buying a home in north buffalo or elmwood village. Help? (New York: sales, real estate)
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Embarassingly I've lived in buffalo for 10 years as a renter but am still trying to get a really good feel for all of the streets in these areas while I search for my first home. Started out on linwood ave, then moved onto saint james place, my rent went from 895 to 1070 so I moved to North Buffalo where I got a larger 3 bedroom on parkside for 750.00. I really like North Buffalo and this is what I have gathered since moving to North Buffalo, between Delaware and Starin seems to be the nicest with the most expensive homes being on woodward, huntington, depew. My questions is what about those other streets between parkside and main street, and closer to delaware (homer, traymore, lovering etc). The home prices seem inconsistant and there are some houses listed on websites that seem gorgeous but somehow still within my price range which most were not (my range is 200-300k but I really prefer to stay less than 250k) which makes me question how nice/safe the street is. Elmwood village seems to just get pricier by the year and it seems that both north buff and elmwood village are a sellers market with low inventory right now. I REALLY want to stay in the city if possible. My son got into a fantastic city school and I would really hate to leave and shift to the suburbs. Allentown would be another option but I am really fuzzy on a safe street versus a shady street there. I want to avoid car break ins and potential home invasions and a general sense of unease at night when going from car to house. (I had several car break ins on linwood and actually although I know st james is really nice a home invasion while living there, so I know it can happen really anywhere in the city...)
I would not buy a 'single' house in the 250K range. While you can probably get something mansion-like for that price, that is definitely paying too much. Buy low, sell high. Lovering, Homer, Traymore all represent places where reasonable bargains can be had. Watch the neighbors, go at different hours of the day to get a feel for a prospective place. Best bargains and up-and-coming areas are by the Larkin bldg, first ward. House prices will double to triple in the next 10 years. But they're also cheap. Another area to keep an eye on for bargains is not far from the Buffalo Medical Campus. Good luck in your search!
I want to avoid car break ins and potential home invasions and a general sense of unease at night when going from car to house.
Well property crime is just a part of life in WNY, especially Buffalo. It is a lot safer in suburban areas but you want Buffalo so your best bet is to check out the neighborhoods during various times of the day to get an idea of what the neighbors are like. Check out crimereports.com and you can find a lot of info there. Right now it looks like in N. Buffalo the businesses are the biggest target, armed robberies and night time break ins. House prices are wacky within Buffalo, my husband and I do not deal with buying anything within the city limits, bad experiences for us but our friends do and prices are up for the most part. There are LOTS of estate sales of property in North Buffalo because the older generation are dying off and the kids do not want the houses. Those sells are usually lower, kids want a quick sell and be done with it. I enjoyed living in North Buffalo because it was convenient for me to get around without driving, I have disabilities that make driving difficult. Towards the end of our stay in the area I started to feel less safe walking in our neighborhood after dark, we were right off Delaware on Avery. We have friends and my husband's family too have noticed the changes.
My favorite streets east of Delaware are Lovering, Crestwood, and east of Colvin. I prefer homes nearer the middle of the blocks, especially several houses from Hertel due to commercial parking, trash, etc. Park in yard or preferably garage and you will be fine. If you park in street use common sense about leaving visible valuables in car. Family lives in neighborhood, biggest issue is cars speeding down some side streets and parking/trash during festival.
There are plenty of houses in the North Park area in the $100Ks that are perfectly nice on very nice blocks. You certainly don't have to spend $200K+ in North Buffalo unless you want a mansion in the Central Park neighborhood.
I've never really let home invasions worry me much. Most of the reports I read include something like "$5,000 in cash was stolen, along with several guns" which to me implies feuding drug dealers. Not that I would be at all happy to have feuding drug dealers on my street, but just to say that I think home invasions are very rare for people who are not involved in some way with the invaders.
Well property crime is just a part of life in WNY, especially Buffalo. It is a lot safer in suburban areas but you want Buffalo so your best bet is to check out the neighborhoods during various times of the day to get an idea of what the neighbors are like. Check out crimereports.com and you can find a lot of info there. Right now it looks like in N. Buffalo the businesses are the biggest target, armed robberies and night time break ins. House prices are wacky within Buffalo, my husband and I do not deal with buying anything within the city limits, bad experiences for us but our friends do and prices are up for the most part. There are LOTS of estate sales of property in North Buffalo because the older generation are dying off and the kids do not want the houses. Those sells are usually lower, kids want a quick sell and be done with it. I enjoyed living in North Buffalo because it was convenient for me to get around without driving, I have disabilities that make driving difficult. Towards the end of our stay in the area I started to feel less safe walking in our neighborhood after dark, we were right off Delaware on Avery. We have friends and my husband's family too have noticed the changes.
Yes, and there are also suburban areas where the sand is shifting as well. Crime is up in all suburbs around Buffalo, just check the census tracts touching the city. Especially troubled are parts of Kenmore-Tonawanda, Cheektowaga and parts of W.Sen / Amherst. People leave Buffalo for a variety of reasons. I am raising three children here, in Buffalo, and have never been threatened. I don't live in the "most exclusive" section of town but I have great neighbors and generally love living here. Having a small grocery nearby and a park to boot, I never wanted for playgrounds, space, or conveniences. Hardware would have been nice, but whatever. House prices are wacky outside of Buffalo too. All three properties that I own have appreciated in value. Granted, I've worked on them, but that goes without saying.
The OP has lived in Buffalo for 10 years, I think they have *some* idea of what's going on...
As the Center City improves, real estate prices go up, decent people move back in, and troublemakers head on out to the inner ring suburbs. It is happening elsewhere too such as in Boston, New York, and Cleveland. Some urban and regional planners even warn that sooner or later, it is the suburbs that will bear the brunt of poverty where the poor are left with little adequate resources such as public transportation and are pretty much stuck where they are just as the inner city used to be.
For sure the suburban poor are ultimately going have a much harder time of it than those in urban environments, having to be shackled to the added expense (~$8,000/year according to AAA) of owning a car. I don't think gentrification is a current significant problem in Buffalo, but we do need to make sure that continue reinvestment in the city does not lead to socioeconomic homogeneity. The new zoning code should help with this, by allowing developers to build apartment buildings with modest apartments in more areas, by legalizing "granny flats" / "in-law apartments" in carriage houses, by removing mandatory minimum off-street parking requirements that drive up rents, etc.
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