Anyone know about neighborhood around Concord Street N,South St paul??

[maggiety3]

I just moved to the west side of saint paul and I love it! The area is certainly active but the crime stats are below average for the metro area. I got a fantastic house for a great price and my neighbors are so welcoming and nice. There are a ton of kids in the area and I think more families will be moving in.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Finally a real opinion. Listen to somebody who actually lives there....not these suburban folk who form their opinion about the place from a newspaper article they read several years ago or from driving by it a couple times.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by maggiety3

I just moved to the west side of saint paul and I love it! The area is certainly active but the crime stats are below average for the metro area. I got a fantastic house for a great price and my neighbors are so welcoming and nice. There are a ton of kids in the area and I think more families will be moving in.

Originally Posted by Slig

Finally a real opinion. Listen to somebody who actually lives there....not these suburban folk who form their opinion about the place from a newspaper article they read several years ago or from driving by it a couple times.

ok, specifically WHERE on the west side do you live. There are areas on the west side that are NOT nice or even CLOSE to nice--this is coming from a suburban person with relatives in the area, that have lived in the area for over 10 years and having gone to high school NEAR that area.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Slig

Finally a real opinion. Listen to somebody who actually lives there....not these suburban folk who form their opinion about the place from a newspaper article they read several years ago or from driving by it a couple times.

It isn't just "suburban folk" who seem to have baseless opinions in these forums, believe me...

[Robert P Stewart]

GUYS! ok, I think we can agree that crime (or better yet, the feeling of personal safety) is a very relative thing. My threshold will be different anothers, etc.

I'm really glad these discussions have a place to happen. Fair housing laws prevent me from saying too much about an area, which is ridiculous. Someone in my office actually ran afoul by saying in the MLS that a home was in a "family-friendly neighborhood". For my part, everything has to be objective - I quote stats and compare areas based on stats, but I have to be very careful because of the misapplication of rules that originally had good intent.

I mean, what do I do with a family of 4 from Tulsa who wants to see a "steal" of a house for $35,000 on Upton Ave N? Answer: I show it to them - at 9AM on Monday morning.

Truly, the best thing about South St. Paul is The Coop - best fried chicken in the cities - and for buying a house, that's really all you need to know. Bullets, gangs, whatever - go with the chicken.

The boundaries as Golfgal lined them out are actually quite insightful...

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Robert P Stewart

GUYS! ok, I think we can agree that crime (or better yet, the feeling of personal safety) is a very relative thing. My threshold will be different anothers, etc.

I'm really glad these discussions have a place to happen. Fair housing laws prevent me from saying too much about an area, which is ridiculous. Someone in my office actually ran afoul by saying in the MLS that a home was in a "family-friendly neighborhood". For my part, everything has to be objective - I quote stats and compare areas based on stats, but I have to be very careful because of the misapplication of rules that originally had good intent.

I mean, what do I do with a family of 4 from Tulsa who wants to see a "steal" of a house for $35,000 on Upton Ave N? Answer: I show it to them - at 9AM on Monday morning.

Truly, the best thing about South St. Paul is The Coop - best fried chicken in the cities - and for buying a house, that's really all you need to know. Bullets, gangs, whatever - go with the chicken.

The boundaries as Golfgal lined them out are actually quite insightful...

I'm sorry Robert - you really lost me on your post. I think we can all agree that real estate is one of the most subjective sciences/ professions out there which may make certain situations difficult, but I'm not exactly shedding any tears for you as the real estate industry has a long and very well-known history of both creating and reinforcing urban blight/ racial discrimination through the practice of redlining neighborhoods (but you guys weren't/aren't alone, the insurance, banking, and many other sectors were right there with you). I would think that explaining to clients the need for you maintain objectivity would be all that you need to do -if your clients don't understand that then that's their issue, but I think that most educated persons are aware of the code that realtors, by law, need to practice within.

Although it sounds like you were just venting/ getting something off your chest and that is understandable, not to be an a hole but to be quite frank/honest with you - to say that Fair Housing laws are ridiculous is highly concerning to me and would make me a lot less likely to contact you or refer someone to you for services...

...and it's not just because Upton Ave N is a block east from my home (a very long block I might add, it must be what, 40 - 50 blocks long? Also, what made you choose to talk about this street on a thread about St. Paul?). Here are some homes on Upton that your clients might like (be careful, though, looks like a pretty rough neighborhood):

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[Robert P Stewart]

I'm saying that the *application* of the laws is ridiculous. Not being able to say that an area is "family-friendly"? That was my example. I even went further and said that the law had good intent.

Benefit of a doubt, please...

If anything, you categorizing me among a group in my profession is every bit as ludicrous. I have stacks of testimonials that say that I'm anything but conforming and normal.

As for Upton, if I remember correctly, we were talking about the 3300 block, and I didn't really say anything about it of substance. Truly, $35,000 houses anywhere in the 7 county metro should be treated as suspect.

I think you're digging for something to be angry about.

[Sarah Maske]

I am not comfortable gauging for a client what "safe" neighborhood means. To Robert's point, it is relative. To Camden's point, agents and loan officers were making that decision for people and the laws that went in place were justifiably so. Using terms like "family-friendly" aren't a good idea. Instead of showing my clients what some neighborhoods look like at their "best" I always encourage buyer clients to explore the area on their own at different times of day. Drive by the property on evenings and weekends - talk to people, police department etc. This is the client's responsibility to determine what is "safe" for them. It is the agent's responsibility to help their client make a "safe" investment, not to determine the safety of the neighborhood. It is also the agent's responsibility to show their client screaming deals no matter where they're located - yes - but I would not make a concerted effort to show the neighborhood during a time when it would be seen "in its best light."