Hi All.  We had to wait till spring and are now house hunting. We weren't able to find what we were looking for in the fall. also, we sold our condo so have more flexibility now.  Our price is about $75,000 or less. We don't want a colonial because we don't want to have to deal with the stairs everyday. A two flat, bungalo or cape cod would work.  We want to live in denser area to walk to library, bus and/or rail and need first floor bedroom.

 

We are considering buying a nice double and living in one flat and renting out the other. I think it would need to be in  a desirable area where we can find good tenants.

 

We are also considering a small house.

 

these are what we have found and we will look at this weekend.

 

A double at w. 73rd and Herman (in big Italy area in Shoreway)

A double at W. 62nd north of Detroit (shoreway)

a house on pear ave. near W. 62nd (neighbors seem nice) It is small and has a house in the back.

A house on Wl 126th with an upstairs in law suite, north of Lorain with an easy walk to the intersection of Lorain and w. 117th with library, grocery store, coffeehouse and bus.

A couple of houses south of Lorain between 112th and 116th W. which are also easy walk to the intersection of Lorain and W. 117th where the library is.

A house on Beech, very near where the W. Park Rapid, around W. 140th and Lorain Ave., also walking distance to grocery store and not too far from two libraries on Lorain.

 

We are wondering on the overall safety issues of the areas. The area north and south of Lorain between w. 110th and w. 130th seems to be a mix of doubles and single family homes. Some people seem really positive about the area because of the restaurants, variety theater, convenience of the Giant Eagle, West town coffeehouse. some long time residents seem really negative and want to move out, saying there are absentee landlords and the neighborhood is really struggling, etc. The area north of Lorain has more smaller single family homes around Berea Ave., Triskett but seems a little suburban for us and not as much to easily walk to (except the rapid)

 

I could say almost the same about the shoreway neighborhood except I get the impression that there is a lot of community acitivities and money being pored into the area. I know they have issues with break ins, etc. 

 

 

My familiarity of the area from just passing through on a regular basis is that the areas north of Lorain seem much more stable than the areas south of Lorain. The homes seem to be in better condition, there are more people out and about walking their dogs or doing landscaping work, and I see fewer vacancies north of Lorain.

 

Now is a good time to use the "lawn test." People who don't take care of their homes don't cut their grass as much. And with all the rain recently, you will have a pretty good idea which areas are better kept by the height of lawn grass.

I tried sending you a private message but it said your mailbox is full. I'm a realtor and would be more than happy to help you figure these things out if you'd like. Send me a message on here so I can give my personal email and phone number.

sounds like you should consider Old Brooklyn....one of the safest areas of the city....tons of Bungalows to choose from and depending on where you would live - close proximity to busses that take you downtown and through the Ohio City neighborhood

 

Hi All,

It looks like we are zeroing into the Westown area near W. 117th and Lorain.  There are middle eastern grocery stores there, a coffee house, a decent CPL library, not far from the Giant Eagle, the lakefront and we can walk to rapid or two bus lines if we are north of Lorain closer to the Triskett stop. It seems pretty affordable. Thanks for all your help and we will keep you posted.

Update. We bought a house.  We found a house in the Westown area near W. 117th and Lorain. So far it is working well.  There is a lot of convenience for walking and riding transit and there are some nice small parks.  The Westown Grind coffeehouse seems to be temporarily closed but it is scheduled to reopen soon.  There is a variety of styles of housing in the area rangine from Colonials, doubles, bunagalows and ranch style homes.  Thanks for all the help everyone.  It took us awhile to find the right neighborhood espcecially since there are many good neighborhoods in Cleveland and the close in suburbs to choose from.

Congratulations!  I hope you continue to be pleased with your house and your neighborhood.

Thanks for the update, Justine!  Always good to know where people land after describing their search.  And thanks for investing in Cleveland!