Where to live? Too many choices not enough knowledge! (Houston: real estate, leasing)

[beckycalder]

Okay I need advice on which neighborhood to start my home search in. We have narrowed in on NW Houston but other than that don't have a clue where to begin. My husband will be working right downtown. While we do expect that he will have a commute, the least nightmarish one would have the biggest impact on where we choose to live. One of the agents I was speaking to was really pushing Katy but I hear the commute from there is terrible. What are Spring or Cypress like? Are there park and ride places or commuter buses? I am getting a little overwhelmed. HELP!

[Mr. Football]

Cypress and Klein are great areas with lots of really nice neighborhoods and terrific schools, however the commute into Downtown Houston (central business district) is a bear. You're looking at around a 45-minute to a 1-hour commute on average. We live in Longwood which is located in Cypress near Hewlett Packard. It's about equidistant between Hwy 249 and Hwy 290, so we have options on which way to go when we go downtown. When there's no traffic, it takes 30 minutes to get downtown...fastest time I've ever made it was 25 minutes.

The first Commuter Rail line in Houston will serve Cypress, they're currently constructing a Town Center and park & ride there with rail service to come in the 4 or 5 years along with the expansion of Hwy 290 and new Tollroad which will dramatically improve the traffic situation.

Kingwood probably has the shortest commute time to Downtown, as 59 was expanded in recent years and there hasn't been as much growth in the NE quadrant to clog up that freeway.

Still, Cypress is great and offers a lot of nice choices:

Here's a slideshow of Cypress Area photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/longwood/show/

Two big zip codes in the area are 77429 (Cypress) and 77379 (Klein), these represent 2 of the Top 10 Zips in Harris County for Avg Household incomes and feature lots of nice neighborhoods and terrific schools.

I would recomment searching the HAR.com site for homes, as they have every MLS listing in the Greater Houston area.

[modster]

Do you have kids? If you have to have good public schools then that tends to limit you to longer commute unless you are really prepared to spend.

If school districts are not an issue, then it comes down to size & price range that you are looking for.

[beckycalder]

My son is only 2 and if we are around when he is of school age I will be sending him to Catholic school anyway so I am not terribly concerned about that. Are public schools not regulated in the States? Why is there such a big difference between communities?

As for size we are looking for a 3 bedroom home, prefferably not monstrously huge (I don't want the cleaning hassle or cooling costs). We will be leasing for the time being because we don't really know the area and might only be around for a couple of years. We are looking to spend between 1000 and 1500/month. Could someone enlighten me on average utility costs?

Thanks again for your replies.

[Mr. Football]

Public schools are good in certain suburbs. Beyond their role of educating children, (in the suburbs) the high school your neighborhood is zoned to has a significant effect on the marketability and investment value of the home. So it pays to choose wisely when shopping for a home.

The following (high school zones) are considered to be solid choices: Klein, Klein Oak, Klein Collins, Cy-Creek, Cy-Fair, Cy-Woods, The Woodlands, TW-College Park, Oak Ridge, Kingwood, Atascocita, Tomball, Memorial, Stratford, Katy Taylor, Seven Lakes, Cinco Ranch, Katy, Clear Creek, Clear Lake, and Friendswood.

Of course, there are certainly more high schools zones that are good, but these offer good stability with the broadest quality of feeder (elementary and middle) schools.

[Mr. Football]

Average utility costs in Texas (deregulated markets) are horrendous.

Some homeowners could take out a 2nd mortgage with the amount spent on electricity. (ex. 2200 sq ft home - $425/month....4500 sq ft home - $850/month during the summers)

In the late 1990's Enron successfully lobbied to have the State of Texas utility market deregulated promising that it would bring more choices and cheaper electricity...

Not surprisingly that didn't turn out to be the case. While it did bring a number of new 'billing' entities into the market, there is no real competition with regards to actual production & delivery of electricity. In Texas, Utility companies have a great deal of lobbying power and have gotten just about everything on their wishlist. The Texas Public Utility Commission, which is supposed to look out for the public interest, has been led by a Utility industry insider for the past decade or so now, and more often than not Texas consumers are left with the short end of the stick.

In short, deregulation has offered more choices, but it has also effectively DOUBLED the cost of electricity in deregulated parts of Texas. Enron is long gone, but their legacy persists.

[beckycalder]

Yes unfortunately we too have felt the sting of deregulation. Thanks so much for all of your help. I have my real estate guy sending me eight million links a day and I have no idea where anything is!

[Kandy]

We just went through this as my husband took a job right in downtown Houston. After much looking, checking, research, we settled on the Humble -Kingwood area and are very happy with our decision. My husband only has about a 25 - 30 minute commute which is great. We are in a very family friendly community with a good preschool - lots of little ones around.

[modster]

The suburban areas suggested are all very good. But if you are not roped into having to make your selection based on good public schools, that does offer you some flexibility in getting closer in.

Let me make the following suggestions:

Heights (zips vary by 77007, 77008 & 77009) Historic cottages and bungalows. Lots of young families. Not a lot of house for your money though. Very trendy and interesting area.

Lazybrook & Timbergrove Manor Great inner-loop 610 neighborhood with 50's ranch style homes. Very nice areas with young sophisticated residents mixed with older original residents. Again great access to downtown, Galleria, etc.

Garden Oaks & Oak Forest Garden Oaks is the nicer of the two, with gentrification spilling over to Oak Forest. Large lots, nice trees, quaint 40's era homes. Generally avoid the Antoine area and stay east of T.C. Jester Blvd.

Westbury/Parkwest One of the better bargains close in. 50's & 60's era homes right at the loops edge. Close to Galleria & Med Center. Parker Elementary is a good public school

Idylwood A lot of young families have chosen this semi-hidden east side enclave. Wonderful 1930's -1940's era bungalows. Good private Catholic schools in the area. A great bargain to get within 10 minutes of downtown. See http://www.idylwood-houston.org

Glenbrook Valley St. Michaels private school on Park Place is pretty affordable. This one offers large 50's era homes on large lots about 15 minutes from downtown. Very mixed community but a lot of bang for your buck. see http://www.glenbrookvalley.com

[snappy]

I had a 3000 sq ft home and for about 4 months we were close to $500/month. And that was "cooling" the house to a toasty 85 degrees!! Mind you my house was very open concept with 2 story ceilings and lots of windows. Not exactly the most energy efficient.