What has happened to this neighborhood? (Austin, Crockett: foreclosures, renter, houses)

[Weatherguy]

I know this isn't going to make some Austinites happy, but this afternoon I drove down a street to see the house a friend of mine lived in during the 80s. It's the area in the vicinity of where Amherst and Duval come together in north Austin. Not sure the name of the area, but my friend used to call it Walnut Crossing/Milwood. Not sure if that's correct. Anyway, the area I drove in, just off of Duval, looked really bad, yet I know the housing prices are extremely high due to the proximity to the Domain. I drove along about five streets. Every yard was uniform brown, many full of weeds, and the properties didn't look generally cared for. My friend who lived in the area (and who has lived out of state for many years) wanted me to take photos of the house and neighborhood, but I didn't. He and his wife would be very upset to know what has happened. When they lived there in the early 80s, it was really nice.



Anyone know what the deal is?

[ashbeeigh]

Probably a lot of renters by the way you’re describing the lack of maintenance.

[atxcio]

Doesn't look that bad on Google Street view. It is a good location now, but the homes were super cheap tract homes to begin with. Most have only 1 side masonry. Way back I saw a few in the area had foundation problems. A little west of that nieghborhood would go to Westwood so probably more desirable schools than that area.

The value is in the land, and if you put enough money in to fix up one of the houses, you wouldn't be able to sell high enough to cover your costs. So you aren't seeing many teardowns/major remodels yet.

I am surprised by the lack of big trees. The builder and original owners probably installed cheap fast growing trees like Ash, I don't see many big oaks like you find in a lot of other Austin neighborhoods.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by chitown50s

Please don't feed the trolls.

OP looks like an engaged CD poster. It sounded like a genuine question and wondering that could head down a rough patch if not steered correctly.

[Weatherguy]

The developers did use ash, like in so many developments. Most of the ash succumbed to the big freeze but haven't been cut down yet. That in itself detracts from the area. I also know that the tree services are backlogged significantly. I had to have a 60 year old tree cut down, and it took a long time for it to happen. Plus in some cases you have to Austin Energy involved, and if the tree is larger than 19 inch diameter, you have to have a permit, even if the tree is dead.


I know that's an aside, but yeah the location there is great, but the area hasn't maintained a very good appearance. From my experience, that's not important to a lot of people, which I find strange, but it's reality.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

I know that's an aside, but yeah the location there is great, but the area hasn't maintained a very good appearance. From my experience, that's not important to a lot of people, which I find strange, but it's reality.

Yeah, the saying doesn't go "Location, Location, Cleanliness" for a reason.

[Trainwreck20]

I lived in that general area in the 90s - first, as a renter just across Duval from Milwood, then as a first time home-owner across the MoPac tracks from Milwood in an area called Angus Valley.

While looking for a house back then, I was focused on that area due to its relative proximity to where I worked and the fact that it was affordable at the time. A HUGE number of those homes were rentals back in the 90s and had been for many years even then, dating back to the late 70s. The homes east of Amhearst had a high rate of foundation problems, although that was not as much a problem on the west side, as far as I could tell. In any case, it was not great looking back then, although it varied from street to street. The house I bought cost $99k in 1996 (1500 sf, 1977 build, backed up to the MoPac RR) and the construction was pretty awful by today's standards. The roof and the vaulted ceiling were 'connected', so the ceiling flexed in high winds and radiated heat into the house like a hotplate. The wall insulation was not much better and the AC unit was original when I bought the house..and when I sold it 10 years later. I was basically on 'renters row' for Angus Valley with the rest of the houses further west from the tracks being quite nice and almost all owner occupied. Milwood was always a step down from AV, although I am sure it was passable when first constructed.

[10scoachrick]

Even ten years ago, I would drive through from Parmer to Duval to visit our aunt's Balcones Woods home. I remember thinking, "What the heck happened in this neighborhood?".
As mentioned, it varied from street to street, block to block. I would imagine in some cases that the original owners got up in age(like our aunt) and didn't keep up the property as they did for the first 2-3 decades...then the rentals...toss in a few foreclosures during the recession....

[ashbeeigh]

There’s pockets like this throughout the city. I see it regularly around the area that feeds into Crockett high school. I think if the area between little texas and eberhart and Congress/Riverside and then the little pocket by the H-E-B on Manchaca and slaughter. It’s always interesting to see the areas investors pick to set up shop.

[Weatherguy]

Even Allandale, which has many properties selling for over $1M between Anderson and Keonig, has some awful looking properties, including some that have been abandoned. Our neighborhood has been working with code enforcement and APD on these issues. One can easily pay $900K for a place and end up living next door to a dilapidated, overgrown property. We have some streets in Allandale that are extremely expensive but run down or poorly maintained. But one block over can be very nice.

Thus is Austin. Like I said, a buyer should never buy sight unseen. And looking at Google streetview doesn't always give one a realistic idea of a neighborhood.

I know that my next home will be in a neighborhood with a strong HOA. I used to not like the idea, but I've been burned twice over the last 30 years, ending up next to awful properties with little recourse unless the property meets code enforcement criteria, which is pretty lax.