housing (Louisville, Shelbyville, Prospect: best neighborhoods, for sale, renting)

[emom975]

Any ideas on decent neighborhoods in the 300 to low 400 range? Lake Forest is nice. . .just not alot of newer neighborhoods with updates inside. Homes closer in to Louisville are the same price for 1700sq ft that need to be redone. When I look at the tax records most houses for sale are double what they were purchased at. I really want a flat front & backyard or at least be able to have kids run and play. I don't really have a need for 4000 sq ft but also don't want to pay 300,000 for a 1900 sqft home. I visited for the weekend and wasn't too impressed with the cost of housing. Any ideas-- we will be renting til june but then ready to buy. I don't want to buy and replace all the fixtures etc when the asking prices are way too high from the research i can do based on past sales etc.

Louisville is a pretty city but never would imagine houses cost more there than mt pleasant, sc. Most the neighborhoods in our area have swim, tennis, parks, soccer, etc and we are only 5 min. from beach. A job transfer is making us move. Looking for family friendly neighborhoods in Louisville area.

[mdawg]

Lake Forest is nice, but some houses tend to be overpriced IMO. LF does have some newer homes in the Highlands section and the Estates section. Most homes in Lake Forest are updated and very nice. The oldest part, when you are first entering from Shelbyville Rd., tends to have some outdated homes. Check out Woodmont or Polo Fields. Lake Forest does have 2 pools, a lodge, walking trails, a park with a playground, a sports field, and a country club w/ a golf course. Polo Fields has a country club w/ golf course, a pool, tennis courts, and playground. Woodmont has a pool, tennis courts, a nature trail, and a large community field/open area and gets my vote for being one of the best neighborhoods in this part of the county. Another neighborhood to check out is Glen Oaks. Many neighborhoods around here, especially the newer ones, have community pools/tennis courts/lakes. In regards to home prices, you get what you pay for. You could have a smaller home in a more desirable area, or a larger home further away from all the action in town. It just depends what is more important to you. Home prices here really aren't bad at all, especially compared to places in the Northeast and the West Coast.

[emom975]

I did check out polo fields and wasn't impressed with some of the new construction going on in the back area. The area is beautiful and homes for sale seem nice but just didn't feel right to us. I heard Glen Oaks is nice but need to check it out-- thanks. I still firmly believe most homes are priced like its still the booming housing market and its not.

[bbkennedy]

Just around the corner from Polo Fields is Persimmon Ridge. The houses are a little nicer and they have a pool, golf, club house etc. They start around $350k but most houses are 3,000 Sq.Ft. and up too. Owl Creek is a good performer and it's closer into town. I love love love the Hwy 42 corridor from Zorn Ave. East out to Prospect. Consider it, you'll have a decent amount to choose from in your price range. I see too many folks from out of town being steered to the newer developments on the outskirts but you really miss the charm of the city out there. Don't get me wrong, if you like strip malls and new, new, new, it's the place to be.

[mdawg]

Homes here never went through the housing boom like other places did, so we didn't have the same price crash as many other places did. Home prices have generally stayed the same or have risen a few percent. Louisville doesn't have a huge housing stock and demand is relatively high here. And yes, the new construction going on in Polo Fields now is mostly on smaller, cheaper homes that don't have the nice features that the more expensive homes have. I would check out GlenOaks and Woodmont for sure if you want a higher quality home that isn't overpriced. There are some large lots in GlenOaks if you want a big yard. If there are any other amenities you would like to be close to, let us know and we can give you more specific areas to look.

[emom975]

Housing market crash is far from over across the entire country. Any pro's or con's on Moser Farms or Norton Commons? So far the only neighborhoods I've come across with updated interiors, and manageable square footage-- we don't need 4000sq ft. Moser Farms has Oldham county schools so it works and Norton Commons has the Norton school that some of it feeds into (if openings) but realizing the whole neighborhood isn't in the same county. Just wish the yards were at least .15 -i'm drawn to it cause it reminds me of Charleston -- we have Daniel Island and Ion. Are there any other planned neighborhoods in Louisville?

[mdawg]

Moser Farms is nice, part of GlenOaks is in Oldham Co. also. Norton Commons is unique, but a little too "fake" if that makes sense. Yes you can get a nice house there, but the people I've come across who live there seem to be a little too snooty and they think they have waaaay more money then they actually do. But it is nice in the sense you can walk to shops, restaurants, offices, parks, etc. Norton Commons is the only planned neighborhood of its kind in Louisville as of right now. If you want a smaller, updated home on a smaller lot, you should further in town. Anchorage would be a good area to look in also, it has its own school system. It isn't hard to find homes with updated interiors anywhere in eastern Jefferson County. This is a good website to look up homes... GREATER LOUISVILLE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

[emom975]

Yes I did find a website that I use and find all of the mls listings and really haven't seen any --- 2000 sqft updated and less than 15 yrs old within the school zones that have been recommended by louisville public school employees. I'll keep trying and I do get updates daily on any new homes for sale and price changes etc.

[mdawg]

So, what exactly do want help with? What zones have been recommended to you? I can give you neighborhoods/homes to check out with that info. Have you looked into any FSBO homes?

[emom975]

The school zone recommended are norton elementary and stopher or Oldham county. I have a preschooler and a 3rd grader so schools are important. I thought there would be some neighborhoods I haven't heard of etc -- in our area when people move to town there are several areas that most people with kids move to or want to move to. So I was hoping to find out what those were in Louisville but since its a bigger city hard to tell where all the families live/stay at home moms. I want the kids to go to school with neighbors etc don't really look forward to moving up there and all the neighbor kids go to private school. Really wanted a nice new neighborhood in the 300's with modern fixtures etc. but looks like everything is in the 400's and still miles outside the city.