2 Gypsy's moving from soggy Portland Oregon to Austin (Round Rock, Cedar Park: for sale, real estate)

[2 Gypsy's]

Hi, Our friends and family call us Gypsy's because we can't seem to find a state we want to stay. So far we lived in Boston (snow) Florida (hurricane's & too many retirees) Hawaii (I know you guys think we are crazy but you DO GET ISLAND FEVER & real estate is out of site, $700,000 for an average home) and Oregon(where we are now) (Endless RAIN !!!.)
We were in Austin this June and just fell in love with the city and the north west burbs. We think we will put the covered wagon up for sale soon.
I am a tile contractor/remodeler and my wife is a massage therapist and are looking for a home in the north west burbs. It seems there is a lot of work for me but my wife was wondering where the best area would be for her to set up shop? Had a injury that kept me from working for a year and a half so in a nut shell now have unfinanceable credit BUT we have a good chunk of change to put down (sold a lot of that cure-all elixir from the back of the wagon).We are looking for a home under $200,000(downsizing)
So back to the nut shell, Has anyone done a owner financed purchase?? Is it good bad or what?
We have been looking on line in Anderson Mill, Cedar park & Round Rock.
Does any one have any comments good or bad) on these areas.
We are both 50( grown children) We do like being close to the city but can't really afford those city prices.
Are there other areas we should look at? We are not old fogies so no nursing homes yet !
Thanks for any input.

[achtungpv]

You may want to check and see if you can live on the rates tiles guys make here. Most of the work is done by immigrant labor and it keeps the price down lower than other places. This is even true if you do contract work for Home Depot and Lowe's. For example, the guy that installed my carpet from HD was from Mexico (legal), his two helpers were illegal. From what he told me HD keeps 1/3 of the install fee and the installer gets 2/3. Of the $600 install fee that was not a lot of $ to split between 3 guys that spent 8 hours installing my carpet.

[2 Gypsy's]

Thanks for the response and info on tile guys.The same sitaution was in Florida & here too in Oregon with low pay for the average tile guy due to the availability of cheap labor.It hasn't affected me as I do a high end specialized tile process in which I create tile murals.It's pretty cool.I also do custom marble and full kitchen & bath remodels.I've flipped houses the past 5 years.A couple in Florida & Oregon too.
I'm more curious about the areas we should look to relocate too. Any suggestions regarding Anderson Mill, Cedar Park, Round Rock?? Other areas we should consider?What do you think of Buda?? We looked at some new homes built by Mercedes homes. just wasn't sure about that area?I'm also considering another fixer-upper in an older established neighborhood.

Thanks

[ohio2texas]

We love Cedar Park. We bought our 2,000 square foot home for just under 200K a year ago. CP is close to shopping, restaurants, and a big plus for me, the new toll road. Probably the worst thing about the area is the traffic. Getting downtown can be lousy, but if you accept that there's traffic, you'll be fine.

Good Luck!

[2 Gypsy's]

Hi, Thanks for the infomation. Does Cedar Park have a down town? and what do you think the population is. Still hoping someone out there did a owner financed deal. It sounds like a win win for BOTH buyer and seller.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by 2 Gypsy's

What do you think of Buda??

I live west of Buda and like it a lot. You will have to drive into Austin for any decent restaurants though or shopping beyond HEB & WalMart.

[another_hot-day]

I love the Anderson Mill area. You're close to everything and still have that down home kinda feel.

[2 Gypsy's]

just curious if anyone can tell us what an average property insurance would be on a $170,000 house, 1800 sq ft in Austin? And what is the sales tax there?
Also what an average water bill & electric bill is for a family of two?

[2 Gypsy's]

Is anyone familar with the area of hwy 620 & FM 2222.We are looking at an apartment complex to rent for a year while looking for a home.It's the Sonterra Apartment Homes.How is the traffic coming from that area into Austin? We have visited the property this past June and liked the area but of course it was just a visit.Not sure what the area is like to live?

Thanks

[love roses]

Cedar Park doesn't have a downtown. Leander, however, does (If you are referring to small, old time, cute downtowns)