Advice on Buying a House in Historic West Central Neighborhood of Fort Wayne? (New Haven: for sale)

[lyner]

I am a young male who is currently renting in Fort Wayne, but would like to take advantage of the housing market. This would be my first house purchase.

I am not interested in buying a house in the middle of suburbia, and a little charm to the house wouldn't hurt either. Therefore, I'm looking at the the Historic West Central Neighborhood. I am open to buying a cheap fixer-upper house as well.


My preliminary research has shown that the condition of the houses in this neighborhood vary quite significantly and is probably described best by a random comment that I found on a different site:

As a 25+ year resident of this neighborhood, you'll find it is very diverse. $12,000 cottages of 1500 sq. ft. in need of full renovation a couple of blocks from fully restored brick and granite clad mansions of 4000 sq. ft.+ in the hundreds of thousands of $. Everyone from professionals to fast food workers and students living in them.

Do any of you guys have any advice or know any point of contacts that I can talk to? ...perhaps, a realtor that has experience with the neighborhood? Any other neighborhoods that I should look into?

Also, given the diversity, is it a safe place to walk or bike?

[jmx66]

Originally Posted by lyner

I am a young male who is currently renting in Fort Wayne, but would like to take advantage of the housing market. This would be my first house purchase.

I am not interested in buying a house in the middle of suburbia, and a little charm to the house wouldn't hurt either. Therefore, I'm looking at the the Historic West Central Neighborhood. I am open to buying a cheap fixer-upper house as well.


My preliminary research has shown that the condition of the houses in this neighborhood vary quite significantly and is probably described best by a random comment that I found on a different site:

Do any of you guys have any advice or know any point of contacts that I can talk to? ...perhaps, a realtor that has experience with the neighborhood? Any other neighborhoods that I should look into?

Also, given the diversity, is it a safe place to walk or bike?

I live outside of town (east of New Haven) but I used live in town. Most areas of Fort Wayne are "safe" and if you use common sense, you shouldn't experience many (if any) problems. The key is to be careful of your surroundings and to pay attention to what is going on.

I would suggest that if you are looking for a "fixer upper) that you look:

1. Around Downtown Fort Wayne, particularly west and northwest of downtown. For reasons of crime (burglaries mostly) I would avoid directly south, southeast and east of the downtown.
2. Over by Fort Wayne Zoo, especially on Sherman just before you reach the bypass.
3. Out W. State St. around the Dana plant and before Ardmore/Hillegas
4. Many places along St. Joe Center Rd. (there are quite a few For Sale properties up that way)
5. New Haven (while it's not Fort Wayne, the cost of living is lower and there more than a few homes for sale)

There are likely a few other places that I'm forgetting, but if you contact a realtor they'll be able to assist you in locating a home in an area where you'll feel safe. The major problem with downtown or close to it is that there are limited shopping outlets nearby, meaning that you'll need a car and that public transit here is exceptionally poor considering the size of the city.

Good Luck!

[brainiac138]

In my opinion, the houses are overpriced in West Central for what you get. Usually the houses that go for sale are in need of ridiculous repairs, which will be extremely expensive since the houses are so old. I will say a neighborhood that is attracting some of the people who wanted to by in West Central but were turned off because of the price is Williams Woodland in the south part of Fort Wayne. Many young professionals are buying up houses just as historical as the ones in West Central for a much lower asking price. Of course, it is still an area is "transition" so that is something to take into consideration.

[lyner]

Given its diverse demographic, how safe is west central compared to other suburban neighborhoods? What are some sites that provide this type of information?

[brainiac138]

Originally Posted by lyner

Given its diverse demographic, how safe is west central compared to other suburban neighborhoods? What are some sites that provide this type of information?

I don't know of any sites but I don't see how West Central will compare to any suburban neighborhoods as it is not suburban at all. It runs the gambit of residents in terms of race and socioeconomic status, there are people completely impoverished living there, as well as young professionals, lawyers, and politicians and students. Generally, it has a reputation as being a very tolerant, liberal neighborhood, one of the first gay-friendly neighborhoods in Fort Wayne and home to home art galleries.

[alspringer]

Originally Posted by lyner

I am a young male who is currently renting in Fort Wayne, but would like to take advantage of the housing market. This would be my first house purchase.

I am not interested in buying a house in the middle of suburbia, and a little charm to the house wouldn't hurt either. Therefore, I'm looking at the the Historic West Central Neighborhood. I am open to buying a cheap fixer-upper house as well.


My preliminary research has shown that the condition of the houses in this neighborhood vary quite significantly and is probably described best by a random comment that I found on a different site:

Do any of you guys have any advice or know any point of contacts that I can talk to? ...perhaps, a realtor that has experience with the neighborhood? Any other neighborhoods that I should look into?

Also, given the diversity, is it a safe place to walk or bike?

lyner, west central does have a VERY diverse range of prices. I just did a quck search in West Central there are currently 8 active listings ranging from $35,000 to $1.2 million. I have a few friends who have lived in WC and havent had any problems as far as crime goes, but im sure it has its moments. Like brainiac said, it is a very liberal neighborhood. There are alot of artsy people and lot of poeple whos main mode of transportation is by bike. Another area you may want to consider is the Southwood Park, Historic Oakdale neighborhoods. They are arond the old Taylor University Campus. Just a couple minutes to West Central and there are MANY more homes avaialable in those neighborhoods with all types of price points. I have flipped a handful of properties in that area and have gotten homes starting at $10,000 but there are also mansions on Old Mill for $1million+. I am a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, feel free to give me a call at 260.255.6572 or shoot me an email to alspringer@gmail.com[/EMAIL"]alspringer@gmail.com if you would like me to show you some listings or help you figure out the neighborhood that would work best for your situation.

Adam Springer

[pjbolako]

I have two houses in Williams Woodland Park, which was mentioned favorably above. I've rented in West Central. I think they are both great neighborhoods, and I have no issue with crime personally or feeling unsafe. Go to these places if you can during the times you would want to be out. Does it feel comfortable to you?

Contact the neighborhood associations via their websites: www.WilliamsWoodlandPark.com and West Central Neighborhood Association | Where History, Art, and Friends Meet . They would be thrilled to hear your are interested in buying a home. Go to a neighborhood function or meeting to get a feel for the community’s personality.

West Central is huge compared to Williams Woodland Park. They are more than West Wayne and West Berry but extend to the GE plant. I'm sure they have something for you. Williams Woodland has plenty of houses to fix up too. Just this spring three were auctioned for $6k to $12.5k. Sure, they had no heating systems, but they have a great community, and you just cannot build that on your own. One at 328 W Creighton Ave. is being flipped now.

On real estate agents, find one sympathetic to your needs. Many will redirect folks away from older neighborhoods like red-lining was legal or something. I've had many new hires at Raytheon and ITT tell me that their realtor said there was no houses like mine in the city. Current neighbors of mine have said they have run into realtors not willing to show them a specific house in my neighborhood that they wanted to see and was listed in the MLS! I can only think it is personal bias, unfamiliarity, or low prices which yields low commissions that makes them do that. Be careful with them.

Pete

PS. Feel free to call two60-threefour1-48seven5 if you want a tour of Williams Woodland Park. We're nuts about it.