Ottawa (taxes and safety) (Toledo, Sylvania: apartment complexes, rental, crime rates)

[PennyLane_UT]

Hey all!!

Need advice about Ottawa neighbourhood, it is close to UT, which is my goal.

What about taxes there? What about safety? Is it as safe as Sylvania or Perrysburg, for example?

Also, I am moving from another state, so I wonder if car alarms or security installed in a house are considered a must or desirable to have in Toledo.

[PennyLane_UT]

One clarification: west from the Douglas road. So it is between Ottawa Hills (the fancy hood) and Douglas road.

I am not sure, but I think I saw name "Old Orchard" for this place.

[residinghere2007]

Ottawa neighborhood is not all that safe. It is near some rough neighborhoods. However, Old Orchard is safe. It is further away from the Ottawa neighborhood (which does have some decent parts to live in).

For taxes, you can look up the county website called AREIS and look up the address of the property you are considering to see what the taxes are. Old Orchard has pretty high taxes, I know because it is one of desirable neighborhoods in the city and I was looking into buying there when I moved back to Toledo.

Will note that Ottawa neighborhood closer to the park is decent but it depends on your level of city living experience whether or not you think you need alarms for cars/homes. I don't have an alarm for my home or car. But I've lived in much worse cities than Toledo on safety and didn't have many issues in those cities and haven't had any here at all and I live in what many consider to be a "bad" neighborhood (moved into a rental property that I already owned that was vacant instead of buying a new house). Toledo does have property crime rates higher than a lot of other cities though so if it would make you more comfortable to get an alarm, you should for one or both.

[PennyLane_UT]

Thank you so much, residinghere2007!

This is very helpful!

I am actually moving from a very safe region! So it will take some time before I become tough and rough. I wonder if one can relax in her/his back garden in Old Orchard without watching out for unwelcome company.

I have read about Perrysburg, Waterville and Sylvania, they sound pretty safe. But what about commuting to UT in some bad weather? Do you think it is fine, or roads are not in so great condition during the winter?

[residinghere2007]

Sylvania actually isn't all that far from the University and would be an easy commute except for construction issues that may pop up.

Both Waterville and Perrysburg are further away and would be more difficult only due to distance. Not sure if you are from an area that gets winter weather, but they do pretty decently in this part of the state clearing roads in the winter. You just have to worry about people driving too fast in bad conditions when they shouldn't.

You could easily relax in Old Orchard and it is right across the street from UT.

If you haven't already, you should also look at Ottawa Hills (different from the Ottawa neighborhood) as it is very safe and very close to UT as well.

[PennyLane_UT]

residinghere2007, thank you! Ottawa Hills is also on my list!

[Tobias C]

Welcome to Toledo!

Are you looking to buy a house? Rent a house? Rent an apartment? Budget? Any specific needs or desires out of where you live?

The Ottawa area of Toledo isn't really one specific neighborhood, more of a general section of the city. Like you won't hear anybody ever say "oh yeah, I live over in Ottawa". Old Orchard is the neighborhood between Central & Bancroft and Secor & Douglas, on the north side of the University. Lots of nice old 1920s era houses within walking distance to campus as well as businesses up at Westgate (Secor@Central). OO is pretty safe for the most part. People are pretty active and vigilant around there. There's rarely ever violent crime....the most serious thing you'd probably ever face would be someone messing with your car but even that isn't a common occurrence. It's a great place (we're looking at possibly buying there in the next year after we sell our house).

The neighborhood to the east of Old Orchard, between Douglas and the Toledo Hospital is Kenwood - Sheridan. There's nice similar homes over there but a little cheaper. Easy biking distance to campus, and adjacent to the hospital and Ottawa Park. It's still pretty nice over there, well maintained and all.....but there's increasingly more trouble over there with property crime (car break-ins, copper being stolen from homes, drug dealers)...but it's a decent value if you want an older home with character and proximity to relevant places.

Ottawa Hills is perfect if you want to live by campus. It is a separate town from Toledo with its own services, schools, etc....and it's the most expensive town in Northwest Ohio. You can get a house for as low as 160k...or 1 or 2 million depending on the specific neighborhood. Taxes are significantly higher there if that's a concern...

Sylvania and Perrysburg are both nice. Newer, big suburban houses usually cost around 300 to 400k-ish I would say. Both suburbs have old historic downtowns that are neat though and there are nice old homes to be had in either town, especially Pburg. Both are perfectly fine safety wise.

I would recommend having security systems living anywhere around here honestly....but especially if you're in Toledo because even if you're in a nice safe neighborhood, there's rougher areas not to far away which means it's not impossible for lurking trouble to occasionally find it's way into good areas.

I would definitely recommend Old Orchard though if you're looking to buy and will be working at or attending UT.

Feel free to ask any questions and welcome!

[PennyLane_UT]

Tobias C, thank you very much for the reply! I am permanently moving to Toledo!

I am looking into buying my own house. For 1-2-3 people, so not very large as heating bills will be over the roof I can imagine.
140-240k is my budget.

I am artistic a little bit, so ideally would like some good design, open space. Renovated old houses are good too.

Safety is my concern. From this perspective, what would be my best bet?

Does anyone know, how much is it to upgrade kitchen/bathroom/floors in Toledo? I know that it depends, but sort of average bill as they say.

[Tobias C]

If you're big on open space you might consider a newer home. I've seen some ranch style houses that have been updated in the Lincolnshire neighborhood (west of Secor & north of Central).

I think Old Orchard is probably the perfect fit for you. It's exactly your price range. Most houses don't have big yards but if you don't care about that....all the houses are beautiful with historic character and the streets are lined with great mature trees. And the proximity to amenities and businesses can't be beat.

If you're terrified of crime I would say live in Sylvania or Perrysburg. But Old Orchard is still safe. Sometimes sketchy people can be found if you're going into businesses on the main roads in the area along the periphery of the neighborhood just because you're not so far from rough neighborhoods and theres some big, cheaper apartment complexes nearby, but its not much of an issue.

You just need to be aware of your surroundings if your in the areas to the south and east of Campus because those areas have a lot more crime (Dorr St headed east).

[PennyLane_UT]

Tobias C, thank you very much! Yes, I do not need a big yard, just a place to have a bonfire and a glass of wine in the evening. Shall look at old Orchard more attentively then.