Frusterated with home search! Input appreciated! (Houston, Katy: apartment, lease, crime)

[courtcourt85]

My husband and I are buying our first home- which will not be our last home. We plan to move back home to North Louisiana before our little girl (6 months) starts middle school. Anywhere from 5-10 years from now, is the plan. Our lease is up with our apartment and we need to get off this third floor.

We do have a fairly tight budget, especially since we will be making a bigger move in the future. 120k or less. My main concern is safety, a yard for my two dogs, and repairs. Trying not to go older than 2002ish, and don;t want brand new because I was told by a builder that he can build in 60 days- that is scary. I don't want that.

Anyway, my husband works around I-10 and Kirkwood. Anything within a half hour drive to work is ok. I really liked Katy, but reading prior threads I'm scared of it.

Would anyone recommend a few neighborhoods for me to be watching? Houston, Richmond, Katy, whatever. Just within a half hour of my husbands job and in our price range, going up is not an option so I can stay home with the little one.

[Oildog]

www.har.com

[d2mini]

Why are you scared of Katy?

[houtexas]

Originally Posted by courtcourt85

I really liked Katy, but reading prior threads I'm scared of it.

What have you read that scares you?

[cheryjohns]

Given the price point and home age, upper Katy is your best bet.

A lot of those residents there would be very surprised that they live in a "dangerous" area.

If you could see your way clear to older, in that price range, Bear Creek Village has a lot of older residents that look out for the neighborhood.

Also older, in lower Katy, is West Memorial and Memorial Parkway.

[courtcourt85]

Ok thank Chery, I was unsure of what neighborhoods to search in.

In reference to why am I scared of Katy- before I posted I searched for similar posts on this forum and there were some (older) postings about the area of Katy that is our price range. Nice neighborhoods that are actually bad, theft, less than desirable neighbors.

Were just a middle class, quiet, younger (near 30s) family that doesn't want to end up in a scary part of town. They all looked great- but some of the reviews were scary.

Har search is what we have been doing with our realtor- but there are so many neighborhoods to choose from and they all look great on the surface. Hoping to hear from some people who live in these supposedly "bad" areas and hear that they aren't so bad after all.

The neighborhoods we have looked in so far were ricewood village (then I read about postwood builders- no thanks, omg!) bear creek, plantation lakes, can't think of them all.

We could go higher, but I would have to go back to work and we would not be able to put as much in savings as I would like to. We much prefer I stay at home at least until she is in school. So many decisions!

[courtcourt85]

Also- to clarify a bit- where we moved from there were several areas outside of town that were in our price range, and filled with nice families. You could walk the block after dark without a bit of fear. It seems out here for our price range that is very hard to find. Thats what I am looking for, I guess everyone else is too!

[chris_ut]

Builders in 2002 could throw up a house in 60 days too.

[jtothemak]

For your price point you are not going to get into neighborhoods like Cinco Ranch in Katy but I would suggest North Katy. Homes are more expensive from one area to another for a reason. Look at a new home builder, you can take the exact same home and it will be vary by price from neighborhood to neighborhood. There is a reason for this, a neighborhood with betters schools and lower crime is going to be more expensive.

North Katy is not that bad but yes for a lot of people coming on here they would rather live in South Katy than North because it is better statitics but you pay for it. If you had a 300k budget instead of 120k wouldn't you rather live in Cinco Ranch or one of those communites in South Katy with lower crime and high ranked schools? That is what people are pointing out.

[courtcourt85]

I think the point that I am failing to get across is that on my 120k budget- what neighborhoods might be most acceptable in Katy of what other areas outside of Katy might be in our price range that are not 5th ward type neighborhoods. I'm not sure where I was unclear. If you had a budget of 120k, where would YOU buy?

I KNOW I am not looking at Cinco Ranch. I have no intention of going back to work while in Texas, if I go back- we could go south, but 300k is out of my league for a long time, probably forever, lol. It's tough getting used to one income and accepting our new life style- though I'm not looking at lavish homes. I just want safety and a non Long Lake home.

(schools are not a factor, we plan to home school through middle anyway)

In 2002 homes could be put together in 60 days too, yea. I can get a little more home and better builder for my money, though.