Yankees looking to make a good choice in Lexington (Nicholasville: rentals, crime)

[Samps]

How come noone is really high on the Masterson Station area?

How about the Jacobson Park area?

[lexingtongal]

Hmmmmm. Masterson - Schools, houses tend to look alike, not great construction quality, congested, not close to much.
Jacobson- houses tend to all look alike, schools used to be an issue but that may have been resolved (someone more current on the school district there help me out here).
It's personal preference-if you like the look of the siding houses then neither of these areas will bother you. I'm more of a fan of brick homes in older, more established areas.
If I had to choose between only these two areas I would pick Jacobson. At least it's close to Hamburg. Neither area is too far from downtown.

[LEXpert]

Originally Posted by Samps

With the uncertainty as to if we have truly hit the bottom of the drop in housing prices and in this market/financial crisis we are going to lease with an option to buy for at least 2 years. We want to lease a home that we will want to buy so we are not moving again in two years.

Please don't go this route. Just find one to rent and move when you are ready to buy. Why pay for the option to buy later? Do you know what the value will be in 2 years? Most of the time the sale price is pre-determined. Also, what are you going to do if the owner, whose name is on the deed, dies, divorces, or goes into foreclosure? Also, most of the people that do these Lease-Options or Lease-Purchases are counting on you never buying the place. They make their money by "Selling" the place over and over again.

Trust me, there is too much risk involved with these simply to save you from moving twice!

[timelesschild]

I would not recommend Beaumont. It seems very suburban and materialistic to me - in addition, the yards are microscopic and the houses are those newer, cheaply built, vinyl-sided thingies. However, the Beaumont YMCA is wonderful. If you chose to live in that area to be near the YMCA, there are two subdivisions which seem OK: Rabbit Run and Stonewall. I guess their elementary schools are OK, and they have Beaumont Middle and Dunbar High School.

[blossom4792]

Yes, the real estate in Lexington seems fairly stable. I wouldn't hesitate to buy if you find the right house. I definitely wouldn't say this about many other cities. Now, I do agree with timelesschild about the new Beaumont (the old Beaumont off Parkers Mill, etc., is lovely, but there are issues I don't want to get into). The area with street names like Parasol and Mantilla might be in the right price range - I think it's called Fort Harrods, but I know someone there who I think calls it part of Palomar. (Anyhow, zip 40513). That gets you into Rosa Parks Elementary as well as Beaumont and Dunbar. Stonewall and even Copperfield are good options and I've seen interesting foreclosures in both (the one in Stonewall is called a pre-foreclosure). I would always vote for closer-in ... but even the modest homes are very $. I'm always scouring real estate listings to see if I could downsize to a neighborhood closer-in (i.e. pay less than my current home) and the options in the $200-250K range are limited. Again, I'm not quite sure how the op's budget would correlate, but I know of a 300K home that rents for $2000/month so I'm thinking along those lines.

Originally Posted by LEXpert

Please don't go this route. Just find one to rent and move when you are ready to buy. Why pay for the option to buy later? Do you know what the value will be in 2 years? Most of the time the sale price is pre-determined. Also, what are you going to do if the owner, whose name is on the deed, dies, divorces, or goes into foreclosure? Also, most of the people that do these Lease-Options or Lease-Purchases are counting on you never buying the place. They make their money by "Selling" the place over and over again.

Trust me, there is too much risk involved with these simply to save you from moving twice!

[blossom4792]

Hmm, on craigslist there is a nice 4 bedroom house for rent for $1500 a month that would go to Glendover-Morton-Lafayette (according to school board street search). Nearby homes are listed for sale for $164K and $189K.

[timelesschild]

If you can get into Glendover for $164K - $189K, I would think it's time to buy. Enjoy!

[blossom4792]

The house I referenced is on the other side of Nicholasville (zillow is calling it Southland/Deerfield/Open Gates), so I doubt it's Glendover, but it goes to Glendover elementary. The house looks cute, but the difference between rental vs. purchase monthly is amazing. [In other words, for that monthly amount, you'd get 100K more as a purchase]. But still, I think it will help the op to see what they can get in Lexington in the 'best' school districts. And I guess no "down payment" etc.

[timelesschild]

Originally Posted by blossom4792

Hmm, on craigslist there is a nice 4 bedroom house for rent for $1500 a month that would go to Glendover-Morton-Lafayette (according to school board street search). Nearby homes are listed for sale for $164K and $189K.

Where is it, Blossom? I'm looking and not finding it.

[LEXpert]

They way all of you like to help out and follow real estate, I think you should become Realtors! We need more people with knowledge and who really care to get into this field!