Lakeway/Beecave Area vs Dripping Springs (Austin, Earth: HOA, houses, neighborhood)

[NationwideTraveler]

Originally Posted by IC_deLight

An aerobic system does not have a "field" as you describe. Assuming the fence was a boundary for another property, the problem likely was the proximity of the sprayer to the boundary of the lot.

[/quote]

Clarification - It was an aerobic drip system, which does in fact, have a field. If it were me, I would much rather have an aerobic spray as you describe, the lesser of two evils, and easier to repair. Aerobic drip is probably the worst possible type of system you could have with regards to problems.

[NationwideTraveler]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

If you have never had a good experience with an agent, through several transactions, you need to be looking at the common denominator among those transactions. You may be bad at choosing agents, or you may be causing the problems yourself (it does happen). The rest of what you say about motivation seems to speak more to what you would imagine yourself doing in a similar situation.

Ok, I was gonna just keep it factual, but since you have resorted to hubris and ad homonyms, I'll just call it what it is. You've obviously taken offense to the factual events I have experienced with people in your industry, making you just a shill for the real estate lobby. *blocked*


You can say it is or is not in the form contract, but a contingency is whatever I want it to be, and I can put whatever I want in my contract without being a lawyer, as practicing law is the practice of holding yourself out to perform legal services for other people. A realtor, on the other hand, cannot do this, although many often think they can. A realtor has zero power or authority over anything, anywhere except their mouths, which they often fail to exercise. They are merely a sidebar that makes a disproportionate profit from a transaction they rarely have any tangible effect on.

con·tin·gen·cy
kənˈtinjənsē/Submit
noun
a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.
"a detailed contract that attempts to provide for all possible contingencies"
synonyms: eventuality, (chance) event, incident, happening, occurrence, juncture, possibility, fortuity, accident, chance, emergency
"we've tried to imagine and provide for all possible contingencies"
a provision for an unforeseen event or circumstance.
"a contingency reserve"
an incidental expense.
"allow an extra fifteen percent in the budget for contingencies"

[NationwideTraveler]

Originally Posted by IC_deLight

Springlake also has a number of thugs claiming to be operating a mandatory HOA. The HOA actually went under in 1994. A resident of the subdivision and a few cronies decided to pull a fast one on homeowners, insurance companies, mortgage companies, and buyers by forming a new corporation with a similar name in 2002. He used the phony HOA (of which he was "president") to threaten homeowners, file false liens, etc. for many years. His phony HOA sued one property owner too many - and that property owner counterclaimed for fraud and a number of other things. The president literally fled the subdivision after an adverse court ruling. His successor is about to do the same. The real estate agents in the know wouldn't disclose to their clients. The phony HOA has been demanding resale certificate fees, transfer fees, etc. for nearly two decades. No accounting for where any of the money has gone. Be wary about claims of a mandatory HOA.

[/quote]

This is true in more than one development. Same thing happened in Deer Creek. Its a real fiasco, and I believe some parts of Deer Creek (newer) are subject to HOA, and some aren't. The whole HOA thing is nothing but a profiteering scheme. If people weren't so desparate to find homes in this housing shortage we have, no one would buy into these "communes". I call them that, because in reality, you don't own your home, the community does.

[NationwideTraveler]

Location of expansive clay, for those without a soil map collection in a briefcase:

[NationwideTraveler]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

Taxes are very high in Belterra. The growth of schools and infrastructure comes at a cost.

What do you mean schools? Belterra residents attend Dripping Springs ISD. The "belterra special tax district" is all Belterra and pays for the pools, trails, fitness center, etc, etc....

In addition to your HOA fees, btw. That's not included.

Taxes are high in Texas, they are insane in Belterra, see for yourself on Realtor.com

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by NationwideTraveler

What do you mean schools? Belterra residents attend Dripping Springs ISD. The "belterra special tax district" is all Belterra and pays for the pools, trails, fitness center, etc, etc....

In addition to your HOA fees, btw. That's not included.

Taxes are high in Texas, they are insane in Belterra, see for yourself on Realtor.com

And yet, houses keep selling in Belterra.

Belterra amenities do not come without a price, but our quarterly HOA dues are $125. Not exactly worth getting worked up about.

But more importantly, Hays County and DSISD are growing as fast as they can build. Right now, we're all paying the cost. It's how the real world works.

[NationwideTraveler]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

Not exactly worth getting worked up about.

No, until its on top of the $10,000 a year in taxes. Then the $500 annual HOA fees are just insult on top of injury.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by NationwideTraveler

No, until its on top of the $10,000 a year in taxes. Then the $500 annual HOA fees are just insult on top of injury.

Depends on how cynical you are. The $500 goes directly to your neighborhood and you can see exactly how it is spent. You can see the pool, club house, and landscaping maintenance and judge its value. For the $10,000, it is pretty much a black hole and you know that a significant portion is going elsewhere as part of Robin Hood.

[NationwideTraveler]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Depends on how cynical you are.

Don't mistake realism for cynicism. I just prefer to actually own my house, rather than live under the guise of owning it while paying someone else to give me permission to do what I want with my property.

My comment on schools was just to clarify that paying $10,000 in taxes in Belterra does not grant you access to better schools. Belterra kids attend the same schools as Springlake, except they only pay $3,000 in taxes on average.

If you like all of that, then more power to you. Its your choice to spend your money on whatever makes you happy. I chose to take the red pill myself.

[MeredithTX]

Wow, this thread got weird...

OP, to answer your actual questions, both areas are fairly comparable with COL, demographics, and excellent schools. My family looked in both areas and settled on Dripping. Ultimately our decision came down to finding the house that was just right for us.

We are very happy with our choice and have wonderful neighbors and easy access to a ton of family friendly wineries/breweries/distilleries, which we enjoy visiting on the weekends. More and more restaurants are opening around us, which is fantastic, and the shopping and convenience factor isn't much different than if we lived off Hamilton Pool or towards Sweetwater.

There is quite a lot of retail development coming to Dripping over the next 5 years as well. There are plans for a shopping center near 290 & 12 where they are working deals with TJ Maxx, Ross, Ulta, and a few others if that project moves forward.

FWIW, we looked at Headwaters, and it's lovely, but we felt like the houses were too close together and the playground disappointing. This also caused us to rule out Bella & Terra Colinas in Bee Cave for comparison.

We are members of the YMCA, and the Dripping facility is recently updated and very nice. As far as preschools, I have neighbors that speak very highly of Prep Academy on Nutty Brown and Mt. Olive Lutheran, but I know there are others that are very good. I have a friend who is about to send their 3 year old to Journey School, which seems great.

We had sushi recently at Eur-Asia at the Y in Oak Hill and were happy with it.

Good luck in your search!