Sendero Springs or Belterra\Highpointe? (Austin, Round Rock: foreclosure, HOA, house)

[LoveATX]

We found the perfect home in Sendero, but I am worried about long term investment vs the other two communities. We have family in Round Rock and GT, but we both work in Beecaves. We cant afford the same Streetman Home in Belterra, its like 40k more. Even the Newark we looked was 30k more in Belterra. But the house in Sendero absolutely rocks and it is close to my family but...............please help!!!

[Leif]

Look how many homes are bought from builders and then sold less than a year later! The community Propane system is unregulated and the cost of Propane is 3-5 times what the same energy would cost in Natural gas. The homeowners are captive to the developers utility scheme. High Pointe and others nearby have natural gas and are much less costly.

You can pick up some good bargains on resales in Belterra but check the utility histories, the 3.09 tax rate and the Dripping schools, whose reputation no longer matches their current standing. No Exemplary schools like before.

[LoveATX]

Thanks, I had no idea about the propane and lack of exemplary schools.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by LoveATX

Thanks, I had no idea about the propane and lack of exemplary schools.

The propane scam has become very prolific throughout central Texas. The developer will tell you that propane is economic and efficient. You might hear some story about bulk purchasing. The reality is that any such savings will NOT be passed on to you. There are easily 20-30 large subdivisions in the Austin area where this propane scam is going on. It's still fairly new, so people don't realize that "mandatory association" is being used to force them to become involuntary customers of a private, unregulated utility company.

Propane is economically unregulated and you have NO CHOICE as to who the vendor is going to be because this has already been set up between the propane vendor and the declarant. In fact, many of these central gas systems were set up with the intent of the declarant getting residual income forever off of the propane system at your expense.

You may find that they will prohibit buried propane tanks under the pretext of aesthetics. If buried, however, there can be no real aesthetic argument. Aesthetics is just the pretext for preventing competition to the central gas system. Some of these subdivisions have gone so far as to require you to contract separately with the propane gas provider for an exclusive service contract. You will be threatened with fine and foreclosure on your home if you attempt to seek an alternative.

Almost forgot. In addition to your actual usage, you will probably also be charged a monthly "account fee". This amount is also determined unilaterally by the propane vendor. They can charge whatever they want.

How do you know which subdivisions? Well look for subdivisions with a "central gas system". The HOA is used to force you to purchase exclusively from that vendor. The primary central gas system vendors in this area are Sonterra, HBH Gas Systems, and Texas Community Propane.