Living in the city of Lexington less than 200K? (Louisville: for sale, crime)

[Micah Girl]

I can't believe there is a 5 BR house available at this price? What is this neighborhood like?

Marwood Dr, Lexington, KY 40515

List Price: $179,900
Bedrooms: 5
Full Bathrooms: 3
Square Footage: 2675
Property Type: Home
MLS#/Listing ID: 715442
Express Listing: 2224996

Thanks!!

[lexingtongal]

This looks to be in Southpoint subdivision. The neighborhood was out of favor for a long time but seems to be on an upswing. It used to have only one way in or out and that was Nicholasville Rd. The entrance is past Fayette Mall which has terrible congestion. I am not sure but I think there is now another entrance/exit. This house looks to be a split foyer. This style of home isn't as desirable (resale value wise) as some others so this is probably why the price is so low.

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by lexingtongal

This looks to be in Southpoint subdivision. The neighborhood was out of favor for a long time but seems to be on an upswing. It used to have only one way in or out and that was Nicholasville Rd. The entrance is past Fayette Mall which has terrible congestion. I am not sure but I think there is now another entrance/exit. This house looks to be a split foyer. This style of home isn't as desirable (resale value wise) as some others so this is probably why the price is so low.

Thanks for that feedback--that is so helpful.

I was looking at some statistics on home sales @ http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Lexington-Kentucky/
and noticed that the avg. price on a 4 BR home is drastically higher than on a 3 BR home. 322K v. 179K!! I have 3 kids and was hoping to move up to a 4 BR but now I am wondering if I will be better off getting a roomy 3 BR and having my girls continue to share a room.

Decisions, decisions...

[lexingtongal]

I can only imagine trying to make this decision long distance! When do you actually get to visit and see the area?

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by lexingtongal

I can only imagine trying to make this decision long distance! When do you actually get to visit and see the area?

We're visiting for about 10 days at the end of May. We plan to look around and get a feel for whether or not we will be happy in Lex. Then we go home, make plans, sell our house, move to KY and rent until we are sure of what we want. We are thinking maybe we would move by Dec. But during our visit we want to really get a sense of the market. And if we fell in love with a neighborhood, so much the better--then we know where to rent and where to focus a search to buy.

[ic-epi]

Originally Posted by Micah Girl

We're visiting for about 10 days at the end of May. We plan to look around and get a feel for whether or not we will be happy in Lex. Then we go home, make plans, sell our house, move to KY and rent until we are sure of what we want. We are thinking maybe we would move by Dec. But during our visit we want to really get a sense of the market. And if we fell in love with a neighborhood, so much the better--then we know where to rent and where to focus a search to buy.

micah girl, that's a great plan. I wish we could do it that way! That is great planning.

I think what is panicking me is that I have to make a decision about buying a house within a 4 day period, during our visit in Lexington in mid-May. I am researching like crazy trying to make sure I can make the best decision I can, with no personal knowledge of the city. So whatever we decide, we will be moved in by July 1st at the latest. Waaaaaayyy too fast for this many decisions!

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by ic-epi

micah girl, that's a great plan. I wish we could do it that way! That is great planning.

I think what is panicking me is that I have to make a decision about buying a house within a 4 day period, during our visit in Lexington in mid-May. I am researching like crazy trying to make sure I can make the best decision I can, with no personal knowledge of the city. So whatever we decide, we will be moved in by July 1st at the latest. Waaaaaayyy too fast for this many decisions!

Wow--that is tough. My husband is a great planner--and yet has an adventurous side so we are looking to revamp our lives in a new place!

I look forward to hearing more about your time in Lex!

[lexingtongal]

I wish you the best. Hopefully something will just feel right. Life does have a way of working out the way its supposed to!
If you're considering Glendover or Shadeland you should check out the Arboretum (off of Alumni Dr) while you're here (in your spare time). It is a treasure and is walkable from either of these two areas. It has a 2 mile track that you can ride bikes on as well.

[nlschr0]

Our realtor cautioned us about the Masterson Station area, for several reasons. One, it is a large mix of homes (ranging from the low $100,000's to $300,000), and they are sort of inter-mixed throughout the neighborhood. There doesn't seem to be a great plan or overall development design in place (especially as you get into the Great Acres neighborhood). The concern is that, over time, some of the values will be negatively affected. Second, other new but smaller neighborhoods in the area (like Westwood) have had some trouble with homes maintaining their value and now have a larger portion of rental homes and section 8 housing. Westwood now suffers from a higher crime rate (with drug arrests and a drive-by shooting at a house reported in the last year or so). Masterson and Great Acres itself has less crime, but there were two houses that I know were staked out there for drug issues in the past six weeks, and two burglaries in the Michelle Park area recently. This coming from some residents who are friends of ours that happen to be active in the neighborhood watch group. Besides the more obvious crime, there are a lot of small groups of teenagers (especially in the summer) who aren't always well-supervised and a little bored. For example, twice recently they have had to remove spray-paint graffiti from the playground area, and there are frequently broken beer bottles and such that have to be removed. There are also leftovers from "romantic" encounters in some of the greenspace and meadow areas. (This being from my own personal observations with the friends who live there).

Third, the area is situated against the end of the industrial park area, which adds truck traffic and other issues.

Fourth, the schools are really not rated that well. The area is slated for a new elementary, but is currently served by overcrowded Linlee.

Now, there are some very nice homes in the neighborhood and the area is really booming, so who knows what the future will hold? And, it is one of the most convenient newer neighborhoods to Georgetown, north Lexington, Frankfort, etc. And there are certainly many streets with families out mowing the lawns, playing on the swings, or meeting up at the clubhouse and pool area. So, as always, YMMV!

[ic-epi]

Originally Posted by nlschr0

Our realtor cautioned us about the Masterson Station area, for several reasons. One, it is a large mix of homes (ranging from the low $100,000's to $300,000), and they are sort of inter-mixed throughout the neighborhood. There doesn't seem to be a great plan or overall development design in place (especially as you get into the Great Acres neighborhood). The concern is that, over time, some of the values will be negatively affected. Second, other new but smaller neighborhoods in the area (like Westwood) have had some trouble with homes maintaining their value and now have a larger portion of rental homes and section 8 housing. Westwood now suffers from a higher crime rate (with drug arrests and a drive-by shooting at a house reported in the last year or so). Masterson and Great Acres itself has less crime, but there were two houses that I know were staked out there for drug issues in the past six weeks, and two burglaries in the Michelle Park area recently. This coming from some residents who are friends of ours that happen to be active in the neighborhood watch group. Besides the more obvious crime, there are a lot of small groups of teenagers (especially in the summer) who aren't always well-supervised and a little bored. For example, twice recently they have had to remove spray-paint graffiti from the playground area, and there are frequently broken beer bottles and such that have to be removed. There are also leftovers from "romantic" encounters in some of the greenspace and meadow areas. (This being from my own personal observations with the friends who live there).

Third, the area is situated against the end of the industrial park area, which adds truck traffic and other issues.

Fourth, the schools are really not rated that well. The area is slated for a new elementary, but is currently served by overcrowded Linlee.

Now, there are some very nice homes in the neighborhood and the area is really booming, so who knows what the future will hold? And, it is one of the most convenient newer neighborhoods to Georgetown, north Lexington, Frankfort, etc. And there are certainly many streets with families out mowing the lawns, playing on the swings, or meeting up at the clubhouse and pool area. So, as always, YMMV!

I've got that subdivision crossed off on my list, because the schools aren't what I'm looking for. Glad for this information; you just reinforced what my impression was. (Maybe I am starting to get the hang of this!)