Hi!

 

My boyfriend and I are looking to purchase a house in Columbus. We would like to live in the city, however, we are on a budget.

 

We're looking to spend no more than $95,000 on a house and are unsure of what neighborhoods we should be looking in. We're wanting a neighborhood where we could walk to restaurants or local shops or parks.

 

So, are there any neighborhoods that are acceptably safe that meet our criteria? If not, any suggestions on a safe-ish neighborhood in our price range?

 

I guess it's realistic to say we know we won't be living in the nicest neighborhood at that price point, however, I really don't want to live in a suburb. I live in one now and I'm bored a lot :P

Columbus has many quality urban neighborhoods.  German Village and the Brewery District just south of downtown.  Victorian Village and Italian Village just north of downtown.  Grandview and Clintonville further away from downtown.  However, none of these neighborhoods are within your $95,000 or less price range.  It might be possible to find that "diamond-in-the-rough, fixer-upper" in these neighborhoods, but I think that all those bargins have been found at this point.

 

To find something $95,000 or less you should look east and west of downtown.

 

The King-Lincoln neighborhood is an up-and-coming area just east of downtown.  You can follow a project thread here at UrbanOhio.  Walker Evans, a regular poster here and founder of Columbus Underground, recently moved into King-Lincoln with his wife and child.  He has also posted some available real estate offerings in here at UrbanOhio and at his blog copied below.

 

From here: http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?p=752

 

<b>Who wants to be our neighbor? #10</b>

 

Hooray! My 10th installment of "Who wants to be our neighbor"! If you're just joining us, you can click <a href="http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?cat=29">here</a> to find all the past installments of this ongoing series. I'm not a realtor or anything (I recommend <a href="http://www.columbushomesblog.com/">Joe Peffer</a>). I'd just love to see more people moving over here to the King Lincoln District on the Near East Side and rehabbing some beautiful old homes within a very short walk of Downtown. We've been living over here for nearly a year and love it! Anyway... on to the findings:

 

The Franklinton neighborhood is just west of downtown.  You can follow a project thread here at UrbanOhio.  Another good source of information is http://franklintonartsdistrict.org/.  Also, Columbus Underground had a podcast interview with the Franklinton Development Association, which is copied below.

 

<a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/cu-podcast-episode-10-whats-new-in-franklinton">CU Podcast Episode #10: What’s New in Franklinton</a>

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/franklinton.png">

 

In this week's podcast we sit down for a chat with Jim Sweeney and Reza Reyazi with the <a href="http://franklinton.org/">Franklinton Development Association</a> to discuss a variety of projects and developments in the Franklinton neighborhood. Jim & Reza discuss some of the history of this area, the challenges it faces in being revitalized, and several new initiatives including the conversion of an old church into a community space and the development of a new central park for Franklinton residents.

 

Click <a href="http://blip.tv/file/get/ColumbusUnderground-ColumbusUndergroundcomPodcastEpisode10634.mp3">here</a> to download an mp3, click <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=301024381">here</a> to subscribe via iTunes, or click <a href="http://columbusunderground.blip.tv/rss">here</a> to subscribe to the rss feed.

 

Hope that helps and welcome to UrbanOhio.

Or you might check north of OSU in the Old North Columbus area, in the few block north and south of Hudson Street off High Street. A few years ago, it would have been easy to get something in the $95,000 range. Somewhat tougher now, but still possible. The area has ethnic and other restaurants, bars, music, good transit, etc.

So I'm trying a different strategy. Here's a map I've made of some houses that we've found online that meet our price range and look pretty nice from pictures. Because we don't have many days we can house hunt, can anyone give some feed back on their locations? (Marked by a blue dot). The first one is just a general view...

 

 

The next one is zoomed in a bit on some of the Near South housing we've found..

 

 

The area east of Parsons and south of Livingston isn't usually an area for "yuppies."  I'll keep it real for you.  It's not bad (wonderful families, etc) but it's not the most "exciting" area.

 

Try WEST of Parsons for the yuppie hoods.

Hi!

 

Yeah, as rider mentioned, I'm still a somewhat newish (year and a half) resident in the King Lincoln District (the area on your top map roughly just east of 71 between Broad & Mount Vernon).

 

My wife & I picked this neighborhood for a number of reasons:

 

- Affordability: We paid less than your asking price. It's also an area eligible for the Community Access Mortgage through Huntington (normally a low-income mortgage) that allows anyone to invest in this area and put zero down, get a low fixed rate, and pay no PMI.

 

- Location: The neighborhood has a few amenities such as Mayme Moore Park, The Lincoln Theatre, two coffee shops, a book store, dry cleaners, etc, but we're also a 5-10 minute walk from things on the East side of Downtown such as the Main Library, Art Musuem, CCAD, and a 20-25 minute walk from the center of downtown (restaurants, bars, entertainment, etc).

 

- Safety: While the area isn't quite as safe as some others that are more densely populated, there's very little trouble with violent crime. Our neighbors have all told us they've had few problems outside a very occasional car breakin incident, which frankly, can happen anywhere (I've had it happen in German Village, OSU Campus area, etc). We don't spend too much time out alone at night, but we feel perfectly safe in this area during the day.

 

- Historic Charm: The house we bought is a 100+ year old stunning Italianate brick home. It's the same type of place we were renting in German Village, except our mortgage payment is quite a bit less than our rent. ;)

 

- Investment Potential: Whenever we decide to sell, we'd like to hopefully make some money from our commitment to the neighborhood and our efforts as urban pioneers. This neighborhood seemed to have the most potential for an area adjacent to downtown that should see increased property values over the next 5-10 (or more) years. If you take a look at some of the current/ongoing development in the neighborhood (The <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-whitney-condos-break-ground-this-summer">Whitney Condos</a>, The <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-lincoln-theatre-hosts-grand-opening-today">Lincoln Theatre</a>, the <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/city-moving-on-plan-to-raze-public-housing-projects">renovation/removal</a> of some of the large Section 8 housing developments, the <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/welcome-to-the-greenest-house-in-ohio">NoBo</a> development, etc) it's easy to see that there's a lot of public and private investment going into this area that should help bring a lot of new life and energy back to the area.

 

Of course, there are several other areas to consider, but all things considered, I currently don't think the KLD can be beat for someone looking for the same types of things I was looking for in a neighborhood.

 

If you have any questions about this area, feel free to let me know! :D

 

Good luck with the house hunt! ;)

 

http://www.walkerevanseffect.com/blog/who-wants-to-be-our-neighbor-june-2009-edition/

 

I would consider renting for a year to get to know Columbus better if you're new to the area.  www.metro-rentals.com has some listings in the Short North/Victorian Village area that look promising.  I spotted a couple listings in the area of 11th Ave/Chittenden but don't know how good or bad this area is.  It would be convenient to South Campus Gateway and very bikeable/walkable.

 

http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=12895216

 

http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=11656767

 

http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=13130850

 

Isn't there some adage about buying the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood?

Harrison West:

http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=13183577

 

North Campus area:

http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=12309677

Well, my blog has a comprehensive neighborhood guide; all with maps showing amenities and many with pictures.

 

For an inexpensive home near a bustling street it's hard to beat the Old North Columbus (boo "North Campus" boo,  no offense buckeye1, I just don't like the term) hoods. The stretch of High St has arguably the best mix of businesses, from utilitarian like hardware and groceries to amenities like hookah lounges and a great mix of ethnic restaurants (Ethiopian, Japanese, Indian, etc). You'd want to stay further north of Lane if possible where it becomes much more hipster and much less frat. Of course, if you go further from High you'll probably find cheaper homes near Summit (which has it's own pockets of activity) and 4th St further east (not so much). Might want to get a feel for a street, since some places host house parties pretty regularly.

 

South of campus west of High you have the Peach District which has been fixed up for the most part, although I think it's just far enough away from the Short North (very wallkable though, from my experience) that the prices for homes drops off. Get too close to campus and it's, well, very campus-y. South of Campus east of High is Weinland Park, which is the most troubled of university area hoods. Here you'd probably want to stick to the boundaries of the neighborhood closer to High, but I would talk to residents and do some research. This side of High has seen rapid change recently with apartment lofts with new commercial spaces, a masonic lodge turned condos, and another new apartment (just regular ones, not lofts)/commercial mix.

 

The Southern Orchards area you chose, particularly further SE, I might reconsider. In the northern section along Livingston it's pretty hood/thuggish, as I saw more than one blood tag and "RIPs" and there's nothing but unkempt carry-outs to walk to.  In any case, I don't think you'd care to walk to what's there in the SE reaches either. That said, there are some decent-looking residential streets up north with some new builds and may be an option if you're an urban pioneer. My main concern would be what the area is like at night and I'd probably stay further away from the commercial streets like Livingston or Whittier here.

 

There are other neighborhoods that have seen some gentrification but not enough to be pricey. King-Lincoln, aside from local amenities, is close to Downtown and the best part of Parsons Ave just south of Broad, and it's centrally located. Others like  Merion Village and Westgate (which hasn't required gentrification) have good homes for cheap, but you'll be rather far from many urban amenities, especially Westgate. Commercial streets in these places have been languishing and suburbanized to varying degrees.

 

Getting a bike or scooter is an option (I've gone with the former) and could free up money for the house. For winter the bus can be a viable alternative to bundling up and heading out. I lived inside of the edge of Downtown and had a few things within walking distance, but I was able to greatly expand my choices by biking, whether it was German Village, Brewery District, Gay St Downtown, or the Short North.

 

I also second getting a home in Harrison West, west of the Short North and Victorian Village. It's home to one of my favorite coffeeshops. They also sell beer and wine.

The area east of Parsons and south of Livingston isn't usually an area for "yuppies."  I'll keep it real for you.  It's not bad (wonderful families, etc) but it's not the most "exciting" area.

I'd go along with this assessment too.  Parsons Avenue is the closest commercial street for this area.  If you want a view of the Parsons Avenue vibe, check out Columbusite's photo thread here.

Sigh. Well I really appreciate all of the advice. I tell you what else is frustrating is that I've called several realtors, and I'm not getting calls back. I guess our $$ isn't enough for them. We're willing to up our spending amount too so it's extra ridiculous.

 

I think King-Lincoln is looking like the place we're going to investigate the most. Is there an

area in there that is slower than the rest in the renewal process or is any of it a good bet? I liked one of the houses that Walker posted.

 

Also, anyone have any strong opinions on Schumacher Place? I've seen a house there I like that fits our budget.

Definitely consider the rental route. Having moved here three years ago from Detroit, we have all you desire in Italian Village but the housing prices (200s & up), but the perspective we've gained has been invaluable. And yeah, the real estate agents in Columbus tend to steer you toward the newer/growth suburbs. We've got quite a bit of that here, and it's crap. That said, a big "seconded" for Old North. The buses here are decent, and as Columbusite can attest, Columbus can be surprisingly bikeable. Even still, Columbus' (older) small footprint keeps car ownership quite affordable, but be sure you have a good battery; all the short-hop driving one does here has a tendency to kill batteries.

Sigh. Well I really appreciate all of the advice. I tell you what else is frustrating is that I've called several realtors, and I'm not getting calls back. I guess our $$ isn't enough for them. We're willing to up our spending amount too so it's extra ridiculous.

 

I think King-Lincoln is looking like the place we're going to investigate the most. Is there an

area in there that is slower than the rest in the renewal process or is any of it a good bet? I liked one of the houses that Walker posted.

 

If you're still looking for Realtors, try Joe Peffer. He was awesome in helping us with our home (we found it ourselves online, but he walked us through the process), has a great Columbus real estate blog (http://columbushomesblog.com) and to top it all off, he lives with his wife and kids here in the King Lincoln District. He's been here for around 13 years. ;) Much longer than me! If you give him a call, tell him Walker sentcha! ;)

 

As for the neighborhood, it's really street-by-street and block-by-block at this point. I'm on Hamilton, which looks pretty good. Monroe, Miami, and 21st are all great streets. Some of the other streets have more abandoned/boarded-up places than others, but I think one of the best things about the neighborhood is that the boundaries are fairly small (especially when compared to monolithic areas like Franklinton, Olde Towne East, or The Hilltop) which gives people a tighter area to focus renovation efforts.

 

Hope that helps!

PS: If you are interested in more info on that Community Access Mortgage (CAM) program that I mentioned, I'd recommend getting in touch with Brian Connor at Huntington. You can find his phone number and email address here:

 

https://www.huntington.com/mortgage/bconnor/

 

We shopped around to a few banks for our mortgage and the CAM program at Huntington was the best thing we found. Some of the basic details are here:

 

http://www.columbusrealtors.com/16164.cfm

Hey Firesnap, this is WAY better than suburb-data, isn't it?

 

Anyways, if you haven't yet, please look aruond for a while, look at some old photo threads, economic development threads, etc. This is really a cool site, especially if you have an interest in urban areas (such as King-Lincoln or Franklinton), and you may even see your new pad. Good Luck!!!!!

Yes! Harrison West! Very, very cool hood and home to one of my favorite stretches of pavement/cobblestone, 3rd Ave between Neil and Perry.

Also, anyone have any strong opinions on Schumacher Place? I've seen a house there I like that fits our budget.

 

If you can find something you like that fits your budget in Schumacher Place, that might be a good fit.  Schumacher benefits from being adjacent to German Village in cache and easy walking distance to GV amenities.

It's also rather centrally located so Downtown, Short North, etc are all nearby.