Late 20s couple- from Bham (Germantown, Smyrna: 2015, apartments, crime)

[brentwoodgirl]

Originally Posted by Rusty1234

Thanks for the great info! You mentioned your friends used to live there. When did they move away from there? During the boom the last couple years? Did they have any problem selling their house?

We've had multiple sets of friends who lived in Crieve Hall and to the best of my knowledge, none of them had any trouble selling their houses.

[key2success]

OP you wont miss nothing at all downtown after you been there a few times....Downtown is for the tourist except on special days when extra stuff is going on


and with a 575k budget i would buy 2-3 houses in east nashville or near downtown. Put a little money into it and flip it easily, then move. or even buy low in antioch even though it isnt a pleasant place to stay but you will make a nice profit because houses are selling and you would be a millionaire instantly

[Hey_Hey]

Crieve Hall is great. It is not a walkable part of town. For the most part you'll be driving for everything. It is a short (<10 minute) drive to Green Hills and Maryland Farms and is immediately north of retail along Old hickory Blvd east of I-65. Houses run the the mid to high 300s for the most part and will generally be 3/2's with around 1750-2250 sq feet. It is possibly the most competitive housing market in Nashville because it is still affordable and close to everything. I know lots of Vanderbilt medical residents/fellows, nurses, lipscomb professors, teachers, etc. live there. The two schools elementary schools are really good (Granberry and Crieve Hall).

I wouldn't completely rule out the duplexes. The thing about the duplexes is that, in general, the locations are amazing. Above all, location is the most important factor when someone decides where to live. I think the 2 on 1 lots will do just fine going forward. There is no difference in quality of construction between them and a new single family house. I would absolutely recommend that you at least look at few. They are, generally, very nice with lots of craftsmen touches. These will be walkable. There are plenty available in 12South, Sylvan Park, Green Hills, Edgehill, Germantown, east Nashville that are within a 5 minute walk of several restaurants, shops, etc. There are several new ones in Edgehill that have TREMENDOUS views of downtown. Many of these homes are now starting in the high 500s or even 600s. There are two that are being built adjacent to our house that are listed for $620,000, but they have 15 foot every ceilings and rooftop decks with views of midtown.

If you are into ranches you could also consider parts of Forest Hills and Oak Hill. They generally are going to start in the 600s and run up to the 900s, but you can sometimes find a fixer that you could get some immediate equity out of. You're neighbor's house in those areas can very easily be a $2 million house. Forest Hills and Oak Hill are kind of like mountain brook in Birmingham.

[Rusty1234]

Originally Posted by key2success

OP you wont miss nothing at all downtown after you been there a few times....Downtown is for the tourist except on special days when extra stuff is going on


and with a 575k budget i would buy 2-3 houses in east nashville or near downtown. Put a little money into it and flip it easily, then move. or even buy low in antioch even though it isnt a pleasant place to stay but you will make a nice profit because houses are selling and you would be a millionaire instantly

I Appreciate the feedback. Yes I agree with you that much of downtown is for the tourist. We've been there enough over the years to agree with that's statement, but there are so many non-chain restaurants and hangouts in midtown, 12 south, etc. that we hate to miss out on. So much of Franklin seems like "generic America" that it's hard to say that we would be experiencing Nashville. I don't live there yet so I could be totally wrong with that statement, but you can always live in chain restaurantville, but you can't always have the opportunity for the other offerings in the downtown general facinity.

[Rusty1234]

Originally Posted by Hey_Hey

Crieve Hall is great. It is not a walkable part of town. For the most part you'll be driving for everything. It is a short (<10 minute) drive to Green Hills and Maryland Farms and is immediately north of retail along Old hickory Blvd east of I-65. Houses run the the mid to high 300s for the most part and will generally be 3/2's with around 1750-2250 sq feet. It is possibly the most competitive housing market in Nashville because it is still affordable and close to everything. I know lots of Vanderbilt medical residents/fellows, nurses, lipscomb professors, teachers, etc. live there. The two schools elementary schools are really good (Granberry and Crieve Hall).

I wouldn't completely rule out the duplexes. The thing about the duplexes is that, in general, the locations are amazing. Above all, location is the most important factor when someone decides where to live. I think the 2 on 1 lots will do just fine going forward. There is no difference in quality of construction between them and a new single family house. I would absolutely recommend that you at least look at few. They are, generally, very nice with lots of craftsmen touches. These will be walkable. There are plenty available in 12South, Sylvan Park, Green Hills, Edgehill, Germantown, east Nashville that are within a 5 minute walk of several restaurants, shops, etc. There are several new ones in Edgehill that have TREMENDOUS views of downtown. Many of these homes are now starting in the high 500s or even 600s. There are two that are being built adjacent to our house that are listed for $620,000, but they have 15 foot every ceilings and rooftop decks with views of midtown.

If you are into ranches you could also consider parts of Forest Hills and Oak Hill. They generally are going to start in the 600s and run up to the 900s, but you can sometimes find a fixer that you could get some immediate equity out of. You're neighbor's house in those areas can very easily be a $2 million house. Forest Hills and Oak Hill are kind of like mountain brook in Birmingham.

What a write up!! Thanks for taking the time to do that. Yes we could probably buy a couple rentals or flippers and live in Antioch, but that's not exactly our priority right now due to a few reasons. One thing you brought up of interest was Edgehill. What's your thoughts on that? Some very nice houses are going up there, but several of them are right across from what appears to be "crack houses." Excuse my frankness. Do they really merit $600k plus?

Additionally, yes our ideal location is a nice house around lipscomb, OH, or GH, but it seems more and more like $550k gets you a hair above fixer upper. That's a tough pill to swallow. We aren't picky by any means but geesh.

[Hey_Hey]

Edgehill is a large geographic area and there are some areas that are less "transitioned." 12th Ave runs through the middle. The eastern border is I-65, the western border is 16th Ave (Music Row), northern border is I-40, and the southern border is Wedgewood. At Edgehill Ave and 12th Ave you'll find Edgehill Homes which are public housing. Obviously you won't be living there. In general, as you move away from that the areas get much better. That would include areas along Music Row (Villa Pl, 15th Ave, 14th Ave) and areas toward Wedgewood. There is a very rapidly developing area between 16th and 12th and north of South street that is incredibly close to the Gulch and Demonbreun Hill. There are also a slew of new townhomes being built on Archer St that will possibly have the best views of Downtown anywhere in Nashville. It is the first large scale redevelopment east of 12th Ave but it should be enough of a change to really spur that entire area.

I've lived on Villa since 2012. We've never experienced any violent crime. There will be some occasional property crime (opportunistic primarily) but that has begun to really slack off as well. You can get anywhere downtown/gulch/midtown for $5 on uber/Lyft and there are always a slew of them available. We've also got a couple different bus routes that will get you downtown for $1.70 and there's the free Music City Circuit that connects downtown, the gulch and Germantown that is an easy walk from the northern extents of theneighborhood.

2 on 1's run $475,000-$625,000 list price. Houses are generally $225/sq foot if they are new or renovated. You point out that some $600,000 houses are adjacent to crack houses. By hat was literally true back pre-2005 in my immediate neighborhood. There are still some empty houses, but they are (almost without exception) tied up in family inheritance battles and don't really cause problems. I can think of three houses within a block or so that are like that. As you move toward Edgehill Homes there is a noticeable step off in prices, although it still is t cheap by most cities' standards.

Nashville has a housing shortage right now and the "affordable" housing is being built in rough areas. If you want to spend <$300,000 you have to be ok with being an urban pioneer for 5 years as neighborhood transitions. The good news is that on the other side you will really profit from that decision. Housing prices have literally doubled in my neighborhood in 5 years.

We moved from Lexington, KY, and were frustrated that in Lexington we could spend $150-200,000 on a nice 2200 sq foot house in a very nice neighborhood and $500,000 would get you into the toniest neighborhoods. That's just not the way it works here.

[Krachelle64]

Hey Rusty,

If you are looking for excitement and happenings, yes, downtown is the place to be. We have a loft downtown in Printer's Alley and really enjoying walking to all of the downtown activities.

My husband and I are quite a bit older than you and we live in Franklin. Compared to downtown Nashville, things are pretty darn slow! No real nightlife, concerts or sporting evens to enjoy. There is also no transportation linking downtown Nashville to Franklin/Brentwood so we would have to drive and attempt to find parking. By the way... you can expect to spend north of $26 - $30 dollars for downtown Nashville parking!! It has gotten VERY EXPENSIVE!!

I have sent you my contact info in your inbox with my email address if you would like more "scoop"

Good Luck:

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Krachelle64

By the way... you can expect to spend north of $26 - $30 dollars for downtown Nashville parking!! It has gotten VERY EXPENSIVE!!

It sounds like you're parking in the surface lots around Lower Broad. That's where suckers park. There are a lot of places where daily parking is $12-18. Outside of CMA Fest, you should also be able to do event parking for $8-18. While garages can be a hassle when it's busy, surface lots, especially closer to the action, really bend you over.

Park It! Downtown - The Parking Website of the Nashville Downtown Partnership

[titanspreds_04]

Originally Posted by nashvols

It sounds like you're parking in the surface lots around Lower Broad. That's where suckers park. There are a lot of places where daily parking is $12-18. Outside of CMA Fest, you should also be able to do event parking for $8-18. While garages can be a hassle when it's busy, surface lots, especially closer to the action, really bend you over.

Park It! Downtown - The Parking Website of the Nashville Downtown Partnership

Completely agree. Half of the time I park for free at LP field.

[mcredux]

If buying, it may not hurt to think about the long-term, both future and past. Williamson County was a fairly a sleepy, rural place until the 1970's, when it began to attract Nashvillians wary of crime and busing. This was the trend well up until the early 2000's.

Now, with falling crime, low interest rates, and middle-to-upper income transplants like yourself gentrifying the city, the tide is reversing. Compare appreciation rates since 2007 for Brentwood and Nashville: the latter is 2-3x higher. Narrow it down neighborhoods around West End and Belmont, it is 7-10x higher.

Those Davidson County hardiplank duplexes will likely be worth an extra $150-200k in 15 years, based primarily on the location.