What $185,000 can buy you in Baltimore
What sort of home can $185,000 or so buy you in our region? Here's one example.
Amy LaPerle, who purchased this home in Northeast Baltimore over the summer, very kindly offered it up when I suggested that it would be pretty neat to do virtual tours of recently purchased local digs to show how prices (and home types) vary around the area. Call it What You Get for the Money, Baltimore edition.
If you bought a home within the last year in the city or in the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford or Howard, you can play too. More on that in a bit. Back to LaPerle's home:
It's a four-bedroom foursquare in Waltherson, part of the Greater Lauraville area. She paid $184,900, though the effective price was a bit lower because the seller contributed 4 percent toward the closing costs and paid about $4,000 for repairs and inspections.
"After seeing a lot of homes that were okay but not quite right, I liked this one the instant I peeked through the front window," she said in an email interview.
Here's what the back yard looks like -- a reminder that yeah, you can get a tree-filled view in Baltimore:
All photographs taken by Amy LaPerle
The home itself needs some work, she says -- the floors could use refinishing, for instance, and she can see that the front porch and back deck will need to be replaced down the road. But the seller took care of the place and didn't leave behind problems in need of a gut rehab.
In fact, LaPerle considers it a plus that the place wasn't Renovated with a capital R.
"I liked that it was spacious, open, and though it had some updates it did not have all of its original character rehabbed out of it," she says. "If I wanted to live in a house that looked like new I would have bought a new house! The big front porch, back yard and mature trees were also appealing."
Here's the foyer:
The kitchen:
The living room:
LaPerle, 35 -- who works in sales and customer service and is also one of the co-owners of the cafe Charmington's -- says she still has warm feelings about her place after several months of living there, "though tempered by reality."
"The trees need trimming, the yard needs a lot of love, we'll want to update the kitchen and bathrooms eventually, and there are some definite 'What in the hell were they thinking?' as a result of 100 years of different owners," she explained. "On the other hand, the wood floors and finished attic are my current favorite things."
LaPerle wasn't specifically looking for a foursquare. She was thinking of getting a bungalow.
"I actually looked at a very nice bungalow in the same neighborhood the same day I found my house, but once I walked into the one I bought I knew it was the one," she said. "Friends had told me that would happen, and I didn't believe them. There were a lot of 'almost right' houses, but I'm glad I waited."
Why Waltherson?
"After looking at how much house my money could get me, I decided to look at the Hamilton/Lauraville area," she said. "Quite a few of our friends love living in the area, and that was a draw too. After being in Hampden it feels a bit like the suburbs, but on the other hand I like that it's quieter and greener."
She's happy with her purchase. It was worth the money, in her opinion.
"I feel like I got a nice sized house in decent condition in a stable neighborhood," she said. "I saw a lot of less appealing houses in the same price range in the same neighborhood."
See more of her photos, along with commentary, on her Flickr page.
Like to share your experience and give readers a virtual tour? Email me at jamie.smith.hopkins(at)baltsun.com, with @ replacing the (at), of course. Any location in the metro area at any price -- and in any condition -- is welcome, as long as you bought in the last year or so.
Thanks very much to Amy LaPerle for stepping up!
Categories: What your money can get you
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Comments
Welcome to Waltherson!
Posted by: Rob Walshe | October 1, 2010 7:49 AM
I love this feature! If I had a new home I would send some pix. The above looks like a great house - lots of potential and I love the classic features. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Gina | October 1, 2010 10:48 AM
This is an awesome post. I look forward to seeing future 'What $185,000 can buy you in Baltimore' postings.
Amy - You have a beautiful home. Congrats!
Posted by: se_coupe | October 1, 2010 12:32 PM
Jamie,
This is good info, perhaps it would be good for you to calculate the full taxes property tax a homeowner would pay on a house were ever they bought it. List the full tax bill, then add perhaps a chart listing the potential homestead credit over time. It would be good for people to see how one location costs more over another and don't get blindsided, as one of your last articals mentioned.
Posted by: ab | October 1, 2010 12:58 PM
Good point, ab. The potential Homestead credit over time isn't really calculable because it depends on how values change, but I could definitely note the annual tax bill in present time.
On a $185,000 home, it's $4,403 in state and city property taxes.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | October 1, 2010 1:45 PM
Oh my, that's my house! :)
Thanks for the compliments everyone! It is a great house, we got to host our first 50 + person backyard party over Labor Day weekend. It will definitely need some love, particularly the basement after last night's weather.
I do have to give credit to my boyfriend Justin for making this possible. Not only was he a great house hunting partner, he gave me lots of support through the buying process and is very skilled at all sorts of home repairs.
Thanks Jamie!
Posted by: Amy | October 1, 2010 2:06 PM
Very cute home. Looks like you were pretty lucky to get this house.
For every one of these homes there seems to be 10-20 in the same price range that are overvalued.
Posted by: ironhide196 | October 1, 2010 2:11 PM
What a gorgeous house!
Posted by: anne | October 1, 2010 5:12 PM
Really nice house!
What would be interesting to know is what the house was on the market for vs. the sale price of $185,000. Given the doom and gloom in real estate, I'd guess it was originally listed for higher?
Posted by: Matt | October 2, 2010 3:12 PM
The entire NE corner of the city out near the county line along the Harford/Belair Rd corridor has a lot of bang for the buck. Pretty close in, fairly safe by city standards, and huge homes on huge lots all for around 200k. Certainly among the best overall value for all of greater Bmore.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 2, 2010 3:41 PM
We are getting ready to list a house at or around 185 in Federal Hill should you want to blog about one available!!! :)
Posted by: Jodie | October 2, 2010 7:45 PM
Hi, Jodie -- I'm sticking to the recently purchased because I don't want people to think this is a cleverly designed ad for homes on the market. But if you purchase in the Baltimore region after you sell, I'll gladly include your new digs here.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | October 2, 2010 9:30 PM
Even with the drop in prices $185,000 will get you only an unrehabbed 12-14 foot wide rowhouse in Canton,Fells Point or Federal Hill.
I have never figured out why those neighborhoods are so much more expensive then the ones in the Hammilton area. Ive walked through the Hammilton/Laureville area a few times.And they have some huge houses there.
But ive only seen the outsides before.Thank you MS Hopkins for showing the inside of one.And thanks to Miss Laperle for sharing the photos of her beautiful house.
Posted by: Pete from Highlandtown | October 2, 2010 10:20 PM
So glad you enjoyed it, Pete! I hope others join in.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | October 2, 2010 11:07 PM
This looks like a decent, well constructed place. In that area of the city there are a number of similar ones and they are often priced within reason. It is not considered chic but it can beat searching for car parking and some of the headaches associated with other areas.
It is good to see the home was not re-muddled by some bone head who would yank the h/w heat system and make other mistakes usually attributable to cheap, short sighted people. Some of the things I have seen done to these houses make my eyes bleed!
Posted by: Bob Kean | October 3, 2010 9:03 AM
What a beautiful home -- further proof that some neighborhoods are still overly inflated. A $300K house in Pigtown? Why????
Posted by: SBJ | October 7, 2010 3:49 PM
I'm actually very close to closing on a home in the Hamilton area.
I really like the area but the only thing that stings is it's literally 3 blocks away from cheaper taxes in the county. :(
I have a few co workers that are moving to that area. It seems to be getting some young blood.
Posted by: ironhide196 | November 16, 2010 10:27 PM
One word explains why Canton, Fells Point and Federal Hill are more expensive-WATER. Harbor views and the Promenade Walk are wonderful.
Posted by: virginia | November 18, 2010 9:21 AM