Looking for suggestions on areas for a starter home in South Minneapolis (St. Paul: bank owned)

[ltkenbo]

So my wife and I currently live in an apartment in Bloomington (I work in Chanhassen). So we're starting to think about getting a home maybe in a year or so and are starting to research different areas. We like Minneapolis, and would like to live in the South somewhere (as to stay somewhat close to my work). Here is some of the criteria we are looking for:

-South Minneapolis somewhere
- Not a townhome or condo
-At least 2 bedrooms
-Basement
-At least 1 car garage
-Safe (I understand there is more crime in the city but I don't want anywhere shady or with a high level of crime).
-Would be nice if it was within a couple blocks of restaurants, cafes or bars (one reason we are thinking about moving into Minneapolis), things to do like that.
- < $160K

Hopefully there are some places that fit this criteria and price point, let me know what you think. Thanks!

[rzzzz]

A lot of houses like that in lake nokomis area. Main problem is airport noise.

[Glenfield]

Kenny, Armitage, and Kingfield are your best bets west of 35W, but I would just input your criteria into one of the real estate MLS sites and take a look at the listings.

[scottbia]

Dear ITKENBO

I have house for sale in S MPLS. It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1+ car garage. Listed with Edina Realty, address is 4516 41st Ave S. The house is tight although for instance the bathroom is out of date but fully functional with a tub and shower. I will give you the high points of my house and my neighbor hood. I had a new roof on house in 2011, new roof on garage 2014. New high efficiency furnace in 2009, new gas range 2009. It has central heat and air on natural gas. The basement is decent with lots of storage and there is a nice enclosed shed connected to my house. The garage has a small work bench area and a parking spot next to it . For the neighborhood I have a large backyard. The neighborhood is great. No real issues. Some people exaggerate there proximity to things but my house is about 4.5 short blocks to the 46th street light rail station (minneapolis blocks are a lot longer north to south vs east to west, that's why I say 'short blocks' E to W). You can pull your luggage to the light rail to go to the airport. You can walk to minnehaha falls in about 7 minutes crossing one moderately busy street. The nearest bar is a block beyond the light rail to the west. In the summer the Sea Salt restaurant at Minnehaha falls has alcohol and very good food. The park also has free music 3 nights a week in the summer and numerous events and runs, etc. There is a snap fitness 3 blocks away, Walgreens 4 blocks away. Burger King, Domino's, Subway, Crystal Garden Chinese, DQ, Bridgemans, holiday gas in the same area. Your about 1.5 miles from the Highland Village in St. Paul with numerous bars, restaurants and shops and nice chains like chipoltle, noodles, leann chins. More bars and restaurants are on Minnehaha Ave. Although not walking distance there is the Blue door, River view Theater and Turtle Bread Co. accessible by bike or about a 6 minute drive in my neighborhood. If you like to bike I live in a great spot. A node with access to the river, minehaha creek, lake nokomis, fort snelling and beyond. Numerous 5, 8 and 10 mile loops can be had with less than 2 blocks riding on the road. The final thing I'll say is that there are bus stops less than 2 blocks away that serve downtown st. paul and excel center (74) and snelling (84) which serves the midway area, state fair grounds, and roseville mall and about a 2 blocks on the south side of Lake Harriet (46). These also serve highland village. There are a couple of other buses that serve highland and minneapolis. My price point would be at the high end of your range. Make an Offer.

[Old Prospector]

Originally Posted by scottbia

Dear ITKENBO

I have house for sale in S MPLS. It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1+ car garage. Listed with Edina Realty, address is 4516 41st Ave S. The house is tight although for instance the bathroom is out of date but fully functional with a tub and shower. I will give you the high points of my house and my neighbor hood. I had a new roof on house in 2011, new roof on garage 2014. New high efficiency furnace in 2009, new gas range 2009. It has central heat and air on natural gas. The basement is decent with lots of storage and there is a nice enclosed shed connected to my house. The garage has a small work bench area and a parking spot next to it . For the neighborhood I have a large backyard. The neighborhood is great. No real issues. Some people exaggerate there proximity to things but my house is about 4.5 short blocks to the 46th street light rail station (minneapolis blocks are a lot longer north to south vs east to west, that's why I say 'short blocks' E to W). You can pull your luggage to the light rail to go to the airport. You can walk to minnehaha falls in about 7 minutes crossing one moderately busy street. The nearest bar is a block beyond the light rail to the west. In the summer the Sea Salt restaurant at Minnehaha falls has alcohol and very good food. The park also has free music 3 nights a week in the summer and numerous events and runs, etc. There is a snap fitness 3 blocks away, Walgreens 4 blocks away. Burger King, Domino's, Subway, Crystal Garden Chinese, DQ, Bridgemans, holiday gas in the same area. Your about 1.5 miles from the Highland Village in St. Paul with numerous bars, restaurants and shops and nice chains like chipoltle, noodles, leann chins. More bars and restaurants are on Minnehaha Ave. Although not walking distance there is the Blue door, River view Theater and Turtle Bread Co. accessible by bike or about a 6 minute drive in my neighborhood. If you like to bike I live in a great spot. A node with access to the river, minehaha creek, lake nokomis, fort snelling and beyond. Numerous 5, 8 and 10 mile loops can be had with less than 2 blocks riding on the road. The final thing I'll say is that there are bus stops less than 2 blocks away that serve downtown st. paul and excel center (74) and snelling (84) which serves the midway area, state fair grounds, and roseville mall and about a 2 blocks on the south side of Lake Harriet (46). These also serve highland village. There are a couple of other buses that serve highland and minneapolis. My price point would be at the high end of your range. Make an Offer.

Pro tip: Using paragraphs will sell you more homes!

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Kenny, Armitage, and Kingfield are your best bets west of 35W, but I would just input your criteria into one of the real estate MLS sites and take a look at the listings.

We just sold and bought a home in this area so I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on current prices and availability. I would say that the chances of finding a move-in ready home with the OP's criteria and under 160k in any neighborhoods in Southwest including Kenny, Armitrage, Kingfield would be pretty close to zero. If you do see one pop up, you'd want to jump on it immediately as it is an extremely desirable area to live in. I just ran an MLS search with the OP's requirements and only found 3 homes on the west side of 35W. The first house was in the Lyndale neighborhood and it's bank owned. The 2nd is in Kenny and is a short-sale with needed TLC and the 3rd is is in Armitrage, also bank-owned and also appears to need work. So, long story short, you're probably going to want to shift your search into more affordable neighborhoods.

My suggestion - focus on the Longfellow and Nokomis areas. I found 12-16 houses in each of those areas in your range. I'm guessing several of those are fixer-uppers but there are probably a couple that are move-in ready. Both of those areas are low-crime and close to amenities.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

We just sold and bought a home in this area so I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on current prices and availability. I would say that the chances of finding a move-in ready home with the OP's criteria and under 160k in any neighborhoods in Southwest including Kenny, Armitrage, Kingfield would be pretty close to zero. If you do see one pop up, you'd want to jump on it immediately as it is an extremely desirable area to live in. I just ran an MLS search with the OP's requirements and only found 3 homes on the west side of 35W. The first house was in the Lyndale neighborhood and it's bank owned. The 2nd is in Kenny and is a short-sale with needed TLC and the 3rd is is in Armitrage, also bank-owned and also appears to need work. So, long story short, you're probably going to want to shift your search into more affordable neighborhoods.

My suggestion - focus on the Longfellow and Nokomis areas. I found 12-16 houses in each of those areas in your range. I'm guessing several of those are fixer-uppers but there are probably a couple that are move-in ready. Both of those areas are low-crime and close to amenities.

You are right. I missed the 160k requirement. Nokomis and Longfellow are good suggestions.