Benton Park West? (St. Louis, Maryland Heights, Clayton: real estate, to rent, insurance)

[tdagarim]

My wife and I have been renting in the Rock Hill area for about 1.5 years now and looking to buy instead of throwing money away on rent. We looked at a house we really like in Benton Park West on a corner of Oregon Ave and Juniata St. Near Arsenal and Gravois as well. I've heard mixed things about the state streets. The house is pretty much everything we want and in our price range but we are still not 100% sure on the area. We really like Tower Grove and I know it's actually pretty close. We don't really work that close so we know there will be drastic commute changes. I work in Maryland Heights and she works in Brentwood. We may or may not have a kid in the future. Are the schools really that bad? How is crime in the area? My guess is that it's just really spotty...can be good and then can get bad quickly. Thoughts?

[flynavyj]

Not a huge fan of Benton Park West ... Benton Park (yes), but some streets are better than others...Benton Park West leaves a bit to be desired. This seems to be the case for many of the neighborhoods between Jefferson and Grand, if you're West of Grand (or in a couple very select neighborhoods) things are good, head down Arsenal from Jefferson, and things are sketch to "ok" to sketch again.

City schools are pretty rough, no one will lie to you about that. If you're planning to have kids, have a plan in place. If the normal public school option is your only option, you may be moving before to long again. If you can get them into some of the smaller lottery based schools, things can be pretty decent...the other option is paying for a parochial school, and in St. Louis City your kid wouldn't be out of place if you and your family don't align with the schools belief structure or religion affiliations.

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by tdagarim

My wife and I have been renting in the Rock Hill area for about 1.5 years now and looking to buy instead of throwing money away on rent.

Slightly off-topic, but this is a pet peeve of mine: you aren't throwing away money on rent, you're paying for a place to live. When you own a house you'll be throwing away plenty of money on insurance, taxes, maintenance, mortgage interest, etc. The question of whether it makes sense to rent or own is more complex than your statement implies.

[tdagarim]

Originally Posted by FrankMiller

Slightly off-topic, but this is a pet peeve of mine: you aren't throwing away money on rent, you're paying for a place to live. When you own a house you'll be throwing away plenty of money on insurance, taxes, maintenance, mortgage interest, etc. The question of whether it makes sense to rent or own is more complex than your statement implies.

Fair point.

[flynavyj]

Originally Posted by FrankMiller

Slightly off-topic, but this is a pet peeve of mine: you aren't throwing away money on rent, you're paying for a place to live. When you own a house you'll be throwing away plenty of money on insurance, taxes, maintenance, mortgage interest, etc. The question of whether it makes sense to rent or own is more complex than your statement implies.

Great point! If you're in a position where you think you'll be stable for the forseeable future (10+ years) then purchasing a home might be the right move...While you're worried about throwing away money, you'll lose mobility, and have a very real opportunity to lose money on your home if the market takes a step backwards, or neighborhood has decline. Either way, there's no guarantee to not losing money on a home. And as said, you do spend a lot of extra cash + have some extra headaches from home ownership. Speaking of which, i need to go spray the perimeter for bugs, sand a wall, and throw some new paint up on a couple spots Boo on home ownership!

[billiken]

The Benton Park area has made significant improvements even in the last few years, but I'd say its still pretty block-to-block down there, and I don't know it well enough to tell you what that specific address is like. We do have friends that are raising kids in Benton Park and really love it. Their kids go to a magnet (public) school. I think its slightly misleading to write off SLPS as a whole, because there are options, including neighborhood options--although not really for Benton Park--for grade school, that many people find acceptable. Depending on your budget, you might be able to find something in a safer neighborhood closer to a highway--we avoided Benton Park in our search because of distance from hwy 40. We're a couple that lived in Rock Hill for several years, originally looked in Shaw/TGS when we returned to the area, but ended up in Dogtown for budget/value reasons. Dogtown isn't terribly far from where you are now, has great highway access, low crime, affordable real estate, and a small commercial area centralized around Clayton/Tamm Ave. Large variety of houses in the area, from small shotgun styles houses to larger older homes to newer homes built in the last 10 years.

[tdagarim]

Thanks for the input billiken. The main reason we are considering this house in this location is that it is just really unique with tons of character and a lot of space for the money. On top of that it has been pretty well maintained for its age. I'm an artist so that's probably why I am so drawn to it. It really has everything we are looking for in a house. Yet I'm still not sold on the area and commute, but I know if this house were located in a better neighborhood it would be at least double the price most likely. If the area turns even better it could be a solid investment too...but who really knows.

On home ownership vs. renting. I totally get all of the points against it and for it. It's tough because you never truly know what the future holds.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by tdagarim

Thanks for the input billiken. The main reason we are considering this house in this location is that it is just really unique with tons of character and a lot of space for the money. On top of that it has been pretty well maintained for its age. I'm an artist so that's probably why I am so drawn to it. It really has everything we are looking for in a house. Yet I'm still not sold on the area and commute, but I know if this house were located in a better neighborhood it would be at least double the price most likely. If the area turns even better it could be a solid investment too...but who really knows.

On home ownership vs. renting. I totally get all of the points against it and for it. It's tough because you never truly know what the future holds.

I want to emphasize that Billiken's post was talking about Benton Park , not Benton Park West. BP has seen a lot of development. BPW lags the most in that general area. If you want something less expensive in that area, I'd look at Fox Park north of the industrial zone or the eastern sections of Tower Grove East near Compton. As a general rule, development is moving west from Soulard and Benton Park, east from South Grand and south from Compton Heights. BPW will probably be the last area to see significant improvement outside of the part immediately adjacent to Cherokee. It might take another 15 years for that area to improve much.

[tdagarim]

For what it's worth, if anything. The house is where Oregon and Juniata meet. Which is pretty close to Tower Grove East I believe. Is this still in an area that is going to lag behind significantly? I know it sounds like I'm trying to justify the area to meet my love for the house, but I just want to be sure it is or isn't in a very bad area. I know it can go bad to good very quickly.

[Caesarstl]

^^ Yeah Benton Park was looking really good last time I was in St. Louis. Benton Park West is def. more block to block and going slower in redevelopment. Speaking of redevelopment, just nearby (TGE/Fox Park), there's a proposal on the table to renovate 12 properties, I believe for Bhutanese refugees.