looking at a house in cordova, help! (Memphis, Arlington: sale, real estate market)

[ptrwinn]

I know the rest of cordova will be annexed in the near future. I'm 25 yrs old and lived in memphis all my life and I am about to get married a year and a half from now. I've been on the market looking at houses in the lakeland, arlington, and collierville areas. However, I came across this 4,300 sq. footage house built in 2007 by Sweeney homes located in the cordova area right off of walnut grove near houston levee and somewhere behind briarcrest. This is a brand new small sub-division with homes 300k+. The person whom bought this house in 2007 got it for 423k. and recently the bank foreclosed it for less than 295k. We absolutely love this home and I would think that it would cost around 500k if located in lakeland or collierville. You guys are probably thinking I'm nuts paying 250K+ for a home in cordova because it will be annexed sooner or later. The thing is, this home is located in the houston high school district and if my home was to be annexed into the city, will they kick my "future" kids out and put them in a city school like cordova high? What do you guys think about a home for this price tag? Will the value drop in this area?

[strumpeace]

Are you looking for an investment or a home? If you've found your dream home, and it's reasonable priced, and it's where you really, really want to live, then go for it. If you're looking for an investment, Cordova is probably not the best place to buy right now.

If you live in an area that is annexed by the City, eventually (not always immediately), your child(ren) will end up in City schools. (I say 'eventually' because there are still some kids in Cordova who attend County schools because there was not enough space at nearby City schools when the City annexed. Southwind High School--which will soon be a City school--is another example of a County school attended by recently-annexed City school kids. All that's neither here nor there, really.)

Of course, if you can afford a $300k house, you can probably afford private school tuition, too, which makes this whole conversation irrelevant.

[Pearlbob]

Yes, if the home is annexed, your kids would later attend city schools (the schools would just change to city, like Cordova High is now Memphis city). The actual schools change too, not just where you live. I'm not sure how they do it with the schools....if the school in on property that is annexed but your house isn't. I would imagine they go by zones so that doesn't happen. Maybe someone else would have info on that....

[Pearlbob]

To add:

If you can afford $300k for a house and you don't mind living in annexed Cordova (ie Memphis), why not buy a house in east Memphis, midtown, or elsewhere? Your kids would be in the same school district either way, and the homes in certain areas of Memphis will hold their value more (most likely) than a new surburban subdivision.

If you don't want that, then keep out of anything that is or could be annexed.

[JoeCartpath]

Is the subdivision complete, or at least mostly complete? If there are a lot of vacant lots in the subdivision that would be a concern to me. In past years, under "normal" market conditions, you could buy a home early in the development of a subdivision to get the best lot choice knowing that the subdivision would fill in within a year or two at most. That's not gonna happen now! It will likely be several years before the real estate market recovers to the point that all those partially finished subdivisions are fully developed. Personally, I wouldn't want to live in a newer subdivision full of empty lots. Who's going to maintain and mow them? The bankrupt builder? Nope. The homeowner's association (if one exists)? Probably...and the cost per homeowner might be high due to the small number of completed homes.

If that's not a issue for you, and you really like the house and the area, go for it. You're getting a bargain price on the house (there are a lot of bargains out there now). You know going in that you may eventually pay Memphis city taxes, and may have to deal with school issues.

It's pretty hard to predict what might happen over the next 5-10 years. Consolidation of city & count government? Consolidation just of city & county schools? Will the new school administration be successful in making city schools a more desirable option?

You'll go nuts trying to guess the future. Just look at what works for you today and factor in what you'll do worst case scenario - pay city taxes and put any future kids in private school.

[ptrwinn]

well dang. Such a good price for an amazing house. Yes, this area is not even near complete. I found out that the builder stop building houses in this area due to the market and that he's leaving the area for good moving to nashville and build over there. I guess I will be looking at some houses in collierville. Anyone know any new subdivisions over there in the 250k range?

[JoeCartpath]

You might also look at Arlington. They have a new, huge school there that's supposed to be very good. One of my sons lives in Schneider Plantation and it's a nice location. $250K is probably a little low for that subdivision but, like the other one you found, you may can find a bargain on a foreclosure - or someone wanting a quick sale in order to avoid foreclosure. There are some other subdivisions out there that are nice as well, but I'm not familiar enough with the area to make a recommendation. From what I've seen, though, for the best areas you probably want to stay north of I-40, south of Hwy 70 and east of Airline Road.

[hawkster]

Location, location, location!

[whoagirl12]

Originally Posted by ptrwinn

I know the rest of cordova will be annexed in the near future. I'm 25 yrs old and lived in memphis all my life and I am about to get married a year and a half from now. I've been on the market looking at houses in the lakeland, arlington, and collierville areas. However, I came across this 4,300 sq. footage house built in 2007 by Sweeney homes located in the cordova area right off of walnut grove near houston levee and somewhere behind briarcrest. This is a brand new small sub-division with homes 300k+. The person whom bought this house in 2007 got it for 423k. and recently the bank foreclosed it for less than 295k. We absolutely love this home and I would think that it would cost around 500k if located in lakeland or collierville. You guys are probably thinking I'm nuts paying 250K+ for a home in cordova because it will be annexed sooner or later. The thing is, this home is located in the houston high school district and if my home was to be annexed into the city, will they kick my "future" kids out and put them in a city school like cordova high? What do you guys think about a home for this price tag? Will the value drop in this area?

Most likely. The nearer it is to Cordova the less value it is. I probably don't know much b/c I'm a teenager, but really.

[whoagirl12]

Originally Posted by ptrwinn

well dang. Such a good price for an amazing house. Yes, this area is not even near complete. I found out that the builder stop building houses in this area due to the market and that he's leaving the area for good moving to nashville and build over there. I guess I will be looking at some houses in collierville. Anyone know any new subdivisions over there in the 250k range?

Oh man Colierville houses are expensive!!