Thinking Of Austin + Surrounding. Good & Bad? (Dallas, Spring: sales, mortgage)

[gnetcanada]

Hi All,

Im pretty happy about stumbling across these forums. After a couple of months of thinking about moving to the USA from Canada, i was beggining to think there was no hope of talking to people who actually live in the places i was looking.

Here is my story and criteria, to avoid all the needless filler:

-Currently live in Canada, hate the cold winters, but i dont know how i would do in DEADLY hot summers?
-Looking to spend between $400-$500K USD (hopefully the lower end)
-Dont need to live right in Austin, but would like to be near since it sounds like a nice overall region to live.
-Looking for 2 acres or a little more, but not way out in the middle of nowhere. I work from home and would need easy access to ammenities, FedEx and UPS pickups etc.
-2000-3000 sq ft home
-Being close to a lake or even on a lake would be a plus

I have seen some homes in Leander and Dripping Springs that seem quite nice, but i mean, i dont know how "country" these properties are, i still need some civiliation. I have talked to a few Austiners and have heard nothing but good things.

So here are my questions:

1. Weather seems eradic there, but overall better than Ontario if you are in to summer days, you guys dont get much snow or below 0 temps do you? Would it be reasonable to walk around in just a sweater in the January and February months? Will i die in the summer?

2. Mosquitoes, Snakes and Scorpions. How bad and annoying are these in this region, considering i would be having some land, not city living.

3. What small cities / towns / areas in and around Austin should i be looking at that meet or exceed my criteria?

4. How does Austin and surrounding area compare to my other potentials such as Beaufort, SC., Charleston, SC, Redding, CA, Temecula, CA.

I think thats all for now, any answers are much appreciated!

Shawn

[gnetcanada]

no replys... is it something i said? or didnt say?

[Dazed]

The weather isn't really eratic. It's usually pretty hot. In the winter, you can usually get by with a sweater or a light jacket, (depending on if you are a hot or cold person).

I'm not really sure of the surrounding cities, so I can't respond to them, however you should be able to find something in the price range that you are looking for.

As far as scorpions go, I had never seen one until I moved to Austin. (I'm from Dallas). I've only seen them at my school and it's a new school that was built on a field, so we probably took their home from them. I haven't even seen that many.

I haven't really had a bad problem with mosquitos, and I did in Dallas.

[gnetcanada]

Thanks Dazed, it just seems that the usual temp around this time is 15C when right now in Austin there is a winter ice storm or something? But yeah if we can wear sweaters in the winter, giddy up.

Any other input?

[AustinGuy]

Make sure you calculate property taxes into your housing price decisions here in Austin. 400k-500k house will run you 12k-16k a year in property taxes depending on where it is located.

[Dazed]

Originally Posted by gnetcanada

Thanks Dazed, it just seems that the usual temp around this time is 15C when right now in Austin there is a winter ice storm or something? But yeah if we can wear sweaters in the winter, giddy up.

Any other input?

Yeah, these things happen about once or twice a year.

[gnetcanada]

AustinGuy,

Why are property taxes so much? Is it because you have no state income tax? (that is true isnt it?)

Also, do you know if property taxes and the interest from the mortgage can be written off on your income, to reduce your taxable income, is this allowed in the us?

Shawn

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by gnetcanada

Why are property taxes so much? Is it because you have no state income tax? (that is true isnt it?)

Also, do you know if property taxes and the interest from the mortgage can be written off on your income, to reduce your taxable income, is this allowed in the us?

Yes, we have no state income tax which our state government takes great pride in, but the tradeoff is having very high property taxes.

We also have sales taxes which are on the high side. Currently around 8.5%, although coming from Canada that is probably a nice drop for you.

And, yes, you can write your property taxes off against your federal income taxes.

[gnetcanada]

Yeah here in Canada, we have 7% provincial, 7% federal. A total of 14%. So 8.5% is not worrysome.

Can you also write off mortgage interest?

[gchapman]

Mortgage interest is a write off for Federal and most state taxes across the US.