Leander / Cedar Park - Moving later 2015 (Austin, Midland: real estate market, rent, homeowners insurance)

[MI2TX2015]

I've been asking different questions in another post, maybe I should get more comfortable with knowing the community before even looking for a house.

We've lived in the City, as well as the Country. Would like to be able to live in a safe area, with the ability to do some gardening and landscaping around the house. (love my rose bushes, shrubs, as well as a place for my bird feeders and the like.

We are quiet people, family of 5. No small children, no pets, non smokers, and professional business family. We are looking to relocate after I finish with college (though I hope later to continue on towards another degree), I have 4 sons, but 2 still at home who will be going to college, so there isn't a need for a school district.

We are hoping to find a place with 4-5 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, with a fireplace, patio, 2 car garage, and hopefully not so close to the neighbors that I find myself waving while taking a shower (if you get what I mean). I don't know what type of internet you have there, but looking for high speed as we have here.

The bedrooms need to be large enough for being tall. My 2 sons who are moving with us are 6'1' and 6'2". Looking for a nice size kitchen (rather avoiding the galley kitchens because they are too small for the size family we have), and also want a laundry room.

We don't need new, just need to make sure the house is up to code. Central Air, City Water, City Sewage, and if it has a pool, must be in ground.

We are starting with the price at $160,000 a month for a range to start at. IF the house was RENT with option to BUY, MAY consider that option. I am only putting out feelers at this time. We plan on flying down after I finish college after April 2015 to have a look around the different areas. My husband's commute is 35-Palmer from what I understand.

I've sold my house in Midland, Michigan for $78,000 in the city in the historical district, then had a home that was a quad-level we had purchased for $150,000 when we moved to where we are now. I know many of us were hit by the effects of AIG / Katrina and the Banking situation (yes, we felt it all the way up to Michigan as well). We wish to make this our permanent home and finally find a place to call HOME.

I hope that helps? His co-workers live in Cedar Park, so it seems not so much of a hike from there to commute to work.

Dee

[centralaustinite]

The co-workers are nuts! Much more bang for your buck and a MUCH shorter commute if you look east of I35. Hutto, Pflugerville, etc.

It will be difficult to find something that isn't with the typical 10 feet between houses. But finding good-sized bedrooms shouldn't be hard.

I wouldn't work too hard on finding something until you can come down and take a lok for yourself. Spend your time finding a good realtor and/or explore what relo resources GM has.

[MI2TX2015]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

The co-workers are nuts! Much more bang for your buck and a MUCH shorter commute if you look east of I35. Hutto, Pflugerville, etc.

It will be difficult to find something that isn't with the typical 10 feet between houses. But finding good-sized bedrooms shouldn't be hard.

I wouldn't work too hard on finding something until you can come down and take a lok for yourself. Spend your time finding a good realtor and/or explore what relo resources GM has.

I spoke to one lady who is very nice. I stumbled across this website so figured I would try asking around what others who have had to move or live there thought though. Never hurts. Our last move was in 2006 and though this was a little bit of a surprise (good in many ways), still nervous about it.

[JT-3]

I think you need a good Realtor to start. Call a few, some are on this forum.

And get pre-qualified as well, the property taxes are going to hit that $160k making things even tighter...

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by JT-3

I think you need a good Realtor to start. Call a few, some are on this forum.

And get pre-qualified as well, the property taxes are going to hit that $160k making things even tighter...

Yup. We haven't even mentioned the topic of property taxes in her other thread. That's going to be a rude awakening too.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by MI2TX2015

I know many of us were hit by the effects of AIG / Katrina and the Banking situation (yes, we felt it all the way up to Michigan as well).

Actually, the Austin area was barely affected by the above. There was only a slight slow down in the real estate market, but almost everything else remained economically steady in Austin (and most of Texas) while the rest of the nation in places like Michigan were hit hard.

With that said, honestly, Cedar Park is out of your price range for what you want. Parts of Leander are borderline, but are probably out of your price range as well and it would be a substantial commute to Parmer/I35 (but not a big deal for some people that don't mind driving as you don't have to deal with any Michigan type winter weather). As others have stated, property taxes and homeowners insurance alone on a $180K home will run you at least $400 per month on top of your mortgage (figure around 2.4% to 2.7% for property taxes alone in the areas that you're considering).

You'll probably have much better luck looking at places like Hutto, Manor, and Elgin. Really, for the house that you need, a $220K budget is really what's needed right now since the real estate market in the Austin area is still a seller's market. The problem that you are going to see is that your price range to buy is very low for the Austin area right now in regards to what you're looking for. Austin is not an inexpensive city to relocate to unless you're coming from one of the more expensive coastal cities.

Have you looked at www.austinhomesearch.com yet? That is the public facing website for the MLS in the Austin area. This will give you a good idea of what homes that are currently on the market look like.

[RoadWarrior12]

Given the criteria, (5BR, decent size lot, not 5' setbacks, $160K budget, north side) there are currently zero properties that match.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by mark311

Actually, the Austin area was barely affected by the above. There was only a slight slow down in the real estate market, but almost everything else remained economically steady in Austin (and most of Texas) while the rest of the nation in places like Michigan were hit hard.

With that said, honestly, Cedar Park is out of your price range for what you want. Parts of Leander are borderline, but are probably out of your price range as well and it would be a substantial commute to Parmer/I35 (but not a big deal for some people that don't mind driving as you don't have to deal with any Michigan type winter weather). As others have stated, property taxes and homeowners insurance alone on a $180K home will run you at least $400 per month on top of your mortgage (figure around 2.4% to 2.7% for property taxes alone in the areas that you're considering).

You'll probably have much better luck looking at places like Hutto, Manor, and Elgin. Really, for the house that you need, a $220K budget is really what's needed right now since the real estate market in the Austin area is still a seller's market. The problem that you are going to see is that your price range to buy is very low for the Austin area right now in regards to what you're looking for. Austin is not an inexpensive city to relocate to unless you're coming from one of the more expensive coastal cities.

Have you looked at www.austinhomesearch.com yet? That is the public facing website for the MLS in the Austin area. This will give you a good idea of what homes that are currently on the market look like.

I agree with every single thing that Mark mentions.

I'm thinking that even Hutto is out of the OP's size AND price point. Maybe Manor/Elgin is the answer? (especially given hubby's work location)....or a higher budget. & who knows what the market will be like in summer of 2015?

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by hound 109

I agree with every single thing that Mark mentions.

I'm thinking that even Hutto is out of the OP's size AND price point. Maybe Manor/Elgin is the answer? (especially given hubby's work location)....or a higher budget. & who knows what the market will be like in summer of 2015?

Yup. I think it's sometimes difficult for those who lived here through the hard economics times experienced by most of the rest of the country to really see how much better we were doing.

The OP currently has three threads going now. It's very hard to keep up with her questions.