bigger rowhouses & some north of Patt Park questions (Baltimore: middle-class, real estate)

[rootless_in_va]

My husband & I are about ready to sell our NoVA house and move to Baltimore. I'm still trying to figure out the neighborhoods and what would fit us best and even after backreading a lot on here I'm still unsure. We were thinking Patterson Park, but it seems like prices there have really spiked since last fall and most of it may be out of our reach now.

I've fallen in love with two places that both sold before we were ready to sell our house and both were in the same general area-- one SFH on Lake St. and one TH on Chesterfield Ave. right across from Herring Run Park. Loved the lake so close by and I really liked the larger size of the Chesterfield rowhouse and the little porch it had vs. the small ones in Highlandtown, etc. What neighborhoods have rowhomes like that in our price range? We're topping out at $235,000, need 3 bdrms/2ba and a basement (would love it if basement were finished, but the $125k place on Chesterfield had two living rooms & unfin basement which would work for what I want too). Am willing to take a place that hasn't been completely remodeled, though it'd need to be a lot less than $235k in that case.

Everything vaguely around Patt Park that fits our space needs is on or north of Fayette St. I've been reading comments that this area is problematic. Here are two I really like & would like to know what the neighborhood is like:
219 N Belnord Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224 - Zillow
(this one is listed as Butcher's Hill) 2229 E Fayette St, Baltimore, MD 21231 - Zillow

(I really liked the Chesterfield one better than both of those, though, even though it didn't have central air (we were prepared to have it put in) and wasn't remodeled, because the neighborhood looked like people were a bit more invested in it and it looked less pressed for parking space-- although the Fayette St. one has a parking pad, which I like.)

I'm *very* flexible about where we live in the city and want to find a realtor willing to think outside the box a little. Want to find someone who can think beyond just the super-trendy areas like Fed Hill, Canton, Fells, etc. (especially since we can't afford them anyway!). I want a sense of community (&good neighborhood association), unpretentious people, right size house, & the area doesn't need to be perfect. Thoughts?

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Did you look up north? Charles village, Hampden, Remington, waverly?

[rootless_in_va]

Hampden is pricey, it seems, anything in our range is really small. (I'm also leery of that many hipsters!) Don't know anything about the others, but will happily look into them! That's exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for, where we ought to look but haven't yet.

[GoPhils]

If you want a bigger home and like having parks/lakes close by and know the area isn't going to be perfect, maybe Reservoir Hill could be worth a look.

Here's a somewhat recent thread about what's been going on - https://www.city-data.com/forum/balti...-any-10-a.html

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Hampden prices went thru the roof... Not many larger row homes in Remington. Charles village still has some affordable larger homes south of 25th, res hill is a good choice too. There are larger homes (rows and standalones) in waverly too. Ednor gardens and lakeside are worth a peek. With the exception of Ednor gardens these are all transitional neighborhoods, which it sounds like might appeal to you. Send me a msg if you want any specific help, I'd be happy to.

[KLynch10]

You listed a house on Fayette which is a pretty busy street. I live on Light St. and would love to get off a busy street one day. The buses and traffic are quite loud.

[helenejen]

Do NOT go north of Fayette. I would say go no father north than the unit block off the park unless you absolutely fall in love with something in the 100 block. And if you do go into the 100 block make sure that you take a look at what goes on after 10pm on nice nights.

[remstone]

If you do a search for a 3BR/2BA between $200-225k then you'll get a few clusters in the city. There are others too but these rowhouse neighborhoods have a few each at least:

Patterson Park / Patterson Place - you've seen these
Oliver - surprising amount of activity, I wouldn't consider it yet unless you wanted to be quite close to Hopkins Hospital
Barclay - has been a very tough neighborhood, but redevelopment is changing things quickly. Houses being sold with massive subsidy and high quality, but will the momentum continue after they're done? Nice location but surrounding crime is a big question.
Reservoir Hill - also good location and with a park, but without businesses to walk to yet. It's reputation with some is worse than reality on the ground. Great housing stock but beware some shady renovations done during the last market run-up. It also has the well-constructed and subsidized houses like those being sold in Barclay, if you are income-qualified. Surprising variation in housing size for this price range (2000 to 4000sf).

I'm biased towards Reservoir Hill and can answer any of your questions about it.

You'll also see some in Pigtown (aka Washington Village) that are probably overpriced for the size, and occasionally in Union Square (big and beautiful but a bit isolated).

If you want to consider stand-alone houses that are early suburban but still in city limits then you could look to Ashburton,
"Northeast" (including Lauraville, Waltherson and some others), and a broad area out west around an Uplands redevelopment including Hunting Ridge, West Hills, and Ten Hills. All are much further from the city center. Ashburton has been a solid black middle-class area for decades with some very prominent names living there, but surrounding neighborhoods aren't as strong. Northeast is pretty diverse (in a big area) with some increased energy and business along Harford Road stretching up towards Hamilton. "Uplands" area has some incredible housing stock but could be in flux for another decade with Uplands houses, commercial redevelopment, and (eventually) the red line light rail coming through.

[chariega]

I second Reservoir Hill! I was in your spot a few months ago. We also moved from NoVA (Annandale) to Baltimore, and it's pretty much been an awesome decision! We just moved to Reservoir Hill about 2 months ago, and love our home and the neighborhood. Druid Hill Park is right across the way and the neighborhood has a ton of lovely homes. Plus there has been a lot of renovation going on and many vacants are being revitalized. As another poster mentioned, there aren't very many businesses within walking distance, but the location is EXCELLENT. 83 is a minute away and downtown is only a 5 minute drive. My husband rides his bike to work at the Inner Harbor and he says it takes about 20 minutes.

Not to mention, Baltimore has many incentive programs to buy. We used Vacants to Value and received $10k for closing costs/downpayment.

PS If you have any questions or need a great real estate agent in Baltimore, PM me. Our agent was great and he was very flexible and patient and really opened our eyes to places we would not have considered (including the house we bought). He's also knowledgeable about construction and great with availability for those times you would like to see a house you've found online on the fly (like we were)

[L in sobo]

1513 LOMBARD ST, BALTIMORE, MD 21223 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

Union Square is outside of the box. I LOVE this house and if we were moving I would definitely consider this place that is right on the park. We went to the Union Square Cookie Tour this past year and met the neighbors of this neighborhood and they were lovely, diverse. Some were young but most were older, professionals- photographers, doctors, lawyers, artists. The crime around the square is something to consider but the housing stock is some of the best in the city.

Good luck!