Info about Paducah/Western KY (Benton, Union: low income, insurance, high crime)

[SamualACarver]

Hi all
My wife and I are planning to move to Paducah Kentucky soon. My grandparents used to live in KY and I spent a lot of time/summers with them as a kid. So I have always like KY. I live in Northern IL now about 20 miles south of Wisconsin and 1.5 hours north of Chicago. I am definitely looking forward to the warmer climate. I started out doing home searches all over KY. I am getting a settlement soon from a workers comp case. I am looking for a cheap house to buy that I can buy for cash. I found that Western KY had the lowest priced houses. Some houses that are actually not that bad for $25,000. They need some work but they are for sure livable. I am a carpenter so it is better for me to buy a fixer upper. My wife is a part time artist, (she makes and designs jewlery and I do a lot of wood working, and I am beginning to learn Blacksmithing. I am also attending an online college to get a bachelors in Software Development. I used to work as a Union carpenter until I was injured on the job 4 years ago. Then after a long drawn out fight with the insurance company not paying and having 2 knee surgeries we lost the house we had bought just 2 yrs prior. After that I dont want to risk the chance of losing a house again that is why I want to buy a house for cash spending $ 25,000 or under. Also I dont want to be a slave to my house. My wife and I are wanting to pursue our crafts, we would rather live in a modest house and keep our expenses low. So that we can work at our crafts and hopefully by freeing up our time by working less at a regular job we can focus more on our art and make a living at that. Given those things we found that Paducah seems to be the perfect place for use. From reading the Paducah website I found that Paducah is and becoming more so a major art town. I found there is a lot of artist and art galleries there, and it seems to be a very picturesque town, that would be a perfect place for my wife and I. I came across this site today and I was hoping that some of you could tell me more about Paducah, and maybe other towns or cities in KY that are similar to Paducah.
Another thing while I am here. If anyone could give me some financial advice. Like I said before I am looking to buy a low priced home. I gave my main plan of buying a home under $25,000 for cash that is the limit I want to spend for a house, the rest of my money (which isnt much) I want to save. Just in case though what if I were to buy a house for say $40,000 (which it seems unbelievable until you see for yourself but you can find some pretty nice homes for that price). What if I were to buy a house for $40,000 by putting $15,000 down which would leave me with a small mortgage and payment. My wife and I did file bankruptcy a couple years ago when we lost our house, but we haven financed anything since. I think but I could be wrong that with a down payment of $15,000 on a $40,000 dollar home we could still get financed right? What kind of payments could we expect on a 20yr mortgage?
Also what if I were to buy a house for $25,000 but instead of paying it all in cash upfront. What about putting 10,000-15,000 down and financing the rest, and then investing the rest of the money another way?
I know this is long and I have asked some unrelated questions, but I read through some of the other post on this forums and I see that a lot of people here are very helpful and willing to give advice. So any advice or info that you could give me I would really appreciate.
Thank You All
Sam

[Hey_Hey]

I don't know exactly what you can get for <$50,000, but I think I can safely say these houses will need major work and be in less desireable neighborhoods. One possibility would be to talk to the Artist Relocation Program and see if they have any old homes for little money. They have some innovative ways to get artists into houses and then to have those same artists fix up those old houses.

For artists Paducah is definitely an up-and-coming art destination. I walked through the Lowertown District over 3 years ago, and it was amazing. There's been quite a bit more development since then as well.

[SamualACarver]

I know it seems almost unbelievable but there are quite a few homes in Paducah and Western KY that arent bad at all and dont need major repairs for under $25,000. They arent very big 1,000-1,500 sq ft. There are some that need more work, but most of it is all cosmetic. Being that I am a carpenter and only have material cost to worry about. I could gut down to the studs, then replace all the electric plumbing drywall, plus paint flooring etc on a 1,500 sq ft house for $10,000 or less. Here is an example of a house in Paducah that doesn't need much work at all. New paint, flooring, and the bathroom could be redone, but it IS livable as is. There are quite a few more in the same condition as this one. Some houses may need some new drywall, electric, plumbing, maybe new siding or shingles, but none of that is a big deal. The only things that would be a big deal would be a crumbling foundation or a roof that needed to be completely rebuilt. Maybe a few houses would need that but most of these I have looked at are livable as is, but I would definitely redue the paint and flooring and the bathrooms.

About the neighborhood that you mentioned. I saw that Paducah had a population of only like 25,000, and all the pictures I have seen it seems like a very nice town. When you say a bad neighborhood how bad is it? Ghetto? High crime? Lot of drugs? Or just an area that has become run down because of low income? Being that it is so small I couldn't imagine it being that bad. From the pic the house and yard looks clean and nice, I looked on Google maps and from what I could see it looked like a nice neighborhood with a lot of trees. I dont know from first hand experience though, my wife and I plan to go down there pretty soon maybe 2 months from now to check it out and possibly buy a home. It would be nice to get some info from people that do live there or have been there.

I wasnt able to upload pictures of some houses. I tried using the "insert image" tool and it didnt work.

Here is a link to one house I am considering, from that page you can see more houses that fit the search criteria I entered. This is just one site others have more houses. I couldnt believe it myself when I saw houses for so cheap. I know it seems almost unbelievable but there are quite a few homes in Paducah and Western KY that arent bad at all and dont need major repairs for under $25,000. They arent very big 1,000-1,500 sq ft. There are some that need more work, but most of it is all cosmetic. Being that I am a carpenter and only have material cost to worry about. I could gut down to the studs, then replace all the electric plumbing drywall, plus paint flooring etc on a 1,500 sq ft house for $10,000 or less. Here is an example of a house in Paducah that doesn't need much work at all. New paint, flooring, and the bathroom could be redone, but it IS livable as is. There are quite a few more in the same condition as this one. Some houses may need some new drywall, electric, plumbing, maybe new siding or shingles, but none of that is a big deal. The only things that would be a big deal would be a crumbling foundation or a roof that needed to be completely rebuilt. Maybe a few houses would need that but most of these I have looked at are livable as is, but I would definitely redue the paint and flooring and the bathrooms.

About the neighborhood that you mentioned. I saw that Paducah had a population of only like 25,000, and all the pictures I have seen it seems like a very nice town. When you say a bad neighborhood how bad is it? Ghetto? High crime? Lot of drugs? Or just an area that has become run down because of low income? Being that it is so small I couldn't imagine it being that bad. From the pic the house and yard looks clean and nice, I looked on Google maps and from what I could see it looked like a nice neighborhood with a lot of trees. I dont know from first hand experience though, my wife and I plan to go down there pretty soon maybe 2 months from now to check it out and possibly buy a home. It would be nice to get some info from people that do live there or have been there.

Here is a link to one house I am considering, you can follow this link to see more houses that fit the search criteria I entered. This is just one site others have more houses. I know it seems almost unbelievable but there are quite a few homes in Paducah and Western KY that arent bad at all and dont need major repairs for under $25,000. They arent very big 1,000-1,500 sq ft. There are some that need more work, but most of it is all cosmetic. Being that I am a carpenter and only have material cost to worry about. I could gut down to the studs, then replace all the electric plumbing drywall, plus paint flooring etc on a 1,500 sq ft house for $10,000 or less. Here is an example of a house in Paducah that doesn't need much work at all. New paint, flooring, and the bathroom could be redone, but it IS livable as is. There are quite a few more in the same condition as this one. Some houses may need some new drywall, electric, plumbing, maybe new siding or shingles, but none of that is a big deal. The only things that would be a big deal would be a crumbling foundation or a roof that needed to be completely rebuilt. Maybe a few houses would need that but most of these I have looked at are livable as is, but I would definitely redue the paint and flooring and the bathrooms.

About the neighborhood that you mentioned. I saw that Paducah had a population of only like 25,000, and all the pictures I have seen it seems like a very nice town. When you say a bad neighborhood how bad is it? Ghetto? High crime? Lot of drugs? Or just an area that has become run down because of low income? Being that it is so small I couldn't imagine it being that bad. From the pic the house and yard looks clean and nice, I looked on Google maps and from what I could see it looked like a nice neighborhood with a lot of trees. I dont know from first hand experience though, my wife and I plan to go down there pretty soon maybe 2 months from now to check it out and possibly buy a home. It would be nice to get some info from people that do live there or have been there.

Here is a link to one house I am considering, you can follow this link to see more houses that fit the search criteria I entered. This is just one site others have more houses. http://www.park-avenue-properties.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR192113/ACTIVATE_FRAMES/SEARCH_MLS/Benton/1218490612.html
Edit I cant get the link to work either, you will have to cut and paste. Sorry

[Davart]

There are several Padauch threads if you search them up. Many of you questions are answered there.

[kentuckydad95]

That 25,000 population figure is VERY skewed. Paducah is a regional shopping hub for the area and there are many workers who commute to Paducah daily. I would say on any given day, Paducah has a population of about 100,000 give or take. Let's put it another way. Paducah is large enough to have three Krogers, two Lowe's, and a Home Depot. You won't see that in many 25,000 towns.

As far as spending $25K or so on a house, I wish you the best of luck. We just looked at tons of houses in the area and many of them are listed for $100K that I wouldn't let my dog set foot in.

[SamualACarver]

Thanks for the info about the population. From the website Paducah seem like a very picturesque town. Of course though a site promoting Paducah is going to make it look its best. How is the town, as far as like crime and stuff goes? Does it have a lot or any bad neighborhoods?

As far as spending $25K or so on a house, I wish you the best of luck. We just looked at tons of houses in the area and many of them are listed for $100K that I wouldn't let my dog set foot in.

I dont know what your standars are but if you check the link I had in my last post you could see and example of a home for under $25,000 that is totally fine. It isnt fancy or very big but there is nothing wrong with it. Check out the link, and from there you can find quite a few other homes for that price that arent that bad. They may need work but they are toally livable (most) and far from being shacks. I know it seems unbeleivable but it is. My aunt and uncle bought a house in Michigan for $5,000, it was livavble when they bought it. They gutted it redone everything it is now like a new house for a $15,000 investment. They and whoever in the family that wants to goes there to vacation. You would be suprised at what is available for under $25,000. Like I said I am a carpenter so I have an advantage when it comes to fixing a house up. Plus I can see through what some people may think of as a disaster, and see potential. It is amazing what new drywall will do for a house. The average house is a lot simpler built than like a care. You have studs in the wall with wires and pipe running threw them that is covered by drywall. So gutting a house is really no bug deal. Many of these house though dont need that. New paint and flooring is it.

http://www.park-avenue-properties.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR192113/ACTIVATE_FRAMES/SEARCH_MLS/Benton/1218490612.html

Check this link before you think I am crazy for thinking I can get a decent house for $25,000. You will have to cut and paste. I cant get the links to work. The link isnt working right it takes you to the search page at the site. If you use the search options enter Paducah as the town and set max prise to $25,000 and a list of homes will come up.

Maybe someone can tell me where I can get directions on posting pictures by linking them to a site. I have done it on other forums but this one works different. When I try to use the insert image tool nothing happens. I would like to show people the houses that are available for $25,000 and under. Thanks

[SamualACarver]

I found one way to upload pictures. Here is a house in Paducah that is $25,000. I dont think it is bad at all. Would you not let your dog step foot in it? There are quite a few more like this one in Paducah for $25,000 and under.

This house doesnt NEED anything, but the bathroom could be redone, new paint and flooring would also be good, and eventually new siding. Which I could do for under $5,000.

[Davart]

What's the address?

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by Davart

What's the address?

It's on Thurman St and even I am not sure where that is. I looked on the link you provided and it came up with 12 houses in Paducah for 25K and under. Here are some of the streets they are on:

Monroe
10th
Grover St
Adams
Walter Jetton
Harrison

And no, I would NOT recommend moving into those area's. Yes, Paducah does have some bad neighborhoods, just like any other place, but why would you want to live in those neighborhoods? Oh, and if you plan on moving into a "cheap" place in the Lowertown area, you will be spending alot more then 5K to fix it up. When you buy a house in Lowertown, you have to fix that house up the cities way, not your's. It is not unusual for someone to buy the house for almost nothing and spend 100K fixing it to meet the cities code. There is a reason why the Paducah police ride single in most places and ride two officers on the streets mentioned above.

[SamualACarver]

And no, I would NOT recommend moving into those area's. Yes, Paducah does have some bad neighborhoods, just like any other place, but why would you want to live in those neighborhoods? Oh, and if you plan on moving into a "cheap" place in the Lowertown area, you will be spending alot more then 5K to fix it up. When you buy a house in Lowertown, you have to fix that house up the cities way, not your's. It is not unusual for someone to buy the house for almost nothing and spend 100K fixing it to meet the cities code. There is a reason why the Paducah police ride single in most places and ride two officers on the streets mentioned above.

Thanks that is the kind of thing I was wanting to know. It is hard to tell from a picture what the neighborhood is like. I thought with it being a relatively small town it couldnt be that bad. Like I said I live in Northen Illinois. I live in the country outside of a very small town maybe 2,000 people. I am just outside of the chicago metro area. So once you drive to the next town about 20 mins away (it has about 25,000 people) the towns basically just blend together until you get to chicago. The closer you get to the city the closer the towns get to each other, until they are directly connected, you cant tell one town from the next. Around here a town of 25,000 is small and doesnt really have a "bad" area. A "bad" area will be a whole town not part of a town. Except in Chicago.

When you say bad area do you mean like real high crime, a lot of gangs and drugs etc? Is it like Ghettos? Is only the main tourist part of Paducah nice? The town seems so small how big is the "bad" areas? I will check on Google maps the streets you mentioned. Could you give me the names of the streets that make up the boarder of the "bad" areas.

In the Lowertown area where the city has the codes for how the houses need to be fixed up. Do you kow the name of the organization or whatever that runs that? Do you know how I could contact them to get info on what they require?

Thanks for the help.