Taylor Estates Ditmar and Manchaca (Austin, Spring: short sales, foreclosures, lease)

[KevinW]

Hello,

My wife and I moved to austin 4 months ago and will be looking to purchase a new home as soon as our lease is up. We are thinking about a new build since we can lock something in now and have something built just before our lease is up. We found this new subdivision (taylor estates) located on Ditmar east of manchaca. Does anyone know about this area? We have a nine month old and want a safe area. The neighborhood across the street seems fine (we drove through) but there is a trailer park right next door to these 180k+ house, then another community coming up that is going to be in the 200k+. Does anyone know about Taylor Estates or this area?

Kimball home fills half this neighborhood, then went out of business Gehan homes is now building there.

Thanks for your information!

[KevinW]

this is 78745 area if it matters

[ROY DUBOSE]

do take some time in reaching a decision -- not to fault your choice of "buying new" but there is a train of thought that it takes awhile to recoup your equity when a subdivision is new -- many of my clients prefer to get newer homes in established neighborhoods -- it helps protect (not to mention accurately quantify) an equity position --

[verybadgnome]

I live between william cannon and matthews a bit north of this development. Actually I do a weekly bike ride down south and usually breeze through to see what building is going on in this smaller development. The neighborhood is fine. You will see trailers throughout South Austin....even in "ritzy" places like Barton Springs Rd. A lot of the older homes around this development are on large lots, sort of between suburban and rural in feel.

I have no problem with this area except that I hear the public schools are not so good. Commuting should not be a problem if you work downtown. Crime is not a problem. My slight beef is that the homeplans are typical suburban Texas which means a "front loader," i.e. great utilization of horizontal space but awful proportions and laughable arcitectural detail.

Regarding Taylor Estates it looks like their homebuilding has slowed down quite a bit in the last 6-8 months. You may be able to get a deal. Also there is another new development just a bit farther south at Ralph Ablanedo, a bit north of South Park Meadows.

[IloveTE]

Taylor Estates is closing out and a one entrance/exit community. Professional folks reside there and they're making a great return on their investment in south austin already. It's a hot area with good schools. Look for big development on Dittmar in the next five years!

[austin-steve]

Taylor Estates is in MLS Area 10S, Far South Austin. The average price there is roughly $220K. The homes there average over 2500 sqft. The HOA fee is $300/yr. The homes are "starter grade", but decent enough, especially for first timers.

I can make arguments both for and against buying this type of product in this specific area.

Against:
If I was going to spend $225K on a home, I would do it in an area where homes sell in the $200-$300K+ range, thus providing greater protection against market weakness. I'd opt for a lesser home in a better area, such as 78749 in Westcreek or Western Oaks, where the bottom end is $200K and the schools are sought after. These attributes help a home hold it's value over time.

The average sold price in 10S is $180K, and the average size home is 1600 sqft. Buying something larger and more expensive violates the rule of thumb of sticking to the median/average price point in whatever given area you seek.

Finally, many of these (new) homes, even in current economic times, are sold for little to nothing down. That means many of the surrounding home owners have little to no equity in their homes, and have essentially purchased more than they can really afford. I don't like owning property in that type of neighborhood because the home will be more exposed to potential foreclosures and short sales in the neighborhood, hurting the value.

Reason For:
Viewing it strictly from a product/location standpoint, it's hard to find newer product in a good south Austin location for around $200K. You could go further south to Olympic Heights, or check Grand Oaks or some of the other neighborhoods off Manchaca Rd. for comparable homes, and these are the homes that people buy who want to be in South Austin but can't deal with the older 1970/1980s stock that dominates the area.

If schools are important to you, and you have to have a newer home, I'd look seriously into Olympic Heights. If you can handle an older home and will be in the $200-$225K range, I'd look for the best house in that range in 78749.

Buying brand new is almost never the best choice when viable options exist. In your case, I think they do.

Steve

[jobert]

Wow. This is an old thread. I'm sure they've bought their house already. Steve, pricepoints aside, what is the comparison in quality of what 225K gets you in 78749 vs. Taylor Estates? Considering this is an investment that should last anywhere from 5 years to a lifetime...and these neighborhoods being the same distance from downtown, can we look into our crystal ball and predict which neighborhood will have the superior location 5,10,30 years from now?

I do know this - If two homebuyers take each option here, then that means 30 years from now, someone will be living in a 60 year old VAWO house that's around 1800 sf, while someone in Taylor Estates will be living in a 30 year old house that's around 2500 sf.. beyond that, none of us knows crap.

Don't all neighborhoods go through this phase of elevated foreclosures and short sales when new? Even established neighborhoods such as Western Oaks were brand new at one point - and the people who bought back then are doing too bad for themselves... would you have told them not to buy back in the 80's, when that was a new neighborhood?

Steve, do you sell houses in new developments?

[jobert]

Originally Posted by IloveTE

Taylor Estates is closing out and a one entrance/exit community. Professional folks reside there and they're making a great return on their investment in south austin already. It's a hot area with good schools. Look for big development on Dittmar in the next five years!

I have seen the signs for new developments at Manchacha/Dittmar and Palace/Dittmar. The latter appears to be a higher-end mixed use development. There is a great amount of open space either side of Dittmar, more towards the Manchacha end, and a cute little hidden neighborhood on the South Congress side of Dittmar with old growth trees, decent hills and a creek or two throughout the neighborhood. I like that area.

[austin-steve]

Steve, do you sell houses in new developments?

I discourage buyers from buying new in almost all circumstances, and so I sell very few new homes.

There are a lot of hidden costs and risks in buying new, and I don't think people give enough weight to those factors. That said, I'm probably in the minority as many agents like the higher commissions and bonuses offered by builders. To me, the higher the bonuses and commissions, the more reason a buyer should look elsewhere, because those incentives are there for a reason.

Steve

[Ms. Pam]

As the longest established resident of Taylor Estates I think it is a terrific neighborhood to live in. While I get the dialouge on price, location, down payment, amenities, crime, education etc., the one thing I cannot trade down or probably up on is the quality of the neighbors that live here. We are working people who wanna stake a claim somewhere and enjoy where we are doing it at. We are friendly, dependable, protective of each other, and most of all kind...........Now beat that!