Home Buying Research
Yesterday was quite productive. Found out my brother's moving to Topeka, Kansas (technically he's been there for a while but he now has his own place so he came yesterday to get the rest of his stuff) so at the request of my dad, I went by to see him off. After that, I decided to take a trip down to Columbia, Illinois to talk to someone at the Century 21 realtor to inquire about some of the low cost houses I've been looking up online in the Cahokia area. She gave me some data sheets on the houses that I've been looking at that are in a subdivision called St. Joseph Gardens. When I got those, I drove back to Cahokia to check some of them out. I should talk about the subdivision first. It's kind of mixed for me. There are some parts of it that look bad like houses that are in really bad shape and the lot of black people walking about in groups that has me a little concerned. Not to mention that most of it is not well lit at night (I have driven through it at night during the week when I got out of school) which also might be a cause for alarm. On the upside, the people there seem nice enough. I talked to a few and most say that the subdivision is not too bad. There haven't been any kind of serious doings as of late and police did step up patrols within the subdivision (in fact from what I've seen, there is one officer that does live within the subdivision). Bottomline: it might be a ghetto just like the majority of Cahokia is, but at least there is some diversity lurking about, and to be honest, I've seen far worse ghettos in St. Louis City, so I don't mind this subdivision or Cahokia that much. Some of the houses are really nice looking on the outside at least. A lot of the houses in there have really good potential and there's a lot that I could do with them. Here are my top houses that I would like to have if they're still available in a year:
1. 811 St. Matthew Drive This one I love the most. The exterior looks beautiful, the front yard is gorgeous, and the backyard is amazing as well! It has a single garage where I can store the Vixen in, and of the pictures I've seen of it (I don't know if they're legitimate or not) the interior looks well taken care of. I really want to get inside of this house to see what it looks like on the inside, because if the pictures are legitimate then I'm sold on it! There's a lot that I would like to do with it. There are two places that I can turn into flower beds in the backyard, where I can plant some summer annuals that I might like. I'm so hoping this will be still available in a year because I love it and would love to live in it.
2. 706 St. Barbara Lane Here is my second favorite, located just up the street from my first choice. Nice exterior both front and rear. The front yard has a large dirt patch where some grass did grow but it's obviously shown that some digging was done somewhere and the turf was not repaired (that would require me to repair it myself which I have no problem doing but it would take some time, energy and money to do so). Another thing that bothers me about it is the row of bushes in the backyard behind the covered patio. Not too much of a fan of that, but I think the previous owner put them there as a distraction from passing trains (there are train tracks about 800 feet (or so) behind the house and I'm assuming those tracks are actively used since Google maps is showing that they lead to the Alton-Southern Rail Yard in Sauget, not too far from there). If it were me that lived there I might have those removed, but I don't know. The garage is about the same size as my first choice, but another plus for this one is that it has a shed in the back. That I can use to store yard stuff. There's plenty to do with this one and it does come off a s a good second choice.
3. 709 St. Nicholas Drive Here is my third favorite. This one doesn't have an attached garage which is disheartening a little, but it does have a covered carport which is a good plus (though the gravel driveway looks a bit of a mess as I'm not a fan of gravel driveways). The house exterior looks in good shape...might need some attention, but not alot. This one also has a shed in the backyard which is a major plus. Both yards look in great condition, with there being a young Redbud tree growing in one of the corners that I would love to keep up. The backyard is about the largest of the three, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of potential for flower bedding, unless I find time to make my own. Overall, it's a good third choice, and I'd be able to make some improvements here and there.
From the looks of all of these, they look like prime living choices and like I said, I'm hoping they're all still available next year because I'm practically sold on all of them. Still and all, I will be keeping my eye on the housing market between now and next October to see anything new that comes up. I don't know the turnover rate for new homes in that subdivision or any other houses in Cahokia, but who knows, maybe something better will come up and still within the price range I'm looking for. I wish I looked into this before I renewed my lease, but what can you do? While I'm at this, I'm going to start talking to lenders to see what I do and don't qualify for in terms of home loans and mortgages. I don't know what will happen to rates from this point on out, but I will go with whatever I can get whenever I get ready to buy. My goal at this point is to start saving for a decent enough down payment on a house, and I have a year to do that so that I'm not so worried about. Small single family houses are relatively inexpensive and easy to keep up so I think that's the best route for me. Still, this causes for more research on my end, so the inquiring and research into all that is home buying will not end for a long time.
1. 811 St. Matthew Drive This one I love the most. The exterior looks beautiful, the front yard is gorgeous, and the backyard is amazing as well! It has a single garage where I can store the Vixen in, and of the pictures I've seen of it (I don't know if they're legitimate or not) the interior looks well taken care of. I really want to get inside of this house to see what it looks like on the inside, because if the pictures are legitimate then I'm sold on it! There's a lot that I would like to do with it. There are two places that I can turn into flower beds in the backyard, where I can plant some summer annuals that I might like. I'm so hoping this will be still available in a year because I love it and would love to live in it.
2. 706 St. Barbara Lane Here is my second favorite, located just up the street from my first choice. Nice exterior both front and rear. The front yard has a large dirt patch where some grass did grow but it's obviously shown that some digging was done somewhere and the turf was not repaired (that would require me to repair it myself which I have no problem doing but it would take some time, energy and money to do so). Another thing that bothers me about it is the row of bushes in the backyard behind the covered patio. Not too much of a fan of that, but I think the previous owner put them there as a distraction from passing trains (there are train tracks about 800 feet (or so) behind the house and I'm assuming those tracks are actively used since Google maps is showing that they lead to the Alton-Southern Rail Yard in Sauget, not too far from there). If it were me that lived there I might have those removed, but I don't know. The garage is about the same size as my first choice, but another plus for this one is that it has a shed in the back. That I can use to store yard stuff. There's plenty to do with this one and it does come off a s a good second choice.
3. 709 St. Nicholas Drive Here is my third favorite. This one doesn't have an attached garage which is disheartening a little, but it does have a covered carport which is a good plus (though the gravel driveway looks a bit of a mess as I'm not a fan of gravel driveways). The house exterior looks in good shape...might need some attention, but not alot. This one also has a shed in the backyard which is a major plus. Both yards look in great condition, with there being a young Redbud tree growing in one of the corners that I would love to keep up. The backyard is about the largest of the three, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of potential for flower bedding, unless I find time to make my own. Overall, it's a good third choice, and I'd be able to make some improvements here and there.
From the looks of all of these, they look like prime living choices and like I said, I'm hoping they're all still available next year because I'm practically sold on all of them. Still and all, I will be keeping my eye on the housing market between now and next October to see anything new that comes up. I don't know the turnover rate for new homes in that subdivision or any other houses in Cahokia, but who knows, maybe something better will come up and still within the price range I'm looking for. I wish I looked into this before I renewed my lease, but what can you do? While I'm at this, I'm going to start talking to lenders to see what I do and don't qualify for in terms of home loans and mortgages. I don't know what will happen to rates from this point on out, but I will go with whatever I can get whenever I get ready to buy. My goal at this point is to start saving for a decent enough down payment on a house, and I have a year to do that so that I'm not so worried about. Small single family houses are relatively inexpensive and easy to keep up so I think that's the best route for me. Still, this causes for more research on my end, so the inquiring and research into all that is home buying will not end for a long time.