West Side (Bridgetown/Green Township) safe? (Lakewood, Mason: home, purchase, schools)

[Bhiggins]

Originally Posted by CLCondit2002

3481 3483 Ebenezer Rd Bridgetown OH 45248 Listing Details: Sibcy Cline Realtors® Cincinnati Real Estate

That is the house. It started at around $140k I believe and is now down to $124k. It is a double lot so you get both the lot the house is on plus the lot next to it.

Wow that looks like a GREAT deal for a house in a nice area! That is one of the areas that will remain stable, in my opinion at least, for the next 5-10 years at the least.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Bhiggins

Wow that looks like a GREAT deal for a house in a nice area! That is one of the areas that will remain stable, in my opinion at least, for the next 5-10 years at the least.

Take a tour of the interior and if you find it up to snuff, jump on it. You can drive yourelves nuts looking and looking. After a while you should just have a gut feeling as to a good deal or not. If you feel it is a good deal, buy it!

[Sarah Perry]

Check on your commute time from out there, and make sure you won't mind living on a fairly busy street. The house does indeed look like a good deal, and since you're young, you won't mind the quad level layout. It IS possible that could be depressing the price and could be an issue if you buy it and YOU want to sell. Not trying to throw on cold water, just speaking from a lot of years of experience.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Take a tour of the interior and if you find it up to snuff, jump on it. You can drive yourelves nuts looking and looking. After a while you should just have a gut feeling as to a good deal or not. If you feel it is a good deal, buy it!

Very good point. Hubs and I looked at a ridiculous number of houses, both in Lexington and here, before we moved 12 years ago. Within 15 seconds of walking into our current house, I felt myself involuntarily burst into a great big grin. And obviously, that was just from seeing what I could see from the entryway. Kind of extreme, and of course there were a whole lot of other positives that also influenced the decision later, but still it was an extraordinary experience, sort of like those love at first sight stories.

[CLCondit2002]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

Very good point. Hubs and I looked at a ridiculous number of houses, both in Lexington and here, before we moved 12 years ago. Within 15 seconds of walking into our current house, I felt myself involuntarily burst into a great big grin. And obviously, that was just from seeing what I could see from the entryway. Kind of extreme, and of course there were a whole lot of other positives that also influenced the decision later, but still it was an extraordinary experience, sort of like those love at first sight stories.

That is how my wife felt about the house on Greenway. Said she just fell in love the minute she walked into the house. I liked it as well, just trying to make sure we make the right decision and do our due diligence. We will see how it goes!

[CLCondit2002]

Well unfortunately the house we looked at tonight had a LOT of issues on the inside that you can't just see in the pictures (water damage in basement, etc...) so that definitely ruled out that house.

Unless we just happen to see something in the next few days that blows us away both looks wise and price wise, we are more than likely going to move on the other house.

Thanks again to everyone for all of their comments as they were extremely invaluable!

[kjbrill]

OP - Many of the older homes you are looking at were built prior to the days when code required sump pumps to be installed in basements. Water damage is a significant issue. The soil around Cincinnati varies greatly in composition. In some areas below the top soil is yellow or blue (limestone) clay. Digging a basement in that stuff is like putting the house in a bowl, as water drainage through it can be extremely slow. This is just inviting a wet basement. Houses built on hillsides where the natural drainage is toward one side of the house is also conducive to entrapment and penetration of the basement. This can be cured by French Drains and piping routing the water around the house. You are correct in circumventing a house which has obvious water problems, as they can be difficult and expensive to cure.

If the house you are going back to has a sound and dry basement that is a plus. If it is a large house also carefully inspect the roof and interior for any signs of rain leaks. A roof job today can run into some serious money.

[CLCondit2002]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

OP - Many of the older homes you are looking at were built prior to the days when code required sump pumps to be installed in basements. Water damage is a significant issue. The soil around Cincinnati varies greatly in composition. In some areas below the top soil is yellow or blue (limestone) clay. Digging a basement in that stuff is like putting the house in a bowl, as water drainage through it can be extremely slow. This is just inviting a wet basement. Houses built on hillsides where the natural drainage is toward one side of the house is also conducive to entrapment and penetration of the basement. This can be cured by French Drains and piping routing the water around the house. You are correct in circumventing a house which has obvious water problems, as they can be difficult and expensive to cure.

If the house you are going back to has a sound and dry basement that is a plus. If it is a large house also carefully inspect the roof and interior for any signs of rain leaks. A roof job today can run into some serious money.

Definitely sound advice. The house we are going back to already has a sump pump installed and appears to have a very sound, dry basement. The roof was said to be redone on this particular house just before the current owner moved in around 2005, so at most it is around 10 years old we figure. The roof does appear to be in good shape from what we can see and it had new windows and siding installed just last year. The gutters appear to be larger as well and in good shape so should be good there.

However, we will definitely be having an inspector come in to go through the house to ensure everything is in good shape no matter what. As first time home buyers and someone looking for a move in ready type house, we certainly don't want to be burdened with major repairs that need to be done not long after we move in, so we are definitely trying to do our due diligence in everything.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by CLCondit2002

Definitely sound advice. The house we are going back to already has a sump pump installed and appears to have a very sound, dry basement. The roof was said to be redone on this particular house just before the current owner moved in around 2005, so at most it is around 10 years old we figure. The roof does appear to be in good shape from what we can see and it had new windows and siding installed just last year. The gutters appear to be larger as well and in good shape so should be good there.

However, we will definitely be having an inspector come in to go through the house to ensure everything is in good shape no matter what. As first time home buyers and someone looking for a move in ready type house, we certainly don't want to be burdened with major repairs that need to be done not long after we move in, so we are definitely trying to do our due diligence in everything.

My advice is to tell an inspector to concentrate on major items, What are major? To me, roof, driveway, HVAC system. Everything else, such as condition of bathrooms, kitchen, though they are big dollar items, are subject to what you expect. If what you see is agreeable to you, that should be enough.

My house needs a new kitchen, but I am not in a hurry to install one. Why?, because the one I have is still servicable, not so unpleasant to my eye I abhor it, and at my age other things dominate. Frankly, my attitude is let the kids deal with the selling of this house after we are gone. If they make some good decisions as to what needs to be updated and to what degree they will yield a return. If not, they may come out with nothing. It is something they need to deal with.

[Bhiggins]

The houses where I am at in Florida are EXTREMELY cheaply built you wouldn't believe it!

I live in a supposedly "luxury" area and had to go through a long process to be able to live in my neighborhood with the permission of Disney World!

The walls in my house may as well be made of cardboard since I can hear EVERYTHING.

Also the foundation is cracking like crazy, but that is expected seeing it is Florida.