a few questions about relocating to northland area of KC (Kansas City: sales, real estate market)

[Gibby3000]

We are considering possible relocation to KC area from MN. Potential job is located in Liberty near 35/33. Job would involve travel so proximity to airport is also a factor. I've been doing alot of reading here and also perusing real estate ads online. I seem to be gravitating mainly to Liberty and Parkville areas based on what I've read and seen. I would like to live somewhere with some character vs. a sea of development where everything looks the same. Have looked at homes in the 300-400 range - looking for something with a larger, private lot with woods/trees - 1-2 acres ideal. Looking for a nice 3-4 bedroom house but not overly large in somewhat of a neighborhood so not too isolated from other people since we would like to get to know people and have some sense of community. I prefer existing home vs brand new home in a brand new development. So based on all that I have a few questions:

1. what would daily commute from Parkville to Liberty be like?

2. what is the story with HOA - is every house in a HOA? I'm experienced with HOA but it's not every where that I live

3. what is the deal with floods and flood insurance - where am I prone to flooding? Real estate ads note that flood insurance not required - if it says nothing does that mean it is required and I'm in the flood plain?

4. what is the deal with the higher tax west of 35W - is that every where west of 35 or are there some north/south boundaries or other excluded areas?

5. what is the real estate market like in this area - are there some areas that are most desireable - this may not be a permanent move and I don't want to be stuck with an overpriced house that I can never unload - what might differentiate a place and make it desireable in the future

6. what else do I need to know about this area - or consider - that I may have no clue about

7. this would be a relocation for a 50 something two career couple - relo for one person's career and other may either "retire" or be looking for something to do so want to be located in a decent location for commuting to other potential workplace as well

[ijitterbug]

Hi Gibby 3000:

I'll try to answer some of your questions. We live in Weatherby Lake, Mo (adjoins Parkville on the North) and our city is a Class C city. Strictly residential....bedroom community of approximately 1600 residents.

Your questions..
1. Parkville to Liberty 20 miles (center to center of cities) 20 miles, 27 - 40 minutes depending on weather and traffic conditions.
2. I am not certain that all areas have HOA requirements.
3. I cannot definitely say flood insurance is or is not a requirement. In Weatherby Lake it certainly is not. The last instance where a flood occurred was in 1991 (Missouri river "great flood" which affected the city of Riverside, but not Parkville or Liberty.
4. Taxes vary by city, county and school districts. (Parkville is in Platte County and Liberty is in Clay County.
5. Real estate market in the two counties remains reasonably strong. Platte County seems to have a slight positive edge over Clay County. Generally speaking, Liberty and Parkville each are "desirable" areas. Parkville school district is one of the highest rated in the country. Riss Lake subdivision (Parkville) is a fairly new area with homes ranging from low 300's to 2.5 M. Weatherby Lake has a 400 acre lake, restricted to property owners and guests, great fishing, and wonderful "pontoon cruising" (9.9 HP max.) residential area with homes from mid 200's to over 7M.
6. Each of the mentioned communities are within an easy 30 minute or less commute to the airport (Kansas City International) and generally the same commute time to downtown Kansas City, MO.
7. Great highway system for "getting around" the metropolitan area. For all practical purposes, you can travel diagonally (the longest distance) across the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area in 45 minutes to 1 hour at the most (excluding major traffic tie ups and/or significant weather concerns.)

All in all, the specific areas you mention (Liberty and Parkville) as well as what we refer to as the "northland" truly is a convenient and good place to live.

Any other specific questions you may have, you can email me (Jerry) jwilson75@kc.rr.com

[kcmo]

First off, I think you would be much happier in Platte County than Clay County. It sounds like you two make very good money, travel etc. In general, Platte is much more upscale and white collar while Clay is more middle class and blue collar. Now it goes both ways in both areas. There are some very pricey homes in Clay and some rather modest homes in Platte. But by far and large, Platte will offer more executive homes and higher end shopping etc. There is one area of Clay that is just southeast of Parkville (Briarcliff), that is very upscale and it's a new, yet charming area.

You will also probably like the terrain better in Platte or the Briarcliff section of Clay as it's more rolling hills, cliffs etc while Clay can really flatten out and get rather bland.

When looking at Platte, remember that most of the homes are not going to be technically in the city of Parkville. Most will be in the city of Kansas City, MO and some will be in un-incorporated Platte County.

In Clay, most upper bracket homes will also be in Kansas City, MO with some in Liberty, Gladstone etc.

I would start with the Cliffs in Parkville and Old Briarcliff in Kansas City, MO. You won't get acreage, but you will get an amazing lot in a very hilly area with a ton of trees and only a few blocks from historic downtown Parkville or with a skyline view of KCMO.

Most upscale areas in KC will have HOA. Not sure why, but that's just the way it is.

The commute across the northland from Liberty to Parkville or Parkville to KCI or KCI to Liberty or whatever will not take any more than 20-30 minutes. There really is not much congestion within the Northland. Most of the congestion in KC is south of the river and most of the congestion in the northland (which is minimal compared to the rest of the city) is getting to and from the Downtown area or crossing the rivers.

I'm not an expert on taxes or flood insurance. But I would say that if you can afford a 400k home, taxes should be the least of your worries.

It's a nice area (Northland). Good luck.

[Gibby3000]

Thanks everyone for the additional info - very helpful - I will check out a few more places based on what you have said. I did see a couple houses in Weatherby Lake - that seems like a great place. It seems like there are alot of good places to live in this area. I'm not sure I'm so much of an upscale person - but I definitely would have a hard time living in a flat open area with no trees!! The tax thing I think I read about was an additional income tax in some areas west of 35W. Since I currently live in one of the highest income tax states in the country it would probably still be an improvement over current situation. Anyway - thank you all for the info - I really appreciate the help.

[kcmo]

gibby, that is the kcmo etax.

in the liberty area, most of the growth is west of 35 and that is the city of Kansas City, MO, not Liberty.

You will pay the etax in most areas of Platte County as well. It's any area that is in the city of KCMO.

If you live or work in the city of KCMO, you pay a 1% etax.

In most cases it's not that big of a deal as most areas of KCMO have lower overall taxes such as property, sales etc than most of the suburbs.

In your case, since you don't work in KCMO, you employer won't take out that tax, so you will have to file with KCMO at the end of the year and pay the tax.

It's a pain in the butt and people love to rip on that etax, but it's needed and many large cities have them.

Again, I would just find a home you like first and then worry about the taxes

[Gibby3000]

Well, made my visit to the area. I thought KC was nice - many things similar to Mpls St. Paul - except fewer lakes, parks, walking trails, etc. from what I could tell. I think we would lean more toward living closer to Liberty rather than driving from Parkville area though both were nice. Seems easier to drive to Parkville side for shopping, etc. rather than driving to Liberty every day for work. Saw some nice places farther out that were interesting - up toward Kearny and Smithville - not sure if we want to live closer in or more out in the country. There are a lot of good options. People were very friendly - very nice. Traffic was light up around there - even at rush hour. I can't see living in the extra tax area if you have a choice not to though areas around Liberty had very high property taxes - so it may be a wash - not sure yet. Anyway, it was a fun and interesting to check out the area and it seems like a great place to live if you are looking to get out of the rat race a bit - as I am.

[kcmo]

Gibby, the northland is growing very fast, so look for it to be a "rat race" within ten years .

But I doubt it will ever be as bad as it is in the southern parts of the metro area. The traffic out there makes the Northland look like nothing and since you don't have to go south of the river or to the sourthern suburbs, you may never even experience rush hour traffic in KC.

I really wouldn't worry about the etax too much. You might pay 300-800 dollar more a year, but you do get free trash service in KCMO which would equate to about 300 dollars a year and like you said, property taxes in most of the suburbs are higher, so are water and sewer taxes although KCMO is about to do some catching up there. I would just fine a home you like and don't worry about what city it's in. All of the Northalnd along the 152 corridor is very nice.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by Gibby3000

Well, made my visit to the area. I thought KC was nice - many things similar to Mpls St. Paul - except fewer lakes, parks, walking trails, etc. from what I could tell. I think we would lean more toward living closer to Liberty rather than driving from Parkville area though both were nice. Seems easier to drive to Parkville side for shopping, etc. rather than driving to Liberty every day for work. Saw some nice places farther out that were interesting - up toward Kearny and Smithville - not sure if we want to live closer in or more out in the country. There are a lot of good options. People were very friendly - very nice. Traffic was light up around there - even at rush hour. I can't see living in the extra tax area if you have a choice not to though areas around Liberty had very high property taxes - so it may be a wash - not sure yet. Anyway, it was a fun and interesting to check out the area and it seems like a great place to live if you are looking to get out of the rat race a bit - as I am.

I am not sure what time of day you were driving around but Liberty is the most congested place to drive in the Northland. 152 is the main way in and out of there and it can take a long time to make it from the edge of Liberty to the heart of Liberty during certain times of day. I use to work in Liberty and dont miss it in the least bit.

[Gibby3000]

rjrobb - I guess your perception of traffic and congestion are relative to your experiences. We were driving in the area between 4-6pm on various days and though there was some back up of cars at the lights at places like 35 and 152 it was practically nothing compared to what I'm used to - a 23 mile trip that would be various levels of stop and go for 45-60 minutes at rush hour - which lasts from about 3:30-6:30 in the evening. When the weather is bad my current commute can be two hours. A 5-6 mile drive to work through a few stop lights would be heaven. In any case, since potential job is in Liberty driving through the area at rush hour will be a requirement - just need to decide how far away we might want to live - all things considered. I really liked the more rural areas farther north.

kcmo - I was wondering how the current housing and economic slowdown will impact the growth there. More concerned about whether housing prices are at or near the bottom or if the downward spiral will continue. There sure are a lot of houses in distressed sale situations around that area.

[kcmo]

Gibby3000,

Yea, Northland traffic is nearly non-existent, especially if you don't have to cross the rivers. The bridges can get pretty congested, but compared to the big freeways in the rest of the city. There is no traffic up north. Just some delays at busy commercial areas like I-35 and 152 or I-29 and Barry. Most of the freeways up north never even back up, for any reason. 435 up north is only about 20% of its capacity, while 435 down south is 8-12 lanes wide and backs up many times a day.

As far as the economic slowdown...

KC is taking a big hit. Much bigger than I think most locals realize.

The metro was building 10,000-12,000 homes a year only 5 years ago. That has dropped to just a few thousand.

KC's economy is not doing much better, so homes just are not moving right now.

But if there was an area that will bounce back, I would think the Shoal Creek area (KCMO west of Liberty) will be one of the first to recover since it's a more "modest" area compared to many suburban areas of metro KC. I don't know about buying a home right now. I would just rent and get a feel for the area and give it a chance to bounce back.

Although, you are in a perfect position to buy a house if you don't have one to sell....