Relocating to Detroit

[JLC]

We are relocating to the Detroit area and want to buy in the city limits. I am looking for suggestions of where we should look for a house. Street names would be great because I don't know the neighborhoods very well.

[Cliffy]

Thats an open ended question. We need budget and your expectations.

[JLC]

Reasonably safe. Looking for a house. We would, of course, like to get a deal like everybody. Maybe 40k... As for expectations...we understand reasonable precautions to be safe. I love city neighborhoods. I like a diverse place, a corner pub, a grocery and a couple of delivery places. I want to be able to be in my yard, talk to my neighbors and plant flowers.

[EastsideAl]

Where are you coming from? Helps to know what your expectations of a city neighborhood are. Even when it was a more populous and much more functional city, Detroit was much less "urban" than most other big cities in the country.

[JLC]

We live outside of Atlanta now. We have lived in Miami, Boston, NYC, and Chicago. We are both from small towns in Michigan so we see this as a homecoming.

[brizee]

Maybe think about the Northwest side of the city.

That would be Districts 1 and 2.

My sister lives in Rosedale which is pretty ritzy and maybe a little richer than you're looking for. It's a nice area but a little too nose in the air for me.

I live two streets west of Marygrove college. It's a decent/safe enough hood.

From what it sounds like you want try one neighborhoods N of McNichols, east of the Lodge freeway and West of Livernois.

The same area between Livernous and Woodward North of Mcnichols might satisfy what you're looking for.

East of Woodward [[and I mean JUST east of Woodward) between Mcnichols and 7 mile there's some decent looking [[never really visited) homes, but it gets rough quick. Personally I'm looking to up several homes in this area over the years. If public transit in this town ever stops circle jerking that pocket might start healing.

[JLC]

Thanks. That is great info. How do I find out the District maps? Preferred site?

[Lowell]

Welcome home JLC and welcome to the forum. I'm originally from small town Michigan too, Perry.

In the $40K range for "...we understand reasonable precautions to be safe. I love city neighborhoods. I like a diverse place, a corner pub, a grocery and a couple of delivery places. I want to be able to be in my yard, talk to my neighbors and plant flowers." Southwest and Hamtramck kind of fit that bill. The latter is not technically Detroit, but being surrounded by Detroit, it kind of counts.

[JLC]

More good info! Anyone know a good realtor?

[Ben]

If I were you I would look in East English Village and Morningside. They both have beautiful homes and are relatively safe. EEV is very diverse and I think that you could get a home for the mid to upper 40's.

[JLC]

Welcome home JLC and welcome to the forum. I'm originally from small town Michigan too, Perry.

I am from the southwest corner of Michigan, St. Joseph, and hubby is from Adrian. I lived for a short time in Novi but it is way too suburban for me! We both believe in the city of Detroit and want to be part of the solution. I should mention that hubby will work from the airport and I will be looking for a job teaching high school.

[Artistic]

I am moving to Detroit from Chicago. Closing on a house in Sherwood Forest. The location is north of 7 mile and east of Livernois. There neighborhood association can be found at www.sherwoodforestdetroit.org Very beautiful area with a strong association and private security patrol. Good luck on your move

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

That's a little too broad a question for us to be of much use here. I recommend using websites [[Trulia, Zillow, etc) and finding a few houses of interest, and then posting the neighborhoods here for our opinions. There are just a so many neighborhoods and so many criteria personal to you. Good luck, though, and welcome.

[MotorCityTrikes]

I grew up in Brightmoor but I wouldn't suggest moving there quite yet. Rosedale Park is still nice. I think?

[Eric_c]

www.thevillagesofdetroit.com

I've lived here for 10 years and love it.

[Hamtragedy]

Sherwood Forest or Green Acres.

If you want a pub on the corner, Hamtramck. And the police show up there in about two minutes.

[Neilr]

Hello JLC. You are going to be priced out of Lafayette Park which is just east of the Central Business District, but right to the east of Lafayette Park are the various Elmwood Park coops. If you like 1960s era townhouses, take a look on streets such as Hyde Park, St. Aubin, Stafford Place, etc. except for the corner pub thing, you might find the area may meet your criteria.

[sumas]

I agree with Ben, East English Village is a great option. There are just so many options though. Consider maybe a riverfront condo. Lots of shopping options less so for dining.I could list many communities as great places to be, west and eastside.

Best to rent first to explore options.

[sumas]

Oops, forgot to say welcome. Despite our stats, Detroiters are amazingly friendly.

[JLC]

Best to rent first to explore options.

I would love to rent first but most landlords frown on the number of fur babies we have!

[RickBeall]

If you want a small town ambiance, and the ability to walk to dozens of shops [[okay, most of them sell cell phones and Saris), but there are some great fruit markets, unique meat markets, and corner bars --- move into my neighborhood in Hamtramck. Get a bicycle and ride down town or to Eastern market from there.

[RickBeall]

Oh, I wanted to mention, that a house is only as good as its neighbors. Don't move anywhere where you don't want to meet your neighbors, or where you feel afraid to walk during the day. Those are my general rules of thumb. So don't just fall in love with a house and not think about the area arround it.

[gnome]

I can't say I agree with this guy's commentary, but he gives a pretty interesting tour of the City.

I strongly urge the OP to rent. Give Austin Black III a call and have him find you a place that accepts pets. Do NOT buy a house here before you know the area. It doesn't matter what anyone says about one neighborhood or area. Your tastes and expectations are different. Dropping 40K will guarantee stress in your life and marriage. It doesn't matter how savvy you are, how tough you are, or perspicuous; within a few months you will feel like you made a terrible decision just because you jumped into buying a house before you knew the area.

[belleislerunner]

I agree with the get to know the neighbors before you buy the house.

When you rent a house - you don't care as much about neighbors because you can move after 6 months/year and you just "deal with it".

It would be stupid to close on a house without knocking on the doors of neighbors on all sides [[front, back, accross the street etc). Say you're interested in buying the house and ask them about the neighborhood. What they love. What they hate etc.

If it's a decent neighborhood the neighbors will welcome the conversation [[because they want you to be a good neighbor too). Then you know what you're moving into [[until the neighbors move) but it beats the scenario of plopping down money on a home only to find 2 weeks later the neighbors throw mega parties on weekends, blare music or whatever else your pet peeve du jour is.

The responsibility for due diligence rests with the buyer.

It's not something to be "lazy" about.

[mwilbert]

Reasonably safe. Looking for a house. We would, of course, like to get a deal like everybody. Maybe 40k... As for expectations...we understand reasonable precautions to be safe. I love city neighborhoods. I like a diverse place, a corner pub, a grocery and a couple of delivery places. I want to be able to be in my yard, talk to my neighbors and plant flowers.

I always suggest people looking for houses look at the University District/Sherwood Forest/Green Acres, but I don't think there is anything available as low as $40K right now. Possibly you could still find a foreclosure or bank-owned property that cheap.