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-Where you are working - Husband and I are in real estate. We have been flipping houses (on project number 3). This is what we plan to do in KY. So really we can do this anywhere as long as there is enough inventory, we like to focus on starter homes. We figured that Lexington will have enough of an inventory of houses to keep up busy.
-How much you are willing to spend on housing - In a perfect world less than 150k (there is room in that but cheaper the better). It is just the two of us so something small is fine, but we want a house, and a large yard. Our current plan is to buy something cheap but still essentially move in ready so that we can focus on getting our business rolling (and using our cash on renovation projects instead of our personal house for now....but throwing up new paint or a new set of kitchen cabinets isn't tough for us) We want something that we can live in for the next 2 to 3 years until we find a larger piece of land (5+ acres) to build a farmhouse on. In an ideal world I would like a more historic home. Something that has some charm, I don't like cookie cutter neighborhoods/subdivisions and I hate 60's ranch style homes (EXCEPT when renovating them for a house flip, LOL).
-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate? 20-30 minutes is fine, BUT I HATE sitting in traffic. The area of CA I am in DOES NOT have bad traffic, but I lived in Phoenix for a while, and having what should be a 30 minute commute take 2 hours during weekdays was a nightmare.
-If you have kids: Private school or public school? No kids yet, but when we do have them they will go to private schools or be home schooled.
-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? No urban sprawl. Something with unique charm. My husband and I prefer small towns that have a nice downtown area. Not a fan of chain/big box/strip malls. We like to live somewhere that people take pride in their town.
-Community amenities important to you - We like to hike, we like to go out to eat at great local restaurants and take cooking classes. I love bookstores. We are kind of nerds and like to take classes usually through adult ed courses (cooking, archery, art, etc). We like to farm/garden. I ride and compete horses. I'm in my late 20's and my husband is in his 30's
-Pie or cake? PIE - home made fruit pies with a crumble top (apple berry - or strawberry rhubarb) and I make a mean pecan pie. All from scratch of course!
SO we will be visiting october 21-28 THIS MONTH! I am so excited! Hoping to move in January or February. Where should we go look? What can we not afford to miss? How about some favorite restaurants or activities? Tell me about the bluegrass!
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Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Area SE of downtown (Ashland Park) is the best pre WW1 area of Lexington that isn't overran with college students. It's a nice area with a variety of home styles and prices. You could probably find something in your price range especially to the north end of the area. Lexington has a great downtown for a city of its size and quite a few good local restaurants both due largely to having a large public university.
Your long-range plans to build a farmhouse on five acres won't fly in Fayette County, where 40 acre or larger lots are required in agricultural zoned areas in order to help preserve the endangered Bluegrass Region. However, if you're willing to step over the county line, you can very likely find rural land that would suit your purposes - for less money.
Some older areas of Lexington have historic zoning which puts special requirements on external remodeling, additions, or renovation - restoration is okay. Other older neighborhoods, notably Chevy Chase, have development overlays which have similar requirements. The majority of Chevy Chase residents supported the overlay (which came into effect a few years ago) after ungainly, out-of-scale "remuddles" began to change the visual character of the neighborhood. In both cases, it's still possible to update houses - but there are regulations which must be followed, for the public good and to help protect property values and history.
If you read widely on the Kentucky forums, you'll find a lot of helpful information and answers to many of your questions about Lexington. I'd also suggest contacting the local tourist board//visitors' center and perhaps the Chamber of Commerce for free brochures, maps, etc. Lexington and the Inner Bluegrass are historic and beautiful areas which are dear to many of us here.
Our long term goal will most likely be outside of lexington, we want to be in the area a few years to really pick out where we want to be long term (thinking paris, versailes, maybe even berea.) any specific recommendations for good local restaurants or sites to see? I have all the tourist magazines, etc from the visitors boards already.
In Versailles, try Addie's in the Woodford Inn. Boone Tavern in Berea is world-famous, but if you're in the mood for something simpler, try Papaleno's for great pizza, or Berea Coffee and Tea, which also offers sandwiches and other light fare.
Your long-range plans to build a farmhouse on five acres won't fly in Fayette County, where 40 acre or larger lots are required in agricultural zoned areas in order to help preserve the endangered Bluegrass Region. However, if you're willing to step over the county line, you can very likely find rural land that would suit your purposes - for less money.
Some older areas of Lexington have historic zoning which puts special requirements on external remodeling, additions, or renovation - restoration is okay. Other older neighborhoods, notably Chevy Chase, have development overlays which have similar requirements. The majority of Chevy Chase residents supported the overlay (which came into effect a few years ago) after ungainly, out-of-scale "remuddles" began to change the visual character of the neighborhood. In both cases, it's still possible to update houses - but there are regulations which must be followed, for the public good and to help protect property values and history.
If you read widely on the Kentucky forums, you'll find a lot of helpful information and answers to many of your questions about Lexington. I'd also suggest contacting the local tourist board//visitors' center and perhaps the Chamber of Commerce for free brochures, maps, etc. Lexington and the Inner Bluegrass are historic and beautiful areas which are dear to many of us here.
My hat is off to you for expressing that so well. Very diplomatic. It's been sad to see neighborhoods here overrun by house flipping and the like.
Appereantly there is some hostility towards flipping? Understandable if there are people putting out poor quality projects, which isn't what we have been doing. The first project we did was a 40's bungalow in phx that had been trashed by druggies. Restored it beautifully, the neighbors were happy, we were happy the buyers were happy. I look at what we do as a positive thing.
^Not everyone sees it in a negative light. When it is done well, it is a very good thing. It can not only be an improvement to the house itself, but to the neighborhood and community. (I had a cousin who use to do this...and the results were amazing, and my feeling was that it upped the look and value of the whole neighborhood....they would even landscape
and do restoration/improvements to the outside as well as inside, significantly increasing the value of not only the home, but contribute to the beautification of the entire neighborhood/street.
The problem locally was twofold - bungalows near UK had huge boxes put on their backsides, totally overwhelming their original modest and tasteful scale and appearance. Then these properties were rented to students, and party central resulted. Understandably, long time residents of nearby unremuddled properties saw their homes' values decrease - unless they also were turned into "student housing", so many sold out.
The other problem, in Chevy Chase, a very nice area with individually styled houses constructed in the 1930s (for the most part), was caused by those who wanted the amenities of this popular neighborhood: good schools, pretty houses, nice yards with mature trees, two shopping centers in walking distance, a mile from the UK campus, two miles from downtown - but who wanted larger houses in more contemporary style.
"Flippers" obliged, resulting in ungainly, out of scale additions and remodels which were not at all in keeping with the traditional appearance of the neighborhood. Often such houses were sold to people who lived in them for five years or less before moving on, whereas many long-term residents still live in the other houses.
Those same long-term residents objected to the damage done to their much-loved neighborhood, so came together to work with the city on putting reasonable controls on just what could be done in the way of renovation and remodeling. There were many, many meetings and eventually a neighborhood vote on whether or not to accept the proposals made by the committee of resident volunteers, city officials, and renovators. Some objected, but most residents were relieved to see the measure pass and be enforced.
Interior renovation is not part of the neighborhood overlay - exterior appearance is controlled, but reasonably. Remodelers can still add to houses, but additions have to be the same height as the original roof. A certain number of window must be included in new walls, to prevent blank walls from facing the street. New additions must be at least a certain distance from property lines and existing houses. None of the requirements are unreasonable for individual family homes, but they work together to discourage "student housing" and ostentatious McMansions from cropping up in this quiet, very traditional neighborhood of modestly scaled houses.
If you move to Lexington, I would discourage you from using the term "flippers" to describe your work. It has negative connotations here, and doesn't seem to be what you actually do. Calling yourselves remodelers or renovators or better yet, restorers would be a much better and probably more accurate descriptions.
You might also want to get in touch with the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation, which maintains a list of recommended restoration craftspeople: carpenters, architects, builders, painters, etc. The BGT is a private, long-established non-profit which works towards not only preservation of historic structures and sites, but encourages public education and laws which are preservation friendly.
Good luck figuring all this out - preservation brings out strong feelings all around in the Bluegrass! I expect you'll understand it better when you come visit later this month, when it should be near its best. We live in a very historic and beautiful area, and most here cherish that history and beauty and want to keep it unharmed, while still encouraging progress and controlled growth that is not destructive of what makes the Bluegrass unique.
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