Buying a home?? (Houston, Spring, Hempstead: foreclosures, renting, low crime)

[dgriddle]

My wife and I just relocated and are renting, because we were not sure If Houston was going to be the right fit for us.
We have come to find that Houston has a lot to offer good schools and low crime and affordable housing.
We are currently living off of Eldridge close to the 1-10. We love this area, but believe the houses may be out of our price range.
I work close to beltway 8 and 290 and I have been told that there a lot of nice places to live that are not too far from where I work, but I would have no clue as to where to look to find an established neighborhood that would be in our price range.150-160k
We would appreciate any advice.

[EasilyAmused]

You can sometimes pick one up in Barkers Landing or Fleetwood for that price. Just saw on on Har.com for 150. They will need work, but with the Energy Corridor booming I think it would be a better investment than heading over towards 290. Spring Shadows, 77080 might have something. Its still in transition over there though.

[golfgod]

I think Heartshtone Country Club, Huffmeister @ Jackrabbit probably still has some houses in that price range. It's a nice neigborhood, some of the houses built in the '70s, and is often overlooked.

In that price range there may not have been much updating though.

golfgod

[AngeKeck]

I am a little biased towards Spring Shadows since I am a resident [Moderator Cut: soliciting]. My husband and I actually moved from inside the loop to Spring Shadows about 2 years ago. We bought a 5 bedroom, 3 bath and 1 half bath home with over 3000 sqft and over 17000 sqft lot for less than 200K!!!! There are some things about my house that need to be updated but I have the money left over to do it and my lot value will only increase. It all depends on what you are looking for. Yes, it is an established neighborhood and in your price range. It is also close to 1-10, the Beltway, Hempstead Hwy (soon to be toll road) and 290 so it gives you lots of options. The schools are in the Spring Branch School district which is better than HISD. "Transition" is a good word to describe the Spring Branch area. I sold my home in the Heights just after the Heights went through its transition and I did very well. [Moderator Cut: soliciting]

[EasilyAmused]

What Middle and High School is Spring Shadows zoned to though?

[Kappinator]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

You can sometimes pick one up in Barkers Landing or Fleetwood for that price. Just saw on on Har.com for 150. They will need work, but with the Energy Corridor booming I think it would be a better investment than heading over towards 290. Spring Shadows, 77080 might have something. Its still in transition over there though.

I agree completely with these comments. However, if you wish to come out to 290 and Beltway 8 area, there are many neighborhoods which would be a good fit for you. All of the Copperfield area and Hearthstone. Hearthstone is a golf community. Check it out on HAR.com There are 2 foreclosures in Hearthstone right now that are a GREAT DEAL!

These areas are 290 and West Road or 290 and Highway 6 which is about 10 minutes from Beltway 8.

[AngeKeck]

Spring Shadows is zone for Spring Woods but mostly Northbrook.