Buffalo Rising Online

Fix the schools and bust the political machine and many more people will move back to the city. My friends and I talk about the pros and cons of city and suburban life almost every weekend. Many from some of the best neighborhoods in Clarence and East Amherst would move back in a heartbeat if they had a comparable space to move to and felt that there needs would be represented in government. Some of these people do send their children to Nichols and Canisius, but they are weary of sending younger children to the City of Buffalo schools, they get a much better value in Clarence and Williamsville schools.

My speculation is that there is a limited and very competitive market for these condos. True, some people may not want to face the rampant deer tick problem in the suburbs (/sarcasm) but there are many more who would prefer a 5,000+ sqft home in Clarence to a 2,000sqft condo in the city, especially with all of the baggage and liabilities that come with living in Buffalo. Taking a drive through Spaulding Lake last weekend and Martha's Vineyard the weekend before highlights the fact that there is a lot of available real estate competing for the relatively small population of affluent WNYers who are able to afford the price tag for these condos.

I wish that we could get our stuff together in Buffalo to market the city to people in more congested areas of the country. That would solve a lot of our problems.

Reach further than the 'Burbs. Get some PR or buy advertising in the Miami Herald and other FLA media - the real estate down there is crumbling fast, and there are more than a few snow-birds who could be enticed to move back to a hurricane-free & relatively more stable real-estate environment.

Get Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry involved, they're all about kicking out North Eastern migrants. Throw in a slip at the small boat harbor and they'll sell a dozen...

It would be nice to compete with Florida for some of the emptynesters. Let's get our New State legislators to allow Buffalonians the same properpty tax assessment limits as those in New York City enjoy. See NY RPTL section 1805.

The city needs to be Tougher on property owners to keep thier property clean and in safe condition like the burbs do. Noone wants to live next to an eyesore in the middle of a war zone. Fix the broken sidewalks, fix the street lights (the ones that stay unlit for months), have more officers walking the beat instead of sleeping in their cars, fix the broken school system (hire a new Superindendent who actually gives a crap about the kids and teachers), and maby people will Want to move back to the city again (faster than they do now).

Silly, insipid post.

Bini - You're right about many NY Republicans. I'd add Giambra to your list of shame. But your blaming of NYC for 'regulation, largess and union coddling' lets too many from both parties in WNY and Upstate off the hook. -- Hoyt, Brown, Peoples, Volker, etc., not to mention most Upstate voters.

One of Upstate's and Buffalo's most popular state assembly members was the lead sponsor of this recent little backwards step: http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/308786.html

‘Reform’ bill would throttle IDAs’ advantage to upstate By Craig W. Turner Updated: 03/27/08 6:39 AM

...Last month, ... the State Assembly passed A.8703, the IDA “reform” bill. ...adding union-driven regulations (i.e. prevailing wage, apprenticeship) and their related costs onto any IDA incentives that are granted. Businesses looking to start up or expand in upstate won’t stand for more costs. So why would our elected officials pass legislation to make Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona - essentially anywhere but upstate New York - look that much more attractive? ...

For WNY sponsor and co-sponsors of that bill, see:

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A08703

If you want to see people come back, we need to have affordable housing for the avg. working person,( not subsidized). $125k to $225. tops. When I talk to people, it’s never the politics, they’re bad everywhere. They just want to live in a decent area and be able to park their car off the street. Its feast or famine in the city, it’s either a 40k west side house, a $250k plus village houses or high dollar condos. You’ll never get a Developer to build them because they say ( it doesn’t pay ). The condos going up on W Utica are around 400k but just reduced one small one to $239. The avg. person rents because they can’t afford to buy where they rent. If you buy a condo, don’t forget about the association fees, they can be anywhere from $250-$1000 per month. Let’s face it, it a choice of lifestyle. I don’t begrudge anyone for where the choose to live, and you do get more for your money outside of the city.., house wise, a driveway, garage, less crime, better schools and so on. Most people I know with kids can’t afford private schools and pay taxes. I’d love to live in a high rise, but can’t afford one, We need mid-market ownership, not all these high end rentals. 1088 Delaware has one for $125k, small 1 bed on a lower floor, but it’s an older crowd.

This is one sad ass post. Let me tell you the burbs ain't racist, any mothafuggin person with the bucks can live in any of the burbs. It ain't about not letting people in but it is about white people being smart enough to see that the black community was too damn ignorant to get out of our own way. C'mon already, today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, jr, a man who started a revolution and did more for the community than just about anyone before or after. The problem is we don't listen to no one while the whites are gradating from high school, goin to college and getting good jobs, the inner city kids are dropping out to hang on the corner and live on the goverment cheese. There ain't nothing that no white mothafugga is gonna do to change that and there ain't no one like the great Dr. King who can motivate these do nothin kids to keep their d***s in their pants and stay in school. The opportunities are there for everyone but only a few take 'em. The suburban schools are much better than the city schools and that happens all over the country. People move to the suburbs to live a better life, don't matter what race, color or creed they might be, it is better in the suburbs. All the city folk can't stand that fact, so you throw a nasty term like racism on it, but you know it ain't that at all. The burbs have the houses that cost 60G and the ones that cost 5 mil, the closer to the good schools the more money it will cost to live. I've got all types of family in the burbs and I can tell you that they are so much happier livin there than any of our fams in the city. It ain't about the racism and it ain't about the segregation, it is about opportunity. The city wants it and the burbs got it and thats just too bad for the city but at least we are gettin a casino to give us all the hope for opportunity.

I have been thinking of putting togehter a small group of ambitious investors to build affordable homes on all of the vacant lots that are out there. There is a fellow (McHugh) who is going to do it and keep them under a hundres thousand. I think if you build affordable housing on vacant lots in the city, everyone wins. The city will embrace it with tax revenue coming in and it being something new, not a bandaid approach that most of the housing seems to be. Secondly, its being proactive and enhancing a solution to a hugh problem. Third, with gas being out of control and will continue to be, more and more people will be wanting to relocate to the city. The city is beginning to develop itself. Labatt's Blue, Health Now, New Cap Era, The Casino, hopefully BassPro, Ciminelli relocating its headquarters downtown. We still have a ways to go but its in is infant stage. So what does anyone think. Do you see my idea of putting investors together to build on these lots a godd idea or bad?

When you say vacant lots? Where? The areas that people are looking is Elmwood, Richmond, Allentown, a few blocks west of Richmond is even ok, but anymore would be a tough sell. Medical district is a possibility along Ellicott and that’s iffy. The problem is a new build is going to cost at minimum $95 a sq with basic material. A 1200 sq foot house ( small ) is 114k not including the lot , plus all the permits and extras, but still would be fine for resale but I think your going to have to buy a house, tear it down, prep the lot for a good location and now that’s another 30-50k. Not to mention having to split the profit up 5 different ways. Please do not misunderstand me, Im not attempting in any way to discourage your idea; I just question the profit margin. I always though Niagara St. south of Rhode Island is on the come back and an old building with the right space might work. But just to warn you, the Condo conversion ( good old NYS ) paperwork is a nightmare. But there is no doubt, Bflo is Rising.

I thought realtors were an optimistic lot? Mister proves that is a falsehood. Cheer up already.

Mrrealestate - Based on your name you probably know this, but in the 100-250K price range there's now almost 100 for sale across the city. 99 according to listing search tool on Buffalo News Homefinder site. 39 single fam houses (23 in N Bflo), and 8 condos, and 52 multi-unit houses (30 in N Bflo). So maybe 99 counts as 'feast or famine', and maybe older houses don't count for what you're talking about, but it's not as though there's nothing available in the city for 100-250K.

If you want to see people come back, we need to have affordable housing for the avg. working person (not subsidized). $125k to $225. tops. ... Its feast or famine in the city, it’s either a 40k west side house, a $250k plus village houses or high dollar condos.

plenish - As part of assessing market demand, you might want to check out some of those 99 now for sale. Maybe select 15 or 20 among them which come closest to what you're thinking of building, watch to see how long they take to sell, how much asking prices drop, etc.

I've never lived in the city but I'm entertaining the idea of live-in restoration projects. Here's an optimistic -perhaps ignorant- question: if a property doesn't show up on the city's listing site... is it condemned? Example: 176 Prospect... way over my head but what a spectacular building and not nearly the best of what I've seen...

Biniszkiewicz - New York Real Property Tax Law section 1805 limits increases on assessments on residential property ONLY in New York City and Nassau County to not more than six percent per year and 20% over any five-year period. A few years ago I contacted every Western New York State Legislator to try to explain why this state law only protects certain property owners (those in the NYC area), but have never received an answer.

This whole mess came up when some one of my property assessments in Buffalo increased 200% in 1 year. Since 2006, I've been a Florida resident with a 3% cap on the assessment of my primary residence.

brrr - Every standing structure is listed on the assessor's records whether condemned or not. There's a house listed at 170 Prospect and an empty lot listed at 192 Prospect. The one you're looking for may be listed as #170 or at different address on the street behind. I'd call the assessor's office.

Ava Rouae, I am optimistic.., did you not read the end of my post, Bflo is Rising. However I am cautiously optimistic and more realistic. One can loose a lot of money in this business, and I would not want to see that happen to anyone. Atwaterlouse, I was referring to the Elmwood village, Allentown area, (not No. Bflo.) I just check the ml before I posted, there are currently 7 active singles listing in the area I mentioned. Not that there is anything wrong with No. Bflo, I think it’s a great area; I was just making reference to more of the downtown urban areas. Brr. The lower end of prospect is good merchandise; depending on what it is, properties are selling b/w 80-150 or so. unless its junk, The closer to Rabin ( over 200 ) the better. If you see something you like, but is not listed, you can also use the City of Bflo. Web site, go to ( property information ) then look at the billing address and try to hunt them down. Good luck and I sincerely mean that.

Great article in todays Buffalo News regarding Luxury Living in Downtown Buffalo. Relates to this blog.

I'm sure it's been said in all these posts, but as a suburbanite (older first ring original sururb living in a 1930 home) with a young child, I am not longer afforded the luxury of making a decision just for me. As someone with a high level of education, I therefore value my child's education, believe it or not, above geography (afterall, that's what we're talking about). So in the grand scheme of me looking for a new house, the city doesn't even enter the discussion, it's that far off the radar because of education. And save the "there are good schools in Buffalo" argument. I count two former Buffalo teachers among my friends (they left because the district is a joke) and one current teacher, who hates it there.

Then we get into the issue of housing. Sure, you can find some nice housing, but again, when someone with a kid is weighing their options, a larger lot and more private space vs. a condo or a tiny urban lot (33x100 is a joke), it's a no brainer. BTW, I live on a 4800 square foot lot and that's small but city lots are miniscule.

Socio-economically, the city needs the 25-34 age group to survive. They put kids in the school, buy and maintain the housing stock, get involved in the community, and their kids put down roots and run the cycle again. However, the vast majority of young married professionals will leave the city when the stork arrives.

Who among us is willing to forego the best for their kids socially, economically and educationally just to save a city? It's great in theory and a made for the movies attitude, but it's nonsensical.

I have to prepare my child for a professional position in a southern city (what's going to be here in 20 years for my child) so I might as well get her used to suburban living!