Would you buy property to build a house near a ghetto?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Hell no - people suck. Buy the best property someone else's money can afford.

[jwasbury]

I have zero familiarity with Houston, but I do feel there is a macro trend towards urban revitalization. For years people fled the burned out metros for the "safe haven" of surburbia. Now the pendulum is swinging the other way, people are tired of spending half of their lives stuck in traffic commuting, so they are moving closer to the urban centers where the highest concentration of jobs are.

This is playing out right now in my 'hood. People are getting priced out of Brooklyn and have discovered the "wild wild" west side of the Hudson river. Even the nice parts of Jersey City where I live are still close to the "ghetto" My neighbors house just sold for $1.4m and its next door to an abandoned building. Dude was shot dead just around the corner just a year ago...doesn't seem to stop the values from going up, and it was the GLBTs and the artists who came into the 'hood first and made it "ok" for the rest.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by David

I'd really like to move back into Houston from the suburbs but I still want a big garage like I have in the suburbs. Housing in Houston is very reasonable until you get into something in a good neighborhood inside the loop or in the Memorial area which would be the ideal choice but pretty far above my budget.

I'd like to build a house so it's the way I want it which is a large garage and small house. Ideally garage first floor and living area on the second and third floor. So small lot and not much yard to maintain. I figure a 5,000 sqft lot would be fine.

The problem is a lot like that in a decent inner city neighborhood is about $400k plus. Figure house cost on top of that and it gets way above my budget.

So I've been thinking about buying in a 'transitional' neighborhood where I could find a lot for about $100k. Then wait a year or two or more until others start building up around it.

The problem is that even as the neighborhood fills in with new houses the ghetto will still be only blocks away.

BTW, when I moved to the suburbs 15 years ago, those same lots that are $400k or more were only $100K, and the house I bought has hardly increased in value at all.

Navigation Blvd. Really not a bad area, but definitely blighted and industrial. Stay east of I-45 and you'll be fine.

[vash]

Oakland. I chickened out on a house. Super ghetto. Now! 10 years later the neighborhood is super nice. And expensive.

[Por_sha911]

"location, location, location"

[mreid]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Personally if you don't really care about a suburban "neighborhood" vibe look for a dual use zoned property in a light industrial / commercial area and convert the space.

This is what Magnus Walker did. It seemed to work for him.

[john70t]

After 8pm all the industrial workers will have gone home.
It's too far to walk into the middle of nowhere for the drunkies, and the bangers are too busy showing off in the hotspots.
Neighborhood is empty. Nobody knows you exist.
Time for a awesome rave or to bury that dead hooker.

Fences and dogs.

[Pazuzu]

You missed out on EaDo, as soon as they broke ground for the dynamo stadium the land went up by 50%, and it's gone up another 100% since then. I know, because I looked into it *before* all of that

77004. Southmore area, specifically East of 288. It will be the next area to gentrify, I'm calling it. Was Jewish, then wealthy black, then poor black (just like Sharpstown, which is already gentrified). The houses are still mostly intact and all interesting mid century 2 story brick homes. Views of downtown.



Oops! Nevermind, just checked HAR, that area has already changed. The homes that were $100k when we looked 4 years ago are $350k+ now.

There's a reason I'm trying to buy the rental we're in, we love the area and don't want to play games hunting around. Unfortunately, my block has gone up $100k in the past year while I dragged my feet.

[red-beard]

Mike, I'm thinking a bit further down Navigation, east of Lockwood...There are townhouses that backup to Navigation listing for $120-150K.

[sveiks]

Location....location....location.....and buy the crappiest house in the best neighborhood that you can afford......

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Mike, I'm thinking a bit further down Navigation, east of Lockwood...There are townhouses that backup to Navigation listing for $120-150K.

That's a dead zone, too much industry, too many train tracks, too many warehouses. Gentrifying a neighborhood like that is far to expensive for even our city (at least for the next 20 years). We have so much space that it's always going to be better taking an existing residential area and rebuilding it, we don't need to change our commercial areas like tightly bound cities do (Chicago for example, where warehouse districts are the up and coming things).

Now, the expanding Metro line *might* speed things up, but i'm not putting any hope into that.

I think you can still find some blank lots on the East edge of Midtown, which is still under the greater umbrella of 77004.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Gentrifying a neighborhood like that is far to expensive for even our city (at least for the next 20 years).

There's something to be said about long-term strategy. The neighborhood is a wasteland now and the property taxes should reflect that. Big house and low taxes. But many areas have a cap limiter on yearly increases. San Francisco is a prime example of hugely expensive homes bought in the 70s-80s who are paying only a small fraction of what their valuation is worth. Buy and hold mentality even if non-homestead for a while.

It depends on the growth of the city, more so than the neighborhood, but Houston won't go the way of Detroit anytime soon.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

That's a dead zone, too much industry, too many train tracks, too many warehouses. Gentrifying a neighborhood like that is far to expensive for even our city (at least for the next 20 years). We have so much space that it's always going to be better taking an existing residential area and rebuilding it, we don't need to change our commercial areas like tightly bound cities do (Chicago for example, where warehouse districts are the up and coming things).

Now, the expanding Metro line *might* speed things up, but i'm not putting any hope into that.

I think you can still find some blank lots on the East edge of Midtown, which is still under the greater umbrella of 77004.

I'm not talking about gentrification. I'm trying to fit David's goal of affordable housing close to downtown.

We ride Polk and Leeland then cross through some neighborhoods to Evergreen. That area isn't bad and you can find 2500-3000 sq foot on 6000 sq ft lot for $199K.

[bivenator]

I know of some guys that redid a warehouse on the Ship Channel. They have a pontoon boat docked. Pretty sweet deal. There is a van down by the river that is cheap.

[fintstone]

I likely would not build a home for my family in a rough area. If single...sure...if it were a unique property.

[Pazuzu]

2516 Cleburne St, Houston, TX 77004 - HAR.com

Listed this week. 5000+ ft, under $100k, nice homes in the area, and if you can find the owner of 2518 Cleburne, you get a 10,000 sqft corner lot.

Done and done, I'll take a finders fee in beer.

[David]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

2516 Cleburne St, Houston, TX 77004 - HAR.com

Listed this week. 5000+ ft, under $100k, nice homes in the area, and if you can find the owner of 2518 Cleburne, you get a 10,000 sqft corner lot.

Done and done, I'll take a finders fee in beer.

That's a little too deep in the ghetto for me. I was looking near Dowling and Gray when I started this thread. There are a lot of new houses going up there but that area on Cleburne just a few blocks away is not a little scary, it's really scary!

I've also been looking in the 4th ward just north of Gray and south of Allen Parkway but the narrow one way streets are too small for my comfort.

[David]

Originally Posted by masraum

David, I can't address your question exactly, but I can say that selling our house out there and moving into town was a fantastic move. We are currently in an apt, so no garage. I sold all of my tools and garage stuff which hurt.

The car addiction makes it really difficult. I haven't even been wrenching much lately but I expect to start up again any day now

If it wasn't for cars, I'd just buy a townhouse in town and be done with my search.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by David

The car addiction makes it really difficult. I haven't even been wrenching much lately but I expect to start up again any day now

If it wasn't for cars, I'd just buy a townhouse in town and be done with my search.

Reading you loud and clear on that!

[Kraftwerk]

(didn't read this whole thread...)
Moved to a ghetto in 1988, as a renter. Small buildings were cheap (for Bklyn./NYC: $75,000 etc.) After a few years you could feel the neighborhood was changing, getting better. That same building for 75,000 is over 2 million dollars now The ****ty old factory building I live in is on the market for 19 million, which is optimistic but still... this was a two/three mil building 15 years ago.. So if you want to be part of a gentrification project: go for it. The real ghetto might not ever go away though, or improve, depends on a lot of factors...you have to be in fo r a 10 -20 year cycle. Sounds like you have more options to explore.