Just Relocated! (Houston, Sugar Land, Katy: crime, home builders, neighborhoods)

[Benval]

Hi!
We relocated to Katy,Tx this week from California. We would like to buy a house in the Katy ISD.
(1) Could you please suggest some nice communities and Sub-divisions ?
(2) Which Builders in those Sub-divisions?
(3) What should we consider in choosing a builder?
Please provide some information. Thanx.

[ayannaaaliyah]

I assume from your post that you are interested in only buying new construction? A word to the wise, many of these builders are just throwing up homes to make a quick buck and many homeowners are suffering because of it. In order to get the best advice here, you need to let the board know what you're looking to spend and what's important to you. I assume you have school age children?

Overall Katy is a nice community and you chose a great place. Many people here will automatically refer you to the South side of I-10 in Katy however there are many GREAT neighborhoods North of I-10.

[Benval]

I have Elementary school going kids. And my price range is 300k-400k. I'm looking for new or relatively new constructions.

[carolineb]

Hi neighbor - I'm moving from Houston to Katy this week - we just closed on a house in Cinco Ranch. Did you have a chance to get to the neighborhood night out parties yesterday? I went to the one in Katy City Park sponsored by the police and fire dept. and my son had a great time on the moon bounce. He was even able to sit in an EMS helicopter and thought that was really great. We also went to Cinco Ranch's party at La Centerra and it was nice too - very relaxing. I think you will find Katy very family friendly. If you ware looking for a mom's group/playgroup, check out meetup.com or yahoo groups.

[cla]

You can't go very wrong with most communities in South Katy. With children, I would definitely choose S Katy over N Katy. Look at the katyisd.org website and look at the campuses section to see the report cards for the various schools.

My personal top picks when I was looking were Cinco Ranch and Seven Meadows. But there are some other great communities too, but i was particularly looking at communities within the Seven Lakes HS district. $300 to $400K will get you a very nice home in Katy. You will pay more per/sf in some communities than in others.

I based my purchase on neighborhood and floor plan, not builder, so I can't offer you much advice there, except to say after looking around and watching my own home being built, the standards were not up to what I was used to back home - but then again, we didn't have any big production builders out there. If you're shopping around - look at the model homes and look at some homes under construction.

[ayannaaaliyah]

You should be able to find something nice with that budget both on the South side of I-10 and the North side of I-10. The only issue with buying new construction in a developing community is that home builders are drastically cutting prices which may have an effect on you down the line. It's very expensive to hold standing inventory. I would recommend that you at least take a drive through some of the older communities (both on the North and South side). The older homes usually have a bigger lot in Katy than the newly built properties. It just depends on your preference.

In terms of schools, all the schools have the EXACT same curriculum, nothing different and no amount of money being pumped into a building is going to enable your children to learn any better. It's a public education, TEAS ratings are really irrelevant. So don't allow the "I'm better than they are crowd" sway you into thinking that the North side is a crime ridden hoodlum unsafe habitat, who's property values are going downhill fast.

Good luck to you and your family!

South I-10


South I-10


North I-10


North I-10

[Rick4Life]

Pine Mill Ranch is a great new place located just off of Cinco Ranch Blvd and Katy-Gaston Rd. Still in the Katy ISD and all the Cinco Ranch benefits for about $20k cheaper. I believe it's Perry Homes and Newmark Homes in there with your price range. If you are looking to start a new home I know Perry Homes just opened a 70' lot size section with homes in the $300s in Cinco Ranch. I'm not so sure what others are doing but I saw their sign and checked the web. From cruising around the area (I live in Sugar Land) I would say the south side of I-10 is the place to be. With that new La Centerra that place is going to be so fun.

[ayannaaaliyah]

Just one more reason why you might want to consider buying a pre-existing property. IMO this is going to be the next big thing with all of this new construction going on - complaints regarding shoddy construction.
http://http://realestate.aol.com/article/_a/you-call-this-a-home/20070806142309990001 (broken link)

[cla]

Yes, I do agree that the schools have the exact same curriculum, but in many cases, TEAS scores can be important for a family. If for example, you have a child who excels in academics, you have a choice - you can choose a school with a lower average report card, so that maybe your child stands out, or you can choose a school whose average TAKS scores match your own child's, so that they don't stand out at all. Or if a child excels in athletics, you may want to put them in a school that has an excellent team. Knowing that no matter which school they go to, they will get a good education. You have to do what's best for your child.

North Katy does have an enormous new high school - Morton Ranch, and they have, or will soon, add on to that school. So, I guess that's the school that is having money pumped into it.

Anyway, I did not choose Seven Lakes because it was new - all of my daughter's friends from Beck were headed to Seven Lakes - had they been districted to Cinco, that's where we would have moved.

BTW - I didn't see anyone post that the "North side is a crime ridden hoodlum unsafe habitat, who's property values are going downhill fast"

[Bike4Life]

Originally Posted by Rick4Life

Rick4Life

Hey! Don't mess with my art.