Best Neighborhoods for Gay Male Couple? (St. Louis, University City: real estate, apartments, lofts)

[jlmwusa]

Thinking about relocating to ST Louis. What are best neighborhoods for gay male couple wanting to buy a fixer upper home?

[prairiestate]

Chicago, definitely!

[kshe95girl]

Soulard, Dogtown, Central West End, the Loop, University City, or if you have plenty of $$$$$$, Lafayette Square. The downtown area has lofts that are not completely redone yet, and if you are really adventurous, theres always North STL.
Also St Charles, not sure if you want something historic, or newer, but hope you love STL as much as I do, cant wait to get back there!
South STL, too, forgot to mention that!

[TGS]

Tower Grove South and Shaw have a TON of gay families and many homes that are livable but ready for rehab. The area is also relatively stable, without a lot of vacant homes.

Here are a couple of houses that are livable but could really use some love. The one on Juniata is on a beautiful block of homes, and the one on Utah is on one of the most expensive blocks in the area where homes can sell for over $500,000.
Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate
Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate
Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate
Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate

The area is pretty urban, so if you are looking for something a little more suburban, then check out Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Sunset Hills, or Manchester. These areas usually have ranch homes coming on the market that have been in the same family for decades and could use some updating.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

North St. Louis has plenty of fixer-uppers, and it is on it's way to being gentrified, but if you plan on fixing the home up and selling it, I wouldn't expect to get much out of it right away. It'll probably be a few years before the ONSL (Old North St. Louis) neighborhood properties start going up in value.
But really any of the neighborhoods in St. Louis are fine. Lafayette Square is more pricey, and probably less homes there to fix up. Soulard is also a nice area.
Downtown has loft buildings being developed, though I think they've been slowed by the housing market. Some are turning into apartments now for a while.
Each neighborhood is a little different, but all have positives and maybe a few negatives. But that's typical of any city.

What's your price range? I think that would help.

If you are planning to do a major overhaul, Missouri does offer tax credits for historic homes, but I'm not sure exactly how that works.

This house probably has to be my favorite I've seen online, but I doubt you need that much room, and it doesn't appear to need much work. I hope it sells soon. It's been on this site for months.


Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate
I don't know anything about the neighborhood. It's 4-5 blocks north of Carondelet Park near Hwy 55.
It's beautiful on Google Streetview as well. though there are some trees blocking the view.

Here's one just Southwest of Lafayette Square, but it may need more work than you're willing to do. Hard to tell from the pictures. A lot of rehabs don't even have pictures.
Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate
$69,900 3 BR

Don't forget, St. Louis now has Google Streetview. So you can look up the addresses there. Google approximates addresses, so you might have to do some looking around on the street before you actually find the house.

[Azalea City Man]

I'll admit that I am still new and somewhat "naive" to specific STL areas, although I have done alot of exploring since I have been here the last few months. But, why would Lafayette Square be labeled as "pricy" when compared to other similar areas (TG, Soul, etc.)? Maybe I drove through the wrong spots when exploring it, but I could have sworn that's where I was and it didn't look that much different.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by oscottscotto

I'll admit that I am still new and somewhat "naive" to specific STL areas, although I have done alot of exploring since I have been here the last few months. But, why would Lafayette Square be labeled as "pricy" when compared to other similar areas (TG, Soul, etc.)? Maybe I drove through the wrong spots when exploring it, but I could have sworn that's where I was and it didn't look that much different.

Lafayette Square homes usually are listed for about $500,000, including town homes. Tower Grove area homes usually are listed for about $250,000. The price per square foot of home runs about $100/square foot in the Tower Grove area, while in Lafayette Square it is more likely to be $150/square foot or more. There are always exceptions, such as the homes on Utah Place in Tower Grove, or the non-historic ('70s and '80s) town homes in Lafayette Square, but overall LS is more expensive than Tower Grove.

You should also be able to tell a big difference between the three story Painted Ladies of Lafayette Square and the brick four-squares in Tower Grove. They look completely different, and a Lafayette Square painted lady with a restored interior should command a pretty high price tag. Lafayette Square proper is pretty small, though, so maybe you were looking around nearby areas which aren't nearly as expensive.

[aragx6]

Yeah, if it didn't look different, you weren't in LS.

From City-Data:

[Azalea City Man]

Yep, guess I was in the wrong area lol

[Bluw]

I lived in south St. Louis for years. My old neighborhood has many gay and lesbian couples. The neighborhood goes from bad to really nice depending on the area. Best to drive thru and look. I grew up in the Tower Grove area.