2-3 top LOCATIONS to buy first home - moved in from Chicago (Houston: crime, credit)

[judefenix]

Yes I have decided that Katy/Sugarland/Richmond/ Missouri City/Pearland are out of reckoning given my commute to HP campus and my spouses 's to downtown area.

@ Jack Lance - Spring branch closer to Washington Av and around Jersey Village would be a very good fit. However, I haven't done much research about what my money can buy. Haven't taken a look at Spring but will go through the Link you sent out. Any areas that you strongly recommend based on your knowledge ? Keep me posted.


@Julesunder : I agree Cypress south of 290 would be a solid fit for now. I was not sure why north of 290 is not a great idea. Any suggestions?
Also which builder and property area have you closed in on and let me know the top reasons why you picked the same ? Also, I ideally desire something closer to the park and ride whereby I can drop off my wife in the Cypress area to go to downtown. So which area does that represent in Cypress ? Also any information about the biggest employers in the Cypress area? Heard about Sysco having a good presence there.
On initial research, I seem to like the Bridgeland area. Close to schools, Golf Courses, malls, etc. Not sure how far away from the Park n Ride. How long is the ride to downtown? Keep me posted

The only other areas where it may make some sense to live is the inner loop or Houston Heights. I saw a few properties in the Rice Military area yesterday but to get a decent 3+Bed it is $500K+. Energy Corridor area is also very pricey.

I do tend to believe that for every dollar invested, the best return will be in the 610 Loop area.

Also not sure if there is any evidence to the national data that sales price in lowest in Dec/Jan (http://www.trulia.com/trends/2012/03...e-for-housing/
) comes into play Houston ? I believe that in the last 2-3 years, the employment rise may be leading to constantly increasing pricing trends despite the seasonal aspect of the home buying market.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by judefenix

Ruling out Katy/Sugarland/ Missouri City/Pearland.

@Jack : Haven't taken a look at Spring but will go through the Link you sent out. Any areas that you strongly recommend based on your knowledge ? Keep me posted.

@Julesunder: Agree south of 290 is great. I seem to like the Bridgeland area a lot. Close to schools, Golf Courses, malls, etc. Not sure how far away from the Park n Ride. How long is the ride to downtown. Also which area/ builder did you zero in on and share some top reasons to go with the option. Keep me posted.

The other options be 610 Loop or Houston Heights but you get lot less space for your money. I would tend to believe that from an investment angle, the Loop/Heights area may provide the highest ROI.

Also not sure if there is any evidence to the national data that sales price in lowest in Dec/Jan (Springtime for Housing - Trulia TrendsTrulia Trends
) comes into play Houston ? I believe that in the last 2-3 years, the employment rise may be leading to constantly increasing pricing trends despite the seasonal aspect of the home buying market.

If you are looking at Spring Branch, you'd tend to want to stay closer to I-10; the nicest and safest parts seem to be just north of it.

As far as Cypress, the park and ride is at skinner@290 and you would want to be close to the freeway if at all possible. Given that if you chose this area, I would say look south of 290 at Bridgeland, Cypress Creek Lakes, or Towne Lake. (A lot of people seem to like Bridgeland, however I feel they have some of the highest taxes and hidden buying/selling/hoa fees of all three, plus the homes feel especially wedged together on narrow streets and there are not a whole lot of ways in and out of the neighborhood. As it fills up to capacity, roughly 10,000+ homes, it will be a traffic nightmare getting to the main thoroughfares. Out of the them south of 290, I would actually suggest a new house in Towne Lake if you can afford it, or a nice existing home in Blackhorse Ranch or Cross Creek Ranch which are both along Fry rd just north of Bridgeland. The "lake" is a little gimmicky I'll give you, but it will be over 300+ acres and currently google maps only shows 1/3rd of what will be done as it will eventually meander all the way up near the freeway. Cypress Creek Lakes has some of the same builders as the other two if you happened to like a specific floor plan in TL or Bridgeland, but a lot less in terms of neighborhood amenities, and is considered the best bargain out of the three in terms of significantly cheaper home prices.) There will be a lot of nicer retail going in over the next few years as the area develops, and Cy-Ranch is a great school, which is important if in CFISD as it can really be a mixed bag and vary greatly from school to school. South of 290 will have less trees and have a lot more commercial activity than north of 290, but be closer to amenities and the park and ride. (If you can see Greenhouse on a map, it will eventually pass through Towne Lake and connect north to Skinner rd). North of 290 would likely have slightly less retail and finding a 'new' home near 290 would be more difficult, but would overall feel more secluded and has a lot of sections with nice tall trees. I would look at Parc Lake Estates off Eldridge, Cole's Crossing, Longwood, or Rock Creek. A lot of people like Fairfield, but I'm personally not a fan, and feel that a lot of the newer sections being built on the nw and n sides of the development are going to be too close to the soon to be erected 99/grand parkway tollway. Keep in mind that the further you go north of 290, the more of a breeze that your commute would be, but the longer your wife's commute to the park and ride would be also.

I agree that if you can find a home inside or just outside 610, (not east of 59 unless directly east of downtown), then that will be much better in terms of resale value and proximity to desirable attractions in Houston. Things to worry about in that scenario would be astronomical cost compared to the 'burbs, whether or not schools are okay in the area, and if not if you'd be able to afford private. Your wife's commute would be much easier in that case, but yours would get much much longer. The reverse commute is not as bad as coming in from the 'burbs, but it still backs up quite a big heading out of town during morning rush hour. Just my two cents on all the options; only you can decide what is the best fit for your family. Sorry for giving the most info about Cypress, if I had more info on the other places, I'd provide it.

[judefenix]

@ Curbur. Thank you these are excellent suggestions. I will end up going to Cypress and taking a look for myself. Is there a map for the 99/grand parkway tollway construction so that one can keep away from the surrounding areas ? Seems like N and NW of 290 is where there may be greater impact. As you mention, too far north on 290 may be self-serving for me but not a good idea to cut commute times for my partner to go downtown.

Spring area warrants a little bit more attention /research at my end.

Also I am first time buyer. Would you recommend using a real estate agent right away in the search process ? Any other tips in this matter, I would greatly appreciate.

[Jack Lance]

I like 77043 Spring Shadows off of Kempwood @ Kemp Forest dr.

Look at the house @ 3003 Triway Ln, Houston TX, 77043

also

3031 Manila 77043


http://www.homes.com/for-sale/housto...stonDSA&mkwid=[distribution][uniq_id]_d[device]|pcrid|[creative_id]|pkw|[keyword_text]|pmt|[matchtype]|&gclid=CjwKEAjwheqgBRD5vOfR45az5AESJABy4m8-izN_yosVNbjmv-KifMgJqffT6GVVea4U2X7sSJ4SahoCUsbw_wcB

[hendersj31]

I like Spring Branch as well but to get zoned to the better schools the budget will have to get a little higher. Not sure how many kids you have but you could get more house (and usually yard) if you go into the 77080 zip code for less money than the closer to I10 77055 zip code but the schools won't be nearly as good so private would be on your radar. There are some really nice neighborhoods such as Spring shadows as mentioned already. However these Spring Branch schools are not the Spring Branch schools everybody raves about.
How about Jersey village? In your price range schools are supposed to be good and it is closer to town than Cypress.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by judefenix

@ Curbur. Thank you these are excellent suggestions. I will end up going to Cypress and taking a look for myself. Is there a map for the 99/grand parkway tollway construction so that one can keep away from the surrounding areas?

The easiest way for me is if you zoom in close enough on google maps when not on satellite view, it will show the route as a dotted line and indicate it as 99. Go to where 290 and 99 meet, and then trace it from there as it curves around and hits 249 and then continues east until it hits I-45 near the new exxon complex. You have to be zoomed in pretty close for it to show up though.

[judefenix]

All great suggestions @Curbur. I will try out the google maps exercise as you prescribed.

@Jack : I am looking a new homes or 2012+ build only

@ hendersj31: Jersey Village may work but not sure about fresh inventory there in my price range. Any suggestions off hand ?

Is there a comparison on the tax rates by areas such as Cypress v/s Spring v/s Houston Heights area ?

[usc619]

Cypress would not be a good fit for your wife's commute to downtown. Not sure why folks are recommending Cypress. If you want to stay in a MPG and still have an easy commute to downtown and Tomball, check out Fall Creek

[curbur]

Originally Posted by usc619

Cypress would not be a good fit for your wife's commute to downtown. Not sure why folks are recommending Cypress. If you want to stay in a MPG and still have an easy commute to downtown and Tomball, check out Fall Creek

Oh look, the negative nancy that always shows up in any thread where Cypress is mentioned. I actually think the best options are inside the loop myself, but OP was asking about Cypress from another poster, so I obliged with information.

Fall Creek has back roads that connect directly to some of the worst ghettos in Houston, and in general that area of town is closer to industrial sites, the airport, and the oil refineries which pollute the air heavily. You don't think that as some of these criminal elements just south of Fall Creek become more aware of that neighborhood, that it won't be prone to lots of break-ins or robberies? Next you're going to tell me that Bear Creek is as bad as Homestead. This location would actually make both of their commutes 30+ min, as opposed to one nice commute and one not so nice. Another thing to keep in mind is that 290 will not be under construction forever. By 2017, most of it should be cleared up and there will be 5 lanes on each side of the freeway. I understand that I-10 did the same thing and it filled up rather quickly, but 290 does not have a CBD like the Energy Corridor along it as it is used primarily to get past an area and to 610. I don't believe once the new lanes open up that it will fill up within a year's time again like it did on I-10.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by judefenix

All great suggestions @Curbur. I will try out the google maps exercise as you prescribed.

@Jack : I am looking a new homes or 2012+ build only

@ hendersj31: Jersey Village may work but not sure about fresh inventory there in my price range. Any suggestions off hand ?

Is there a comparison on the tax rates by areas such as Cypress v/s Spring v/s Houston Heights area ?

Well that changes things, I did find these

Houston Texas Homes For Sale & Houston Real Estate - Zillow

Good luck