by NineInchNachos
on 1/18/2008 @ 8:51am | woot! |
by KevinFreitas
on 1/18/2008 @ 8:56am | That's really encouraging tho. Thanks for pointing it out. |
by Erik
on 1/18/2008 @ 9:07am | That's really encouraging tho (sic). Thanks for pointing it out.
I think they are going to be re-done too for occupany. Gintz has a slew of other ones adjacent to Pt. Defiance Park in the low 100s.
One would think they would be bought up at this price
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by Jake
on 1/18/2008 @ 9:08am | How about use the City of Tacoma's Downpayment Assistance program:
Up to $20k loan (20 Year loan, first mortgage has to be 20 years as well I believe)
No Interest for 20 years
No Payments for 20 years.
I spoke with the listing agent yesterday and talked about home ownership. He is all for getting first time homebuyers in there and trying to keep investors to a min. With those prices investors will be trying to pick them up quick. I am sure you could rent one of those $80k units for $600. |
by Erik
on 1/18/2008 @ 9:37am | He is all for getting first time homebuyers in there and trying to keep investors to a min.
Did he tell you how much work is being done on them? |
by Jake
on 1/18/2008 @ 9:41am | I asked him if it was going to be the standard condo conversion finishes and he said yes. Granite, Wood Laminate and Tile flooring. New landscaping. Gated Entry. Should be a nice for the price. |
by Erik
on 1/18/2008 @ 1:31pm | Hmmmm. |
by jenyum
on 1/18/2008 @ 2:34pm | I just took drive around the area and through the parking lot. Here's my opinion:
pros:
The price.
Not on a super-busy street, walkable looking neighborhood
Park nearby (Sheridan)
Outdoor space with kids stuff
Cons:
Two angry looking pit bulls chained and fenced with beware of dogs signs at matching houses facing the complex
Nearly every house in the neighborhood has a fence and a beware of dog sign
No moms and kids at the park at 2 pm on a sunny afternoon
No one out walking in the entire neighborhood aside from the guys working on the project.
Kids stuff in the complex is rusty and swings aren't hanging right. Looks like no one has used or cared about it in a long time, or if they are used current management doesn't care enough to fix it while conversion is underway. (If the complex is empty now I guess I understand, otherwise it's kinda not cool that they don't at least fix the chains on the swings.)
Which leads me to think a couple of things:
there aren't families living there or
they don't feel safe outside and/or
they can't afford to be home during the day so in my personal situation (and I guess it's just me here) I'd feel very isolated
I don't know. I feel like our rent here is rather high sometimes but then I think: how do you put a price on being able to walk down your own street without a chorus of barking dogs and occasionally see another neighbor doing the same?
I just don't get the feeling it's a place I'd be by choice. And I wonder how many other people would really make a choice to live there. I hate to be down on something that is such a great deal, but there are definitely issues.
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by Erik
on 1/18/2008 @ 5:38pm | Nearly every house in the neighborhood has a fence and a beware of dog sign
Perhaps jenyum. However, that's what it means to be an urban pioneer.
You might look at the Point Defiance ones. Of course, that's out of downtown.
Some really sweet ones right now which are in the low to mid 100s are right in Stadium just two blocks from the business district. A converted 8 plex. I think there are a couple of projects like this there.
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by jenyum
on 1/18/2008 @ 5:59pm | I'm not willing to make my kids "pioneers" if it means they will grow up feeling afraid to walk by other houses in the neighborhood. I had that growing up in a hick town where everyone let their guard dogs roam and I would not wish that on them.
I think I looked at the ones in Stadium and they aren't 2 bedrooms? Or the two bedrooms were a lot more? Plus part of the appeal of this particular complex was the existence of a little outdoor space.
Anyway, I think I'm done with the condo fantasy again, for a while. There always seem to be trade offs that make it not a great deal for a family, unless you are a two commuter couple with kids in childcare all day outside of the house. |
by Erik
on 1/19/2008 @ 9:20pm | No one out walking in the entire neighborhood aside from the guys working on the project.
I drove by there today and it looked pretty good. Perhaps you are seeing something I am not. When they are done with the work, I think its going to be a pretty nice place. |
by jenyum
on 1/20/2008 @ 8:06am | I drove by later in the afternoon and saw a few more people out, it wasn't quite as dismal.
I hope they pay attention to the external factors they have control over (like outdoor space) as much as the granite counter tops. |
by Erik
on 1/20/2008 @ 12:03pm | I hope they pay attention to the external factors they have control over (like outdoor space) as much as the granite counter tops.
I think one of the reasons they picked it up was because many of the units have views.
As far as the common spaces between the units, I hope they are able to make them work well too. Its sort of a 1960s layout. However, there is a potential for them to have their mini community. |
by ensie
on 1/21/2008 @ 12:17pm | Living here in the North End, I still get the chorus of barking dogs (including my own) and plenty of "Beware of Dog" signs. I don't think it's unique to any area of Tacoma. I've also been at several parks around Tacoma, or driven by them on nice afternoons, and seen them empty when I thought they might have been full of kids.
It's true that Tacoma doesn't have the type of disposable income that say, people in Redmond are going to have. However, building condos that are affordable is taking a big step in allowing people to have that disposable income.
But if people aren't willing to be the first to take chances and move into the neighborhoods that need some love, they are never going to become the neighborhoods that we want them to be.
I'm not saying anyone's kids should feel unsafe or BE unsafe, I'm just saying that reality is that most neighborhoods are safer than we think they are and the more good people who up and take charge of their current neighborhoods and future neighborhoods, the better off we'll be. |
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