Del City how bad

[kukblue1]

Just how bad is Del City. No kids looking at a house that way. It's north of I-40 South of Reno, West of Sunnyside. Did news 9 crime tracker and very little crime according to that site. Just a few things here and there but those were business along I-40 being hit. Homes values though don't see very high. House I'm looking at is 80K other homes in the area are 60-90K range but most of them are lower 60K. Is it just an older area of OKC.

[OKCisOK4me]

What the....

[ljbab728]

What the....

It's in code.

[OKCisOK4me]

It's in code.

Ohhhhhhhh.... Like Windtalker code? lol

[TheSocialGadfly]

Just how bad is Del City. No kids looking at a house that way. It's north of I-40 South of Reno, West of Sunnyside. Did news 9 crime tracker and very little crime according to that site. Just a few things here and there but those were business along I-40 being hit. Homes values though don't see very high. House I'm looking at is 80K other homes in the area are 60-90K range but most of them are lower 60K. Is it just an older area of OKC.

Crime does exist in pockets throughout Del City, but it seems to gravitate mostly near apartment complexes. I haven't looked at the data, so I could very well be wrong. In any case, taking steps to present your home as a hard target will go a long way towards ensuring that you don't get hit: installing cameras on your property (authentic or even decoy), thorny bushes near your windows, dog(s) at home, home security system with the company's sticker prominently displayed where it can easily be seen, porch lights on during hours of reduced visibility, etc. In addition, building a rapport with your neighbors goes a long way in helping with security.

I you're a first-time buyer, Del City is a decent place to get started. There is a lot of military here as well as some riff-raffs. And judging by the prices you mentioned, I'm inferring that you're looking in the West region of Del City. That side is where you'll see most of the trouble, but like I mentioned: it's mostly near the apartments. I scored a great deal on my house, and I've kept it secure by making it a hard target.

Best of luck on your search.

[kevinpate]

Buying an 80K home in an area of mostly lower 60K properties doesn't seem your best play if you see yourself as stopping over for a spell, say moving into something else (larger, different schools, etc.) in 6-12 years. If this will be a stay put place, that's less of a concern.

[BBatesokc]

I lived in SE OKC (until recently) for about 15 years. Near SE 44 and Sooner/Sunnylane (Parkview area). Most people I knew considered it a Del City address - even though it is technically OKC.

I consider it lower income, mixed race, and with its share of crime.

As TSG stated, I too think apartment complexes have a lot to do with it and three of the worst bordered the entrance of my neighborhood and were only 3 blocks from my house.

Our Parkview newsletter had a page each month of reported crimes in the area. Mostly burglaries, vandalism and domestic abuse.

That said, we never once had any problem and we lived on a cul-de-sac where over half the homes on the street had been burglarized during the time we lived there.

We had nice cars parked outside and even a 60" TV hanging on the back patio. But we also kept the home looking nice, had landscape lighting, a locking mailbox, locked gates and always used our alarm. We actually felt very safe there and the living was cheap.

The downside we found though is in selling a home in these areas. We only paid $56,000 15 years ago (foreclosure) and totally remodeled it. It recently appraised for $109,000 but we'd probably never get that.

We owe so little I'm going to sell it by owner for probably $89,000 or rent it out.

SO, keep that in mind. If you're going to move some day in the future, make sure you buy it right to start with.

[kukblue1]

Going to look at it tomorrow. It's about 2 blocks north of I-40 and 2 blocks west of sunnyside and 4 blocks south of reno. Homes run about 60K but they are only 720 sq ft. The home i'm looking at is 80K 1,400 sq ft. Other homes that size in that area are around the same price. Worried about highway noise though. I guess this would be the North end of Del city looking at a map.

[RadicalModerate]

If you are attracted to Del City, the surrounded "independent kingdom/enclave" of Smith Village might be worth a look.
(i did a little remodeling work for the reigning monarch back in the day)

I don't recall any "highway noise" nor "random gunfire" but the situation may have changed since then.

[Fantastic]

My family and I have been in some pretty "F'ed up" places... one of those was Del City. BUT!!!!!!!!! It was not due to the city itself, it was due to our landlord! The neighborhood wasn't that bad. Sure some nefarious things went down in that neighborhood, but it was pretty clear where the problem houses were, and though they were more numerous than I would have liked, they weren't all THAT numerous.

As Brian said, the bad ju-ju comes in pockets in Del City, and we lived in what people comsider the "worst," but we never had a problem.

[metro]

Not sure you want to judge a neighborhood by starting off "just how bad is it?"........... Maybe look for areas that are a better investment?

[kukblue1]

Not sure you want to judge a neighborhood by starting off "just how bad is it?"........... Maybe look for areas that are a better investment?

I have only been here a year and just heard that del city isn't one of the better burbs of OKC. It gets a bad rap. However after being here a year and watching the news Edmond don't seem all that great to me. Seems like a shooting or robbery is happening everyday up that way.

[RadicalModerate]

There is a very interesting thread in here somewhere about recent attempted merchantile improvements to a section of Del City adjacent to the Interstate. I think it may be in the Suburban/Other development section. If nothing else, it indicates the level of concern about stuff like that that the city fathers and mothers on the council or whatever possess.

Here, let me save you some time:
http://www.okctalk.com/midwest-city-...-del-city.html
(it's the least that someone who once worked for The Emperor of Smith Village can do =)

Please do not let any of that influence or define your concept of "how bad" or "how good" . . .

this bumpersticker should be available at one of the local tag agencies:

Del City: It Is What It Is. And More Del Than The Rest of Them

[WilliamTell]

I lived in Del City between sooner and sunnylane, maybe se 44 (whatever is right across from base) for awhile when I first moved here to town after college. A buddy had a 3 bedroom rent house and it was within 10 minutes of both of our works so it worked out great. We only had a problem once with some middle school kids(apartment kids coming into neighborhood) opening unlocked cars that were sitting in the street looking for change. We personally never had any problems and both had extremely nice and expensive new cars. The neighbors we had were great. Took great care of their yards, watched out for the neighbors on the street, and always would wave/greet you if they saw you coming or going. Real salt of the earth, hardworking people. Even would help water our yard when we both were out of town.

It was easy to get to bricktown, midtown, or down to norman on weekends within 10 minutes(20 for norman). Pretty ideal for the unmarried person.

After that I moved to edmond and i had the biggest pieces of crap for neighbors who didnt mow and generally acted allergic to talking with anyone even their next door neighbors. Standard protocol was to wear sun glasses, drive though neighborhood and never acknowledge anyone, talk on phone or text instead of watching for people jogging, never wave and pull directly into their garage and close it. In the morning they would back out to their mailbox and get the mail and take it to work with them. Im dead serious. I lived in edmond for a year before I moved again. I couldnt even identify them in a line up it i had too.

Today would I live in Del City or further north in midtown today - No, but now I have kids and a family so school systems are important. But I dont think del city is bad for a 20 something who is looking for a place to stay for 2-5 years.

[RadicalModerate]

Local Tag Agency BumperSticker 2:
Del City: If you are looking for a place to do a 2 to 5 year stretch, look no further.

[WilliamTell]

Local Tag Agency BumperSticker 2:
Del City: If you are looking for a place to do a 2 to 5 year stretch, look no further.

Haha..touche..

What I mean by it is that there are alot of military families who move around alot, younger professionals who work out at the tinker and in the defense contracting community, and older people on fixed income. It was great for the amount of time I lived there and there was never a time i felt unsafe or worried when i was jogging in the evening. But with the culture in OKC when most people start to talk about starting a family its almost immediate to move out to the burbs and into a newer home that you plan on staying in for decades to come.

Like I said before, I had neighbors I could have a beer with and it was insanely easy to get to bricktown or midtown to party on the weekends. Plus we actually had a pretty nice 3 bedroom house, large yard for our dogs, and it was insanely cheap to live there.

[Spartan]

Right before the recession, back when Norman was really hot, they had the bumper sticker slogan "Don't Edmond my Norman."

People in the rest of the metro then developed the unofficial slogan "Don't Del City my anything."