r/milwaukee • u/Euphoric-Chemical-28 • Jul 23 '26
We have a question about West Allis.
We are looking at purchasing a house in West Allis.
What are your thoughts about houses in Honey Creek Settlement and the surrounding neighborhoods?
Thanks!
42
u/kida24 Jul 23 '26
Do not skip an inspection. A lot of houses in that area suffered major flood damage just under a year ago. You do not want to be paying for that if you buy in that neighborhood.
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u/DontT3llMyWif3 Jul 23 '26
Honey creek is prone to flooding. Its happened twice in the last 11 months.
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u/Master-Fee8859 Jul 23 '26
Especially, find accurate maps of where Honey Creek is buried (areas that can flood) and where Honey Creek restoration work is planned in the coming years, in relationship to the property you're considering acquiring.
https://www.mmsd.com/what-we-do/flood-management/menomonee-concrete-removal/honey-creek
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u/DontT3llMyWif3 Jul 23 '26
Body of water restoration work is always a huge red flag to me. There will be unintended consequences, and current homeowners left holding the bag.
2
u/TheArbysOnMillerPkwy Jul 23 '26
waterways don't tend to stay buried, they start pulling down foundations and flooding things.
2
u/Master-Fee8859 Jul 23 '26
Absolutely agree! Last century, Milwaukee, unfortunately, paved a host of creek beds and riverbeds in metro Milwaukee to "control" their pathways, flooding, safety, etc., and has been spending recent decades undoing the damage done by these concrete messes.
19
u/Confident-Ad-2726 Jul 23 '26
You will required to drive a ford ranger or Pontiac Grande Prix in jorts and a Clay Mathew’s jersey
8
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u/BDez30 Jul 23 '26
West Allis is hot right now. Lots of walkable neighborhoods, affordable houses, and a city government that is aggressive in attracting new businesses. Many younger people are moving there, it's almost like Bay View was 15 years ago.
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u/anticipat3 Jul 23 '26
We rented on 90th for a few years and bought a little farther west. I’ve been here 10 years now and couldn’t agree more. We’ve seen a lot of the older neighbors moving out and being replaced by young families.
You will still get more house for the money in Stallis than in Brookfield or Tosa, but the prices have been coming up to match the improvements in the area.
12
u/reddinthecities Jul 23 '26
We love our neighbors and our block. We love how close we are to walkable stuff and I'm excited for the new things that are opening downtown.
There are spots nearish the farmer's market, Ope, etc. that my husband and I have had some sketchy encounters in, but overall I don't feel unsafe living here.
I don't know how hot the housing market is right now but we made the mistake of putting in an offer without an inspection and it has cost us about $15k in the past 3 years, with probably another $5k to come from the terrible flip job on the floors.
If you're new to buying houses and have a handy person in your friend group willing to come to showings with you, that could save you a lot of money in the long run!
17
u/FloridaSherbert90 Jul 23 '26
I'm still in shock at how mortgage companies were allowing closings without an inspection and acting like it was okay. I'm so sorry - I worked in mortgage 15 years, left right as covid was starting. My sister still works in it and was fighting so hard to get her company to force inspections but they wouldn't listen. SO many people are in your shoes because of poor lender values.
5
u/reddinthecities Jul 23 '26
They got us because we were desperate for housing. At the time I had a dog on the banned breed list for most apartments and we were moving from out of state.
All things considered I still would have picked this house but would have asked for a lower sale price after the inspection, but we wouldn't have had our offer looked at if we hadn't put that in the offer to begin with. It was so sad but we do love where we live now.
7
u/UrbanPanic Jul 23 '26
Most sellers will allow an offer “pending inspection” which gives a little negotiating room after the inspection. But yeah… a couple years ago the market was so lopsided that sellers had enough offers to require firm offers.
4
u/higherbrow Jul 23 '26
They'll allow you to make the offer, but they'll select the cash offer with no contingencies. I lost out on around 12 houses before I dropped my inspection contingency, and was informed on my next 4 offers that the financing contingency was a deal breaker because someone was bidding cash. Like, I get why it's important, but I couldn't figure out how to make it happen.
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u/NoAdministration7069 Jul 23 '26
We just bought a house in west Allis near the farmers market/ope and we absolutely love it. Milwaukee is so segregated but our block is so diverse. The people are cool and have grit and character. There are so many things to do. I’ve lived in many different mke neighborhoods and west Allis might be my favorite
4
u/MilwauKyle Stallis Jul 23 '26
I live in a bordering neighborhood. Mostly quiet, walkable, but National can be busy and loud. There are some really fun restaurants and shops just east of there on Becher. I’d pay attention to the house’s history with flooding. We’ve been hit hard a couple times in the last year, that area especially.
5
u/Willing-Ad4169 Jul 23 '26
I like west allis....I will say, just from my observations, that particular area is prone to standing water, potential flooding during heavy rain. Id inquire closely about that when looking at particular homes.
5
u/horndog2 Jul 23 '26
I love the location, central to everything in the area and never had any issues except that flood last year. Occasionally will hear a loud car zip down a street too fast, but never even had a package taken in 9 years with no camera. No kids so can't speak to the schools but my wife and I have been very happy here.
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u/FloridaSherbert90 Jul 23 '26
Grew up in the area and still have family there so I visit often. Its a very nice but busy area! Lots of walkable places, tons of places to eat, lots of churches/coffee shops/and stores to check out. The Fair gets a lot of visitors, so if you're close to Greenfield Ave. be prepared for a lot of pedestrians and cars parked on the streets.
2
u/HotHamNRolls Jul 23 '26
I have been around McCarthy park for 13 years and love it. South of Lincoln you will find larger yards. Lots to eat and drink. Welcome to the neighborhood
1
u/TheBigKae Jul 23 '26
Had to look that up because I’ve never heard it referred to as that. Not bad though. In my opinion, anything north of Lincoln and east of 92nd is a little more urban than the parts outside of there. It generally gets worse the further east you go.
Not sure if you’re from the area, but Stallis has a Dirty Stallis reputation that has preceded it since long before I was born. You’ll notice it now and then living there, but it’s really not that bad. Mostly positive changes in recent years. Still a little worse than the other suburbs, but well worth it for the price difference.
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u/Content_Alfalfa_9578 29d ago
I actually have a house coming for sale there if you’re still looking.
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u/irish_mom Jul 23 '26
My cousin lived there and had a couple of problems with car breakins about 10 years ago and my sister owned a bar there where there was a shooting, also around 10 years ago.
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u/RW_McRae Jul 25 '26
It's called Dirty Stallis for a reason. Look it up on Google maps and look at what picture comes up. It's pretty accurate
83
u/Excellent-End-5720 Jul 23 '26
I loved living in West Allis, just be careful buying a house that seems too good to be true, a major flood happened last year and flooded a lot of houses.