Big house in bad neighborhood, or average house in good neighborhood?

[JBGRAY]

Whenever I go to the Miami Airport I always take one of the "backroads."  The first time I did this I noticed something odd.  The neighborhood I was driving through featured mostly small, dinky 2/1 houses largely in a black neighborhood that changed into a Hispanic one(in South Florida, a LOT can change just by crossing the street).  However, dotted among these small houses, were very large, beautiful homes.......homes that would not look out of place on the beach.  Homes that had nice cars parked in front on a big lot.

When the housing market crashed, my wife and I finally decided to stop renting and we went to buy a house.  To live in the suburbs down here, which are primarily within gated communities, you have to often pay pricey HOAs.  I looked at many of these types of homes and they are of course cookie-cutter style homes built 1995+.  While they appeared nice and new, there was little to no yard and I had a huge fear of chinese drywall which was rampant down here.

I settled on a beautiful home in a very mixed neighborhood....no HOA, no gated communities.  It was on a huge lot and had 3500+ Sq. Ft. of living space and a one car garage.  The 'hood is nothing like Detroit or South Central, but it isn't exactly La Jolla either.  It is mostly quiet except on Friday and Saturday nights where you hear Caribbean-style music playing(kinda cool, actually).  The police are very responsive.  I was able to plant a bunch of fruit trees and keep a nice sized garden.  I did put burglar bars on the bottom floor windows and has a sat response alarm system.  I also have 3 pit bulls.  I like the neighborhood and have never had a problem with anyone in it, but....prices have crashed.  Someone actually cashed out a house further down the street and a Section 8 family moved.  That right there worried me greatly.

Now, with the mortgage almost paid off, I'm wondering if I should throw an addition on to it and continue to live in it, or sell it(or rent) and resign myself to a cookie cutter house further out west.  Mortgage would be higher and would have to pay an HOA and be under more rules and regulations.  I don't have kids, btw.  The addition to my current home would be by far the cheaper option, with enough money left over to purchase an income property, or just to buy a cabin up north somewhere in the woods.

[ManBearPig...]

how safe can it be if you have bars , pit bulls, and a bunch of G-Thang's walking around?

do you have little kids?

[JBGRAY]

I don't have kids.  It sounds worse than what it really is.  I also have a CCP.

[newmom]

for now I'd sit tight on the house. I actually wouldn't add on either.

[Tre]

No kids, it's fine.

If you have kids, though, choose the best neighborhood first and then buy as much as you can safely afford.

[WillGrant]

LOL @ AXA talking about buying houses

[deadz]

Whenever I go to the Miami Airport I always take one of the "backroads."  The first time I did this I noticed something odd.  The neighborhood I was driving through featured mostly small, dinky 2/1 houses largely in a black neighborhood that changed into a Hispanic one(in South Florida, a LOT can change just by crossing the street).  However, dotted among these small houses, were very large, beautiful homes.......homes that would not look out of place on the beach.  Homes that had nice cars parked in front on a big lot.

When the housing market crashed, my wife and I finally decided to stop renting and we went to buy a house.  To live in the suburbs down here, which are primarily within gated communities, you have to often pay pricey HOAs.  I looked at many of these types of homes and they are of course cookie-cutter style homes built 1995+.  While they appeared nice and new, there was little to no yard and I had a huge fear of chinese drywall which was rampant down here.

I settled on a beautiful home in a very mixed neighborhood....no HOA, no gated communities.  It was on a huge lot and had 3500+ Sq. Ft. of living space and a one car garage.  The 'hood is nothing like Detroit or South Central, but it isn't exactly La Jolla either.  It is mostly quiet except on Friday and Saturday nights where you hear Caribbean-style music playing(kinda cool, actually).  The police are very responsive.  I was able to plant a bunch of fruit trees and keep a nice sized garden.  I did put burglar bars on the bottom floor windows and has a sat response alarm system.  I also have 3 pit bulls.  I like the neighborhood and have never had a problem with anyone in it, but....prices have crashed.  Someone actually cashed out a house further down the street and a Section 8 family moved.  That right there worried me greatly.

Now, with the mortgage almost paid off, I'm wondering if I should throw an addition on to it and continue to live in it, or sell it(or rent) and resign myself to a cookie cutter house further out west.  Mortgage would be higher and would have to pay an HOA and be under more rules and regulations.  I don't have kids, btw.  The addition to my current home would be by far the cheaper option, with enough money left over to purchase an income property, or just to buy a cabin up north somewhere in the woods.

Be thankful you didn't get car jacked. Bad idea to be taking backroards in that area.

[deadz]

Sounds like you live in Hialeah. You'd be very lucky to sell your house now. If you tried it would likely sit on the market for years. You

should have bought a smaller house in a better community, not that you would be able to sell it any better than where you are now

but at least you might enjoy your surroundings alittle more. I noticed that in my neighborbod, a gated community, homes for sale are not

selling and owners are putting their homes up for rent and even then they are sitting empty. Crappy times in FLA.

[BikiniSlut]

Average house in good neighborhood hands down.

You're gonna get robbed in a bad neighborhood...especiall y with a big house that draws attention.

[stuntmovie]

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION .... The first and most important thing to consider when purchasing real estate.

Real estate values go up and down constantly.

But the present situation has been disasterous over an extended time period and we most likely haven't seen the bottom yet.

The last person you ever want to listen to about the recovery of RE values is a real estate agent. They have to appear optimistic in an attempt to make a living.

[Primemuscle]

As the man said, location, location, location. It is always better to have a smaller house in a good neighborhood than a big house in a bad neighborhood. In most areas of the country, home prices have dropped considerably. Unless one has to move for work or some other such thing, they would do better to stay put for the time being. If one tries to sell right now, they are competing with homes in foreclosure and selling for a fraction of their worth.

My wife and I live in an upscale suburb of Portland, OR. We have a large house. Too large for empty nester's like us. We would like to downsize to a smaller home either in the same neighborhood or in a similar one. However, our house is currently worth almost $200,000 less than it was in 2007 before the market went bust. We'd still come away with several hundred thousand dollars but smaller homes have not depreciated as much as larger houses have. We'd be downsizing without making much profit....does not make a lot of sense, does it.

As it recently turned out, our daughter and grandson have moved in with us while my daughter's husband is deployed to Afghanistan. The could and probably should buy a home while prices are low, but my daughter doesn't like the idea of living on her own without her husband around. Fortunately, we didn't downsize or we wouldn't have had room for them when they need it.

[BayGBM]

You have more patience than I do.  It pains me to say it, but I would not live in Miami.  If I worked in the area I would live north and commute.  Miami was great in the 60’s and through much of the 80’s.  It is a different place now and not for the better.  You keep telling us that where you are is not that bad even as you describe the burglar bars and sat alarm system.  Your rhetoric does not match your actions. 

[Primemuscle]

You have more patience than I do.  It pains me to say it, but I would not live in Miami.  If I worked in the area I would live north and commute.  Miami was great in the 60’s and through much of the 80’s.  It is a different place now and not for the better.  You keep telling us that where you are is not that bad even as you describe the burglar bars and sat alarm system.  Your rhetoric does not match your actions. 

Don't you think that these changes, like bars on the widows, the need for a security system etc. happen little by little over time. Because of this a lot of folks don't stop to think that not everyone lives like that. Another thing, I have seen bars on widows in good neighborhoods where the incidence of crime is comparatively low. When I see this, I wonder if the people living in that house are unnecessarily paranoid that the will be robbed.

Truth is, there are robberies and crime in every neighborhood. Last year, in my neighborhood Gurt Boyle, owner of Columbia Sportswear was held hostage in her home by folks who live more than twenty miles aways in a completely different area. Does this mean that West Linn has become crime ridden? Hardly. A little caution is good, living in fear that something bad will befall you is not. One time, the West Linn police followed me into my driveway to tell me that one of my tail lights had gone out....hmm, maybe they don't have enough to do?

Of course some areas are better than others. There has been a rise in gang activity in Portland, OR this summer. We don't have any noticeable gang activity in West Linn. West Linn, OR where I live is only about twelve miles south of Portland, OR where things are a popping....like gun fire and the police are too busy to respond to any calls expect those where someone is threatened.

[mass243]

I dunno 'bout American neighborhoods but...

Good neighborhood all the way. Bad ones even here can really get quite bad for a working man who needs his night sleep !!!

[Dr Dutch]

Average house in good neighborhood hands down.

You're gonna get robbed in a bad neighborhood...especiall y with a big house that draws attention.

Big nasty(looking) dog(s) will do the rick, slut.

[Kwon_2]

Whenever I go to the Miami Airport I always take one of the "backroads."  The first time I did this I noticed something odd.  The neighborhood I was driving through featured mostly small, dinky 2/1 houses largely in a black neighborhood that changed into a Hispanic one(in South Florida, a LOT can change just by crossing the street).  However, dotted among these small houses, were very large, beautiful homes.......homes that would not look out of place on the beach.  Homes that had nice cars parked in front on a big lot.

When the housing market crashed, my wife and I finally decided to stop renting and we went to buy a house.  To live in the suburbs down here, which are primarily within gated communities, you have to often pay pricey HOAs.  I looked at many of these types of homes and they are of course cookie-cutter style homes built 1995+.  While they appeared nice and new, there was little to no yard and I had a huge fear of chinese drywall which was rampant down here.

I settled on a beautiful home in a very mixed neighborhood....no HOA, no gated communities.  It was on a huge lot and had 3500+ Sq. Ft. of living space and a one car garage.  The 'hood is nothing like Detroit or South Central, but it isn't exactly La Jolla either.  It is mostly quiet except on Friday and Saturday nights where you hear Caribbean-style music playing(kinda cool, actually).  The police are very responsive.  I was able to plant a bunch of fruit trees and keep a nice sized garden.  I did put burglar bars on the bottom floor windows and has a sat response alarm system.  I also have 3 pit bulls.  I like the neighborhood and have never had a problem with anyone in it, but....prices have crashed.  Someone actually cashed out a house further down the street and a Section 8 family moved.  That right there worried me greatly.

Now, with the mortgage almost paid off, I'm wondering if I should throw an addition on to it and continue to live in it, or sell it(or rent) and resign myself to a cookie cutter house further out west.  Mortgage would be higher and would have to pay an HOA and be under more rules and regulations.  I don't have kids, btw.  The addition to my current home would be by far the cheaper option, with enough money left over to purchase an income property, or just to buy a cabin up north somewhere in the woods.

Well, bad things can happen even in a good neighbourhood, but why risk it?

It's all about Risk VS Reward.

Doesn't matter if the house is the biggest in the world if the neighbourhood is Bad

[Andy Griffin]

I read somewhere that over time, all houses in a neighborhood tend to gravitate toward a central value.  So it would be better in that sense to get an average house in a good neighborhood. 

Of course, bad things can and do happen in good neighborhoods.  It's all about long-term probability, really. 

The bigger question is, what sort of lifestyle do you want for you and your family?  What sort of neighbors do you want?  I know that the "housing market" frightens some people, but as long as you are just looking to buy a home and not looking to re-sell it on short notice, fall into "creative" financing schemes, or borrow time and time again against the equity, your risk exposure is minimal.

Also...muscle up with anabolics.  Thread now bodybuilding related.  You're welcome.

[The Wizard of Truth]

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION .... The first and most important thing to consider when purchasing real estate.

Real estate values go up and down constantly.

But the present situation has been disasterous over an extended time period and we most likely haven't seen the bottom yet.

The last person you ever want to listen to about the recovery of RE values is a real estate agent. They have to appear optimistic in an attempt to make a living.

Yup
Some of my friends have great houses in what were once good neighbourhoods here
But the government insist on 'ethnic diversity' so give refugees houses for frr in these good city neighbourhoods
Totally fucks things up cos as they get the houses free they have no value on them and ruin them and also who the fuck wants to buy a house and have reguees living free beside them
Me now, I live in a house outside the city, up on a big hill overlooking beach, butn the house itself is cool but nothing special
But no chance of any refugges or scum ever living anywhere near here so its all good

[JimmyJam1974]

I dunno 'bout American neighborhoods but...

Good neighborhood all the way. Bad ones even here can really get quite bad for a working man who needs his night sleep !!!

Agreed, good neighborhoods in a good city with a good school system. You'll typically find that good school districts usually correlated to nice/rich neighborhoods.

[Marty Champions]

it sucks to have blacks hanging around the front of your street to your house in a bad neighborhood. like a poster said get a horrible dog, bar up all the windowns and doors, put bars over your a/c unit as well

[WillGrant]

[funk51]

this is in the middle of yonkers ny YONKERS

[funk51]

interior shot in yonkers castle

[Tito24]

would be awesome to live with the whole getbig family in one castle

[BayGBM]

would be awesome to live with the whole getbig family in one castle

Not!  I would not want to live with ill raised twenty somethings.