job in Minnetonka/Plymouth area

[Minnehahapolitan]

Delano and Rockford are still pretty rural, but quick growing for their size. Since there are no freeways in West Henn. County, the commute is prob. a bit easier. Hwys. 55 and 12 should go pretty good if you just have to get to Mtka. Ditto Maple Plain.

[golfgal]

From your list, Shakopee would be by far the easiest commute to the Minnetonka/Plymouth area. Shakopee is a great town, a lot of old established neighborhoods plus a lot of new construction, shopping areas, etc.

[cu79]

If we move up there prior to knowing what area we really want to move into, is renting a house a viable option? Are there many options in this regard? If so, anyone have a website to recommend to search for these types of properties? Thanks!

[Navelinski]

You will definitely need to stay in the western part of the metro to keep your commute short. You might want to make sure you stay on the same side of the more major rivers (Crow Wing in this case) bridges are often traffic bottlenecks.

Plymouth, Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Medina, Osseo, and possibly Corcoran are all reasonable commute times for you.

I am pretty anal about planning as well, so don't feel bad - there are lots of us around!

As far prices and styles go - I checked the areas that I mentioned above and as of today, there are 59 single family homes listed for sale in your price range on the RMLS that have at least 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a 2 car garage. The ages of the homes range from 7 years old to 102 years old. They include two story homes, modified two story homes, ramblers, and yes - some are split level homes. Many of these homes have been updated recently.

As far as "back roads" go for commuting - they can get really busy. ESPECIALLY in areas like Rogers which has had a recent growth spurt. The road construction hasn't been able to keep pace with the population growth, so the problem is sometimes WORSE in the smaller towns that are fairly close to your work location.

[Navelinski]

Shakopee is on the south side of the Minnesota River and there is only one bridge in the area - this can be a big time bottleneck. St. Bonifacius is difficult because you have to go around Lake Minnetonka. Maple Plain, Rockford, and Delano are longer commutes than they appear to be. They are mainly on older 2 lane roads that get very clogged at peak drive times. But they might not be too bad if you don't work 8-5.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Navelinski

Shakopee is on the south side of the Minnesota River and there is only one bridge in the area - this can be a big time bottleneck.

Yeah, but the bridge is on 169, which is a large 4-lane road, and the stoplights are gone from the south side of 494 now so I would expect far fewer slowdowns than you used to see there. My wife used to live in downtown Shakopee and work in Edina, and her commute was fairly easy.

[cu79]

So about a month ago (maybe a little longer), I started looking at houses in the some of the areas that have been discussed here (Shakopee, Hopkins, Robbinsdale, Delano, Rockford, Hanover, Plymouth, etc).

I tagged/saved about 30 of them online. I'm kinda surprised but not a single one of them has gone off the market. Obviously, my experience is just a small snapshot ... but I haven't even noticed any houses change or sell, even ones I didn't necessarily save but have had an eye on.

Is the market really that bad right now (or good depending on how you look at it)? If so, it would seem that sellers would definitely be open to wide negotiations and deviations from their asking price. Is this the case right now? Any idea what one could expect to get a house for in regards to percent of asking price? I understand this varies significantly from area to area and house to house ... just wondered if anyone had a general opinion on this.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by cu79

So about a month ago (maybe a little longer), I started looking at houses in the some of the areas that have been discussed here (Shakopee, Hopkins, Robbinsdale, Delano, Rockford, Hanover, Plymouth, etc).

I tagged/saved about 30 of them online. I'm kinda surprised but not a single one of them has gone off the market. Obviously, my experience is just a small snapshot ... but I haven't even noticed any houses change or sell, even ones I didn't necessarily save but have had an eye on.

Is the market really that bad right now (or good depending on how you look at it)? If so, it would seem that sellers would definitely be open to wide negotiations and deviations from their asking price. Is this the case right now? Any idea what one could expect to get a house for in regards to percent of asking price? I understand this varies significantly from area to area and house to house ... just wondered if anyone had a general opinion on this.

This is a great time to buy a house. I would encourage you to take advantage of it. People who HAVE to sell immediately are selling for less. Others are just waiting endlessly! Like me! This is my second summer of trying to sell my home. The price is less than it appraised for in 2000. I already lowered it 50K.

[prairiewinds]

I grew up in Maple Plain ... Hwy. 12 traffic is horrendous, as it's only one-lane (Delano is further west on Hwy. 12).
I've transplanted "north" to Clearwater, and still commute to my job on the Wayzata/Plymouth border ... it takes me one hour (time to drink coffee, wake up & have time to myself). There are many county-road cut-offs to take that eliminate congestion ... Rockford and Buffalo are easy commutes with very affordable/nice housing ... 20-30 minutes from Wayzata ...

[kemachs]

I live in St. Bonifacius, and if you use Highway 7 to commute to Minnetonka, it's only a 20 minute drive to 494. Winding around Lake Minnetonka on county road 15 is pretty in the summer, but usually not the best route because it takes too long. Hwy 7 is basically straight east/west from St. Boni into the metro, and it was recently re-paved with wider shoulders and more turn lanes. Even the 40 minute commute from Minneapolis to St. Boni doesn't bother me because once you get past Minnetonka on 7, the drive is beautiful. Waconia is right below us, and they have a new Target and other retail/restaurants going up.