Working @ Sentry Insurance, Living in or Near Stevens Point (Milwaukee: real estate, rent)

[scedmathes]

Thinking about making this move if things work out. Any thoughts out there? Anybody know what Sentry Insurance is like to work at? I'm an IT professional. How about living in Stevens Point or nearby? No kids for school concerns either. Any suggestions on waterfront property or just good advise about this idea?

Thanks everybody!!

[Drover]

It might be easier to answer your question if you gave us a little bit of info about where you live now and/or where you've lived in the past so we have some basis of comparison. For instance, an answer would probably require a little more detail if you grew up in San Diego versus, say, Wynona Minnesota.

I can tell you this much: waterfront property is quite expensive in Wisconsin. Lakefront property is more so than riverfront property, though even riverfront property is pretty pricey if it's a navigable river and especially if it connects to a nearby lake flowage area. Lots of people from Chicago and Milwaukee have bought up waterfront property for weekend/summer homes and that has really jacked up prices.

[scedmathes]

Thanks Drover. Right now I live in the western part of NJ, very rural area (yes, all of NJ doesn't look like the opening of the Sopranos....LOL). About a 2hr commute (if all goes well, which is a 50/50 shot at best, into NYC). I have lived in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Yardley, Pa., but might be ready for the mid-west at this point.

Home prices in NJ are through the roof as well as property taxes and insurance. What I can get for $400,000 in the Stevens Point/Portage County area versus what that will get me in western, NJ is vastly different.

This is a big move for my wife and I (if things work out) so I'm trying to find out as much as possible about the area as well as Sentry Insurance.

Thanks for any further help/advise.

[ekg56]

My daughter in law grew up along Lake Dubay. It is about 10 minutes north of Stevens Point. I know there is a condo development going up along Lake Dubay. Waterfront homes in the southern part of Marathon county about 10 miles north of Stevens Point start at around 450,000 and go up to a million.
My cousin works at Sentry and likes it. She has been there for over 20 years.
Good luck.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by scedmathes

Thanks Drover. Right now I live in the western part of NJ, very rural area (yes, all of NJ doesn't look like the opening of the Sopranos....LOL). About a 2hr commute (if all goes well, which is a 50/50 shot at best, into NYC). I have lived in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Yardley, Pa., but might be ready for the mid-west at this point.

OK, so it sounds like you've pretty much run the gamut. Stevens Point will be more like where you live now than the other places you've listed. It's a small city of about 25K (I'm sure you already know that) and it's the biggest thing for miles around. That said, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities are within convenient day-tripping distance. (Well, the Twin Cities might be more of a weekend-trip distance away). It is a college town but it does not have the liberal/artsy college atmosphere that major college towns like Madison, Ithaca, Ann Arbor, and the like. Aside from the usual run-down student housing found in any college town, SP is very clean. That's something you'll come to learn about many Wisconsin medium-sized towns and small cities: they are impeccably, almost suspiciously, clean and tidy. There is virtually zero serious crime in SP.

Home prices in NJ are through the roof as well as property taxes and insurance. What I can get for $400,000 in the Stevens Point/Portage County area versus what that will get me in western, NJ is vastly different.

That vast difference vastly shrinks once you start talking about waterfront property. That modest but well-kept little 3-bedroom ranch that you can pick up in the middle of town for around $100K suddenly becomes $250-300K if you put it on a halfway decent body of water. Furthermore, Wisconsin is not known for its forgiving property tax rates either. Maybe not as bad as New Jersey, but it's not chump change either -- especially if you're waterfront. I don't mean to discourage you, I just want to give you a heads-up of what you can expect and help align your expectations with reality. A lot of people shop around Wisconsin from the coasts thinking that because the state is in the middle of nowhere, they can pick up prime real estate for pennies on the dollar compared to where they live now. Sorry to report, everyone from Chicago/Milwaukee/Twin Cities already did that decades ago.

[scedmathes]

Thanks for the further info. It really helps. I figure that I'm good for a half hour to 45 minute commute so my choices are pretty open about where to actually live if I work at Sentry. Anything about commuting or traffic patterns I should know if I do start house hunting?

It's funny how Relocate-America lists SP as one of it's top 10 places in the U.S. to live, but you look at Money Mags top 100 and SP isn't even listed.

Waterfront property isn't a definite but at least an acre with a decent home (around 2,500 sq.ft.) is where we'd probably look. My house in NJ is about 2300 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 2 car garage, basement and 1.33 acres paid $349,900 in Aug., 2002 (new construction), probably sell for between $400K and $415K. Taxes for this lovely place $10K a year.

I'd like to spend no more than $300K in the ares we'd be talking about so it sounds as if I'd have plenty to look at. Possibly even rent the first year, get to know the area and buy an acre or two and have a house built. Sound possible from what you guys know, all for around $300K? How is house value dropping in that area relative to the rest of the U.S.............hope you don't mind keeping this dialogue going, I really appreciate the insight though.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by scedmathes

Thanks for the further info. It really helps. I figure that I'm good for a half hour to 45 minute commute so my choices are pretty open about where to actually live if I work at Sentry. Anything about commuting or traffic patterns I should know if I do start house hunting?

It's funny how Relocate-America lists SP as one of it's top 10 places in the U.S. to live, but you look at Money Mags top 100 and SP isn't even listed.

Waterfront property isn't a definite but at least an acre with a decent home (around 2,500 sq.ft.) is where we'd probably look. My house in NJ is about 2300 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 2 car garage, basement and 1.33 acres paid $349,900 in Aug., 2002 (new construction), probably sell for between $400K and $415K. Taxes for this lovely place $10K a year.

I'd like to spend no more than $300K in the ares we'd be talking about so it sounds as if I'd have plenty to look at. Possibly even rent the first year, get to know the area and buy an acre or two and have a house built. Sound possible from what you guys know, all for around $300K? How is house value dropping in that area relative to the rest of the U.S.............hope you don't mind keeping this dialogue going, I really appreciate the insight though.

If you're willing to forgo being on the waterfront, you should be able to get a decent home with an acre of land within your price range. Up to a 45-minute commute gives you HUGE leeway --basically a 35 to 40 mile radius around the entire city. Traffic is simply not an issue in the area. There is no such thing as "rush hour." Once you're outside of the city, it's highway speeds with few interruptions, no matter what time of day. You're more likely to hit a deer than encounter a traffic jam. Even driving from one side of the city itself to the other is no more than a 10 to 15-minute undertaking during the absolute busiest times. The possible exceptions are major summer holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day) when I-39 and even some of the back highways get packed with city weekenders. Traffic still usually moves, but it gets quite thick.

As for property taxes, I don't think you're going to catch much of a break. With the caveat that things are different from place to place across the state, my ex in-laws had a home in a Milwaukee collar county that was evaluated at $450,000. Their annual tax bill was $14,000. But here's one big difference between property taxes in Wisconsin (outside of Milwaukee anyway) versus just about anywhere on the East Coast: when you look around, it becomes crystal clear that compared to back east, your taxes are actually buying you something. You have clean parks and recreation areas, nice libraries, crime under control, generally good schools, a well-maintained infrastructure, et cetera.

[Drover]

Here is a good example of what you can get for less than 300K in the area: 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3.5 acres, 3500sqft, updated interior, $4600/yr county assessment (town assessment was not available online) based on an assessed value of $215K, a value that will surely rise when it's reassessed pursuant to sale.

To get more more and better pictures, enter the MLS number (706884) in the "Instant Search" field at the top of the page.

[ekg56]

I live about 20 minutes north of Stevens Point. You will be able to find a nice house in the $300,000 range. An acre or 2 can cost around 30,000-40,000. Taxes aren't as high as Milwaukee. My cousin has a house on the WI river, she built it 3 years ago and her taxes are about $6000 a year.
Houses are still selling well here. We had 3 houses sell this past spring in our cul de sac, two went for the asking price and one went for $4000 more. But these homes were all priced at around $150,000 or less.
My daughter graduated from UWSP in the spring. It is a nice town. Plover, which is just south of Point is booming. Lots of new stores and restaurants are being built.
We moved here from Chicago 20 years ago and love it. We zip down to Milwaukee, in about 3 hours or Madison in a little less then 2. We also hit the Twin Cities for the day. It takes about 3.5 hours to drive over there.
Good luck!

[scedmathes]

Ekg,

What area of Sentry does your cousin work in? I am an I/T guy so and I hear that they are investing in I/T. That's the area where I am most interested in understanding what it is like to work there.

Drover/Ekg - Any town inparticular you would recommend to look to live in if I'm willing to do a 30 - 45 minute commute? And why? Kind of like convenience of big retailers (Supermarkets, nice mall, Lowe's or Home Depot, Best Buy or Circuit City, Target, Barnes and Nobles, etc..., I'm sure you get the picture). 15 - 20 mins away is fine as well.

Thanks again and I hope you don't mind all the questions.