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Hi all! We finally got a chance to take a short trip through Boise and I will admit that we are completely smitten. It is exactly the small big-town atmosphere we were looking for with plenty of fresh local foods, friendly people and four seasons. I can't explain the joy I had in watching my kids play in a mountain of leaves and pointing out swings hanging off giant trees in front yards as we drove past. Those are just not things we have in metro Phoenix, but it's reminiscent of my own childhood in Texas.
In addition to scoping out jobs, we are long distance scouting neighborhoods. Out of everything, we liked the North End the best, with tree-lined streets, people milling about and charming homes in addition to the proximity to downtown. If we were looking for something similar but with a little more yard, where would we look? We will be renting at first so we are certain of the area before we buy, and then we will probably be budgeting around 250-350k. Homes with basements or a mother in law suite are preferable as we will probably have my elderly MIL with us.
Can someone point me in the right direction to search?
Big yard and close to downtown is a tough combo at that price point, at least depending on your definitions of big yard and close to downtown. You might look west of the traditional north end. It's a little more transitional right now but there are some homes on larger lots there. Beyond that there are little neighborhoods/houses spotted around all over town with bigger lots. Generally they are older areas that were out in the outskirts back in the day but eventually the city surrounded them. One thing you could do is jump on zillow and enter in whatever minimum lot size you want as a filter and see what options you might have in the various parts of town. Another option if you want to be pretty close in would be along the bench, although again a lot of that area is more transitional as well.
I should have mentioned "slightly bigger lots" as I realize I might have sounded a bit unrealistic in that price range. We planned to make updates to whatever home we bought in that range and would expect to pay more if it had already been completed. Prices really seem to vary from reasonable to very, very high in the North End once you hit Harrison Street so I was just hoping we could slide in on a fixer upper, but those are probably rare by now.
After a lot of reading on here, going west would put us into Garden City which people don't seem to think too highly of, correct? I don't mind some reno, as I mentioned, but I do have two young children and safety is primary and schools secondary.
What is the area off Warm Springs called? There seem to be a lot of little sub areas and I don't know what they are all named, so it makes it a bit of a challenge when friends have said, "Check out xyz area!"
We really enjoyed downtown and would love to be a reasonable distance to it.
I should have mentioned "slightly bigger lots" as I realize I might have sounded a bit unrealistic in that price range. We planned to make updates to whatever home we bought in that range and would expect to pay more if it had already been completed. Prices really seem to vary from reasonable to very, very high in the North End once you hit Harrison Street so I was just hoping we could slide in on a fixer upper, but those are probably rare by now.
After a lot of reading on here, going west would put us into Garden City which people don't seem to think too highly of, correct? I don't mind some reno, as I mentioned, but I do have two young children and safety is primary and schools secondary.
What is the area off Warm Springs called? There seem to be a lot of little sub areas and I don't know what they are all named, so it makes it a bit of a challenge when friends have said, "Check out xyz area!"
We really enjoyed downtown and would love to be a reasonable distance to it.
The problem with trying to buy into the North End is that it is hyper competitive. Those properties that sit on the market for a while tend to have a lot of problems with them, from simply being overpriced, to having small lots, needing a lot of repairs, etc. If you find something that appears to be a deal, it will be snapped up the first day or two. There is nothing that goes unnoticed in the NE.
My SO and I looked at a property this summer on 9th St. It was a 1500 sq ft home on a decent sized lot for the NE. It was listed at $200k, so we knew it was a fixer upper. This was the very first day it was listed. When we arrived at our scheduled showing, there was a line in front of the house. We were told we had to wait 30 minutes for the next two groups to go through. The house was a complete disaster. Broken front windows, no flooring at all. It was a complete rehab. But the flippers and investors were drooling over it.
With a north end home, you're getting an older home on a smaller lot that probably doesn't have a garage, and has street parking. On the flip side, you're getting the best location, a lot of charm and character, and the most desirable neighborhood. You have to figure out what is important for you.
My advice.... if you need something with 3+ bedrooms, a garage, and a decent sized lot... you're easily going to be in the $300k range, and more than likely $400k. NE homes between $250k and $300k go extremely fast, unless they're 2 bed, 1 bath homeowners overpricing their homes.
East Boise, especially around Warm Springs, is probably even more competitive and expensive as the NE.
If you want an older home in a great neighborhood that has a larger lot, you should look in the Northend around 36th st and west, or else SE Boise north of Boise Ave. to the river, or else the Bench north of Vista. The hidden gem is the "Central Rim" neighborhood, which is east of Orchard, north of Emerald. That's my favorite area in Boise.
^ that's a pretty good summary. One thing I'd add is I've always had the impression that the western boundary of the North End is 28th street, and even that is pushing it a bit. So in terms of doing searches, I think you'll find that anything west of 28th in north Boise is more accurately described as northwest Boise.
The Central Rim area he mentioned is going to get you a good value pretty close to downtown, but bear in mind it is still in a transitioning phase so there are some undesirable pockets. In my opinion the Bench can be pretty good or pretty bad depending on the specific street or micro-neighborhood, so seeing it in person is key. As is taking a look at the SO registry.
Do you know where you're going to be working? That's a pretty important consideration. For instance if you're working at Micron, I think you'd be better served to be looking at the bench or east Boise than anything off to the west. But if you're working in Meridian, you might be better off focusing more to the west. Just something to think about.
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