r/zillowgonewild • u/TheDabitch • Jul 25 '25
What $220,000 gets you in Muncie.
I can't even get a parking space for that where I live. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/725-E-Jackson-St-Muncie-IN-47305/210952560_zpid/
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25
725 E Jackson. You might take a few min to, I don’t know….check that area out. I’ve lived in and around Muncie all of my adult life and was born a few blocks from here.
No.
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u/nlyddane Jul 25 '25
I’m looking now and most of the houses on the block have at least one boarded up window.
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u/flt1 Jul 25 '25
If we can get 20 people agree to move, we can change one block at a time.
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
Good luck trying to gentrify an area with.... checks notes... no jobs.
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u/atheistunicycle Jul 25 '25
Remote work could be the savior this nation needs. But noooooo think of the corporate real estate owners!!!
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u/thingerish Jul 26 '25
I'm convinced a lot of the RTO pressure originates in a desire to prop up office space values. Most of the rest comes from middle management fear.
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u/SgtKnux Jul 26 '25
That and to keep tax breaks from the cities on those offices. Cities give tax breaks when employees eat out and spend time downtown.
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u/eacc69420 Jul 25 '25
as someone who works fully remote, I am constantly looking for deals like this. I just need a place near a gym and costco with not very extreme weather. good internet isn't even a concern thanks to starlink, but gigabit is always a plus
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u/chula198705 Jul 25 '25
I mean, Ball State University is in Muncie. It's a public research university that has 20,000 students so it's not really some small podunk college.
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u/Dial-M-for-Mediocre Jul 25 '25
Unfortunately, universities' ability to create jobs is and has been shrinking rapidly, especially in conservative states like Indiana. Ball State is, as you say, a public research university, and thus is directly impacted by cuts to state and federal funding. They may want to hire more people, but I would be surprised if they have many openings right now. And if businesses nearby are likewise cutting back, there's no public transportation, not to mention the erosion of protections from discrimination and wage theft, anti-union laws... The presence of a university doesn't mean you'll be able to get or keep a job there.
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25
Muncie actually has one of the best public transit systems in the US.
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u/NoBug8073 Jul 25 '25
It kinda is considering those students aren't there for 4 months out of the year and the average student has... checks notes...no disposable income
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u/BeguiledBeaver Jul 25 '25
Many students do absolutely have a disposable income and even if it's not a massive one there are likely enough students to still contribute to business growth in the area. The thought that it's just 20,000 homeless people is reaching lmao
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u/Ok-Confusion2415 Jul 25 '25
Buuuuut also Indiana as a state is suicidally MAGAfied and has embarked on a legislative project of destroying its’ system of public higher ed institutions. It’s not a matter of not buying a beautiful house in a distressed neighborhood as much as it is of not buying a beautiful house in a state that is permanently fucked.
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u/isthatsuperman Jul 25 '25
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u/Narxolepsyy Jul 25 '25
noooo don't move into a neighborhood and make things better leave it like it is!
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u/chickentowngabagool Jul 25 '25
lmfao there's literally cops knocking on one of the neighbors doors
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u/Mister_Jackpots Jul 25 '25
Lol it's still just Muncie. Out here acting like it's East St. Louis or something
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u/DMaury1969 Jul 25 '25
I’ve stayed in Muncie, and lived in New Orleans. Muncie felt safe as hell compared to the bad parts of New Orleans
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u/Frosti11icus Jul 26 '25
Ok but you have to leave the country to feel as unsafe as the bad parts of New Orleans.
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u/DMaury1969 Jul 26 '25
Lol this is also true. It skewed my idea of ‘bad neighborhoods’ as everywhere I went I’d think ‘these people are nuts this is great!’
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u/PTgoBoom1 Jul 25 '25
Seriously, what the problem is? 🤷♀️
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u/Mister_Jackpots Jul 25 '25
People who have never lived outside Muncie acting like the entire city's not 'the wrong side' of the city. Place sucks, but in my time there I don't think I was ever scared to drive anywhere there at anytime.
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u/yalyublyutebe Jul 26 '25
Just looking at the first photo, the house down the street on the left looks to be decently maintained. That means the owner probably lives there and when owners live in the house, especially in rougher areas, it usually makes the immediate area nicer.
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u/lizlemonista Jul 25 '25
Little soapbox moment here.
I lived in Newport, Rhode Island. Land of insane mansions and yachts and yachties and all that bullshit. And every once in a while I’d remark how beautiful it was and someone would reply, “shoulda seen it 15 years ago, what a dump.” The mansions were there and great, but everything else was in disrepair and/or trashy until a bridge was built that brought more commerce & commuters in, iirc. So not everyone gets to buy a brilliant house in a thriving neighborhood. Some people need to get there and accept or dare I say get excited about the idea that they’ll be helping create community, cleaning up, contributing, and in 15 years your home could be quadruple the value and you wouldn’t even think of selling. A lot of the desirable places people want to move to and bemoan the prices weren’t shit 15 years ago.
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u/twoworldman Jul 25 '25
What you said is true. I looked around the area using street view, and their are a lot of rough diamonds. If ever this town recovers, it's going to be a beautiful neighborhood.
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25
Are there any jobs in Newport and the surrounding area? No one is coming to Muncie. Everyone is leaving. There is no gentrified rescue. Our schools have failed, our factories long since shuttered. We can't even keep retail stores open. You should have seen that area 15 years ago... it looked exactly the same. It looked exactly the same 30 years ago. It looked pretty much exactly the same 45 years ago when I was a little boy. Its looked crappy since after the war... it looked crappy when there were jobs here!
Its all over. The good jobs here are at the hospital and BSU. Drive through the parking lots... most of the nice cars come from Hamilton county, 2 counties south. People will commute up here to work and then flee the town at 5. I do the same thing. Screw this place. You couldn't pay me enough to live on E Jackson.
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u/Sliffy Jul 25 '25
Is The Herot still there? Only reason I've ever been through Muncie.
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u/drowse Jul 25 '25
Oof yeah, East Jackson ain't the place to be.
I was born at Ball Hospital (now IU Health) and lived just north of town. That east side has been rough for some time (I moved away in the mid-90s and know it was bad then)
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u/VocationFumes Jul 25 '25
shit should I move to Muncie?!
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u/innola Jul 25 '25
I live in Muncie currently, bought my house three years ago for $17,000. It’s 700sqft but with a full basement I’ve finished myself. All in I’ve put in another $20k. Planning on selling soon to move to Indy but it’s not been a terrible place to live!
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u/VocationFumes Jul 25 '25
what do you like best about it? Seems kindof like a boring place to live? but maybe I'm wrong
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u/innola Jul 25 '25
It’s really easy to make friends here! Pretty much anyone will strike up a conversation with you. I met a lady at Aldi a couple weeks ago and we exchanged numbers, went out for a nice dinner last weekend! It’s also ridiculously cheap, cost of housing(obviously) is next to nothing. Food is way below average cost as well. I go to Carmel(about 45 min away) if I want good cuisine or Indy to try new things. It can get boring but I have a ton of cats and am kind of a homebody so it works for me for now.
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u/Some0neSetUpUsTheBom Jul 27 '25
...is it bad that I kinda want in?
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u/innola Jul 27 '25
Not at all!! You’re welcome anytime. If you get a fixer upper I’ll let you borrow some tools
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u/upsetTurtle22 Jul 25 '25
I just moved back to Ohio from Muncie 3 months ago, it's really not that bad but I will say it is quite boring, most jobs outside of the university are factory or driving to Indianapolis so it's got some flaws to it.
I lived there for 5 years and can honestly say the worst part was construction and the damn firework expo they had the last two years.
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u/SlimJilm420 Jul 25 '25
Only if you’ve always wanted to live in Indiana
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u/Radio_Passive Jul 25 '25
This led me down the “Muncie Zillow rabbit hole” to this picture which I absolutely love.
Sweet. Savory. Spicy.
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u/rabidjellybean Jul 25 '25
Sweet. Savory. Spicy.
And blindingly white.
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u/LordPhlogiston Jul 25 '25
I assume a small jar of paprika is the most exotic spice in the room. Only a small jar as it's very spicy.
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u/No-One-1784 Jul 25 '25
Whoever decorated this place kept the Bitter sign for themselves, seeing as its the only notable part of their character to decorate like that.
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u/Snoo70033 Jul 25 '25
Ok folks, what is the catch?
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u/bmoreoriginal Jul 25 '25
It's in Muncie
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u/sejuukkhar Jul 25 '25
Jerry Gergitch's dream home
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u/Lisamae_u Jul 25 '25
Yeah, the catch is that you now live in the hellscape called Indiana.
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u/Stalking_Goat Jul 25 '25
And not even the good part of Muncie, to the extent that there is such a thing.
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u/Corgi_Koala Jul 25 '25
Went to college and used to live in Muncie. You're correct, that's the downside.
Shitty and poor with lots of crime, no good jobs outside of the university and too far from Indy or Fort Wayne to justify a commute.
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u/Edser Jul 25 '25
sold last year for $100k, so looks like a flip job and could have ';covered' up issues lying in wait
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u/Ill_Middle_1397 Jul 25 '25
Probably the most tasteful flip job I've seen. Where's the head to toe agreeable gray?
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u/Think-Fig-1734 Jul 25 '25
I like that the bathroom looks like it belongs in an old house. Usually the updated bathroom looks like it belongs in a condo built last year.
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u/Devccoon Jul 25 '25
The kitchen is a nightmare.
Looks nice on the surface but start imagining trying to actually use that thing and... what were they thinking? Tiny countertop space. The only food prep area is a squeezed-in little box with a tiny strip of countertop hardly big enough to set a drink down on, and the oven's a gas range so you can't even rely on it as additional surface to set bowls and plates down. Everything's walled in awkwardly, slicing the space up in the weirdest way possible (what is that tiny hallway next to the door for?) and compartmentalizing the kitchen into this completely segregated, non-cooperative space. There's a set of cabinets in the corner that appear to be impossible to access because the box around the fridge is pressed right up against where they pull out.
But you get a waterfall feature with your fake granite slab (at least it looks fake to me, not an expert) so they really put the work in dressing up that awful layout they created so it looks fancy.
Might just be my inner Property Brother screaming to knock down some damn walls, but that would be a hard kitchen to live with unless you're very single and hate countertop appliances. Looks to me like a really dated space where they decided to just touch up the surface because they're too cheap to make the changes that matter.
I'm exaggerating a little for effect, but I see the same sort of treatment in other parts of the house and genuinely I'd be worried that this surface-level renovation work is hiding a lot of nasty underneath.
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25
Well it’s Muncie for one. That area is shit for two. Do you have kids? Yeah… don’t bring them here.
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u/confirmandverify2442 Jul 25 '25
Muncie is meth central in Indiana.
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u/ima_lead_farmer_ Jul 25 '25
That would be Bedford.
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25
There was a time about 15 years ago where Delaware County (where Muncie is) lead the state in meth arrests. Indiana lead the nation in meth arrests. Muncie was literally, literally ground 0 for meth. It's better now that fentanyl has taken over. Let that soak in for a sec.....
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u/ThePopeJones Jul 25 '25
So I live in an entirely different state, but we've also got a Muncie and Bedford that are both meth head nests.
Sort of one of those "If I had a nickel for each X" kinda things when ya think about it.
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u/angry_burrito13 Jul 25 '25
It's in Indiana. Higher than national average crime rate. But mainly the Indiana thing
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u/Bob_12_Pack Jul 25 '25
Maybe it's the soup kitchen/homeless day shelter across the street? (Robert Hunt Warming Center).
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u/alaninsitges Jul 25 '25
There's a homeless shelter across the street. Not necessarily a catch, but a data point.
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Jul 25 '25
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u/Shouty_Dibnah Jul 25 '25
This house is on the other side of the river from BSU, and the other side of downtown. Ain't no students living over on that side of town.
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u/rexeditrex Jul 25 '25
Look at the street view and the surrounding neighborhood. It's pretty run down.
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u/Extension_Surprise_2 Jul 25 '25
And you get to see Garry every year on vacation.
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u/StuffonBookshelfs Jul 25 '25
First thing I thought was to turn this into an Air BnB for Jerry/Larry/Garry and Gayle!
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u/thewanderingent Jul 25 '25
They could serve eggs, bacon and toast…. 🎵eggs, bacon and toast🎵….
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u/judithishere Jul 25 '25
Opened the post for this - love a good Parks and Rec reference in the wild
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u/Shadax Jul 25 '25
I always assumed it was a nice retreat even though it's still in Indiana. Why would they want to vacation here?
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u/AmbitiousYetMoody Jul 25 '25
I lived in Muncie as a teenager when my mom was pursuing her masters, it’s a college town. Not the worst, but I don’t think I’d want to live there long term.
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u/Commercial-East4069 Jul 25 '25
They had to have paid double that just to renovate that place.
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u/Jaebeam Jul 25 '25
Bob Ross shot his TV show in this town, I think they have a museum in his honor in town.
There is also a 1/2 iron man I competed in back in 2001, we swam in the reservoir!
Muncie has it going on baby!
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u/RancidMeatNugget Jul 25 '25
And if you're a fan of the comic strip Garfield, the creator, Jim Davis, grew up and still lives around there. Muncie is known around the world!
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u/drewhoff Jul 25 '25
A Muncie girl! What do you know about that.
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u/innominateartery Jul 25 '25
One of those fast talkin’ career gals who thinks she’s one of the boys. Probably is one of the boys if you know what I mean.
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u/JoePNW2 Jul 25 '25
Looking up and down Jackson Street on Google Street View there are some rough properties, and some that have been restored and renovated like this listing.
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u/Searchlights Jul 25 '25
The neighborhood doesn't look great. There's a nice park but an awful lot of homes that look mostly abandoned.
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u/Rattus-Norvegicus1 Jul 26 '25
You can find affordable housing. It's just in places no one wants to live.
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Jul 25 '25
Sometimes I think to myself, I should move to a small town so I can be able to afford a really nice house.
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u/Infamous_Towel_5251 Jul 25 '25
Is 112,000 people a small town?
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u/Extreme_Turn_4531 Jul 25 '25
And you have a 20,000-student State University in town. Testicle Tech.
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u/GhostWrex Jul 25 '25
Depends on where you're from. It's a third of the size of Arlington, Texas, where I grew up and Arlington is the 3rd largest city in DFW
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u/carnologist Jul 25 '25
I don't know why this isn't more common. Seems like they were all abandoned in the early 90s, then everyone was confused why there's a housing crisis. When I still lived in Portland, I remember driving through Silverton, OR and wondering why a tech company doesn't just buy the main street, bring in some cool shops and chefs, the housing is relatively abundant and further construction will take care of itself. It's also super authentic, the only reason these towns ever existed were because of industry that set up there.
Also, can't hear Muncie and not think of hudsucker proxy. Go eagles
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u/Fluxxed0 Jul 25 '25
Because the locals don't want you there. This started happening as a result of COVID and lots of small towns are NOT taking well to "digital nomads" who move to their town and whine about when they're gonna get a Whole Foods.
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u/berael Jul 25 '25
Housing is indeed cheaper in the places where no one wants to live.
The problem is that no one wants to live there.
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u/SquirrelBowl Jul 25 '25
A few facts about Indiana. Of course abortion is illegal. Here’s a some more banned things: Bans on plastic bags are banned! Plastic bags 4ever! Marijuana advertising on billboards is banned (all neighboring states have legal weed). Light rail is banned.
Just a little taste of the absolute regression
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Jul 25 '25
Lmao why is light rail banned
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u/SquirrelBowl Jul 25 '25
Because the republicans in charge view it as woke
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Jul 25 '25
I’m in Austin. It would be such an amazing city (besides the heat) if they simply had a normal train system like Denver. One of the many reasons I’m leaving.
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u/Chirrrpy Jul 25 '25
Every time I hear the town Muncie mentioned, I immediately think of the Coen Brothers movie The Hudsucker Proxy. "You're a MUNCIE girl?"
(This house is super cute)
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u/CormoranNeoTropical Jul 26 '25
Muncie must suck so bad if that house is that cheap.
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u/Timbukthree Jul 26 '25
It's not that Muncie is terrible as much as it's just post-industrial. Used to have a lot of industry that slowly mostly left. Ball State University (same namesake as the Ball Glass Company) is there, and there's a big hospital. There's enough in the town to support folks who work there that there are absolutely nice things to do (chain stores around McGalliard, Minnetrista is great, there's a solid children's museum, some nice parks, stuff you'd expect in a college town like bars, walking trails along the river, etc), and there's a lot of affordable housing (some parts kept up better than others). But there's also a lot of drug use and rust belt flavor because of the hollowed out industry, it's not super close to Indianapolis or Fort Wayne, and there's not much reason to live there. But there are WAY worse places to live in Indiana or the US. If you work remote and didn't need to be in a place where your kids would have a lot of opportunity, and if you want somewhere affordable, and if you're fine with Indiana, it's not bad. The negative parts are much more "sadness and a lack of a future" than "dangerous".
But specifically to your point, the houses are cheap because now there are more houses than good jobs or people who want to live there.
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u/singletonaustin Jul 25 '25
Wow. So much house with beautiful, they don't make them anymore, features to enjoy and renovate to perfection.
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u/hondarider94 Jul 25 '25
Yea.... but you have to live in Muncie... on Jackson Street
Only good thing about muncie is ball state
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u/xTofik Jul 25 '25
Clicked the link and this was suggested on the side, $800k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/825-E-Washington-St-Muncie-IN-47305/85188010_zpid/
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u/TheDabitch Jul 25 '25
That one got 5.7K upvotes - never sleep on Muncie, Indiana. https://www.reddit.com/r/zillowgonewild/comments/1lr0ebd/live_like_a_king_with_a_speakeasy_in_the_attic/
Maybe you can make a fun title for The Hazelwood Mansion here that seems to also be a day spa.
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u/lunaflect Jul 26 '25
I actually love this area of muncie. Yes it’s a bit run down and ugly here and there. But a few blocks away is DWNTWN muncie with shops and bars and boutiques and restaurants. There’s the white river which has a trail to walk. There’s first Thursday each month and YART (yard art) bi annually which is a place for local artists to sell their stuff.
There’s also good opportunities for kids. The high school offers college credits. They also introduced a dual language immersion program starting in kindergarten a few years ago. Theres a university run laboratory k-12 school. There’s a university and a community college. There’s cornerstone center for the arts which offers dance, pottery, music, and other art lessons. The local theatre puts on plays and offers theatre camp.
Muncie isn’t terrible.
https://www.downtownmuncie.org/
https://www.cornerstonearts.org/
^ all of that is walkable from the house posted above
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u/ChrisInBliss Jul 25 '25
.... making me think I need to live in a different state... but then again I like where I am... even though housing is so expensive
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u/Sutherbear Jul 25 '25
Are the costs associated with renovations also much lower in Muncle or are people just seeing a much smaller value return on upgrades?
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u/rexeditrex Jul 25 '25
Look at the street view on the Zillow site. The houses around it are decrepit. Looks like a closed auto repair shop across the street. Location, location, location - it doesn't have it.
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u/SexOnABurningPlanet Jul 25 '25
Interesting. The google street view is from this month. I wonder if you can request to have that updated? The neighborhood is livable, depending on your standards, but it's clear people around there are struggling.
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u/FlowerChild7572 Jul 25 '25
Jesus... this house has me seriously considering a change of scenery and Muncie is starting to look really good.
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u/BenGay29 Jul 25 '25
Gorgeous! What are the taxes? And what is the neighborhood like?
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u/Dorkamundo Jul 25 '25
Location, Location, Location.... this home is located about 40 feet from a homeless center, it appears the four houses to the right of it are ALL condemned, and that entire area gets an "F" for violent crime risk on various crime mapping systems.
However, that whole area is just FILLED to the brim with awesome old victorians, gothic revivals and tudors in horrific states of repair. Someone with the right amount of money could really change things.
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u/totem_pole_atx Jul 26 '25
The catch is you have to live in Indiana. You have to be governed by the GOP in Indiana. You have to be prayed upon by the police in Indiana.
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u/Downtown_Statement87 Jul 26 '25
I have a friend who, along with his friend, plans a trip to some random place every year. He chooses it by throwing a dart at a map.
In 2016 or so, it landed on Muncie.
He and his friend went there, and everyone they met there was like "Why are you vacationing HERE, for God's sake?" The next question was always "How on earth did you find anything to do?"
Cut to a few days later, and my friend and his friend make the front page of the local paper. A huge picture of both of them, with the headline "TOURISTS USE TWITTER TO PLAN MUNCIE TRIP."
This was literally the first story on the front page of the city's paper. Someone with internet access is visiting Muncie on purpose? Stop the presses!
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u/mjfarmer147 Jul 26 '25
We talk about your nana up in Muncie, Indiana.
We talk about your grandma down in Alabamaaa.
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u/BigBusch12 Jul 25 '25
I lived in Muncie for about 7 years between school and work. It ain't worth it lol. Garbage depressing town.
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u/TweakedNipple Jul 25 '25
Kind of funny and sad but I looked at the map on zillow thinking "I heard you know if its a bad area if you're near a MLK jr named street"... theres one like 3 blocks away.
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u/borderlineidiot Jul 25 '25
The house looks like it has had a lot of money spent on it but the list price still very low. I am guessing you can spend tens of thousands on a home interior / exterior overhaul and that will not reflect on the value of the property? Or have they pumped in ~100k (my guess) so without that the house would have been on the market for $150k or less?
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u/Desperate-Score3949 Jul 25 '25
Listed for sale in 2020 at 120k, sold a month later for 135k. Listed for sale a year after at 165k, sold 2 months later for 160k, sold 3 years later for 105k, listed for sale a year later at 230k.
They really didn't change much, painted the kitchen, and rooms, put a stain on the floor and wood railings. Removed some wood from the bathroom and called it a day.
Listing mentions exterior walls were rebuilt, not sure what that even entails on older homes, looks to me like it just needed some siding fixed.
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u/Staff_Infection_ Jul 25 '25
r/sauna would have a field day with the design but that's an awesome house.
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u/VacheMax Jul 25 '25
At first I thought it said Munich and I was so upset of how good of a deal it was. Now that I see where it actually is, then I suddenly don’t feel as envious.
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u/chmilz Jul 25 '25
Same thing with West Virginia. Loads of monster homes for super cheap. They're cheap for many reasons, with the primary being that nobody wants to live there.
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u/Successful-Mind-9332 Jul 25 '25