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Old 09-18-2010, 08:24 AM
 
4 posts, read 11,646 times
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I did a bit of house flipping in the boom years in the south and now find myself fortunate enough to live in a house worth about $800k. I am considering a move to the Kalamazoo area and am wondering the best place for this price range. I've seen lots of suggestions for Portage. Is that the best choice? I do have 3 young kids and will know no one in the area, so large friendly neighborhoods with lots of kids are appealing ...

Any advice is much appreciated!
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Old 09-18-2010, 03:01 PM
 
Location: southwest michigan
1,061 posts, read 3,582,008 times
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I don't know if you are trying to stay within a certain commuting distance from a job in K-zoo, but if you're pretty open to anything in the general area, I would suggest looking at lakefront homes on Gull Lake, just north/northeast of the city. The cities would be Richland, Augusta, Hickory Corners, and maybe a couple of others. The school district (Gull Lake Community Schools) is very highly rated, the lake is amazing, and there are a lot of beautiful rural areas around while still being near enough to the city. Portage is fine and has a lot of conveniences, but it is a little too cookie-cutter/traffic filled for me (although, we did just move from southern California, and were looking for a change. You may not be). Hope this helps!
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Old 09-19-2010, 05:17 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,600,730 times
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Quote:
I don't know if you are trying to stay within a certain commuting distance from a job in K-zoo, but if you're pretty open to anything in the general area, I would suggest looking at lakefront homes on Gull Lake, just north/northeast of the city. The cities would be Richland, Augusta, Hickory Corners, and maybe a couple of others. The school district (Gull Lake Community Schools) is very highly rated, the lake is amazing, and there are a lot of beautiful rural areas around while still being near enough to the city. Portage is fine and has a lot of conveniences, but it is a little too cookie-cutter/traffic filled for me (although, we did just move from southern California, and were looking for a change. You may not be). Hope this helps!
I agree with this. You should look at the Gull Lake area and nowhere else. It is by far my favorite spot near Kalamazoo and has lots of expensive homes to choose from.
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Old 09-19-2010, 08:34 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bugmennot View Post
well you can now buy an 800k home in MI for 50k. Its a name your price for the buyer here. But don't expect it to go up anytime soon. I would not put big money into real estate, the bubble is the same as the tech bubble and it has been over ten years and has not even started to come back and will not. Homes were way over priced due to speculation and that speculation has busted. Homes should not cost anymore than they did three hundred years ago, not in money but time spent to earn the home. If it took two years avg wages to buy an avg home three hundred years ago, than it should take two years wages today. Homes do not go up in value, they adjust for inflation. If they went up in value, than it would hit a point that no one could afford a home except for the 2% richest in the nation. Gold is the bubble right now, if and when the economy stabilizes it will colapse down to its real value. This happened in the 80s when it went up to 1k an oz and then plummeted down to as low as 280 and oz and did not move much for 20 years. The era of flip this house is over, at least for those who do not know what they are doing. Now you have to buy right and know what to put into it. The days of throwing thousands into a home and getting thousands more back are over. This is why the flip this house shows are off the air
Blah blah blah blah.

Buy an $800,000 home for $50,000? What fantasy land are you living in?

This post is about the Kalamazoo area, specifically Gull Lake. It's not downtown Detroit or Flint. The housing market is pretty much average compared to the rest of the U.S. All areas of Michigan are not created equal. The houses on the lake are still in high demand. Prices might not be what they were in 2006, but you are NOT going to steal a house on Gull Lake.

Scroll down this page and check out the asking prices on these places. I don't see any $800,000 houses that are selling for $50,000.

http://www.gulllakemich.com/gull-lake-michigan-homes-on-gull-lake.htm
(http://www.gulllakerealty.info/Nav.aspx/Page=%2fPageManager%2fDefault.aspx%2fPageID%3d2100 758 - broken link)
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Old 09-19-2010, 08:55 AM
 
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Default Gull Lake ...

Gull Lake looks a bit out of the 800k range ... unless you're looking for 1500 sq ft. We have a family of 6 so looking for a bit larger home. Would love to live on a lake, but doesn't look realistic for us since I'd prefer we weren't all in bunk-beds! Hoping to find 4/5 bedrooms .... looks like that's $3MM on Gull Lake!
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Old 09-19-2010, 08:57 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,600,730 times
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Quote:
Gull Lake looks a bit out of the 800k range ... unless you're looking for 1500 sq ft. We have a family of 6 so looking for a bit larger home. Would love to live on a lake, but doesn't look realistic for us since I'd prefer we weren't all in bunk-beds! Hoping to find 4/5 bedrooms .... looks like that's $3MM on Gull Lake!
Sorry about that! I knew it was expensive, but I didn't know it was THAT expensive. I didn't realize it until I posted that link just now.
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Old 09-19-2010, 06:41 PM
 
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Southwestern Regional Information Center
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Old 09-20-2010, 05:07 AM
 
Location: southwest michigan
1,061 posts, read 3,582,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthTransplant View Post
Gull Lake looks a bit out of the 800k range ... unless you're looking for 1500 sq ft. We have a family of 6 so looking for a bit larger home. Would love to live on a lake, but doesn't look realistic for us since I'd prefer we weren't all in bunk-beds! Hoping to find 4/5 bedrooms .... looks like that's $3MM on Gull Lake!
It's true that the prices are high directly on the lake, but one or two streets away you still have incredible homes, the area is beautiful, and the prices are easily half or a quarter of the lakefront mansions. We are 5 miles from the lake and our house was *very* affordable. Richland/Augusta/Hickory Corners within the Gull Lake Community Schools district should definitely stay on your list!
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Old 09-20-2010, 07:05 PM
 
4 posts, read 11,646 times
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Default Taxes?

How are property taxes in the area?
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Old 09-21-2010, 06:52 AM
 
Location: Hernando, FL
749 posts, read 2,437,882 times
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If it were me Southtrans with your kind of money to spend I would be all over Mattawan, MI. Just 12 miles west of the city limits of K-Zoo. Beautiful homes nestled among grape vineyards and apple orchards. There is a large pharm research company (MPI) and the location makes it attractive to the well educated, scientists and staff that work there. The high school is top notch and the town is progressive, revitalizing their downtown.

It is a gem IMO and a place where an investment in a house will bear fruit nicely in the future. Definetly worth checking out.
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