Question about NE areas - Real Estate Related

[TJ Sparky]

  Hey all, I've been in Calgary for 18 years now and I was just approved for my first mortgage. It seems most houses that are in my price range ( with a garage - necessity ) are in the NE. I've always been in the NW since I moved here and I know nothing about the NE. What areas should I stay away from and what areas are alright but may just have a bad rap.

  Thanks for the help and input!

[cLAY]

What range are you looking in and do you want to live in Cochrane?

I'm hoping to put my house on the market soon, it will be under $320,000. Small house (960sq ft) 2 bedroom/1 bath up, 1 bedroom and bath down. Big 24X24 over height garage with infloor heat and driveway with RV parking and shed.

[JENSSEN]

I too was in the NW (Varsity) pretty much since I moved to Calgary, we were in the same boat price wise , we opted for Dover ; big lots , big shops and most built out of the boom time eras so really great construction. Super quick to anywhere in the city (even downtown) except the NW, great neighbors ( one of which now one of my best friends )  , wide alleys and some very humble people that will help you when ever you need it (except for one guy who is an @$$) but there is always one,.. We joke about livin in da hood but it's a fantastic neighborhood almost like living in a small town,...

Just my two cents

[jkrubi]

Same deal as me, I lived down by the U of C when I moved here, but could not afford anting down there.  So I now live in Abbeydale.  Nice and quite, no one bothers you, big lots, older houses.  None of my neibours seem to care that I have 2 british cars in my back yard (resto projects) and another one and and old 66 mopar in my pad, motorcycle on the street with the jeep.  Got a snowplow as well in the pad. 
But as stated we joke about livin in the hood down here as well, easy to get anywhere you want to go except the west side of town....... but memorial drive is great non rush hour.

[hps4evr]

I've been in Dover glen for almost a year. It's been great. Downtown is 5 minutes. Deerfoot and glenmore are so close it's easy to get out of town. Big lots with real trees. I got pretty lucky, my house was under 300G and has big garage. Neighbors are great. Great bang for the buck area. Find a real-estate agent, they get Paid by the seller so it doesn't cost you anything but they do all the leg work. I used a guy named Jason Kim, he's a fellow jeep guy on this website. He saved my arse, It was my first house and I didn't have a clue. He set me up with everything. Check the mls website for houses. It may come down to what you want and how much you want to spend. I could have bought in a higher end area, but I would have no garage, an unfinished house and be strung out On my payments.
Good luck. Its a big step but it's a lot of fun.

[AstraX]

A good realtor will save you a TON of work.  Also, for your mortgage are you going through a broker or bank direct?  Brokers can get a bit of a bad name, but they don't cost you anything.  The Banks pay for them to bring in the business and again, if you get a good one, they will save you a lot of work and will be able to answer a lot of questions about the application process.

I'm sure I can dig up a few names for you. 

[Tyn Pow]

Same deal as me, I lived down by the U of C when I moved here, but could not afford anting down there.  So I now live in Abbeydale.  Nice and quite, no one bothers you, big lots, older houses.  None of my neibours seem to care that I have 2 british cars in my back yard (resto projects) and another one and and old 66 mopar in my pad, motorcycle on the street with the jeep.  Got a snowplow as well in the pad. 
But as stated we joke about livin in the hood down here as well, easy to get anywhere you want to go except the west side of town....... but memorial drive is great non rush hour.

Am now in Abbeydale too and its very affordable, super safe and quiet.  Neighbours are all pretty good and no one cares about my rigs or my wrenching which is nice.  I even left my garage door open by accident one day while I was at work, came home and nothing was missing. 

I used to live in Kensington....loved it except for the neighbours who would give me the evil eye everytime I went out back to wrench.  And the people there don't appreciate a 4x4 like people in the knee

[cLAY]

For mortgage advice contact:

Rose Simard-Bachand
Phone: 403.561.2441
Email: [email protected]

It costs you nothing, even if you don't take a mortgage from her. She has handled my last 4 mortgages and always gets me the best deals. I have even used her for financial advice on how to build my credit up to qualify for a mortgage. She searches all the banks, financial institutions and mortgage companies and gets you the best deal.

Tell her Clay Hardock sent you.

[Black Betty]

I know it's not the ne, or Calgary, but try Langdon.  Many awesome priced houses there with garages and huge properties.  Only downfall is immortal would be in walking distance......

[TL-Iguana]

Only downfall is immortal would be in walking distance......

That explains the massive RCMP presence out there 2 weeks ago..

[Joel]

I have a house in the NE (Rundle) that I will be putting up for sale in the next couple of months. 
1000sq, 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, developed basement (w/ 1 bedroom & full bath), double oversize heated garage, RV Pad, on a large lot.  priced well under 300k.

PM me if your interested,  I'd like to keep the realtors hands out of it 

[Anton]

Well This is my way to check how bad are the areas in Calgary, i work at the Peter Lougheed Hospital as a peace Officer and i see all kids of people and hear what is going on in the NE from the police.

http://crimemap.calgarypolice.ca/content/DisclaimerPage.aspx

This is a crime map from CPS. Click agree and then you can select any names of neighborhood's in Calgary and what crime you want to see that happened out there from last week up too 6 Months ago.   

Anton

[bRIBEGuy]

I've lived in Ogden (SE) for the past 5 years, and LOVE the area.  Gets a bad rep sometimes, but I've seen no issues around my place.  Close to major roads, and everything is close.  Lotsa guys in the area into cars and wrenching.

I've just finished a 4 year reno on my house (read: virtually new house on a 1953 frame), and now the wife and I are looking for something new.  The place is smaller (~800sq.ft), but if fully developed up and down (so ~1600sq.ft of room) with 3 rooms, and two full bathrooms.  Full hardwood on main floor, tankless water heater, high efficiency fancoil furnace, new appliances, custom kitchen/bathroom, blah blah blah.  Heated garage, big shed, and a double lot too (plus a gravel driveway that'll hold 4 cars easy).

Shoot me a PM if you're interested, I'd gladly consider "private" dealsover going through a real estate agent.

[TJ Sparky]

  Thanks for all the insight! Right now I'm just scanning the market until I really find something I like. I figure I'll really get serious in Oct when I get my raise to keep me from being "house poor". I took a cruise aroung some of the NE neighborhoods and I found most of the well kept areas outnumbered the run down spots.

Cheers!

[Matt4x4]

They got a crime page somewhere that shows the incidences in each neighborhood. I would stay well away from anywhere East of the airport, places like Falconridge, Taradale, Martindale, Castleridge, Whitehorn, Rundle etc etc etc.

Mayland Heights would be alright, I guess...but Id have to do a little research in that neighborhood. Like driving by and seeing who lives there, how many rental places there are, looking at their yards, cars, how many liquor stores, bars, porn and pawn shops their are. Looking at conditions of roofs, siding etc.  Same deal in Dover, Dover seems alright. Ogden seems alright.

Anywhere in the NW is good to go in my books. Cheaper area would be like Bowness.

The SW is all good. The SE is different when you get into Forest Lawn thats why I always double think Dover because of its proximity to F.L.

I've always been peeking in on MLS, I am want to buy a rental property. You can find some great deals all around the city. Some places go for $320 in the SW. I would stay well away from Condos unless you are retired because of the condo fee and the repair costs that can and do go aove the reserve that you will ave to pay.