Where does $500K buy you a nice house right now...

[Anonymous]

Minneapolis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mid-Hudson Valley, where I grew up. Hopewell Junction.

High taxes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Upper midwest

Chicago suburbs, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Indianapolis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay very close attention to the property taxes. Sometimes, the cheaper the house, the higher the property taxes, because the area is relatively economically depressed. The city or town has to raise residential property taxes because it doesn’t have enough of a corporate base to tax from. This leads to decreased demand & cheaper houses in that municipality because high property taxes scare off most buyers. Baltimore (City) is a good example of this.

This is not always the case, of course. There are many very wealthy towns in states like TX, IL, NJ, CT, NY and PA that have very high property taxes; high-performing, well-funded schools; and are in close proximity to high paying jobs.

There is a myth that you universally “get what you pay for” just because a municipality has high property taxes. This is not the case. Many municipalities have high property taxes because of pension liabilities to retired local govt workers, for pensions that arguably should never have existed in the first place.

Pay attention to property taxes, school district taxes, wage taxes, car taxes, income taxes and sales taxes.

+1 Mt. Rainier, MD has very high property taxes

Not anymore. Mt Rainier has been lowering taxes every year for the past several years now.

Wow, there's a liberal town in the DMV that is actually lowering taxes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay very close attention to the property taxes. Sometimes, the cheaper the house, the higher the property taxes, because the area is relatively economically depressed. The city or town has to raise residential property taxes because it doesn’t have enough of a corporate base to tax from. This leads to decreased demand & cheaper houses in that municipality because high property taxes scare off most buyers. Baltimore (City) is a good example of this.

This is not always the case, of course. There are many very wealthy towns in states like TX, IL, NJ, CT, NY and PA that have very high property taxes; high-performing, well-funded schools; and are in close proximity to high paying jobs.

There is a myth that you universally “get what you pay for” just because a municipality has high property taxes. This is not the case. Many municipalities have high property taxes because of pension liabilities to retired local govt workers, for pensions that arguably should never have existed in the first place.

Pay attention to property taxes, school district taxes, wage taxes, car taxes, income taxes and sales taxes.

+1 Mt. Rainier, MD has very high property taxes

Not anymore. Mt Rainier has been lowering taxes every year for the past several years now.

Wow, there's a liberal town in the DMV that is actually lowering taxes?

Yes, a gentrifying one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay very close attention to the property taxes. Sometimes, the cheaper the house, the higher the property taxes, because the area is relatively economically depressed. The city or town has to raise residential property taxes because it doesn’t have enough of a corporate base to tax from. This leads to decreased demand & cheaper houses in that municipality because high property taxes scare off most buyers. Baltimore (City) is a good example of this.

This is not always the case, of course. There are many very wealthy towns in states like TX, IL, NJ, CT, NY and PA that have very high property taxes; high-performing, well-funded schools; and are in close proximity to high paying jobs.

There is a myth that you universally “get what you pay for” just because a municipality has high property taxes. This is not the case. Many municipalities have high property taxes because of pension liabilities to retired local govt workers, for pensions that arguably should never have existed in the first place.

Pay attention to property taxes, school district taxes, wage taxes, car taxes, income taxes and sales taxes.

+1 Mt. Rainier, MD has very high property taxes

Not anymore. Mt Rainier has been lowering taxes every year for the past several years now.

Wow, there's a liberal town in the DMV that is actually lowering taxes?

Yes, a gentrifying one

Even better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper midwest

Chicago suburbs, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Indianapolis

Chicago suburbs are questionable and depends on your definition of ‘nice’ and size requirements. You can probably find an 80s track home in an exurb for 500k or a slightly closer in small 60s/70s build that was maybe last renovated in the 90s for 500k. But you won’t find anything renovated and ‘nice’ by most people’s standards and definitely not in the more desirable suburbs. I think Chicago suburbs generally would require closer to a 700k budget and for the most desirable suburbs 1M+ .

Milwaukee area would have more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outside Burlington VT like Essex

Not anymore

[Anonymous]

St Louis
Cincinnati
Columbus
Madison
Detroit burbs
Rochester NY
Parts of Philadelphia and its burbs
More rural PA
New Hampshire
Western MA
Western NY state
Hudson Valley

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper midwest

Chicago suburbs, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Indianapolis

Chicago suburbs are questionable and depends on your definition of ‘nice’ and size requirements. You can probably find an 80s track home in an exurb for 500k or a slightly closer in small 60s/70s build that was maybe last renovated in the 90s for 500k. But you won’t find anything renovated and ‘nice’ by most people’s standards and definitely not in the more desirable suburbs. I think Chicago suburbs generally would require closer to a 700k budget and for the most desirable suburbs 1M+ .

Milwaukee area would have more.

There are older homes in Highland Park IL for under $500k: https://www.zillow.com/highland-park-il/

But OP specifically listed out no to high tax states like IL & NY.

[Anonymous]

Here you go:

https://redf.in/nV3hDD


https://redf.in/j5FVSf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper midwest

Chicago suburbs, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Indianapolis

Chicago suburbs are questionable and depends on your definition of ‘nice’ and size requirements. You can probably find an 80s track home in an exurb for 500k or a slightly closer in small 60s/70s build that was maybe last renovated in the 90s for 500k. But you won’t find anything renovated and ‘nice’ by most people’s standards and definitely not in the more desirable suburbs. I think Chicago suburbs generally would require closer to a 700k budget and for the most desirable suburbs 1M+ .

Milwaukee area would have more.

There are older homes in Highland Park IL for under $500k: https://www.zillow.com/highland-park-il/

But OP specifically listed out no to high tax states like IL & NY.

OP specified ‘nice’ or renovated inside and a house, not condo. There is nothing in HP for sale that meets that criteria, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Philly burbs:

https://redf.in/IlmBix

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper midwest

Chicago suburbs, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Indianapolis

Chicago suburbs are questionable and depends on your definition of ‘nice’ and size requirements. You can probably find an 80s track home in an exurb for 500k or a slightly closer in small 60s/70s build that was maybe last renovated in the 90s for 500k. But you won’t find anything renovated and ‘nice’ by most people’s standards and definitely not in the more desirable suburbs. I think Chicago suburbs generally would require closer to a 700k budget and for the most desirable suburbs 1M+ .

Milwaukee area would have more.

There are older homes in Highland Park IL for under $500k: https://www.zillow.com/highland-park-il/

But OP specifically listed out no to high tax states like IL & NY.

OP specified ‘nice’ or renovated inside and a house, not condo. There is nothing in HP for sale that meets that criteria, sorry.

Yes, there are. Filter by max $500k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean by "nice." I don't consider Toll or Ryan nice. They're just Home Depot grade construction. People buy McMansions for the size, not quality.

500k will get you a pleasant and reasonably updated house in the suburbs of most midwestern/flyover cities.

https://www.redfin.com/OH/New-Albany/6960-Grate-Park-Dr-43054/home/79698480

https://www.redfin.com/KS/Overland-Park/11414-Grant-St-66210/home/83185193

That kitchen in your first link, with the tile floors, backsplash & black countertops is not what most people would consider “updated.”

Nitpicking nitpicking nitpicking isn't going to get you anywhere.

The nicest kitchen you can find in a 500k house in most suburbs / cities anywhere is going to be a basic shaker with granite because that's the affordability. No one is putting a 100+k kitchen remodel in a 500k house. Both these houses are solid, reasonably attractive and if aspects are outdated, a paint job will do the trick. And both are in good suburbs with low crime, good services and good schools. I'd consider both perfectly nice houses.