Is it possible to be near Austin for about $250k?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Robb44

Hi.. My wife and I would ideally like to live close to the city, but not in all the traffic. Here is what we are looking for:

- a property with a max of about $250k
- some elbow room (maybe up to 1/2 acre lot)
- we DO NOT MIND driving into Austin from 15 to 20 minutes outside the city in any direction
- somewhere family friendly
- a community that is not isolated, but not in the hustle-bustle of the city

Coming from the west coast, where lot sizes can be 0.2 acres, and smaller, we really want some space on the next place we live. It does not matter where around Austin this will be, as the quality of the place is higher importance than the traffic at this point in our lives. Can you help us with some suggestions? Thanks

The hardest part of your request will be the 1/2 acre lot, but otherwise there are lots of places inside the Austin city limits and immediatly adjacent to the City that meet those requirements.

Take a look at Legend Oaks and Village of Western Oaks in SW Austin.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by Robb44

It does not matter where around Austin this will be, as the quality of the place is higher importance than the traffic at this point in our lives.

Very quickly, traffic will rule your life if you aren't working from home. We had a 3,000 sq ft house on 3/4 acre and sold it a few months ago. It was just about 14 miles from my job off Mopac and 17 to my wife's job downtown. Except for 2 months in the summer, each commute would be over an hour regularly in the morning. My wife sometimes would often get home 2 hours later if she left work at 5pm.

Yard work was 3 - 4 hours a week, 9 months a year.

Every errand became a chore. Nothing was within a 15 minute drive.

Fast forward and we moved to Allandale. Small lot, 1,950 sq ft house. We absolutely love it. Nothing is more than 10 minutes away. Our commutes are 15 minutes in rush hour. Everyone's mental health improved greatly by ridding ourselves of the traffic grind.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

Very quickly, traffic will rule your life if you aren't working from home. We had a 3,000 sq ft house on 3/4 acre and sold it a few months ago. It was just about 14 miles from my job off Mopac and 17 to my wife's job downtown. Except for 2 months in the summer, each commute would be over an hour regularly in the morning. My wife sometimes would often get home 2 hours later if she left work at 5pm.

Yard work was 3 - 4 hours a week, 9 months a year.

Every errand became a chore. Nothing was within a 15 minute drive.

Fast forward and we moved to Allandale. Small lot, 1,950 sq ft house. We absolutely love it. Nothing is more than 10 minutes away. Our commutes are 15 minutes in rush hour. Everyone's mental health improved greatly by ridding ourselves of the traffic grind.

Ok, that is nice and all, but please note that the OP stated that he was looking to spend at most $250K. I don't think that there are any central places that are in his price range. Also, having a larger lot is important to him.

If the OP chooses carefully, he shouldn't have to spend so much time driving to amenities. I don't live in Allandale, but major shopping and amenities are a mere 2 minutes away. I can actually walk to the grocery store, and bike to the shopping center. Commute isn't that bad either... I no longer drive into downtown courtesy of Metrorail.

[TexasHorseLady]

Also, if you're following the OP on other threads, he will be driving in to work a couple of times a week.

[Spike8080]

250k anywhere close to downtown? No
250k in Austin means lots of traffic and if you plan on going downtown and its not going to get better.
I live just east of I-35 and my commute time downtown has tripled in the last eight years.
I have sat in traffic for an hour in downtown Austin (not the interstate or Mopac) during rush hour which (rush hour) seems to be getting longer and longer every day.

Not trying to be a downer just know that I would want an honest opinion if I was asking.

If you will be going downtown more than twice a week then I would try to spend more and live closer or greatly lower the size of home and land you are looking for.

If not then look at the burbs, RR, P-ville etc.

[Robb44]

I want to thank everyone sincerely for their replies and thoughts. Over the last couple weeks, it appears more and more that the New Braunfels area is looking to be the place that offers us the best quality area for what we are looking for. The fact that I would not have to drive into Austin but once every week or so definitely factors into this. Property down in NB definitely cheaper and also near the I10 for when I need to jump on the road and head to MD Anderson. Thanks for all who replied!

Rob

[centralaustinite]

If NB meets your needs, and I like it very much, you should also look at Smithville. Drive into Austin would be about the same as NB and you would be significantly closer to Houston. Land and housing is cheap compared to Austin, also look at Bastrop and Elgin.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Robb44

I want to thank everyone sincerely for their replies and thoughts. Over the last couple weeks, it appears more and more that the New Braunfels area is looking to be the place that offers us the best quality area for what we are looking for. The fact that I would not have to drive into Austin but once every week or so definitely factors into this. Property down in NB definitely cheaper and also near the I10 for when I need to jump on the road and head to MD Anderson. Thanks for all who replied!

Rob

This is a perfect example of what Realtors already know. Buyers start with a set of stated criteria and end up with something completely different. Nothing wrong with that. It's a process. But it still cracks me up every time I see it play out. "We want to be close in for sure. What About New Braunsfels?"

To the OP, I'd make sure you have help from an agent very familiar with NB. You get out that far and exposure yourself to the "don't know what you don't know" risks. Make sure you either educate yourself completely or have help from a knowledgeable local.

I'd ask:
Where are the good schools? (that's where you find "family friendly")
Where are the traffic problems.
Which direction are home prices heading and why?
Where does it flood?
What are the utility options and avg consumption costs?
What are the property tax rates?
Etc, etc, etc.

That's kind of the good thing about "cookie cutter" areas like Circle C and SW Austin. You pretty much know the deal going in. Other than a school boundary change, no real surprises await. Not so in rural and/or outskirt areas.

Good luck!

Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

Robb44, I have lifelong friends who used to live in the New Braunfels area (Canyon Lake, actually, but she worked at the library in New Braunfels) and loved it before they sold their property down there and moved to the family farm she inherited in North Texas. It's not Austin by any stretch of the imagination, and it's quite a commute, but certainly less of one than California to MD Anderson! If you have any particular questions about the area, let me know and I'll ask them. Before that, they lived in San Antonio, so they (and my son, who lives in north San Antonio) would be resources for you for information on that, as well, as that would be more likely than Austin to be where you'd go for city lights and resources.

[Tralfaz]

Originally Posted by Dog_Gone

Taxes are not any less expensive in Bastrop Co.

Yes they are, in aggregate. Bastrop doesn't have all the little MUDs, college, hospital, etc. districts that add up in CoA. Let alone non-optional HOAs! I know folks whose total rate all-in exceeds 3%, whereas mine is in the 2.08% range last time I looked.

Forty-five minutes under optimal conditions. The window for optimal conditions is getting smaller and smaller these days.

Mine is about 35m for 25mi on 71, but I do leave before the crack of dawn. Home thru the airport and toll-road interchange sucks hard, but after that traffic flows pretty free.

If NB meets your needs, and I like it very much, you should also look at Smithville. Drive into Austin would be about the same as NB and you would be significantly closer to Houston. Land and housing is cheap compared to Austin, also look at Bastrop and Elgin.

Indeed. Also, NB is subject to I-35, which can (and often does) really suck the life out of you. Jes' sayin.