inner loop older neighborhoods under 200k (Alamo, Highland Park: to rent, houses, buying)

[clayvines]

My wife and I will be moving to SA soon and are looking to buy in an older neighborhood inside 410 for under 200k. Any suggestions?

[Bo]

Are you looking for a particular era of "older" houses? Do schools matter to you?

My general perception is that 200k is kind of an awkward price point inside 410. There are scores of sub-100k homes and pockets of 300k to $1M+ homes.

[clayvines]

Schools don't matter to us. We love mid-century modern homes and like bungalows. Thanks

[Montirob]

For mid-century homes, try Shearer Hills (northcentral) or Inspiration Hills (northwest).

For bungalows, I would suggest Highland Park (southeast) if you want the most bang for your buck. The neighborhood is still "transitional" in parts, but my friends who have moved over there in the last couple of years have not had any problems. Lavaca (just south of Downtown) and Alta Vista (just north of Downtown) also might yield something for under 200k. Maybe our Lavaca resident will chime in? My neighborhood of Monticello Park (near northwest) would also yield some 2 bedroom 1 bath homes for under 200k.

[dvlpr]

First: welcome!

Check out Monte Vista Terrace (just north of Hildebrand, between McCullough & San Pedro); nice small houses, close to MV and Olmos Park, and walking distance to restaurants/shops on McCullough.

Alta Vista (west of MV), Tobin Hill (south of MV), and Government Hill (north of downtown, east of Broadway) are also places with good housing stock that's trending in the right direction.

[Chaka]

Lavaca Resident chiming in

A couple of months ago I would have said you won't find anything worthwhile under 200k, but now you may. Houses have been sitting on the market awhile with flippers asking too much. Fixer uppers are still to be had in the less than 200K range. There are a TON of houses on the market now.

It's interesting though. A few years ago when we were house hunting, there were basically 2 realtors in the area. Both local (Southtown Realty and King William Realty). Now all the big ones are in on it. Thing is, the big ones (Century 21, Phyllis Browning) seem to have the most unreasonable priced properties, IMO. It seems - again, just my uneducated viewpoint, that the realtors don't really "know" the 'hood and are aiming a lot higher than what is realistic here. In my little experience with 'other' realtors back in 2004, they really had zero clue of what really sold Lavaca.

[BigDogsTX]

Oak Hills has some houses in the 200k range.. some with .75 acre lots.

[CelesteDF]

Although I'm definitely not a fan of mid-century modern, the OP mentioned looking for those as well as the bungalows. Most of the neighborhoods mentioned already in this thread are going to be bungalow/early 1900's neighborhoods. Here are a couple threads discussing mid-century homes:
Mid Century Modern Homes in San Antonio?
Mid-Century Modern

[BigDogsTX]

Almost every house in oak hills is mid-century modern..
Home

[CelesteDF]

Congratulations to me! I just closed on a house in Tobin Hill and am moving out of my great renovated bungalow in Mahncke Park in June. If someone's looking to rent for 6 months or more before buying, this is a great chance to snap up a really cute, easy to live in place in a great neighborhood near Alamo Heights, Ft. Sam, Brackenridge, UIW/Trinity and downtown. Renovated Bungalow Near Alamo Heights & Downtown- W/D, Yard (broken link)