Housing & schools in south/southwest Austin (Spring, Bowie: low income, transplants)

[TXgirl72]

Hi, everyone. I posted a question about this recently, but I'd like to get a little more feedback about what I am hearing from different sources. We are moving to Austin, and my hubby will be working near the intersection on I35 and 71 hwy. He would like to keep his commute within 30 mins, but we may stretch to 40 if necessary. You guys gave me alot of zip codes to check out, mainly 78748, 78749, 78736, and 78739. Our price range is to stay at or below $250k. Most of the homes I pull up in these zips go to Akin High School. We keep hearing from people who live in that area to try to live in an area that feeds into Bowie HS. If this is true, we are going to be majorly limited in where we can live. Our kids are in 2nd grade and pre-K, so junior high will only be a few years away, and we plan to stay where we buy. Our kids are both advanced academically, but both have some issues that may make them targets for bullies. We just want to be sure that our kids have a good academic experience, first and foremost.

Please don't lynch me for asking these questions. We currently live in a fairly wealthy school district, and we do not necessarily think that it is the best setting to live/attend school in. Hubby and I grew up in much less wealthy areas of TX, and I think we faired just fine. All areas come with their pros and cons. I just need some feedback before we jump into buying a house in a city that we do not know well.

Thanks for your help!

[jobert]

Originally Posted by TXgirl72

I just need some feedback before we jump into buying a house in a city that we do not know well.

Thanks for your help!

I would rent for the first year to get a better feel for Austin, as you sound unsure about your options. There are great neighborhoods that don't go to top rated schools (Onion Creek/Travis Heights), not-so-nice neighborhoods that go to great schools (VAWO) and a wide spectrum between. There are other attributes to consider in a neighborhood as well: crime, amentities, future development of area and effects on property appreciation, age of housing stock, proximity to downtown, etc.

Here is a good overview of Austin:Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
and a good resource for crime stats: www.krimelabb.com - The only advice I could give is to stay south of Slaughter if you want less crime.

Here are school ratings from AISD:

http://www.austinisd.org/schools/doc...09/ELEM_en.pdf

http://www.austinisd.org/schools/doc.../MIDDLE_en.pdf

http://www.austinisd.org/schools/doc...09/HIGH_en.pdf (broken link)

..not mention, all 3 of the suburban southern Austin high schools fall within the top 6% in the nation: http://www.austinisd.org/newsmedia/releases/print.phtml?news=2054&lang (broken link)=

Welcome to Austin!

[jobert]

I reread your thread, and I can relate - I grew up in a wealthy area, and moved from a relatively wealthy to Austin 3 years ago, and were told the same thing as you were, and the impression was given to us that we had no options. We too, didn't plan on moving either, so it made sense to buy in a new area primed for future development. We didn't want to sign a 30 year obligation on a house that was already 30 years old - it would be 60 years old by the time it was paid off, and the house would have been just as expensive to purchase (if not more) than a new house in the zip code immediately east of there. This is the major dilemma for new transplants to the south Austin area. The established neighborhoods to the west are inviting, because they offer to meet your immediate needs of schooling, but long-term appreciation will be better in far south. Akins performance has tracked upward at an impressive pace since 2000, and should not be an issue by the time your children are in HS. If you are looking further west, look at Oak Hill as well. The Shady Hollow area is nice, but if a new HS gets built west of Mopac, then the rating and metrics of Bowie HS will plummet as the percentage of low income neighborhoods feeding into it will skyrocket. If you want a good neighborhood, check out Manchacha, Hays, or San Leanna. Menchacha (different spelling) Elementary school/Bailey MS looks solid, and that part of town is rapidly becoming desirable for middle class homeowners.

[austin-steve]

Our price range is to stay at or below $250k. Most of the homes I pull up in these zips go to Akin High School. We keep hearing from people who live in that area to try to live in an area that feeds into Bowie HS. If this is true, we are going to be majorly limited in where we can live.

There are, at present, over 100 homes for sale that feed into Bowie for $250K or less that have at least a 3/2/2 floorplan.

If you want a home big enough to grow into, and thus need 1800+ sqft and a 2nd living area, that leaves 41 homes. If you want to stick with either Bailey or Small middle schools (would need higher price range or less home for Gorzycki), that still leaves 22 homes.

The average buyer sees 12-15 homes before finding one that works, so you have plenty to choose from. Your options are really pretty simple. Get pre-qualified and go look at all those homes, pick the top three and write an offer or two.

Of the 22 homes, Median price is $243K, $111 per sqft, average size is 2171 sqft. Most families can get by with that just fine.

I would rent for the first year to get a better feel for Austin, as you sound unsure about your options

That's sound advice that I normally wouldn't disagree with, but in this case, we have interest rates at astoundingly low rates and we have a relatively decent market for buyers. For someone with small kids fairly certain they can remain in the home 5+ years, and with plenty to choose from, I'd buy now, absolutely.

Steve

[TXgirl72]

Thanks, guys. That helps. Yes, Jobert, it does feel like a dilemma. Where we live currently, we are one of the less expensive houses in a fairly wealthy county. We get the perks of great schools, etc while owning an affordable house. However, hubby does have to commute a ways and is tired of commuting. Like I said, hubby and I both grew up in not-so-wealthy areas, but they were small towns in the middle of nowhere. That makes them different than living in different areas of a larger city. The pressure is that we do feel like we need to buy right off and not have the kids change schools twice. One child is going to struggle with the change, and we feel like we only need to make the change once. Also, interest rates are so good that we can't pass that opportunity up.

Thanks for the input. Jobert, thanks for the info on Akin improving and what the future of Bowie may look like. I have read some about that, and it would be nice to take advantage of an area that will continue to grow and home values increase and the schools improve over time. We are trying to look at this long-term. It's also a waste of money to keep moving, unless you're a real estate agent.

[TXgirl72]

Jobert, this is a silly question, but are Menchacha, Hays, & San Leanna towns, or how do I search for them on real estate sites? I found them on the map but not finding how to search houses in those areas.

[thedogatemyhomework]

TXgirl72 - I think the info Jobert and Austin-Steve gave you is great. We just bought a house in the SW (way far west) and within the last month I have found out that we are now in a new zone which will put my sons into the new elementary school. From the way it looks, it's a huge improvement from the original school and I can't help but feel that the SW [and S] is a very good place for families who want a good education for their kids but don't have all the money in the world.

Having said that, we rented for a year before moving and although I hated it - it was a good decision. I know interest rates are very low, but maybe you should try and do a month-to-month rental just to buy yourselves a little time.

Best of luck - PM if you have any more specific info.

[thedogatemyhomework]

Originally Posted by TXgirl72

Jobert, this is a silly question, but are Menchacha, Hays, & San Leanna towns, or how do I search for them on real estate sites? I found them on the map but not finding how to search houses in those areas.

Hays - Hays county, includes Dripping Springs and Belterra

San Leanna and Menchacha are towns outside of Austin

[jobert]

Originally Posted by TXgirl72

Jobert, this is a silly question, but are Menchacha, Hays, & San Leanna towns, or how do I search for them on real estate sites? I found them on the map but not finding how to search houses in those areas.

They are separate towns, but my gut feeling is that Manchacha and San Leanna will be annexed within the next 10 years, if not sooner. I would look on Zillow or Trulia, but others probably have better sites. Manchacha and San Leanna currently pay a property tax to their respective municipalities and an ESD (emergency service district) which combined is a slightly lower rate than City of Austin.

As for districts: Hays has it's own school district, Manchacha and San Leanna would be within AISD boundaries, and would pay AISD taxes.

[TXgirl72]

Thanks, again. Dog, where we are leaving now, we built a home in a new, growing area 7 years ago. There wasn't much around us-nothing but an open field behind us. The area built up beautifully, and we now have the best elementary in our district around the corner. We really made a good choice, without even fully knowing it. I am excited to get back to TX (we are in Kansas City now), but it is going to be hard to leave what we have here. My hubby will actually be renting down there for the time being until we get our house sold, so it could be a mixed blessing that he will be able to get to know the area better before we buy down there. Thanks again for the info.