Neighborhoods to avoid buying a home in Jeff City? (Columbia: section 8, real estate)

[BAMxi]

Hello! So I'll preface this by saying I'm originally born and raised in the Jeff City area, and graduated from MU in 2009 with a degree in business. I lived in JC/Columbia for my first 22 years of life, and I'm 27 now. When I graduated from MU, I took a job in KC, and moved away. Now I'm married and no longer working the job in KC that I moved here to work (I'm now self employed). I never really had any plans to move back to JC, however my family still lives there, and my wife and I are considering moving back to the area to be near family (she's from columbia) when we start to have kids.

So, this brings me to the title of my post. I've been out of the loop of what's going on in Jeff City, and never really paid that much attention to the different neighborhoods when I was growing up there. I've been looking at real estate listings and am blown away by some of the house prices available. I'm seeing houses that appear to be a little rough around the edges but livable for around $60k! Are these houses in high crime areas of town? I know there are houses in the $30k area that are in the "prison redevelopment district" which I know has always been a scary place to be, and seem to be in really bad disrepair. But does anyone know about any other areas to avoid in JC? Specifically, I'm seeing homes close to downtown near McCarty St, Riverside Dr, and Clark Ln for $60k-$95k that seem like just normal houses that would go for $200k easy up here in KC. These houses are all older homes, like most homes in the middle of JC. Probably all built from the 1920s-1950s, but some have even been completely renovated inside. Are these places where you're pretty much guaranteed a daily knife wound, car jacking, or beheading?

Is that just how much some older houses cost in JC and I had no idea? If so, a move back is seeming like a very doable thing to do. I could almost pay cash for some of these houses I've seen. No mortgage would definitely beat the $1100 per month I'm paying up here in KC!! thanks for any insights.

[ndcoop]

Housing is very affordable in JC. If I was to make a suggestion to someone wanting to buy a home in the 100k range, I would suggest the area around Memorial Park. Also, any house along the Frog Hollow Road area. Both are west of downtown a couple of miles. Homes don't last long on the market in that area. There are areas along McCarty and Clark that I would not recommend, simply because the area is not as appealing as the property to the west of downtown. It is somewhat of a hit and miss along the areas you mentioned. I would suggest contacting a Realtor and asking them some questions about the location of the homes you are interested in purchasing. Lastly, there are some areas in the Tanner Bridge Road area which are appealing. You would be talking about the area SW of JCHS. Hope this helps a little.

[julesevar]

Best bet is to drive through the neighborhoods and see what appeals to you. It is pretty clear which areas are more apartments, section 8 and areas where people don't work and areas that people do. It is a mixed bag though with some really nice old houses next to some not as well taken care of.

I used to live within walking distance to IC Church and school, East School and Save a Lot. There are some areas I would avoid, mainly west of the Intersection of High and Riverside... but even as you drive West down High Street and McCarty Street there are some nice places that are older. The area is walkable during the day, but some would not do it at night.

The area around Riverside Park seems to be pretty affordable and is safe. Not sure I would pay more than $60,000 for some of the places, but some are worth more and some less. I lived in the East End growing up and it has changed a lot, but there are some good things going on, such as the Revitalization of the Old Warwick Village. I would say that the closer you get to downtown on High and McCarty the less desirable for the most part. There are a few good things happening in the neighborhoods closer to downtown such as The Mission bar, Prison Brews restaurant and O'donahues resturant.

I don't know much about the West End of town. I currently live in a neighborhood that is called Old Munichberg and every year there is a German festival and nearby bars and taverns on Dunklin street.

I would not rule out the areas around Riverside Park. You will probably get a better deal than you would somewhere else and from what I know, it is a safe area. They even have a new trail from the park to a state building off Riverside Drive.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Jules

[Mzurie]

Munichburg up and coming, as is the area near Prison Brews, et al, on/near both High and McCarty.

Lots of opportunity (in my opinion) for good ROI in these areas, depending on how long you'll stay in JC or in that particular house.

But if you've got some relatively big money, I'd jump on a river-view house, almost regardless of where it was in JC. Part of Hayselton overlooks the river, as does Boonville and parts of the small, new subdivisions off of Boonville. But there are city-center and east-side JC houses with river views, too; I'm just not as familiar with them. ... but make sure to view these areas at night, too, as there's some light pollution from the golf range and soccer field on the north side of the river, which will affect your enjoyment.

[BAMxi]

thanks for the feedback, all!

I definitely don't have big big money, but I completely understand what you're saying about areas that overlook the river and near Memorial Park. My friend's parents had a really nice house on Boonville Rd, and they got a huge ROI when they sold it, after doing just a few improvements.

I think that's the hardest part about looking in JC is that it seems like there are nice houses right next to some not-so-nice houses, like was mentioned. I think I'll need to just drive around some areas next time I'm in town and check them out. Really my only concern is living somewhere where the neighbors/streets are quiet, and our house/cars won't get messed with. I think there are some pretty nice older homes that have been well maintained around the area, that I wouldn't mind scooping up.

I do wish there were (or were going to be) more cool spots to be downtown, because it seems like one could get a steal of a house near downtown right now. I've always liked the architecture and atmosphere of downtown JC, but for the most part, there isn't a whole lot going on down there.