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Hi. So, I'm 26, make 9 dollars an hour, and live with my father in a rented house in Arlington. I have 10k saved up from the past year of work. I'm looking at buying a cheap house near the Springfield area. From what I can glean, from this board and google street view, it seems that area has a bad reputation for crime.
Is it really that bad living there? It seems you could buy a house for 15-20k, fix it up yourself, then have a nice place to live. I don't understand why people spend 100k+ on houses in the suburbs when you can just buy a house for 20k in the middle of town, put in a few thousand dollars worth of repairs, then have a house just as a nice as the 100k+ ones. Plus you wouldn't be forced to drive 30 mins just to get anywhere.
Does anyone here live in the ghetto? My feeling is that everyone here seems a bit "well-to-do" and lives in gated communities with white picket fences and 2.5 children.
You can find some decent places in Springfield for that price, but you'll probably have to put in more than a few thousand dollars of repairs. And the house will act and operate very differently than most suburban homes (i.e., old historic home vs new construction)
That said, of course that's a choice you can make! Crime in Historic Springfield isn't that much of a concern and it's certainly worth it if that's your inclination. Your property won't be worth the same as the 100k+ ones in the burbs, but it might be much nicer for you. Given the info you've stated, I think Springfield is the way to go for you if you can find the right property at the right price, and you're willing to spend a lot of time putting in sweat equity.
I agree, your initial outlay sounds pretty doable. There are some properties in that area that have terrific potential that you could probably pick up for maybe more like $20-30k, but you may need almost that much additional to improve it to where you'd want to live there.
Hi. So, I'm 26, make 9 dollars an hour, and live with my father in a rented house in Arlington. I have 10k saved up from the past year of work. I'm looking at buying a cheap house near the Springfield area. From what I can glean, from this board and google street view, it seems that area has a bad reputation for crime.
Is it really that bad living there? It seems you could buy a house for 15-20k, fix it up yourself, then have a nice place to live. I don't understand why people spend 100k+ on houses in the suburbs when you can just buy a house for 20k in the middle of town, put in a few thousand dollars worth of repairs, then have a house just as a nice as the 100k+ ones. Plus you wouldn't be forced to drive 30 mins just to get anywhere.
Does anyone here live in the ghetto? My feeling is that everyone here seems a bit "well-to-do" and lives in gated communities with white picket fences and 2.5 children.
I'd look in the Eastside neighborhood, which is between the Springfield Historic District neighborhood and Tallyrand/stadium area.
You won't be able to afford anything in the Springfield Historic District, which is most of Springfield, even a fixer upper. It hasn't been a ghetto for about 15 years, and prices for new homes (several being built now for $300k+) reflect that. Check out www.myspringfield.org and www.sparcouncil.org for more up to date info on that area.
However, the neighborhoods to the North, East, and West of Springfield haven't gone through the same gentrification, and thus would probably have what you're looking for. The Eastside neighborhood would probably be the safest of the those. It actually has a decvent chnace of significant revitalization and gentrification over the next 20 years. The other area to the West and North would be Durkeeville and Brentwood, resprectively.
These days, parts of Arlington and the NorthWest quadrant of Jacksonville has the worst crime.
If you're open to looking in other areas of Jax, North Riverside is similar, as are long strecthes of Beach Blvd, Atlantic Blvd, and Phillips Highway on the Southside of town. Very cheap housing, and newer than anything around Downtown, so probably won't need as much work.
Here's some examples of what's available in the Eastside neighborhood:
Well, sorry, I disagree that you can pull off conventional home ownership there with $10K on $9.00 per hour. AND be happy about it. But you didn't mention what your father's contribution is or your monthly budget. You also didn't mention if you have any skills that will enable you to work on a property.
I applaud you for your savings and suggest you keep researching and working towards your goal.
Once you BUY...you're TRAPPED there indefinitely.
I wouldn't want to spend my entire savings on buying a property which, let's face it, is going to ALWAYS be a drain on you financially. Unless I happened to find something really UNUSUAL. Every house needs money to maintain. I have a BRAND NEW AC unit that just went on the blink this week and it may or may NOT be covered in the warranty; I'll have to see what the tech finds. It could just be my thermostat but THAT will cost MONEY to replace. YES, I can see on youTube how to replace a thermostat. And YES I might short something or break a wire so I'd rather pay a professional.
Do you like air conditioning and heating? Because at that price you're not getting decent AC if ANY...and if that unit craps out you're looking at THOUSANDS just to replace THAT. Or being in debt for many years if you even qualify for a new system on credit. Of course you can put units in the wall/window and use space heaters, too.
Even without a mortgage (UNLIKELY), you'll have taxes, water, sewer and insurance. And with a mortgage insurance is not optional. That's before repairs and maintenance.
Home ownership isn't for everyone although I agree with your that it's wiser and more desirable IF you're going to stay in it. IF you can afford it.
Do you know how to fix a toilet problem?
I worked in a $1 Million dollar house in Avondale on a super desirable street. The downstairs toilet backed up from the SEWER when I let water out of the kitchen sink. Toxic waste all over the original hardwood 1935 floors covered the entire first floor. It was a MAJOR big deal inside and OUTSIDE the property underground. I had to have a FEW professionals out to fix that issue. (I'm a pet sitter and was doing a live in job). Avondale has some sewer issues.
There's also the issue of transportation. I assume you use a car or will have to if you move from Arlington to downtown. Although I seem to remember that the bus line is fairly decent there.
And although mobile homes are NOT a great idea in FL, I have worked in some here in Vero Beach that are definitely in your price range, are REALLY NICE. And don't have the enormous expenses that you're looking at up there in a free standing single home AND have survived hurricanes since the 1960's. HOW? I don't know. But they do. AND you need insurance, too. They are not in any sort of ghetto they're in very nice areas. Sometimes in the middle of expensive other communities. Or on the beach or Intracoastal. Our entire city and MSA is nice.
We had some condos at the low 20's brand newly renovated and move in condition at the lowest part of the market bottom but they're going up now. You also can qualify for 55+ communities if your father is that age. Old people are generally safe even if boring LOL.
So maybe a relocation is in order if your job can perhaps facilitate that. Here in Vero we have plenty of $9.00 jobs in retail, healthcare and hospitality.
Hi. So, I'm 26, make 9 dollars an hour, and live with my father in a rented house in Arlington. I have 10k saved up from the past year of work. I'm looking at buying a cheap house near the Springfield area. From what I can glean, from this board and google street view, it seems that area has a bad reputation for crime.
Is it really that bad living there? It seems you could buy a house for 15-20k, fix it up yourself, then have a nice place to live. I don't understand why people spend 100k+ on houses in the suburbs when you can just buy a house for 20k in the middle of town, put in a few thousand dollars worth of repairs, then have a house just as a nice as the 100k+ ones. Plus you wouldn't be forced to drive 30 mins just to get anywhere.
Does anyone here live in the ghetto? My feeling is that everyone here seems a bit "well-to-do" and lives in gated communities with white picket fences and 2.5 children.
if I were you, I would actually look for crappy unappealing homes away from springfield. In run down/distressed/decaying parts of poor older suburbs(that were new in say the 50s-60s) for example. Just like with springfield you can get something livable(with 10k or so work) for 30-35k, and it's probably going to be a more pleasant environment.
Springfield, to most people, is just a bad place to live. Whether you call it historic springfield, old springfield, new springfield, whatever.....the houses tend to be too big, not great floor plans, not easy upkeep, and the worst part of springfield is nothing to do. If one wants to live in an old neighborhood, I think there are much better choices.
OP, I think it's great that you're looking into home ownership options and you're shrewd to be looking where you're looking. Yes, there is an element of ghetto there but the area is slowly but surely coming around and those cheap historic homes won't be there forever.
The huge huge huge mistake you're making is buying a very old 'fixer' because its cheap and seems to be within reach without having enough dry powder to fund the rehab. Even if you are someone capable of doing all the labor yourself (which is very empowering and will allow you to fix most of what needs to be done), there are still costs- sometimes, big costs- associated with materials, not to mention the potential to run into catastrophic problems with plumbing, sewer, foundation, structure is radically higher with an old home than with a newer one. When there's an electrical fire and you start peeling off the plaster and lath to get at the sparking cloth wire, you realize that termite damage from a infestation in the 1960's is finally starting to make the walls sag... and you have $600 in the bank.
Once upon a time, I was with a girl whose mother didn't have a lot of money but used what she did have to buy a 'cute' 100 year old home. It was a disaster. See "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks for a fun example of what people are talking about when they caution against old homes.
If you have a stomach for risk, then go ahead. Buy it cheap, do the work yourself and if the cards go your way, you could wind up with a great house in an up and coming area for not a lot of money. If you roll snake-eyes in the form of a catastrophic failure that you cannot afford to fix, understand that not only is your initial investment gone, but you're now stuck with an uninhabitable house in the ghetto that nobody else wants and is a dangerous liability.
if I were you, I would actually look for crappy unappealing homes away from springfield. In run down/distressed/decaying parts of poor older suburbs(that were new in say the 50s-60s) for example. Just like with springfield you can get something livable(with 10k or so work) for 30-35k, and it's probably going to be a more pleasant environment.
Springfield, to most people, is just a bad place to live. Whether you call it historic springfield, old springfield, new springfield, whatever.....the houses tend to be too big, not great floor plans, not easy upkeep, and the worst part of springfield is nothing to do. If one wants to live in an old neighborhood, I think there are much better choices.
You are painfully illinformed about virtaully everything you typed. Contact one of the many realtors that specializes in the area, or the histopric neioghborhoods in general, to educate yourself. Or check out www.sparcouncil.org or www.myspringfield.org for info on that specific neighborhood.
You are painfully illinformed about virtaully everything you typed. Contact one of the many realtors that specializes in the area, or the histopric neioghborhoods in general, to educate yourself. Or check out www.sparcouncil.org or www.myspringfield.org for info on that specific neighborhood.
No, I'm not....springfield, for most people, is not a place they would consider living or want to live. That is quite evident. You like living there, which is fine. You are free to live anywhere you want.
But you mislead others when you describe springfield(or historic springfield as Im sure you will refer to it as) the way you do. You also mislead others when you lump in springfield/historic springfield with avondale and san marco. Now don't get me wrong- avondale and san marco definately have their rough around the edges parts, but most residents of san marco(the decent parts) would never consider living in springfield/historic springfield. Those aren't neighborhoods that people are deciding between.
No, I'm not....springfield, for most people, is not a place they would consider living or want to live. That is quite evident. You like living there, which is fine. You are free to live anywhere you want.
But you mislead others when you describe springfield(or historic springfield as Im sure you will refer to it as) the way you do. You also mislead others when you lump in springfield/historic springfield with avondale and san marco. Now don't get me wrong- avondale and san marco definately have their rough around the edges parts, but most residents of san marco(the decent parts) would never consider living in springfield/historic springfield. Those aren't neighborhoods that people are deciding between.
Again, you are painfully out of touch.
I have lived in all these areas.
I know the historic, unique neighborhoods of Jax like the back of my hand. This is where I spend my time. I know who lives there, who does business there, what happens there, and what's to come. There's only a handful of these neighborhoods in Jax, so it's not difficult. MANY people move just between these areas, as they provide some level of the same aesthetic, location, and quality-of-life.
Just as there are many people who would live in Fleming Island, but not Orange Park. Hodges Blvd, but not Kernan Blvd. In one area of town, but not another random area of town, some would live in San Marco, but not Avondale. Springfield, but not Murray Hill. Riverside but not Miramar. They are largely (not completely) different shades of the same color, per se.
If you'd like to get in touch with local realtors that specialize in these areas, I can give the name of quite a few. They'll be able to educate you about who's buying where and for how much. Being the expert that you are, I'm sure you know the new construction per sq ft in Riverside is more than in Nocattee, the uniformed's favorite new community, and in Springfield the cost is roughly the same as in Nocattee. But, again, I'm sure you knew that, right? I'm sure you knew that people with large bank accounts move there because of personal preference, who could easily live anywhere else, right?
Or, if you like, I could provide you contact information for 30+ individuals/families off the top of my head that have moved from Bartram Park, San Marco, Southside Blvd, Riverside, Deer Creek (you know, the "nice" neighborhoods) to the Springfield Historic District. *Gasp!* Did your mind just explode? Yes, it's a transitional neighborhood. If anyone is familar with large cities like Atalnta, New York, Chicage, San Fran, then they know transitional neighborhoods (a mix of people and socioeconics) are perfectly normal, and are widely known as gentrifiying areas. They're a good thing, a smart investment, a sign of where things are going. Po-dunk suburban Jacksonville residents who have no world perspective have zero idea how gentrification/reviatlization usually works, thus they hold on to outdated stereotypes.
Heck, as recently as this year some people have said Riverside is too "sketchy", which is laughable. It certainly used to be, but it has almost finished transitioning/gentirifying, as is the norm. Currently Murray Hill and the Springfield Historic District are the transitioning/gentrifying neighborhoods in Jax.
Again, ask a realtor that specializes in the historic areas of Jax. They'll be happy to fill you in.
When someone provides incorrect information about the neighborhoods I'm very familair with, I always take the opprounity to correct them.
I consider it a public service.
You're welcome.
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