Single Gal (40'ish) has housing/land questions (Austin, Elgin: Home Depot, buy)

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by followingmyheart

I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE INPUT FROM EVERYONE AS TO WHERE I SHOULD BE LOOKING TO BUY A HOME WITH AT LEAST 4 ACRES, WITHIN 10-15 MINUTES FROM A HOME DEPOT/GROCERY STORE, LAKE?, ETC. AND A DRIVE UNDER AN HOUR (NON RUSH HOUR) TO DOWNTOWN IS FINE. MY MAX WOULD BE $250k IF I HAVE A ROOMATE BUT I WOULD PREFER NOT TO BE HOUSE RICH AND CASH POOR AGAIN. AM I CRAZY TO THINK THE AUSTIN AREA CAN HAVE THIS OR SHOULD I MOVE TO ARKANSAS? THANKS FOR ANY HELP!!

East austin has surprises from time to time. I just picked up 20 acres on johnny morris rd for 120K and it is about 6 miles from downtown. There is so much land off 183 and east that if you pay attention you will eventually find something good. As you get into manor you can find properties like what you are describing without much trouble at all.

[Mareli]

Have you research the property tax situation? If you don't have ten acres or more and is not ag exempted (like selling sheep etc) already in place the taxes are high in Texas. If ag exempt already your property taxes could be $500. a year. Or thousands a year...
Any information you find out pass it on...Good Luck...

[Mareli]

What web site or realtor did you go to for the land outside of Manor? I visited Manor and the town is very poor and run down. But on the other hand the land out there was very pretty.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Mareli

What web site or realtor did you go to for the land outside of Manor? I visited Manor and the town is very poor and run down. But on the other hand the land out there was very pretty.

trulia.com is a good general purpose website for properties outside the austin mls area. You can using austinhomelistings for properties in the austin metro area.

[hound 109]

Agree with Bastrop. Also look at Lockhart, Wimberly, Johnson City, Blanco, Giddings & greater New Braunfels.

Avoid Manor, Giddings & other near north areas or near east areas as they will be lower end Austin suburbs....not what you sound like you're looking for.

[ilmd]

I have to tell you that Bastrop and College Station area is east- and not flat. Around College Station it is gentle rolling hills- less rocks and beautiful rural land. I doubt college students are very good tippers, though! Question regarding the property taxes in Texas for ag exampt- is this all through Texas? I live in Bexar County, and thought it was better in other counties- not right? I could raise a couple milk goats, but how many of each species do you need?

[TexasHorseLady]

If you love Georgetown, Jarrell/Weir/Walburg are all close. The commute from Jarrell (where I live - well, outside of Jarrell on 55 acres) is about 45 minutes to an hour to North Austin (183/Rundberg) during rush hour. New roads are going in out here that are going to cut that dramatically. That also means that property values in that area are likely to go up in future as the roads are completed. Salado is just a few miles further up IH35 (5 minutes from our place). Since we're right on the edge of the Balcones Fault (our place is, in fact, half Austin Chalk, half Houston black - it runs right through), the terrain is varied - everything from flat to slightly hilly, depending on where you fall.

It's really beautiful down towards Lockhart, as well, in some areas.

Bertram and Liberty Hill are also pretty parts of Central Texas and, with the new 183A tollway, might be close enough.

It's true that you'll likely want to get a property with ag tax valuation, which means you might want 10 acres or more - but it's also maybe possible (depending on the property and what you want to do with it) to convert that to a wildlife valuation, which is, in Texas, just another form of ag for tax purposes.

And if you had a boat AND a motorcycle, you could pretty much write your own ticket - especially if you had a pickup to pull the boat!

[domino_1]

We are all animal lovers outside of Taylor. We live between Taylor and Thrall Texas. Lots of well maintained land here for sale. Generally between 3000.00 and 5000.00 per acre. We are 5 minutes to the horse auction, 15 minutes to Home Depot or Lowes, 5 minutes to HEB and Wal-Mart, 5 min to Tractor Supply, 45 minutes to DT Austin, 45 minutes to South Austin and airport, 20 min to Georgetown, 15 minutes to Walburg (got to see the Walburg boys), 45 minutes to Temple, 1 hour to Waco, 2 hours to Houston (try to avoid if possible). 5 min to Granger Lake, 25 minutes to Lake Georgetown. It's heaven with the most beautiful sunsets.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by domino_1

We are all animal lovers outside of Taylor. We live between Taylor and Thrall Texas. Lots of well maintained land here for sale. Generally between 3000.00 and 5000.00 per acre. We are 5 minutes to the horse auction, 15 minutes to Home Depot or Lowes, 5 minutes to HEB and Wal-Mart, 5 min to Tractor Supply, 45 minutes to DT Austin, 45 minutes to South Austin and airport, 20 min to Georgetown, 15 minutes to Walburg (got to see the Walburg boys), 45 minutes to Temple, 1 hour to Waco, 2 hours to Houston (try to avoid if possible). 5 min to Granger Lake, 25 minutes to Lake Georgetown. It's heaven with the most beautiful sunsets.

OMG..you gave away the last secret good place !!
j/k

[jimmyjack]

Originally Posted by domino_1

We are all animal lovers outside of Taylor. We live between Taylor and Thrall Texas. Lots of well maintained land here for sale. Generally between 3000.00 and 5000.00 per acre.

Now Dom, don't go tellin' everybody. These folks seem right happy paying $60,000 to $300,000 an acre.