$165k or less - where to go? (Austin, Round Rock: rental homes, mortgage)

[jco]

Because we aren't taking the equity out of the house we'll be renting, we have to keep our new mortgage under $165k. Where should we go if we care about: getting 1,800+ square feet, great schools, within 30 minutes of downtown in traffic, safe area, don't mind fixing up a house a bit, still feels like you live in civilization. We love the feel of the city, but safety and great schools are more important to us than that.

[HappyTexan]

I would suggest you look in Pflugerville. It's probably a bit more than 30 minutes to downtown Austin..I'd say 45 or so.

Resales in the older subdivisions are about that price level. Look in austinhomesearch.com with your criteria. By older subdivisions I mean the homes were build mid-80's through mid-90's.

PISD has good schools, suburbs but not too far out and it's pretty safe.

[gigi927]

You might try the Anderson Mill neighborhood north of town. It's got great access to 183. There are great parks, shopping, etc. nearby. The homes are older (mostly built in 80s and 90s) but definitely within your budget. Search 78750 zip code and homes in Anderson Mill will turn up. Good luck!

[texasgirl1]

I would look into the Milwood area...zip code 78729

[Trainwreck20]

I think that might be pushing it for Millwood these days...I sold my 1500 sf house in Champions Crossing (across the tracks from Millwood) for 169k last year. The house was ON the tracks and was probably one of the cheapest in the neighborhood. I am not sure about Millwood specifically, but the locations are almost identical and the age of the homes are the same. You might find a fixer upper in that meets your criteria, but many of those have been rental homes for many years and it takes a toll.

On the other hand, I get the impression that that is the range of the market that will be hurting the most. Prices might be coming down on them (I haven't checked) and the location is great. I loved my house and had easy access to downtown.

Btw, quite a bit of Millwood is in 78727. I just did a quick search, and there may be one or two that are ~170k asking. Angus Valley is the area I was in (although everyone I knew called it Champions Crossing because that is what the nearest neighborhood sign said ). Mind you, these are all late 70s/early 80s houses. Schools are very good for AISD (Davis/Summit Elementary, Murchison JH, Anderson HS, I think).

[jenkirk]

If you work South of the river, I would suggest Meadows at Buda. The schools are great -- Buda Elementary, Dahlstrom Middle, and Hays High. Also you can get a new spec home in that price range.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by jenkirk

If you work South of the river, I would suggest Meadows at Buda. The schools are great -- Buda Elementary, Dahlstrom Middle, and Hays High. Also you can get a new spec home in that price range.

You'd have to deal with the constant screaming 20MPH wind that blows through the I-35 corridor though. It's insane how windy it is there.

[texastea]

These are all good suggestions...Northwest Austin is a good choice, IF you can find something in that price range that hasn't been a rental for years.

Here's another idea that meets all your criteria (very safe, great schools) except for the drive to downtown during rush hour. But the house is a couple of minutes from the toll and the commute is getting shorter as more of the toll opens up (its under 45 min now). The bonus is that the house is Scott Felder built...

Listing Details (http://www.austinhomesearch.com/Search/Details.aspx?li=57672&or=1&cp=1 - broken link)

[GregJD]

I second the suggestion of the Leander/Cedar Park area. Good school district and the toll road has really helped with the commute. There are a lot of areas out there to choose from. And Austin is growing that way, with the center of Austin now being the Arboretum area.

Have you talked with a mortgage professional yet and gotten pre-approved? You might be surprised to find that you would be able to afford more than that. I see that happen quite a bit - course it happens other way around sometimes too.

[mark311]

I agree with the other posters that you will probably need to sacrifice something out of that list and the 30 minute commute to downtown would be the easiest. You just need to check out some of the suburbs North or South of Austin proper.

I'm sure that the toll road has helped with the commute downtown from Leander, but it's still not a breeze. There is still a ton of traffic from downtown up to McNeil/Spicewood Springs before the toll road begins in the afternoons. I take that way occasionally to go to Costco on the way home from downtown and sometimes I feel that I hit more traffic going North on 183 between I-35 and Braker than I do on my normal I-35 commute to Northwest Round Rock. They really needed to extend the toll road further South closer to downtown.