Pros and Cons of living in Sun City Georgetown (Houston: for sale, refinance)
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That said, the above bolded is the main reason I left renting behind years ago. I could not afford to rent beyond the reach of most people - and usually the "bad apples" of the bunch seemed to end up being my neighbor eventually. I may have started out with nice, quiet neighbors, but then they moved and something altogether different moved in - and I don't mean that in a good way. It was a real crap shoot as to who or what would end up living next to me.
So even though I barely met the age requirement, and even though I knew that my eventual resale value would be less than in the "normal" real estate market, and time to sell would most likely take longer, I bought in SC because I was practically guaranteed a quiet, unfettered, safe living environment. And that has been delivered in spades. Even with the added maintenance/HOA costs involved so far, I do get to deduct taxes/mortgage interest and I would NOT get the benefits of all my home offers in a comparably-priced rental elsewhere in the current market.
I'm not planning to sell anytime soon, which is a good thing because with all the new development in SC, there is simply way more competition. However, I am in an older section, the house is a Del Webb build, and the landscaping is mature and beautiful, so I'm happy with it. I did look at some of the newly-built Pulte homes when I was looking to buy in SC, but the lack of mature trees/landscaping was depressing to me, the homes all looked the same (cookie-cutter boxes all lined up in a row), and were crammed up next to each other... also depressing. But obviously, there are those that aren't bothered by any of those factors, and may even prefer that kind of set up. I just don't happen to be one of them.
Of course everyone wants their home to be a good investment that pays off down the road, but there are other considerations in being a home-owner that make a potentially lower cost-to-profit ratio worthwhile. I may not (or may, who knows?) make a killing on my home when I sell, but I definitely will have enjoyed the most peaceful, friendly, and beautiful living environment that I've experienced thus far. That is more important to me than a bit of added profit I may miss out on later.
Let's face it - it costs bucks to put a nice roof over your head. In my experience whether buying or renting that roof... it pretty much all evens out in the end. I never went broke or got rich doing either (so far). So pick your poison and hope it works for you. There are always other choices to be made if you make a wrong turn. Luckily, nothing is forever.
A beautifully expressed point of view. In some respects it is what I was trying to say, but you have obviously done of better job of it. Good luck and best wishes!
When one buys a house in Texas, she will be subject to taxes imposed by the local school district, city, and county. In addition, depending on the location, she may be subject to taxes imposed by a hospital district, flood control district, etc.
When one buys a house in a Texas HOA, she gets another level of mindless bureaucracy that can get into her wallet. Most HOAs in Texas, at least, act like low level police forces.
I am a 59-yr old divorced male stagnating in forced early retirement from the oil industry in Houston. I am interested in becoming a more active retiree and have been researching 55+ communities, especially Sun City Center near Tampa and Sun City Georgetown. I will be traveling soon to Georgetown to have a look.
I checked real estate in that area in my price range and came up with one example for which I have a few questions and/or observations as listed below. This particular property is a 2BR/2BA duplex cottage built in 2006. Listing price is $194k ($136/sq ft).
1) The Maintenance Fee is $2268/year ($189/month). That is a lot higher than quoted on delwebb.com for the general community and higher than anything mentioned on this forum. Any reason for this?
2) I note that the property taxes increased at the maximum 10% rate in 2015 and 2016. Did this trend continue in 2017? How is the assessment protest process in that county? I have done it many times in Harris County with some success.
3) Having the one nearby grocery store is a concern to me - I note there is an HEB+ at I-35 and University Blvd - is that a realistic second choice?
1. There are some properties where the landscaping is maintained by the HOA. This covers all landscaping/maintenance that may be needed and if you buy one of these properties, you don't have the choice of doing your own landscaping maintenance and paying the lower HOA fees. These properties therefore command a higher HOA fee to cover the costs, but the owner has no responsibility for the month to month care of the landscaping. But these properties are only in certain areas, and they are by far very few. For most properties, the owner is responsible for all costs of landscape maintenance, therefore pays a lower HOA fee of about 93/month.
2. Yes, the tax increase trend of about 10 percent continued in 2017, and I doubt this trend is going to change much in the near future. I protest my taxes increase every year. Most of the time it helps, even if just a little. Its a simple process of protesting online, or in person. I gather supporting data for my argument against the proposed increase and have a 10 minute session with an appraiser. You can take your protest further if you're not satisfied with the appraiser's decision, but I've never done that. I'm sure it's much the same process you've encountered in Harris County.
3. There is one very nice HEB 3 miles from Sun City's entrance on Williams Dr., then another older smaller HEB at I35 & University, and there is a new Randalls being built now that will be opening in a few months. That is about a mile north of Sun City on Williams Drive. So yes, there are ample grocery stores for the area.
I think you would enjoy living in Sun City Georgetown. I am 58, though not retired yet, and love living here. People are very nice, it's beautiful and it's not Houston! (Ha! I can say that being from Houston too.) People who don't live here complain that an HOA is too oppressive, but honestly I've never had a problem with them, nor have I heard of any of my neighbors having issues.
Hope that answers your questions. Good luck!
Last edited by BijouBaby; 08-19-2017 at 07:25 PM..
The higher maintenance fee that includes HOA-provided landscaping is about $96/month more than the typical fee of $93/month that you mentioned . I have usually paid about $30-120/month for "mow and blow" service in suburban Houston. Hedge and tree trimming is extra. I suppose having the HOA maintain the yard provides peace of mind because they can't ding me for not keeping it up to their standards!
Good news about the new Randall's - I shop there frequently along with HEB and Kroger.
Yes, I am very familiar with the property tax protest process and experienced uncomfortably high increases in assessed values in a couple of Harris and Brazoria neighborhoods where I lived (more than 10%/year). I am not surprised that the assessments in Williamson county are rising at 10%/year given the rapid growth over there.
I see that the tax rate for Sun City Georgetown is 2.28% - that is lower than just about anywhere in the Houston area. For comparison the rate on a Del Webb Sweetwater (Fort Bend county) house is 3.29%. The maintenance fee is also higher - $129/month. Home prices in both areas are $140-160/sq ft.
Sun City Georgetown definitely looks like a better choice. Florida still looks interesting to me because the property taxes are much lower than TX and the variety of available housing choices is greater. Not sure I want to move that far away, and hey it's Florida
Yeah, I agree that Florida would possibly be a better choice for lower taxes and more housing choices. No getting around the fact that taxes and housing costs are crazy high in Texas. But I can't deal with Florida's climate and nasty critters. I had my fill of bugs (esp. tree roaches), snakes, mosquitoes, creepy-crawlies, and hot, humid weather in Houston. Florida is probably even worse in that regard. But if the climate and critter issues don't "bug" (sorry, couldn't resist) you, then maybe Florida is the better choice. They also have gorgeous beaches and a rich, diverse culture.
But in the end, I'm a Texas girl, and central and west Texas are my favorite parts.
But back to SC GT - I also pay for a lawn service that mows, blows and trims bushes for 90/month, so it really does probably end up being about the same as the HOA maintained properties. Plus that also includes trimming trees, bushes, fertilizing and anything else that comes up. Every 2-3 years, I pay for major tree trimming, which adds to my landscaping costs. But the reason I'd rather maintain my own lawn/landscaping is that I have a choice about how much I pay for these services. Before it gets crazy hot in the summer, I mow my own lawn and take care of my own bushes trimming, raking in the fall, etc. So how much I pay for these services varies throughout the year, with almost no cost in the winter months. If I want to go cheap and do a lot of myself, I can. Or when I've had enough of the heat and yard work, I start the lawn service. But if you owned a HOA maintained property, you must pay that amount every month, no matter what. Even if it all comes out even in the end, I'd just rather have some control over who does the work, when, and how often. I know someday I'll give up doing yard work completely, but I am nowhere near that point right now.
Everyone is very excited about the new Randalls coming. I love Randalls and will probably do most of my shopping there when it opens. I also forgot to mention that a Natural Grocers is being built near Wolf Ranch shopping center.
Whatever your choice, I hope it works out for you. Both places have their merits and I guess it comes down to your priorities and what kind of geography/climate/lifestyle appeals to you. I doubt you can go wrong living in either place.
Yes, I am with you - Florida has plenty of annoying species including many versions of homo sapiens. I stay away from most of it except for Destin and the west coast centered around Clearwater.
Like many people in our age range I always had the dream of retiring there to fish and sail and hang out on the beach, no doubt reinforced by childhood family summer vacation memories. The reality for me is that retirement is more about healthy, low stress living, frugality, and finding like minded-people to spend time with. Being divorced and childless with no relatives in TX I am a prime candidate for making a lifestyle-related move to a place like SC Georgetown. Most people move to Houston for work and once that is over then it is hard to keep pace.
Central Texas/the Hill Country is great. No worries there about hurricane strikes, which is not something I want to deal with in my old age.
One last tip for you re: SCGT. I'm sure you realize that most residents are older than us. At this age we are in the minority. I found out after I bought my house, which is one of the older, original Dell Webb homes, that the "younger crowd" were buying more in the newer Pulte sections. I looked at those too, but the mature landscaping in the older sections was so nice and in a more convenient location near amenities. Also, the Dell Webb homes are just built better than the new Pulte homes. So I'll take "good bones" over new facade any day.
The new houses have very young landscaping and not much of it either. Also have smaller yards and situated very close together - that does NOT appeal to me. I need wide open spaces! Yes, more to maintain, but I prefer it for now because I can do a lot of maintenance myself and the view is so lovely around my house. But now that I know that I would have had more, younger neighbors in the new sections, it may have changed my mind, I don't know. Also the age min. in the newer parts is 50, but the min. age in the original sections is 55. Don't ask me why. But the age demographics are changing rapidly as the older residents are dying or leaving for more assisted care environments, and Boomers like us are invading.
That said, be assured that these folks that are older than me are VERY physically active. I see more people outside doing things than I ever did in non-retirement neighborhoods I've lived in. Actually makes me feel kinda wimpy & lazy in comparison! I only hope that I'm in such good shape by the time I'm their age. But since I work full time in Austin, I tell myself that's plenty active enough for now! Downside is that because I'm at work 5 days a week, I don't get to take full advantage of all there is to do and enjoy here. Maybe someday....
The average age in SCGT is around 73. Our neighborhood has 135 homes and was built around 12 years ago. We have folks here in their 50’s and folks in their late 80’s. We moved here right after my husband retired. We have always been pretty active people and we were surprised at how physically active people are here. There are people in their 90's playing competitive tennis, and their are guys in their mid-80's playing on softball teams.
Most local realtors will be glad to help pull comps for your tax assessment protest. It's a pretty common thing.
In addition to the local HEBs and th coming Randalls, we also have a nice Costco in Cedar Park (an easy drive) and several specialty Asian and Mexican markets.
You might want to also consider Berry Creek in Georgetown. It is not age restricted, however, but there is a large senior population. The country club is beautiful and has a lot of resident activities. My mother ended up going there vs. SC. Georgetown will always be my favorite place here in Central TX. It retains it small town charm while obviously being a large suburb.
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