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Hi everyone. We have spent yet another weekend in the Scranton Wilkes - Barre and surrounding areas and have decided that Scranton WILL be out next home. We feel very comfortable here and are more than glad to abandon our high priced materialistic and expensive life style for this smart down to earth up and coming city ! We are all so excited! We can not wait to fill our home with more adopted kids to add to our adopted and "home grown" brood.
WE HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
1. We saw 2 houses that need a lot of work. One is missing a kitchen. The other while stunning architecturally , needs a lot of work.
ARE THERE ANY REHAB LOANS FROM THE CITY OF SCRANTON TO HELP REVITALIZE THE CITY? One house is a Fanny May foreclosure . Does any one know about these?
The other is just a nice empty Victorian sadly in need of some TLC and a kitchen . Any ideas?
2 What is the neighborhood near North Main in West Scranton called? Is it a desirable area?
3. Does anyone know of any creative mortgage brokers? I know thats become kind of a "dirty word' these days , but we could really use one.
Thanking you in advance for your advice! Scranton Rocks - even my teen teen kids cannot wait for the move!
Hi everyone. We have spent yet another weekend in the Scranton Wilkes - Barre and surrounding areas and have decided that Scranton WILL be out next home. We feel very comfortable here and are more than glad to abandon our high priced materialistic and expensive life style for this smart down to earth up and coming city ! We are all so excited! We can not wait to fill our home with more adopted kids to add to our adopted and "home grown" brood.
WE HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
1. We saw 2 houses that need a lot of work. One is missing a kitchen. The other while stunning architecturally , needs a lot of work.
ARE THERE ANY REHAB LOANS FROM THE CITY OF SCRANTON TO HELP REVITALIZE THE CITY? One house is a Fanny May foreclosure . Does any one know about these?
The other is just a nice empty Victorian sadly in need of some TLC and a kitchen . Any ideas?
2 What is the neighborhood near North Main in West Scranton called? Is it a desirable area?
3. Does anyone know of any creative mortgage brokers? I know thats become kind of a "dirty word' these days , but we could really use one.
Thanking you in advance for your advice! Scranton Rocks - even my teen teen kids cannot wait for the move!
Hello Sheena!
I'm happy to hear that you aren't biting into the very negative rhetoric as of late regarding the Electric City (cough...Forbes...cough). Scranton has its downsides for sure, but to me and many others its a diamond in the rough just waiting to be polished by a new generation of young families. As a future adoptive parent myself I'm happy to see that I'll be in good company.
1.) This is something I'm unsure of. I don't believe the city of Scranton is offering any sort of grants or other fiduciary assistance for those rehabilitating homes, nor do I think they should be, given the disastrous state of the city's finances right now. The city may appear to be making a strong comeback, but financially our "photo-op" mayor has left Scranton with a mountain of long-term indebtedness to repay.
On the other hand one could conceivably play the Devil's Advocate here and claim that any investment the city makes by enticing people to renovate their homes will boost property values (and tax revenues in the long-run). It's really a tough call, but to answer your question in brief I really don't believe the city offers any sort of assistance. I do believe the state does though. I was seeing commercials on television a few months ago about offering low-interest loans to those who wanted to renovate their homes. I can't recall any more information about that though.
2.) That would be Hyde Park. I did a photo tour of it, which can be found by doing a search on this forum. I myself am staking out Hyde Park as a future homestead in which to raise my family, as I love the fact that it has its own high school, its own independent Main Street area, relatively low crime, and potentially soaring property values once planned projects linking it to Downtown are completed in a few years. I'm hoping to find a nice smaller six-room single-family home, preferably with off-street parking accessible via a rear alley, on a typical 40' x 150' or so lot in the $75,000 range that would need just some cosmetic work. It seems like a very stable area. We have around a half-dozen Hyde Park area members on this forum (versaron, WatsonWest, FightinPhils, etc.), all of whom would be more than happy to help if you sent them a direct message I'm sure.
3.) Member KBlasi is a mortgage broker. He may be able to help you or refer you to someone who can.
Hi everyone. We have spent yet another weekend in the Scranton Wilkes - Barre and surrounding areas and have decided that Scranton WILL be out next home. We feel very comfortable here and are more than glad to abandon our high priced materialistic and expensive life style for this smart down to earth up and coming city ! We are all so excited! We can not wait to fill our home with more adopted kids to add to our adopted and "home grown" brood.
WE HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
1. We saw 2 houses that need a lot of work. One is missing a kitchen. The other while stunning architecturally , needs a lot of work.
ARE THERE ANY REHAB LOANS FROM THE CITY OF SCRANTON TO HELP REVITALIZE THE CITY? One house is a Fanny May foreclosure . Does any one know about these?
The other is just a nice empty Victorian sadly in need of some TLC and a kitchen . Any ideas?
2 What is the neighborhood near North Main in West Scranton called? Is it a desirable area?
3. Does anyone know of any creative mortgage brokers? I know thats become kind of a "dirty word' these days , but we could really use one.
Thanking you in advance for your advice! Scranton Rocks - even my teen teen kids cannot wait for the move!
I see that you're from Stony Brook, NY. Long Island. I'm originally from there too. Why do you want to move here? I live in West Scranton and I would love to move back to the Island. I just can't afford it now. I wish we never moved up here in the first place back in 1986, but I had no choice. Well, who am I to tell you what to do, all I can say is good luck in what you're looking for.
I see that you're from Stony Brook, NY. Long Island. I'm originally from there too. Why do you want to move here? I live in West Scranton and I would love to move back to the Island. I just can't afford it now. I wish we never moved up here in the first place back in 1986, but I had no choice. Well, who am I to tell you what to do, all I can say is good luck in what you're looking for.
Different strokes for different folks, Ed. I think the Scranton area is a great place to retire to from the "rat race" given our much slower pace and generally more amicable people, but when it comes to young professionals, singles, etc. I can see how Scranton can be deemed a wasteland of sorts. Even I can't put on the rose-colored glasses thick enough to see through the disappointment of knowing that deciding to raise my future family in a safe, laid-back city like Scranton will mean sacrificing my professional endeavors. I could easily relocate to Northern New Jersey, find a job as an entry-level CPA making in the neighborhood of $50,000, and then be living in a McMansion in Sparta or Alpine at age 40 with a Lexus SUV in the driveway, but materiality is not in my bloodline. I'd much rather settle for being a "big corporate fish in a little corporate pond" here in Scranton with a salary that might "peak" just over $50,000, a small older home instead of a Toll Brothers home, and a Prius instead of a luxury sedan if it meant that I could raise my children in such a family-oriented area where people care more about who you are than "how much you make."
Society's obsession with currency is really starting to turn my mouth sour. Whenever past King's graduates come back to campus, it seems like most of my peers are antsy to inquire "How much do you make?", "How much did you start off at?", "How high is your annual raise?", etc. The Baby Boomers have raised a Generation Y of self-centered ego-maniacs driven to believe that "success" can only be found in net assets as opposed to what you're feeling inside.
For example, I don't dispute that most people in Glenmaura are probably very well-educated, very morally-upstanding, and very professionally-savvy. However, are many "successful?" Some are in every sense of the word. Many probably aren't because they feel emotional burnout from working so hard to acquire so much stuff and keep up appearances with their colleagues. I'm currently a slave to my employer, and in the future I'm going to strive to find a better work/life balance, even if it means sacrificing some money to do so. What I want to acquire in life would only require me to earn $40,000 annually and my partner to earn perhaps $20,000 annually. This is very possible. Could I earn $80,000 annually and he $40,000 annually by relocating to an area where a plethora of educated people has attracted better employers than Wal-Mart? Yes. Why on Earth would I want to though when you have the best of everything here in NEPA---skiing, gambling, whitewater rafting, Victorian architecture, verdant farmlands, Starbucks, etc.
Paul, I do respect your opinion, but I guess we'll never agree on Scranton. We're on opposite ends of the spectrum. I want to badly leave the city, because I'm basically fed up with everything about it. You want to badly move here and start a new life. No one is wrong here, just different views on the same place. I guess that's what makes the world go 'round. Maybe you will feel differently once you actually move here and have to put up with what we do on a daily basis. Or maybe it will be the best thing for you, only time can tell.
Don't know if this could be of any help to you, but my Mom is the Director of Development for Lackawanna Neighbors, Inc.. They have been rehabbing houses in various areas, mainly Scranton & Carbondale, and I must say they do excellent work!
I am originally from West Scranton and grew up on Hyde Park Ave. A great area. I have very fond memories of my idyllic childhood and can't wait to get back for my class reunion next year!!!
INVADERS - BLEED BLUE!
Last edited by Spyarella; 08-25-2008 at 01:52 PM..
Reason: mispellings
Don't know if this could be of any help to you, but my Mom is the Director of Development for Lackawanna Neighbors, Inc.. They have been rehabbing houses in various areas, mainly Scranton & Carbondale, and I must say they do excellent work!
I am originally from West Scranton and grew up on Hyde Park Ave. A great area. I have very fond memories of my idyllic childhood and can't wait to get back for my class reunion next year!!!
INVADERS - BLEED BLUE!
Unfortunately, Spyarella I currently live on Hyde Park Ave. Maybe it was better when you lived here, but not so much now. There has got to be a reason why you live in San Diego now and not here in the lovely Electric City. Maybe you have a good job and a nice ocean view. We just had a violent crime on an elderly man right downtown. You're not missing anything here and be glad you're in San Diego. Don't mean to sound bitter, just speaking the truth.
NYRangers, I would never think you to be bitter. My family still lives in the house I grew up in, and unfortunately their block of Hyde Park has been inundated with out-of-state landlords who could care less about who they are renting to, and even apparently less about their investment and what happens to the neighborhood. I was astounded to find out a few months back that a 3-year-old girl was killed just across the street from my parent's home! They have always been very alert as to what happens in the neighborhood, but never once saw that child, EVER. That NEVER would have happened during my years growing up there.
I have lived in 5 other cities aside from Scranton and I must say that Scranton still has the lowest crime rate of any of them and I certainly hope that the recent increase in violent crimes doesn't change that fact in the future.
FWIW, I work my butt off and still don't have an ocean view! Even a drive to the ocean is cost prohibitive here in CA with the price of gas ;-)
"You can take the girl out of West Side...but you can't take West Side out of the girl."
NYRangers, I would never think you to be bitter. My family still lives in the house I grew up in, and unfortunately their block of Hyde Park has been inundated with out-of-state landlords who could care less about who they are renting to, and even apparently less about their investment and what happens to the neighborhood. I was astounded to find out a few months back that a 3-year-old girl was killed just across the street from my parent's home! They have always been very alert as to what happens in the neighborhood, but never once saw that child, EVER. That NEVER would have happened during my years growing up there.
I have lived in 5 other cities aside from Scranton and I must say that Scranton still has the lowest crime rate of any of them and I certainly hope that the recent increase in violent crimes doesn't change that fact in the future.
FWIW, I work my butt off and still don't have an ocean view! Even a drive to the ocean is cost prohibitive here in CA with the price of gas ;-)
"You can take the girl out of West Side...but you can't take West Side out of the girl."
Spyarella...Reminiscing
This is true what you are saying about the out of town landlords. They couldn't care less who they are renting to and that's not good for the city. They rent to undesirables and there goes the neighborhood. By the way, do you parents live on North or South Hyde Park? I live on North Hyde Park. Nice talking to you and take care.
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Scranton has its downsides for sure, but to me and many others its a diamond in the rough just waiting to be polished by a new generation of young families. As a future adoptive parent myself I'm happy to see that I'll be in good company. 
