Relocating for son going to Gettysburg College-info please? (real estate, rental)

[mom of historybuff]

My son has chosen Gettysburg College and I'm going with b/c he's an only child with a learning disability---if I had my druthers, I'd look for a pretty piece of land to build my little log cabin on, but should I? He will very probably end up teaching Civil War there some day, so it will be his home too. On the other hand, is land still available at a reasonable price and would I just be better off renting? I hate not owning my own home, but it might be simpler for the 4 years. But I love Gettysburg myself, just like my son, and am inclined to want to build a little homestead for us and eventually he could have it when he has his own family. Anybody out there have any ideas about WHERE to look for land, not too far from the college as a commute? Any other info on the town, prices, weather, people, would be greatly appreciated as well. What I saw when we visited charmed me. It has its strip mall side, true enough, but I love the Americana throwback feeling. THanks for your help with this!

[MBurg]

Good luck with Gettysburg College. My alma mater and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.... There are some really nice development areas around the area, and there is some money in Gettysburg too. Just drive by the high school to confirm that! Talk to a realtor, I have heard not to go towards the Maryland side of town.

[talk2u]

Why wouldn't you go to the Maryland side of town?

[Katiana]

I'd wait till he graduates and lands that teaching job to be sure of that. But for 4 yrs, why not own? You probably won't lose money.

[susquehannock]

Originally Posted by talk2u

Why wouldn't you go to the Maryland side of town?

That's the busy side of town.

That is where most of the museums, hotels, shops, and restaurants are. It is also the part of the battlefield where most of the tourists visit. Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill and Ridge, The Angle, The Peach Orchard, and Confederate Avenue are located there. (where Longstreet's assault formed.) The streets and sidewalks are always busy in that area.

When they get the new Visitors' Center done, that should alleviate a small bit of traffic activity in that area but not much.

That's is also where the roads all intersect. The Taneytown RD, Emmitsburg RD, and the Baltimore Pike etc.

The College is on the other side.

[megabyte]

Originally Posted by mom of historybuff

My son has chosen Gettysburg College and I'm going with b/c he's an only child with a learning disability---if I had my druthers, I'd look for a pretty piece of land to build my little log cabin on, but should I? He will very probably end up teaching Civil War there some day, so it will be his home too. On the other hand, is land still available at a reasonable price and would I just be better off renting? I hate not owning my own home, but it might be simpler for the 4 years. But I love Gettysburg myself, just like my son, and am inclined to want to build a little homestead for us and eventually he could have it when he has his own family. Anybody out there have any ideas about WHERE to look for land, not too far from the college as a commute? Any other info on the town, prices, weather, people, would be greatly appreciated as well. What I saw when we visited charmed me. It has its strip mall side, true enough, but I love the Americana throwback feeling. THanks for your help with this!

Never rent anything always buy if you can afford to purchase a house even for 4 years your set buy it then sell it. After 2 years no taxes. Gettysburg is always growing you will be safe. Try to build/buy your house with the future thought to resale. So buy your house with features that other people would want then your safe. Gettysburg is a historians paradise. If you build live near the historical park they have rules about what the building can look like in keeping with the historical look nothing modern etc. But just buy on the otherside of town and you should be ok but I would check out the building codes for your area. Also Gettysburg becomes a serious tourist area during summer and a college town during winter. Its not uncommon to see a serious swelling during reinactment times like early july. Forget about driving or seeing the park during those times unless you like wall to wall traffic and people everywhere.

[mom of historybuff]

Originally Posted by MBurg

Good luck with Gettysburg College. My alma mater and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.... There are some really nice development areas around the area, and there is some money in Gettysburg too. Just drive by the high school to confirm that! Talk to a realtor, I have heard not to go towards the Maryland side of town.

My son just spent a couple of weeks there participating in the Civil War Institute and he loved his time there. I would be very interested to hear about your experience there. Everyone is different, but it is always good to hear the downside of things, even if it's one man's opinion. Do you think my son would not enjoy it there---he is an avid Civil War buff, a military historian, and got along great with the history profs this summer. What happened when you went there?

[talk2u]

Originally Posted by susquehannock

That's the busy side of town.

That is where most of the museums, hotels, shops, and restaurants are. It is also the part of the battlefield where most of the tourists visit. Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill and Ridge, The Angle, The Peach Orchard, and Confederate Avenue are located there. (where Longstreet's assault formed.) The streets and sidewalks are always busy in that area.

When they get the new Visitors' Center done, that should alleviate a small bit of traffic activity in that area but not much.

That's is also where the roads all intersect. The Taneytown RD, Emmitsburg RD, and the Baltimore Pike etc.

The College is on the other side.

Oh. Thanks for clarifying.

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by megabyte

Never rent anything always buy

Oh good grief. I don't know why I try anymore.

Renting is a great option for those that might be in-and-out of a home quickly, Megabyte. If there is one sure way to lose money, it is buying a home and then turning around to sell it too quickly. #1) it usually takes about 5 years to recoup closing costs alone. #2) Home appreciation has averaged 4% per year historically. Stocks have averaged 7%. You can gain 3% extra on the money you save by renting and investing it in something as simple as a money market account, especially since you will build little (if any) equity in a period of only a few years. A home's value would have to appreciate by almost 10% per year just to BREAK EVEN selling it 3 years later- and there's no guarantee someone will want to buy it. #3) Over the past 9 years the cost of owning a home (taxes, maintainence, repairs, etc) has out-paced the cost of renting by nearly 20%. In this regard, you'd save thousands over the few-year-period in question that could go toward a down-payment when you decide to buy more long-term. Since you are gaining no equity anyway in the first few years of home-ownership (you're basically renting your own house), you might as well save money doing it. #4) Many people, in short-term situations as the OP is- find the advantages of predictable fixes costs, no maintenance, and and flexibility (no committment- when the time is right you can just move!) to outweigh the advantages of home ownership.

For short termers (ie people that are following their kids to school and will move in 4 years), renting is almost always a better idea than buying except in the very hottest of housing markets.

Cap

[megabyte]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

Renting is a great option for those that might be in-and-out of a home quickly, Megabyte. If there is one sure way to lose money, it is buying a home and then turning around to sell it too quickly. #1) it usually takes about 5 years to recoup closing costs alone. #2) Home appreciation has averaged 4% per year historically. Stocks have averaged 7%. You can gain 3% extra on the money you save by renting and investing it in something as simple as a money market account, especially since you will build little (if any) equity in a period of only a few years. A home's value would have to appreciate by almost 10% per year just to BREAK EVEN selling it 3 years later- and there's no guarantee someone will want to buy it. #3) Over the past 9 years the cost of owning a home (taxes, maintainence, repairs, etc) has out-paced the cost of renting by nearly 20%. In this regard, you'd save thousands over the few-year-period in question that could go toward a down-payment when you decide to buy more long-term. Since you are gaining no equity anyway in the first few years of home-ownership (you're basically renting your own house), you might as well save money doing it. #4) Many people, in short-term situations as the OP is- find the advantages of predictable fixes costs, no maintenance, and and flexibility (no committment- when the time is right you can just move!) to outweigh the advantages of home ownership.

For short termers (ie people that are following their kids to school and will move in 4 years), renting is almost always a better idea than buying except in the very hottest of housing markets.

Cap

Your losing money? Thats possible but maybe you should learn to buy a house first. You have to buy a house thats distressed and fix it up so you build equidty. Maybe you fail because "...you dont know why you try anymore..." Dont give up old dogs can learn new tricks, well its possible anyway. LoL I love your reasoning for someone to rent rather then buy. Hmm rent a house for $800 or get a morgage for $800 and own it. I will own thank you very much. Renting pays the landlords mortgage. Even if paying more for owning than renting I still would rather build equidty. You can check the houses worth (you can check the value by looking at similar houses in the area at the county courthouse). Now obviously going to college and buying a house might be foolish especially if you plan to move after college is done. Typically the market wont move that much unless of course you buy distressed or a hot market area. Gettysburg is a hot area with gambling still being pushed. When gambling was announced in grantville realestate in the area skyrocketed. Your forgeting one big reason for spending 20% on fixing your owned home it builds equidty you dont fix your bathroom and get nothing in return it makes the home more valuable. If you fix a rental or get the landlord to do it fat chance on that you get nothing. Now one scenario for renting could be if you plan to make more money in the market per year than what you might recoup in real estate appreciation. Not many people can do it. I make all my money from playing the market and not to **** people off but I consistantly make alot more than 7%. Its really not that hard to make money in the market with the DOW at 14,000. But its not for everyone so real estate is a safe play for most people and its something they can touch and live in so its a double plus.