Hi all, we are a couple currently living in an apartment in Shaker Heights (near the Square).  We're house hunting.  We can't afford the taxes in Shaker yet (7 years down the line we're hoping) but we can in Lyndhurst and University Heights which is where we're looking.  We've found a lot of houses there in our price range and the taxes are doable.  We don't know those areas very well and we were wondering if anyone can give us a little better idea about the neighborhoods in those areas.  We will be having kids within the next 2-3 years and hoping to move back to Shaker Heights within the next 7 so this is a starter house but we'd like to be in a safe area with younger people, kids around, good places to play, quieter streets, etc...

 

We've been looking a bit in UH south of Cedar between Warrensville and Taylor north of Fairmount.  Also in Lyndhurst north of Mayfield east of Richmond.

 

Any info about those neighborhoods would be very much appreciated!  Any boundary streets to watch out for (good on one side, bad on the other) etc...  We know the schools are average, nothing to write home about from their report cards and from what Zillow.com and Trulia.com say about them.

 

Also if you can suggest other neighborhoods to look in, that'd be great!!  We're considering University Heights, Cleveland Heights, Mayfield Heights and Lyndhurst as of right now

The taxes & home prices in CH and SH are comparable, so that probably rules out CH.

 

There are condos & houses in the Cleveland section of Shaker Square that are affordable.

There really are no bad neighborhoods to avoid in Lyndhurst or University Heights. For Lyndhurst, if you enhance your search to west of Richmond going towards Green, you might find a little more bang for your buck.... especially if you cross the border over into South Euclid (Professor Rd. I believe).  Lots of kids back in that neighborhood and a nice park.

 

For Cleveland Heights, I tell people to stay away from the pockets that border East Cleveland but the rest of the City is perfectly safe.  But don't automatically exclude the Forest Hills neighborhood which would be an exception to that rule.  Just steer clear of anything north of Mayfield if it is west of Lee and anything in the area going north on Noble once you pass Yellowstone.

 

All that said, if you are serious about just wanting a "starter" home, why not look at Euclid?  Ridiculously low property taxes (somewhat higher income taxes) and you will get the most bang for your buck.  If you buy towards the Lake around E 260, you might even make some money on resale if a certain proposed Lakefront renovation in that area gets going - http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/euclid_residents_can_comment_o.html

 

Thnx to all for the information so far, VERY helpful including all the PMs.  Looks like we're on the right track :)

I would recommend Lyndhurst, specifically the area sandwiched between Richmond/Brainard and Cedar/Mayfield, for a starter home.  It's a quiet and safe community with attractive yet inexpensive homes.  You're walking distance from Legacy Village and Beachwood Place, there is a nice park (Brainard Park), and you're right by 271.  The only real drawback is the property taxes.

 

 

I would recommend Lyndhurst, specifically the area sandwiched between Richmond/Brainard and Cedar/Mayfield, for a starter home.  It's a quiet and safe community with attractive yet inexpensive homes.  You're walking distance from Legacy Village and Beachwood Place, there is a nice park (Brainard Park), and you're right by 271.  The only real drawback is the property taxes.

 

 

  attractive is subjective :|

I would recommend Lyndhurst, specifically the area sandwiched between Richmond/Brainard and Cedar/Mayfield, for a starter home.  It's a quiet and safe community with attractive yet inexpensive homes.  You're walking distance from Legacy Village and Beachwood Place, there is a nice park (Brainard Park), and you're right by 271.   The only real drawback is the property taxes.

 

It is a nice neighborhood, but for what you are paying for a 3 bdrm 1 bath bungalow in that neighborhood, you could get a 3 bdrm 2 bath colonial in South Euclid or Euclid.  Of course, you'd have the "security" of a more homeogenous neighborhood in Lyndhurst (:

 

Check out both of these neighborhoods before buying in Lyndhurst -

http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=41.528403,-81.516194&spn=0.015421,0.027509&z=15 - the area in South Euclid between Belvior(west)/Anderson(north)/Professor(east)/Mayfield(south)

http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=41.57449,-81.510487&spn=0.01541,0.027509&z=15 - the area in Euclid between Euclid Ave(north)/Chardon(south-west)/Richmond(east).

 

You will get probably 150% the square footage in either of those areas of what the same list price will get you in Lyndhurst without sacraficing safety or neighborhood amenities.

 

That said, I will admit that Lyndhurst city services do seem better as far as the little things - that they supply the garbage cans to residents and they plow the sidewalks during winter are just a few off the top of my head.

If I was purchasing with a little kid I would stick around:

• Shaker Square
  
• Cedar Fairmount
  
• Coventry/Euclid Hts. Blvd/Coventry corridor
   
  
• Monticello/Mayfield corridor from Lee to Noble
  
• Fernway to Scottsdale
  

There are bargains to be had. You want a home with character, not a bungalow or a geriatric ranch home with garage and basketball hop in the front!

If I was purchasing with a little kid I would stick around:

• Shaker Square
  
• Cedar Fairmount
  
• Coventry/Euclid Hts. Blvd/Coventry corridor
   
  
• Monticello/Mayfield corridor from Lee to Noble
  
• Fernway to Scottsdale
  

There are bargains to be had. You want a home with character, not a bungalow or a geriatric ranch home with garage and basketball hop in the front!

 

All of that is subjective, too. :-D

If I was purchasing with a little kid I would stick around:

• Shaker Square
  
• Cedar Fairmount
  
• Coventry/Euclid Hts. Blvd/Coventry corridor
   
  
• Monticello/Mayfield corridor from Lee to Noble
  
• Fernway to Scottsdale
  

There are bargains to be had. You want a home with character, not a bungalow or a geriatric ranch home with garage and basketball hop in the front!

 

All of that is subjective, too. ;D

 

http://www.entertonement.com/clips/zkhncbbnqd--You-Have-No-StyleThe-Devil-Wears-Prada-Meryl-Streep-Miranda-Priestly-

We've been looking a bit in UH south of Cedar between Warrensville and Taylor north of Fairmount.  Also in Lyndhurst north of Mayfield east of Richmond.

 

I have friends who live on Queenston, Kingston, and Princeton, and they have all been very happy with the neighborhood.  The neighbors tend to look out for one another, and there is a good mix of retirees, families, and young couples.  Also, they have this charming impromptu 4th of July parade (complete with a neighborhood band, dozens of kids on bikes, and a herd of dogs)  that has run on an annual basis since WWII.

^ I love that neighborhood too, but you are in the swankier part of the Heights when you start nearing the Shaker border and the prices go up.  Also, while they are certainly aesthetically appealing, be careful with those houses or you might end up in a money pit.  Many run on boilers and have asbestos around the pipes.  Heights does have one of the tougher presale inspections (inside and out) so that would help identify the problems if there are some.

^ I love that neighborhood too, but you are in the swankier part of the Heights when you start nearing the Shaker border and the prices go up.  Also, while they are certainly aesthetically appealing, be careful with those houses or you might end up in a money pit.  Many run on boilers and have asbestos around the pipes.  Heights does have one of the tougher presale inspections (inside and out) so that would help identify the problems if there are some.

 

We have friends who are renting a house in University Heights just southwest of the Cedar/Warrensville intersection from the original owner's kids who don't want to sell it yet.  It does have asbestos around the pipes, cause anytime we're hanging out in the basement, it's like "Watch out for the pipes!  Don't touch them!"

 

But besides the old nature of the house, the neighborhood is good and well-maintained.

One thing of note here is that the foreclosure crisis hit Cleveland Heights particularly hard. Real estate prices are starting to rebound, but from my understanding, there for a while, the median sales price was ridiculously low. A couple of my friends just bought a GORGEOUS house on Euclid Heights for an insanely low price (just a few minutes from Coventry). A ton are listed in the $50-$120K range. There were some basic repair issues they needed to address to bring it to code, but it was more or less move-in ready. So while concerns about property tax are reasonable, these might be more than offset by seizing on one of these "deal properties" and having a lower mortgage payment. When looking, I would just feel out the neighborhood and the feel you get from it, but also consider the local amenities, rate of vacancy, cleaniless, price of neighboring houses, etc. With the aforementioned area just to the east of Coventry, the Business Improvement District at Coventry suggests preservation and expansion of the great retail efforts there. Keeping an eye out for those types of developments can give you at least an intuitive sense of whether you'll get good bang for your buck in resale.

One thing of note here is that the foreclosure crisis hit Cleveland Heights particularly hard. Real estate prices are starting to rebound, but from my understanding, there for a while, the median sales price was ridiculously low. A couple of my friends just bought a GORGEOUS house on Euclid Heights for an insanely low price (just a few minutes from Coventry). A ton are listed in the $50-$120K range. There were some basic repair issues they needed to address to bring it to code, but it was more or less move-in ready. So while concerns about property tax are reasonable, these might be more than offset by seizing on one of these "deal properties" and having a lower mortgage payment. When looking, I would just feel out the neighborhood and the feel you get from it, but also consider the local amenities, rate of vacancy, cleaniless, price of neighboring houses, etc. With the aforementioned area just to the east of Coventry, the Business Improvement District at Coventry suggests preservation and expansion of the great retail efforts there. Keeping an eye out for those types of developments can give you at least an intuitive sense of whether you'll get good bang for your buck in resale.

 

True, but it hit a lot of eastside middle class suburban neighborhoods.  The one thing that Cleveland Hts. has over many of it's eastside counterparts, Lyndhurst, Beachwood, Pepper Pike, Shaker Hts., is the services, parks and variety of home styles racially intergrated neighborhoods.  The parks, can't be beat.

 

My parents own a couple of homes in CH and the prices seem to be going up and fast. 

 

One thing I like about CH is there is always a mix of people of varying ages on almost every block, original home owner, first time home buyers, young familes, gay couples, etc.  There is a park or school within a few blocks of every home.

 

When my cousins were looking last year they saw a ton of homes, some at rock bottom prices.

It hit a lot of eastside suburbs, but it was particularly hard in Cleveland Heights. As a first-time homebuyer, I think that actually makes it MORE attractive. The amount of house you can get in Cleveland Heights, particularly given the city's many, many amenities, makes it MUCH more attractive to me than a Lyndhurst, etc. Not that I'm EVER going to buy in the suburbs :)

I would still consider Lyndhurst.  There's nothing wrong with living in a safe, quiet neighborhood with few foreclosures and lots of families.  You're 20+ minutes from downtown via the freeway, can go shopping at Beachwood Place and Legacy Village within in minutes of your house, and are within 20 minutes from Little Italy/University Circle/Chagrin Falls/Metroparks and so on. 

 

 

I would still consider Lyndhurst.  There's nothing wrong with living in a safe, quiet neighborhood with few foreclosures and lots of families.  You're 20+ minutes from downtown via the freeway, can go shopping at Beachwood Place and Legacy Village within in minutes of your house, and are within 20 minutes from Little Italy/University Circle/Chagrin Falls/Metroparks and so on.

 

And you can't find those amenities in Cleveland Hts., Shaker Hts., or Cleveland?  At least the homes in CH, SH, and Cleveland have Character.  Nor are the neighborhoods bland nor racial mixed.

I would still consider Lyndhurst. There's nothing wrong with living in a safe, quiet neighborhood with few foreclosures and lots of families. You're 20+ minutes from downtown via the freeway, can go shopping at Beachwood Place and Legacy Village within in minutes of your house, and are within 20 minutes from Little Italy/University Circle/Chagrin Falls/Metroparks and so on.

 

And you can't find those amenities in Cleveland Hts., Shaker Hts., or Cleveland? At least the homes in CH, SH, and Cleveland have Character. Nor are the neighborhoods bland nor racial mixed.

 

I don't think that is what TBideon was saying... but I can see how it was taken that way.

 

And BTW, Lyndhurst is not the Lyndhurst of our childhood MTS.  It has intergrated to a certain degree.....  Now you have whites from all different backgrounds, not just Eye-talians :)

I would still consider Lyndhurst.  There's nothing wrong with living in a safe, quiet neighborhood with few foreclosures and lots of families.  You're 20  minutes from downtown via the freeway, can go shopping at Beachwood Place and Legacy Village within in minutes of your house, and are within 20 minutes from Little Italy/University Circle/Chagrin Falls/Metroparks and so on.

 

And you can't find those amenities in Cleveland Hts., Shaker Hts., or Cleveland?  At least the homes in CH, SH, and Cleveland have Character.  Nor are the neighborhoods bland nor racial mixed.

 

I don't think that is what TBideon was saying... but I can see how it was taken that way.

 

And BTW, Lyndhurst is not the Lyndhurst of our childhood MTS.  It has intergrated to a certain degree.....  Now you have whites from all different backgrounds, not just Eye-talians :)

 

LMAO!  LMAO!  However, those god awful tacky tract homes are still there and I don't even want to think how they are decorated on the inside!

 

Why don't people want homes with character?

For a start up home, I don't think a home "with character", which honestly just sounds like a euphemism for "old", has to be a priority.  And Lyndhurst is certainly growing more integrated - at least from the perspective of people I know in that community - if that even matters.

I really hate when these threads devolve into an argument about one forumer's preferences vs another's instead of sticking to the point of giving the OP advice on their upcoming move.  Can we get back to that, folks?

For a start up home, I don't think a home "with character", which honestly just sounds like a euphemism for "old", has to be a priority.  And Lyndhurst is certainly growing more integrated - at least from the perspective of people I know in that community - if that even matters.

 

There are plenty of starter homes with "character".  It doesn't have to be a mansion or old to have character.  But ranch homes are a big "yawn"!

I really hate when these threads devolve into an argument about one forumer's preferences vs another's instead of sticking to the point of giving the OP advice on their upcoming move.  Can we get back to that, folks?

 

Yes.....but we are trying to help give the OP, the most information and a real sense of what the area is like.

Well for an update, we like Lyndhurst a lot but still love Cleveland Heights (still can't afford Shaker's Taxes) and keeping an eye on University Heights.  Fell in love with 3 houses now, one in UH in which we found water problems and ran, another in UH which was the most expensive on the block and had an offer by the time we looked at it a 2nd time (we refuse to get into a bidding war in this economy), and then in Lyndhurst which turned up too many major fixes (roof, furnace, driveway, electrical, water damage).  We've seen about 30 houses so far and now we're switching realtors, hopefully to one that will actually listen to our requests/needs and work for us rather than just pushing us to make an offer on every house we see. 

 

Had no idea this was going to be so stressful even before we got to the paperwork!

Thanks for the update!  It's always challenging with older houses!  Good luck!

Well for an update, we like Lyndhurst a lot but still love Cleveland Heights (still can't afford Shaker's Taxes) and keeping an eye on University Heights.  Fell in love with 3 houses now, one in UH in which we found water problems and ran, another in UH which was the most expensive on the block and had an offer by the time we looked at it a 2nd time (we refuse to get into a bidding war in this economy), and then in Lyndhurst which turned up too many major fixes (roof, furnace, driveway, electrical, water damage).  We've seen about 30 houses so far and now we're switching realtors, hopefully to one that will actually listen to our requests/needs and work for us rather than just pushing us to make an offer on every house we see. 

 

Had no idea this was going to be so stressful even before we got to the paperwork!

 

That's what happens, my brother and skank-in-law saw ~110 houses, over two years, before they bought.  The first house, fell out from under them.  The second house was out bid, the third house waited a day to long and the owner went with another bid,  The fourth house, they didn't like the driveway, the fifth house was too close to mine, the six house they couldn't afford.  It was ridiculous.

 

Had no idea this was going to be so stressful even before we got to the paperwork!

 

Damn! I feel sorry for ya! I was using a realtor to help me find apartment-style condos, which is a very specific target. Even that was too difficult for a realtor, so I started searching on my own and found a FSBO in Lakewood that I loved. I'm still living there! So no realtor was involved by either the buyer or and seller!

 

And my father was a realtor......

I would still consider Lyndhurst. There's nothing wrong with living in a safe, quiet neighborhood with few foreclosures and lots of families. You're 20 minutes from downtown via the freeway, can go shopping at Beachwood Place and Legacy Village within in minutes of your house, and are within 20 minutes from Little Italy/University Circle/Chagrin Falls/Metroparks and so on.

 

And you can't find those amenities in Cleveland Hts., Shaker Hts., or Cleveland? At least the homes in CH, SH, and Cleveland have Character. Nor are the neighborhoods bland nor racial mixed.

 

I don't think that is what TBideon was saying... but I can see how it was taken that way.

 

And BTW, Lyndhurst is not the Lyndhurst of our childhood MTS. It has intergrated to a certain degree..... Now you have whites from all different backgrounds, not just Eye-talians :)

 

LMAO! LMAO! However, those god awful tacky tract homes are still there and I don't even want to think how they are decorated on the inside!

 

Why don't people want homes with character?

 

 

As a first-time  house shopper I've looked at a few homes with character and definitely want one someday, but those neat old homes have insane heating bills here in Cleveland. (I know, I've quizzed the gas company on certain properties' heating costs).

Those post WWII tract houses really vary on the inside; I"ve seen a few that are  awful but I"m actually considering an offer on one. They are way cheaper to heat; I think realtors are calling them apartment/condo alternatives or something, and I'd imagine they have a similar market--retirees, singles, and "starter home" shoppers.

 

 

I also have a gas heating, but added electrical cove and panel heaters to three rooms, replaced the windows and put up extra-thick curtains around my larger windows. My gas bills have dropped by half. My electric bill stayed the same because, even though I am using electricity for the panel heaters, I am no longer running the blower in my furnace as often. I never have to run my furnace when it is above 25 degrees outside.

 

What is an electric cove or panel heater? They are more popular in European homes (which have more in common with Cleveland's older homes), but they emit radiant heat to warm objects in the room which then warms the air around them. Cove/panel heaters also use convection as they are mounted an inch or two off the wall so the air circulates behind them. Here is what panel heaters look like...

 

Cove heaters work best in larger rooms....

 

http://www.radiantsystemsinc.com/ (shows where to locate it)

http://www.infraredheaters.com/cove.htm (shows how it works)

 

Panel heaters work best in smaller rooms. They can be mounted mid-wall (some have a picture on them like mine so they look like wall-mounted art) or can be placed near the floor...

 

http://www.eco-heater.com/

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Indus-Tools-Cozy-Legs-Flat-Panel-Heater/11368062?sourceid=1500000000000003260370&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=11368062

Controlling is heating/cooling costs is a constant battle for any homeowner.

 

Like KJP was saying though, there are ways to effectively do so.  Here are some things that I have done:

 

1. Installed a solid door on the fireplace (Busy Bear is the place to go for these!) and a new flu in the chimney

2. New front door and new sliding glass back door

3. Glass block windows in the basement, and I try to keep that door shut in the winter and open in the summer

4. Close off the guest room and close the vents in that room and the basement.  I use a space heater in the basement over the winter in my rec room.

5. Seal all air leaks around window sills (there is a good tool you can buy to detect where you are losing the most heat).

6. Installed a 3 second rule with my cat and dog - if they don't come inside in 3 seconds of me opening the door, they don't come in for another 5 minutes (sounds silly, but they learn).