Help! New to Kansas, looking to buy a house

brit0007

Hello Kansas city ladies

I currently live in Chicago, and there's a really good chance I will be going to KU for a PhD program.  Since we will be in the area for around 7 years, my husband and I will be looking to buy.

We are young (25 and 26) and have no children. We'd like to be in a town close to downtown but also relatively simple to get to Lawrence. It seems like Olathe or Overland Park would be good choices as of right now.

Schools are not extremely important. We may have a child in a few years, but it's unlikely that they will be entering school before I finish the program.

We would just like to be in a safe area that will hold, if not appreciate, its value over 7 years. 

So what areas should I be looking into? Thanks for the advice!

 

closapio

Are you willing to look in Lawrence at all? There are other, smaller towns around Lawrence that you might want to look into as well (COL would be less).

Just trying to get an idea of what you want. 

brit0007

I'm not considering Lawrence just because my husband will be working in the downtown area. While I might not be on campus everyday and will have flexible hours, he will have the 9 to 5 thing and so I'd rather he have a shorter commute than me.

Court1

You might check western Shawnee. Not the hippest part of town, but housing is relatively affordable, and it's almost right in the middle of downtown KC and Lawrence. There are a lot of young people buying out there, and it's a nice area.

Mommy_of_Audrey

I live in western Shawnee in a new subdivision and both my husband and myself work downtown.  It is any easy commute (K-7 to I-70 which takes you downtown) and we get to work in about 25 minutes.  It would also be a quick commute to Lawrence.  If you have any questions about our subdivison or areas around, please feel free to email me at mmulloy at cmh dot edu.  Our neighborhood is full of young professionals, young families and is close to shopping and restaurants.

mrs.since06

i live in Overland Park, but don't own a home. I love the area! I would reccomend OP or Olathe. But have very nice housing areas.

Fishie

Hello!  My family and I live in Western Olathe, and I commute to work daily in Lawrence (at KU).  My husband works in Shawnee Mission, so our house is a good location for both of us.  We live just west of K-7 on Santa Fe, which has several newer neighborhoods in the area.  We built our house just about 4 years ago, and it has appreciated since then.  My drive takes me between 30-45 minutes, depending on weather, traffic, and time of day.  To get downtown from our house, it takes about 20-25 minutes.  It seems there are always houses in our neighborhood for sale!

bridejacqueline

Hi there!  I second Shawnee, OP or Olathe!  I live in Olathe & frequent OP!  Their only about 10 minutes from eachother!  Really anything in Johnson County I recommend & I'm a Realtor!  I'm also a large KU fan!!!

I'd love to help answer any questions you guys might have and could easily e-mail you some homes from MLS, the mulitple listing service here in KC when you guys are ready!  Feel free to shoot me an e-mail:  jLennon@kw.com

 

kcNkc

I absolutely recommend Overland Park.  My DH and I currently rent and are house hunting and the homes are cheap!!!  I am originally from STL and really like OP.  It is a nice suburban area that is super close to everything - it is closer to downtown than Olathe too...kind of in between downtown & Lawrence.

Mrs.Huey

I don't know if your open to living on the Missouri side, but my husband and I live in Parkville, MO, you have good access to the highways, and it's a great location for your husband. It's a quite little town, and the home prices are cheaper.

tifer13

my husband and i live in manhattan kansas..... and hour from lawrence but it is a nice, clean new city with a small town feel.  consider it

kcpokergal

 Anywhere with easy access to 435 and I-35 would be good for you guys. 

There are some really nice houses in Overland Park and Lenexa would be good choices (they are adjacent.)  Near Quivera from about 115th-97th would be a good area.  It depends on how much you want to spend of course--houses in that area are probably $180k +

It's right by a big mall and lots of restaurants too which is nice.

Mrs.Webster

Hi Brit,

I just sent you a message about some housing programs going on around Kansas City along with a link to the Federal First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit. I thought they would be of some use to you.

Olathe and Overland Park are both great areas to live in but there are some others that would probably work just as well for your needs, and maybe offer a little bit shorter commute for you. Please feel free to send me a message if you'd like to. I'm happy to help in any way I can.