Good areas of Independence? (Kansas City, Lee's Summit: lawyer, transplants, apartment complex)

[marymoon]

Hi all,
My husband and I are moving to Independence sometime in July and we are clueless about where to look for a house to rent for awhile before we buy. I have read on this forum that there are some unsafe parts of Independence and we don't want to end up there. My questions: Where should we look for houses? Which parts of town are semi-quiet and safe? Anyone have a clue how we could find a rental while 2000 miles away? Can someone explain how the town is divided? I know something about 39th or some street but not sure what that means...
We are just worried we'll get talked into renting in an area we wouldn't want to live in.
Thanks for your help.

[kcmo]

What's with all the transplants to Independence lately?

Independence is like a small big city. It has ghetto areas, charming historic areas, bland cookie cutter areas and upscale 400k home areas.

So depending on what you want....

Chances are, you will need to look in the SE part of the city and you will be fine. There are a lot of new areas east of Lee's Summit Road, most of the houses in that area will start at 275k though.

If you can give me an idea of your price range, I could help out more. Basically, if you go north of 23rd, the houses will get much cheaper, even the new ones. You can find a nice home in the city of Indep in from 225-275k around the I-470 and I-70 corridor though.

You also have northern Lee's Summit and western Blue springs in the same area.

[marymoon]

Thanks kcmo!
For the time being we are looking at renting..buying after we have been there a bit. Any rental advice?
That being said, we are wondering if we can get a nice place for under 200k when we look to buy. Any advice there would be great as well.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by marymoon

Thanks kcmo!
For the time being we are looking at renting..buying after we have been there a bit. Any rental advice?
That being said, we are wondering if we can get a nice place for under 200k when we look to buy. Any advice there would be great as well.

There are several newer apartment complexes near the Independence Center shopping mall.

The Dunes, brand new, across from Costco
View Dunes at Eastland Center Apartments For Rent in Independence, Missouri - ForRent.com

Cornerstone, brand new, next to the mall
View Cornerstone Apartment Homes Apartments For Rent in Independence, Missouri - ForRent.com

Pepperwood, brand new, next to the new Centerpoint Medical Center
View Pepperwood Apartments Apartments For Rent in Independence, Missouri - ForRent.com


But honestly, other than those, there are not many high quality apartment complexes in Indep. You will find more in Lee's Summit and many more in the Northland or Johnson County. What you will find (with a little work) is a nice rental home in southeastern Indep or Blue Springs.

As far as a "nice" home for under 200k, Blue Springs will probably be your bet bet in the entire metro area for that price point. You can get a nice house there for much less than most suburbs, but it's just as nice.

[marymoon]

Thanks! We want to rent a house--so I guess I may have my work cut out for me.

[Vicman]

Also the parts of Independence that used to be in the Kansas City SD are now in Independence SD; Kansas City kids will no longer be zoned to any Independence schools.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by marymoon

Thanks! We want to rent a house--so I guess I may have my work cut out for me.

It may be too late for my two cents, but Independence has lots of houses in good neighborhoods for rent that won't break the bank. As for buying, Independence and Raytown give you the most house for the money, generally. Blue Springs is nice enough, too. They're finally getting some retail to live up to those population figures. It's also convenient to southeast Independence, a major shopping area.

If you stay around 39th/35th streets in Independence, generally east of Crysler (although areas west are nice,too), there's lots of really nice houses that go for 85k-200k, depending on how big you want to go. The areas between Noland and Lee's Summit Rd., from 35th down to Highway 40, have a lot of nice houses for under 200k. Another nice area is east of Lee's Summit Rd., north of 35th and south of 23rd. This includes east of 291, and south of Truman. Independence has more nice areas than not, come to think of it.
As has been stated before, north of 23rd is spotty. Some areas are good, some not so great. West of Crysler is the same way. The square is increasingly becoming very cool.

[marymoon]

It's not too late--we won't be moving until mid July. Thanks so much! It helps a lot to get specifics since the area is totally new to us.

[northbound74]

Here's a couple of websites for the Independence Square. I'm not sure why there's two sites, though.
The first one looks to be centered around the businesses that one lawyer guy has remodeled. He has done a lot to revamp the old district.
The second one looks to be the more "official" one. It's more extensive.

New Independence Square - http://www.newindependencesquare.com/

theindependencesquare.comHome

[marymoon]

northbound-
I think we may have found a place? Can I direct message you the location so I can get your opinion since you've been so helpful? If not that's OK too.