where are the affordable good neighborhoods?

[anon]

ive been shopping for a house for 6 months. during that time, ive seen some wonderful looking houses going up for sale like crazy all around the central/albemarle/idlewild area.. 4 bedroom houses with 2 car garages nice yards etc..

but after driving to see these houses? its no wonder so many are for sale. that area is slipping fast. ive driven around so many neighborhoods. you can tell they were really pretty nice just a few years ago- but now- dirty and going downhill.

investors are trying to make a quick buck in grier heights and belmont.. but i havent seen many takers yet..

will south blvd improve when the train is complete, or do you think the train will attract the riff-raff? that may sound snobbish, but look at the reasons why no one wants to ride travel with Greyhound.

any feedback appreciated.

[OnCrime]

Hey anon,

In my opinion, the light rail is a joke and I think the train will only attract more riff-raff in the area but city council members seem to think otherwise...

I would stay away from the Central Ave/Albemarle Rd/Idlewild Rd area unless you are looking on Idlewild Rd, out near Union County.

Unfortunately, Charlotte is a growing by leaps and bounds and we are seeing crime in areas that used to be fairly safe (Example: University area) but it is still a beautiful place to live and you will enjoy living here.

[SKNL2]

Sedgefield (neighborhood off South at Marsh) is affordable and relatively safe. With the amount of new development going up around that train, it cannot help to become more affluent. However, what I think we will see happening is the riff-raff having to make a shorter trip to get to the "nicer" part of town to do their bidding.

If you are looking in the Plaza-Midwood (off Central and The Plaza) area, prepare to pay some premium prices for houses.

Central Ave. past Eastway forget it -- unless you get a screaming deal on a house you wouldn't mind renting out.

A place to look for investment houses is Wilmore. It's still rough, but is seeing a comeback.

Obviously, no part of town is perfect. Some parts are just eaiser to mitigate risk in than others.

Good luck.

[guest]

“Good” or “safe” means “white” and will cost more.
“at risk” or “Challenged” or “troubled” means “non-white” or “black” and is cheaper.
As the commute times increase look for property values in the city to go up.
{who wants to drive for two hours a day}

[brian01]

The train will bring more crime. Ask the city of Buffalo and their "train to nowehere."

[oldcrazimoma]

add in Crater Park off of Gibbon rd/115. Pros-Older houses, quiet, well built, large lots, little if any crime but has a community watch to be prepared. Racially diverse but not many houses go up for sale very often, close to 77 & 85, backs up to Nevins park. But the schools are terrible in this area

[cmpdrookie]

Looking to buy a house within the next few years would love to learn of some good websites that cover the charlotte area.

[brian01]

I have been looking for a home as well and so far the best website I have come across is this one:

www.goldenproperties.com/

It lists many homes in a large area and includes York County, SC and more. Prices are clearly marked, you can sort by price and area, and most have photos.

[cmpdrookie]

Thanks alot checked out the website really put together well, I am trying to learn the counties correct me if I am wrong but union county is located in NC that is the only down side to working for the CMPD is that we have to live with in 45 miles of headquaters and it has to be within the state limits of NC. York I think is in SC

[brian01]

Correct, York is SC right on the state line. Union can be a rough drive to the city depending on traffic.

[cmpdrookie]

I tell you what Brian I have gotten mixed reviews on the Pointe this is a email from a tenant that is currently staying there

"Sorry it took me so long to respond I hardly check my yahoo mail anymore.I don't have any pictures here at the pointe I could say whats on the website is the pictures. Its not worn downit is a really nice complex. Thursday night my refridgerator went out and I called emergency maintenance and he came right away and got it working again. Believe me when I say you will really like this place. The only thing bad I could say about it is the gate is broken a lot but really people follow cars in when the gate is open so I don't know how much security we are really getting. So far everything is good and I'm about to renew my lease for one more year.

With that said I understand crime is going to happen no matter what is done to protect us, but I am going to be moving out of the area as soon as I finish up with training and a little closer to the district that I am assigned to.

[brian01]

It's not worn down. In fact the grounds are beautifully kept. Maintenance has always been on top of things when I've needed them. It is the crime issues more than anything. The management have not even informed any of the tenants of the most recent robbery and I'm sure they know about it. When you are receiving a notice of criminal incident on your door every two weeks and they continue to happen, it tells me the management is not doing enough and more than likely people are moving out because of it. I just got home at 8pm and the entrance gate was wide open as usual (it's supposed to closed automatically at 7pm and the exit side was closed). I came in and had to park far away from my building partly because a car was parked in two spaces. I always carry pepper spray, however that will not do much against two guys armed with handguns and shotguns. A positive is that they have fixed some of the bright lights on the outside of the buildings, but wher eI had to park was still dark.

[cmpdrookie]

Well with this I take it that managment knows about the gate well, i guess they will hate me when I move in there because I really beleive that if we pay for this every month and the expect the rent every month that this is something that must be maintained. I would go the level of calling the repair people myself and having the complex foot the bill on that.

[slappy]

If you go east on woodlawn, toward park rd. If you turn right on a side street you will find brick houses, well manicured lawn and nice houses.

[pitrunner]

DO LIKE I DID 2 YEARS AGO. MOVE TO GASTON COUNTY, DALLAS NC

[coytea]

I have lived in the Merry Oaks for 12 years and only had my shoes stolen from my car. 2miles away when I used to live at plaza midwood my home was broken into 3 times in one year.