Best Places in the Midwest to Buy an Old House

The Neighborhood
On weekends, Near South residents can be found playing with their kids in small playgrounds or spending family time at the Lincoln Children's Zoo and other parks within walking distance. Credit for the family-friendly vibe goes in part to the Near South Neighborhood Association, which has promoted revitalization, preservation, and development of green space since 1972. Near South has a grocery, a bakery, and coffee shops, plus two recently overhauled elementary schools. It's a 5-minute commute from downtown Lincoln, home to three major hospitals that provide thousands of jobs.

The Houses
American Foursquare, Neoclassical, Tudor, Colonial-Revival and Richardsonian Romanesque, as well as Italianate homes dating from 1869 to the 1920s.

The Prices
Restored homes in Near South's Mount Emerald Historic District, Lincoln's first National Register neighborhood, sell for $200,000 and up—but in the nearby South Capitol Mall District, an area poised to host the next revival, a fixer-upper can be had for as little as $100,000.

Why Buy Now?
To get in on Nebraska's Valuation Incentive Program, which encourages high-quality renovation by freezing property taxes at a home's prerehabbed rate for 8 to 12 years (yee-haw!).

Among the best for:
Bargains, Fixer-Uppers, Families with Kids, City Slickers, Midwest

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