Need help with KC, MO neighborhoods!!!!!! (Kansas City, Raytown: houses, buy, school district)

[shawnceltic]

I must say (again I still haven't actually been there), but Grandview seems to have some things going for it. I recently did some research on their community center in Meadowmere Park. There is a house for sale in the River Oaks golf community for around 120,000. This is about 5 minutes from the community center. And this really blows my mind, at this River Oaks golf club you can get a yearly membership which includes a fitness facility for $350 a year! You can golf at any of the 7 golf courses affiliated with River Oaks whenever you want. The $350 includes my wife as well!!! What’s the catch? A membership to a golf club in Connecticut will run $2000-$35,000. A round of golf at a decent course runs $45-$60. If anyone knows about this specific area please throw some info at me. Very interested in this am I. AJK1535 help me out.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by shawnceltic

I must say (again I still haven't actually been there), but Grandview seems to have some things going for it. I recently did some research on their community center in Meadowmere Park. There is a house for sale in the River Oaks golf community for around 120,000. This is about 5 minutes from the community center. And this really blows my mind, at this River Oaks golf club you can get a yearly membership which includes a fitness facility for $350 a year! You can golf at any of the 7 golf courses affiliated with River Oaks whenever you want. The $350 includes my wife as well!!! What’s the catch? A membership to a golf club in Connecticut will run $2000-$35,000. A round of golf at a decent course runs $45-$60. If anyone knows about this specific area please throw some info at me. Very interested in this am I. AJK1535 help me out.

My husband is a golfer and has played just about every course in the metro area, he typically pays $45-$75 to play a round. We are not members of any club. I will ask him about the one mentioned, but I anticipate the answer to be "you get what you pay for."

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by shawnceltic

I must say (again I still haven't actually been there), but Grandview seems to have some things going for it. I recently did some research on their community center in Meadowmere Park. There is a house for sale in the River Oaks golf community for around 120,000. This is about 5 minutes from the community center. And this really blows my mind, at this River Oaks golf club you can get a yearly membership which includes a fitness facility for $350 a year! You can golf at any of the 7 golf courses affiliated with River Oaks whenever you want. The $350 includes my wife as well!!! What’s the catch? A membership to a golf club in Connecticut will run $2000-$35,000. A round of golf at a decent course runs $45-$60. If anyone knows about this specific area please throw some info at me. Very interested in this am I. AJK1535 help me out.

Okay - talked to hubby. FWIW, he's lived in KC his whole life. He's played the course at River Oaks. He described it as "a nice little muni" -- "it's a goat trail, but not bad" -- and "if I lived near there, I'd pay $350 a year to be able to play a few holes whenever I wanted."

That was, of course, after his first reaction, "Why the hell does he want to move to Grandview!?!"

Sorry -- just giving you full disclosure

[shawnceltic]

Thanks Samantha S. My excitment has dwindled a little bit. Not much positive feedback from the Grandview idea. I really don't want to have to rent.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by shawnceltic

Thanks Samantha S. My excitment has dwindled a little bit. Not much positive feedback from the Grandview idea. I really don't want to have to rent.

Shawnceltic, here's a link to KC golf courses/pricing, etc. Kansas City Golf, Kansas City Tee Times, Kansas City Golf Course Information

Meadowbrook Country Club in Prairie Village used to send us invitations to join...I don't remember now how much it was though. Looks like the above link might just be public courses as I see some are missing and they must be private.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by shawnceltic

Thanks Samantha S. My excitment has dwindled a little bit. Not much positive feedback from the Grandview idea. I really don't want to have to rent.

Is there a reason you are not looking in Overland Park, Shawnee, Merriam? Not trying to push you to JoCo, but since your wife will be working there ...

We had a cute little starter house in OP when we first got married. 66204 zip, near 75th and Metcalf area. My husband STILL laments the fact that we didn't keep it for rental property. His parents still live in that area. Great area, great schools and some very affordable homes. For what you want, I'd say it's primo -- but I forget if you've said why you don't want to be on the KS side.

[shawnceltic]

I'm not really interested on spending any kind of real money on a house when I don't know the area of KC at all, and I don't rent so that is not an option. That would be number one. The house I'm looking for is going to eventually be a rental. So I want to find an up and coming neighborhood that isn't completely established yet so the house has a chance to build up "quality" equity over time. I also want to keep costs at a minimum for when it is a rental. That's why I'm looking at Missouri because Kansas’s taxes are a 1/3 more. It also seems that all the "plush" zip codes in Kansas are already established if not over established. I think Overland Park, Olathe, and Shawnee where on Money Magazine's top 100. Those publications are usually two, three, or four years off IME. They might actually be in decline. JOCO folks please don't over react to the last statement. I want to find neighborhoods that will be on that list five, six years from now. Obviously that's in a perfect world and I'm not saying I'm going to find that in KC, but that is my goal. My baseline if you will.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by shawnceltic

I'm not really interested on spending any kind of real money on a house when I don't know the area of KC at all, and I don't rent so that is not an option. That would be number one. The house I'm looking for is going to eventually be a rental. So I want to find an up and coming neighborhood that isn't completely established yet so the house has a chance to build up "quality" equity over time. I also want to keep costs at a minimum for when it is a rental. That's why I'm looking at Missouri because Kansas’s taxes are a 1/3 more. It also seems that all the "plush" zip codes in Kansas are already established if not over established. I think Overland Park, Olathe, and Shawnee where on Money Magazine's top 100. Those publications are usually two, three, or four years off IME. They might actually be in decline. JOCO folks please don't over react to the last statement. I want to find neighborhoods that will be on that list five, six years from now. Obviously that's in a perfect world and I'm not saying I'm going to find that in KC, but that is my goal. My baseline if you will.

Don't worry about offending me. JoCo is not utopia and it's not for everyone. But it does have a lot going for it, if I were you I would not rule it out.

A few thoughts:

Taxes can be higher, but against comparable places in MO, they are not that different.

People who want to live in JoCo expect that higher taxes will be reflected in their rent. If they want JoCo, they are willing to pay it.

More established neighborhoods tend to have lower taxes. The great schools are already there and have great reputations.

With the economy, it's going to be tough to find any "up and coming" new areas. It's just not happening right now. But you can find some great deals out there (we've been looking - almost jumped at one recently, still kicking ourselves that we hesitated)

When the housing market does recover, JoCo will be among the first and fastest areas to recover (think equity). (Not that other places in the metro won't do just as well, but I have no doubt about JoCo.)

Yes, the JoCo zips were on the list 5-6 years ago. They were also on the list 10-15 years ago, and 15-20 years ago and they will still be on the list 5-6 years from now. Not every area of JoCo is "plush", but most are quite nice and many are quite affordable. It will be a draw for years to come.

Again, kcmo will bite my head off, and I'm not saying JoCo is the only thing you should consider. But I'd certainly check it out if I were in your shoes. PM me for a fabulous agent (I make no move in real estate without him and we've made several, including rental property).

Good luck!

[kcmo]

Samantha, I would never bite you head off! I'm a nice guy!

But I do believe that's it's in the best interest of the metro as a whole for as many people to live on the MO side as possible and since there are just as many options and even more types of lifestyle choices on the MO side (urban, not just suburban), than I'm going to push it.

Be it the plaza or downtown or Liberty or Lee's Summit, the more people that live on the MO side, the easier it is for the MO side to fund regional attractions and assets like the zoo, stadiums etc. That way there is more money for things the MO side really needs like bridges, transit etc.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Samantha, I would never bite you head off! I'm a nice guy!

But I do believe that's it's in the best interest of the metro as a whole for as many people to live on the MO side as possible and since there are just as many options and even more types of lifestyle choices on the MO side (urban, not just suburban), than I'm going to push it.

Be it the plaza or downtown or Liberty or Lee's Summit, the more people that live on the MO side, the easier it is for the MO side to fund regional attractions and assets like the zoo, stadiums etc. That way there is more money for things the MO side really needs like bridges, transit etc.

I was teasing you, kcmo.

But I disagree with your motivation and I think it clouds your advice. For example, you can't call Topeka, KS a hellhole in one breath and extol the virtues of Grandview or Raytown, MO in the next. You lose credibility.

I don't think someone who is moving into this area needs to ask themselves, "What's best for the metro area?" "Where should I buy property that will benefit the regional assets?"

That's silly.

If you are coming to this area, you should be asking yourself: What am I looking for? What do I want in a home, a neighborhood, a city/town and possibly an investment. It's my money and my life and lifestyle. What's best for me? (or us as the case may be)

There is a difference between being self-focused and selfish. And there are times when it's appropriate to be self-focused. Choosing a home as well as a potential major investment is definitely one of those times.