Best neighborhoods for young couple looking to buy house (Minneapolis: short sale, foreclosure)

[hiltoa]

My husband and I are looking to buy our first house and would like some input on neighborhoods. We are a young couple (26/27) with no kids currently and are trying to find out what neighborhoods best suit us and have the most to offer. We are planning for this to be our starter house (5 years) so aren’t necessarily as concerned with schools for kids at this point, but more so just an area that is friendly/safe/interesting with other young couples/families. We currently live in Minneapolis on the edge of Uptown and St. Louis Park (Excelsior/32nd) and enjoy that area and what it has to offer. We aren’t hipsters, but like having restaurants and activities nearby and would like to feel like we’re part of a fun/active residential community. I work in downtown Minneapolis and use public transit to get there, and my husband works in South St. Paul and drives every day. We are leaning more towards the South Minneapolis/St. Louis Park/Richfield areas. Our wishful checklist includes:
- 3 BDR/2 BA house
- Max of $230,000
- An area with other young couples/families
- GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

Any input would be great! Thanks!

[Clifford63]

You could probably find something, but it would probably need a lot of updates and repairs. The starter home concept does have a lot of assumptions based on appreciation via sweat equity or market prices rising. I would not bet on market rising anytime soon, so investing in updates would then become rather iffy as well. Stockpile cash while renting is probably a much safer approach at the moment.

[danielle_pal]

I think St. Louis Park would be a great place to start looking. My friend bought his starter home there and now rents it out for a profit.

[uptown_urbanist]

Richfield will almost certainly be your best bet in terms of cost. Given your wish list, I'd put it top of the list to investigate. Check out the areas around Wood Lake or around 66th and Penn. The Richfield schools aren't considered as good as SLP or SW Minneapolis, but there are a lot of other young families, and I think there's tremendous potential there, and I've long been impressed with Richfield's dedication to improving itself and meeting the changing needs of its residents. Public transportation is good, too.

[ferr0052]

I'm going to disagree with uptown-urbanist on this one. While, I really like Richfield--I wouldn't do it; here's why: you said you wanted this to be a starter house where you are planning to stay for 5 years..maybe more maybe less. Being that the case; I would steer more toward a more stable housing area. I would choose St. Louis Park, SW Minneapolis, or even Edina. You're budget easily puts you into that area. You probably will need to make some compromises with design--but most of that can be changed--and places like St Louis Park and Edina will appreciate that more.

Back to Richfield-- I think this city has the most promise--it is landlocked and it's only boarder in Edina.. It should be a cute city that is close to everything. HOWEVER, since the market crash--certain areas have not held up well--and I would argue that Richfield is on a downward trajectory that will take years to overcome. Are there "great" deals--Yeah..but it could be all relative. I would bet safer on a more stable neighborhood if you are planning on moving in the next decade.

Uptownn urbanist could give you more specifics on other south minneapolis neighborhoods, I'm bet.

[iNviNciBL3]

Summit - Hill, Saint Paul
mod cut

[uptown_urbanist]

I had somehow skipped over the "we're only going to live there for five years" part, in which case I think the better answer is RENT, don't buy! Or go into it with the idea that you will be there for longer than five years. I think the concept of the "starter home" is outdated and dead (and a 3-BR, 2-BA house is pretty big for a "starter" house). Not that OP asked for this advice, but it does seem financially smarter to just rent a smaller, cheaper place and save the $ for the future. What's the rush?

I think Richfield has held up fairly well, however (although perhaps not all parts of the city), and there's (finally!) movement on revamping their "downtown" area (66th Lyndale). And there's a Pizza Luce opening up -- that counts as a sure sign of impending hipster-ness, right?

Places like SW Minneapolis are going to remain stable and you're unlikely to see housing prices crash during the coming years, but you're also unlikely to see them go up quickly. I'd assume the same is true in Edina or SLP, although if the OP is the kind of person who has the skills, time, and money to improve the house, perhaps they can at least get out of it in five years without having actively lost money.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I had somehow skipped over the "we're only going to live there for five years" part, in which case I think the better answer is RENT, don't buy! Or go into it with the idea that you will be there for longer than five years. I think the concept of the "starter home" is outdated and dead (and a 3-BR, 2-BA house is pretty big for a "starter" house). Not that OP asked for this advice, but it does seem financially smarter to just rent a smaller, cheaper place and save the $ for the future. What's the rush?

I think Richfield has held up fairly well, however (although perhaps not all parts of the city), and there's (finally!) movement on revamping their "downtown" area (66th Lyndale). And there's a Pizza Luce opening up -- that counts as a sure sign of impending hipster-ness, right?

Places like SW Minneapolis are going to remain stable and you're unlikely to see housing prices crash during the coming years, but you're also unlikely to see them go up quickly. I'd assume the same is true in Edina or SLP, although if the OP is the kind of person who has the skills, time, and money to improve the house, perhaps they can at least get out of it in five years without having actively lost money.

Um, they want a starter house, kind of hard to do while renting...


hiltoa--Why not look in South St. Paul? That is a fairly young community, convenient to pretty much everything, eliminates one commute, the housing stock matches as does the price range. You will still be able to take a bus to work and depending on where your DH works, he might be able to walk, or have a minimal drive. If you stay north of Southview and west of about 10th or so, it's a pretty nice area with a lot of young families.

[uptown_urbanist]

Yes, I realize that. And the advice to rent was certainly unsolicited (although I see that I am not the only one who looked at this scenario and suggested renting), but I still believe that the idea of buying a "starter" home with the intention of only living there for five years these days doesn't make much sense. My suggestion was just that they'd save a ton of money if they lived somewhere smaller (obviously two people don't need a huge 3-BR, 2-BA house), save the money, and then in a couple of years just buy a house that they want to stay in for a longer time, that's all. Of course I don't know their finances and maybe they already have the 50k in hand for down payment and closing fees, and figure they might as well not wait. Still, prices aren't likely to go up that much in the next year or two, so why not wait just a bit longer and skip the whole "starter" house phase to begin with? Maybe I'm just more risk-averse, but the concept of starter homes seems outdated in today's economy. I've also seen many friends who bought "starter houses" in the last decade and are now stuck in them, so I'd never buy anything that you couldn't imagine being in for longer (or don't mind selling at a loss or without much profit). Again, I know that's all totally unsolicited, but the OP is so young and is planning to be living in this house for so few years, that it just seems like what's the rush? But it's obviously their money and their lives, but the term "starter house" just seems so obsolete.

In any case, if OP is interested, I agree that South St. Paul is a good option. I know a few people who have bought affordable homes there and like it. Seems like a good place for young couples.

[golfgal]

The op's strategy is perfectly sound and no reason not to pursue that. First, we don't know what the market is going to be like in 6 months let alone 5 years. Up until the 90's, pretty much everyone did as the OP is suggesting, buy a smaller home, build some equity and move when the time was right. If in 5 years the market is still low, you stay put for a couple more years, even easier in MN because of open enrollment. Also, with interest rates what they are now, they will be paying the same or maybe even less then they would be renting.

First time home buyers are sitting in a very nice spot right now. With no home to sell, there are fantastic deals to be had if they are willing to go through the short sale/foreclosure mess. Add to that interest rates in the 3% range and they are golden.


There is a lot to be said for not having to ask someone if you can paint a room or change out a kitchen countertop.