Hi All!
My husband and I are in the collecting information on who people rent from in Ypsi. Our lease is up in May and we are fixing to move. We would love to have a loft, but the only ones I can find right now are way out of our price range. Although I will say, Mauer Management did a great job with the Michigan Ave lofts!
So if you are willing, please talk about who you love, who you hate and give us any recommendations!
Thanks!
Melissa
I'd be very interested to know as well.
We actually have started doing some research too. We went and looked at an apartment in 201 North Huron last weekend, and it was gorgeous. It's that biiiiig mansion-looking house across from the Ladies Library, etc. Unfortunately, the two-bedroom unit was just resigned for the next year. We saw a rather large one bedroom one though, with ceilings that are like 15 feet tall.
Three Oaks is the company that has that building - give them a call if you're interested. Valerie was really friendly, and even came out on a rainy Friday afternoon at 5:30PM to show it.
We found a house that is owned by Flo-Mar at 109 North street. The place IS GORGEOUS! I want it so bad, but we can't afford the rent by ourselves. It's a two bedroom so we are trying to convince our friend to go in on it with us. I am still pretty shocked by the price because it's only a 2 bedroom and it's 985 with no utes included. It's also for sale with a sticker price of 170K. I really thought housing prices have come down further. Guess not!
This will be the thread to watch as I'm looking for a new place to live, too. I'm w/ you, Melissa.. I thought prices have gone down and while they might have for the dives, the better places seems to have plateaued. I'm currently by the library and it's just not working out.
$170k for a house in Ypsilanti isn't actually that outrageous these days.
We were looking to buy in Ypsi a while back, but with the costs of property tax here, pretty much anything is out of reach, as first-time home buyers. What kills me is that Ypsi has higher taxes than Ann Arbor. That amount on top of a mortgage payment is just painful.
We've continued to look, and to be optimistic—but in reality when it comes time to buy, we'll probably get something further away and commute.
Wow I didn't know that Ypsi taxes are higher than ann arbor. Is that true in the township also?
We are in no position to buy right now. My husband is in school for teaching at EMU and there is no telling he would find a job in the state. I really don't want to give up my job at U of M though. We thought moving back to Ann Arbor would be an option, but we would much rather stay in Ypsi.
It's too bad that housing is still so expensive here, espically with the economy. I was looking into foreclosed properties and even those seem really high.
From what I understand, the township is better, tax-wise, but that's starting to get up there as well. I'm not a tax dude or an accountant, so please don't take my word as law. It's what I've heard from others, including real estate agents, sooo...
I really like Ypsi, but its unfortunate that so many multi-unit houses sell for so high of a price, and that there aren't tax breaks for people that renovate and re-purpose them back into single-family homes once again.
I rent from GarE Maxton and have had nothing but a good experience with him/my apartment. The (few) properties he rents are in excellent condition, and maintenance issues get taken care of really quickly. The one drawback for me is that he prefers to rent on the typical "school schedule," (Sept-August leases), which takes away a lot of flexibility, but the same could be said for many landlords around town. His website that lists properties is maxton.com, easy enough, eh?
I would personally love to hear about properties that do not allow SMOKING (which is legal in this state, BTW). The other tenant in my duplex smokes like a chimney and I hate it. I hate smelling the smoke. I hate smelling like smoke. I hate to think what it might be doing to my health.
FWIW, my lease specifies that there is to be no smoking inside my apartment, I would imagine GarE Maxton's other properties have similar clauses.
Brian --
Not sure of what you are excatly looking for, but I viewed this house at 109 North last night. And it's a gorgeous two bedroom craftsman bungalo. Price is $985 a month with no utilities. It's through flo-mar. We decided after talking that we can't afford it without a roommate and given the way the bedrooms are, we don't think it would be a good setup.
We live in River's Edge Apartments, and neither hate nor love it, or rather feel both emotions simultaneously. Regardless, we've stayed here for four years now, for the following reasons-
1) The rent is similar to, or cheaper than, most places in Ypsi.
2) They allow up to 3 cats, but do not allow dogs (Some adjacent complexes have free-range pit bulls).
3) It has a secured outer entrance door, and locked mailboxes
4) Maintenance work is done very quickly, as they have an on-site staff, and they similarly keep the property litter free.
5) Most people agree with us, based on the online apartment rating sites, which generally rank River's Edge at the top of the Ypsi housing list.
There's pros and cons to dealing with a faceless company vs. an individual landlord, of course. We've had plenty of both, and find the current scenario one of the less offensive, in our experience. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you might have about the complex or the area.
p.s.-
jlmrbk- To answer your question, I'd say that most of the places we looked at in the area do NOT allow smoking, per katy's comment. River's Edge does, however, and since I smoke, that was another reason we moved here. As for what the smoke from someone else's apartment down the hall is doing to your health, I would say the answer is "nothing", and challenge you to present any medical evidence to the contrary. Sorry you don't like the smell. Be glad you weren't born prior to the 20th century.
Your smell is part of your charm, Brett. :)
Glad to see you're feeling better, and out of bed!
Please do feel free to start posting some of your excellent historical info here. I, as well as most others here I am sure—would love to see it.
Does any one know anything about go beal?
I know his father has been in the news, but I don't know anything about what his son and his properties.
Young Mr. Beal's one big property (and main concern) is the loft development above the old Kresge building (corner of Michigan and Washington downtown). Property management ( I believe) is a new scope to their business, as the Beal's had been primarily a noted remodeler/rehabbing business originally- At least under his father and granddad before him-- He's rather young, mid to late twenties I believe.... Still, it's nice to see something other than Barnes and Barnes plastered over every other property downtown
Well maybe he will be an option in my search. It's a pity their website doesn't show any of their properties.
I am also running into issues with people raising their rent as soon as I become interested in the property and initiate contact. I just still am boggled by the price of housing in this area given the economy.
If you can, stick to your guns (price-wise) because since building that lovely Penninsular Place that Brett S. loves so much, it's been reported that some of the local individual home or duplex rental properties have become a little more available in what seems to be a softer market around here, nowadays-- At least from what I can tell roaming about town-- Many rent (and for sale) signs, EVERYWHERE! Those lofts I mentioned do seem to be a bit much-- Around 1000 per month I saw one being advertised (though, I'm not sure if that was for one of the bigger ones-- or even if there are size options) . Then again, they're new, they are "downtown lofts" and just like troubled Detroit, they cost.
One sugestion... Years back when I was a single lad I rented a nice cape cod house off of Prospect-- Cheap! Nice 'hood, solid little house-- I rented from a little old lady. I'm sure today you'd have to pay more than the $375 I paid, but perhaps one could be had today, for a somewhat reasonable rate... Of course, I don't know what you're looking for, or if you'd want a roommate to defer costs-- But some of those little cape houses are more roomy than you'd think..
Sorry Melissa-- I was lazy and didn't read "up-thread" but I think I still stand by my Prospect area cape cods-- Although no roommate, of course (forgot about your hubby)! As those cod houses also have a similar set up upstairs like that bungalow on North, I'd wager insofar as the bedrooms go...
Thanks for your insight. I am going to take a drive some Saturday afternoon and just start writing down numbers for places that are for rent. It seems that there are more out there that are not advertised on craigslist or in the paper.
The house on North street was beautiful but I am agast at the price they want for it. It seems completely way too high. I hope that because I am looking so early I will find something perfect for us.
I would really like to buy, but given the economy here and my husband going into teaching, there is no telling where we might end up in two years time.
I know there are some units for rent where I live- Stadium Meadows, off of Hewitt. I think the rent's usually about $800/mo, and I know I saw at least one on Craigslist. The lease varies by unit, since they're condos.
They're pretty affordable to buy- $115-128k, I think, and not far from the #4 bus, w/in walking distance to EMU/St Joe's, etc etc. They're about as far west as you can get and still technically be in Ypsi, but they're nice, quiet, and clean. Good for building up equity if you plan on being in the area for a while, and appreciate the ability to do such things as paint your walls. :)
Disclaimer: I'm not only a resident/co-owner, I'm on the Board, so of course I'll try to pimp the place out to potential co-owners, but if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.
We'd had enough of renting when we came to Ypsi, so we bought a house - one of the rare near-campus student rentals that hadn't been lopped up. Can't comment on rental prices.
I would definitely advise making counter-offers if the price seems too high, though. From what I see in terms of number of vacancies, the prices ought to be a little lower. If you seem like a respectable person who pays your rent on time and wants to sign on for a decent term, I'm guessing many of the landlords will wiggle on the rent.
"$170k for a house in Ypsilanti isn't actually that outrageous these days."
Speaking both as a recent homebuyer and as somebody who really likes to browse the city assessing records, I'll note that plenty of people manage to buy houses in town for well under $170k. And, again, if you're looking to buy, be aggressive in your offers. There are plenty of houses out there priced well above their real value - and lots that have been on the market for a while. Even if you discount the folks who are just fishing for suckers, you can find people willing to make deals.
Meanwhile, I'll happily advocate for my own neighborhood - north of Cross, between campus and the river. Every week, I find new reasons to love my neighborhood (and my neighbors - even our Neighborhood Association, theoretically a bastion of boring homeowners, was accused by a city councilmember and the police chief of holding more parties than any other neighborhood in town).
I've rented at 5 different places in the greater Ypsi area, back in my past, and this thread of discussion brings back memories from my quickly fading youth, as well as a story (funny?) from my bachelor renting days in Ypsi: I posted above that I had rented a home off of Prospect st. from an older lady ( in her 70's), and this is where my story comes from. This house was a great place for me: A solid little Cape Cod house with oak flooring and a fireplace to boot; and the best thing, for the first time in my life: NO ROOMMATE!
Now some of you might have found my landlady to be a bit intrusive, as she was always around checking up on the place and chatting me up (I think she was just lonely), besides, she often brought me some baked goodies.
Now the funny bit had to do with a leaky pipe in the basement, which one day I mentioned to her "Oh! OK-- I'll have George look in on it..." She said, in her soft old lady voice.
I was trying to remember. George? Was that one of her sons she had mentioned? I wasn't sure. Well, something like the next morning, I learned who "George" was. Her brother. Her 82 year old brother, and apparently my plumber.
He slowly and maybe painfully got out of his old Dodge Coronet and popped open the trunk for his tools. Soon I saw him tugging and tugging (and cursing most sailor-like) at something in the bottom of the car's trunk. It was his tools. The poor old dude couldn't lift them out! So I ambled over and lent him a hand, taking the toolbox (it was a heavy bugger) down the basement stairs for him. I showed him the drippy pipe and went upstairs.
I was watching TV for maybe ten minutes, occasionally hearing a faint grunt or curse from George as he worked on the pipes. Apparently nothing out of the ordinary until I heard George exclaim loudly: "UH-OH!" followed by a rush of water running full blast and a further comment from George "OH-GOD-DAMMITT!" By then I was racing to the stairs to assist George, yet he nearly knocked me down as his soaked form appeared before me at the top of the steps. " Effing valve broke-- Gotta call Cecilia!" (my landlady) He croaked out of breath. No Shit. I thought as I tip-toed into the quickly rising water to retrieve a few laundry items.
Turned out it was the main shut-off valve that George had broke, so there wasn't anyway to shut it off, except from the street-- Thus being a job for the water dept. (YCUA). So for about the next 45 minutes the basement continued to "fill" until that time when YCUA showed up and quickly shut the water off from the curbside. A few minutes later my landlady showed up as well, "Oh George! What were you thinking-- Why didn't you wait for "Little George" to get over to help you..." She scolded him. "Little George?" I thought. So she did have a son named George-- I felt my memory vindicated, though I don't think (Big?) George was to concerned with what I thought just then...
Regarding Beal-
I've heard a wide range of mixed reviews on the service he/they provide to renters, so you might want to look into the matter some. In addition to what robr said about kresge, he's also been involved in the 'restoration' of the Thompson Block in depot town. I believe he backed out of that deal, or at least tried to. Regardless, the building isn't looking much better than it did when David Kircher owned it.
re - Beal/Thompson Block/"restoration"
He's been working on lining up financing to do the restoration. Up until December, this was literally impossible, as he didn't solidly own the building - no bank was going to loan him money while there was the chance of Kircher getting the property back. Now that he's got ownership, he just has to line up enough tenants willing to sign leases 18 months before the building is ready for occupancy that a bank will consider the project a good risk. (Kresge was a bit of an easier project, as there were multiple owners involved to disperse the risk a bit; Thompson is just Beal and his bank.) I haven't heard anything about Beal backing out of the Thompson Block or trying to.
It's probably safe to look at Kresge for an idea of what the Thompson Block will look like once Beal can get the financing together, albeit with the ground floor filling a mite more quickly in Depot Town.
I bought a house when I moved to Ypsilanti three years ago so I can't speak about renting here personally. But I can say that my house was a foreclosure so I think I got a sweet deal. When I realized the tax rates were through the roof, I 'bout had a heart attack. Definately look into what your taxes would be before you sign any papers!
As Bonnie did on 1/29, I'm going to take a moment to pimp. Steve Wild owns six houses full of character within the City of Ypsi. He rents to students, but he also has some folks who are not students. A few of his tenants were inherited from previous owners and have been with him for many years. (visit wildprops.com) [This is the part where I admit I'm dating him and have never rented from him. So of course I'm biased. :) ]
Anyway...this is my first post on downtownypsi.org. Yay!
I looked at Steve's places and they are indeed very nice. My husband and I want a two bedroom and Steve only has two. One of them he lists are not being able to get a queen sized matress up the strairs, so sadly, he is out of our search. :(
As I have had occasion to scroll through your older conversations I would feel it remise if I did not comment on one of the funniest {not to mock, nor make fun of your pain :) } posts I have ever read: RobR Comment Time Jan 29th 2007 !
Classic !! I am still laughing as I try to type through my tears!! RobR your writing style is truly engaging--dude you should be published! :)
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