Moving to Cincinnati, need advice about schools, etc.!!!!! (Seven Hills, Madeira: for sale, houses)

[RelocatingMom2]

Wow!!! Even if we did have that kind of money I wouldn't want my kids growing up with the kind of values where they would even think it's ok to ask for that kind of money for spring break. The parking place thing is pretty scary too.

Thank you all so much. You have no idea how much you're helping me here. I am really freaking out about this entire situation. I want to support my husband first and foremost and his job is moving and he's put in 19 yrs in his company. I have a successful business here that I started which I will be leaving and my whole family lives here aside from taking the kids out of school. We only just built our house 3 yrs ago and love it. I have also lived in cities all my life, grew up in CT, college in NY, Boston for work, graduate school in LA, and been in the DC area for 20 yrs. As the plane was landing in Dayton the land was flat as far as the eye could see. During our weekend I of course realized that Cincinnati is not farm country and it seems like a nice area. We spent most of our time looking at houses and only went as far as the Hyde Park area so I know nothing of the city yet.

I will check into the other areas you're suggesting. The most we can spend on a house is $900,000 and to live in a good school district we would spend that. My husband also has 2 children who will be spending a great deal of time with us and we want them to have their own rooms so they feel like they still have a home with us even though we are moving away. Of corse we would like to spend less so that we could have a life too. But it seems to get something comparable to what we have here that's what we would have to spend. People on the East coat have huge misconceptions about your area, that's for sure.

What area is associated with Montgomery elementary school?? we loved the neighborhood that Spiral Pass is in and I believe they go to Symmes Elementary school.

Thanks so much for your time and for listening

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by RelocatingMom2

It's definitely a priority because I'm so nervous about having to pull my kids out of their school and away from their friends, etc. (one will be going into 4th and one will be going into 5th) but we have no choice.. We've never been able to afford private school before but it wasn't an issue, because we made sure we bought our house in a great school district. .

You can buy a house for $150-400k in Anderson Township in the Forest Hills School district which also has excellent schools.

Housing costs in Cincinnati are a fraction of those in the DC suburbs which I found out many years ago when I was sentenced to a job in Bethesda, MD.

[Wilson513]

I suggested above that you add Mariemont to your list because the schools are terrific. They have a great, free, LD program as well if any of the kids needs help. And Mariemont is a truly delightful place to live. You may have a little more trouble finding a good selection of 4-5 bedroom houses there compared with the Sycamore School District. Your budget will really let you located in any of SSD or Mariemont.

Since you are possibly going to be transplanted again, quite frankly I would reduce your budget to ~$650k and see if you can find happiness at that level. It will make the next relocation a little easier because, other than IH, a $900K house will move slowly in Cincinnati.

[RelocatingMom2]

We live in Baltimore. Bethesda is ridiculously expensive as is DC. 900 is our max not what we would like to spend. We found a house we loved for $650 but it did not work out. What is a LD program?? When I get home from work today I will definitely look into the Marriemont section.

[progmac]

you're right about the dayton airport. once you get north of cincinnati things flatten out quickly. most of us midwesterners find farm country to be quite beautiful but i know others do not. but in any case cincinnati is definitely not farm country. cincinnati wasn't glaciated like much of the state, hence the quick topography difference. cincy was not set up as an agricultural town like some midwestern cities. it has been a commercial, cultural, and industrial center since the start. this city boomed alongside brooklyn and other east coast cities. it is older than the manufacturing cities of the midwest. our history is really interesting once you get into it.

ANYHOW - that kind of money could get you a very nice place in hyde park or mt lookout (city neighborhoods). also, terrace park is mariemont schools and is very, very nice.

are you more interested in a new construction or historic or something-in-between neighborhood or don't you care?

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by RelocatingMom2

We live in Baltimore. Bethesda is ridiculously expensive as is DC. 900 is our max not what we would like to spend. We found a house we loved for $650 but it did not work out. What is a LD program?? When I get home from work today I will definitely look into the Marriemont section.

Sorry, I was referring to learning disabled, which in a really good school system embraces everything from mild dyslexia, to attention deficit, to more serious problems. I think we all know these are on a spectrum and that all of our children have some level of learning impairment. I think a school system that understands this is a great advantage for the average learner.

Mariemont has an interesting story. Read a little about Mary Emery and her vision, but don't take accusations of her anti-catholic leanings seriously. Family members have told me that it is not to be believed. In any event, there is not a trace of parochialism in Mariemont today.

I like in Mt. Lookout/HP across the street from the acclaimed Kilgour School and had children at WHHS which as noted above is the 38th best high school in the United States. My son was accepted to every single college to which he applied. So Hyde PArk is not out of the question.

Here's a lovely house a few doors down from me (overpriced a bit, but quite nice).

1416 Herschel Ave (http://www.comey.com/displaylist.asw?listnum=1235255&mls=cincy - broken link)

[luty]

Hi RelocatinMom2

I am in a similar situation as you! We have 2 kids and relocated from Boston a month ago. I too came with the impression that housing similar to what we had in Boston will be significantly cheaper - but the homes/areas we seem to like are pretty expensive! Not to mention the real estate taxes! We are sending the kids to Seven Hills (an amazing school!) but are still looking for homes in good school districts just so we have the choice of public schooling as the kids grow up....

Sycamore is my first choice too - I have friends living there and they love the schools. We are, however, hoping to find a newer home - and that is becoming a challenge in Sycamore in our budget. Have you looked at Madeira? The school district is excellent; and it does have some very nice homes within your budget.....

We looked at Indian Hill extensively, and other than the huge cost, the size of the homes is pretty overwhelming for someone coming from Boston!!

[wolden]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

Here's a lovely house a few doors down from me (overpriced a bit, but quite nice).

1416 Herschel Ave (http://www.comey.com/displaylist.asw?listnum=1235255&mls=cincy - broken link)

That house is not "over priced a bit" -- it is monstrously, obscenely overpriced. It is on a busy street (cars constantly racng up and down Herschel, no offense if its your street, but if you mind that sort of thing you should know) but worse: they bought it in 2003 for $415,000 and want to sell it, after the biggest housing bubble in history, for $849,000 (started at 899,000)? Moreover this is a small lot, and the house has small rooms.

This is a classic example of head-in-the-sand behavior of sellers around Cincinnati. They want to pretend there was no bubble, they want to pretend P&G didn't slash their housing allowance, they want to pretend there are loads of buyers for houses over the FHA max, and they want to pretend that they can spend a couple hundred thousand on a "restoration", then make back everything they spent plus 15-20% profit per year.

I see this constantly in my Hyde Park neighborhood as well. Just nearby a house has been listed for over 1 million for over 2 years. They bought it for 400,000 just a few years back. Down the road a house was listed at 699k, a very small cape--bought for 182,000 in 2002!! There is no law about putting your house on the market at a fantasy price. And, its always possible that some out of town sucker will get hooked. The realtors here make a good living by that. You can always trot out the "Cincinnati didn't have a housing bubble" line and hope someone buys it.

However, there are literally thousands of houses on the Cincinnati market at non conforming prices. There just aren't buyers. There are over 100 properties in IH for over one million, and there have been for two years: on average 4 of them are under contract. There are simply not enough buyers for that.

To the OP: be very careful. The realtors will show you only prices in the top of your range and will not protect you from overpaying here. Study the prior sales price of the houses. Study the comparables right near by using online databases. Do NOT trust the comparables realtors give you. And finally: yes, nowadays you can get a decent house in IH for 650,000. But you may still be overpaying.

[Wilson513]

OP, Wolden above obviously knows little about this topic, but, as I said the house seems a bit overpriced. It is not a small lot (1/2 acre in the middle of Mt. Lookout is a large lot), does not have small rooms, and probably has had $300,000 of improvements recently, and is perfect. The listing agent, Michael Hinckley is the most knowledgeable and prominent real estate agent in Hyde Park and probably in the entire city. He has received every award and accolade an agent can get. And, he is very careful about his reputation, Wolden's defamatory remarks above notwithstanding. But, as I said, you should be able to find what you want for less.

[Sarah Perry]

You can clear up the vague stuff about room sizes here:

1416 Herschel Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45208 (MLS# 1235255) - Coldwell Banker West Shell - CBWS.com

Three of those four bedrooms look pretty teeny to me in the context of the asking price. But then again, I don't totally get the charm of houses that were designed for the lifestyle of 120 years ago. What's abundantly obvious from looking at the photos that the owners have indeed spent a boatload of money on finishes. Interestingly, if you add what they paid for the house and the alleged $300K in improvements, you're in the ballpark of the tax assessment figure. In the $700K neighborhood. Herschel's okay, but for that kind of money it wouldn't be my first choice in the Cincinnati area.

What exactly was defamatory to Mr. Hinckley? Some generalized comments about realtors and the fact that they are not the individuals you should turn to to prevent a buyer from overpaying for a house? Oh my goodness.