Visited San Antonio lots of questions (Schertz, Bulverde: rentals, house prices, neighborhoods)

[alwayssanantonio]

Be aware that at times there can be bad ground which may cause problems in the soils east of the City. Notice. If the streets inside the subdivision have a lot of cracks in them the house foundations may also develop cracks. This problem is not uncommon east of the city. It depends on if the soils underneath the foundation were well prepared ...excavated, or not. Buyer beware. It can be worse.
A few years back an entire 30' embankment of clay soils bulged and so an entire row of houses fell into the drink on account of a retaining wall failure. Down the cliff. I remember an air conditioning unit hanging straight down from its' electrical wire connection on the back of one house. There was T.V. video coverage of the houses ever so slowly slipping down the embankment all over the local news of course.
This is not a joke. I would not buy out that way myself.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by alwayssanantonio

Be aware that at times there can be bad ground which may cause problems in the soils east of the City. Notice. If the streets inside the subdivision have a lot of cracks in them the house foundations may also develop cracks. This problem is not uncommon east of the city. It depends on if the soils underneath the foundation were well prepared ...excavated, or not. Buyer beware. It can be worse.
A few years back an entire 30' embankment of clay soils bulged and so an entire row of houses fell into the drink on account of a retaining wall failure. Down the cliff. I remember an air conditioning unit hanging straight down from its' electrical wire connection on the back of one house. There was T.V. video coverage of the houses ever so slowly slipping down the embankment all over the local news of course.
This is not a joke. I would not buy out that way myself.

That didn't happen on the east side or did it?

[txtea]

Originally Posted by Azure110

That didn't happen on the east side or did it?

Nope. That was in the Rivermist subdivision over here by Brandeis High School.
That failure was due to stupidity and poor planning, not so much unstable soil.

[alwayssanantonio]

Nah. It was soil failure that the soils inspector should have been more diligent about inspecting during the earth moving operations of the Excavating contractor. This caused the failure. Residential work is often done sloppily and little attention is paid to construction in comparison to a commercial or Govt operation where higher standards must be adhered to. Contractors get away with a lot in residential excavation. In detail.
The retention wall was probably subcontracted out and the wall itself was the primary focus of the subcontractor. Perhaps the soil behind the wall was not compacted at all or inadequately. Perhaps merely the soil next to the wall was not compacted but merely back filled without compaction in which case the clay was like a sponge and little by little the soils loosened and swelled. Insufficient compaction or incomplete compaction. It is difficult to say exactly, without a soils sample. It may have been a clay and silt mixture behind the wall in which case it was doomed from the start because sufficient compaction could never have been achieved.
The soil should have been compacted in lifts as the wall went up- staged. Compacted, only one foot at a time.
Maybe none of the soil was compacted but merely loosely or completely uncompacted. A Caterpillar compactor may not have been used anywhere behind the wall where the houses sat.
It would not have happened at all if a water catchment system with inlets to carry the water away would have been engineered into the wall to funnel the water away from the clay back fill behind the wall. Any, maybe all, of these things all could have caused the expansion of the soil and then- the soils pushed the stone retention wall away and out.
There are many , many variables which could have caused the failure, so to be exact is difficult without looking at a report which was made, after the fact. Layers of unsuitable soil atop each other.
I could go on but these reasons probably have the best chance of being the reason for failure. For every single ton of soil placed behind the retention wall, gravity exerts a great downward force. Along with this great downward force , tons of force are exerted outward against the retention wall. If engineering standards are not applied the worse is what happens. Once the soil became saturated, hydraulic force,
the hydraulic force of liquid expansion, ultimately pushed the wall outward. It is the same principle that is used in hydraulic automotive jacks which can lift a car with a person merely working a lever.
Down went the houses. The soil even was oozing even from beneath the wall like putty so saturated was the clay. It was ridiculous.
Amateurish construction methods. Slipshod and shabby. No oversight.

Anyway, I would not buy a house east of town. Take my word on it. The chances aren't worth the risk.
Residential streets built with substandard methods can fail in as little as one year. At least inspect
closely any house you are looking at and the streets in the subdivision can be a clue.

Originally Posted by txtea

Nope. That was in the Rivermist subdivision over here by Brandeis High School.
That failure was due to stupidity and poor planning, not so much unstable soil.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by txtea

Nope. That was in the Rivermist subdivision over here by Brandeis High School.
That failure was due to stupidity and poor planning, not so much unstable soil.

Yeah that is what I thought. I recall the news reports and the root cause of the wall failure had very little, if anything to do with the soil.

[flashfearless]

Having lived in Stone Oak for 3 years now, I wish I had picked Shavano Park. Best neighborhood in north San Antonio if you can afford it. And with their own police force and they will ticket aggressively.

[flashfearless]

Also, look closely at Stone Oak. The schools and traffic crowding is already insane and there are 5 apartment complexes under construction there. I'm getting out as soon as we retire in 3 years.

[boymom87]

Originally Posted by flashfearless

Having lived in Stone Oak for 3 years now, I wish I had picked Shavano Park. Best neighborhood in north San Antonio if you can afford it. And with their own police force and they will ticket aggressively.

We loved Shavano but unfortunately in our budget under $250k there’s like 3 houses at the top of our budget that need a lot of work. Which is why we were leaning more towards the Cibolo and Schertz area. It’s a safe area with good schools and we can get the space we need. They are definitely other areas that we would love to live in but we simply don’t want to live beyond our means. While we liked stone oak as well there really isn’t anything we can afford that way without again having to put in some work and being at the top of our budget there won’t be much left for updating. With that said does anyone have more insight on Cibolo and Schertz? I know the foundation issues are common there beside that what are thoughts on the area. Seems like a nice place to raise a family.

[StealthRabbit]

Can you consider a bit more rural? (to get the space at a reasonable price).
We have 3 boys ages 7,4,& 2 and need as much room as we can get under $250k.

We have friends outside of Bulverde who really like it (Spring Branch as well.)

PM me if you are interested ... I have a formula on property acquisition that works for me (for last 40 yrs) for our family (with boys). Boys really deserve SPACE and to be busy with their hands (we didn't have a TV, so they learned to care for livestock, and to build furniture / crafts / engines / fishing / hunting / adventures...) They made pretty big bucks on 4H projects and eggs! (we had a u-pick fruit farm, but it was seasonal, so not high revenue) PIGS and chickens pay their own way (quickly!)!.

Basically ... buy acreage with minimal home, but nice view... Build a shop with apartment / loft (bath / laundry / play area (for guys and boys)). Eventually you can build / create a nice home CHEAP (we have done several this way). We have (6) rural hill country homes we have acquired this way...(most were $120k) - Max price under $200k (view house with 3 shops / barns, pond, adjacent 15 acres) ... but would be 1 hr to SAT... tho many would be much closer (Kendalia...)

We homeschooled, and each kid designed (on computer) and got permits and built their own homes (as a family) instead of wasting time in Jr High School. They did college @ age 16 instead of High School. A good use of their time. (I worked night shift for 28+ yrs to avail myself to DW and kids and volunteering as a family) .

Good luck, keep us posted (I LOVE to find bargain properties (no fee!))

38 props bought and sold in my free time (used a realtor 1 time)
I usually find my props BEFORE they are listed for sale (after listed is too late for a decent price).
I have a formula for doing that as well. Very ez. My kids now do it too in their free time (15 yrs beyond college for them.. have not rebelled (yet)).

[houstmom]

Boymom: is your husband going to work at the SA airport? I can't tell if you are looking for acreage or not. If you want to be really close the airport, check out neighborhoods like Hidden Forest (HF) off Bitters. HF is in your price range I believe and there are a few houses for rent in it right now. I think the houses were built in the 70s and early 80s. I would also suggest Churchill Estates but the residents complain of airplane noise and the EL and MS school zoning isn't as good as HF.

Hollywood Park homes have big lots and is very close to the airport but I don't think homes here are in your price range.

I can't stand the traffic in Stone Oak. I take my son to various NEISD schools up there for events and the traffic is awful. The schools are excellent but the area is very cookie cutter IMO.