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Thanks for the input. To clarify, I ask because I like fixing up my house. Right now I have an 1880 house and have put a lot of work into it. It is rewarding. I never planned to leave the house, but have been transferred to Austin by my employer. I'm not looking for an investment, or a sure thing, but a neighborhood where I can buy, invest my time, sweat, and money, and not regret my choice of neighborhood in the future. I'm not an investor, not looking to flip, just a future Austin homeowner (who has plenty of $$ for a down payment, thank you).
Ok I understand a bit better. Im not sure if any of the snarky posters actually invest in real estate or if they are just mad that they cant afford properties in central austin.
If you look at trulia, you can find some properties that may meet your criteria just south of downtown. There is one that is listed in foreclosure near zilker for 45K. But I dont know how accurate trulias foreclosure listings are. Some people put condos as single family homes, one good filter is to search for 2br and that will clean up your search a bit.
Also if you watch on a daily/weekly basis there is always stuff coming and going and you never know when a good deal will pop up.
I also use an RSS feed into craigslist (reader.google.com), that is a good way to find FSBO and you can use keywords to find them.
Im not sure if any of the snarky posters actually invest in real estate or if they are just mad that they cant afford properties in central austin.
I am mad that the folks that work in Central Austin and make it go--the busboys, the short-order cooks, the bellhops, the bartenders, the landscape crews, the pool cleaners, the bus drivers, the janitors, the day care center employees, to say nothing of the petit-bourgeois folks like me (a state employee) who work at desks all day--can't afford properties in central Austin.
It's absurd. I mean, 200k for a falling down-piece of junk on the east side, as a tear-down, is offensive to me.
I've long thought that the slogan should be changed to "Keep Austin Petit-Bourgeois," as opposed to "Keep Austin Weird."
The folks who work the hardest making the city go--the folks who pick up the trash in the park after the ACL Festival, for example--likely can't afford to live close to where they work, unless they have been living here for decades, like the east-side families the gentrifiers are pushing out. As their property taxes go up, they'll have to leave if they can't afford them.
The world is an expensive place--it always has been--but the Leave It to Beaver days of postwar prosperity, living better than your parents, are over.
It must be nice to be an investor. Most workers are saving nothing at all and are barely able to make ends meet, let alone qualify for and take on a mortgage of any size.
Last edited by schoenfraun; 07-26-2008 at 01:07 PM..
Reason: typos
I am mad that the folks that work in Central Austin and make it go--the busboys, the short-order cooks, the bellhops, the bartenders, the landscape crews, the pool cleaners, the bus drivers, the janitors, the day care center employees, to say nothing of the petit-bourgeois folks like my own damn self (a state employee) who work at desks all day--can't afford properties in central Austin.
It's absurd. I mean, 200k for a falling down-piece of junk on the east side, as a tear-down, is offensive to me.
I've long thought that the slogan should be changed to "Keep Austin Petit-Bourgeois," as opposed to "Keep Austin Weird."
The folks who work the hardest making the city go--the folks who pick up the trash in the park after the ACL Festival, for example--likely can't afford to live close to where they work, unless they have been living here for decades, like the east-side families the gentrifiers are pushing out. As their property taxes go up, they'll have to leave if they can't afford them.
The world is an expensive place--it always has been--but the Leave It to Beaver days of postwar prosperity, living better than your parents, are over.
It must be nice to be an investor. Most workers are saving nothing at all are are barely able to make ends meet, let alone qualify for and take on a mortgage of any size.
The folks that do the hard work
Amen.
"Petit-Bourgeois" would apply to us as well. Musician + Massage Therapist = rent infinitely, live in a blah house or live 20 miles out of the city.
I am mad that the folks that work in Central Austin and make it go--the busboys, the short-order cooks, the bellhops, the bartenders, the landscape crews, the pool cleaners, the bus drivers, the janitors, the day care center employees, to say nothing of the petit-bourgeois folks like me (a state employee) who work at desks all day--can't afford properties in central Austin.
It's absurd. I mean, 200k for a falling down-piece of junk on the east side, as a tear-down, is offensive to me.
I've long thought that the slogan should be changed to "Keep Austin Petit-Bourgeois," as opposed to "Keep Austin Weird."
The folks who work the hardest making the city go--the folks who pick up the trash in the park after the ACL Festival, for example--likely can't afford to live close to where they work, unless they have been living here for decades, like the east-side families the gentrifiers are pushing out. As their property taxes go up, they'll have to leave if they can't afford them.
The world is an expensive place--it always has been--but the Leave It to Beaver days of postwar prosperity, living better than your parents, are over.
It must be nice to be an investor. Most workers are saving nothing at all and are barely able to make ends meet, let alone qualify for and take on a mortgage of any size.
What solution do you propose so that free market systems will be thwarted and home values will remain static into the future instead of appreciating, thus keeping them affordable?
Who will decide which busboys get to live in Travis Heights and which must commute from Pflugerville, since at those cheap prices, demand will certainly be very high?
Who will tell the widowed great grandmother in Travis Heights that her home equity nest egg is gone, that her home value has been returned to the 1976 sales value so that downtown service personnel can walk to and swim in Stacy Pool?
Individuals can freely choose where they work and live. Who says anyone has the "right" to afford homes close to their job? I don't get it.
Individuals can freely choose where they work and live. Who says anyone has the "right" to afford homes close to their job? I don't get it.
"Real Estate Agent Steve," you know that people can't freely choose much of anything any more. Look around you. I chose to live in South Austin, but I couldn't afford it. Some choice.
I guess you would say that I had other choices to make, then. Quit my job to find a different job close to the place where I can afford to live, or become a commuter. Those were my two free choices.
I would ask your clients buying in Travis Whites: what would you do if the people who cut your lawns and pick up your garbage and care for your children and cook your food in restaurants can't afford to come to work in Austin anymore (say, from Manor or Pflugerville) because gas is over $10/gallon, or their car or truck is broken, yet the politicos haven't managed to do anything about the public transportation system to date, like that light rail that still won't happen? Will they take their own garbage to the dump, for example?
When the "hired help" can't afford to get to work, they'll be forced to choose (I guess you would argue "freely choose") between finding work elsewhere, if there is a demand for it, or not working. They won't be able to live in Austin, and they won't be able to get to Austin. There won't be enough work in Manor, or wherever, to sustain them.
In Taylor one of the biggest businesses was a picture frame factory on Carlos Parker Blvd, that was, unfortunately, convinced by Wal-Mart to drop all their other clients and manufacture frames for Wal-Mart exclusively. But then, thanks to NAFTA, Wal-Mart freely chose to dump this factory in Taylor and take all those jobs to Mexico. It left those workers in Taylor high and dry, and the building still sits there, empty, years later.
Some freedom of choice.
Those folks used to live close to where they work. That was once typical in our culture: storekeepers lived above their shops, for example, or behind them. Now in Taylor there are fewer jobs, and people are forced to travel elsewhere to find work. I guess their other free choice would be not to work.
Wealthy businesses and wealthy people, such as those who can afford to live in Travis Whites, are free to make the choices to which the less-affluent must respond. The city of Austin is a playground for the wealthy, who don't want to live too close to their hired help--it's gauche.
And I would ask you, Steve, as I freely choose to tell you that I live 33 miles from where I work: how far away is your place of business from your home? And how far would you be willing to travel for your livelihood before you said, no more?
Social and class mobility and actual physical mobility, as in transportation, are closely and interestingly related...
"Real Estate Agent Steve," you know that people can't freely choose much of anything any more. Look around you. I chose to live in South Austin, but I couldn't afford it. Some choice.
I guess you would say that I had other choices to make, then. Quit my job to find a different job close to the place where I can afford to live, or become a commuter. Those were my two free choices.
I would ask your clients buying in Travis Whites: what would you do if the people who cut your lawns and pick up your garbage and care for your children and cook your food in restaurants can't afford to come to work in Austin anymore (say, from Manor or Pflugerville) because gas is over $10/gallon, or their car or truck is broken, yet the politicos haven't managed to do anything about the public transportation system to date, like that light rail that still won't happen? Will they take their own garbage to the dump, for example?
When the "hired help" can't afford to get to work, they'll be forced to choose (I guess you would argue "freely choose") between finding work elsewhere, if there is a demand for it, or not working. They won't be able to live in Austin, and they won't be able to get to Austin. There won't be enough work in Manor, or wherever, to sustain them.
In Taylor one of the biggest businesses was a picture frame factory on Carlos Parker Blvd, that was, unfortunately, convinced by Wal-Mart to drop all their other clients and manufacture frames for Wal-Mart exclusively. But then, thanks to NAFTA, Wal-Mart freely chose to dump this factory in Taylor and take all those jobs to Mexico. It left those workers in Taylor high and dry, and the building still sits there, empty, years later.
Some freedom of choice.
Those folks used to live close to where they work. That was once typical in our culture: storekeepers lived above their shops, for example, or behind them. Now in Taylor there are fewer jobs, and people are forced to travel elsewhere to find work. I guess their other free choice would be not to work.
Wealthy businesses and wealthy people, such as those who can afford to live in Travis Whites, are free to make the choices to which the less-affluent must respond. The city of Austin is a playground for the wealthy, who don't want to live too close to their hired help--it's gauche.
And I would ask you, Steve, as I freely choose to tell you that I live 33 miles from where I work: how far away is your place of business from your home? And how far would you be willing to travel for your livelihood before you said, no more?
Social and class mobility and actual physical mobility, as in transportation, are closely and interestingly related...
You should consider Fort Worth. It offers much more than Austin at half the price. Plus, it's near Dallas and doesn't have near the volume of drunk, puking college students that plague central Austin. It has better barbecue, mexican food, and neighborhood bars. Austin has more live music venues; but, really, how many does a city need? And the housing stock in Fort Worth is superb. All varieties of homes, from craftsman bungalows built in the early 20th century, to mid-century contemporaries, to recently built homes all close in to the city center. And Fort Worth is currently experiencing a flurry of building around its famous muesuems that will provide denser urban work-live-play options in the city's core. You want a place to put your money and watch it grow? Austin has seen its day. The better bet is about 200 miles north...
Last edited by rogramjet; 07-27-2008 at 08:51 AM..
I would agree with rogramjet that Fort Worth is an amazing town that has a better chance of becoming a world-class city than Austin has. It possesses those wonderful museums and has the oldest botanic garden in the state, one of the finest in the country, and certainly better than Zilker here in Austin. The housing stock in Fort Worth is also better-looking than Austin's. I think Fort Worth is terribly underestimated.
Unfortunately, I think the OP is being transferred to Austin, and isn't being presented a choice in the matter.
I would agree with rogramjet that Fort Worth is an amazing town that has a better chance of becoming a world-class city than Austin has. It possesses those wonderful museums and has the oldest botanic garden in the state, one of the finest in the country, and certainly better than Zilker here in Austin. The housing stock in Fort Worth is also better-looking than Austin's. I think Fort Worth is terribly underestimated.
Unfortunately, I think the OP is being transferred to Austin, and isn't being presented a choice in the matter.
"Real Estate Agent Steve," you know that people can't freely choose much of anything any more. Look around you. I chose to live in South Austin, but I couldn't afford it. Some choice.
So, you are angry that you can't afford what you want in life? Who is responsible for doing something about that?
Quote:
I guess you would say that I had other choices to make, then. Quit my job to find a different job close to the place where I can afford to live, or become a commuter. Those were my two free choices.
We all must live within our means, whatever they may be, economic, geographic, social, mental, etc. And yes, the free choices we make in life are limited not only by our means but by our willingness to take ownership of our own lives and the things we can personally do to change them.
You have a choice with regard to how you feel about that, whom you choose to blame, and whether you want to take action that will create a different reality for yourself or if you'd rather just be a victim who blames others for whatever shortcomings you think life has delivered you, and wants the government to fix it for you.
Quote:
I would ask your clients buying in Travis Whites: what would you do if the people who cut your lawns and pick up your garbage and care for your children and cook your food in restaurants can't afford to come to work in Austin anymore (say, from Manor or Pflugerville) because gas is over $10/gallon, or their car or truck is broken, yet the politicos haven't managed to do anything about the public transportation system to date, like that light rail that still won't happen? Will they take their own garbage to the dump, for example?
So, you have a judgment that residents of Travis Heights are all white elitists? You don't know Travis Heights nor are you aware of the eclectic variety of people living there. To answer your question, the service providers would charge more and the people who pay for their lawns to be mowed would pay more. It's not complicated.
Quote:
When the "hired help" can't afford to get to work, they'll be forced to choose (I guess you would argue "freely choose") between finding work elsewhere, if there is a demand for it, or not working. They won't be able to live in Austin, and they won't be able to get to Austin. There won't be enough work in Manor, or wherever, to sustain them.
There are vastly more possibilities than you restrict yourself to believing.
Quote:
In Taylor one of the biggest businesses was a picture frame factory on Carlos Parker Blvd, that was, unfortunately, convinced by Wal-Mart to drop all their other clients and manufacture frames for Wal-Mart exclusively. But then, thanks to NAFTA, Wal-Mart freely chose to dump this factory in Taylor and take all those jobs to Mexico. It left those workers in Taylor high and dry, and the building still sits there, empty, years later.
Some freedom of choice.
The business owner has a right to make decisions about his business. He doesn't answer to you.
Quote:
Those folks used to live close to where they work. That was once typical in our culture: storekeepers lived above their shops, for example, or behind them. Now in Taylor there are fewer jobs, and people are forced to travel elsewhere to find work. I guess their other free choice would be not to work.
It is a myth, or idealized notion that shopkeepers once lived above their quaint little shops, or behind them. In fact, this is and always has been very rare. Sure, it happens, but not to the degree that people who try to sell the modern concept of it (Mueller) would have us believe.
Quote:
Wealthy businesses and wealthy people, such as those who can afford to live in Travis Whites, are free to make the choices to which the less-affluent must respond. The city of Austin is a playground for the wealthy, who don't want to live too close to their hired help--it's gauche.
I'm sorry you feel that way. You are limiting your possibilities in life with your limiting beliefs. And, again, you don't know who lives in Travis Heights and your characterization of them as all "whites" is offensive and uneducated.
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And I would ask you, Steve, as I freely choose to tell you that I live 33 miles from where I work: how far away is your place of business from your home? And how far would you be willing to travel for your livelihood before you said, no more?
And here lies the root of your limitations to imagine greater things for yourself. You want to compare your place in life to others, and have judgments about those who you deem to struggle less than you. I live 12 miles from my office. So what? What does that really tell anyone about me or you?
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Social and class mobility and actual physical mobility, as in transportation, are closely and interestingly related...
And capitalism is awesome, too. Best thing ever.
You never did answer my questions, but I find your views interesting.
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