For people who moved from out of state to Minneapolis what do you wish you knew/researched about more? Questions inside. (St. Paul: rent, insurance)

[vaporizor]

Im looking to move within the next year or so and I see there are quite a few nice houses in Minneapolis and the near surrounding area for around 50-100k. Im not looking for a big house since Im by myself for 2-3 bedroom 1 floor house and basement would be ideal for me.

Im having trouble finding out about floods and flood zones in Minneapolis. How frequent are they? what areas should I avoid and what areas have the least risk for flooding? I only ask because someone mentioned flooding over there (I dont really know much about MN's geography at this point) and I want to make sure I know as much as possible when Im going to move. I tried navigating the FEMA maps but I have no idea what Im looking at.

On to my other concerns:

For people who moved from out of state into Minneapolis what are things you wish you knew/researched about more now that you live there for a while?

For home owners what insurance give you the best home owners/flood insurance rate?

I never bought a house before, what should I make sure to research before buying one? Has there ever been any companies that polluted the area or chemical dumping done anywhere near the city?

Right now Im pretty deadset on moving once I finish my degree and land a job, just wanna make sure all my bases are covered. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[golfgal]

While a lot of those $50-100K houses look "nice" in the photos online, once you see them in person, they aren't all that great. Our son just put an offer in on a house and he was looking in that price range and honestly, there were several houses we didn't get past the front door because they were THAT bad in person. One house we were a little afraid to open cabinets, etc. because you just never knew what might jump out at you. The one house looked great online, "updated" kitchen, etc. but what the photo didn't show was the floor was out of level by a good 3" so it sloped from one end of the kitchen to the next and they "shimmed" the cabinets to accommodate that. What looked like brown carpet in the photo was REALLY, REALLY dirty tan carpet, etc. Once he started looking above $100K, even $105K, houses improved quite a bit. He saw 3 houses with a lot of potential but one needed to update the electrical from fuses and that was just going to put it out of his budget. It also needed several new windows, which could wait, but still a cost to consider. It was in a fantastic neighborhood though and has a ton of potential for someone that wanted to flip the house.

Homeowner's insurance, go with the bigger names, State Farm, American Family, USAA if you can, etc. It's just not something you want to "skimp" on-and skimping meaning less service, less willing to work with you on claims, etc.

Flooding, for the most part if you are not by a river you are ok but days like yesterday where parts of the state got 8-10" of rain in one day, there isn't much you can do about that. Not every community is mapped for flooding, but if they are you can put the address into the FEMA website and it will tell you what flood zone you are in. Flood insurance for low risk areas is pretty cheep, about $300/year depending on how much coverage you buy.

The metro area is huge with a lot of manufacturing and there has been chemicals dumped all over the place, most of which we will never know about, some we do. Farming has more impact on drinking water supplies, etc. but every town has water treatment facilities and drinking water here is safe.

[uptown_urbanist]

That's really, really, really low budget for the Twin Cities. I would assume that a house that low is either falling apart and/or is so far out it's not even truly metro area (or perhaps is in a bad location within the metro area). Definitely not the kind of thing you'd want to jump into as a first-time homeowner, at least not unless you have a lot of experience dealing with repairs and building maintenance issues.

Why the rush to buy? I'd rent for a year or two first, get to know the area, leisurely spend some time going to open houses around the region, and then decide if you're ready to make that jump or not. You'll have a better sense of what you will get for your money, where you'd be willing to live, and what you'd prioritize, or if you think it's better to go up to a higher price point. (and since it's just you, presumably you could just rent somewhere smaller and very affordable in the meantime, which would give you even more cash reserves to help either get into a more expensive house in the future, or have the money in hand to do the repairs and updates for a lower-price house.) You'd have a LOT more options, and a lot more options that don't need as much work, if you were to bump up a price notch or two.

Not sure about big-picture chemical issues, but on a smaller level, FYI you can have your dirt tested. I know people who have done that before putting in an in-ground vegetable garden.

[welcomedadvice]

I will be moving there soon and there trying to do research...but it has been so overwhelming...dont know the areas I should not rent in within St. Paul... help!

[my54ford]

Researched enough to know not to move too Minneapolis!

[welcomedadvice]

Why??? Is St. Paul better? What about woodbury?

[ManBearPig1]

Minneapolis is better than St. Paul just like Chocolate is objectively better than Vanilla and Cookie Dough better than both.

[welcomedadvice]

Ok.... How far is that from river falls , wi? I will be working in WI but refuse to live there.... Just need a comfortable commute

[vaporizor]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

That's really, really, really low budget for the Twin Cities. I would assume that a house that low is either falling apart and/or is so far out it's not even truly metro area (or perhaps is in a bad location within the metro area). Definitely not the kind of thing you'd want to jump into as a first-time homeowner, at least not unless you have a lot of experience dealing with repairs and building maintenance issues.

Why the rush to buy? I'd rent for a year or two first, get to know the area, leisurely spend some time going to open houses around the region, and then decide if you're ready to make that jump or not. You'll have a better sense of what you will get for your money, where you'd be willing to live, and what you'd prioritize, or if you think it's better to go up to a higher price point. (and since it's just you, presumably you could just rent somewhere smaller and very affordable in the meantime, which would give you even more cash reserves to help either get into a more expensive house in the future, or have the money in hand to do the repairs and updates for a lower-price house.) You'd have a LOT more options, and a lot more options that don't need as much work, if you were to bump up a price notch or two.

Not sure about big-picture chemical issues, but on a smaller level, FYI you can have your dirt tested. I know people who have done that before putting in an in-ground vegetable garden.

Im most probably going to roommate for a year so I can get to know some people while saving money. I just figured property was cheap over there but I can move up to about 200k for a house. I dont need a big house since it just me.

The way I thought about it was if the houses for 50-75k were really good Id live in one until I pay it off, rent it out then buy a nicer one. But now I see thats not the case, maybe Id buy a cheape 1-2 bedroom condo then move into a house and rent it condo.

I really appreciate everyones advice.

Also I have a 2009 Hyundai Santafe SE that can do awd, it that a car that can handle the winters over there? I only ask because right now Im sharing it with my sister and when I move either me or her will assume ownership.

[vaporizor]

Originally Posted by my54ford

Researched enough to know not to move too Minneapolis!

Out of curiosity what turned you away from Minneapolis? I guess it depend where youre moving from. Im coming from NYC and it seems to be the same but on a smaller scale, and I can easily live with that.

Can you tell me more details about your research?