SLC neighborhoods to avoid buying into?? (Sandy, Park City: real estate, rental, condo)

[futureskibum]

My family is seeking a second home in SLC. We are attracted to areas that are up and coming or a little run down with potential,aka the earlier phases of gentrification. Horrified that we might regret our purchase, real estate agents have tried steering us away from the 84101, 84104, 84116 zip codes and areas that, quite frankly, have these adorable homes for under 100k. I would like to know from all you locals out there..WHAT is really going on with some of these neighborhoods? Is there any potential? WHere are the areas one wouldn't be caught dead in? I want to know..HOW BAD IS BAD? Let me give you an example. We are from the L.A. area of California. Formerly the areas of Santa Ana, parts of Fullerton and Silverlake are cities that went through gentrification. People have made money on their investments and live better and better. As for Silverlake, it is now considered trendy to live there. Similiarly the area around Dodger stadium has been going through a great gentrification and in time is touted to be the next Silverlake. O.K> I think you know what I mean.
As the name implies, I love to ski. Areas of Park City, etc are just too pricey for us now. We want to get into the SLC market to get our foot in the door. We also are not Mormon but have great respect for the religion and its followers. Please advise. Thank you in advance!

[coolcats]

Its sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy. The real estate agents steer people away, the demand is lower, so prices say down, and the neighborhood gets a bad rap. Of course the real estate agents are self-interested by driving people to more expensive neighborhoods because they get more comission.

Bad in Utah is not bad as in California I'm sure. But there might be some meth houses, drug deals, and stuff happening on those areas. My wife's sister lived near downtown (trolley square) for a while. They had a homeless guy ring their doorbell and ask for a cigarette one night. Another time, a homeless guy took care of his number 2 business, if you know what I mean, right by their house. I'd just want to avoid that kind of stuff.

But the west side of downtown business areas are being revitalized. So maybe that will extend to the west side neighborhoods. No guarantee on that though.

Have you considered a townhouse or condo in a "nicer" part of town? Is $100,000 your limit?

[futureskibum]

got your point. I dont like bums anywhere....my town or yours. we might just go with our original plan and buy in Park City and pay more for a condo that we can get on a rental program.

[frogamigo]

Originally Posted by coolcats

My wife's sister lived near downtown (trolley square) for a while. They had a homeless guy ring their doorbell and ask for a cigarette one night. Another time, a homeless guy took care of his number 2 business, if you know what I mean, right by their house. I'd just want to avoid that kind of stuff.

I used to live in that area. Know exactly what you mean!

- Chris

[Boiseboy]

Originally Posted by frogamigo

I used to live in that area. Know exactly what you mean!

- Chris

I went to college in SLC for a year and thought there was a huge homeless problem for such a small city. I am not bashing at all, but the fact there are a lot of homeless people in SLC seems to be widely known. The Liberty Park area is bad for that--I had a few female friends who lived on 13th south and 9 east and were scared to death to walk around at night--which again seems strange for a small city. I remember reading articles that when SLC was hosting the Olympics that the police department would offer free Greyhound bus tickets to the homeless, which were destined to other cities in the intermountain region to get them out of SLC. That created quite a stir in Denver and Boise for instance where some of the homeless were given Free tickets to.

As far as buying into a neighborhood, I have a friend that has invested in a few older homes in the Rose Park area and hoping the values on the west side of
I-15 pick up and they have. He is feeling pretty lucky because the values have gone up, but he admits he would never live in Rose Park. He lives in Sandy.