The Lowdown on Autumn Ridge

by John Rice

Mature trees.  A neighborhood park.  A pond.  A city park close by.  Walking distance to banks, restaurants, etc.  To some Lexingtonians, what I have described only exists within New Circle Road……..But surprise!!  We are talking about a neighborhood called Autumn Ridge.

I remember going to the Parade of New Homes in the early 1990’s.  I liked Autumn Ridge even back then.  Sure it was waaaay the heck out there, but that was before Hamburg and the construction of Pleasant Ridge.  Now it seems like it evolved into an ideal location.

Most of the houses out there are ranches and 2 stories.  Yeah, some have basements.  There are a few smaller houses, but most are in the 2000 to 2500 square feet range.  Just about all of the neighborhood was built in the early and mid 1990’s.  The newest houses seem to be the ones on Crimson Creek.  Most of the houses are worth between $180k and $260k.

Here is what to love:  That you are closer to Hamburg than Chevy Chase is to downtown.  You can take Pleasant Ridge and be in Hamburg in about 5 minutes.  There are a lot of mature trees.  It is one of those neighborhoods that just has the right feel.  The city has a clean, neat park on Pleasant Ridge that you can walk or ride a bike to easily.  There is also a pond that can be seen from Autumn Ridge Blvd.  Not too many neighborhoods in Lexington have a water feature.   Some of the lots on Deer Crossing back to a heavily wooded area that has a creek running though it.  On the other side of the wooded area is Willow Spring.  You can also get creek lots on the other side of Willow Spring and Briarpatch, but the wooded area isn’t as big.  At the lower end of Crimson Creek, there is a neat little park that the HOA owns.  It has a creek, big trees, and yes, the sound of the interstate to remind you that you are not really in a forest.

What to watch out for:  If traffic bugs you, then buy somewhere other than on Autumn Ridge Blvd.  While it is a pretty street, a lot of people cut through on it to get to Hamburg.  Noise can also be an issue.  Crimson Creek backs to the interstate, so it can be a little noisy the closer you get to it.

Overall, I think this neighborhood has a great location, a lot of character and great amenities.  When I was looking for houses a couple of years ago, it was on my list.

WHY AM I SO INTO NEIGHBORHOODS?

by John Rice

I woke up today asking myself why I am so into helping people pick a neighborhood that will work for them.  I think a lot of the insight I have that benefits my clients comes from my own experiences and driving around Lexington neighborhoods since 1986.   I have owned 3 houses in my life.  One of them was too close to the train tracks.  The Fire Department used the alley behind me to practice backing up their fire trucks.  BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP! all day long every December.  The Driver’s Ed teacher at the high school also picked the spot in front of my house to teach kids to parallel park.  Every weekend, I would look out and see kids’ with their dad’s using MY car as their victim/reference car.  I then moved to another house that was near a busy road.  The problem there was that police would pull people over, they would turn down my street, stop in front of my house, and then get arrested if they had outstanding warrants.  There are more people than I ever imagined that get arrested from a traffic stop.  Then the house next door sold to a guy that turned his basement into a casino four nights a week.  Plus the people who bought behind me and kept four large dogs outside 24 hours a day.  Trust me……..I now have a sixth sense about these things!

For my current house, I have used my 6th sense to pick a winner.  We are on a long cul-de-sac of 25 houses.  We are not so close to the corner that my kids are at risk of getting hit when people fly around it.  I am well within the perimeter of the well-defined boundaries of my area.  And, for my own personal preferences, the house sits east to west.  I don’t like it when one side of your yard gets baked in the sun in the evenings.  I am also on a high point, which is good since I don’t like having a neighbor’s house looking down on mine.  I also don’t like to hear traffic noise.  I am about a mile from the interstate, but I can still hear some noise if the wind blows a certain way.  Overall, I think I would have a hard time reproducing all the secondary things about where I am now that I like.

So, I am always asking my peeps if this or that is going to bug them if they lived there.  I find that some people get really excited about the house, but don’t notice somethings that may bug them later.  Such as noise, the view, the location within the neighborhood, a steep driveway.  I look to see if there are signs of outside dogs in yards around them, neighbors that work on cars or motorcycles (no offense, my dad has like 12 motorcycles and I wouldn’t want to live next door to him!)  I also tell people to drive around their neighborhood on a nice warm night and when everybody is coming home from work to see what it is going to be like.  Of course we also hit the PVA to see how much is rental, plus the sex offender registry and crime map.

Those were all some practical things that can make or break enjoying your house, but there is more to this neighborhood thing you need to consider.  When you buy your house, an appraiser will pick 3 similar houses, ideally within the same neighborhood.  Well, when you go to sell, an appraiser will do the same thing!  When selling is on your mind, you suddenly care about things like if you bought the most expensive house in the neighborhood or if you over improved.  Why not think about that BEFORE your buy it?  So, here is the caution tape that you generally want to stay within:  Don’t buy the cheapest nor most expensive house.  Don’t buy one that doesn’t really fit in well with the neighborhood (Think round house on Mt Tabor Road.)  Don’t over/under improve.  All neighborhoods go through cycles, so don’t buy in an area that is in decline.  There is a ton of other stuff to consider, but the bottom line is that you really want to take a close look at the neighborhood.  It is much easier to change a house than it is to change a neighborhood.

School redistricting and home values

by John Rice

Well, I finally closed on a really awesome house in Andover Hills.  The buyers lived in a neighborhood that is very close and very similar to Andover Hills.  Why did they move?  They wanted to get their kids into a better school district.  The wild thing to me is that this is the 3rd time within a year I have known about people making a lateral move from less than a mile away………..All for the school district!

All the newer development on the northeast part of town didn’t have schools that were considered to be desireable.   Then came Athens-Chilesburg Elementary (ACE).  A brand new building that is only a few stop signs away from Andover Hills and good performance suddenly made a nice neighborhood even more desireable.  I’ve been watching this neighborhood for several years.  It seems to be attracting more and more young families.  Home prices also seem to have been really stable.  The prices for the neighborhood with the exodus have declined.

I have also seen the same thing happen with Andover Forest and West Wynd now that the new Liberty Road Elementary has opened.  Both neighborhoods were really struggling when the market slowed.  Then they built the new school.  Sales have picked up.   I think it is too soon to tell if that school will turn out to be a good one, but a new building sure puts it on peoples radar.  I also think not having a past helps.  As long as the test scores turn out to be at least average, all should be fine.

So, The bottom line is that a desireable school district makes a big difference in resale.  Even if you don’t plan on using that “Perk”, it is still wise to factor that into your decision making process.  I guess the only exception to that rule is if you plan on being in the house for a long long time.  Over, say 15 to 20 years,  what makes a school desireable can change a lot.

How to Save $100k in Beaumont

by John Rice

I’ve spent a lot of time with Beaumont on my radar lately.  I have had 3 buyers this year who picked that area.  That means that before we made the offers, I had to do a lot of research on days on market, what you get for the money & why, compare past sale prices to see how much of a hit the area has taken, etc.

One thing that has really stood out to me is that there is about a $100k gap between an almost new house and one that is about 10 years old.  I mean, we’re talking similar size, features, lots here!  Why the big difference?

It all boils down to the finishes.  The houses I have been in and seen that have or will sell for north of $500k are newer, have granite, trendy lights, hardware, lever style door handles in either bronze or nickel.  The ones that are worth about $400k have laminate counter tops and a lot of brass.  Some of the older ones don’t have as open of a floor plan, but enough do to make me not think that is the only reason for the big gap.

Here is what you do get that is similar:  About 4000 square feet, 4 or 5 bedrooms, 1/4 acre-ish lot,  most have finished basements, same popular school district.  In an era where exotic hardwood in wider sizes is popular, almost all the houses I have seen up to about $550k have the same 2 1/2 inch wide oak in a honey looking stain.

So, what is a buyer to do?  Well, if you have the time and money, I think the way to go is to buy one that is a little outdated and update it.  Let’s take a look at what you can do:  Want a dark stain for the hardwood?  $5-6k will get you floors that look brand new.  Granite?  $5-7k will impress everybody.  Stainless appliances?  Unless you go pro, figure $6k.  Update all the kitchen cabinet pulls, put on those bronze level style door handles….maybe $1500.  So far we have only spent about $20k.  That leaves about $80k for stuff like the master bathroom, new carpet if needed, a killer deck or patio, a man cave basement or anything you want.  Or you could just pocket that when it is time for you to sell!

Real Estate Fortune Cookie Thoughts

by John Rice

Well……I’ve been doing this for a while now.  Long enough to see some things that I’d like to put in  fortune cookies.  So, here goes.

1.   Don’t hire a termite inspector that looks like a bug.

2.  If you brag to friends you got a great deal on a house because of some randomly odd feature, then you will have to sell it cheap enough so the next buyer can also brag to their friends.

3.  You can’t wish away features of a house.  Like, That’d be a great house if only the toilet wasn’t in the dining room.

4.  It is easier to change houses than it is to change your neighbors……….cheaper too.

5.  Don’t expect the benefits of a foreclosure sale without any of the negatives.  Other than a good price, everything else is a negative.

6.  Roof and plumbing leaks don’t cure themselves. 

7.  Purple carpet is never a good idea.

8.  Neither is wall paper.

9.  Loan Officers always believe the glass is half full until the day before closing, then they are all into reality.

10. Realtors never look as good as the picture on their card.

11.  They also are never as great as they think they are.  Even if they have a cool phone.

12.  This years luck numbers are 8000 and 6500, which are the amounts that some buyer’s can get for a tax credit.

13.  Learn  to Speak Realtorese: 

Not a drive by means the house is butt ugly. 

Won’t last means that there is nobody who will want it, so the agent must try to generate a frenzy. 

An adjective like “Copious” or “Adorable” can be applied over and over again to every feature of the house like some Jedi mind control tactic. 

An “Up and Coming” neighborhood means most of it is still trashy, but isn’t expected to be for much longer. 

Close to everything means there is a lot of noise and traffic.

Must see means that the realtor really can’t describe it or doesn’t have good pictures.

Off New Circle Road can literally be ANYWHERE!