Possible move to KC Area (Kansas City, Independence: real estate market, amusement parks, condo)

[03psd]

What a great resource this page is I am real glad I found it as I have learned more in 1 hour of just reading then I did speaking to 2 real estate agents for 4 hours

My wife and I may be relocating to the KC area. My company has an office in Raytown but I gather its not a great place to live. We have no kids so schools arent a huge factor other then good schools typically lead to higher property values. We are either looking for homes in the $300-$450k range or will build one to suit our needs. I do not want a cookie cutter house in what I call a "house farm" (clear cut land, no trees, houses stacked on top of each other). We are accustomed to a 30-45 minute commute so some distance is fine. We are not predisposed to either KS or MO so long as it is in a conservative, up scale area. If this means we are sort of "snobby" then so be it.

We would appreciate any input on established neighborhoods or growing areas where we could build.

Thanks

[rondamarchant]

Not snobby.....just know what you want!!!! Check into Lee's Summit or Blue Springs on the Mo. side. Those 2 cities seem to best suite your criteria for homes and schools - leading to good properties values. On the Ks. side, Overland Park - but you will most likely be able to get more house for your money on the Mo. side.

[mercedes1]

I would highly recommend buying a home in Johnson County. You will not be sorry! $300-$450 will buy a beautiful home in this highly desirable area. I recommend Overland Park or Leawood. Johnson County has excellent school districts (for resale), shopping, one of the best library systems in the country, good roads. I grew up in Johnson County and lived there until 1985. I still have many friends and visit often. The Country Club Plaza, Crossroads District and the new KC Power and Light district add to Kansas City's desirability as a great place to live.

[christina0001]

I'm in Greenwood, which is very commutable to Raytown. Greenwood is part of the Lee's Summit school district (which is well-rated) but is tiny and peaceful with almost no crime. If you take Rt. 150 East through Greenwood and get out of town, there are beautiful, well-spaced out homes on large lots hidden between Greenwood and Rt. 7. I don't know the street names but it's a great drive, you can just drive around the side roads coming off of Rt. 150. Most of the homes are not part of any particular development/association except for The Wilds, which to me is a beautiful community. They managed to build houses without ripping out all of the trees - why can't other developers do that? Here is their website if you want more information: Brent Homes | About Us For upscale shopping, it's a quick trip to Lee's Summit, the city, or the mall (Town Center) at Leawood, KS. I went from Greenwood to Town Center at Leawood yesterday and it took 20ish minutes.
http://www.towncenterplaza.net/Index.asp?IdS=000F09-7122000&x=010|000&~=

[northbound74]

You'll have to avoid most of Johnson County as well as many of the suburbs on the Missouri side if you don't want "cookie cutter" houses. There are exceptions. Northeastern Johnson County is an older, very well kept area. In the City, there's the Brookside neighborhood, although I wouldn't call it conservative.
There are a few developments around the area that are building new houses that look like older homes with a lot more character, yet have all the amenities of the more recent homes. There is such a development in Raytown at 59th & Raytown Road. Others are in Lee's Summit in the Longview Lake area, Shoal Creek near Liberty just west of I-35, and on 291 in Liberty. North Kansas City has Northgate Village.
I'm sure there are more, these are the one's I could think of right off the bat. You can get an extremely nice house in any of these places and stay in your price range.
Property values hold up pretty well in most of the suburbs.

[GraniteStater]

I would definitely look at northern areas of Leawood, generally along and north of I-435. This area has a good mixture of larger older homes in established neighborhoods along with a few new rebuilds.

[northbayeric]

Would any of you recommend to the OP Parkville as a possibility? I drove to Park University once during my trip to Missouri last September, but didn't get to spend enough time in Parkville to form any definite impressions other than the attractiveness of the campus.

With a $300K to $450K price range, the OP is going to have a seriously nice and spacious place to live in the KC area. It's incredible to think that our real estate market in Sonoma County, CA has taken such a drubbing that $450K will now almost buy an average home in a number of areas of the county. That would have been totally unheard of back in 2005 except maybe for a real fixer-upper in a flood-prone part of western Sonoma County's Russian River region.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

Would any of you recommend to the OP Parkville as a possibility? I drove to Park University once during my trip to Missouri last September, but didn't get to spend enough time in Parkville to form any definite impressions other than the attractiveness of the campus.

With a $300K to $450K price range, the OP is going to have a seriously nice and spacious place to live in the KC area. It's incredible to think that our real estate market in Sonoma County, CA has taken such a drubbing that $450K will now almost buy an average home in a number of areas of the county. That would have been totally unheard of back in 2005 except maybe for a real fixer-upper in a flood-prone part of western Sonoma County's Russian River region.

Parkville is a good town, but probably not upscale enough for the OP based on the price range they have. To be fair I am sure you could find a great large house in Parkville for an affordable price. You CAN get more house for your money in areas of Clay and Platte Counties in Missouri. However, those areas are further away from the southern areas of the KC metro where many of the jobs and higher population densities.

[kcmo]

Parkville not upscale? Are you freaking kidding me? Ever been to Riss Lake? The Cliffs? Tom Watson’s National Golf Course community? Parkville is just north of Briarcliff which is also very upscale 400k +. Most of Platte County is nice and most of Platte County is KCMO. Just drive up I-29 and get off any exit and you will find all sorts of nice subdivisions all the way up to KCI.

Shopping is plentiful too. Briarcliff Village, The Tulleries, Zona Rosa. Schools are good too. The Northland has great schools, even though much of it is in KCMO.

Clay County also has some very up and coming areas too along I-35 near Liberty and the entire 152 corridor has plenty of newer options of all housing types, including upscale.

The best thing about the Northland is Downtown is only minutes away. KCI is nearby, the casinos are nearby, the amusement parks are nearby. The plaza is easy and quick to get to.

Can’t say that about 135th and Nall in Kansas.

But even if you don’t go north, don’t go to JoCo, go to Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs or Independence. You will get much more house for the money and much less of the snobby attitude that hovers over the Kansas suburbs. You can live in an upscale area and not think you are better than the rest of the city.

If you work in Raytown and can afford a big home I would live in Lee’s Summit. Lakewood has everything from 275k to millions. There are also many very upscale neighborhoods south of 470 in Lee’s Summit. Raytown would be a 5-10 minute drive.

But don’t overlook the “city” either. KCMO has some very charming urban neighborhoods. Just take 435 to Holmes or Wornall and go north. Of course KCMO also offers all the “urban” choices too. If you want to live in a highrise (condo or loft) or lowrise rowhouse or single family home in any of KCMO’s urban neighborhoods like Valentine, Hyde Park etc.

If you must live in Kansas, then try NE JoCo, Prairie Village, North Leawood, Mission, Fairway etc. If you move to Southern or Western JoCo, you will become just another brainwashed KCMO hater that never goes north of 435. May as well live in Wichita.

[kcmo]

OK, after I stepped down from my little soap box...

For you, I would highly recommend either Lakewood or Dalton's Ridge. Both start in the 320's. Lakewood is nearly built out, so new construction is hard to find, but there are 1000’s of homes in that development that go well into the millions. Dalton's Ridge is east of 470 and Woods Chapel and it's new construction across from Flemming Park.

But again, southern Lee's Summit also has plenty of upscale areas.