buying a first house - is the bottom still to come (looking at WP or Fton)?

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buying a first house - is the bottom still to come (looking at WP or Fton)?

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Started 1 year ago by cbus11
Latest reply from lifeontwowheels

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cbus11

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I have been looking at buying a first home. I have no children so I am willing to buy into an up and coming nieghborhood. I think Franklinton or Weinland Park seem to be the best choices. I know that Wagenbrenner seems to be taking the lead with government grants in WP, I am not sure if a developer is taking an aggressive approach to Franklinton. I am wondering if now is the time to buy, or if the market is still figuring itself out (read some scary stuff on internets). Zillow is insane in WP. There are $13k houses on blocks with $$$ houses with the past housing prices looking like an EKG. I guess I am looking for someone who has more a grasp on the market and these two nieghborhoods.

Thanks for reading and any info is greatly appreciated.

Posted 1 year ago #
SusanB
Hungarian Village, Columbus' fastest growing Gayborhood!
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There are some amazing deals in Merion Village and Hungarian Village too. Just saying ;)

Posted 1 year ago #
Anne
King Lincoln
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older thread, may have some info you want.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/up-and-coming-columbus-neighborhoods

Posted 1 year ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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SusanB wrote >>
There are some amazing deals in Merion Village and Hungarian Village too. Just saying ;)

As well as further up the hill on W. Broad. I'm not quite ready to buy but I do get on and look around my 2-3 ideal neighborhoods and there are some pretty good deals in Columbus, provided you are willing to do some work and tolerate some rough patches.

Posted 1 year ago #
rory
Weinland Park in the Historic Short North
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Weinland Park is still a good deal as well as the most walkable neighborhood. The prices are wildly variable. Mortgage fraud, banks dumping houses, and gentrification have mixed up the prices on paper. You'll get a $13,000 house next to a $XXX. You really have to hit the streets here to figure out where the deal is located. And it might seem rough in spots but geographically the neighborhood is pretty small and surrounded compared to the others.

Posted 1 year ago #
labi
Weinland Park
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The Wagenbrenner/Campus Partners federal housing rehab project in Weinland Park is going to rehab about 20 houses in a really major way, then sell them for considerably below cost. If your income is in the qualifying range (I think you have to be 120% of area median income), it seems like a great way to get a lot of house for your money. If I remember correctly, construction will be starting in the next couple months, with goal of completion by spring.

There will be formal announcements about that project in the next few days - should be much more specific info available then.

Posted 1 year ago #
Matthew
Hilltop
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My partner and I have been in the North of Broad part of Highland West area for 2 years now with no problems.

A developer called Homes on the Hill has bought most of the land bank houses up here and they are doing rehabs similar to Wagenbrenner and while I don't know the exact number off hand I do know it is well above 20. Here's a link to a Homes on the Hill renovation.

http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=14290077

Posted 1 year ago #
JimSweeney
E. Fton
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cbus11 wrote >>
I have been looking at buying a first home. I have no children so I am willing to buy into an up and coming nieghborhood. I think Franklinton or Weinland Park seem to be the best choices. I know that Wagenbrenner seems to be taking the lead with government grants in WP, I am not sure if a developer is taking an aggressive approach to Franklinton. I am wondering if now is the time to buy, or if the market is still figuring itself out (read some scary stuff on internets). Zillow is insane in WP. There are $13k houses on blocks with $$$ houses with the past housing prices looking like an EKG. I guess I am looking for someone who has more a grasp on the market and these two nieghborhoods.
Thanks for reading and any info is greatly appreciated.

call me. 275-4988

Posted 1 year ago #
johnwirtz
Evanston, IL
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I think prices could still come down if interest rates were to go up. Of course, then you're just paying more interest and less principal, so it's a wash for a new buyer. That said, now is probably a great time to buy. Good luck.

Posted 1 year ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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I was talking to my neighborhood realtor yesterday - for Westgate area, we are near the bottom, since about all the homes that were foreclosed on in the main wave have either been sold or are fresh on the market. They are the houses that are a *deal* - and once those are sold, the price of the stock jumps a good bit (like $20K). We've already been thru one wave, sold off all the cheapest inventory/nicest houses, and are in the second - although he does say that the whole market just seems dead, since the end of the tax credit.

I've noticed the wildly varying prices in Westgate as well (far western edge of the Hilltop) - from the foreclosures/short sales and folks that are genuinely trying to sell, contrasting with the delusional. Seems like a common issue on the market right now, in most neighborhoods.

ETA: For Fton, definitely call Sweeney. :o)

Posted 1 year ago #
pedex

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REO's plus houses for sale plus the REO's not officially included yet and the housing market has more than 20 years of inventory at the current sales rate

bottom? not even close

Posted 1 year ago #
NOBOPatriot

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IMHO - King Lincoln, North of Broad, Olde Towne East and Woodland Park

Posted 1 year ago #
Rastapasta
Olde North
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I am not as familiar with Columbus real estate, just moving here a couple years ago -- but wasn't property a whole lot cheaper 10 years ago in any neighborhood adjacent to campus?

I am in the market in Cleveland -- at the current prices, I am ready to buy when I find "the one", but also feel no pressure to hurry because of the market. I am talking sub $50K homes here -- I think the high end homes prices will still come down further.

Here in Columbus, things move quicker though especially near campus. Weinland Park is a great location and where I would buy.

Posted 1 year ago #
myliftkk
Columbus, OH
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Maybe not up and coming, and certainly not inner neighborhood, but a friend just purchased a 5000 sq ft victorian mansion in london ohio for 190K.

Posted 1 year ago #
NOBOPatriot

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I have owned property in WP for 10 years - initially the change was material based on South Campus investment first 3 years - even during the boom WP lagged based on demographics - there is a great deal of CPO multifamily housing (HUGE) in fact the subsidized housing has steadily and appreciably moved out of OTE - to WP where it is increasing. This is not going away - if you want residential, quiet and a good investment KLD, OTE and NOBO - much, much safer too vs. WP. The downside is that High Street is not 5 minutes away on foot, but a short bike ride or 20 minute walk instead. Calvin Coolidge was President when some of the cute craftsman capecods in WP were built - agree some great housing there - but it does not have the CRITICAL mass that OTE has developed over 30 years - great doubles in OTE too

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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cbus11 wrote >>
I guess I am looking for someone who has more a grasp on the market and these two nieghborhoods.

Call Joe Peffer at Delicious Real Estate, or stop by his office next to Dirty Franks:

http://deliciousrealestate.com

He's quite knowledgeable about the ups and downs of the various inner-city neighborhoods and will tell you the good, the bad and the ugly. ;)

Probably a good place to start.

Posted 1 year ago #
rustbelt

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the housing market has more than 20 years of inventory at the current sales rate

Huh? All the news reports about the continuing-to-fall housing market have it pegged at 9-12 months, not 20 years.

Posted 1 year ago #
Snarf
How Do I Delete My Account
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NOBOPatriot wrote >>
I have owned property in WP for 10 years - initially the change was material based on South Campus investment first 3 years - even during the boom WP lagged based on demographics - there is a great deal of CPO multifamily housing (HUGE) in fact the subsidized housing has steadily and appreciably moved out of OTE - to WP where it is increasing. This is not going away - if you want residential, quiet and a good investment KLD, OTE and NOBO - much, much safer too vs. WP. The downside is that High Street is not 5 minutes away on foot, but a short bike ride or 20 minute walk instead. Calvin Coolidge was President when some of the cute craftsman capecods in WP were built - agree some great housing there - but it does not have the CRITICAL mass that OTE has developed over 30 years - great doubles in OTE too

i don't know that WP is any more dangerous than the neighborhoods you describe. plus WP is so small that it will get nicer/safter/better much faster that those neighborhoods you describe.

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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The OP is asking for info about Weinland Park and Franklinton.

This isn't a sales pitch area for other neighborhoods.

Please help the guy with what he's asking for.

THANKS.

Posted 1 year ago #
Snarf
How Do I Delete My Account
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Patriots, Gurus and Enthusiasts are taking over.

Posted 1 year ago #