Moving to Minneapolis from Richmond (St. Paul, Eden Prairie: middle-class, for sale, rent)

[gardenpoet]

Hello! My fiance and I will be moving to Minneapolis from Richmond, VA, and are looking for advice on buying a home. He is actually in Mpls already in temp. housing; I am completing renovations on a house I own here (& pray I can sell) and will join him in January (brrr).
We are planning on staying 3-5 years so are concerned with resale value; we would like to be in an established neighborhood. We are looking at houses priced from $325k to $450-- a big range, but a lot depends on the sale of my house. We spent some time driving around the one weekend I was there & the neighborhood called Bryn Mawr was definitely my favorite, but it's pretty hard to tell what a place is like just from driving through.
We have no children, so schools are not an issue for us, but for resale value I know good schools are a plus. I have a very strong preference for older homes; my favorite house I have lived in was built in 1855. The house I own now was built in 1910. In my opinion nothing comes close to the character and charm of an older home. We are not looking for a fixer-upper, though, I have had all the renovating I can take! Also, are older homes harder to keep warm in winter?
We live in the city now; I love being close to restaurants, entertainment, etc., I like that my neighborhood has a non-starbucks coffee shop I can walk to. I would like a bit larger yard (my lot is probably 18 x 130), but the city lots seem to be larger in mpls. I like to garden, and was relieved to see lots of pretty front yard gardens in mpls. (I thought it might be too cold!)
I have done a bit of looking at houses online & reading on this site; edina and golden valley seem nice-- are houses here an easier sell than in the city? I like the lot sizes in these areas, but I do not want to live in a place where life revolves around kids/soccer/schools etc. I really dislike the suburbs of Richmond, but I think the two cities are pretty different. Basically, Richmond city schools are deplorable. If you have kids, you either have to send them to private schools or move when they hit kindergarden. This means that the majority of middle-class people living in the city are either in their twenties or in their 50s+, which gets a bit lonesome, as I am neither. Makes city houses harder to sell, too.
But the near suburbs in mpls (I hope I am abbreviating correctly.) seem sort of cityish. Are they? And what about St. Paul? It looks pretty. Is it a bad commute to downtown Mpls from St. Paul? I think his office is in the 300 or 400 block of s 4th ave. I don't know how to gauge how bad the traffic is. I know Richmond traffic is nothing like DC or Raleigh, NC. How would Mpls compare to DC?
Any advice will be appreciated. I have learned a lot just from reading other posts. Thanks!

[Julie Herman]

Dear Gardenpoet

I read your post about moving north. You mentioned that schools are not a priority, but that resale in 3 to 5 years is..............then schools have to be a priority for you. The number one criteria for most shoper is the schools. So don't count that out in respect to reselling it in a couple years.

[Julie Herman]

Gardenpoet -

A follow-up to my earlier note (from Julie). I noticed you mentioned that you like older homes, there are some really quaint neighborhoods in St. Paul (and other areas), but St. Paul sticks out in my mind as really excelling in this area. Julie

[Bagira]

Bryn Mawr is an excellent area...as now we are in Rockville,MD but lived not to far from Bryn Mawr. From reading your post I'm sure it would fit your bill. LOL the realtor I'm almost sure is from Eden Prairie or some other infested part of the Twin Cities. MPLS traffic NOTHING AT ALL LIKE DC'S!!!! The older homes 98% of the time especially in BM would have been updated for heating effectiveness. ALso the NEW Minnesota Twins stadium will me like 5 minutes away good selling point scheduled to open in 2010. hope you enjoy your time we sure did. Coffee shops in MPLS Specialty Coffee Franchise Company | Dunn Bros Coffee Shop Franchises by far and away the best coffee we also do NOT like starbucks.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Mpls. has alot of great old areas. Bryn Mawr has great schools, and most houses are nicely maintained. It is a great area. Marcy-Holmes has the oldest houses in the city, so for anything before 1880, most will be there. Saint Paul has alot of the old, old homes. The very interior suburbs have some great older houses, but they are hard to find before 1920. Richfield is more 1930 - 1950. Robbinsdale is probably the suburb with the oldest homes.
A list of good areas with amenities and older homes
Bryn Mawr
Marcy-Holmes
Elliot Park (more urban, but nice brownstones)
Whittier
Northeast
Powderhorn
Uptownish area
Older homes are harder to keep warm, but they are generally smaller.
Mpls. (kudos on the abbreviation, most put up the out-of-state flag and type Minne )
has larger lots, maybe about 30 - 40 feet. There are really nice gardens here, The Rose Garden is one of the best in the country. The cold doesn't do anything to them bar winter. Just differs in what you can plant. Only part of Edina is old, generally north of 62 and west of Hwy. 100. The rest is mid-century sprawl and hillside mansions. A very family typre city, i.e rich Country Club moms. Prob. not what you are looking for,
Golden Valley has a few older homes, but they are mixed in with the same type of mid0century sprawl as Edina. Everything is on a much larger lot. Traffic is pretty good, bar commutes into the city from exurbs. Saint Paul is pretty easy. Again, Saint Paul was alot better at preserving its architecture (it is more Eastern), but it is not half as vibrant. Dayton's Bluff is known for its Italianates and Victorians, and are on nice tight lots. The areas like Highland Park are pedestrian bungalows form the turn-of the century. Summit Ave. area is the Saint Charles Avuenue of Saint Paul, you could prob. get a condo in the area. Good luck, hope I helped somewhat
--Minnehahapolitan

[golfgal]

Highland Park in St. Paul is a good area for resale. Even in this slumping market homes that are coming for sale in the Highland/Summit area are still getting multiple offers and spending little time on the market. The commute to Minneapolis from there is easy.

[sugarbeet]

Minneapolis is highly desirable for families, so you don't have to worry about that. Not everyone considers cities to be places for their own family, but Minneapolis definitely has a huge contingent of city-dwelling families with kids. It's a vibrant, progressive city and your first impression of Bryn Mawr was right on target.

As far as buying vs. renting, no one has a crystal ball. If you are certain you'll only be here a couple of years, there's nothing wrong with renting. I think renting gets a bad rap for some reason. You should have no problem finding a renovated older house to rent.

From my experience, many current sellers who can't get their homes sold are offering them for rent, often at steep discount off what you'd pay in a mortgage. On example with which I am personally familiar was a $400k sale price that they would rent for $1500 ($1000+ per month less than a mortgage payment would be). This was in the Tangletown neighborhood. At that rate, why would someone buy, especially in your situation?

However, you may just love Minneapolis so much that you'll stay.

[Ben Around]

As others have said, consider Highland Park in St Paul. Other neighborhoods in this end of the city where you'll find what you describe are Macalester-Groveland, St Anthony Park, Merriam Park (west of Snelling is better) and Desnoyer Park.

My neighborhood in Highland has a great mix of ages: Next door 4 kids, across the street empty nesters, across from them, a couple in their 60s, behind me a single mom with a 12 year old, across from her a childless couple in their 50s, likewise kitty-corner, next door 2 kids, behind them, 4 kids.... Commuting to downtown Mpls is a breeze from our neighborhood, your choice of express bus to downtown or a quick bus ride to the light rail station. Either way, about 20 minutes in rush hour. We can walk to several coffee shops (less than 1 mile): 1 Starbucks, 2 Caribous (a local chain) and 4 local independents. Highland has a lower crime rate than many TC suburbs. Taxes are higher but you get what you pay for.

[Camden Northsider]

Hi Garden Poet, Bryn Mawr is a great area - the home values are a little inflated so you might be paying more for less house than what you could get in other areas. If you guys are checking out Bryn Mawr area, hop on the Theo Wirth Parkway, go north, and drive around streets/ neighborhoods in close proximity. The homes and streets around both Theo Wirth and Victory Memorial Parkway are beautiful older homes that have a humble stateliness about them - in good neighborhoods with a good mix of ages and people - this is less urban than some of the other neighborhoods mentioned (Whittier, Uptown, Elliot Park, even Northeast), so there is a slower pace here in the city but still very convenient to everything like Bryn Mawr (and close to suburban amenities in Robbinsdale and Brookdale shopping areas). Good schools and a lot of avid gardeners in the area (some neighborhoods have annual 'contests' for categories like 'best secret garden', etc.)

If you find something on the Northern part of Victory Memorial Parkway, or towards the 44th block in Victory neighborhood - you'll be within walking distance to SteamWorks, an award-winning, local family-owned coffee shop (won best in twin cities a few years back). You'll also be close by Papa's Pizza, locally owned (I think by a new jersey transplant) pizzeria that is awesome as well. Not to mention Emily's Family Restaurant, a great place to stroll to for sunday morning breakfast.

Homes in/ around the parkway areas keep resale as well. Good luck with your search-

[gardenpoet]

Thanks to everyone for your advice & insight! I can do some more targeted looking now, plus, after thinking about it for a while, I think I am more concerned about my day to day quality of life than making money on my home (not that I want to lose any, but I think you know what I mean). I want to look for a diverse, reasonably safe, urban neighborhood that I can call home for the next few years.
I'm pretty excited about this move; Mpls. seems like a great city. I was impressed by how clean everything was, all the museums and parks and lakes, the bungalow & craftsman style architecture (not much of that in the Southeast). I get the sense that the city is more progressive and less conservative than I am accustomed to, also a plus.
Anyhow, thanks again!