This is Abeyance, something is goofy with the server and I can't get my password recovered, so...

I am moving to Baltimore in a few weeks, actually Frederick, looking for a house to buy, then I will move to the big B.

Anyway, I need some help and advice on where to live
A few things to know
1. My wife will be working in Towson
2. I work as a server and want to go carfree, on my fixed gear. ( thanks so much mods) But I don't have a job yet. You can't get serving jobs remotely.
3. MARC train access would be nice, but not essential.

Where should I live. I need some guidelines from locals. I understand anything east of Charles St. to 95 is a good place, as is south of Eastern in the Canton/Patterson Park area. I also know that I should avoid west baltimore with a vengence.

My budget is 200k, so that rules out Federal Hill/ Mt Vernon and the like. I do not want a Condo.

I would post somewhere else, but I know alot of Baltimorons post here.

Thanks so much

Baltimoron here... also a small time real estate rehabber/developer LOL

Frederick is like 45 minutes from Baltimore City... its more of a Washington DC commuter town than Baltimore but I have friends who live in this area and commute to Frederick. Towson to Frederick is easily an hour depending on commute times in the AM/PM.


If youre just gonna be in Frederick for a while then buying in Baltimore, I'd suggest Hampden/Charles Village for the 200k range. The "Neighborhood" feel is pretty good, not in downtown but close enough to bike in, near the JFX, etc... You can absolutely buy in Federal Hill for under $200k even on a prime street (Battery, Riverside, WIlliam, E. West, Gittings, Hamburg, etc) but its a small 1br maybe with a den/loft office room, updated but not rehabbed meaning still probably has baseboard or radiant heating and window unit AC if any. If youre Ok with being a little further away from the city downtown, out in Upper Fells, small homes in Canton and some Highlandtown places are near $200k for reasonable prices and if youre ok with it being a bit seedy, Patterson Park within a few blocks north of the park is affordable. Mt Vernon has condo buildings highrise and lowrise like flats but very few affordable single unit rowhomes. MARC is Ok. Lightrail for local sucks. West of Charles a few blocks in the Otterbein/Riverside area isnt bad. It's like the budget south Federal Hill with trashy people still... just dont go over Russell St too far. Even over into Washington Village isnt terrible but its kinda off the beaten path so its dark, quiet and lifeless after sundown... and kinda creepy.


What kinda local attributes are you looking for? Just a small simple rowhouse? Single Family in older neighborhood? Lots of hip crowd types? Yuppies? Whats your ideal neighborhood like? Almost ANY area in the Baltimore City proper is convenient to Towson so your wife is set.

Thanks so much for your insightful post. I do appreciate it. And I was raised on Frederick, sorry for not making that clear. I love Wheel Base and love Mt. Airy Bikes, but hate dealing with Larry.

What I am looking for
1. Somewhere to store my bikes, either a garage or a finished basement.
2. A rehabbed home, granite countertops are not necessary, but central AC is.
3. A place for my dogs to pe at 9 at night, either a yard or a safe street.
4. Somewhere I won't be asked for money everytime I walk from my house to ....
5. 1br is not going to cut it. . We have a 3 bedroom house in GA right now. I have a wife with a clothing fetish and three dogs, and she has most of the master walk in closet filled as well as the two other bedrooms. So 2 bedroom minimum, but three is preferable, as I will probably turn one of them into a closet for her.
6. I was thinking about Hampden/ CV, as my sister lives in Hampden, about 2 blocks from the Avenue. Also about 3 blocks NE of Patterson Park. There was a rowhouse there with a 2 car garage, and the area didn't get lit up with balloons on the B-More murder map.

Basically I want somewhere safe, with room for my bikes, my wifes clothes, and my dogs. Somewhere where I can bike to work and make alot of money ( As a server in Buckhead, an upscale area of Atlanta, I made 700 to 1k+ a week. On my way to work everyday, I passed the governers mansion, Usher's and Bernie Mac's place, as well a high end luxury car, AMG Merc/Ferrrari/Lambo/Rolls/Bentley) At work I have a picture of my pos toyota pickup parked between 3 Ferraris.

thanks so much. We should ride together.

I grew up on Highland Ave, and a friend just got a rowhome on Conklin St for 180K. Was a fixer upper, but not too bad. Not to far from canton and fells area. and the property value in that area is rising fast, so the resale aspect is good. To get down town its just a quick shot down Fleet or Eastern Ave, or boston threw canton and fells. Lots of nice "neighborhood" bars in the area too. Since the canton area is "spreading" there tend to be a lot of yuppies, but a lot of trendy pubs and restaurants popping up all over eastern and boston.

Family lives in eastpoint area, nice, but thats a longer and not so safe ride down eastern ave to downtown.

Could always look in Druid Hill... lol

Frederick represent!

The new carrol creek area is insane

Why not look in towson i thats where wifey will be working. May be a little over your price range tho. For 200k you are looking at condos there. I know its not what you wanted, but its an idea. Lots of nice places to be a server. Pretty nice LBS too. Can't remember the name, but the guys there rock.

Check out Loch Raven Village/Knetishall...smallish Towson adjacent row houses for fairly cheap. It's not hip and downtown but it's a great area, inside the Beltway, a short ride into Towson and if you plan on having kids, you get county instead of city schools. 200k should be doable for a 3/1.5 with basement.

Why not Towson?
For years (around 5 of our 6 years together), my commute has been longer. Sometimes 5 versus 6 minutes in a car, sometimes 1/2 an hour vs an hour. It is her turn to commute. Besides she has made all the housing choices since we have been together ( total of four). It is my turn. Too bad for her. I want to be able to ride my bike to work, and I think the money serving would be better in the downtown area than Towson. I am really leaning towards Hampden, as it is close to most of the rich areas.

In short, I want to ride my bike somewhere, get people drunk, and have them give me money.

Do a search in zips 21218, 21211, 21231, 21230 and 21224, 2br+, under $225k. You'll find stuff. For the sake of not sounding cliche, I am forever trying to find a different way to say its a "buyers market"... but its true. You'll find a listing for a little over $200k and realize the negotiation is real. Hampden has improved over the last few years with more businesses opening and thriving. Charles village has tons of new business and both, if you cant find a job right there (both are 10-15 min to Towson for your wife) are convenient to ride straight down into MidTown/Mt. Vernon/Downtown/Inner Harbor for serving jobs.

All of Baltimore is bikeable but the further north you are from the inner harbor, the more uphill you gotta ride home LOL. Friends of mine ride down to the harbor regularly from Medfield/Hampden and just muscle thru the ride home... on a fixed gear at least, up thru town, then usually taking Old Falls Rd up through the Mill Center at Chestnut then up thru the ave and up Falls (brakeless most of them but geared lower for the hills).

Your opportunity to BUY in the city couldnt be better right now. Loan are readily available. Deals are presenting themselves to yield 80% LTV's with some sellers taking such low prices for homes, you dont even have to come up with down payments LOL. $200k is not gonna give you what it can in Rural North Carolina or anything but in Baltimore, with enough searching, you'll find a place with some charm, on a safe block, in a generally safe neighborhood, with all your needs.

FYI, here's some pics of a home we bought for $112k, put $126k into additionally and then sold for $300k. We could have saved over $20k by not finishing the basement but it made it over 1500sq.ft of living space on a small street in Upper Fells Point. We spent a few extra bucks on some stuff but this is a pretty nice rehab. You can forever find a shell of a place (or a place in need of substantial upgrades/repair) and drop $75k into it to rehab it for around $200k total. If you have the patience to go through the 4-6 months of work and get the construction financing, when youre done, you'll have 15-20% in equity.

Before...








AFTER:

thats sweet. Like the "new" fells look. I remember growing up non of the houses looked that nice.