first time home buyer - advice on West Houston neighborhoods (Spring: appointed, apartment complexes)

[houstongirl2009]

My husband and I are beginning the process of looking to buy our first home. We are currently renting a condo near Westheimer and the Beltway. We recently had a baby, so buying a home that is zoned to good schools is important, in case we cannot afford private school tuition and for resale value later. We would like to stay in Houston proper, as we are not ready to move to "the burbs" quite yet. I love trees and would like an older/established neighborhood.

One neighborhood we are looking at is Nottingham West. There are several homes (right now) that are priced in our range there. We have driven through the neighborhood and I have noticed several "tear-downs" with new construction, so I am thinking that this might be a good sign? I am concerned with Kimberley (one of the streets in the neighborhood), as it is a "thru street" to several apartment complexes, condo complexes. However, I am SO not judging the apartments, condos, and the peeps that live in them, as we are currently living in a condo and are nice people! =)

Another neighborhood we are looking at is Thornwood (the SBISD side). It is pretty close to Stratford HS and has (right now) some reasonably priced homes on HAR.

We also found a home near Beltway 8 and West Rd.(in Willowlake) for a great price, but I was so disappointed to find that the particular elementary school that the home is zoned to, was not good (REALLY not good). The house is in Cy-Fair Schools. Usually, Cy-Fair is a good district, but I guess there are pockets that are not so good.

Any advice you have would be great. I am SO not trying to be unrealistic, as this is my first home. I just want to make a good decision on this big, important purchase, that we can live in for several years. Oh, and I am open to other areas/subdivisions, besides the above. Thanks! =)

[westres1]

Nottingham is a great neighborhood with lots of kids and active families. You cant go wrong in Nottingham and even if you are near Kimberley now you can stair step up to a better street in a few years. The neighborhood will continue to increase in value IMO.

[LizzySWW]

Nottingham and Nottingham West are completely different neighborhoods. Nottingham is East of Kirkwood, the middle school is Memorial and prices generally start in the mid 400's. Nottingham West is West of Kirkwood, the middle school is Spring Forest and prices start at 275K- 325K.
I think the OP is asking about Nottingham West. It's where lots of tear downs are goinig on. The prices on Kimberly are always priced lower becasue it's a thru street to the apts. There's much more traffic because of this so you wouldn't want to be there with kiddo's playing outside. There have been more petty crimes that are directly related to residents of the apts. You can go to their HOA website for this information.
I agree about not buying the 1st you mention because the schools are really bad over there. Thornwood is a little nicer and you are getting a bigger home for the $ than Nottingham West. But there's a catch, the school isn't so great in Thornwood. The Elem school in Nottingham West is Wilchester & that's the big draw of the NW neighborhood. Then people generally sell before kids go to middle school because the middle school (SFM) isn't very good.
Do you have the school comps for Wilchester Elem vs. Thornwood? If not, look on Har.com.
The only way to get into a great elem, middle and high combination is to buy in Wilchester or any neighborhood East of that and prices are generally starting in the 500's.

[westres1]

I have a friend with her kids at Sf middle and they love it

[sevfiv]

Memorial Bend! But original homes only...

I think they're zoned to Rummel Creek Elementary, Memorial Middle, and Memorial High..

[houstongirl2009]

sevfiv, I wish we could afford Memorial Bend, but it is out of our price range. LizzySWW, thanks for your great info.! I wish my hubby and I could afford Wilchester (neighborhood), but alas... maybe someday! Since the prices are a little more affordable right now, we were hoping to buy in Nottingham West or Thornwood, just to get our foot in the door in a good area of SBISD that we can afford (vs. an area of SBISD that is not zoned to Stratford, etc.). I like Nottingham West because of the elementary school it is zoned to. I compared the elementary school that Nottingham West is zoned to (Wilchester Elem.), to the elementary that Thornwood is zoned to (Nottingham Elem., I think). They are REALLY different as far as stats go. But, as you said, there is some petty crime in Nottingham West with the apartments. The good news is that I don't need or want a big house right now. I really like the sizes of the Nottingham West homes and the fact that they are (usually) one story. I am SO torn! LizzySWW, do you think that Nottingham West is getting better? I guess at least with Nottingham West, you get Wilchester Elementary, which is Exemplary, but then Spring Forest Middle School, which is Recognized. In a perfect world, we could buy in Nottingham West now, and then move to Nottingham or further east, before my child is in middle school. However, you never know what life will bring. I know people that bought homes in certain areas with intentions to move after a few years and are still in the houses 15 years later. There is so much to consider!

[LizzySWW]

Nottingham West is constantly going up in cost, with the expensive new homes going up everyewhere. A few years ago you could pay 225K on a the best streets in Nottingham West now these houses are going for 350-375 and selling in a few hours time because it's the most affordable neighborhood in an exemplary Memorial area school. Honestly, the apts that back up to NW & the street (Kimberly) that cut through are a bit of a concern. You just have to be so careful about which streets you buy in there. Spring Forest Middle School is rated lower because it is where the apt kids go. (I know some parents who like SFM because their kids shine academically there.) So at SFM demographics go down, free lunches go up and academics take a back seat to discipline problems. You'll see a much better profile at Memorial Middle but you will probably be able to move "up" to Nottingham (zoned to MMS) by that time...you have twelve years until middle school if you have a baby now.

[sablank]

Have you looked in Briar Village - the corner of Westheimer and Highway 6? Its a nice, family-friendly, established community with trees. Its very convenient to I-10 as well as Beltway 8. You might try driving through it and if you're interested, email me. They are older homes, built in the 70s. We are in the processing of renting our home there but would also be amenable to selling it, but only at the right price. Don't know what price range you are looking at but I think most of the ones in this neighborhood are selling for $150-220K. Ours is a 3-2.5-2, 2-story, with a large pool, landscaping; 2531 sf.

[smmattis]

Originally Posted by LizzySWW

Nottingham and Nottingham West are completely different neighborhoods. Nottingham is East of Kirkwood, the middle school is Memorial and prices generally start in the mid 400's. Nottingham West is West of Kirkwood, the middle school is Spring Forest and prices start at 275K- 325K.
I think the OP is asking about Nottingham West. It's where lots of tear downs are goinig on. The prices on Kimberly are always priced lower becasue it's a thru street to the apts. There's much more traffic because of this so you wouldn't want to be there with kiddo's playing outside. There have been more petty crimes that are directly related to residents of the apts. You can go to their HOA website for this information.
I agree about not buying the 1st you mention because the schools are really bad over there. Thornwood is a little nicer and you are getting a bigger home for the $ than Nottingham West. But there's a catch, the school isn't so great in Thornwood. The Elem school in Nottingham West is Wilchester & that's the big draw of the NW neighborhood. Then people generally sell before kids go to middle school because the middle school (SFM) isn't very good.
Do you have the school comps for Wilchester Elem vs. Thornwood? If not, look on Har.com.
The only way to get into a great elem, middle and high combination is to buy in Wilchester or any neighborhood East of that and prices are generally starting in the 500's.

Correction for LizzySWW post: The north 1/2 of Nottingham West is zoned to Memorial Middle & the Southern 1/2 is zoned to Spring Forest. I believe the cut off is 1 strett north of Kimberley. Many kids end up splitting at Middle School because of this problem. The association has been working on re-zoning to Memorial Middle for many years now.

[smmattis]

Woodthorpe Ln in Nottingham West has its 1st sold new build. It is the largest lot & build in the neighborhood. We moved in 3 1/2 years ago & since 4 more families with young children have moved in since. The neighborhood is definitely a fantastic investment.