Moving to SA- Comal ISD (San Antonio, Spring: loan, house, neighborhoods)
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We are moving to SA and have been told that Comal ISD is where we want to be. I have no problem driving 35-45 mins to Randolph AFB if that means a better quality of life for my family and a better education for my son (starting 7th grade in the fall.) He is academically driven and not really into sports so I want to provide him with the best that I can. I like my windshield time to decompress anyway
I seem to have two choices for housing in my price range (200K -225K)
1)older less than 2000sqft house with an acre of land in the OAK VILLAGE NORTH area of Bulverde
2) New 2200+ sqft home in a subdivision like Trinity Oaks off of 281.
My main concern is resale and what SA buyers are looking for when it comes time to sell the home in 4 yrs. For instance you MUST have a pool in Las Vegas and Pensacola FL if you dont want to eliminate a large portion of buyers. What are the nuances for SA? What are considered the “must haves” in housing there? Garages? 2 living areas? Solid surface counters? You get the idea…
Country or subdivision for that matter!
I know this is purely opinion based and my realtor should have better insight but I am finding hard to communicate effectively with her about this topic long distance so your opinions are welcome here.
My main concern with this post is that you cannot communicate effectively with your Realtor. That's not a good thing. Figure out what's going on there and fix that first.
You need a garage in SA in that price point and area. Other than that, there are no MUST HAVES for resale. The key to resale is to stay consistent or better than your community. If everyone has a pool, you need one. If nobody has a pool, but you do, you'll sell it faster (though you won't make a ton more). Same with granite, updates, etc.
I'm speaking as a Realtor that deals with this every day.
We are moving to SA and have been told that Comal ISD is where we want to be. I have no problem driving 35-45 mins to Randolph AFB if that means a better quality of life for my family and a better education for my son (starting 7th grade in the fall.) He is academically driven and not really into sports so I want to provide him with the best that I can. I like my windshield time to decompress anyway
I seem to have two choices for housing in my price range (200K -225K)
1)older less than 2000sqft house with an acre of land in the OAK VILLAGE NORTH area of Bulverde
2) New 2200+ sqft home in a subdivision like Trinity Oaks off of 281.
My main concern is resale and what SA buyers are looking for when it comes time to sell the home in 4 yrs. For instance you MUST have a pool in Las Vegas and Pensacola FL if you dont want to eliminate a large portion of buyers. What are the nuances for SA? What are considered the “must haves” in housing there? Garages? 2 living areas? Solid surface counters? You get the idea…
Country or subdivision for that matter!
I know this is purely opinion based and my realtor should have better insight but I am finding hard to communicate effectively with her about this topic long distance so your opinions are welcome here.
Thank you in advance
I'll send you a DM regarding San Antonio. I'm sorry that you're moving there.
I think those two areas are different types of neighborhoods. You'll attract different types of buyers. The Oak Village North area is popular because it is older and you can have land at relatively cheap price. The Trinity Oaks area is newer and more master planner (from my understanding). Each has a market in the area that won't be going away anytime soon in the area.
My main concern with this post is that you cannot communicate effectively with your Realtor. That's not a good thing. Figure out what's going on there and fix that first.
[quote=kevcrawford;18601578]
I agree, it is frustrating. She seems to have a preconceived notion of what we are interested in based on her transactions with friends of ours that bought from her in those two areas. 1 bought in the Trinity Oaks and the other near Oak Village North. I have tried to relate that our main interest is to buy a property in the SVMS area that we will be able to sell in 4 years. Everything else is negotiable and we are flexible on layout and style. I am a pretty good Handyman but the house must meet VA standards for our loan approval.
As a realtor do you find that 2000sqft is a point not to go below? Any thoughts on Trinity oaks vrs Northern Oaks for mass appeal?
I think those two areas are different types of neighborhoods. You'll attract different types of buyers. The Oak Village North area is popular because it is older and you can have land at relatively cheap price. The Trinity Oaks area is newer and more master planner (from my understanding). Each has a market in the area that won't be going away anytime soon in the area.
I think my question is..which is best for you?
Whats best for me is to be able to sell the house in 4 years. If 75% of the buyers in that area are looking for big newer subdivision living then that's what's best for me. haha
We are a military family and as such are used to adjusting to new places and environments. I like the idea of an acre of land over neighbors that I can hand a cup of sugar to from my window to theirs. But I need to give ourselves the best possible chance to not get hurt on this house in the future. There are no guarantees of course but I am just trying to do due diligence and think ahead.
I agree, it is frustrating. She seems to have a preconceived notion of what we are interested in based on her transactions with friends of ours that bought from her in those two areas. 1 bought in the Trinity Oaks and the other near Oak Village North. I have tried to relate that our main interest is to buy a property in the SVMS area that we will be able to sell in 4 years. Everything else is negotiable and we are flexible on layout and style. I am a pretty good Handyman but the house must meet VA standards for our loan approval.
As a realtor do you find that 2000sqft is a point not to go below? Any thoughts on Trinity oaks vrs Northern Oaks for mass appeal?
Pick the square footage that's right for you and make sure you don't overpay. Your Realtor providing you with comps will ensure that. If you're looking to sell in 4 years, personally, I'd tend to point my clients to older neighborhoods instead of new ones. Reason is, the old ones make sure you're not competing with new construction when it's time to sell. Also, in the new areas, everyone has moved in on a similar time frame, so on that first and second wave of resales, it'll seem like everyone's moving out at the same time. IE...more competition.
You can find a lot of good homes that'll meet VA standards. I've never had VA reject a home and don't know many that have.
I live in The Coves @ Canyon Springs. This is Bexar County but Comal schools. We are located just behind Stone Oak so we are convenient to all the shopping and restaurants. My husband does a daily commute to Lackland and he deals with it because he does like the area we live in. We built our house in 2005 and we have 2900 sf and a 3-car garage.
Communities in Comal that are a little closer then Trinity Oaks:
-Canyon Springs (does not include Retreat, San Miguel, The Waters, The links .. they are a different school)
-Lookout Canyon (all communities on Overlook Parkway)
Must have for me:
-Garage and had to be 3 because we wanted to park both cars in garage and then have room for lawn/storage stuff
-Community pool (but I do have a hot tub that I do use all year)
-Media rooms are very popular
-Bonus rooms are open spaces normally upstairs and bedrooms feed off of that room.
-Outside patio with cover w/ceiling fan
-Convenience to grocery stores, schools, etc.
I'm no help but just wanted to tell you we just bought a home in Bexar county/CSD. We got an amazing price (in your range) on a 3,100 sq ft home in Trinity Woods. It's a little bit out there on 281.
I was wondering what you heard about the schools and being in this district. I am not particularly pleased to be in the district. I did visit the jr. high and it seemed ok. The high school looks impressive.
My kids will be in 6th and 8th in the fall.
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