Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
yes it is expensive here, but my girlfriend and i managed to buy a triplex in town with our life savings and good credit, and of course a good job. we were 24 and 26 when we purchased. lenders were anticipating a stagnant real estate market (they were right to a point) and handed me a loan for which i doubt i would have qualified for elsewhere in the country at the time. a house just south of main and between kagy will run you 500k plus. and it might need some work. just north of main (in a great neighborhood!) you can expect to pay from 500k to 300k. west of north 7th, and north of main you can expect to pay under 300k for a 60's era home on an eight or quarter acre. there are still some steals! i look at prices everyday, and sometimes i think: what if i didn't buy when i did, this house is a great deal. there are a lot of independent people in bozeman, people who want to fix their house up and know how. this has also contributed to the rising land prices. honest hard work. on the east side of town i can think of 5 remodels going on right now. this is just what i see from driving by on my normal route from here to work. who knows what else is being done... so don't blame it on the rich folk. i am dead broke after purchasing, young native guys and gals have bought in town and remodeled, and out of staters looking to remodel are all part of the land increase. there is no "western" mentality in the downtown. it is more of a white collared gotta get your coffee mentality. nothing wrong with it, since not far away in the valley, you still have rustlers and cowboys, and ranchers. times change, economies change, and i wish i was here when this was a sleepy agro town, because all i hear about is how peaceful it was then. but honestly, i wouldn't live here if i couldn't find some peace. anytime between april and november, you can walk into the mountains on one of the many city trails and sit on a bench overlooking the valley and take a break from the rat race. then there is the millions of acres around town you can take advantage of. if you are interested in researching prices, realtor.com is a great litmus test for ya! mike.
yes it is expensive here, but my girlfriend and i managed to buy a triplex in town with our life savings and good credit, and of course a good job. we were 24 and 26 when we purchased. lenders were anticipating a stagnant real estate market (they were right to a point) and handed me a loan for which i doubt i would have qualified for elsewhere in the country at the time. a house just south of main and between kagy will run you 500k plus. and it might need some work. just north of main (in a great neighborhood!) you can expect to pay from 500k to 300k. west of north 7th, and north of main you can expect to pay under 300k for a 60's era home on an eight or quarter acre. there are still some steals! i look at prices everyday, and sometimes i think: what if i didn't buy when i did, this house is a great deal. there are a lot of independent people in bozeman, people who want to fix their house up and know how. this has also contributed to the rising land prices. honest hard work. on the east side of town i can think of 5 remodels going on right now. this is just what i see from driving by on my normal route from here to work. who knows what else is being done... so don't blame it on the rich folk. i am dead broke after purchasing, young native guys and gals have bought in town and remodeled, and out of staters looking to remodel are all part of the land increase. there is no "western" mentality in the downtown. it is more of a white collared gotta get your coffee mentality. nothing wrong with it, since not far away in the valley, you still have rustlers and cowboys, and ranchers. times change, economies change, and i wish i was here when this was a sleepy agro town, because all i hear about is how peaceful it was then. but honestly, i wouldn't live here if i couldn't find some peace. anytime between april and november, you can walk into the mountains on one of the many city trails and sit on a bench overlooking the valley and take a break from the rat race. then there is the millions of acres around town you can take advantage of. if you are interested in researching prices, realtor.com is a great litmus test for ya! mike.
Mostly true. Just scouted houses, found 2 places around 8th and 15th, S of Main, a few blocks from campus. For under $300k. Pictures speak that these are good houses.
Its my understanding that the original question was a place for someone to retire, enjoy life and peace and quiet. Bozeman has all of that. The prices may be a little higher than you may like, but I really encourage you to look at it, as long as you don't plan on buying. As Mike said, $400/bedroom is easily doable in town, ESPECIALLY if you want to rent in the summer, as the college students all go home.
I love it here, but honestly, doesn't matter where in Western montana you end up. Your call, and enjoy your retirement!
and if you are willing to "splurge" on an apartment, you can easily find one as a garage loft, or a great 1 bedroom next to trails, and pete's hill for 560/mth, and less in the summer (due to college students vacancies). http://rentgreentree.com/ i live here, and i honestly love it. the location can't be beat, there is a sense of something going on here, even in the summer, right on the trails, and you dont have to pay for HEAT!!! my utility bill last month was 40 bucks. cable/internet was the only other expense i had. so the rent is actually a lot less than elsewhere in town even if they're rents are less. you also have to figure this into the equation: no apartment buildings are metered seperately for water. so if you go on vacation, and come home, and even though you did not use any water, you will still have to pay a bill. but not here! it is standard practice, and legal. the good news is that most landlords, in most places pay their tenant's water/sewer and sometimes trash bill. but lately, times have been tough. landlords are shifting all of the bills towards the tenant, and lowering rental rates. i think this kind of behavior can be a good litmus test on our economy. right now there is talk of a recession, and this is the direct result of those rumors (and a lot of other things). but if you are retiring, a recession is your best news. you will see a decrease in inflation, (or rarely an increase in inflation happens, this is called a stagflation)so your money will go a longer way, but if we sink further into a depression, you might have to go back to work, if you can find a job, especially here in bozeman.
Michael, can you get me information on size of your place, type of heat, and the cable/internet bills and water? I'm moving off campus at the start of the summer, and don't have any information on that stuff.
Nvm on heat and water. What about Elec? (I actually followed the link)
Michael, can you get me information on size of your place, type of heat, and the cable/internet bills and water? I'm moving off campus at the start of the summer, and don't have any information on that stuff.
Nvm on heat and water. What about Elec? (I actually followed the link)
my electricity was my entire bill. 40/mth. you can expect to pay that because the only thing i pay for are my appliances, such as my stove, dishwasher, and fridge. so even with a 3 bedroom apartment, you still would pay 40/mth unless your rooms are packed with electrical appliances. if it were just me living here, my bill would probably be about 15 a month, because my girlfriend has all these appliances which aren't effecient like hot water boilers, steamers, curling irons, and stuff. if it were just me, i would watch tv, and use a light or two. so your bill might be less.
cable with high speed internet is 75/mth with a 1 year agreement. and that's about all. might be less than a hundred/mth. i believe satellite is WAY cheaper, but gets expensive when you add internet. i dunno, i just always have had bresnan, and satellite kind of pisses me off with like 1000 channels and only 10 i watch, as well as no local news. it's all just preference.
beware: get a basement apartment, because the AC units will have to be cranked in the summer. my suggestion, is to get on the waiting list for a north east facing apartment in the basement. the waiting list is about a year long, but no matter what they say, you can find something in the summer.
nymtman lives a few blocks away as well. we might be able to have the highest density of city-data users in a 2 block radius if you move here.
sorry, i forgot to include my apartment dimensions. my apartment is just over 800 sq ft, and my girlfriend and i have an empty bedroom which we use as an experiment lab because we don't know what to do with it. we brew kombucha tea, and grow stuff in it, since we didn't like it empty. the living room is enormous, and i use half of it as an office, and we still have room for 6 people on the couches. our bedroom is big enough to fit a king size bed with a dresser, 2 tables, and has a walk-in closet. all in all, a good price in bozeman for what you get. the type of heat is baseboard. very ineffecient. in the basement, our heat goes straight to the third floor, so we are usually cold, but not unbearably, just need to wear socks and you're good. but the upper levels get cookin in the summertime. these apartments were old low-income gov't apartments, which were sold to an old guy, who stays on top of the maintenance, and in general is a great landlord. i talk to the guy a lot. i own a triplex right next to here so we are technically neighbors. you can't find a better place in town for this price. we are right on the gallagator trail, so you can just hop on it and ride your bike up into the bridgers or go south to the gallatins. or just walk to downtown in about 10 minutes. there is a line of college kids going to and from campus at most times of day. college kids are actually my only gripe about the place. they get a little loud on fridays, and the summers are always loud with kids who just live here all year because of the summer activities.
hah. I'm a college kid. But son of a landlord, and having rented before with people not in college has really tempered my need to party on a friday night. The people I like around me aren't the kind that go for big parties.
I'm pretty attached to my electronics, like big-screen TV, laptop, desktop, dual monitors, etc. So, my elec bill will be a bit higher. Is that bill/person or for you two together?
And, the way you describe it, is nice. I've been on the 3rd floor before... my huge window pointed straight at the sun in the morning in Seattle. And I worked nights. Lets just say I did NOT sleep well. And living on campus just sucks. So, I can handle the level.
And ironically with that density, we're in one of the smallest towns. Hehehe.
Know of any current or soon to be current openings?
hah. I'm a college kid. But son of a landlord, and having rented before with people not in college has really tempered my need to party on a friday night. The people I like around me aren't the kind that go for big parties.
I'm pretty attached to my electronics, like big-screen TV, laptop, desktop, dual monitors, etc. So, my elec bill will be a bit higher. Is that bill/person or for you two together?
And, the way you describe it, is nice. I've been on the 3rd floor before... my huge window pointed straight at the sun in the morning in Seattle. And I worked nights. Lets just say I did NOT sleep well. And living on campus just sucks. So, I can handle the level.
And ironically with that density, we're in one of the smallest towns. Hehehe.
Know of any current or soon to be current openings?
that bill is for both of us. we pay 75 to bresnan every month, which makes up 2/3's of our monthly bill! all for internet. tv itself is a mere 20/mth. so expect to pay 120/mth total for internet,tv,heat,water,sewer,trash,electricity. not bad eh? i don't know about the wait list. when we moved in it was a year long. but that means nothing since every semester, this whole place opens up. good luck.
that bill is for both of us. we pay 75 to bresnan every month, which makes up 2/3's of our monthly bill! all for internet. tv itself is a mere 20/mth. so expect to pay 120/mth total for internet,tv,heat,water,sewer,trash,electricity. not bad eh? i don't know about the wait list. when we moved in it was a year long. but that means nothing since every semester, this whole place opens up. good luck.
What is the heat type? baseboard? Gas I take it? And is the stove electric or gas?
a house just south of main and between kagy will run you 500k plus. and it might need some work. just north of main (in a great neighborhood!) you can expect to pay from 500k to 300k. west of north 7th, and north of main you can expect to pay under 300k for a 60's era home on an eight or quarter acre. there are still some steals! i look at prices everyday, and sometimes i think: what if i didn't buy when i did, this house is a great deal.
I have just been sent a list of 9 places within walking distance of MSU for under $275k. Granted, 6 of them are condo/townhomes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
