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Yep, me again. I made my move to Dearborn a couple months ago and now my father is talking about moving here from L.A. now that he's getting up there in age. Our idea at the moment is to buy a place that I would consider acceptable to have as my own down the road. Given that I live and work in Dearborn, ideally we would like to find something within a 20-mile radius. While a two-bedroom is definitely too large for him, that's the size we settled on (again, given future implications in mind). I know buying in SE MI can be tricky, which is why I need to find an area that would satisfy both our requirements, but first and foremost my father's. Here are keys to what we're looking for:
- Safety (i.e. being able to walk around at night)
- Walkability to grocery stores (he will most likely not have a vehicle or will have one that he'll use very sparingly)
- Nearby medical facilities (he's 74 after all)
- Not plummeting property values (well, that kind of goes without saying)
- NOT a retirement community (even if I could buy a place there instead of renting, my father is plenty self-sufficient)
- Easy accessibility to Dearborn (mostly for me to be able to get to him)
- Possibly some kind of Eastern European presence (we're Russian), but not mandatory
I've been seeing properties in Ann Arbor (the one place farther than 20 miles away that we'd consider) which go for around $100-120K (which is about our budget) for a 2-bedroom and am just curious if that's a reasonable price or if that might be too low? Coming from So Cal, we're used to substantially higher prices, hence we're always a bit apprehensive if the deal looks too good to be true. Also might consider West Bloomfield (for no other reason than the fact that there's a Russian grocery store there and other places he could walk to around Orchard Lake/14 mile). I'm still pretty new to the area, so if you've got a suggestion, I'd be happy to drive out to the town and check it out.
Marycrest Heights in Livonia looks to be a nice place. It's new, and it is a retirement community, but is a nice place. It's not walking distance to a grocery store, but one is not too far away. It is walking distance to a few restaurants and a strip mall. There's underground heated parking and quite a few floor plans.
Not too far from Dearborn. It is somewhat retirement oriented (that and families). My guess is about 40% of the population is retired. Quite a few are snowbirds, but more than half stay year round. Crime is negligble. Speed limits are mostly 25 with top speed on major streets of 35. Loads of activities for retirees. There are some "Over 50" apartments just off the main drag. there are some condos at the end of the main drag (Macomb Street) that may not be terribly expensive (some have water view and dock access, they will be more, but others are just condos at the end of the street). They also have a township shuttle to take older people to things off the island. There is an urgent care center on the main drag and Henry Ford Wyandotte is a few minutes away. It is a very low key, relaxed small town atmosphere. Mornings and evenings sometimes you find deer walking down Macomb street (the main drag). During the summer on Sundays, they have free concerts at the corner of Macomb and Meridian. things like barbershop quartets, classical singers, some older guys who have mild rock bands. . . Thre is a viewing dock at the end of Macomb that you can wlak out on and look at Canada (on a clear day you may even get to see some canadians). About 15-20 miles of bike/walking trails. 700 acres of open space, part of which is right in town.
No Russian grocery, but if you promise to buy lots of it, sometimes Nates will stock things specially requested.
If he is near Macomb street there are two groceries, a hardware, bakery and a handful of resturuants. Some places (Cathys and the Bakery) older people tend to hang out for hours and hours and just chill, or talk with whomever comes in.
A guy in my Kiwanis club lives in the retired living apartments and he loves i there. I will try to remember to ask him what it costs. I know he walks everywhere ort takes the township shuttle (or gets rides from friends/family). One potential downside is it is not far form the high school and they probably hear the band on football nights. They may hear them practicing in the morning too.
It is a pretty ideal place for retired people but it is a bit more expensive than most of Wayne County. However there are quite a lot of people living on fixed incomes and they seem to do OK.
I am not sure of the ethnicity, but our phone book is full of names with a series of Ys and Xs and Zs that are half a page long. I thik it is mostly Polish and slavic, but i am uncertain.
One issue, there are no chuches within walking distance of Macomb, but it is easy to find someone to give a ride to church if desired. Lots and lots of people rely on others to get to church.
The website will give you a little bit of an idea of what the township is like. It is a cluster of 14 islands, but you really think it is only one big island and maybe three outlying but connected islands. Access is by one of two bridges one free, one toll. Access has never been much of a problem. A bit of a crowd the first week the free bridge was closed for repaires, but not much once everyone got things worked out. Since the free bridge was just rebuilt, it probably will not need major work for some time.
The people are a mix of extremely uber wealthy, upper middle class families. some middle middle class families and retirees. Most of the people who fall below upper middle class are retirees who had an OK income in 1979 when they retired, but now struggle because their income has not changed in 30 years. However everyone mixes together becuase - well it is an island. We are all part of a limited community. A millionaire (billionaire maybe) sits next to the guy who cannot afford a car in our church.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 09-06-2012 at 12:37 PM..
IMO, 120K for a 2 bedroom house around here is actually a bit on the high side. 2 bedroom homes in SE Michigan average around 50K to 100K depending on the county. Wayne County is the cheapest (because of Detroit) and Oakland County is the most expensive. I'm not sure about the area around Ann Arbor, but I'd guess it's similar to Oakland County's prices. If it's cheaper than 40,000...then it's too low (most of those prices are in Detroit so I don't think you'll have to worry about that). In fact, most news I've heard lately is that Metro Detroit's property values have been increasing the past year; Oakland County with the largest increases.
But back to actually picking a city, Allen Park and the west side of Dearborn might be good places to start. They aren't really known as walkable areas, but there's plenty of smaller homes within your price range.
Marycrest Heights in Livonia looks to be a nice place. It's new, and it is a retirement community, but is a nice place. It's not walking distance to a grocery store, but one is not too far away. It is walking distance to a few restaurants and a strip mall. There's underground heated parking and quite a few floor plans.
I am not sure. Would have to see how much housing there is, but I've heard good things about it, especially for older folks.
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Not too far from Dearborn.
Check.
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It is somewhat retirement oriented (that and families). My guess is about 40% of the population is retired.
Sounds good so far.
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Quite a few are snowbirds, but more than half stay year round. Crime is negligble. Speed limits are mostly 25 with top speed on major streets of 35.
Excellent. I am not really sure how he feels about the proximity of the water, weather-wise, but it doesn't sound like it should be a big issue.
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Loads of activities for retirees. There are some "Over 50" apartments just off the main drag. there are some condos at the end of the main drag (Macomb Street) that may not be terribly expensive (some have water view and dock access, they will be more, but others are just condos at the end of the street). They also have a township shuttle to take older people to things off the island. There is an urgent care center on the main drag and Henry Ford Wyandotte is a few minutes away. It is a very low key, relaxed small town atmosphere. Mornings and evenings sometimes you find deer walking down Macomb street (the main drag). During the summer on Sundays, they have free concerts at the corner of Macomb and Meridian. things like barbershop quartets, classical singers, some older guys who have mild rock bands. . . Thre is a viewing dock at the end of Macomb that you can wlak out on and look at Canada (on a clear day you may even get to see some canadians). About 15-20 miles of bike/walking trails. 700 acres of open space, part of which is right in town.
*ding-ding-ding* We have a community name! Good to know - a condo is what we're leaning towards more so than a house. I am not sure how much he'll be into the activities (tends to keep to himself most of the time), but no harm in having that as a potential bonus.
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No Russian grocery, but if you promise to buy lots of it, sometimes Nates will stock things specially requested.
Yeah, those, as I have discovered, are few and far between - Ann Arbor, West Bloomfield and Royal Oak are the only places in Detroit Metro that seem to have one. There are some Polish stores, though, which I have under-explored (been to the one in Hamtramck).
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If he is near Macomb street there are two groceries, a hardware, bakery and a handful of resturuants. Some places (Cathys and the Bakery) older people tend to hang out for hours and hours and just chill, or talk with whomever comes in.
A guy in my Kiwanis club lives in the retired living apartments and he loves i there. I will try to remember to ask him what it costs. I know he walks everywhere ort takes the township shuttle (or gets rides from friends/family). One potential downside is it is not far form the high school and they probably hear the band on football nights. They may hear them practicing in the morning too.
Yeah, sounds like his kind of place. Will definitely check it out. I don't think the football practices will be a problem.
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It is a pretty ideal place for retired people but it is a bit more expensive than most of Wayne County. However there are quite a lot of people living on fixed incomes and they seem to do OK.
Well, that's just the thing. He'll be living on a very limited and fixed income. The key will be to see if we can afford the place between the two of us. Something in the vicinity of $100-120K, like I said above, is probably the max we'd go.
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I am not sure of the ethnicity, but our phone book is full of names with a series of Ys and Xs and Zs that are half a page long. I thik it is mostly Polish and slavic, but i am uncertain.
Well, like I said, it's not really a priority, just a "nice to have". So if there are people who speak English equally as badly as he does, great. If not - oh well.
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One issue, there are no chuches within walking distance of Macomb, but it is easy to find someone to give a ride to church if desired. Lots and lots of people rely on others to get to church.
Not an issue at all.
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The website will give you a little bit of an idea of what the township is like. It is a cluster of 14 islands, but you really think it is only one big island and maybe three outlying but connected islands. Access is by one of two bridges one free, one toll. Access has never been much of a problem. A bit of a crowd the first week the free bridge was closed for repaires, but not much once everyone got things worked out. Since the free bridge was just rebuilt, it probably will not need major work for some time.
Cool, thanks very much! I'll try to drive out there this weekend to check the area out.
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The people are a mix of extremely uber wealthy, upper middle class families. some middle middle class families and retirees. Most of the people who fall below upper middle class are retirees who had an OK income in 1979 when they retired, but now struggle because their income has not changed in 30 years. However everyone mixes together becuase - well it is an island. We are all part of a limited community. A millionaire (billionaire maybe) sits next to the guy who cannot afford a car in our church.
Sounds good. By the sound of things, he'll skew more towards the latter, than the former, but if we can find a decent place cheap enough, it won't be a problem - he's rather austere when it comes to his livelihood.
IMO, 120K for a 2 bedroom house around here is actually a bit on the high side. 2 bedroom homes in SE Michigan average around 50K to 100K depending on the county. Wayne County is the cheapest (because of Detroit) and Oakland County is the most expensive. I'm not sure about the area around Ann Arbor, but I'd guess it's similar to Oakland County's prices. If it's cheaper than 40,000...then it's too low (most of those prices are in Detroit so I don't think you'll have to worry about that). In fact, most news I've heard lately is that Metro Detroit's property values have been increasing the past year; Oakland County with the largest increases.
But back to actually picking a city, Allen Park and the west side of Dearborn might be good places to start. They aren't really known as walkable areas, but there's plenty of smaller homes within your price range.
I think we're looking more for a condo/town house rather than a house proper. I am not sure how much I want him living that close to me, as well. And the walkability is really a huge deal, which is why I like West Bloomfield so much, for example. He likes to go out on walks late at night (sun isn't kind to his skin) and in WB there are some communities where you don't even have to leave the property to walk around for an hour.
. I am not really sure how he feels about the proximity of the water, weather-wise, but it doesn't sound like it should be a big issue..
The water tends to temper the weather a bit. frequently it is a tiny bit cooler in the summer and a tiny bit warmer int he winter than in Trenton/Woodhaven. Most of the time it is about the same. What seems to concern some older people about being on an insland is the possibility that the bridges could be unavailable when they have an emergency. To my knowlege it has never happened and it does nto seem to discourage the thousands of older people who live in Grosse Ile, but I have heard it expressed as a concern.
The condos are at the end of Macomb Street all the way to East River Road. There are condos on the left and the right. There are other condos around. Some are townhouses nestled in the woods. However the ones on Macomb have the best access to shopping, bars, bakery etcetera.
If you like it and want to get prices, let me know and I will try to remember the name of the realtor we used. She is very sweet and quite knowlegable about the township.
The water tends to temper the weather a bit. frequently it is a tiny bit cooler in the summer and a tiny bit warmer int he winter than in Trenton/Woodhaven. Most of the time it is about the same. What seems to concern some older people about being on an insland is the possibility that the bridges could be unavailable when they have an emergency. To my knowlege it has never happened and it does nto seem to discourage the thousands of older people who live in Grosse Ile, but I have heard it expressed as a concern.
The condos are at the end of Macomb Street all the way to East River Road. There are condos on the left and the right. There are other condos around. Some are townhouses nestled in the woods. However the ones on Macomb have the best access to shopping, bars, bakery etcetera.
If you like it and want to get prices, let me know and I will try to remember the name of the realtor we used. She is very sweet and quite knowlegable about the township.
Cool, thanks very much! I will let you know once I've driven around there (hopefully this weekend).
Checked out Grosse Ile and actually went into a Century 21 office and looked at some MLS listings with an agent. Coldjensen, would still like to talk to your realtor if you can remember the name. Not yet 100% set on Grosse Ile being what we need and want to check out Northville, West Bloomfield, Royal Oak and Ann Arbor, but a good starting point. Any other communities?
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Livonia
Good to know - a condo is what we're leaning towards more so than a house. I am not sure how much he'll be into the activities (tends to keep to himself most of the time), but no harm in having that as a potential bonus.
. And the walkability is really a huge deal, which is why I like West Bloomfield so much, for example. He likes to go out on walks late at night (sun isn't kind to his skin) and in WB there are some communities where you don't even have to leave the property to walk around for an hour.
