Moving to Minneapolis - HELP -Visiting here this week (St. Paul: for sale by owner, foreclosures)

[PBH]

We are moving from Cincinnati to Minneapolis this spring. We are here this week to have a look and decide on an area to live. The house prices are much higher here! (We have 2400 sqft for $150,000 now) We would like 4BR with MBR on main level & 2 car gar. My husband will be driving into the city for work and will be using the airport frequently as well. I have two kids left at home but they are in college so schools aren't as important except for the re-sale value of the house.
We have been told that there is nothing in our price range. My husband is not a "fit-it" man so we can't buy a fit-it-upper. I have been told to stay away from areas that would require him driving over a bridge in rush hour traffic...but was also told that the best prices are in the outside areas.
And I am wondering about foreclosures...don't know anything about the dangers of looking at them. And do people sell "by ower" very much here? (They rarely do in Cincinnati)
Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated. PBH

[taysantanamama]

Since you don't have kids in school, you open yourself up to a broader area, so that is good. What part of Mpls will he be in? Or as long as he doesn't mind a drive, there are a lot of northern suburbs that are more reasonable, I think Coon Rapids, Champlin, Crystal, Fridley, are a bit more price friendly than say Plymouth, Edina, Chanhassen, Golden Valley. I wouldn't worry about being close to the airport, really, as long as it isn't rush hour, it isn't a bad trip from anywhere in the metro. Also, there is light rail service from some north suburbs that might be a considration(goes all the way to the airport and mall of america), and I lived in a NE St.Paul suburb and worked in DT St. Paul and took advantage of the park and ride bus services. They have them to Mpls from many suburbs, as long as it works with your work schedule, it is the way to go. Beats being stuck in traffic and paying for parking.

Anyway, a 4 bedroom house with a master on the first floor for a decent price may be hard to come by, not impossible, but the less specific you are, the better. You might want to consider a townhome or condo too, they are usually more reasonable and there are some nice ones throughout the metro. As far as foreclosures go, I know there are a lot, but I don't know how the differ from another house, and I believe that you are always better off dealing with a realtor rather than an owner, because they take care of everything for you and if things go bad, you have someone on your side.

I feel your pain moving into a higher housing market. We moved from Duluth to MSP a few years ago, so instead of looking in the low to mid 100,000s, we had to look in the mid 200,000s, which was painful, and now we moved to Hawaii, and we had to look into the mid 500,000s to find something I would consider on the low end of adequate. Needless to say, we rent.

Good luck on the move, if you have more info, we can probably be more help too.

[jaybrad77]

Again, I'll say the same thing in this thread like the last one you typed up. It's fix it uppers, not fit it uppers. Worried about bridges? Come on! All because of what happened last summer? Your question about bridges, is just as stupid as me saying that I'm worried about sending my kids to colleges in Ohio because of what happened at Kent State.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by jaybrad77

Again, I'll say the same thing in this thread like the last one you typed up. It's fix it uppers, not fit it uppers. Worried about bridges? Come on! All because of what happened last summer? Your question about bridges, is just as stupid as me saying that I'm worried about sending my kids to colleges in Ohio because of what happened at Kent State.

The bridge thing is more of a back up with traffic issue then a safety one I am sure. If you look at the typical bottlenecks in the metro they happen at bridges.

[sugarbeet]

I know someone who lives in Lonsdale and works downtown. She drives to Burnsville and takes a bus into downtown. In order to get a decent 2,400 sq ft home for $150,000, I think you may have to go that far out.

Foreclosures in the desirable areas are snatched up by investors, a lot of them need work and often are not tremendous deals.

Either you will have to settle for a smaller home or have a longer commute. Not too many homes in N Minneapolis will have 2,400 square feet, but you may be able to find something smaller for $150,000.

You will find some for sale by owner homes here. Check craigslist and all the various fsbo sites. Good luck!

[golfgal]

It is going to be nearly impossible to find a home for $150,000 with 4 bedrooms unless you can find one in say South St. Paul that has about 1000 sq feet on the main and a couple bedrooms in the basement, would that work? The master would probably be 12x12 if you are lucky, no attached bath type deal. You are probably going to have to add about $100,000 to your price to find something that would have a master bath/bedroom combo.

[jaybrad77]

Originally Posted by golfgal

The bridge thing is more of a back up with traffic issue then a safety one I am sure. If you look at the typical bottlenecks in the metro they happen at bridges.

Oh, ok. When you say it that way, it sounds better. All apologies.

[PBH]

Thank you for taking the time to respond with your suggestions.
We looked at houses today with a realtor and I am still shocked at the prices of houses here. We are now considering townhouses. I am not so sure the added monthly association fees of $150-250 will make it worth it though.
We were shown houses/townhouses in Eagan, Burnsville, Savage, Prior Lake, Chaska, Victoria, Eden Prairie, and Bloomington.
We have to return home but plan to check out north Minneapolis on our next trip.
(And sorry about the typo --- I did mean fix instead of fit. And yes, I was not referring to the safety of bridges but the extra time they would add to my husband's commute to his job downtown).
Thanks again.