Another potential transplant :-) (Houston, League City: for sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[vinri325]

Brace yourselves this may be a bit long

My husband and I are ready to make a move out of NYC. Houston seems to be the best fit for us of all other cities- at this time.

I have been doing searches so I am getting familiar with the areas etc. I will be visiting sometime in nov-dec for a training course and will take a browse around to see if we indeed will be a good and comfortable fit, and if its a go we will be ready to make the move in a years time.

A bit of background before I ask my questions:
Hubby is in IT as a project manager. Here he is quite underpaid at 60k a year with 10 yrs exp. (similar jobs in houston are 90-120k) and since 9/11 the opportunities have halted for him and many other IT pro's.

Me: I'm an RN, although currently self employed for the past year and now bringing in 80K a year- appx 30 hrs a week. I understand that I will have to start from scratch in Houston and it will take some time to build my client base all over again. It took me less than a year to do it here hopefully it would pan the same there. When we first move there I will take a job in a traditional nursing role in order to help with the bills and continue to strive to move forward and upward financially all with a better quality of life( understanding it means different things to different people) So I *think* I can def get a nursing job to start in the 55k range (hope its more but its ok comparing cost of living etc)

Were are looking to ultimately have a nice home, have a couple of kids and be able to afford them a great upbringing- exposing them to a great education, culture and travel. Even more than that- parental involvement with a lower level of stress- basically enjoy them as children and have them enjoy us as parents. In the outskirts of NYC, in order for us to have a VERY tiny home we will have to each work 2 jobs, have our kids raised by a nanny and really not have quality time with our children and time for each other as a couple. We will prob each have a commute time of 3 hours a day. Looks quite grim, thus the need to explore other options.

If you asked me last year if I would ever leave NY, I would tell you a big "hell NO" however, I have realized that NY is not the end all be all city. It is possible to have a great life- the way we would like to live outside of NY. The truth is that we are equally ready for a change. I would love to have the experience of living somewhere else. Hubby and I never have lived anywhere other than NYC.

Ok I think thats enough background...LOL so here are my questions:

Say we have a combined household income of 100k (i'm being modest here as it should really be more- perhaps even quite a bit more) can we live a nice and simple life? Honestly when we first move there for the first year or 2 I do not want to even in the least over extend ourselves. I want us to get ahead financially and provide us with some security. While I must admit I love me some luxuries, I can control it till I can comfortably afford them. I am completely afraid of debt and if I dont have the cash for it- I don't own it.

I would love to by a home in the 130-150K range just so we can be comfortable( ie not stress about money should one of us have an issue with employment or job change etc...) settle in and then within a couple of years move up to a home in the 200-250k range and so on... If you haven't sensed it yet we are the type of people that are content with baby steps and not putting ourselves at financial risk.

I'm worried that the homes in the 130-150 k range might be in some questionable areas- I do not want that- please correct me if I am wrong, I would like an area that if we move to a larger home we don't lose out on $$.

I would appreciate any suggestions! We plan on renting for a few months however if I narrow down the areas to be in with good schools etc and a fantastic homes comes along for sale we might have to grab it.

Do you think if we go for a home for 200-250K off the bat we would be biting off more than we can chew?

We are ok with commute times of 30-60 minutes- we do that anyway but I would like to be within 15-30 minutes of nice shopping and entertainment. Of course I would like to also be somewhere close to everyday shopping needs- grocery and household items- like a target.

Please advise me of communites that I should look into. It would be a plus if it near a greek church (I'm greek and would like to have access to peeps that share my heritage).

Thanks for your help in advance!!!!

[vinri325]

oh- one more thing, aside from a down payment is 50K enough to have as savings-the kind you dont touch unless your deperate type of savings?

I want to be prepared financially- I think we will endure some stress just from the move- do not want to add in a factor of financial stress.

[texas7]

You can still find some decent areas in the $130's to $150's just a bit farther out but still nowhere near your 3 hour commute. There are good areas with wonderful school districts on all sides of town, so you might want to figure out where you will work and then decide on a home. If you don't have your job yet - then rent until you know where your employment location is -- that way you can get a good school district with the best commute. Kingwood is North, Katy is West, Pearland - somewhat Southeast - probably not the Silverlake area but for the price you could get into the older (still nice) area of Pearland - the one closest to Friendswood (another good area). Try League City. All of these areas have good school district - you just need to decide which area best serves your needs and commutes. For a peek at resales go to Houston Real Estate - Houston Homes, Houston Home Value and Houston Relocation

It would be hard for anyone to say if you were biting off more than you can chew if you bought more expensive because nobody really knows your finances, spending habits, debts, etc. other than you. I would buy in the range you feel comfortable in. There are still nice areas in that range. If you find areas on HAR Web site that you like, you can always post questions about those areas on this site and people are usually quite helpful. Some will upsell their area and downgrade other areas but just remember that there are truly good areas and great schools on virtually every side of town.

[vinri325]

Thanks!

I know its hard- i re read my post and its true no one can judge it better than us. I will be going for my nurse practitioner and I know that there are many more openings than in NYC- I am getting the vibe that they are more highly regarded than here in NY so that is a huge PLUS! While I am in grad school I just don't want to overburden our finances. There is time to move into the bigger house etc but I got to say we will prob spend about 220-250 on a home. I guess the best thing would be to meet with a financial planner to see what we can truly afford. I do not want to go by just an online mortgage calculator. They tell me we could buy a home in the 300 k range. While of course I would love it, I don't think we need to stretch ourselves by any means and we should be able to find a nice home in a good neighborhood for less while we settle in.

I have been looking to the Kingwood area, quite a few nice homes in our range that do not need a crazy amount of upgrades. I do not mind doing over a bath or some upgrades to the kitchen. The big thing I know is we would have to do the flooring over- whats with all the carpets? adding some custom touches is no big deal, I just don't want to get into a money pit where its like a gut reno.

Any sections of kingwood to avoid as far as declining neighborhoods?

[texas7]

yes - I know someone who delivers pizza for a living and the mortgage co pre-qualified him for $120k --- there is no way he could have afforded that and good thing he had the common sense to realize that. He ended up in a townhome for considerably less. With all the foreclosures right now - it is amazing how people are still being approved for loans that are too much for them. I think most of Kingwood is good - some who live in Kingwood might be better able to respond and give you the areas to avoid (if any).

[sbhubbell]

Do NOT go by any kind of online mortgage calculator of what you can afford...that's a sure way to be house rich and life poor. That said, my gut (I haven't done the math though) tells me on 100K you can probably be comfortable at 200K...depending on your down payment too I guess. We make about 130K a year now and financed about 180K on our 325K house and we have tons of money leftover for living...and saving! We save a lot and give a lot too. I applaud you for your guts to move away from NYC for the betterment of your financial and family quality of life!! I'm from Philly and it is a big change coming here, but we love it so far....we moved to a beautiful community called Cinco Ranch in Katy. My husband's commute to the Galleria area is about 40 minutes, the same as it was in Philly. The schools in Katy are some of the best in the state, and our neighborhood is teeming with kids and super friendly families....way friendlier in general than yankees Up north neighbors keep to themselves a lot more. And I've been surprised by the diversity even out here in Katy...my block has white families, black families, hispanic families, chinese families and indian families...exactly the environment I want my kids to grow up in.

The one downside to suburban living is the lack of "charm" and "originality" in the homes and the retails, restaurants, etc. But I'm ok with that, I have no problem finding places that are new to me to try, and I have no problem driving into the city for museums and events, etc. But there's a lot going on out in the burbs too! Little concerts in the parks all the time, new retail all the time, etc.

Anyway...good luck whatever you decide!

[Supermac34]

The general quick and dirty rule of thumb on how much you can afford for a house is 2.5 to 3 times your TAKE HOME pay.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

Do NOT go by any kind of online mortgage calculator of what you can afford...that's a sure way to be house rich and life poor. That said, my gut (I haven't done the math though) tells me on 100K you can probably be comfortable at 200K...depending on your down payment too I guess.

Your gut is about right. If there isn't anything more than a car payment in there you should be fine. If there are credit cards & other debt in there it may be cutting close.

For example, $200k can get you about 2200 sq ft in a nice neighborhood & area, 12-15 yr old house on the fringe of the Houston city limits:

20-25 mins from downtown on the weekend
30-35 mins from downtown on weekday mornings
45-50 mins from downtown on weekday evenings

[chris_ut]

150k will get you a nice older house in Kingwood, for 200k you can get a nice new construction house. One thing to consider with old versus new is the insulation, windows, energy star appliances you will be getting. Houston gets very, very hot and your electric bills in the summer can be hundreds of dollars higher in an older house without efficiency upgrades. One other thing to consider is that part of Kingwood is in Harris County and part is in Montgomery County. If you buy in Montgomery County they still have a regulated electricity market and your bills will be lower there.