Buy a house on Briar Forest Drive?

[ilikeme]

I looked at two, one on Briar Forest, and the other on Kirkwood. I passed on both just because of the traffic and noise. Glad I did also because I found the house I am in now which is on a cul-de-sac (complete opposite traffic wise) near Sugar Land. I love it here.

[ToyYot]

Originally Posted by geopainter

That might be a little harsh. Every home has a potential buyer. True, you won't make as much profit and it may take longer to sell, but it will, and they do. People just need to realize what they're getting into...constant traffic noise and an unusable front yard. Some homes on main streets do have curved drives or long drives to better accommodate parking.

What I don't get with these forums is the perception that people should only buy the best, ignore the rest. Some people can't afford to. Some like a particular neighborhood or want to get their kids in a school zone, but will have to settle for a fixer upper or main road home. Even houses on Briar Forest are pushing 300k west of the beltway, so there has been area demand.

We lived 4 years in a nice established neighborhood near BF. I didn't see a point to overpaying a few hundred grand to buy into identical vintage houses on the same crap soils or in worse shape (70s kitchens, fault zones, etc) just to claim a school district or a neighborhood title. Why go housepoor for some presumed prestige when there are other ways to make your life/education/ commute fulfilling? Would I buy on BF? No, but someone else might have no problems.

You do realize you contradicted yourself? I don't PinkLadyK is being harsh at all.

People are paying more for the location, that's what real estate is all about. In Houston that means proximity to work and the best perceived schools. And even in the 'title' neighborhoods the house on a busy street in a NORMAL market will sit for six months to over a year before it is sold while other identical houses will sell in a few weeks. Its not just about losing money on the purchase or not, its about flexibility when you NEED to sell - something more unpredictable than most anticipate.

I'd buy out in Katy before buying on a main street in BF. That said, if we decide to send our kids private we'd likely sell our current house and move to Briar Forest.

[geopainter]

How'd i contradict myself? I stated the facts, Briar Forest is a traffic snarl. If you can get beyond that, there are great houses to be found. There will be buyers. Same as on any main road in this town.

There was a house in my neighborhood on BF that was bought for 160k, flipped in a month, and sold in no time for almost 300k.
That's not the doomsday, "you'll never sell" outlook that i hear. There's someone for every home. It might not be you, but someone will live there and be fine.

In my years living a few blocks from BF, i met some folks who had moved in during the late 60's/early 70's, before BF was a through street. In fact, it didn't go west of Dairy Ashford until later. Can you imagine these folks who used to have a front lawn and residential street, and then the city turned it into a major artery, cut their propery and did little to maintain street condition or speed limit? This happens all over Houston. Today's suburbs are tomorrow's inner city. It's not fair, but some of them remained, and plenty have sold their homes to newcomers.

I moved from Houston to Colorado almost a year ago. The market is hot here, but the forums (check 'em out on ye olde City Data) are not nearly as pretentious. In the end, a house is/isn't a home. If you can make it a home, it's perfect. If the house is an investment or a status symbol, good luck.

[texsn95]

So is traffic on BF pretty heavy during AM rush heading towards the Beltway? Say 7AM or so. If I land this other job, I was looking at taking Hwy 6 over to the Beltway on BF possibly. The complex is located on the West side of the Beltway right off BF.

[texsn95]

Bump