Buying a house in downtown Hamilton on a small budget?

[Addy]

Could I please get some help? My dad passed away recently and left a small amount of money to each of us kids. My one brother has straightened himself out after years of living a bit of a rough life and he wants to use this money towards a downpayment on a house in Hamilton (he works near Bronte Go station in Oakville).

A fear he has is if he loses his job, he wants to have at least one room rented out (hopefully to a student if thats possible) to help cover the expenses while he's unemployed. He will have a small emergency fund but it's always nice to have some leeway so he doesn't lose the house. So his budget is $140K max.

If you wanted to buy a house in Hamilton but could only afford $140K, where would you buy? (realtor.ca will give you an idea of house prices for those unaware.)

International Village, Landsdale, Gibson all seem to have detached (or semi detached) houses for sale in the under $140K range. These houses are almost all north of King Street. My brother understands he won't be living in a dreamily safe area but would like to get an idea of how bad these areas are to live, if they are okay or pretty bad (which is subjective I know).

Also, I'm hoping to find a good Realtor who won't be turned off by someone who can only afford a $140K house, a realtor who lives downtown would be ideal but I realize that may be a pipe dream.