if a house is $1 mil+ It is NEARLY impossible, no bank in their right mind would do that, even when times were great, it is too much liablity for them. I KNOW. Also in our situation, being self employed, which a lot of people that make a good amount of money are, or they are as Southside Shrek said, Dr's, lawyers, CEO's etc....we have to come in with more money down.. We have done a lot of house buying and a few construction loans, 5 % is unheard of....


Again it is what you are comfortable with....Myself, i need 4000SQ FT, i have 4 kids, and i like my space, do i need or want more, Not really, i had a BIG house, and it sucked to clean, let alone the utitlies... Again,it is your comfort zone, and what you want to spend your hard earned money on...Us, i want areally nice place, great schools, a slower pace of life, and my husband not to work his a$$ off for HUGE house (and payment) that i don't want to clean anyways!!!

Also things are not what they may appear, and that is where people in get into trouble judging....It is not a very nice thing to do, and if you only want to be my friend, because i have a nice house, drive nice cars, and have designer jeans, then you would not be someone i would want to be friends with.....I guess that is why i think it is so sad here in Ca, everyone is so busy keeping up with the Joneses, they can not come up for air....let alone see decent people around them....I will take some crappy weather over the sunshine for that anyday of the week.......

[Naptowner]

Originally Posted by CravenClan

We are self employed contractors as i stated...and in another post i did i asked about work in the winter, Funny the responses were basically it was slow (which i figured) and one was that they were unemployed from Dec-April...How is that?? Not many people (especially us) can pay their bills on unemployment, even if it is only for a few months. That would not even come close to my car payment!!!

I wasn't saying everyone in construction draws unemployment four months a year, but landscapers slow way, way down over the winter. Aside from mowing grass there's not much you can do. It usually gets too cold to pour anything but footings by Thanksgiving, and even if it stays warmer than usual, a lot of people don't plan jobs during that time because they don't want to pay for winter protection. You might be able to do hardscape work but since you can't plant anything until spring, nobody wants to do that kind of thing until the weather warms up. Commercial and industrial work is a different story. You might be able to move dirt in March, or maybe even February, but a lot of job sites will be a muddy mess even if the ground doesn't stay frozen. People pay bills by doing side jobs as they can and by working a ton of overtime when the weather IS nice. I don't know who your typical clients are now - homeowners or builders, but residential construction is dead, dead, dead here compared to a few years ago.

[MikiJayne]

Craven... remember to check taxes too, high taxes can push a home's price way up. There are 14 homes available right now in Avon alone with 4000 sq. ft (not including the basement), ranging from $279,900 up to $1.2 million. Taxes on these homes are anywhere from $1,700 to over $10,000 (!!) per half.

[MikiJayne]

Also... have you checked out all the info that is on City-Data.com about Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, Greenwood, and any other place you are thinking of moving to? There is an amazing amount of info on everything from age to jobs, what perentage of people have degrees, income levels, crime stats, property taxes, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

[Zoo Animals On Wheels]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

That mortgage broker doesn't appear to have a very high opinion of all the doctors, dentists, company executives, professionals and even the Governor living in Carmel. Poor Mitch, I hope he was able to put more than 5% down.

You're assuming that people with high incomes (doctors, dentists, etc.) automatically have high net worth. This is a common mistake.