Riverstone vs. First Colony (Houston, Sugar Land: appliances, new house, established neighborhood)

[lowndes]

My wife and I recently moved back to Houston and are currently living in the Heights but after extensively looking around Houston have decided that we rather live in Sugar Land. We are in our late 20s with one baby. Currently we are trying to decide between an established neighborhood such as Colony Park or a new neighborhood such as Riverstone. We love the way the exteriors of the homes and the trees of the established neighborhoods and proximity to things like church and golf. However, the interiors of the new homes in Riverstone are tough to beat. We would like to keep the price below $450k.

I had several questions for anybody familiar with both communities:

- When will University Blvd. be connected through to First Colony? And do you feel this will make the community feel much more connected to the heart of First Colony and things like Sweetwater Country Club? Currently it feels a little isolated on Highway 6 to us.

- One of the things we love so much about First Colony is all the trees. Are there areas of Riverstone that I am missing that do have trees? As Riverstone becomes more established would one expect trees to grow back into the community?

- If you've made a similar decision recently I would be interested in hearing what you ended up doing and the ultimate deciding factor.

Thanks in advance

[Topaz]

I spend a lot of time in both areas and my only feedback is that you will likely be happy in either one. If you plan to use public schools in a few years, zoning might be an issue but FBISD has been doing such crazy stuff, I am not sure how to avoid the zoning chaos other than to move right next door to an elementary school you like. If you are planning on doing private schools, this won't be an issue other than the effect on resale.

[ethanw]

I moved from First Colony to Riverstone due to need for a bigger house with bigger yard. Both areas are great and yes First Colony is older and more established. But with old comes some problems as well since they old houses. In Riverstone everything is almost new and it will mature shortly.
But I think you must create a list for yourself in terms of what you want and then go through both areas and pick the one most suited to your needs and priorities.

Originally Posted by lowndes

My wife and I recently moved back to Houston and are currently living in the Heights but after extensively looking around Houston have decided that we rather live in Sugar Land. We are in our late 20s with one baby. Currently we are trying to decide between an established neighborhood such as Colony Park or a new neighborhood such as Riverstone. We love the way the exteriors of the homes and the trees of the established neighborhoods and proximity to things like church and golf. However, the interiors of the new homes in Riverstone are tough to beat. We would like to keep the price below $450k.

I had several questions for anybody familiar with both communities:

- When will University Blvd. be connected through to First Colony? And do you feel this will make the community feel much more connected to the heart of First Colony and things like Sweetwater Country Club? Currently it feels a little isolated on Highway 6 to us.

- One of the things we love so much about First Colony is all the trees. Are there areas of Riverstone that I am missing that do have trees? As Riverstone becomes more established would one expect trees to grow back into the community?

- If you've made a similar decision recently I would be interested in hearing what you ended up doing and the ultimate deciding factor.

Thanks in advance

[leighm962]

Oh and I found your post here, so a few other things that you said "When will University Blvd. be connected through to First Colony?" Fully open was to happen this summer, however the bridge is going a little slower than they planned. I talked to the engineer of the project and he said it wouldnt go past Oct, they are so close with the roads its just getting the bridge done which they are running into a few small issues. He thinks it would happen before Oct but said for certain no later than Oct.
" And do you feel this will make the community feel much more connected to the heart of First Colony and things like Sweetwater Country Club?" Yes for sure, and right now there is a back way to Sweetwater CC, you can access it right now and MAYBE takes 7 mins from Highland Homes right now. We plan to join there, since Kevin is a golfer. They have a young mens group (so I have heard that he is excited about getting involved in)
Also the Riverstone community center that is going to break ground soon will be the largest water park in a community in south texas! Yay for the kids

[HoustonPharaoh]

Originally Posted by ethanw

I moved from First Colony to Riverstone due to need for a bigger house with bigger yard. Both areas are great and yes First Colony is older and more established. But with old comes some problems as well since they old houses. In Riverstone everything is almost new and it will mature shortly.
But I think you must create a list for yourself in terms of what you want and then go through both areas and pick the one most suited to your needs and priorities.

I agree. First colony is older so the trees are bigger and they look nice. In Riverstone the trees will grow and it will look nice in few years.

I personally prefer the newer homes because they need less maintenance and they are more energy efficient.

Riverstone has more homes available to choose from whether the resale or the new construction. A 2-3 years old can still be good but you might expect to do some minor things like carpet cleaning and may be paint touch ups depends on the condition of the house and can be still a little cheaper than a brand new house. It might be a little hard to negotiate sometimes because most of them might not have enough equity to negotiate.

With the new construction, it can a little higher in price but you will get a brand new house and warranties covering roof, AC, foundation, appliances,etc.. And if you see anything wrong in the walk-through they can fix it for you before the closing.

I hope this helps and good luck!!