The Hustle of Sistah Ant

I already have a few neighborhoods in mind for my house.  They’re both very different, but they each fit enough of my criteria to be worth consideration.  What are my criteria, you may ask? 

Well, I need to be able to afford the house and taxes, so that’s a big one.  I’m leaning conservatively while judging what I can afford.  That may be a little contrary to some folks’ reasoning.  I’ve heard (from a mortgage broker I know personally, no less) that because I’m at the beginning of my career, I should expect my income to increase, and so I should "reach up."  There’s some logic to that, but for all that, I could just wait until my income goes up to reach up.  That way, I won’t have to worry if for some reason my income stalls.  Reaching up is how people wind up getting foreclosures.  For now, a modest house that suits my modest income will do.

Another concern is safety.  I want to be able to walk to the store or to and from my car after dark without unnecessary fear.  I’m a city girl.  I’m not the type to hide from every bush and shadow.  But some neighborhoods are scarier than others.  Some neighborhoods are prey to random gunfire.  I didn’t go to college to get away from a bad neighborhood, just so I could move into one by choice after graduation.

However, when I say "safety," I don’t mean "stillness."  I hate suburbs, and I always have.  They bore me.  You have to drive everywhere.  Commuting to work is a pain.  It feels weird to walk in your neighborhood, ‘cause noone does, and there may not even be sidewalks.  You hardly see your neighbors.  You can’t walk a block to get milk from the store - you can’t walk to do anything interesting.  It’s bland and boring.  I like urban neighborhoods because they have a convenience and vibrancy that you just can’t get in the boondocks.  My new neighborhood has to have mass transit access located a short walk away from my house.  I’m not even sure if a park-and-ride is convenient enough for me, but I might settle for it.

Demographics are important, too.  I don’t want to be the only black person on my block.  I’ve been there.  It’s uncomfortable.  In my experience, here in the north, neighborhoods are often even more segregated than they are down south.   I don’t like that.  I’d like to live in a place where diversity comes with the package.

What about schools?  I have no children, yet.  By the time I have school aged children, one of two things needs to happen if the schools in my new neighborhood aren’t great (which is a distinct possibility within the city limits).  Either I will be able to afford a home in a better school district, or, I will be able to afford a good private school.  I’m hoping for the former, even though a "better school district" probably means that I might have to give up on my urban and diverse neighborhood.  I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, but if I have to, it’s a sacrifice I’ll have to be willing to make for my kid(s). 

That said, resale value becomes even more important.  I’ll need to be concerned about the wellness of the neighborhood, as well as whether or not I’d need to invest a lot of time and money into upgrading the house for a possible resale.  You can’t divine the future.  So I’ll have to try to objectively make an educated guess and hope for the best.

I’ve pretty much listed these in order of how they limit me so far as neighborhood choice.  The money determines what I can do.  The other stuff determines what I want and in what order.  My first choice neighborhood (this week) fits all of these.  Other considerations are what I want in the house itself.  I want three bedrooms (standard in rowhomes here), a decent-size kitchen, a finished basement, and natural gas utilities.  I’m willing to do upgrades if necessary, if I LOVE the rest of the house, but only on certain things.  For example,  I’m willing to add a garbage disposal and dishwasher, but I’m not willing to finish an unfinished basement.  I’m willing to upgrade an antique water heater, but not to redo the plumbing.  I’m willing to rip off paneling to paint, but not to rip out drywall and start from the studs.

I’m always on the hunt, casually now, but as my savings grows, it’ll ramp up and get more serious.  I’ve been checking real estate websites, checking incidences of crime, following prices, and taking not-so-random field trips.  Over the next several months, I’ll be doing a lot of homework while I’m saving.