Mpls/St Paul neighborhood help (Minneapolis: apartment complexes, rent, mortgage)

[Beenhere4ever]

Tough time to be looking for a big mortgage. You might end up renting.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by LH0607

Thank you everyone for your input! It has been really helpful and we are taking what you have said into consideration.

Cruz - Could you be more specific about which neighborhoods we should look at? You said "Phillips/Powderhorn/Longfellow/Nokomis area," but from everything I've heard, Phillips is a place to avoid. Maybe I'm mistaken?

Golfgal - The problem with our budget is that, as a full-time student, my husband isn't making a lot and so they aren't able to approve us for a very big mortgage. Even if he gets another job, they aren't able to count it towards a mortgage because it's not a "steady" job. So we are pretty set in our price restraints right now.

uptown urbanist - Yes, he is a student. We thought about the student housing options but I'm not interested in "apartment" living with 3 little kids - packing them all up to go do laundry on the other side of the building, etc. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion But more seriously, though, we are ready for our own place with our own responsibilities (assuming we can afford it...). Do you (or does anyone else) know of any places other than Blaine and Mounds View with good express bus routes to the U? (Thanks for the suggestions, northsub, but we didn't really see any houses in the area that worked for us and we would prefer to be in the south or west suburbs if we had the choice).

I really appreciate all of the feedback and would welcome any more!

I don't blame you for not wanting apartment life--YUCK. Yes, laundry with 3 little kids in tow is a major issue, as is bringing in groceries, etc. I would look in the South St. Paul area for a rental or maybe if you get lucky a place to buy. You do have to be a little careful about neighborhoods there but those are limited areas. The schools are ok, not great, but for a couple years they will be fine. You could also look into open enrolling into Woodbury or Mendota Heights/West St. Paul, you would just need to drive the kids to school and back. That area is one of the more affordable areas in the metro and easy commute to the U.

Hastings would be another really good option. It's a little further out, but not as far as what you have now. Housing prices are very reasonable for the metro area and the schools are good. There have been a fair number of houses on the market (foreclosures) in the $90K range that don't need that much work but rentals might be a good way to go too.

I would also suggest contacting the U of MN to see if any professors are looking to rent out their houses or have someone house sit during a sabbatical.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by LH0607

My family is planning on buying a house in either Mpls or St Paul to be closer to the U, but we have some questions that I thought someone here might be able to help with, and possibly help us narrow down which neighborhoods we should be searching in.

-Safety - we don't know much about the safety of the neighborhoods. From what we've heard, Frogtown and parts of North Mpls should be avoided. Are there any other areas that wouldn't be ideal for a family with small children?

-Schools - Where should I look to find accurate ratings on schools (particularly elementary)? Any thoughts on the schools in any neighborhoods that are being suggested?

-Commute to the U - Right now my husband is commuting 2 1/2 hours a day round trip and we really want to cut down on that. But looking at the bus routes from lots of places in St Paul, it's still going to take an hour to get to the U, even though it's so much closer, because of all of the stops. Does anyone know of any places that have good, direct routes that won't take so long?

We are looking in the range of about $80,000-90,000, so our options are very limited. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

A few questions and comments:

-What campus is your husband at? East Bank, West Bank, or St. Paul?

-What is your target commute time for your husband? I can get from Anoka to the main (East Bank) campus in just over an hour via public transportation, so there are still lots of areas of the metro that can cut his commute time down dramatically.

-Do you work or go to school? i.e. is there another location besides your husband's school that you need to be close to?

-How much longer does your husband expect to be in school?

Truth be told, there is a good chance you might be able to get to campus *faster* from some of the suburbs than from some parts of Minneapolis or St. Paul itself, because of express bus routes. If you are interested in that, take a look at the park-n-rides shown here: Metro Transit Interactive Map For instance, here are trips times from some of the park and rides to the West Bank, assuming you want to arrive at 8am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning...

Mound's View - 32 min
Champlin - 52 min
Richfield - 37 min
Burnsville - 30 min
Maple Grove - 39 min

Golfgal is right that townhouses have association fees in the $100-$200 range, but some of that is offset by lower insurance costs (condo/townhouse insurance is closer to cost to rental insurance), and lower maintenance costs. Plus, you don't have to mow your own lawn or shovel your own snow

[1stpontiac]

I'm actually sort of curious...if you don't mind saying, where do you live now, that your husband's commute is so long?

[uptown_urbanist]

Checking directly with the U or working any school networks for housesitting gigs is a great idea. I think the trick here is to get creative.

The benefit of renting, not buying, is that when your husband graduates and is focusing on full-time regular work, you will have the flexibility of moving anywhere and not worrying about commute; also, presumably you'll have a bigger budget (and more time to have saved for a bigger down payment) and will have more options.

As far as renting and laundry goes, you could also look into apartments that have in-unit laundry or hook-ups. I'm assuming that your rental budget is also fairly small, but there are also duplexes and single family homes for rent. It may not be your ideal, but it may be the most logical option, at least until you have a more stable income.

[LH0607]

We will have to check out some other options through the U, like some of you have been suggesting. Good ideas!

To answer some questions:
We are living in Eden Prairie right now. The 2 1/2 hours is from our house to the East Bank and back. We live 10 minutes from the Metro Transit station and then he takes the express bus, then he has to do one transfer and then walk a little bit to get to his building. So even a commute from somewhere like Champlin wouldn't really save him much time unless we were right next to the station. He would prefer as short a commute as possible, but I think he'd be ok with 45 minutes each way (that would still save him an hour a day).

His program is 4-5 more years.

Something that may change people's opinions a little bit is that we are living rent and utility free right now. We go back and forth about whether it's worth it to give this up or not because it is a good situation for us and for our kids (living with Grandma and Grandpa), but living here for another 4-5 years isn't too appealing either...

I'm a stay at home mom so location isn't as important to me. However, my parents and my husband's parents, as well as some of our other family that I spent a lot of time with and our church, are in the SW suburbs so I would prefer to be closer to this area because we will definitely save on gas money if we are closer.

Thanks everyone for your help!!

[1stpontiac]

Ah, that's a tough choice. Tough to pass up free rent and utility, but 4-5 years of living with parents is tough, too.

I can't say that I can offer much advice, but I will wish you the best in your decisions!

[LH0607]

Thanks, 1stpontiac. And we have already been here for 2 years. With our 3rd baby on the way in 3 years, who knows how many kids we might have 5 years from now We have a large living area and our own bathroom and full kitchen, but only 2 bedrooms, so we are beginning to outgrow our space.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by LH0607

Thanks, 1stpontiac. And we have already been here for 2 years. With our 3rd baby on the way in 3 years, who knows how many kids we might have 5 years from now We have a large living area and our own bathroom and full kitchen, but only 2 bedrooms, so we are beginning to outgrow our space.

Oddly enough, I actually have some friends in an almost exact copy of your situation on the other side of the metro. They live with friends, with their own living space, but have a 3 child on the way and are trying to figure out if they should buy now, or not.

[bbr1973]

LH0607, I suspect you can find plenty of options meeting your budget, safety, direct transit and space criteria in the Willard-Hay neighborhood of north Minneapolis.

The #7 bus line goes *directly* from the Willard-Hay and Near North neighborhoods to the West Bank of the U in 24 minutes. Other Metro Transit bus routes go north to downtown Robbinsdale or the future Wal-Mart in Brooklyn Center. The #19 goes straight to Target Field and then into downtown. From there you can connect to the Hiawatha light rail and even continue on to the Mall of America.

You have many school options within just a short distance. Besides the usual Mpls choices, the Hopkins school district (Golden Valley) and Robbinsdale school districts have elementary schools within a couple miles.

There are numerous parks with kids' play structures within walking distance, and we have our own water park at North Commons (Golden Valley Road & Knox Ave N, approximately). Wirth Park, the 700-acre behemoth that forms Willard-Hay's western border, has year-round activities from winter snow-tubing (tow rope and everything) to cross-country skiing, biking, golf, and nature trails.

The biggest highlights, however, are the many well built homes available for prices that are far below what the market would bear anywhere else, and it's solely because few people take the time to understand the difference between the good parts of north Minneapolis and the rough parts.

Furthermore, if you work with a realtor who has a deep working knowledge of this area, he or she will get you plugged in to the incredible array of homebuyer programs that are available. So not only can you get a good deal to begin with, but city and state programs can further reduce your downpayment and your interest rate. A friend of mine just paid $66,000 for a sharp 1917 bungalow (1500 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2-car garage, plus a full basement not included in the square footage totals) that had been remodeled top to bottom, inside and out, by a nonprofit.

Four years ago, I employed several stackable homebuyer programs to save $19,000 on the cost of my own home in the Homewood area of Willard-Hay. The folks across the alley saved $10,000. These opportunities are just sitting out there if you work with a realtor who is truly familiar with north Minneapolis. There aren't many of these "in-the-know" realtors -- I can think of only seven or eight off the top of my head -- but they will stop at nothing to get you into the right home at a price that usually boggles the mind.

If you have further questions, I would be more than happy to provide whatever details you might need.