New to Area, Looking for Good City/Neighborhood (Cincinnati, Hamilton: rent, condo)

[lovethesun1031]

My husband and I moved here a few years ago and have been renting since we arrived. Now we're looking to buy a home, but I still don't feel super familiar with everything the Cincinnati area has to offer, so I'm hoping to get some advice/feedback/information from you guys here.

I copied and pasted a questionnaire from another post, so here's our stats:


. Have you searched this forum for answers to your questions before posting a new inquiry? Yes
. What specific topic have you not found answers to? Current information about areas more to the north near 275 such as Forest Park.

. Where is you current location and environment? Renting a 2-bd condo east of Hamilton, north of the 129, in a mostly white, very suburban-ish area (and that kind of neighborhood-- mostly white and very suburban-ish-- is pretty much the only kind of neighborhood I've ever lived in).

. Are you looking for similar in Cincinnati or a change?
-Looking for a 3-4 bed/2 bath home; farther south that where we are now, but *preferably* not farther south than Ronald Reagan. Close to a freeway would be nice.
-We have looked in West Chester and Sharonville, but we can't afford much in West Chester, and Sharonville homes are generally tiny.
-Also looking for specific feedback on Forest Park. It looks like an affordable place to get a good amount of house for our money, but like I said, I've only lived in mostly-white neighborhoods, so that's what I'm mainly wondering about.
-We don't want to be more than 20 minutes from our relatives in West Chester or our church that is right under the 71/275 overpass.

. Budget? Max price $125k
. Rent or buy? Buy
. Type (Apt., Condo, Single Family) Single Family Homes only
. Size (Approx. Sq. Ft., # Bedrooms & Baths) 1200+ sq ft, 3 bed/1 1/2 bath minimum
. Other specifics? Basement and attached garage

. Neighborhood environment? Safe neighborhood where we can go on walks with our kids and feel safe
. Family oriented: Yes
. Great schools Planning to homeschool, so great schools are not necessary
. Diversity of income, race, housing? White Christian family, am perfectly fine living with different races around us, just don't want to *feel* like a minority.
. Yard - anything larger than a postage stamp
. Very safe, low crime area? yes yes yes
. Can tolerate some degree of crime potential? How Much? The neighborhood MUST be safe. Obviously crime is never non-existent, but we need to feel safe letting the kids play outside and going on walks.

. Community amenities? Walkable neighborhood; a community center would be nice but not necessary

[kjbrill]

My son and DIL bought a house in Forest Park. But that was well over 20 years ago. It was a small 3-bedroom ranch. His grandfather was a retired painting contractor. This was his only grandson. Dad went over and repainted the entire house, inside and out. Then the son took a job with the City of Cincinnati which required him to live within the City limits. They found a small pocket subdivison in the Mt Airy area and bought a new house. Again, well over 20 years ago.

But I remember that Forest Park home. Even then, we replaced all of the original kitchen cabinetry, put down a new floor, and with dad's new paint job it looked nice. But frankly that was over 20 years ago. I wonder whether any of the property has been kept up recently.

[Sarah Perry]

I've never lived in Forest Park, but I've worked and shopped there regularly, and I know quite a few people who live there. It's also the location of my husband's version of the bar in Cheers, although it's not really anywhere near where we live.

Forest Park was originally a "fashionable," relatively upscale suburb that was basically marketed exclusively to upper middle class and professional Caucasian families when it was developed. Some of those people are still there; many are now retirees. Forest Park's racial composition is now about 60-40 AA-white, but its identity is mostly as a place where relatively successful African-American people live who want to be in a suburban environment. It's hard to answer your question about whether you might feel like a minority neighbor. It has its share of crime, but certainly no worse than many suburbs of its age and property values. I don't really know anything about the quality of its city government.

If you find a home there that looks appealing, I would walk the street, ring neighbors' doorbells, and ask how they like living there. If you get the cold shoulder from a lot of folks, that should be a sign. On the other hand, if you see a lot of enthusiasm, that should be a sign, too.

[kjbrill]

Sarah ... Pretty sound advice for checking out a neighborhood, and simple too.

If you have trouble getting people to respond to you that does say the neighborhood is not very friendly. If they are willing to talk to you and comment what it is like living there may help to relieve some of your anxieties also.

[SWOH]

It sounds like you know what you are doing, so I say go for it!

Sarah Perry has some really good advice. I will have to remember it for myself when I buy a house in a couple years.

Only suggestion is to buy a property under the median value in the neighborhood. That way if the neighborhood goes down in value, your house's value will decrease less, and if the neighborhood goes up in value, a little bit of sweat equity could substantially increase the value of your property at time of sale.

Good luck!

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

I've never lived in Forest Park, but I've worked and shopped there regularly, and I know quite a few people who live there. It's also the location of my husband's version of the bar in Cheers, although it's not really anywhere near where we live.

Forest Park was originally a "fashionable," relatively upscale suburb that was basically marketed exclusively to upper middle class and professional Caucasian families when it was developed. Some of those people are still there; many are now retirees. Forest Park's racial composition is now about 60-40 AA-white, but its identity is mostly as a place where relatively successful African-American people live who want to be in a suburban environment. It's hard to answer your question about whether you might feel like a minority neighbor. It has its share of crime, but certainly no worse than many suburbs of its age and property values. I don't really know anything about the quality of its city government.

If you find a home there that looks appealing, I would walk the street, ring neighbors' doorbells, and ask how they like living there. If you get the cold shoulder from a lot of folks, that should be a sign. On the other hand, if you see a lot of enthusiasm, that should be a sign, too.

Isn't Forest Park where the Forest Fair Mall is located? If so, the decline of the mall has negatively impacted the finances of the City of Forest Park in a big way. If I'm not mistaken the credit rating of the City was recently downgraded by one of the major rating agencies. This isn't to say the City has poor management, I believe city management is trying, but when you lose a major tax payer like the mall and an anchor store such as Bass Pro Shops it is going to result in budget pressures. Just an FYI that this may result in reduced city services such as snow clearing and police services. Management has no choice but to figure something out but at the present time they appear to be in a period of transitioning into a more sustainable revenue and expenses profile.

[unusualfire]

^ The mall is located on the boarder of Forest park and Fairfield.

[Sarah Perry]

I doubt if the City of Forest Park has been depending on revenue from the failed mall for several years at least, although the loss of Bass Pro did probably have a minor negative impact. Forest Park likely still has a level of commercial revenue that a lot of bedroom communities would envy.

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

I doubt if the City of Forest Park has been depending on revenue from the failed mall for several years at least, although the loss of Bass Pro did probably have a minor negative impact. Forest Park likely still has a level of commercial revenue that a lot of bedroom communities would envy.

The embedded link should end the conjecture. Scroll down to page 33 of 173 in the PDF for the economic conditions outlook as reported by City management themselves. And for the raw numbers thumb ahead to page 152 of 173. The peak in income taxes was in 2008 from which they've not fully recovered. 2012 income tax receipts are down 18.3% from 2008 to 2012. As I said, city management has no choice but to figure it out but clearly Forest Park is experiencing drag on revenues, and expenses are starting to outpace incoming tax receipts. Not saying avoid the City but not going to sugar coat things either.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

I doubt if the City of Forest Park has been depending on revenue from the failed mall for several years at least, although the loss of Bass Pro did probably have a minor negative impact. Forest Park likely still has a level of commercial revenue that a lot of bedroom communities would envy.

First of all Bass Pro is still there as their new store is not built yet and is likely at least a year away.
If as Zen_master says, Forest Park City income tax revenue has dropped 18% between 2008 and 2012 there must be a lot of unemployed or underemployed residents, as it certainly did not all come from lost employees at the mall.