Riverfront Condos on First Ave (for sale, real estate, rent)

[tootallpaul]

Hey All,

I am moving to Nashville with my (will-then-be) wife to attend grad school at Vanderbilt. I want to take advantage of the tax credit for first time home buyers, so we are looking at buying a condo or house. Does anyone know anything about the riverfront condos on First Ave. They look nice and are not very expensive, however, I noticed there were a lot of them for sale and that scares me. Is that area safe? I also noticed that the bike ride from the condos to Vandy would be around 2.5 miles, but are those roads safe to bike on? I had considered houses in the Hadley/Washington area, but am nervous about safety and being able to possibly sale the house in three years in case I move to another city. The houses on the other side of Vandy are out of our price range.

Thanks!

[ben52284]

I can't contribute much regarding first avenue, but I live in the Hadley park area(as a vandy grad student), and I think it's a great way to go as long as you are comfortable living in a city and your priorities are cheap and convenient to school. It's an easy walk/bike ride to Vandy which I have done at all hours, though my wife will only walk in our neighborhood during daylight.

For either of those areas, the bike ride is not bad, though I make a point of using slime tubes to avoid punctures.

[tootallpaul]

Thanks Ben.

Are you renting or buying in Hadley? If you are buying, how easy or hard do you think it would be to at least recoup your investment? Are there plenty of things to within walking distance of the Hadley area? Grocery, restaurants, etc.

[ben52284]

We bought our house and fixed it up(I didn't have to TA my first year). I expect to probably break even, but any profit is probably contingent on how the rest of the neighborhood looks in a couple years. There have been a few new houses/condos which have gone up within two or three blocks of us since we moved here in 06, which is pretty encouraging with regards to resale. And, for what it's worth, Metro thinks the value of our house is going up about 9% annually.

The neighborhood is not necessarily all that walkable in terms of groceries and restaurants though. There are tons of restaurants within two miles, and a couple within walking distance, but the closest krogers is on 8th and monroe, which I definitely wouldn't recommend walking to. Of course, you'll have the same problem with groceries on first avenue.

[tootallpaul]

Do you worry about your wife walking in the day without you? Have you had your vehicles or house vandalized since you've been there? Finally, if you don't mind, do you know anything about the neighborhoods surrounding these houses in the Hadley/Washington area? Would you recommend one of these over the others?

Listings Search > BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners
Listings Search > BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners
Listings Search > BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners
Listings Search > BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners
Listings Search > BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners

This was the townhouse that I loved, but it's already in contract.

Listings Search > BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners

I appreciate any help you can provide. I'm going to be able to go to Nashville this Saturday, but only have a few hours there and would appreciate some help in narrowing the search.

Thanks again!

[ben52284]

I'm not worried about her walking in the day, though she has had some trouble with obnoxious catcalls, especially shortly after school lets out. We haven't had any vandalism/crime issues with our property. I would say the most annoying thing for me is noise concerns--radios turned up too loudly, people honking rather than getting out of their cars, etc. At any rate, I would certainly stay off of 28th ave--it's just too busy an area. The house on hermosa is actually a block away from our house, and in one of the better areas in the hadley neighborhood. I can't provide too much of an intelligent comment on the other listings past saying that you should trust your first instinct.

[tootallpaul]

On my way home after admitted student day, I actually drove by and looked at the house on Hermosa and met the neighbor across the street. It looked like a decent area, but I wasn't working on full capacity after staying out most of the night, which I'm not used to doing now that I've spent the past two years as a teacher.

Do you think 100k is a fiar price for that house on Hermosa?

[ben52284]

Originally Posted by tootallpaul

Do you think 100k is a fiar price for that house on Hermosa?

I don't know how well I can answer that. The most comparable sale I can think of is 2403 batavia(both are similarly sized brick houses), and it sold for 85k last year. With that said, I would choose hermosa over batavia 10 times out of 10, and the house on batavia hadn't been remodeled.

[tootallpaul]

Thanks Ben. I really appreciate all of your help and I'm looking forward to moving to Nashville.

[to570717]

Hi, I am resurrecting this thread to see if anyone could add any recent details regarding this place for renters? I have seen prces at 875 per month...I am looking for a 1-1, would this be a good place to live? for a year?