Living in Mueller Neighborhood? (Austin, West: apartment complex, condos, student loans)

[entrepreneursf]

Hello,



I'm considering buying a home in Mueller and would love to hear from people's experiences.



How are the people?
Is the Ella Wooten pool crowded? We have a 15 & 3 yo

Safe?

Kids running or riding bikes around?



Many thanks in advance!

[ashbeeigh]

Hi! I’ve lived in an apartment in Mueller for almost two years. I’m single, active, and have a dog. It’s very safe and I’ve never had any concerns in the neighborhood soececicslly. My apartment complex has its issues, but that’s beyond the neighborhood. Everyone is friendly and I’ve never haad any concerns with my neighbors or those around. I take my dog to open areas and meet lots of great people. The Farmer’s market is peak Austin and can be a bit crowded, but is great. I have some friends that have kids and they live going to the small pocket parks. I haven’t heard anything specific about the pool being crowded. One thing to note is that the neighborhood divides by school boundaries at Berkman. West of Berkman us the McCallum feeder pattern and east is the Northwest feeder pattern.

Feel free to ask anything and I can try to answer.

[whereiend]

Haven't lived in Mueller but it seems pretty ideal for children. I've always found it sterile but there is more and more stuff there every year, and the park is amazing. The Rock the Park shows are really fun for kids as well.

[ashbeeigh]

Just going to make this my stream of consciousness about the neighborhood until I hear otherwise that it’s not helpful…

I have heard from homeowners that the restrictions (it’s property owner association because there are condos) that it can be pretty strict which may lead to that “sterile” feeling for some.

The neighborhood does have seasonal events. There was a winter/holiday event this year that I was very excited for and wandered to. I’m glad I didn’t drag my friends who don’t live in the neighborhood to it as well because it was small and lackluster, but completely okay for neighbors and walking distance. I’d do it again, but sometimes the Mueller community social media can hype things up pretty big for not big things.

Home prices are high. Like south Congress high. I like the area and the location, so I would plop down the money if I had it.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by foxontherun

Just curious- If a resident’s home is subsidized, do you still pay property taxes? If so, are they reduced? If you ever leave the house, is the home “yours” to sell? If so, are you limited in how much profit you can make off of the sale? Does the City still offers that program anymore?
I had a friend there once who was/is subsidized, which thankfully presented a more diverse neighborhood. Back then, he showed me the next door 3BR corner house that was being prepared for a rich out-of-state family that was being bought for the princely market sum of $460k!!!

Looking at the Mueller foundation website would be the best to understand the affordable housing program. https://muellerfoundation.org/

The way I understand it, is that the home is bought with the “Foundation” and that the homeowner has a certain percentage of the home. The purpose of the affordable housing purchase program is more to “have a home” in the Austin area than it is to invest and make money. When someone decides to sell they sell it back to the foundation and then the foundation assists with selling it again. I have a friend who owns a home Nextdoor to an affordable home. She knows I’m in the bracket for the program but I wasn’t ready to buy at the time. She sent me a link about it (this was as the covid bubble as ending but still very hot) and they had like a 3 hour window when they would show the home to those who had already filled out the affordable housing paperwork and were fully ready to buy. They then said the purchaser needed to have a vest and final offer in my like two hours after their showing. I’m not sure how the negotiations actually work or how a bidding war would play out though. As far was property taxes, I think the foundation supports those as well. I just finished paying off my student loans and I love this area. It’s still on my list to like fully explore and start the process for an affordable home. I’d really really like to stay here.