Spoilt for choice - how to decide??? (Cincinnati, Dayton: for sale, real estate)

[MishaMacDowell]

We may be moving there this summer so I've been looking at schools and housing. WOW! Talk about spoilt for choice! You all have some amazing public schools and the housing is cheap (vs. Fairfax County and LA). So, here is my question...what else should I be looking at to help us decide?

One key factor is that we may only be there 3-5 years before we are rotated out, again. From experience, I've learned that this means I need to protect my housing investment by not buying a qwerky house. Newer, "cookie-cutter" are best as it is easy to value with comps. I prefer them about 3000sf (for some reason, sq ft are not including in your local listings). We have a high schooler and a 1st grader. Accordingly, I'd prefer a place where the houses are closer together and filled with younger kids. Thoughts?

[Sarah Perry]

I'm not usually a fan of the outer suburbs, but if you can handle the commute I'd look at West Chester and other areas within the Lakota school district.

[gentlearts]

I LOVE Centerville, but might be too far for you... Fabulous parks, beautiful schools, awesome sports programs, and lots of nice neighborhoods full of kids.

[Cincy Rider]

Originally Posted by MishaMacDowell

I'd prefer a place where the houses are closer together and filled with younger kids. Thoughts?

Do you know what part of town you'd be working in? Might as well make the commute less tedious than it has to be.

If you need to be West-Centric ,one of the nicest places for young families is the Hickory Flats subdivision in Harrison, Ohio at the far western side of Hamilton County.

The houses have ~2800 sq. ft and between 225-300K.

East-Centric there's a lot more to choose. West Chester, the houses can be spread out in some subdivisions. Mason is popular. Loveland is definitely worth checking out.

North-Central I look at Liberty Township around Liberty-Fairfield Road, 747, Hamilton-Mason Road and Route 4.

[GManorborn]

Originally Posted by MishaMacDowell

I prefer them about 3000sf (for some reason, sq ft are not including in your local listings).

Just go to the county auditor's site and fill in the address for sq ft, sales history, etc.


Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes

[MishaMacDowell]

Thanks.

I don't think I asked my question right. What I'd like to know is what other factors locals use to figure out where to live. So far, my usual are schools, price, taxes, commute time and potential appreciation. Taking those into account, I'm ususually left with one or two places to look at. In Cincinnati, I've got Mason, Wyoming, Turpin Hills, Dry Run, Terrace Park, etc, etc. I've NEVER had such a plethora or choices. So, I'm wondering what other factors people use to help them choose between multiple great choices. If I can't narrow my list, I'll be looking at houses for weeks and I don't think I'll be funded for that long. Usually a house hunting trip is less than a week on the employer's dime. I don't want to be where people care about the car you drive and the brand of clothes you wear (been there, done that). I want to be a place where kids can run from house to house to play. Where there are good after school and weekend activities for kids. Any thoughts?

[goyguy]

Until their "cookie cutter" house couldn't hold six persons and four cats any longer, my sister and BIL spent many happy years in the Claiborne subdivision of Loveland. It's a "Dreesville" (nicknamed for the developer) right next door to the middle school. By virtue of its being the successor to a horse farm, the streets are all named for equines or jockeys. One perk of the neighborhood is that it has its own swim club. Although such an amenity often connotes snobbery, the residents were actually down-to-earth and my rels' block had a close-knit vibe to it. A Cincinnati Reds pitcher lived in the area for a while and was never put on a pedestal. Some households were headed by one or two professionals hauling in six figures a year, while others' owners/tenants had more of a scramble to make the monthly payments. You couldn't tell who earned how much or at what by observing adults chatting in yards while their offspring raced around. The lack of overt classism was refreshing to see. But other than an AA family who rented a place for two years while the owners were abroad, the "diversity" of the area was strictly religious (Catholic/Jewish/WASP.)
Loveland's school system had to weather a funds-misappropriation scandal a couple of years ago. But it's well supported by the community and continues to burnish its 4.5-star reputation for academics. ('tain't easy to abut TWO of Greater Cincinnati's top-drawer districts - Indian Hill and Sycamore.) The city is conveniently situated close by the 275/71 interchange, well served by big-box grocery stores and along the northern reaches of the endless shopping strip called Montgomery Rd. The bustling commerce and lively neighborhoods are nicely counterbalanced by the Little Miami "national scenic" river and the biking/hiking trails alongside it, the Grailville retreat center, a farm preserve, Symmes Park, etc.
Sis and BIL were happy enough in Loveland that when a McMansion long on the market with an "anxious" owner was given another price reduction they held their breath and pounced. They're now in another cookie cutter development, only this time with larger cookies (LOL.) It's bounded by Enyart and Kemper Rd's, with most of the streets' names including "Terwilliger." Here again the grown-ups and kids - and even some of the cats - mingle warmly and freely, though the income distribution is narrower than was the case in Claiborne.
Loveland as a whole is a patchwork of subdivisions of varying vintage built around a small town center, and could be exactly the place you seek. Very similar in character would be Mason + West Chester, booming suburbs with excellent schools and shopping galore but lacking Loveland's natural assets.
Then we have Wyoming, my family's home base ever since Dad was hired by P & G out of college. Its schools are perenially ranked #1, or close to it, statewide. An image of WASP snootiness is its principal burden or blessing - depending upon your point of view, but the makeup of the community is very multifaceted in reality. (~15% AA, ~8-10% Asian and Hispanic; 25-30% Jewish; just about every income level.) There are blue-collar enclaves with brick Capes galore, blocks with towering trees and elegant Victorians, and - like many a suburb - numerous subdivisions from two to fifty years old. Wyoming can deliver in the cookie-cutter as well as unique departments for a home, in other words. The city is now pretty much entirely "built out," with its newest communities replacing a defunct KMart on the Woodlawn boundary and carved out of some woodlands nearby along Bonham Rd. Wyomingites can "go Krogering" in adjacent Hartwell as well as in Woodlawn and Finneytown, a great bakery and butcher are on Wyoming Ave, and - yes, Buffy - there's a wine shop in town too.
My favorite Web sites to visit when I'm seized with house lust are Trulia - Real Estate, Homes For Sale, Sold Properties, Real Estate Maps (nationwide) and Cincinnati Real Estate - SibcyCline.com® Homes For Sale in Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky and Comey & Shepherd: Comey & Shepherd Realtors - Welcome for Cincinnati. These are all open-access sites and would be a great help in your search. Best o' luck to ye!

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by MishaMacDowell

Thanks.

I don't think I asked my question right. What I'd like to know is what other factors locals use to figure out where to live. So far, my usual are schools, price, taxes, commute time and potential appreciation. Taking those into account, I'm ususually left with one or two places to look at. In Cincinnati, I've got Mason, Wyoming, Turpin Hills, Dry Run, Terrace Park, etc, etc. I've NEVER had such a plethora or choices. So, I'm wondering what other factors people use to help them choose between multiple great choices. If I can't narrow my list, I'll be looking at houses for weeks and I don't think I'll be funded for that long. Usually a house hunting trip is less than a week on the employer's dime. I don't want to be where people care about the car you drive and the brand of clothes you wear (been there, done that). I want to be a place where kids can run from house to house to play. Where there are good after school and weekend activities for kids. Any thoughts?

I wouldn't look in Terrace Park or Wyoming for a "cookie cutter" house. Otherwise, I think the best thing folks on this board could do to help you would be to privately send you the names of realtors they may know who specialize in the areas you're interested in. A good buyer's agent should be able to help you narrow your choices pretty quickly.