Who Lives/Has Lived In Reno?

[Plain Old Petunia]

I intend to relocate to Reno, hopefully in the next year or two.

I like to browse condos for sale in Reno, just to get a feel for developments I would/wouldn't like.

But, it is hard to know if I might like a particular neighborhood without visiting it.

Are any of your current/former Reno-ites familiar with the Alpine Vista condos on Nutmeg Place?  There are some shockingly low prices there, the units look cute, and the development looks tidy and well maintained.  They are close to Peckham Ln and I-580.

[shanendoah]

It has been 14 years since I lived in Reno, but looking at the map, this condo is not too far from where we just sold MIL's condo (Kietzke & Grove). Her condo went for $63,900, 2bs/1ba/810sqft (I think on the sq ft) if that helps you figure out prices.
This is an older section of Reno. it is VERY near the airport, which may also have an impact on the price.
When I lived there, Neil Rd (which it is near) was overall not considered a "good" neighborhood, but I also don't remember the park being there, and a lot of work went into those neighborhoods when they did the work on 580 (which didn't use to reach all the way to Carson City).

I am trying to remember if it is tskeeter who now lives in one of the outlying communities...

[Plain Old Petunia]

Aug 18, 2015 14:07:38 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

It has been 14 years since I lived in Reno, but looking at the map, this condo is not too far from where we just sold MIL's condo (Kietzke & Grove). Her condo went for $63,900, 2bs/1ba/810sqft (I think on the sq ft) if that helps you figure out prices.
This is an older section of Reno. it is VERY near the airport, which may also have an impact on the price.
When I lived there, Neil Rd (which it is near) was overall not considered a "good" neighborhood, but I also don't remember the park being there, and a lot of work went into those neighborhoods when they did the work on 580 (which didn't use to reach all the way to Carson City).

I am trying to remember if it is tskeeter who now lives in one of the outlying communities...

Did you visit MIL in her condo? Did you notice the air traffic noise?

The current prices of the Alpine Vista condos are very similar. One is listed now at 60k, one is in escrow at 59.9k. They are 2/1.5 townhouse style, 855 sq. ft.   They have high windows which let in light, and side by side laundry hookups in a closet under the stairs,  features which IMO make them very livable. I don't want to live in a high crime 'hood, though.

I am OK with older.  I don't care for the North Valleys area and cannot realistically afford the South Meadows area, and those are the areas where most of the new growth has been.  I figure I can comfortably afford to spend up to 120k on a condo,  but would be happy to spend less.   At 60k, I could buy without a mortgage and without dipping into investments.  That is VERY appealing to me, as I am trying to set myself up to only need to work part-time.   I might work full-time anyway, I just want to have the option.

I will be visiting Reno again in about a month.  When I visit, I try to explore different sections of town to form my own opinions.   Driving around is how I came to the conclusion I don't want to live north of town proper off the 395.  I want to be less reliant on a car to get around.  There just isn't much infrastructure in the North Valleys.   No library, clusters of big box stores very far from homes, etc.   In town proper, many errands would be walkable/bikable, and that is more my style.

[shanendoah]

I lived with C in that condo for about a year (while his mom was in the hospital and then when she came home, before we moved to Seattle). I don't remember noticing airport noise there. However, the place you are looking at is closer to the runways. You might want to visit that specific area and hang out for a bit and see what you notice.
The prices you are listing are about right for that size and age of condo, at least in that overall area of town. They are not suspiciously low.
I will note that the HOA dues on MIL's condo were $155/month with a current $50/month special assessment, so would probably expect something similar.

[tskeeter]

Aug 18, 2015 13:36:45 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

I intend to relocate to Reno, hopefully in the next year or two.

I like to browse condos for sale in Reno, just to get a feel for developments I would/wouldn't like.

But, it is hard to know if I might like a particular neighborhood without visiting it.

Are any of your current/former Reno-ites familiar with the Alpine Vista condos on Nutmeg Place?  There are some shockingly low prices there, the units look cute, and the development looks tidy and well maintained.  They are close to Peckham Ln and I-580.

POP, I can probably help you some.  Nutmeg Place is sandwiched between I-580 and the airport.  About a block or two from the highway and about 5 or 6 blocks from the most heavily used runway.  I suspect that the poximity to these noise sources has an impact on the price you're seeing.  When we were looking for homes about 9 years ago, one of the things our RE agent talked about was the development of low income housing in the SE part of town about 15 years ago, now, and the impact that had on the area and the schools in the area.  Nutmeg place would be on the edge of where this low income housing was built.  

[Plain Old Petunia]

Aug 18, 2015 17:13:41 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Aug 18, 2015 13:36:45 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

I intend to relocate to Reno, hopefully in the next year or two.

I like to browse condos for sale in Reno, just to get a feel for developments I would/wouldn't like.

But, it is hard to know if I might like a particular neighborhood without visiting it.

Are any of your current/former Reno-ites familiar with the Alpine Vista condos on Nutmeg Place?  There are some shockingly low prices there, the units look cute, and the development looks tidy and well maintained.  They are close to Peckham Ln and I-580.

POP, I can probably help you some.  Nutmeg Place is sandwiched between I-580 and the airport.  About a block or two from the highway and about 5 or 6 blocks from the most heavily used runway.  I suspect that the poximity to these noise sources has an impact on the price you're seeing.  When we were looking for homes about 9 years ago, one of the things our RE agent talked about was the development of low income housing in the SE part of town about 15 years ago, now, and the impact that had on the area and the schools in the area.  Nutmeg place would be on the edge of where this low income housing was built.  

This is good info, I thank you.

So, probably not such a great place to live.   Well, back to the drawing board. 

[Plain Old Petunia]

How about the neighborhoods near the Livestock Event Center?

[kittensaver]

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but here goes anyway:

My former next door neighbor (and still a friend) is a realtor. She says the best way to find a new home in a city about which you know very little is to ask a couple of different realtors in the new city to look at listings in neighborhoods equivalent to either the one you're in now, or one you'd like to be in if you were staying where you are. Give them the zip codes of your personal desirable neighborhood(s) at home and turn them loose to find equivalents in the new place. The closer they come to finding what you want is the key to finding (and hiring/contracting with) someone who has truly done their homework for you - not just show you stuff they think you want to see (or they want to sell).

Good luck whatever you decide. I hope your hunt and your move go well.

[shanendoah]

Wells Ave (where the Livestock Events Center is located) isn't known for being the nicest of areas. HOWEVER, if you are looking west of the center, you are getting into University area housing. I lived on Cranleigh Dr for about a year (and walked down Wells Ave every day to go to work), and it was a nice little neighborhood.

East of the Livestock Events center, the Oddie area, was (at the time) known for being one of the less affluent areas of town, but I don't remember it being considered as rough as the Neil Rd area. (But again, all of my info is 14+ years old.)

[tskeeter]

Aug 18, 2015 15:35:53 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Aug 18, 2015 14:07:38 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

It has been 14 years since I lived in Reno, but looking at the map, this condo is not too far from where we just sold MIL's condo (Kietzke & Grove). Her condo went for $63,900, 2bs/1ba/810sqft (I think on the sq ft) if that helps you figure out prices.
This is an older section of Reno. it is VERY near the airport, which may also have an impact on the price.
When I lived there, Neil Rd (which it is near) was overall not considered a "good" neighborhood, but I also don't remember the park being there, and a lot of work went into those neighborhoods when they did the work on 580 (which didn't use to reach all the way to Carson City).

I am trying to remember if it is tskeeter who now lives in one of the outlying communities...

Did you visit MIL in her condo? Did you notice the air traffic noise?

The current prices of the Alpine Vista condos are very similar. One is listed now at 60k, one is in escrow at 59.9k. They are 2/1.5 townhouse style, 855 sq. ft.   They have high windows which let in light, and side by side laundry hookups in a closet under the stairs,  features which IMO make them very livable. I don't want to live in a high crime 'hood, though.

I am OK with older.  I don't care for the North Valleys area and cannot realistically afford the South Meadows area, and those are the areas where most of the new growth has been.  I figure I can comfortably afford to spend up to 120k on a condo,  but would be happy to spend less.   At 60k, I could buy without a mortgage and without dipping into investments.  That is VERY appealing to me, as I am trying to set myself up to only need to work part-time.   I might work full-time anyway, I just want to have the option.

I will be visiting Reno again in about a month.  When I visit, I try to explore different sections of town to form my own opinions.   Driving around is how I came to the conclusion I don't want to live north of town proper off the 395.  I want to be less reliant on a car to get around.  There just isn't much infrastructure in the North Valleys.   No library, clusters of big box stores very far from homes, etc.   In town proper, many errands would be walkable/bikable, and that is more my style.

POP, if you go to Google Maps, you can enlarge things enogh to see what is in certain areas.  You could start with an anchor point such as "I want to be within 10 blocks of a library" than start to work from that location and see what other facilities are in the area.  When we were looking for homes, my anchor point was a Home Depot.

By the way, there is a library in the North Valleys.  You probably didn't see it because it is located in a shopping center, a couple of doors down from the Raley's grocery store.

I actually think that the North Valleys might be worth a second look.  There is grocery shopping, banking, post office, oil changes, Dollar Store at NV 395 and Golden Valley Road.  Banking, auto parts, grocery shopping, Ace Hardware, Walmart, Vet at NV 395 and Lemon Drive.  I've seen single family homes in this area that are in your price range.

Although I don't know what home prices are like in the area, you might also look at the Los Altos Drive and Pyramid Highway area of Sparks.  The galleria shopping area has built up nicely over the last 10 years.  I believe that some condos are currently under development along Galleria Parkway.  Library is a couple of miles north, on Pyramid.  Development over the next few years looks as though it will provide back street access to the library.  Only grocery currently available in the immediate area is Walmart, but Raley's would be about three miles north, on Vista.   

[kent]

Aug 18, 2015 17:56:22 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but here goes anyway:

She says the best way to find a new home in a city about which you know very little is to ask a couple of different realtors in the new city to look at listings in neighborhoods equivalent to either the one you're in now, or one you'd like to be in if you were staying where you are. ....The closer they come to finding what you want is the key to finding (and hiring/contracting with) someone who has truly done their homework for you

Bingo!  Let them do the preliminary work for you and then pick the one you are most comfortable with.