neighborhood suggestion?

angela · Post by **angela** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm

Greetings,
My husband & I may be relocating to Omaha from Philadelphia, and we're looking to purchase our first house. We'd like to find a neighborhood that's pretty quiet, has good restaurants, is artsy and not very expensive. We'd like to be more in the city than the suburbs. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:26 pm

How much are you looking to spend on a house?

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:33 pm

Sounds like Benson to me.

I would have said Old Makret or Dundee, but they may be above your price point, although Dundee can be pretty affordable.

Benson is really an up and coming neighborhood. The houses are very quiant and beautiful, especially along Country Club Avenue. And the business district has lots of independent businesses including one of my all time favorite restaurants, Epsana.

I would definitely check it out.

FatGuy · Post by **FatGuy** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:19 pm

In addition to Dundee and Benson I would check out the Field Club and Elmwood Park/Leavenworth Street neighborhoods. These are both older areas with a lot of character and are within a short drive from downtown. Zip codes are 68105 and 68106. You may want to check out http://www.npdodge.com for some ideas.

angela · Post by **angela** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 11:32 pm

Thanks for the responses so far...we're looking to spend about $100k. What are some of the nice and not so nice qualities of the neighborhoods that have been mentioned?

projectman · Post by **projectman** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 1:20 am

Benson is in North Omaha and is sometimes caught in the cross-fire of the gang activity/shootings. Housing is affordable and there are nice older homes scattered about. The Benson strip is very active.

Dundee, a little more pricey but a little further from some of the gang activity. Nice older homes with a lot of mature trees.

Field Club is very nice but rather expensive. Beautiful homes with mature trees.

Downtown and the Old Market have apartments and condos that should fit all price ranges.

Where will you be working? How far do you want to commute?

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:32 am

Projectman you're starting to sound like Joemoney. Gang activity south of Ames and east of NW Radial is about as significant as that surrounding Crossroads (ie not worth worrying about). And, once again, unless you're a gang member yourself, or are involved in drugs/crime... your chances of being victimized by gangs isn't worth obsessing over. I know a couple of people who have homes in Country Club southeast of 'downtown' Benson, they absolutely love it.

Unfortunately, like many parts of the country, housing prices in Omaha have really taken off. Here are a few examples of the kinds of homes/areas you could probably get into for around $100k. These are at least in the Saddlecreek/Dundee vicinity, where you'll find plenty of activity/restaurants/etc. Use CBSHome's vicinity search to find other homes in the area.

http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=

http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=

http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=

mchine73 · Post by **mchine73** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:51 am

I live in the minne lusa neighborhood. five minutes from downtown via highway 75.

Most of the neighborhood was built in the 20's so the housing stock definitely has character. Either a good or bad thing is the neighborhood hasn't been completely gentrified but is getting close. I really don't know about the gangs or anything but I don't see it as most of them are south of Miller Park. like jhuston said the random gang activity is rare and usually involves beefs i would imagine.

Like anywhere else in the country, housing prices are going up but there is reinvestment by homeowners. For example when my rents bought me this house it was assessed at something like 65,000, paid like 76,000, and is now assessed at 79,000.

examples of what you get for your money.

http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=
http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=
http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=
http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=
(Florence Blvd top five street in my opinion)
http://www.cbshome.com/Consumer/Listing ... 1&Cookies=

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:07 am

Yes, projectman. That description of Benson is a little blown out of proportion. Benson is artsy, unique, beautiful, and hip but at the same time it's very family friendly.

The Elmwood Park and Leavenworth Street neighborhoods mentioned would also probably be great fits.

My boyfriend just bought a condo in the Rorick Building in Park East, which is just west of Downtown, and it was about $70,000, and that's with about $10,000 in upgrades...just for comparison.

Harpoon · Post by **Harpoon** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:17 am

Since you are looking for houses, not condos, I would have to suggest the area between Saddle Creek and 60th Street south of Leavenworth Street to Center Street. Many of these neighborhoods are in the affordable range of around $100K. Other areas fitting this bill are the Benson area (63rd or so, south of Maple), and the area around St. Cecilia's cathedral (40th and Cuming).

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:50 am

2 friends of mine just purchased a $100,000 home in the Country Club area and absolutely love it..It is a nice moderatly sized home with a decent back yard for the price..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

jsheets · Post by **jsheets** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 1:12 pm

I might suggest to NOT use the cbshome.com website, as they don't show all of the homes for sale in the Omaha area. We're selling our home with Bancwise right now, and for whatever reason our home shows up on bancwise.com, npdodge.com, and realtor.com, but cbshome.com has decided not to show any Bancwise homes. (probably because they are mad about losing business to a lower cost, full service, alternative)

So if you want to see as many homes as possible, you'll want to use the MLS searches from realtor.com, npdodge.com, or bancwise.com.

And here's my shameless plug...
If you'd like to live in the city, yet near the suburbs, with great interstate access, and a beautiful park/tennis courts/rec center in your backyard, then I have a house for you

http://www.bancwiselistings.com/propert ... no_images=

Edit: Fixed the link to our house for sale. It's in the Mockingbird Neighborhood.

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:41 pm

jsheets wrote: And here's my shameless plug...
If you'd like to live in the city, yet near the suburbs, with great interstate access, and a beautiful park/tennis courts/rec center in your backyard, then I have a house for you

How long have you lived there? I grew up about 4 blocks from there. heck, I know EXACTLY where your house is because I delivered newspapers on M Street, N Street and 106th Circle for about 3 years. Additionally, I went to school with a daughter of the family that lived there (the Kennedy's) and was good friends with the son of the family that lived to the North (the Carroll's). I also knew the Bell's, who lived right across the street.

Small world

Oh, and I agree that it is a GREAT neighborhood.

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:50 pm

I have two friends who both both homes in the Elmwood Park/Leavenworth Street area. Both paid under 100K and both places are really nice, with a lot of older style character. Great neighborhood too, quiet, near the park, close to Saddle Creek, Dodge, Center, etc.

jsheets · Post by **jsheets** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:20 pm

joeglow... I don't know the Carrol's (must have moved before we moved in) but I do know the Bell's. Great family. We still get junk mail for one of the Kennedy's

Small world indeed. We've been at this house for 4 years now...

Want to move back to the neighborhood? I can give you the eomaha.com forum discount

Walking distance to grocery, fast food, bars, coffee, and ice cream!

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:02 pm

jsheets wrote:but I do know the Bell's. Great family.

-If you see the dad (I cannot remember his name), tell him Joe Glogowski said hi. He should remember me as the fat kids who was crying in the stands after sucking it up at the 6th grade track meet.

jsheets wrote:Want to move back to the neighborhood? I can give you the eomaha.com forum discount

Walking distance to grocery, fast food, bars, coffee, and ice cream!

Love to. I especially love the way it backs up to the park. However, we live in Millard Highlands, which is a Pacesetter neighborhood (like Mockingbird) that was built a year earlier. Thus, it would be a lateral move and I know if we are going to deal with moving, my wife will only move up.

projectman · Post by **projectman** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:18 am

They were asking for the good points and bad for each of the suggested areas. Sugar coat it all you want. Just trying to be honest.

lisanstan · Post by **lisanstan** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:10 pm

We just moved into a house in the Dundee/Memorial Park area. We are south of Howard/north of Leavenworth. I highly recommend the area. There aren't any houses in the few blocks around me for less than $180K, but the area below Leavenworth (I sometimes drive down 52nd) is very nice. I'm sure you could find something in your price range and get a nice older home to boot. Plus, nothing beats mature trees!

Lisa

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:18 pm

Welcome to Omaha, Lisa, glad to hear you are liking it.

AlmostinOmaha · Post by **AlmostinOmaha** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:33 pm

Hey there -
We just moved here from California and I know the Omahan's on this board will get mad at me for saying this...but if you want a quiet neighborhood, be sure to check to make sure there are no trains in your area. We bought a house in Chalco Pointe (West Omaha) which is nice and inexpensive...just a little more than your price point, but there is a train track two blocks behind my house. We never knew it was there - we only glanced at a map, and driving down 144th or taking I-80 here, you don't see train tracks. Also, neither our realtor nor the previous homeowner felt it was necessary to tell us that we would be woken up 6 times in one night by 5-8 blaringly loud horns! Just a thought you might want to keep in mind for your first time home purchase.

Good luck!

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:35 pm

AlmostinOmaha wrote:Hey there -
We just moved here from California and I know the Omahan's on this board will get mad at me for saying this...but if you want a quiet neighborhood, be sure to check to make sure there are no trains in your area.

I'm so mad. You're fired.

loyalomahan · Post by **loyalomahan** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:45 pm

I know the Omahan's on this board will get mad at me for saying this

Why would Omahans on this board get mad at you for saying that? Sounds like good advice for anyone moving anywhere. Buying a house is a HUGE investment. I'd be looking at every source of information possible before deciding on a location, not just relying on the sellers disclosure document. The market is still fairly strong/interest rates low, if the house is that much of a disappointment, perhaps you should sell now.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:21 am

Good point about the tracks but all you need is to reference a map. There are plenty of spots that are almost immune to trains. And I say almost because from almost anywhere in midtown on what seams to be perfect conditions I can hear the faint sound of train horns. Also do a lot of looking. It seams there is a smorgasbord of properties out there, so don’t get discouraged keep looking. My godfather, step mom, uncle are real-estate agents and my father in law is the COO of Benchmark so I will queerer them for their suggestions. Good luck and I’m sure you will find a perfect house.

cosita · Post by **cosita** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 8:52 am

I see now I should have lurked a bit longer before posting.
At least I feel a bit more confident in my intrest in Benson and Dundee.

redfield · Post by **redfield** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:24 pm

I might suggest to NOT use the cbshome.com website, as they don't show all of the homes for sale in the Omaha area. We're selling our home with Bancwise right now, and for whatever reason our home shows up on bancwise.com, npdodge.com, and realtor.com, but cbshome.com has decided not to show any Bancwise homes. (probably because they are mad about losing business to a lower cost, full service, alternative)

Heh, you called Bancwise "full service".

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:42 pm

There was some dispute between Bancwise and CBSHome. I think because one of the head guys at Bancwise was part of the merger that created CBSHome.

jsheets · Post by **jsheets** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 3:38 am

Just in the past week we sold our house through bancwise. I think they did a terrific job, and I'm happy to have saved thousands of dollars at closing time. Tough market to sell in, but if you're a buyer you have a ton of choices!!!

redfield · Post by **redfield** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:05 pm

Congrats on getting your house sold

Did your Bancwise agent find the buyer, or did another brokerage?

Is your Bancwise agent helping you find a new house?

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