Looking for Westheimer Lakes North info (Houston, Austin: rent, waterpark, HOA fees)

[batdogmama]

Hi all,

I have been researching here and elsewhere for months now in preparation for a corporate relocation to Houston from Seattle. As my husband and I wait for our house to sell in order to make the move, I am narrowing our choices for neighborhoods...from afar. Once we receive an offer, I will fly down to do some blitz house shopping.

For a while, I was torn between several communities within the Katy and Missouri City areas, but have fallen in love with a few homes in Westheimer Lakes North specifically. Before I get too attached to the area, I have a few questions:

• What is the community center like? I can't find a very good explanation of the amenities and would like to know a bit about it. I will be a stay at home mom or working part time at home for at least a year before heading back to school when my son starts Kindergarten. I want to be busy with my son and don't want to be stuck in a neighborhood with nothing to do.
• Are there grocery stores, coffee shops, etc., nearby? Within walking distance?
• How safe are the neighborhoods for running? I am a runner and very used to going out by myself.
• What are the internet options? My husband and I will both need reliable internet for work. He will work from home 3-4 days a week and I might work part time. We currently have Comcast and have nothing but problems, so I'm hoping for more options.
• What are the power bills like? I am looking mostly at Westin homes in the 2700-3000 sq. ft. size range. Being a Seattle native, we don't have A/C here and average about $80 a month in the winter for each electricity and gas, half that in the summer. I know that will change drastically, but would like to get a realistic idea of what to expect.
• Are there any good alternatives in the area to Trader Joes? For those unfamiliar, Trader Joes is a popular specialty grocery store chain in our area, California, etc., but they are not in Texas. I'm hoping for a similar option.
• What are some good "mom" resources, playgroups, etc. in the area? I will be new to the SAHM thing and will have no family and friends around...I will rely heavily on the kindness of strangers, so to speak.

Any other thoughts or comments on WLN and the area are much appreciated! My husband will be driving from Austin to Houston while down there next week, so I'm hoping he will be able to drive thru to give me his opinion... And in the meantime, everyone reading this please say a little chant/prayer, etc., that we get a house offer soon so my family can move!

[descovy]

I'll try to help with some... I live in nearby Cinco and have friends in WLN...

Community center is (from what I can tell) a building next to the pool... used for community events, probably can rent it out for parties. May or may not host classes. I know the one in Cinco hosts yoga, zumba, etc... for a fee.

NOTHING is in Walking distance. You are pretty far out in "new build" territory. Grocery store HEB is at Hwy 99 (3-4 mi) Wal mart same distance... Hwy 99/FM 1093. You WILL have to drive most nearly for everything. If you are looking for "walkable" in Katy, consider parts of Cinco Ranch (try to get as close as you can to Hwy 99 aka Grand Parkway.) La Centerra is an "outdoor mall" at 99/ Cinco Ranch Blvd. And the library is near, and at 99/Westheimer Pkwy is SuperTarget & more restaurants. The houses won't be BRAND new, but they're less than 5 years old...

I live in a part of Cinco Ranch that is next to westheimer lakes, and I find that I do most of my errands up and down Mason Rd.

Neighborhood is safe for running. Quiet, residential, fine...

Internet in Westheimer Lakes... Well a company called Entouch provided the wiring for internet/tv/phone. In return ALL residents are expected to pay the $800 a year for the bundled services whether you want to stay with Entouch or not. Some folks here on the boards have complaints about Entouch... I haven't met any in real life though. But that pesky MANDATORY bundled service is one thing that you'll want to be fully aware of before you sign on the dotted line. (note, not ALL neighborhoods in Katy are like this, just the ones developed by Land Tejas... such as Westheimer Lakes/North) Nearby Cinco Ranch, Seven Meadows, Grand Lakes, Firethorne, etc... DO NOT have this mandatory bundled service from entouch.)

Power bills are high in the summer because of A/C If you are home all day and prefer 75, it'll be $300/mo easy. I let my A/C go up to 85 (and knock it down if i am home and uncomfortable) and still pay close to $200/mo in the summer for a 2600 sq ft house.

Whole Foods is a Trader Joe alternative. The closest is in Sugar Land, about 10 miles away.

Mom playgroups... you'll find some I'm sure. I'm beyond those days. But Katy is teeming with new-comers. We even have glossy "Katy Magazines" that you can thumb through with community info. Also check story time at the Fort Bend County Library (check Fulshear and/or cinco Ranch location) and if applicable, church. My church (Living Word Lutheran) in Cinco Ranch has a Monday playgroup, for example.

[batdogmama]

Thanks Descovy! All very helpful info.

There are some homes I like in Cinco too, so we will be checking out that area as well. I just happen to really like the Westin homes, and the one I'm especially partial to is a few years old, so there might be something comparable in Cinco. The property taxes and HOA fees seem to be about the same.

Good to know there is a Whole Foods in Sugar Land. It's where I do about 1/3 of my grocery shopping...but I don't know how I'll survive without a Trader Joes.

As for the community center, I was hoping to find out if they plan to add more to it. In comparison to the amenities in some communities, it seems skimpy... am I right that there is just the one pool and splash pad or is there more to it. Also, is the lake fishable or swimmable?

Just searching online, it's sometimes hard to get a good idea of the size of a community or how close everything is together. Hopefully I'll have the chance to travel down there soon to get a first hand look.

Until then, thank you for your thoughts and great detailed info. It is much appreciated!

[descovy]

Well, Westheimer Lakes (south of 1093) and Westheimer Lakes North share amenities, so you'd get access to the pool on the other side of the road.

Don't know if the lake has fish (really these "lakes" you see in South Katy are little man-made pretend lakes) and you certainly cannot swim in it. Infact (don't freak out!) they tend to attract alligators... so certainly don't even THINK of swimming in any subdivion's lakes.

A little about cinco (because that is where I live) we have 9 pools to choose from. People often hang at their closest pool, but some of them are "specialty" The Lakehouse has large slides and the pool is saline (not Chlorine) The Waterpark is a popular place (large splash area, slides, cave, diving board). The beachclub is Cinco's original pool. It is zero-entry with real sand to play in/dig. It is also adjacent to a lake and has kayaks/paddle boats which are FREE for residents to use.

I'll say straight up, our family picked Cinco Ranch for the amenities alone, and we use them to the fullest.

One thing, I don't think I'd buy NEW in Cinco ranch right now. I live in a house built in '07 that if I tried to sell it today I would get $230-$240k. But NEW houses in Cinco (same size as mine) are being listed for $100k more! Sure it is so the builder can then "cut a fabulous deal." But still, it is an inflated price.

You can get a nice 2story in Cinco for $80/sq ft. That's about as much as you'd pay in WLN. To me it's worth it, but to each his/her own

[RVD26]

As a resident of WLN, I'll try to answer your questions.

1) The community center is nothing too fancy. There is a small gym, a swimming pool and the center can be rented out for parties, etc. There are no classes that I know of at the center. The center across 1093 at WLS is a little bigger, I think. There is a splashpad for kids. Not sure if there are any classes there.

2) There is pretty much NOTHING within walking distance here. There is a new Mexican restaurant that just opened up in the shopping center right in front of WLN. We tried it out last week and the food there was decent.

3) The neighborhood is very safe for running. My wife goes running pretty often by herself and has never had any issues.

4) The internet option when you first move in is through Entouch. You have to pay an $800+ annual fee for bundled service which includes basic internet, cable TV, and security system (you also have to sign up for landline service for this). I chose to opt out of the bundle because I was not completely satisfied with their service. You can do this by writing a letter after you have had the service for a few months or so. I have Comcast right now for internet and am pretty happy with it. I have not had any dropout issues whatsoever. Just make sure you get your own router and cable modem, because the ones they provide you with are crap.

5) As far as the power bills, it varies by how efficient the builder made the home. I do not have a Westin home, but our house is about 2500 square feet and we pay anywhere from about $70 during the winter to just over $150 during the summer. Of course, my wife and I are both at work during the day, so your situation may be different.

6) Not really any specialty grocery stores in the immediate area. Just your run of the mill stores like HEB, Krogers.

7) My wife is not a SAHM, so I can't really speak on that issue. There do seem to be quite a few SAHM in the neighborhood. I am sure there is a meet-up group of some kind.

Hope this all helps. WLN is a great neighborhood and you can a very nice home for a lot less that you would pay in other neighborhoods.

[pc50]

If you are looking in WLN then I would also consider Cross Creek Ranch which is also selling homes in Katy ISD. It is only about 2 miles west of Cinco really close to WLN. It is a newer community with great amenities. It has a professionally staffed fitness center that offers exercise classes like yoga and boot camps (at no charge), resort pool with a huge waterslide, splash park, pocket parks and miles of hike and bike trails. They are just now constructing a 2.5 mile, 10 wide concrete trail on both sides of Flewellen Creek. Personally, I prefer the landscape they have installed rather than the cookie cutter landscape that all the other communities in the Katy area have done. I believe they have planted over 10,000 trees in the first phase of the development alone. Last time I was out there which was a couple of weeks ago, a couple of the builders were beginning to pre-sale the Phase II sections that are opening closer to FM1463.

They offer fiber to the home ATT U-verse as well as Comcast, no bundled internet service requirement.

[calebaw]

I have lived in WLN for just over a year now and really like it. The entouch thing kinda sucks but from what I have heard after one year theres a way to opt out of it.

[WLNResident]

I live in WLN and LOVE it!
There are a few things that I don't like. I can't stand ENTOUCH services and if you can opt out at first DO IT!! They are terrible and I am in the process of opting out. It's been a pain.
I also am not a fan of the drive it takes to get to where I need to be. I feel like it takes at least 15 minutes to get anywhere from here. There is no such thing as a "quick trip"

I am a SAHM, have an 18 month old and expecting in November. There are a lot of mom groups out here that go on morning walks etc. You can also check meetup.com.
I don't belong to any, but have found SEVERAL other SAHM's in the neighborhood and join up at the splashpad with or without scheduled "playdates"

One of the things that I love about this neighborhood is that everyone seems active. I always see families out riding bikes, walking, playing tennis, playing at the playgrounds(there are TONS) and enjoying the outdoors. It's refreshing to see so many people out :-)

As for our power bill, our 2 story home is set on 76 day in day out unless we are out of town(since I SAH) and our last bill in July was 170. Not too bad considering what it could be!

Hope this helps!

[batdogmama]

Thank you all for the great information! My husband is going to be driving thru that area next week and plans to check out the "vibe" of WLN, Cinco, and Cross Creek Ranch. I have my eye on a particular home and we won't know for another couple of weeks if we will be able to make an offer on it prior to the sale/lease of our current home. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it hangs on a bit longer. It seems like everyone I've heard from in WLN loves it there, and we're already in a planned community with a drive to most anything, so that might not be a huge adjustment. I just don't want to end up in the middle of nowhere with no access to people, things, and of course, Starbucks.

[lane_change]

Which Westin model do you have your eye on? I live in WLN as well because of Westin. There are 3 areas in SW Katy that Westin builds in. Westheimer Lakes North, Pine Mill Ranch, and a new development just north of WLN on 1463 called Cardiff Ranch I believe. I think WLN is the cheapest option as far as pricing goes and has easy access to 1093 and 1463 which is why I chose WLN over PMR. Cardiff had not begun when I moved out here. All of these areas feel detached and far away from Houston, but that is just how urban sprawl works. In a few years people will live even further out, more amenities will be built out this way and you will fill much more attached to Katy than we currently do.

Our electric runs us over $250+ for our house in the summer, but my wife works from home so the A/C is always on, and our house is around 3700 sq/ft or so. The neighborhood seems very safe, I have never seen/heard of any issues. The park is incredibly friendly, you will meet all sorts of people there with your kids. We have talked to many random strangers with children at the park when we take our boys up there. I don't go to the park too often in this heat though, hopefully this fall we will begin to frequent the park more. We are from California so Trader Joe's was always a cool place to go. Boney's was another good grocery store out there, but out here you don't get that. HEB is okay, or you have Target, Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc... Whole Foods is decent, but nothing like Trader Joe's imo. I seldom bother to make the trip there and just stick with what is local.

The vibe as you call it I feel is nicer in Cinco compared to WLN, but the price is higher as well. When we decided to go to WLN, a large factor was price. We could get our house for around $300k with everything we wanted and a similar sized home, lot, upgrades, etc...was going to cost well over $350k in Cinco because it is Cinco and not WLN. Cross Creek Ranch is just West of WLN and Cinco is just East...so WLN is going to be sandwiched directly between two of the largest and highly developed MPC areas in SW Katy. If you can deal with saying that you do not live in Cinco or Cross Creek, then I feel you will insulate your investment some once the areas fill out. You will have likely paid tens of thousands less and live in the same area of town, go to the same schools, the same everything...except you live in a very small MPC called Westheimer Lakes North and not a more posh name like Cinco or Cross Creek. I decided to keep my money, but I wish I bought a bigger lot. Can't add more land later, so if it matters to you, buy the lot you want first. You can always work on the inside of the house later , but the dirt around your house is all you will ever get.