Another newbie with questions (Knoxville, Farragut: hardwood floors, for sale, real estate)

[ButterflyGirl58]

Hi everyone!
I've been reading and reading and ya'll seem like a friendly bunch. A friend who lives in Knoxville pointed me to this site to get some information. She recently moved there and got lots of information from this site and is still learning about the area herself.

She keeps telling me about how wonderful it is and how low the cost of living is and we are barely keeping our heads above water here in Florida, yada yada yada. I know you've heard the same story a million times. Here comes another Floridian. Sorry! But I'm a Southerner by blood if that counts. My Daddy was born in Alabama and I grew up in South Georgia. I still have my Southern accent even! So I'm not a bit worried about fitting in. I know all the Southern rules!

Anyhow... my questions are about the costs of real estate. I've been searching around online to get an idea and some of the prices I've seen have blown me away. I could pay cash and not have a house payment. Or even finance very little and have a house payment less than my car payment. Unless what I'm seeing is too good to be true. And that's what I need to find out before I continue to pursue this.

I found houses that look really cute and charming for as little as around $50,000. I did the street view thingy and the neighborhoods look fine from that vantage point, but you can never tell till you talk to the locals.

Here are some specifics I'm interested in:
Houses on Linden Ave. and
houses in these areas:
Edgewood
Fountain City
Cold Springs
Mechanicsville
Moses/Mayfield Sub. And Moses/Fairview
N. Knox/McGhees Sub.
N. Knox/ Scotts Park Add
Halls/ Overlook Estates
N. Knox/ McCampbell

All of these areas have houses well under $150 and $100 K many in the $80K range. I can't imagine buying a house for that little. What I love is the old Craftsman style homes from the 20's with hardwood floors, arched doorways, etc. Homes that have character. Not like our cookie-cutter, concrete block stucco houses here.

Also, I posted this question on another thread but how high is the demand for nurses in Knoxville? My partner in an RN with about a year of experience in cardiac stepdown and ICU. Does anybody know the payscale?

I know I've asked a lot of questions but I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks so much!

[William Sold]

Well, I can at least help a little in this area....

Mechanicsville, steer clear. Enough said. Values aren't there, crime is higher, safety is an issue after dark, steer clear. Fountain City is great, if you search the forums, you will find many interesting recent topics on Fountain City discussing just the type of homes you are in search of, with a few actually referenced by name and address. The homes have charm, character, and while I do live on a horse farm close to the hum and drum of Farragut no where near there, I can tell you that Fountain City residents are friendly and accquainting. North Knox has some great areas, and some decent areas. Alot of North Knox has gone thorugh revitalization and upgrading, so the homes are well kept and on the rise. Some parts not as much.

Unfortunately, the cute and charming $50,000 homes will probably be more in the undesirable parts of the city. This simply reflects the price. Location always reflects pricing in real estate, the three L's. That being said, obtaining a charming home between $80-150 can definitely be done, depending on your size needs and how much modern ammenities and updates you desire. Craftsman style homes with hardwoods and arched doors, if this is your style, and price range, try searching in Fountain City, North Knoxville, and some areas of South Knoxville off of Alcoa Highway. Also, there is the Holston Hills area, with great mature lots. As previously stated, all of these areas have some previous posts with good descriptions. In looking for North Knoxville, I would primarily search east of Broadway, as it tends to be nicer than the homes and areas west of Broadway, which will typically be your Edgewood area.

[LilCabinGirl]

Hi Butterfly Girl,

I guess no one really knows what RN's make here so I would suggest checking out salary.com. I would suspect it to be fairly accurate for nurses because they are in demand everywhere. In my profession, it seems that firms will start you at the low end but you have the potential to make the high end if you stay in one place long enough. Hope that helps some.

LCG

[ButterflyGirl58]

Thanks for your guidance William. In looking at what's for sale now, it looks like most in my price range is west of Broadway and some of them do look iffy.

I like Fountain City. That is where my friends moved so I've seen a little of it. I love the 4th and Gill area as well. When I visited, they took me on the tourist tour and I was hanging out the window in awe. I don't think I could ever afford one of them though. I'm not afraid of a little work. I can paint and sand and varnish and buy appliances but I don't know how to do anything major. I'd love to buy a partially redone Victorian or Craftsman and finish fixing it up at the right price and in the right location. I don't have to have something move in ready as long as it is at least livable.

There doesn't seem to be too much for sale in N. Knox or maybe I'm not looking on the right websites. Can you or anybody give me some direction there?

I've also heard the Halls and Powell areas are nice. Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

[ButterflyGirl58]

Hey LCG,
We did look on salary.com but the information there is so general, you know? It lists average income. I was just hoping someone might know someone who actually works in a hospital that has an idea of salaries. We did get some information on how to contact recruiters at a couple of hospitals so we can find out from them.

And actually nurses aren't in high demand here. They used to be but not anymore. My partner was looking for a part-time job to make a little extra money and there was absolutely nothing in the paper! Luckily, the hospital where she works is giving her some extra shifts as they can.

[Tn405]

Let me tell you about the hospitals. Depending what you are looking for there is UT medical center, Covenant Health which encompasses all the Ft Sanders, Parkwest Hospitals, the new Mercy Health Care which covers Baptists Hospitals and St Mary's. Then there is also East Tennessee Children's Hosptial. I work for Children's, lots of part time work there. However, all places seem to be watching budgets now. I think UT medical center has a lot of hires available.

[knoxgarden]

If you're willing to do some work on the house, there are many programs and low cost loans and grants available to rehab housing in certain areas. Many of those areas have the type of house you love. Some are in fringe areas but have good neighborhood organizations and are coming up rapidly.
City of Knoxville - Empowerment Zone EZ Home Repair Program
And check out Knoxville Heritage
Knox Heritage, Inc.
And also Metro Pulse which is a champion of redevelopment and downtown.
Metro Pulse: Knoxville News, Issues, Entertainment, Culture, People
For salaries, contact the individual hospitals around town. Nurses are very much in demand here and many places offer sign-on bonuses.
UT Medical Center (with Level 1 Trauma Center)
UT Medical Center - Nursing
St. Mary's
Nursing Opportunities
Parkwest/Covenant
Covenant Health Employment Services - For Your Career
There's also Children's hospital and plenty of other opportunities.
You will feel very wanted in Knoxville.

[devanparkerrn]

I am a travel nurse that is from Knoxville. The salary is going to be low considering Florida pay. But our years ago as a new grad I made like 19 hour in an ICU. Dont know what UT is paying now. They are always hiring.
I love the fountain city and halls area. And you can get charming little homes for those prices but you will have to fix them up. Overall though I like the away from the downtown feel that these areas give you.

[andre421]

I'm researching the area as well and plan to move there in a few years. I found that the median income for Knoxville is just over 56,000 for RN. Detroit area is said to be 60,000.

[hiknapster]

First of all, most homes at $50,000 are not going to be worth buying. There is either going to be something wrong or it is a VERY bad neighborhood or both. Now, if you are very good at rehab then by all means, you could POSSIBLY find something.

Try to buy as much house as you can for as much as you can. If you ever have to sell, you don't want to be in a house that is very hard to sell or that you lose money on.

However, there are a lot of very nice houses that are $80,000 to $150,000. I live in the Fountain City area. I just bought a house for $120,000.

As far as salaries go there is only one website that I trust. I have never found the others to be accurate. It shows that a RN, on average, in your area, gets paid $56,590 and one in Knoxville gets paid $53,640.

By the way, to the Detroit person, it says that Detroit nurses, on average, are paid $64,470 to $64,870. So if you move here you are going to be taking a hit of over $10,000.

We've lived in Knoxville for three years, and are from Fort Myers, FL. Love it here.