Maple Park?

[dioscorides]

my wife and i are thinking of buying a home in the maple park area.  just wondering if any of you have any pros/cons for this neighborhood.

thanks in advance.

[waterboy]

Its a great neighborhood. I live between 18th & 21st and we often walk that area and walk our dog in the park. The park has probably the best background vista in town. I have met many of the owners and toured their homes. Lots of lovely plaines bungalows punctuated with some larger homes. Its filled with professionals, families drawn to the convenience of nearby Marquette and Lee elementary as well as architects who love the variety and solid construction.

The actual name of the hood is Morningside and it runs from the park east to Peoria and from 15th to 18th. It was developed in the 1920's. Similar to Tracy Park that it used to adjoin.

The values have steadily risen as homes are brought up to date. Not too many low ball rehabs left. That period has passed. Maybe some rentals to be converted though. I am thinking of a very well done new construction that blends quite well right in the corner of Maple Park and another fine two story being offered just a bit south of it.

Attractive, affordable, convenient, easy to live in and protected by the Maple Ridge Association. You could do worse.

The cons? People love their homes and won't let them go cheap. The only guy to ever escape from the police helicopter, eluded them by running through Maple Park and into the dense hood! (otherwise no crime problems) There are some issues with drainage as a creek once ran through the area and was filled in. Check the basements carefully.

Hope that helps.

[OurTulsa]

One of the best 'all around neighborhoods' in Tulsa in my opinion. 

Great school district - Lee, Edison, Edison.
Good stable home values.
Very close to downtown, easy walk to 18th/Boston and Cherry St.
Wonderful 'going for a walk' neighborhood
Next to Trail to River.

As downtown improves this neighborhood's value will rises.

[dioscorides]

thank you very much for your input waterboy and ourtulsa. i appreciate it.

[SXSW]

One of the best 'all around neighborhoods' in Tulsa in my opinion. 

Great school district - Lee, Edison, Edison.
Good stable home values.
Very close to downtown, easy walk to 18th/Boston and Cherry St.
Wonderful 'going for a walk' neighborhood
Next to Trail to River.

As downtown improves this neighborhood's value will rises.

I agree, and you can tell by how home prices have risen in the area in the past several years.  If it's too expensive you might try the neighborhood just to the west (from Boulder westward) for more affordable homes and still decent area, or the neighborhood around Tracy Park to the north.

[BeachBum]

Pros:  Great park
beautiful homes
very high pride in ownership of neighbors
close to Cherry Street
near downtown
sidewalks
neighbors tend to "look out for each other"
historic homes

Cons:  homeless often hang out in park
crime does exist (quite a number of breakins lately)
higher price tag on homes (which becomes a plus when you sell)
historic preservation district can greatly limit exterior home improvements (i.e., upgrading to energy efficient windows is even more difficult and expensive)

Factors which could be pro or con (depending on where you are in your life):
many young families moving back into nieghborhood
some neighbors care greatly about you and what you are doing on your own property
proximity to the night life

[dioscorides]

thank you to everyone for replying.  we are curious as to how difficult it is do things such as replacing windows, removing trees, and such with the houses being historical.  we looked at a house in the neighborhood and could feel cold air coming through the windows because they didn't shut correctly.  most of the windows in the house were painted shut also.  the house had an attic fan.  if none of the windows open, what's the point?  there were, i think, two trees in the back yard that should probably come down due to the ice storm.  just curious if there a lot of hoops to jump through in order to fix things like this.  we found the maple ridge home owner's association website.  just curious if anyone has had experience in doing something like this.

thanks again for your input.

[Red Arrow]

Where ever you go, if there is a homeowner's association or similar organization, make sure you can accept the restrictions that will be put on you. Better to check ahead than  be bitter and miserable later.

[rdj]

Maple Park is one my family's favorite parks.  It is usually quiet and has a wonderful view of dowtown.

I have a good friend who just spent two years rehabbing a home near the intersection of 17th & Newport.  They completely gutted the home and restored it wonderfully.  They still have some things to do, but are already realizing thousands in appreciation based upon a recent appraisal.  They plan on living there until they become empty nesters which will be a good 25+ years.

You shouldn't have any issues with the historical committee on landscaping.  Windows however are a different story.  Any window that is within view of the street has to be historically accurate.  When you embark on replacing the windows you select your design, present it to the historical committee of the HOA, upon their approval it will be forwarded to the HOA board for approval.  I know some people who have been through this process and I'm sure would be happy to discuss their process with you.

[waterboy]

thank you to everyone for replying.  we are curious as to how difficult it is do things such as replacing windows, removing trees, and such with the houses being historical.  we looked at a house in the neighborhood and could feel cold air coming through the windows because they didn't shut correctly.  most of the windows in the house were painted shut also.  the house had an attic fan.  if none of the windows open, what's the point?  there were, i think, two trees in the back yard that should probably come down due to the ice storm.  just curious if there a lot of hoops to jump through in order to fix things like this.  we found the maple ridge home owner's association website.  just curious if anyone has had experience in doing something like this.

thanks again for your input.

Sounds like you found a house with some deferred maintenance issues. Should make for a good price! Are you a handy guy who knows a claw hammer from a wrecking bar? Know what DWV stands for? Enjoy cruising through Lowes, HD or Best Hardware even if you have no intention of buying anything? Like adventure? Seriously, I just loved old homes but I still had to buy a home repair manual when I first moved in to find out all the things dad never told me about living in a house from a different century.

Windows are important on these old homes because other than the lack of insulation in the walls, most of the leakage comes from them. Replacing, rehabbing or good storm windows will have a tremendous positive effect on your bills and comfort level.

We painstakingly rebuilt most of our windows. 42 windows, most of them 10 lights that were painted shut. Sometimes stripping them if there were too many layers of paint. Sometimes we got lucky and only had to free up the windows with a flat blade, scrape them, sand them glaze them and repaint them. Remember, there is lead paint within those 80 years of paint jobs. Pretty sure I used to be smarter than I am now. I wanted to save them because the glass in them has irregular waves that add character. Ya gotta love this kind of work though. Otherwise replacing them with approved double insulated windows is the way to go.

Taking out a tree is expensive and may actually reduce your property value as well as raise your utility bills. Get an estimate from a reputable guy about whether it can be saved and merely trimmed up. Talk to PSO too. They are now working in this area removing trees that pose line problems.

Working on these old homes is like restoring an old classic car. Lots of people will help you with hard earned advice and good sources for your needs. And, I have heard stories about the association playing hardball, but mostly those are "notable" homes that have displayed questionable taste. Be glad they are there. Otherwise we'd all have aluminum windows and fancy iron porch railings along with lower sale prices.

[OurTulsa]

Call Ed or Amanda with the Tulsa Preservation Commission and talk with them about rehabbing in an Historic Preservation district.  Both are very approachable, nice to work with, and know their stuff.  I know the process is free and doesn't take a long time.  Remember, it's only the facade of the house that is subject to scrutiny.

No HOA or other controlling entity for these neighborhoods.

http://www.tulsapreservationcommission.org/

[jtcrissup]

We live across Peoria in the Swan Lake neighborhood and have looked at many homes in the North Maple Ridge area you are calling Maple Park. It is a very nice and desirable neighborhood, as is Swan Lake. We really like the area as a whole, and we love the house we are in now (1928 2 story red brick).  From a neighborhood persepctive, I like Swan Lake better cause you have easy walking access to BOTH Cherry St and Utica Square as well as Swan Lake park and the Marquette playground for our kids, which is a great place to visit.  From an overall "houses available" perspective, I like North Maple Ridge better as the homes tend to be a little larger and on bigger lots (in general). 

We have the same "historical preservation" zoning in Swan Lake that exists in Maple Ridge.  I have talked to the preservation people about our house and things I would like to do the the exterior (replace windows, restore siding in dormers) and have found them to be very easy to work with/talk to, although I have never done any of the projects I talked to them about...I chose to repair existing windows vs replace as the new windows I wanted to use were expensive (double paned/6panel windows are expensive...the vinyl option is viable with internal divider, but I did not want to go that route as our bathroom window was done that way by a previous owner and I think it looks bad...). 

They are VERY eager to help and also very nice people.  Their role (my opinion) is more to advise/educate homeowners on how to best achieve a value adding restoration project and not to be the "Preservation Police".  Some people don't like this as they feel like it takes away from personal property rights...I like it because it protects my investment by keeping the integrity of the neighborhood intact as much as possible.  Plus it is a free sounding board to bounce ideas off of and they may give you insight you would have otherwise not had the benefit of.

I think in the long run the property values have shown the historic preservation zoning is worth it's weight in gold.  I have seen my property value go up by about 40% (according to zillow.com) since we moved in a few years ago...and I expect there is still upside to be had on some homes that have maintenance needs like the one you describe!  Good luck in your decision and make sure and scope out available houses in the Swan Lake neighborhood if you haven't already!

[jtcrissup]

http://www.tulsapreservationcommission.org/pdf/guidelinesnorthmapleridge.pdf

Design guidelines for North Maple Ridge...

[SXSW]

You can't go wrong with either neighborhood, North Maple Ridge east of Maple Park all the way to Swan Lake and further east past St. John to Yorktown.  IMO those are Tulsa's finest neighborhoods as well as the areas around Utica Square and Maple Ridge south of 21st down to Brookside.  The key for Tulsa will be continuing to improve the neighborhoods around these areas such as Riverview west of Maple Park (good area already but lots of potential for added residential density along Main, Boulder, and Cheyenne), Forest Orchard north of Cherry Street and the BA between Peoria and Utica and the Pearl and Kendall-Whittier north of 11th between Peoria and TU, as well as the revitalizing neighborhoods west and south of Brookside along Peoria. 

[dioscorides]

Maple Park is one my family's favorite parks.  It is usually quiet and has a wonderful view of dowtown.

I have a good friend who just spent two years rehabbing a home near the intersection of 17th & Newport.  They completely gutted the home and restored it wonderfully.  They still have some things to do, but are already realizing thousands in appreciation based upon a recent appraisal.  They plan on living there until they become empty nesters which will be a good 25+ years.

You shouldn't have any issues with the historical committee on landscaping.  Windows however are a different story.  Any window that is within view of the street has to be historically accurate.  When you embark on replacing the windows you select your design, present it to the historical committee of the HOA, upon their approval it will be forwarded to the HOA board for approval.  I know some people who have been through this process and I'm sure would be happy to discuss their process with you.

thanks for the advice.  if we do end up with this particular house i may drop you a line about speaking with the people you know who have been though the process.