Appraiser moving to area

[DMZwerg]

One consideration should be whether or not your husband wants to walk to work or not. As I recall the UWM area two of the neighborhoods, Cambridge Heights and the Upper East Side, are in the top 10 of Milwaukee's "most walkable neighborhoods" and Downer Woods is in the top 20. Shorewood (directly north of UWM in Milwaukee County) is a bit more upscale than the NBHDs I mentioned. If you would rather not live in the city proper there are neighborhoods many good more distant. All depends what you are looking for.

 

[Esox]

If you are considering public schools you may want to avoid the City of Milwaukee. The school system is generally considered a mess. The "North Shore" communities of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, and Bayside will all offer quality, but generally older housing in the price range you mentioned. Whitefish Bay is historically the strongest market in Milwaukee County, but all have their appeal. Schools in these suburbs typically have more appeal in the marketplace. Your husband would be looking at anywhere from a 5 to 30 minute drive to UWM as you progress north from the campus through those four communities.

Southern Milwaukee County offers several communities with new construction in Oak Creek and Franklin, then more 60s and 70s type of stuff in some other communities. The City of Wauwatosa has pretty well thought of school system. It is 20-30 minutes west of UWM, and offers housing built from the 20s through the 70s. If you want newer housing in the $400,000 to $600,000 price range, I'd suggest looking outside Milwaukee County. Lots of newer housing available in Ozaukee County (30-45 minutes north of UWM), and Waukesha County (30-60 minutes west of UWM).

In Ozaukee, the Mequon School District is a good one. In Waukesha County, the Elmbrook School District in Brookfield/Elm Grove, and the Arrowhead School District in Hartland/Delafield/Merton would probably be considered near or at the top as far appeal. Newer housing has been beaten down a bit in those areas, but more so in Waukesha County. You can find some really nice properties in your price range. If you're coming soon, I'd look for relo properties because the relo companies will be looking to dump those going into Winter, and activity has been slowing. Prices on relos have been getting slashed. I fear sales activity is going to be terrible going forward through the cold months.

Waukesha County also offers a number of beautiful lakes, and that market has been pounded pretty good. Lots of inventory available if that's your thing.

I've rambled enough, and some may differ with my take, which consists mostly of generalizations. PM if you're interested in more specifics. I'm a UWM grad, and cut my teeth appraising the upper East side of the City and the north shore suburbs. Hell, I've been at this for 22 years, so I have an opinion on every community in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, and Waukesha counties.

Kevin

 

[julinva]

Thanks to everyone for all the great input. I knew I could count on you. I feel like I have a much better handle on the area and the schools. Now I can start shopping for the hat, mittens, and boots. Thanks!

 

[DMZwerg]

Thanks to everyone for all the great input. I knew I could count on you. I feel like I have a much better handle on the area and the schools. Now I can start shopping for the hat, mittens, and boots. Thanks!

The key is LAYERS.
If you are not used to the weather and don't have the cold tolerance dress in layers. This allows you to open layers to adjust to the climate. Sweaters and "hoodies" can be work both indoors and as layers for outdoors under a jacket or coat designed to stop the wind.

Also, look into having thin gloves such as jersey gloves or more form-fitting stretchies, etc, that you can still work a camera or pencil while wearing yet fit under the larger, insulated mittens (look into hunting supplies maybe, preferably after hunting season).

As for boots, if you are good at walking on snow & ice and don't get cold then any boots will work (I wear western (aka" cowboy") boots year round) otherwise you may want to consider picking up a pair of felt packs that you can shuck when inside (and switch to shoes you are carrying). I recall a number of different styles of more svelte boots with permanent "fur" lining being commonly worn by business women back when I worked in corporate in Chicago 20 years ago and they appeared to be quicker on/off, but in our family felt packs were SOP for winter outdoor use (but that was on a farm, so it probably doesn't count).


Oh yeah, I recommend picking up an ice scraper, a car brush, and a small plastic shovel (retractable or such) for in the car. If entirely plastic the small shovel can substitute for the brush. The reason is to be able to: a) clean up to 2 feet of snow off the car, and b) remove snow from around the wheels if you can't get traction. You would think a 4"-8" snowfall wouldn't be that bad until you park your car outside and end up with a 6' tall snowdrift with a car inside of it! (I will post picture if able)

Hope that helps!

 

[Mountain Man]

$400-$600K will have you living like a king here!

It's interesting to see how markets vary in different cities. That price range would be a typical middle range home in the north metro side of ATL. Could go to out lying areas or downtown, but then you have the issue of ain't no good skools.

 

[ezillmer]

I a also considering a move to the milwaukee area and one of my concerns is also property taxes. In that price range property taxes could be as much as $800-900 a month.

 

[DMZwerg]

I a also considering a move to the milwaukee area and one of my concerns is also property taxes. In that price range property taxes could be as much as $800-900 a month.

For a house between $400k-$500k in the City of Milwaukee the monthly taxes would likely be $700-$1100+ per month depending on the assessed value, based on Wiredata information on 5 properties sold within the last 12 months ranging from $400k-$504k sale price and $402k-$486k assessed value.

But that is missing some other factors, like the size and such of the houses ...

The lowest taxes were on the 2200sf-2900sf homes and the highest taxes on the 2900sf+/- ranch home (w. 1500sf finished walk-out basement so listed as 4400sf) and the 3600sf+/- colonial.

Realize that the 5 $400,000-$500,000 I mentioned above were 5 of the top 15 highest priced sales in the City of Milwaukee in the last 12 months (out of 2860 sales altogether) so you are talking about sales in the top 0.52%

So, the question is, are you really looking for a home well in the top 1% in the City of Milwaukee or would a slightly smaller home or such be more what you are looking for?

 

[stangtime]

My inlaws live an hour from Milwaukee. They have a contemporary home, not overly large ~ 2,500+/- s.f. on three acres. Last appraised a few years ago for around $300,000. They pay close to $6,000 a year in property taxes. OUCH!

Dan

 

[DMZwerg]

My inlaws live an hour from Milwaukee. They have a contemporary home, not overly large ~ 2,500+/- s.f. on three acres. Last appraised a few years ago for around $300,000. They pay close to $6,000 a year in property taxes. OUCH!

Dan

Actually, "an hour from Milwaukee" would put the anywhere from Lake County, IL (aka, just over the WI-IL state line) to the south, Burlington or so to the SW, all of Waukesha County to the west, and close to Manitowoc to the north. That is a HUGE area with a vast range of property values. I know as I live about 45 min from downtown Milwaukee.

You say 2500sf+/- is "not overly large", but in most cities it is far larger than typical (I am not kidding when I refer to the commonality of 900sf-1200sf brick ranches in Oak Creek) and that size and price means that the house is probably less than 20 years old and, if not Waukesha County or some other markets where 2-stories are more common, is likely a contemporary ranch or 1.5 story.

Milwaukee is one of the 30 largest cities in the US, but it isn't anywhere near the expense of Chicago, let alone New York, LA, or such. You look at Evaston, IL and the houses are typically double the prices common in Kenosha, WI for similar properties. Median and average (non-REO) home prices tend to be below $150,000 so talking about even a $300,000 property is twice median or more so the taxes are likewise a bit higher.

Locals tend to understand the local markets. Yes, Wisconsin tends to have higher income tax than IL and other states, but I never heard of a "city sticker" until I worked with people from Illinois (Milwaukee may have them now, I am not positive), and while property tax rates are higher in Wisconsin people who moved up from Chicago to a comparable home tended to pay the same or less in property tax, from what they told me back when I was working in IL, because the property values tended to be so much lower for otherwise comparable properties.

Yeah, sticker shock can occur if a person over-reaches, which is why I am glad this discussion is occurring.