Investing in North Minneapolis....

[Camden Northsider]

Hey wil45,

The boundaries for Victory Neighborhood are Dowling Ave N on the South, Penn Ave N on the East, Xerxes Ave N (this is the border of the parkway) on the West, and then on the North I'm not 100% sure, I think it's brooklyn blvd which runs diagonally - here's a good site with maps that shows boundaries: City Neighborhood Maps

here's the neighborhood assn website: Welcome to Victory Neighborhood [Minneapolis]

here's the city website's neighborhood profile of victory: Victory - Minneapolis Neighborhood Profile

And here's wikipedia's profile:
Victory, Minneapolis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All of these are fairly accurate, there is a noticable difference in the standard of living of the Victory neighborhood from surrounding Minneapolis neighborhoods (as well as surrounding neighborhoods in Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Center). In my opinion, it feels like kind of a stronghold/ best kept secret in Minneapolis - our friends and family are always pleasantly surprised by our neighborhood when they come over. Similarly, the elementary and high school in this district are award-winning (Henry High was rated in the top 5% of high schools nationwide) so there are good schools that are also ethnically and socioeconomically diverse which I find preferable.

When househunting, any house that's address is on Xerxes Ave, Washburn Ave, Vincent Ave, Upton Ave, Thomas Ave, Sheridan Ave, and Russell Ave (s) North AND that is in the 3800 block or above is in Victory neighborhood (there's other streets as well north of Victory Memorial Parkway). I would recommend looking as close as you can get to the Parkway which is just after Xerxes Ave (so Xerxes Ave N, Washburn, Vincent, Upton Ave N, etc. are preferable).

Hope this helps, of course I am kind of a biased opinion, but I do think this neighborhood is great, and in the past and still presently the homes are in demand and can go quick (this was true esp. before the market went a little haywire). Now's a great time to find a steal here. Thanks-

[Jeanie Hoholik]

If you go to the City of MPLS website, you can download a map of all of the neighborhoods. It's pretty slick. I sell homes in North and have had some interesting experiences dealing with the City of MPLS. Knowledge is key when choosing the right home and it takes some digging, sometimes, to find out about a specific property. You can also call the police department for the precinct that the house is located and they will fax you a history of any crime that has occurred. There are some great deals to be had!

[nick is rulz]

I forget the 4th precinct officers name...something Hammet. I talked with him before I moved in...addressed my concerns, issues and asked him straight forward "is this a good safe place to live?" and he gave me an honest answer without any sugar coating.

P.S. Victory is really a fantastic neighborhood. If you can find a deal there, snatch it up

[wil45]

You've had interesting experiences dealing with the city in selling homes. What excatly do you mean?... I've been an "urban pioneer" for a time and will be looking to buy in the new future and am exploring area of N. Minneapolis and looking for a deal. I'm open to a few areas but want to stay clear of plited ones. My home in Denver is scheduled to close on Nov. 16th .. I'll be in Minneapolis staying with a relative after i move from here and will be looking then. Strange time to look for a home but I fiqure there will be LESS buyers out there too at that time. And, from what I've heard the market for sellers is weak right now to begin with.

[Jeanie Hoholik]

I recently wrote the following article for my weblog. It answers some of the questions that home buyers will have when looking for a home to "flip". Wil45, if you want to purchase a home that's already completed with no interest in fixing up, this won't apply. I spend alot of time with my clients in North MPLS. We have had to work with the city to get the house up to code. If the house has been deemed "condemned", there is a code compliance issue to deal with. This can be costly and time consuming. If you can buy that house for a low enough price, it may still be worth it. Here's the article...

What You Should Know Before You Buy That Flippin' House

The big Twin Cities area foreclosure auction has come and gone. Many homes were sold to would-be investors who want to flip their new purchase. Some of these investors had never been inside the house that they just purchased.

Finding just the right home to fix up and resell can take time. There are many things you must consider before you buy. There’s been a real surge of homes sales to people who got caught up in the Flip This House craze.

Here’s how to make sure your flip doesn’t flop.

The first thing you need to do is buy low. Seems like a fairly simple concept, but how low is low? I don’t believe it really matters where you buy, as long as you buy low enough. You put all of your hard work and money into refurbishing the property so you’ll make a profit when it goes back on the market. Having your Realtor do a of the extreme nearby area helps.
Before
In Progress
Walla!

Have some vision. Does this house have the basics? Hardwood floors, natural woodwork, good floor plan come to mind. What about the location? Don’t hope to get lucky when you buy a house that backs up to a factory or unsightly apartment building. You want to sell fast and profitably so pick a good spot. When it’s completely refurbished, will the clients like it?

Knowing what it’s going to take to get the home up to par with the rest of the neighborhood is a bit tricky, but certainly not impossible. Get your contractors out to the house before you make an offer and have them estimate the costs of painting, refinishing floors, new roof, landscaping, rewiring and quite possibly replacing missing copper pipes.

Watch the house that you want to buy for a while. Particularly in this market and if the house is bank owned, you can really get some good deals if you wait it out a little. You’ll get a good idea if you’re going to profit on the home. Don’t be afraid to make a lowball offer. We Minnesotans have a tendency to play nice and we’re too polite. Just go for it!

If you’re looking in a city that has a , read that document closely! If the city says, for example, that it estimates that $15,000 has to be put into escrow for possible electrical repairs to unexposed wiring in the walls and you find out later that the cost will be $30,000, that’s quite a bite out of your budget! Remember, the city inspector comes back around to do another inspection once you list the house again for resale.

Pour over the Seller’s Disclosure statement! Just because the current homeowner discloses a problem, doesn’t mean that it was completely rectified. He may have put a proverbial bandaid on it. Bank owned properties won’t even have a seller’s disclosure and the home is sold “as is”. It’s their right to do so, however, it’s up to you to fix the problems before you put the home back on the market.

Once you’ve submitted an offer and the seller accepts it, get your own home inspection by a good, competent inspector who does it for a living. In Minnesota, you don’t have to have a license to inspect a home. Uncle Steve might be a great guy and handyman, but that doesn’t mean you should hire him as your inspector. If your inspector finds situations at the home that appear to have structural issues, for example, get a structural engineer out to the home. Same goes for mold, plumbing, etc. It may cost you a little, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.

There are some out there and refurbishing a home is a very rewarding experience. Have fun with it, but do it right!

Hope that helps, wil45!

[Sharolu3]

I have lived North in both the Camden area and "True North" for over 22 years. During that time it has been consistently been bad mouthed by many greater Metro Residents and the Media. I must say however that the neighborliness I have experienced here has been far better than the Suburb I was raised in. As a Realtor who has been in countless Metro homes< I also must speak to the quality of the housing in this area. There are many "Old World Charm" homes available. The community is very diverse and includes just about every race and socio economic class imaginable. If you like diversity this is the place for you, plus bargain properties! There has been high crime problems in the past few years but agressive police enforcement has significantly diminished those issues. I hope you check some of the beautiful homes available and jpoin us on the North Side. I agree with the writer who spoke about the quiet here versus the bustle of the South Side.

[Kurt Lawrason]

For those who are interested in knowing more about the Northside of Minneapolis please check out the web site www.northminneapolis.com here you will find information about each of the 13 different neighborhoods. Keep in mind that some neighborhoods are more challenging than others depending upton what block you are on (remember this is in a big city...it varies block to block). Generally speaking the more stable areas border parkways, parks, and natural amenties such as Theodore Wirth Park and Victory Memorial Drive, ect. The housing stock on the Northside is fabulous! I live in a 1917 Craftsman style home in the Cleveland neighborhood...it has maple floors, and open stairway, new kitchen, natural woodwork, new mechanics, 3 bedrooms, a brick exterior,2 car garage and a large lot. I love it here!

If you move to any inner city area I always suggest you ask the neighbors around you what the block is like, find out if there is alot of rental properties on your block and behind you. And shop and compare to other parts of the city...Do your homework! Check crime stats ect and fairly compare them to similar areas for the same price ect. North Minneapolis is not for everyone...if you don't like diversity, living in older homes, getting to know your neighbors, and a urban lifestle then perhaps the Northside is not for you.

[wil45]

Sorry for the delayed post. I'll be visiting Mpls the last week of July and previewing homes in Camden. I appreciate all the help.

[Chewie]

I have lived in Webber Camden for over a decade and the entire area north of Dowling is pretty good. There are blocks that are more stable than others, but you probably won't find better quality housing stock for the money anywhere in Minneapolis. There are also a lot of award winning gardens in the area. You can either go foreclosure hunting (I would recommend checking out at least 20 foreclosures to get a feel for what is a good buy and what isn't - I've actually seen houses for under $50k that wouldn't be bad to fix up at all) or look for properties that appear to be owner occupied and well-cared for as there are some bargains there as well. Also, there is the Minneapolis Advantage Down Payment Assistance Program that will provide a prospective homeowner with $10,000 of down payment money in several of the Camden neighborhoods (McKinley, Folwell, Cleveland, and Webber Camden, and everything south of Lowry). The program has no income restrictions, but you must be an owner occupant and the property must be located on a block with a foreclosure or be a foreclosed property. Victory is a great neighborhood, but there are some great areas in the other neighborhoods as well. Willard Hay, just south of Lowry along the Parkway, has some fantastic areas and some of the best quality homes overall, and is often over looked as it's "south of Lowry" when it's really got a huge artist community and some awesome homes and folks moving into it. I am not a Realtor, but I've been watching the housing market up here for 12 years, and now is the time to snap up a bargain. Be careful who you pick as a Realtor - I would suggest you attend some open houses up here and secretly "interview" agents before choosing one - you want one who knows the area, and is a positive person when it comes to urban living. A lot of agents don't get the potential of the area, and they won't know one block from another - there are good ones out there and you'll probably find them working the open houses up here. Good luck in your search!

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Chewie

I have lived in Webber Camden for over a decade and the entire area north of Dowling is pretty good. There are blocks that are more stable than others, but you probably won't find better quality housing stock for the money anywhere in Minneapolis. There are also a lot of award winning gardens in the area. You can either go foreclosure hunting (I would recommend checking out at least 20 foreclosures to get a feel for what is a good buy and what isn't - I've actually seen houses for under $50k that wouldn't be bad to fix up at all) or look for properties that appear to be owner occupied and well-cared for as there are some bargains there as well. Also, there is the Minneapolis Advantage Down Payment Assistance Program that will provide a prospective homeowner with $10,000 of down payment money in several of the Camden neighborhoods (McKinley, Folwell, Cleveland, and Webber Camden, and everything south of Lowry). The program has no income restrictions, but you must be an owner occupant and the property must be located on a block with a foreclosure or be a foreclosed property. Victory is a great neighborhood, but there are some great areas in the other neighborhoods as well. Willard Hay, just south of Lowry along the Parkway, has some fantastic areas and some of the best quality homes overall, and is often over looked as it's "south of Lowry" when it's really got a huge artist community and some awesome homes and folks moving into it. I am not a Realtor, but I've been watching the housing market up here for 12 years, and now is the time to snap up a bargain. Be careful who you pick as a Realtor - I would suggest you attend some open houses up here and secretly "interview" agents before choosing one - you want one who knows the area, and is a positive person when it comes to urban living. A lot of agents don't get the potential of the area, and they won't know one block from another - there are good ones out there and you'll probably find them working the open houses up here. Good luck in your search!

Great post Chewie of which I wholeheartedly agree - sometimes I get "stuck" on Victory as I have the most experience actually living in this neighborhood of the other neighborhoods. Like I have said before, though, I have lived in Webber-Camden close to Crystal Lake Cemetary and Henry High and that was a great and very safe neighborhood as well w/ very nice neighbors. There are other areas of Webber-Camden that I love - especially that stretch of hilly blocks with windy streets and well-kept beautiful old homes right off of Webber Park areas.

It's funny what you mention about "south of Lowry" and you're right on the money - admittedly before we were more familiar with that area and were househunting, there were some houses that we screened out south of lowry because we just weren't sure about the area. Later, after driving around and familiarizing ourselves, we kind of kicked ourselves for having screened down our "pool" on such subjective criteria when we realized that these houses were in what you could call willard-hay's "gold coast" so to speak - surrounded by amazing homes adjacent to theo wirth park (and there's a number of local celebrities there around there - I know there's a retired NFL player in one of those old mansions).

Besides areas of Victory, Shingle Creek, Lind-Bohanon being areas that will remain very stable and likely have rapidly increasing home values in upcoming years, Webber-Camden and parts of Willard Hay I believe will as well. I similarly think the "old highland" neighborhood in near north is an area to watch just because of the housing stock full of victorian mansions that people seem to have been discovering and restoring in recent years. Like others have said on here, Harrison looks to be on a rapid road to gentrified redevelopment (and I have to make a correction on previous posts on this thread where i was for whatever reason mixing up harrison w/ lowry hill east where I have lived - i have never lived in harrison neighborhood so not sure where my head was on that).

And if I were 'investing' right now, I would keep my eye on areas of McKinley and Hawthorne that border 94, although there's more interstate noise around here, these areas are some of the highest points geographically in Minneapolis and have some great views overlooking northeast and downtown - I toured a contractor's home here - it was a historic 3-story mansion in hawthorne with deck balconies on two of the floors with views to downtown.

There are other areas of North that are also pretty solid like Folwell that has a lot of active residents, a great park and community center. And there are even some blocks in Jordan where fortunately there are still a number of owner-occupant strongholds of committed and caring residents that shed a ray of hope on the some of the foreclosure/ disinvestment crises that plagues the neighborhood.

So that's my two cents on north neighborhoods - I think there are wonderful things going on all over the area, and it's my opinion that none of the neighborhoods are beyond hope or "urban renewal" - quite the contrary, I think more and more individuals and families are starting to recognize the northside as being the most convenient place to live in the Metro, and that the wonderfully diverse neighborhoods are full of parks, recreational areas, and public amenities. I've lived in Webber Camden and Victory and worked in Jordan and Near North - I've/ we've found the area to be a great place to live, work, and play.

Oh - and I almost forgot to mention the CLEVELAND neighborhood! You find substantially reduced home values and more availability of homes for sale in Cleveland than its neighbor to the north Victory, yet it has great people, highly similar housing stock, and adjacency to the parkway just like Victory. Recently, neighborhood activism resulted in the closing of the holiday station around lowry/ upton which has been credited with a substantial decrease in crime in the neighboring blocks. We went to "Live on the Drive" Thursday night, a latin/ salsa concert w/ free dancing lessons sponsored by Cleveland Neighborhood Assn, North Memorial, Minneapolis Parks, and Camden Music School - it was an awesome event very well attended by local residents and families and was a good chance to talk with and meet neighbors- I took some pictures that I'll have to post after blurring out people's faces.