Home prices in Camden? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: bank owned, foreclosures, rental) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

wil45 · 05-25-2008, 06:49 PM

Why are they all over the board? Anywhere from 45,000-180,000+ on similar blocks. Is this typical of other neighborhoods in Mpls?

Cruz Azul Guy · 05-25-2008, 10:18 PM

There are similar blocks in Near North and Powderhorn. When the housing stock is from the early 1900's you are going to find well maintained houses alongside delapidated ones.

Chewie · 05-26-2008, 06:59 AM

If you actually toured several homes in different price ranges in Camden, you would find the less expensive homes are generally foreclosures that are going to need some work. The more expensive homes are generally owner occupied homes that are in much better condition and have not been abused.

I live in the area and I have met a lot of folks who are buying the foreclosed properties and fixing them up as they feel they are good buys and will go back up in value.

Also, the City of Minneapolis is offering a program called Minneapolis Advantage to provide $10,000 of down payment assistance to any owner occupant of any income who is willing to purchase either a foreclosed home or a home on a block with a foreclosure in impacted neighborhoods (not in all neighborhoods), and the $10,000 will be forgiven in I think 5 years as long as you live in the house. The City would like to see the homes owner occupied, and not made into rental properties. Some of the Camden area neighborhoods, such as Webber Camden, Folwell, and McKinley are offering an additional $4,000 of down payment assistance, so I know of folks getting into houses for less than $100k that need some work but will be great when they are done.

So literally - if you want to do it yourself - buy a foreclosure. If you want one that's all done - buy one done - lots of choices and the down payment money that may apply (up to $14k in some cases) is a real bonus

Hope this is helpful.

nick is rulz · 05-26-2008, 10:10 AM

I looked at one in Folwell for $36k. Didnt need that much work (all cosmetic) and it passed all inspections. Too small though.

The people who are trying to sell their houses for $180k are most likely owner occupants who think they should sell now or need to sell now and expect to get what an appraiser says the place is worth. Those will be the properties that dont get sold.

MNNative · 05-26-2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chewie

If you actually toured several homes in different price ranges in Camden, you would find the less expensive homes are generally foreclosures that are going to need some work. The more expensive homes are generally owner occupied homes that are in much better condition and have not been abused.

I live in the area and I have met a lot of folks who are buying the foreclosed properties and fixing them up as they feel they are good buys and will go back up in value.

I'll ditto this. It's no secret my husband and I have been looking for some INEXPENSIVE housing. Every property we viewed (in Camden at least) was a bank owned/foreclosure. Surprisingly though, quite a few of the homes we found had little to no improvements necessary...aside from what my eye saw (I'm very particular and LOVE design/decorating). Then again, we encountered some that were a little more than we bargained for.

For us, the fact the prices varied made it even more exciting to get a home in that area. If we find a home for $130k (or less!), after making it livable (could be paint, could be more) and it no longer being branded a foreclosure it all of a sudden is worth more (maybe not as much as some of the homes...but an increase non-the-less) than hey! Sounds like something worth looking into!

We were pretty particular in the sub-neighborhoods we looked at too though...that may have something to do with pricing as well.

P.S. What I noticed was that if you look at Mpls's property info, they're assessing the homes at what they were worth prior to the "boom" (you have to actually click on valuation something or other to see the years past assessments and the 2008 assessment)...so that gave us a little better idea of what the house is really worth (brought up to par). It's not 100% but it's a place to start.

nick is rulz · 05-26-2008, 11:12 PM

I think the stock in general will probably slowly increase in value (even as the market continues to tank) because people will start to filter back in to the city. Gas isnt gonna get cheaper.

golfgal · 05-27-2008, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

I think the stock in general will probably slowly increase in value (even as the market continues to tank) because people will start to filter back in to the city. Gas isnt gonna get cheaper.

Maybe, maybe not. Not everyone in MN works 'in the city' and everyone I know that lives in the 'city' works in the suburbs so the converse could be true as well, they will move from the city to the burbs to save on gas.

nick is rulz · 05-27-2008, 08:48 AM

Yeah except the vast majority of suburban dwellers work in the city and commute on a daily basis and not the opposite.

rcsteiner · 05-27-2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

Yeah except the vast majority of suburban dwellers work in the city and commute on a daily basis and not the opposite.

I worked for four different companies while living in the Twin Cities suburbs, and none of those companies were located in Minneapolis or in St. Paul. Three of them were suburban, and one was in a town completely outside the Twin Cities metro (Owatonna). Yes, I had a 120-mile daily commute in the last case (actually 119 and change), but unemployed people will sometimes take almost anything to make ends meet.

My wife also worked for three different companies while we lived up there, and all three were in the suburbs.

I seriously question your assumption. Many large and small companies have their offices in the suburbs, not in the core cities.

Same here in Atlanta, BTW. My wife and I live in a suburb and commute to offices in a suburb. Downtown Atlanta doesn't enter into the equation at all.

Thegonagle · 05-27-2008, 03:42 PM

Although it is true that many large companies have headquarters in the suburbs, and that there are jobs all over, something like 120,000 people work downtown, maybe even more. (I've seen an estimate of as many as 160,000 downtown workers in the MN-Daily.)

Properties within the city and inner-ring suburbs have been, and will continue to be more and more attractive to downtown workers as gas prices increase. The downtown areas and nearby areas also tend to be the first beneficiaries of new transit options such as light-rail, and possibly, the return of a street-car system, further increasing their desirability.