Boots On The Ground House Hunting

I'm still holding out hope for some properties in the Crocus Hill area of Saint Paul. This is an area that would have been great to buy in about five years ago because it was still possible to get a house at a reasonable price. Historically, the intersection of Selby and Dale Ave in Saint Paul was the worst part of the city. About twenty or thirty years ago, in fact, the city of Saint Paul actually owned a large percentage of the property in this area (in the past, the city bought condemned property), and they GAVE the houses to people who promised to fix them up. I think they even got low interest loans or grants to revitalize the neighborhood. It worked--big time. Thousands upon thousands of hours of sweat equity revitalized this area of town. The crime problem has been mostly taken care of. I'm looking at a narrow swath of streets that's sandwiched between two affluent neighborhoods--three blocks where the housing is affordable. To the South is Summit Avenue, several miles of old brick and Victorian mansions, and to the North is Selby, which is just beginning to understand it's property value (a recent developer just put in brick townhouses selling for upwards of $450k).

However, today I'm spending some time driving the city. I'm checking out the Northeast, which everyone says is the new "hot" spot. I can afford a lot of property here, but I don't know about the neighborhood. I've mapped out the houses and I'm driving the area. Right now I'm in a coffee shop in Southeast. My writing group meets here sometimes. I want to check out the neighborhoods before my realtor and I start looking at specific properties.