First time home buyers looking to buy inside the loop (Houston: apartment complex, credit)

[kaelti12]

If we dropped the larger lot size requirements, would we have more options? I know we will have to compromise on something and my husband can always play an electric kit with headphones. We still want a decent sized yard though, for the dogs.

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by kaelti12

If we dropped the larger lot size requirements, would we have more options? I know we will have to compromise on something and my husband can always play an electric kit with headphones. We still want a decent sized yard though, for the dogs.

You can do Eastwood, Lindale Park, and Riverside Terrace, like mentioned above, if you drop to three bedrooms and small lot.

[Dahak]

On the East End, you might also consider Houston Country Club Place, Idylwood, or Forest Hill. All are established inner-loop neighborhoods southeast of Eastwood, but north of I-45.

[Meyerland]

You might also look just outside the loop on the SW side. How large a lot do you want?

[imback]

You say that it's okay to for a house to be "old" but it must also be "sound enough to live in". The same house can in fact meet both criteria. - but only under one condition. With homes that are 50 to 80 or more years old (as in the neighborhoods being mentioned), those two qualities can be simultaneously present only if large - very large - sums of money have been spent to modernize, repair, do deferred maintenance, and bring the structure up to modern building code standards.

Some homes in the areas mentioned (Idylwood, Eastwood, etc... ) have indeed been modernized. But this will of course be reflected in the selling price, so these homes will almost certainly be beyond a 250K budget.

The homes in those areas that might be close to or within your budget will likely have issues that will be expensive to fix. Not cosmetic updates, but serious structural problems. Yes, you certainly can live with an "ugly as sin" bathroom faucet or a scuffed floor - but you could die from frayed electrical wiring or a leaking gas line.

Just be sure to carefully investigate the structural condition of any house you buy, and that you have enough in your budget to pay for the repairs. And don't underestimate the cost of those repairs. It will always be more than you think.

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by imback

You say that it's okay to for a house to be "old" but it must also be "sound enough to live in". The same house can in fact meet both criteria. - but only under one condition. With homes that are 50 to 80 or more years old (as in the neighborhoods being mentioned), those two qualities can be simultaneously present only if large - very large - sums of money have been spent to modernize, repair, do deferred maintenance, and bring the structure up to modern building code standards.

Some homes in the areas mentioned (Idylwood, Eastwood, etc... ) have indeed been modernized. But this will of course be reflected in the selling price, so these homes will almost certainly be beyond a 250K budget.

The homes in those areas that might be close to or within your budget will likely have issues that will be expensive to fix. Not cosmetic updates, but serious structural problems. Yes, you certainly can live with an "ugly as sin" bathroom faucet or a scuffed floor - but you could die from frayed electrical wiring or a leaking gas line.

Just be sure to carefully investigate the structural condition of any house you buy, and that you have enough in your budget to pay for the repairs. And don't underestimate the cost of those repairs. It will always be more than you think.

Unfortunately - correct.

[77030]

Old Braeswood has bigger lots and cheaper prices than a lot of other stuff in the area. Here is one...

[Zodiac mindwarp]

Originally Posted by Gigem_Investments

Old Braeswood has bigger lots and cheaper prices than a lot of other stuff in the area. Here is one...

That house has a bus stop where he homeless sleep and hang out all the time. They also live across the street under the bridge at south main.

[14Bricks]

To live inside the loop in a decent house(one that doesn't need a lot of work) in a decent neighborhood(one that's not currently going through gentrification) you need at lest $500k.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by Gigem_Investments

Old Braeswood has bigger lots and cheaper prices than a lot of other stuff in the area. Here is one...

The OP said their budget is 250k, they want $700,000 for this house.