Wanting to retire to SW-MO (Springfield, Joplin: for sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[kriseanna]

We currently live in the Panhandle of Texas and have children in Springfield and Tulsa so thought it would we nice to live between them. What is the cost of living (car reg. property taxes etc.) and price of homes and land? Or is it cheaper in AR. or OK.

[8 SNAKE]

Kriseanna,

The questions that you're asking have been answered quite a few times on this forum. A quick search should provide you with the information that you're looking for.

If you have any specific questions beyond that, I'm sure that a lot of locals would be eager to help you. Best of luck with your potential move!

[mrschilicook]

Do a side by side comparison on Sperlings... Moderator cut: url removed


The data is just an average comparison because it depends on your circumstances. Check out city-data by city and see what the data says, then check out a realty website like realty.com to look at houses you might be interested for each city to see what you can get.

Read thru earlier threads on the forums for each area..they each have tons of threads devoted to your questions.

I can only tell you how the area compares with the SF Bay area and Las Vegas which is where I'm from. This area has a vastly different cost of living as far as housing and auto registration. Real Estate Tax RATES here are by county and my county is about the same as either CA or NV from a rate standpoint, but because the house cost a lot less, the tax itself is less (but no caps on increases). Income taxes end up being more here than NV because NV doesn't have income tax. Ends up being about the same as CA because while the tax rates are lower, the highest kicks in sooner and the exemptions are significantly less...plus they still tax social security (it's being phased out) which CA doesn't (nor NV with no income tax).

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by kriseanna

We currently live in the Panhandle of Texas and have children in Springfield and Tulsa so thought it would we nice to live between them. What is the cost of living (car reg. property taxes etc.) and price of homes and land? Or is it cheaper in AR. or OK.

The cost of living here is directly proportionate to what kind of lifestyle you need to be happy. My single-wide mobile home cost $7,500 which I put on 26 acres. Trailer, land, and improvements, including septic, electric and well, we came in just a hair under $35,000. Taxes on the property will probably be around $400 a year.

Now, if that lifestyle is a little too avant garde for you, a boring vinyl sided/brick subdivision house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, two car garage can be had for a paltry $100,000, but you won't be able to pee off your porch when the notion strikes you which is a big plus for living out in the country, well out of sight of the closest neighbor. LOL If you want to live in the country, land prices vary depending on the quality and lay of the land. Forget flat for the most part. Rough, rugged land sells for about $2,500 an acre these days and "nice" land as much as $5,000 depending on location and such. Be advised that broadband internet service is spotty to non-existant once you get out of town.

The Springfield, Missouri area is about the same. The current housing market has brought house prices way, way down. You can get a house that sold for $350,000 four years ago for about $199,000 if you have an impressive down payment and good credit. DON'T BE AFRAID to make shockingly low offers! Most folks still have their homes listed way above market value right now. There are also a LOT of short sales/foreclosures going on here, so be sure to check out ALL THE OPTIONS before making any offers.

What I know of NW Arkansas would indicate that this is pretty much true of that area also. Some folks live in and around Omaha, Arkansas who work in Branson because even though the commute is longer, the traffic during the season makes it quicker and more gas efficient.

I would recommend renting for six months to make sure the neighborhood/school district is a good fit. Realtors, by law, cannot tell you which are stinky and which are great, so you have to find out for yourself. Don't make the mistake of buying into a poor school district. Remember Realtors want to sell houses and they are not above a lie or two to make their commission!

DM me if you have any specific questions or would like more information.

20yrsinBranson

[Ciaerin]

lol 20, thats exactly why i have a doublewide on 5 acres of woodland. my nearest neighbor cant see me peeing off my porch and if i want to dance naked around a fire, by god i can

[Asthedeer]

too funny, I am sure my husband and boys will appreciate that too lol. We hope to get 20-40 acres, ah bliss.

20years, good to know about making offers!

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

The Springfield, Missouri area is about the same. The current housing market has brought house prices way, way down. You can get a house that sold for $350,000 four years ago for about $199,000 if you have an impressive down payment and good credit. DON'T BE AFRAID to make shockingly low offers! Most folks still have their homes listed way above market value right now. There are also a LOT of short sales/foreclosures going on here, so be sure to check out ALL THE OPTIONS before making any offers.

Do you have any examples of $350,000 homes selling for $199,000? In my experience, that simply isn't happening around here. Home values never got inflated in Southwest Missouri, so they're not deflating now. I'll agree that the market has slowed down, especially at price points above $250k. It seems to me that the average time a home sits on the market is increasing and prices are falling back a bit, but nowhere close to 40-45%. I'm in the Nixa area, so perhaps things are different in Branson?

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by kriseanna

We currently live in the Panhandle of Texas and have children in Springfield and Tulsa so thought it would we nice to live between them. What is the cost of living (car reg. property taxes etc.) and price of homes and land? Or is it cheaper in AR. or OK.

Hi, Kris!

If I were you, I would go to REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale or Missouri Real Estate - Homes for Sale - BobVila.com and check out the communities of Carthage and/or Neosho, MO. From what we saw when we were looking, they are nice communities and nicely situated between your children. They're within an easy drive of Joplin so you'd have access to bigger shopping and employment options, too. We worked with an agent that we were really impressed with...so much so, that we felt bad that we didn't buy in the area. He listened to our criteria, consistently sent us listings to check out, returned our calls...and made us feel comfortable. I don't know if I'm allowed to do this here but here's his link: Moderator cut: url removed, please use dm only for any RE Agent recommendations ...if the moderators remove it, just send me a DM and I'll give it to you off list. I know we can't advertise our own businesses but it seems like we can give the other referrals so this should be allowed, as well. I don't make the rules, though, so we can only hope I'm within the forum rules.

Anyway, I don't know how many bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage or acreage you're looking for or how much you are thinking of spending but I found some that look like really good deals in my quick visit to the sites.

You're on the right track by asking here but I really advise you come for a visit to see your kids and see towns for yourselves. Nothing takes the place of that since a town tends to have a personality and feel...and that's very hard to articulate.

I do believe the best deals to be found are here in MO so it's not hard to believe you will find what you are looking for!

Let us know how it goes!

MrsG

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by 8 SNAKE

Do you have any examples of $350,000 homes selling for $199,000? In my experience, that simply isn't happening around here. Home values never got inflated in Southwest Missouri, so they're not deflating now. I'll agree that the market has slowed down, especially at price points above $250k. It seems to me that the average time a home sits on the market is increasing and prices are falling back a bit, but nowhere close to 40-45%. I'm in the Nixa area, so perhaps things are different in Branson?

Go to Highview Street in Ozark. There are three houses in a row there that have been foreclosed on (I did the bank inspection on all three of them). They are all brick, full finished basement. The contractor sold them for $325,000 new and I know for a fact that one of them is now listed fpr $279.900 and there is NO WAY it is going to sell for this. *Maybe* $210,000 max, only because the basement is fully finished and there are probably 5 bedrooms.

Houses are still listed high for their market value, but they are not selling at that price. Most people have HELOC loans on top of their first mortgage and they are rolling that into the asking price. All potential buyers have to do is wait it out and until the homes go into foreclosure and then pick them up for the short sale amount.

This house http://preview.tinyurl.com/5cpjotis a perfect example. No way would this house sell for more than $160,000. Lots of people just do not have a realistic idea of how much their house is worth in today's market. They are still stuck on the price they PAID for it, two or three or five years ago.

20yrsinBranson

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Go to Highview Street in Ozark. There are three houses in a row there that have been foreclosed on (I did the bank inspection on all three of them). They are all brick, full finished basement. The contractor sold them for $325,000 new and I know for a fact that one of them is now listed fpr $279.900 and there is NO WAY it is going to sell for this. *Maybe* $210,000 max, only because the basement is fully finished and there are probably 5 bedrooms.

Houses are still listed high for their market value, but they are not selling at that price. Most people have HELOC loans on top of their first mortgage and they are rolling that into the asking price. All potential buyers have to do is wait it out and until the homes go into foreclosure and then pick them up for the short sale amount.

This house http://preview.tinyurl.com/5cpjotis a perfect example. No way would this house sell for more than $160,000. Lots of people just do not have a realistic idea of how much their house is worth in today's market. They are still stuck on the price they PAID for it, two or three or five years ago.

20yrsinBranson

You've given quite a few examples, but none of them have actually sold. In my opinion, the market in Nixa/Ozark is not depreciating 40-45%. I don't think it's depreciated 10%, but there will always be a few exceptions based on specific circumstances.

Four years ago, my neighbor bought his house in Nixa. It was brand new, all-brick, 5,400 sq ft home on 3 acres and he paid less than $350k at that time. If you can show me this house for $200k today, I'll be delighted to buy it. I'm fairly certain that he wouldn't sell it for $350k today if you dropped it the cash in his lap. That's because he couldn't replace the home for that price right now if he had to. I know for a fact that I wouldn't consider selling my house for what I paid for it a few years ago. I've owned mine for about seven years, and it's appreciated considerably over that time.

To be fair, our houses are not lined up in rows looking like mirror images of each other. When you get into a development of spec homes and there are ten of them for sale at the same time and they're all exactly the same, prices are going to tumble. But even then, banks aren't going to let them go for 60 cents on the dollar. At least not that I've seen around here yet.