Suburbs or City Living?
I love meeting new buyers and chatting with them about their needs and wants in a house. In addition to the style and characteristics of a house, we talk about Location, which is still the 3 most important things in Real Estate. It seems like when I talk to a lot of First Time Home Buyers in the Twin Cities about Location, a lot of them don’t want to live in the actual cities of Minneapolis or St. Paul.
Every now and then if I get this response, I like to ask them “why“?
The most common objections to living in a one of our two Twin Cities are:
- Crime Levels
- School Districts
- Lot Size
What’s somewhat ironic to me is that in most cases these 3 factors don’t really come into play with your first home.
Statistics show that people in the U.S. move about once every 7 years on average. For First Time Buyers, they usually only stay in their first house for 3-5 years.
Of course, everyone’s case is unique and that’s one of the fun parts about being a Real Estate Agent. But if we follow this law of averages, then we could probably help debunk some of these objections to City Life.
- Number 1: Crime Levels. The first thing people think of when they hear “Crime” and “Twin Cities” is North Minneapolis. Call it a stereotype or just plain truth, it’s what’s on most people’s minds.
What if I told you not ALL of North Minneapolis is crime-infested? What if I told you I lived in North Minneapolis? What if you actually found a house you liked in North Minneapolis? Would you think about buying it?
The truth to crime in the city is the same for all areas in every town across the world – there are good pockets and bad pockets everywhere. Some blocks might be fine and just a few streets over you have trouble every week. It’s all about your local neighborhood and in some cases the people who live on your block.
It’s probably a fact that Minneapolis has a higher crime rate than most suburbs around it, but that’s not a true measure of the safety in a Location. I’ve seen plenty of Suburban neighborhoods and communities that are not very safe, so just being in the ‘burbs doesn’t mean you’re crime-free.
Before buying your home or settling on an area make sure you search the city websites for crime statistics and compare them for yourself.
- Number 2: School Districts. These are important for parents as we all know, but when you’re buying your first house do you really need to care a lot about the school districts in your area? Unless you already have school-aged kids (at least 5 years old) or plan on staying in the home until your children are school-bound, you probably don’t need to worry about the types of education down the block.
Let me rephrase: the schools shouldn’t be your deal breaker if you love everything else about the property. Remember that this is just your first house, and chances are you’ll probably move into 4 or 5 more homes within your lifetime. If you’re thinking about raising kids for several years in the house then spend some time and effort into finding the right schools for your family. However just because you hear that schools are important on the news doesn’t mean you need to worry about being in the #1 District in the State – especially if you don’t even have kids!!
- Number 3: Lot Size. Seems like everything we want in America these days is bigger and better than what our parents had, right? And that includes Lot sizes. It’s not abnormal to see a half acre lot in the suburbs of Minneapolis. However you’d be hard pressed to find that large of a plot of land in the city limits. So what’s the big deal about having a bigger lot anyway?
Pros: Your neighbors aren’t breathing down your neck. You have more space to play and landscape. Your property value goes up if you have more land.
Cons: You are further away from your community and may not have sidewalks for your kids to be safe on. You have more area to maintain and up-keep with lawn care and snow removal. And since you have more land, your property taxes will be higher.
As you can see, there are pluses and minuses to buying in the city. For some people, they were raised in the ‘burbs and can’t imagine themselves in a 1930 built home that doesn’t quite live up to today’s Massive Mansions. For others, they may want to delve into the walking communities that city-living can provide.
It’s a personal choice you should make with the help of your agent, and try to be open to all possibilities especially if you’re budget is less than $200,000. City Living may be all you can afford…for now.
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