I'm renting in Cleveland Heights right now, and looking to buy a condo if i can afford one.  I've seen a lot of condos in the high rise (if thats what you want to call them) buildings on the lake in Lakewood.  They range from the 30K range to the 80s.  I know they aren't new or anything, but that still seems really cheap.  I'll admit i'm not that familiar with Lakewood, so does anyone know why they're so inexpensive?  Is it a crappy area, junky buildings, no chance for resale, or what?  Also, i'm in my 20s, so i'd like to be near the bars and restaurants in Lakewood if possible.  Anyone know the best streets there that I should look at?  Thanks.

My daughter was just looking at one in the Winton.  It was a one bedroom which had been on the market for awhile, the bank was the owner and the price dropped into the high 30's.  Nothing had been done with this unit since it started out as an apartment in the early 60's.  My daughter went got approval for a loan which would include the purchase along with an estimate of ~$30,000 in improvements.  It truly had to be gutted.  Others were selling on the higher floors in the 60-70's range.

 

As I told her, she would need to stay a number of years to recoup her investment, and her personal plans are such that there are no guarantees.  She did make an offer, but the bank took a higher one.  I looked at it with her, and other than not knowing her plans, I thought it was an ok deal.  The building is old, but solid.  I think the residents are older too, which may or may not suit you!

 

As I told her, I would have preferred she looked at purchasing a home in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood which may need to be rehabbed, and put her money into that.

Its definitely not a crappy area. I would look for any up coming assessments and at the monthly maintenance costs.

I live in a condo in Lakewood, two streets south of the Gold Coast. I like the area a lot and have lived here since 1996. There is a lot you can walk to, but you can walk to more stuff if you live closer to West 117th, though all of Lakewood is a walking community. If you like to walk to things, you really can't go wrong anywhere in Lakewood.

 

The Gold Coast buildings are definitely high rises, ranging from 15 to 30 stories tall. Units that are higher up in the taller buildings (Winton Place, Carlyle, etc) are pricier with the penthouses selling for more than $1 million. My building is only seven stories, but isn't on the lake. I don't recall if any units in my building are on the market. Housing is typically less expensive on the West Side of Greater Cleveland than in a comparable community on the East Side. I don't have an explanation as to why.

 

There are also loft-style condos coming to Detroit Avenue, a few blocks west of West 117th, as part of the Rockport Square development. But there is no imminent timeline for the loft condos. More expensive townhouses are under construction at Rockport now, however. At the West End of the Lakewood, land clearing is underway for The Cliffs on Rocky River. These are no cheap, as they list from the mid-200s on up.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck in your search.

Thanks for the help everyone.  I think i'm probably not going to buy a condo anymore.  At least not one where i am payinng 1.5 times my mortgage (in some cases) a month in HOA fees.  I'l probably just be a bum and rent another year

Thanks for the help everyone.  I think i'm probably not going to buy a condo anymore.  At least not one where i am payinng 1.5 times my mortgage (in some cases) a month in HOA fees.  I'l probably just be a bum and rent another year

 

Have you looked at foreclosure units?  Are you only interested in Lakewood?

With Lakewood the only word of caution I can lend is watch the taxes. I'm looking to buy as well, and would love to go with Lakewood but I'm having a hard time justifying paying a couple grand more a year relative to Cleveland proper or even some further West suburbs (gasp! string me up :wink:)

Do you kids want "turn key" properties or are you willing to do some work?

Speaking for myself my laziness knows no bounds, so the more "turn key" the better. That being said I suppose I could wrangle up some good references for people to do the work for me if they're reasonably priced. Maybe we need a UO-List akin to Angie's List for such folks :wink:

no problem.  I just think it cost efficient to do more yourself - but thats just me.  You save in the long run.