$140,000 budget - townhome vs. fixer upper? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: foreclosure, lofts, condos)

[mnswerin]

Is it possible to buy a home with a $140,000 budget which meets these requirements:
-30-40 minute commute to Minneapolis, MN
-safe, family friendly neighborhood
-3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom+
-2 car garage
-access to shops, parks
-good location for younger couples (twenty-something)

Should we focus on townhomes or fixer uppers? Which is a better 5-10 year investment for couple looking to expand family within a few years?

Thank you!

[Minnehahapolitan]

Any house that you put work into is going to appreciate more than a townhome that has nothing extra done to it. However, I would look for the location before I would focus on the housing type.

[Oildog]

Location, Location, Location

[Kebinminn]

It depends on your ability and how much work you're willing to do. You can get a house for 140k now because prices have dropped but that still isn't enough to buy into a higher end suburb. I'm not sure you can get the size of townhome you want for 140k without it needing some work.

If the first goal is a good school district you may want to look in the Minnetonka/Hopkins/Wayzata districts and see where the 140k will take you.

[Camden Northsider]

Meant to say in the other thread- I don't think townhomes are a good investment at all right now- it seems like with the exception of downtown lofts, condos/ townhomes have greatly lost their value as of late, and I would think that if someone can buy a single family home with a yard all their own for less than a townhome (and not have to pay assn fees), that the market will be pretty limited until that changes (and I've heard/ read about a lot of newly constructed townhomes/ condos sitting vacant right now both in the metro area and throughout the country). But that might mean that you have more bargaining power if you get a condo, and if you choose the right location/ association then it could be a good investment.

On your budget you are asking for a lot in a home/ townhome- I think you will find you will have to settle on a few items. And I would think that the only places that you will come close to finding what you are looking for will be within the city limits of Minneapolis or St. Paul, or an outer-outer tier suburb- I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in one of the first/ second tier suburbs in that price range (but I could be wrong, I don't tend to check out the MLS in suburban areas so maybe things have dropped way more than I've realized).

Also, it's harder to find a "fixer" townhome that you can build a lot of sweat equity in as stated by Minnehahapolitan- and if you do, you are much more limited in what you can do with it than a SFH.

[MNNative]

I agree with not focusing on townhomes...and I'll ditto what Camden mentioned; why buy a townhome and pay additional dues when you could buy a single family home for the same price (or less)?

Having said that, I did do a super quick mls search for both townhomes and single family homes with 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 2 car garage minimums at a max of $140k in suburbs I would recommend buying (based on school districts since you mentioned that might be of importance).

Here's roughly what I found (but remember, it was super quick so I didn't really look at each listing and you'll have to be the judge as to which homes are within your commute preference...):

Bloomington (I specified "west" in my search): 1 townhome @ $124,900 & 2 SFH starting at $130k.
Eden Prairie: 4 townhomes starting @ $119,900.
Edina: 1 SFH @ $129,900.
Hopkins: 4 townhomes starting @ $79,900 & 2 SFH starting @ $119,900.
Minnetonka: 1 SFH @ $119,900.
Plymouth: 1 townhouse @ $119,900.
St Louis Park: 1 SFH @ $139,900.
Apple Valley: 4 townhomes starting @ $85,800 & 3 SFH starting @ $119,900.
Eagan: 1 townhome @ $140k & 2 SFH starting @ $104,900.
Lakeville: 10 townhomes starting @ $79k.
Rosemount: 6 townhomes starting @ $97,500 & 3 SFH starting @ $84k.

[Boomerbiker]

You can find great foreclosure fixers for $140k - recently a house on Thomas (South) and 50th for $129k ($300k+ neighborhood) - another on 60th and Logan (South) for $142k - I would avoid townhouses until the market stabilizes.

[minneapolisbound]

Originally Posted by Boomerbiker

You can find great foreclosure fixers for $140k - recently a house on Thomas (South) and 50th for $129k ($300k+ neighborhood) - another on 60th and Logan (South) for $142k - I would avoid townhouses until the market stabilizes.

Note: There will most likely be multiple bids on this house and it will sell close to it's assessed value. I had my eye on a house in SW that was listed at $175,000. It ended up selling for $240,000 and is assessed for about $263,000

I think these low prices are 'teaser rates' by the banks in order to grab interest. It surely caught mine until I learned how the game is played.