neighborhoods in corvallis (Albany, Lebanon, Philomath: for sale, crime, houses)

[ekp212]

Can anyone tell me about different neighborhoods in Corvallis - is there much difference between different areas and does student housing tend to be clustered around the campus? We are an out-of-state family with 5 children, several teens, trying to find the right area to hunt for a house.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by ekp212

Can anyone tell me about different neighborhoods in Corvallis - is there much difference between different areas and does student housing tend to be clustered around the campus? We are an out-of-state family with 5 children, several teens, trying to find the right area to hunt for a house.

Witham Hill and the subdivisions north of Walnut Blvd. were the more expensive areas when I lived there. South Corvallis (south of Mary's River) has historically been more affordable but it still has many nicer areas. Basically, homes on "the flat" -- the level part of Corvallis on a rectilinear street grid -- will be more affordable and anything in the hills with a view will be more. Corvallis really doesn't have any bad sections, IMO. That's one of the best things about it. Student housing is mostly clustered around the campus, yes.

P.S. We also lived for several years in rural Benton County about 9 miles southwest of Corvallis. Despite being relatively close in, I'd have to say in retrospect that the great thing about living in Corvallis is living IN Corvallis...especially if you have kids. If you live in town, your kids will be able to safely get anywhere they need to go on bicycle (there are bike lanes everywhere). Outlying areas near the city aren't much different from outlying areas anywhere else in Oregon.

[DavePautsch]

ekp212,
Let me echo what Steve said, there really aren't any bad areas in Corvallis. Overall crime is fairly low. I used to teach at OSU (I retired about a year ago), and have some familiarity with the student housing. While there does tend to be a cluster around campus, it does spread out fairly wide.
Upper NW corner of Corvallis (Timberhill) is one of the most expensive sections with some beautiful houses. One of the few places you can actually get a slightly larger lot. SW Corvallis does have some slight stigma and is not as desirable as other parts (but there is nothing wrong with it particularly). New housing developments going on there as well.
In Corvallis, its all about your price range. It is significantly more expensive (anywhere between 155 and 200 per square foot) than in some of the outlying areas. Albany new construction runs between 130 and 155 per square foot, while Lebanon is even slightly below that.
There are limited opportunities for houses with acreage, although they do exist, but can be pretty spendy in Linn and Benton Counties. Take a close look at the tax rates as well.
Here is a link to the Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service statistics page. Its open to everyone and you can find info on tax rates and on the housing prices over the past 5 years or so there: http://www.wvmls.com/stats.htm (broken link). 5 years ago when we moved here, as I said I was going to be teaching at OSU in the NROTC program. We began our house search in Corvallis and ended up in Albany. We have been thankful many times over for that decision.
If you need any additional info, please feel free to get in touch with me.

Dave

[ekp212]

I keep seeing references to power outtages in Corvallis and read one response from someone who said that they had fewer outtages after moving to Albany.

Is this a problem specific to Corvallis or Oregon and why - wind? trees? Do the outtages last long? My husband is telecommutes so power is essential to his livelihood.

[localyocal]

ekp212
The last two post are really accurate about Corvallis. The problem with living to close to the campus is petty theft. Saw a lot of car break-ins and things stole from the front yard in those neighborhoods. Couple of real good neighborhoods are located around Garfield and 17th St. The neighborhood around the Hospital isn't too bad either, look in the area of Satinwood, Walnut and 9th. Lots of new housing around the 53rd and Philomath Blvd. area. The town of Philomath butts right up to Corvallis on the Westside and is less than 10 minutes from downtown Corvallis. They are building like mad out there.
As for the power outages, I am always surprised when I hear that they lost power in the area. I lived in the coast range west of there for years where you would think power would constantly go out, but it seems like Corvallis has some kind of problem that they can't fix. The power doesn't stay out for long though.

Hope this helps...

[Dogaholic]

After a lot of research, my husband and I visited Corvallis last weekend, and both really liked the area. We met with a realtor who explained the four quadrants (NW, SE, etc.) and set us up with an online Property Wizard. Unfortunately, virtually all of the houses we've found ($300,000 and under) built anywhere between 1920 and 1980, have not been updated--at all! We have already updated two houses (Denver, CO and Bellevue, WA) so understand how expensive it is...Should we expect that we'll have to update and/or renovate in Corvallis? Our preference is an older bungalow style, but we are willing to be flexible with the style and year built, as long as the house has some character—we don't want another rectangle, or a "cookie cutter" style built in a newer subdivision. Thanks!

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Dogaholic

After a lot of research, my husband and I visited Corvallis last weekend, and both really liked the area. We met with a realtor who explained the four quadrants (NW, SE, etc.) and set us up with an online Property Wizard. Unfortunately, virtually all of the houses we've found ($300,000 and under) built anywhere between 1920 and 1980, have not been updated--at all! We have already updated two houses (Denver, CO and Bellevue, WA) so understand how expensive it is...Should we expect that we'll have to update and/or renovate in Corvallis? Our preference is an older bungalow style, but we are willing to be flexible with the style and year built, as long as the house has some character—we don't want another rectangle, or a "cookie cutter" style built in a newer subdivision. Thanks!

If you want to be under $300k in Corvallis, then yes...I'd expect to renovate. The average home price is around $260,000 or so there.

[Zombiestare]

I suppose it depends on the size of the house and what you consider to be a reno.

Over the last few months there have been a slight handful of older homes in a bungalow style that have been updated and under $300k. A historical $295k, and two smaller bungalows ~230k. They were move in ready - but not with the most updated kitchens or bathrooms. And I don't believe the basements were done. They were all downtown as well.

Other than those, most of the homes <300 have been big project homes. There have been a handful of beautifully updated homes ~350 though.

Redfin is a good tool to see whats going on.

[Dogaholic]

Thanks for your quick replies! I just saw a gorgeous home built in 1930 for sale in Philomath for under $300K. We didn't visit there during our initial trip so will need to look into it. I understand it has a more rural feel (?) which would be a good alternative if we can't afford an older home in Corvallis. (We have 2 dogs now, but are hoping to foster senior dogs in the future.) We are willing to be to be flexible with this smove, but aren't willing to be "house poor."

[GeorgiaTransplant]

Originally Posted by Dogaholic

Thanks for your quick replies! I just saw a gorgeous home built in 1930 for sale in Philomath for under $300K. We didn't visit there during our initial trip so will need to look into it. I understand it has a more rural feel (?) which would be a good alternative if we can't afford an older home in Corvallis. (We have 2 dogs now, but are hoping to foster senior dogs in the future.) We are willing to be to be flexible with this smove, but aren't willing to be "house poor."

I lived in Philomath for several years. It's fairly small (several thousand people) and was a timber-oriented community. Many of the mills have closed and the timber orientation isn't gone, but it's much weaker. It is a convenient bedroom community to Corvallis, and I really enjoyed my time there.

It's pretty close to Corvallis, on a good road. Corvallis is close enough that kids in or near high school can bike there on weekends (with a completely separate bike path from the road), but it is 5 or 6 miles.

Now, fair warning. Big rumor still gets circulated: move to Philomath, your kid gets free college. Here's the truth:

School system *used* to be associated with a scholarship. Basically, a highly philanthropic timber guy set up a very large fund due to some assistance Philomath gave him in getting his business running and very successful. If you were a "graduate" of Philomath High, you got the equivalent of whatever OSU tuition was while you were in college, no matter where you went to college or what your major was.

The predictable happened: the requirement was Philomath graduate. So we got several students "moving" to Philomath for 3 months in the last quarter of senior year. They began ratcheting down, adding number of years of residence as a requirement, and eventually it all disintegrated: huge controversy between what the timber guy's family thought was an appropriate direction of the school and the school administration (I'm not going to comment on who was right or wrong, or what the controversy was-it was just ugly), so bad they completely changed the tone of the scholarship. Don't move there and expect your children to qualify anymore except under some very restrictive college majors, e.g. mining or forestry. Watch "Clear Cut", a documentary, for a complete explanation.