Information on westheimer lakes (gated section) and / or lakes of Bella Terra (Houston: 2009, HOA fees)

[kxlomom]

hello,

We are moving to Houston and are looking for a 5 BR home. We recently visited the Westheimer Lakes gated section as well as Lakes of bella Terra and liked the new constrcutions they have out there. The last threads / posts I saw about these areas were from 2007 and I was wondering if anyone can tell me anything (pos or neg) about these 2 areas. How are the neighboors ? schools ? kids friendly ? amenities ? grocery close by etc ...? We will be working in Sugarland, off of 90.

Thanks ,

[jgoss]

I live in Lakes of Bella Terra. We moved here in October 2007. We LOVE it here. It is very peaceful, great amenities, friendly neighbors, good commute,etc. We also looked in Westheimer Lakes but was not too excited about it. We bought our home from Village Builders and they gave us a great deal!!!! They are also building A LOT of retail stores right up the street. That will be very convenient. I feel like we are sort of in the country but close enough to the city. I would definitely recommend this neighborhood. The developer is also very, very picky and has been named developer of the year. If you have never come out here after dark, I highly recommend it. It is so beautiful!

Anyway, I hope I gave you plenty of information. This is a great neighborhood and they will be building an elementary school for opening 2009. The district is Lamar Consolidated. We were previously in Cy-Fair and my son has done SO much better with the school he attends for Lamar. Not sure if you have children but a great place for kids!

Good luck!

[icon7]

have you looked into sugar Land since you will be working in Sugar Land? Might be an easier commute.

[Mvg2Burbs?]

Originally Posted by jgoss

I live in Lakes of Bella Terra. We moved here in October 2007. We LOVE it here. It is very peaceful, great amenities, friendly neighbors, good commute,etc. We also looked in Westheimer Lakes but was not too excited about it. We bought our home from Village Builders and they gave us a great deal!!!! They are also building A LOT of retail stores right up the street. That will be very convenient. I feel like we are sort of in the country but close enough to the city. I would definitely recommend this neighborhood. The developer is also very, very picky and has been named developer of the year. If you have never come out here after dark, I highly recommend it. It is so beautiful!

Anyway, I hope I gave you plenty of information. This is a great neighborhood and they will be building an elementary school for opening 2009. The district is Lamar Consolidated. We were previously in Cy-Fair and my son has done SO much better with the school he attends for Lamar. Not sure if you have children but a great place for kids!

Good luck!

Hi JGOSS! It's been over a year since your post, just wanted to check and see if you are still loving Bella Terra. I took a look out there today and think it's absolutely beautiful. I'm hoping to make a final decision and lock up something by the end of the week. Another question. Are there many people w/o children in the neighborhood? Just wondering b/c I'm single w/ no children (do plan on having some in the future) and always wonder if I'll feel like the odd man out in neighborhoods with a lot of families w/ small children. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

[JL]

Originally Posted by jgoss

I live in Lakes of Bella Terra. We moved here in October 2007. We LOVE it here. It is very peaceful, great amenities, friendly neighbors, good commute,etc. We also looked in Westheimer Lakes but was not too excited about it. We bought our home from Village Builders and they gave us a great deal!!!! They are also building A LOT of retail stores right up the street. That will be very convenient. I feel like we are sort of in the country but close enough to the city. I would definitely recommend this neighborhood. The developer is also very, very picky and has been named developer of the year. If you have never come out here after dark, I highly recommend it. It is so beautiful!

Anyway, I hope I gave you plenty of information. This is a great neighborhood and they will be building an elementary school for opening 2009. The district is Lamar Consolidated. We were previously in Cy-Fair and my son has done SO much better with the school he attends for Lamar. Not sure if you have children but a great place for kids!

Good luck!

I agree. Lakes of Bella Terra is a very nice place for sure.How much is the HOA fee there?

[mchead]

Originally Posted by JamesLang

I agree. Lakes of Bella Terra is a very nice place for sure.How much is the HOA fee there?

We were there today looking at a few model homes..the HOA is $900. BTW, anyone know how Lamar CISD compares to Katy ISD or Fort Bend ISD?

Thanks.

[stratfordspartans]

Originally Posted by mchead

We were there today looking at a few model homes..the HOA is $900. BTW, anyone know how Lamar CISD compares to Katy ISD or Fort Bend ISD?

Thanks.

If Lakes of Bella Terra was zoned to Katy ISD, all those homes would be priced at a 25%+ premium and selling twice as quickly. Lamar isn't as well regarded as Katy ISD or FBISD. That's not to say that Lamar Consol is a bad school district, but it pales in comparison to Katy. That's not an opinion but a well known fact.

[JL]

Originally Posted by mchead

We were there today looking at a few model homes..the HOA is $900. BTW, anyone know how Lamar CISD compares to Katy ISD or Fort Bend ISD?

Thanks.

Lamar CISD not good. Katy is way better!!

[MK_gal]

Hi Kxlomom: Westheimer Lakes is divided into North and South, the North WL falls in Katy (higher taxes) the South WL is considered Richmond Texas (south of FM1093/Westpark Tollway--lower taxes). Since you mentioned Bella Terra I can only guess that maybe you stopped by South WL, where I live, off of FM 723. The neighborhood is quiet, safe, and friendly enough. There are gated sections, guarded sections, and not, each requiring a different amount of HOA fees.
The Pros are: diversity of the neighborhood, potential for growth in a booming area, children's pool area, safety considerations, quiet, available lake front property, subdivided into smaller sections or "neighborhoods".
The Cons are: required internet/phone/cable/security company use. It's in a minimum package with your HOA fees-- also includes trash/recycling pick up. If you want to upgrade any of the services you pay additional costs. If you want to use another -- say cable company you pay their cost plus the basic built into your HOA with the established company even though you are not using them.
You should also know that Kimball Hills builder in Canyon Falls has filed bankrupcy and is looking for a buyer for the company and all it's assets. At this time we/I don't know what will happen to the empty lots that belonged to them. Beazer is still building but we don't know who will buy the Kimball Hills lots and what quality of builder they might be...will it affect the price of our home in the future, maybe? But the economy will have already affected it anyway.
I hope this helps. I don't know where you plan to work. The Katy/Richmond area is a bedroom community so you won't find large corporations there. You will only find employment in "support" businesses, like retail, restaurants, pharmacies, groceries, and hospitals. I personally travel 48 miles round trip M-F to work in the Galleria area. But I wouldn't give it up for anything. I love coming home and "seperating" from the urban environment and enjoy the view of the lakes. Good luck to you, hope the home you build here will fill all your best dreams.

[jgoss]

Originally Posted by stratfordspartans

If Lakes of Bella Terra was zoned to Katy ISD, all those homes would be priced at a 25%+ premium and selling twice as quickly. Lamar isn't as well regarded as Katy ISD or FBISD. That's not to say that Lamar Consol is a bad school district, but it pales in comparison to Katy. That's not an opinion but a well known fact.

To the person who posted this-where did you get your facts? I have recent facts that Lamar is just behind, which soon I am sure will surpass, Katy and way better than FBISD!


I live in Lakes of Bella Terra and Lamar School District is great. If you were to check on current stats, you would see that Lamar is just right behind Katy, but I would not be surprised if soon it did not surpass Katy. Also, Lamar is way better than FBISD-just do your research! The Katy school district is over rated! If you were to come into the Lamar school district, stay away from Terry High School! Anyway, I hope this helps. We love the schools-they are exemplary and the neighborhood is peaceful, family oriented and quiet! Good luck!