relocating - what austin neighborhoods suit us? (Andrews, Kirby: rent, homes)

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by a2dal

I think renting is definitely preferable before committing. . .but I'd like to try to rent where we think we might want to buy, in hopes of using it as a testing ground. We are in Decatur area now, but not close enough to walk to downtown or Oakhurst or anything like that. . .that is really important to us as part of the move. I am not really considering Eanes schools, though they sound great - but the area of town doesn't sound like what we are looking for, and we'd rather get the right area and seek out charter schools or take our lumps with the private school bills. . .the more-urban quality of life is very important to us. My husband would be working near UT and I work from home.

Where did you move? Are you happy with your area? We probably COULD spend more, but would rather not. . .hoping to pay less than we sell for here, but that might not work. Thanks for the tip on property taxes - I didn't realize they were so much higher.

Thanks so much for all the advice!

EANES homes remind of of the homes in Buckhead off of West Paces Ferry and up around Chastain. Not really my scene. I do have to say that Westlake HS is nationally rated so I wouldn't rule it out. There's a funky little neighborhood that used to have a bunch of hippies (so I've been told) but now it's just an affordable area in EANES near the river (they call it a lake here).

We were in the same boat as you -- hoping to pay less that what we sold our house for but it didn't work out that way. Our house was on the market longer than we expected and we actually got a lot less than we expected. It was one of the nicer streets in Ormewood Park too. Go figure.

Anyway, we looked around a lot and decided we really didn't want to do any more work on an old little house so we gave up being able to walk to coffeeshops, bars, vintage clothing stores for a larger house on a larger lot out in SW Austin -- Oak Hill. We went from 1200 sq. ft to 3000. We're on almost an acre lot. We're just barely outside the city limits so our property taxes are less. We're about 12 miles to downtown -- it's like living in Vinings and commuting to downtown ATL. It feels really close to us but people here seem to think it's a distance out. We don't have a mandatory HOA so we like that freedom. Schools are rated really well. We're out near soccer and baseball fields. I love being on the edge of the hill country. We see lots of different critters out here -- lots of deer. My 3 year old loves it.

The one community you'll hear a lot about in SW Austin is Circle C. It's nice, safe, convenient and is packed full of families. It reminded me of Gwinnett or Marietta so I didn't really dig it but lots of people love it. There's also a few pocket neighborhoods around that I don't know the names of.

So with that all said, if I could afford it, I'd live in Barton Hills. It's near Zilker Park and the "lake". You can shop at both Whole Foods and Central Market (south) pretty easily. There are tons of events and festivals that it would be nice to be closer to. The houses are a little larger than the central neighborhoods but not as funky... although you'll still see some cool yard art and interesting architecture. The schools are rated better than Travis Heights. I would love TH if I could (a) afford it, (b) it had good schools.

I really love Austin but I do miss the Dekalb Farmers Market!

[txgal78]

My husband and I renovate and sell homes in Central Austin, and unfortunately, you will not find anything renovated in that price range with 3-4 bedrooms in Rosedale, Hyde Park, Tarrytown, Travis Heights, etc...You might, however, find something in Allandale or Crestview that fits your needs. Allandale sounds like it might be a great fit - older homes, larger lots, good schools, and still fairly close-in.

[shankaupas]

txgal, I just checked the MLS and there are homes in the tarrytown and travis heights area that are in the 300K- 400K range. One of the homes in tarrytown was recently renovated.

[a2dal]

What's the best way for a non-realtor to check listings? I haven't looked for a home in 5 years. . .at that time, Realtor.com was up but not very good - missed a lot of listings. What are the relevant zip codes for some of these neighborhoods?

It doesn't have to be renovated - we ended up buying an untouched midcentury home from original owners last time around, as we found that when we bought a renovated house we didn't always love the choices that were made, but found that the sellers (understandably) were hoping to get a premium for them. So we bought something that hadn't been updated, though very well cared for, and renovated ourselves. If I could bring this house with us I would. . .

Thanks for all the ideas everyone! I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed on the home selling here for a decent price, because walkability is pretty much crucial to us at this point.

[txgal78]

Austin Real Estate | AustinHomeSearch | Austin Realtors | Austin TX Real Estate

and search by zip code:

Tarrytown, Brykerwoods, Clarksville - 78703
Rosedale, Shoalmont - 78756
Hyde Park - 78751
Travis Heights, Bouldin - 78704
Allandale - 78757

[TexasHorseLady]

There are some renovated homes in Barton Hills (78704) for sale in that price range (we own a house in Barton Hills and I'm an agent, so I keep pretty close tabs on it). Not a lot, but a few. Now, 4 bedrooms would likely be an issue, but 3, not a problem at all. You could very easily find a nice mid-century home there that is in need of a little TLC/updating.

Crestview is a definite possibility for you, as well. As is Allandale (Crestview is a bit north of Allandale). If your husband is working at UT, you might want to check Hyde Park or the Ramsey Park area (just west of Central Market North).

I've got quite a few clients who lease before they buy when they're moving into town. Works pretty well for them, if they can do it (aren't in a time crunch or with a relocation company where they have to buy, that kind of thing).

[a2dal]

Thanks for the ZIP codes - I am getting much better results using those. I am confused about the taxes - within the same ZIP code, with houses that are pretty close in price, I am seeing some taxes in the 3Ks, then a 4K, then a 6.5K, then a 9K! What makes them vary so much?

[txgal78]

The tax appraisals can be all over the map - you can check on appraisals at Travis Central Appraisal District. For instance, if a house was only recently renovated, the tax appraisal may still be based on its pre-renovated state, but you can be confident that it will go up next year.

[TexasHorseLady]

Also, if you're comparing houses in a MUD to houses that aren't, there will be a difference.

The tax rates are on that website linked to above, at this page. If you're looking for information on a particular house, you might look it up on that website, then look at the tax rates page, and be able to figure out why the difference.

If you have a homeowner's exemption (and you'll get instructions on how to file for one for yourself at closing, from either the escrow officer or your agent or both), the taxes will be lower. There are other exemptions available depending on personal circumstances.

[a2dal]

centralaustinite - what school do your kids go to? That is the second part of my task - looking at private schools. If we found the perfect neighborhood that also had great public schools, we'd be thrilled, but I don't want to limit our choices of location too much by that . . .so we are planning for private to keep our location options as open as we can.