Moving to Lexington this fall. Looking for advice on safe neighborhoods and zip codes (Harrodsburg: for sale)

[alyshehata]

Hey guys. First time for me to post here. I'm moving along with my family to Lexington this fall. We are a family of 4 (Me, Dad, Mom, Sister).I'll be attending University of Kentucky. My sister will be in high school. I don't currently live in the US so it's not possible for me to visit Lexington and look for good places. My only solution was to look online so that I have an idea of where too look for when I arrive.

I'm looking for a house or an appartment for sale. My range is 50K to 100K. The house doesn't have to be huge or anything, just enough for a family. The most important thing to me is that it should be a safe and comfortable neighborhood. I'm hoping it could be close to the university and to a high school. Preferably with facilities and grocery stores etc... Any suggestions on where I should look?

Thanks

[CraigCreek]

Your budget is on the low side for Lexington, but take a look at the Southland area, particularly the smaller houses (2-3 bedrooms, Cape Cods and ranches) on the blocks closest to Southland Drive between Clays Mill Road and Harrodsburg Road (along with some of the blocks between Southview and Clays Mill). The public schools for this area include Clays Mill Elementary, Jessie Clark Middle, and Lafayette High School. Parochial schools are Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary (K-8) and Lexington Catholic High School. All are considered good schools and all but Jessie Clark are in walking distance of these blocks, whose houses are older, modest, but well-kept. There are good-sized lots with mature trees, and this is a safe area. The older Southland Shopping Center is nearby, and UK is a bus ride away. The Southland Park is close at hand as well, with a large pool, tennis courts and a baseball diamond, and a playground plus room for walking.

Good luck with your plans.

[LEXpert]

Under $100k doesn't go far here. You'll either end up in a small house in a decent neighborhood or a bigger house in a worse neighborhood. I think you are going to have to spend atleast $80k unless you want something that needs a lot of work. Many of the investors are snatching up the houses in your price range. Since you would be an owner-occupant, I'd look at the HUD foreclosures since they are open to owner-occupant buyers for the first 15 days they are new to the market. Don't pay or subscribe to get a list of foreclosures. Try sites like homesteps.com, homepath.com or hudhomestore.com. HUD foreclosures have been through an inspection they do and if there is any work that needs done, you can escrow for the repairs. It's a nice way of rolling the repairs into the loan to keep your cash in hand.

For what it's worth, I've only been in a handful of foreclosures that didn't at least need carpet/paint/appliances. Many have been neglected for quite some time.