new to austin - looking to buy a house - need advice. (Georgetown: renting, HOA)

[ephi144]

hello and thank you for reading this post and hopefully helping me

I have 1 kid that is 9 months old. i have just moved from North East and so far love Austin.
I am renting and am looking for descent house (3200+ sq ft - up to 4300 sq ft).
I can afford roughly 400 to 450k house with ease. I work on Cameron road off of 183 (the intersection of 183 and I 35). commute wise i am fine with 25-30 mins.
i am looking for good amenities (trails, swimming pool, other activities for family and my kid).

i have looked at the following areas.

1. Canyon creek - great schools (westwood, etc.), lower taxes (2.4 - 2.6%). backyards were smaller for me. however, it does have good amenities (trails, parks, etc.).
2. i love some of the houses we saw in Twin creek; however, the higher taxes, cedar park schools, and a bit longer commute is wanting me to ask question regarding its desirability in longer term (from resale prospective).

3. i wonder the distance between canyon creek and steiner ranch to my work but i think the taxes are different. i also believe stiner ranch has higher taxes as well as traffic issues. i am not sure of home appreciation, etc.

4. avery ranch and brushy creek are fair in price and distance; however, i am afraid of new communities being built and its effect on the house prices and shcools.

questions:
1. are there other communities that i am missing that are just as nice as twin or canyon creek?
2. since my kid won t attending schools for a 3 some years; how should i approach buying a house as the taxes i pay don't really benefit me as much. so i have to hope for home appreciation.
3. what are some of the costs should be worried about(hoa, amenities fees, taxes, higher water and electric bills are some that comes to mind).
4. since i am from NYC, everything is wish i could afford, so what all comes to mind when i ask "whats a must have" and "whats nice to have" for you all. i am asking this is because i am not familiar with what all is available (please forgive the stupid).
thanks

[10scoachrick]

This won't answer your questions; but, I wonder if you REALLY want 4000sq ft and $450K(along with the $10K per year taxes)? In reading your post, I only count two people(?). None of my business, but many posters will recommend smaller, less expensive and closer to work as the best place to start. You're talking about a few areas that require a bit more commuting than many would recommend.That 18 miles from the middle of Steiner to your work area won't be the 30 minutes you see on Google(unless you commute on Sunday @ 6AM ).

The schools will change a bit by the time yours is ready to go. For the life of me, I can't see any of the areas you mentioned significantly appreciating in value UNLESS you find a bargain(and that's not real appreciation as much as it is a deal on the front end).

We have some experts on the board...I'm sure they will chime in. I'll be interested to see their recs.

Best of luck!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

This won't answer your questions; but, I wonder if you REALLY want 4000sq ft and $450K(along with the $10K per year taxes)?

Stole the words right out of my mouth... errrrr... fingers.

Big houses are not only more to pay taxes on, they're more to maintain, more to clean, more to air-condition, more to fill up with stuff you don't really need, and that all needs to be dusted.

I know a lot of people in Texas. I can hardly think of a one who needs a bigger house, but I can think of many who need a smaller house. And in some cases they need it desperately, because their current house owns them.

Right after WWII there were a lot of houses built for returning GIs that ran just about 1,000 sq ft. Living, dining, kitchen, pantry, utility room, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. And that was fine for a child, even two. That was kind of the standard for a lot of small families. Cruise around the Cherrywood and French Place neighborhoods today and you can still see a lot of them, in one of the most delightful areas close in to the core city. Others have additions now, another bedroom, another bathroom... and then folks headed out to the suburbs, where they could get bigger houses, and bigger, and bigger.

And that was before house sizes went crazy, and McMansions became a recognized style, and the cheap financing boom allowed people to buy far more than they really needed. But finally some people are coming to their senses, and there is beginning to be a movement back towards smaller houses because they are less work to keep up, and less expensive, and more responsible ecologically, etc. etc.

I'd urge you to take a look at what you really need and plan from there, rather than just reaching for the biggest and most expensive thing you can possibly qualify for.

[Komeht]

Agreed. I see absolutely no reason a family of four would need a place bigger than 2000sf. 2 people sharing 4300 sf strikes me as wasteful.

[JohninAustin]

Even if you can afford 400k-450k and a 4000+ sq ft house I wouldn't do it. If you are going to spend that kind of money you might as well live in central Austin. As mentioned before don't forget that property taxes are high, as well as utility bills to cool down a large house.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Agreed. I see absolutely no reason a family of four would need a place bigger than 2000sf. 2 people sharing 4300 sf strikes me as wasteful.

Thankfully you don't get to decide what people choose to buy for their home.

4300 sf for two people seems pretty crazy to me, but 2000 sf for four is cozier than what I like.

[ephi144]

thank you...thats what i was hoping for...after living in NYC seeing more space to run around is making us go nuts .

i will opt for 300-350k house and roughly 3000 sq/ft (in laws and parents will visit at least 2 times a year).

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by ephi144

thank you...thats what i was hoping for...after living in NYC seeing more space to run around is making us go nuts .

i will opt for 300-350k house and roughly 3000 sq/ft (in laws and parents will visit at least 2 times a year).

We were looking in that range 4.5 years ago and didn't find many homes in that 'sweetspot' (we eliminated quite a few by 'needing' a three-car garage). We ended up going larger, but could easily do without one bedroom and the 'media/game' room. I reckon the pervasive 'media/game' room has added 3-400 sq ft to many homes that would otherwise be 'normal' sized.

I 'hope' the new construction over the past 4 years has addressed the 'upsizing' trend and perhaps has moderated somewhat.

This is a huge generalization, but our search came up with MANY homes of the 'smaller' size being occupied by TOO many people and vehicles, necessitating street parking or pick-up trucks parked with their beds extended over the sidewalk. Driving through areas of 2500-3000 sq ft homes priced +- $300K was like driving through a used car lot(not to mention dodging the ubiquitous portable basketball goal(s) on every block). It was a big factor in our decision to 'go larger' and I'm glad we did; however, things may have changed and I would surely be shopping carefully if looking now.(HOAs CAN be worthwhile, IMO)

Hopefully, new developments such as Highland Horizon, Pearson Place and new construction at Avery Ranch and similar areas will take into account the folks who don't 'need' a huge house, but still want quality and energy efficiency(and space to park vehicles ). The lure of a larger space can be intoxicating ...I know. We went from a 1500 sqft 'rancher' from the fifties to a new home over twice the size. Makes it nice when multiple guests arrive, but the 'fixed' costs can sure mount up(cooling, taxes, cleaning, etc). It WOULD be interesting to be shopping now(NOT that I want to move again ) .

I'll be interested to find out the 'particulars' on where you end up looking/buying.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by ephi144

thank you...thats what i was hoping for...after living in NYC seeing more space to run around is making us go nuts .

i will opt for 300-350k house and roughly 3000 sq/ft (in laws and parents will visit at least 2 times a year).

If you dont mind 400-450 for a 3000 sq ft house, you can look at great hills. Some areas of great hills (along yaupon) feed into westwood. The other areas feed into AISD. The commute to 290/183 wont be bad.

There are areas along dk-ranch/texas plume/yucca that dont have an HOA but also feed into laurel mountain/canyon vista/westwood. The houses are older, but they have large lots. Once you go across spicewood springs there is a huge area that feeds into canyon vista middle and westwood. Around the oak knoll area the houses are smaller, 2500 sq ft, older but less expensive. They feed into cathy caraway elementary.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by ephi144

thank you...thats what i was hoping for...after living in NYC seeing more space to run around is making us go nuts .

i will opt for 300-350k house and roughly 3000 sq/ft (in laws and parents will visit at least 2 times a year).

I'd stay as close to IH35/45 as reasonably possible, in MLS area RRW. I wouldn't go up to Canyon Creek/Steiner for a daily commute to 183/290. It will grind on you. If I was going to go that far, I'd check out Georgetown first. Some will also recommend Pflugerville, which would be a very close, easy commute for you.

Good luck.