Best cities to live in (Murfreesboro, Hendersonville: real estate, foreclosure, rental)

[MT4ever]

I will be starting a new job in Nashville this summer, which means relocating to the area. Before I do I've tried to narrow down the different places to look for a home. Hopefully, I can get some assistance from everyone in this forum.

I'm middle-aged so I don't have to worry about the quality of the schools, but I am concerned about living where crime is low. Also, I would like to keep the purchase of my house under $100,000, and I would like to reside in a residential area (which counts out a mobile home on a lot of land). I'm not into the night life but it would be nice to live within 5 miles of "places to see and things to do."

I've narrowed my choices down to the following cities: Ashland City, Fairview, Goodlettsville, Hendersonville, Hermitage, Joelton, Lebanon, Mount Juliet, Nolensville, Old Hickory, Thompson's Station, Watertown, Whites Creek, Donelson, Melrose, Bellevue, Hillsboro, and Primm Springs. If I live in Nashville I'm only considering the following zip codes: 37205, 37212, 37215, 37219, and 37228. --- I'm not considering Murfreesboro, Smyrna, or Lavergne because they are too far from where I would be working.

Of all the cities/zip codes that I've mentioned, which five do you feel would be the best place(s) for me to look for a house.

Thank you all in advance for any recommendations which come my way.

[Marilyn Bell]

What part of town would you be working in? Do you prefer newer, older or older but already renovated homes? How much work would you be prepared to do on a home? What size home are you looking for? And what features are absolute musts and absolute nots? Depending on what you're looking for, you may be priced out of some of the areas you mentioned.

You can view an interactive crime map that covers many of those areas here:
http://pdmap2.police.nashville.org

[vivelafrance]

I dont think you will find anything in Hendersonville for under 100K. There's not too much under 180K. Have you considered White House? To find that kind of price you would have to look at an extremely rural area or an inner city part of Nashville.

[rossc]

Originally Posted by MT4ever

I'm middle-aged so I don't have to worry about the quality of the schools, but I am concerned about living where crime is low. Also, I would like to keep the purchase of my house under $100,000, and I would like to reside in a residential area (which counts out a mobile home on a lot of land). I'm not into the night life but it would be nice to live within 5 miles of "places to see and things to do."

This is very hard to do for under $100k even in a less than desirable area. Of the places you mentioned, I would say you can take Bellevue and Hillsboro off the list based on your price range. Anything you find in Donelson under $100k will probably need a total rehab. Joelton, Lebanon and Fairview are a bit far from Nashville. commute from Murfreesboro would not be much longer, maybe even less depending on traffic.

Unfortunately, under $100k is not really a realistic price range for the greater Nashville area. It is possible because we found something like this that was fairly new construction in a safe area on just over 1/2 an acre, but I think we got lucky and just happen to be in the right place at the right time. We've been looking for another similar place to use as a rental for almost a year with no luck.

If you have the time to look around, you could find something. It could take a week or it could take a year. If you need to get into something fairly quickly, I think you'll have to bump your price range up to about $150k to get anything livable.

For comparisons sake, we looked at a crack house in East Nashville and they were asking $95k. Seriously, we were afraid to get out of the car, and this was at 3 in the afternoon. If you want something reasonably safe, you'll be able to rule out most houses you'll see online for under $100k just with a drive-by.

[GoGreenNashville]

I think 100k is doable depending on size. Whites creek is seeing a large number of homes go in to foreclosure (just read that in the paper yesterday) so this could present some opportunity. Anything South or West of town may be difficult. Joelton, Whitescreek. Within the Nashville proper, you might consider zip code 37216. There is not a lot in the price point but there are homes on some lovely streets.

[Pimpy]

Under $100K probably isn't happening in a safe and decent neighborhood. You might be able to squeak in at $125K if you're willing to look at a townhouse or a condo. Otherwise, $150K is going to be more realistic. If you want to keep it cheap but be away from the riff-raff, I would recommend getting with a real estate agent and checking out zip code 37214, particularly the area around I-40 Exit 219.