Want to buy my dream house (Houston, Austin: how much, neighborhoods, where to buy)

[qamarfaiz]

Hi All,
I posted this earlier but I am still deciding where to buy my house. In the 4 months I have been here, I have looked at some areas and only Wells Branch, Milwood, zip codes 78727 and 78729 seem good but homes there are smaller, older and seem to follow the same trend when it comes to construction. I found 78723 to be disappointing. Pioneer Crossing seems good but it's in the middle of nowhere it seems. The Tech Ridge area is very affordable but it seems that it will take a while before it becomes completely residential plus my colleagues told me that Pfugerville ISD(which it falls under) sucks.

Could anyone please help me out with my constrained goal:

1) I want to purchase a house within $175K, prefer low taxes, nice ISD and 3+ bedrooms.
2) I would prefer to be within 10 miles of my office location. I work near I-35 and Parmer(FM-734) Crossing(Zip: 78753)
3) Where can I find comparison of different ISD in the area(Pfugerville, RR, Austin, Manor, Leander)?

Any recommendations?

Thanks a bunch!
Qamar

[h886]

Originally Posted by qamarfaiz

Hi All,
I posted this earlier but I am still deciding where to buy my house. In the 4 months I have been here, I have looked at some areas and only Wells Branch, Milwood, zip codes 78727 and 78729 seem good but homes there are smaller, older and seem to follow the same trend when it comes to construction. I found 78723 to be disappointing. Pioneer Crossing seems good but it's in the middle of nowhere it seems. The Tech Ridge area is very affordable but it seems that it will take a while before it becomes completely residential plus my colleagues told me that Pfugerville ISD(which it falls under) sucks.

Could anyone please help me out with my constrained goal:

1) I want to purchase a house within $175K, prefer low taxes, nice ISD and 3+ bedrooms.
2) I would prefer to be within 10 miles of my office location. I work near I-35 and Parmer(FM-734) Crossing(Zip: 78753)
3) Where can I find comparison of different ISD in the area(Pfugerville, RR, Austin, Manor, Leander)?

Any recommendations?

Thanks a bunch!
Qamar

My friends who teach in Manor don't seem to have positive things to say about that district, but someone who lives out there might have a different opinion. I've only heard secondhand information.

The Leander schools are all pretty nice, but that's going to put you the farthest away.

Austin, Pflugerville and RR all have some nice schools and some more questionable ones. With your price range, I think you're going to be priced out of the neighborhoods that feed to the higher rated Austin ISD schools. As in most towns, the schools from higher priced neighborhoods tend to have better ratings and test scores. $175K and 3+ bedrooms will likely put you in a Pflugerville or RR school, unless you're willing to make the longer drive from Leander. Most homes in that price range will "follow the same trend when it comes to construction." You will find lots of cookie cutter neighborhoods.

Think in terms of school, not district, and you need to prioritize your list of "wants" to determine which ones you'll give up if you can't have them all for what you're willing to pay.

[drshdw]

Originally Posted by qamarfaiz

Hi All,
I posted this earlier but I am still deciding where to buy my house. In the 4 months I have been here, I have looked at some areas and only Wells Branch, Milwood, zip codes 78727 and 78729 seem good but homes there are smaller, older and seem to follow the same trend when it comes to construction. I found 78723 to be disappointing. Pioneer Crossing seems good but it's in the middle of nowhere it seems. The Tech Ridge area is very affordable but it seems that it will take a while before it becomes completely residential plus my colleagues told me that Pfugerville ISD(which it falls under) sucks.

Could anyone please help me out with my constrained goal:

1) I want to purchase a house within $175K, prefer low taxes, nice ISD and 3+ bedrooms.
2) I would prefer to be within 10 miles of my office location. I work near I-35 and Parmer(FM-734) Crossing(Zip: 78753)
3) Where can I find comparison of different ISD in the area(Pfugerville, RR, Austin, Manor, Leander)?

Any recommendations?

Thanks a bunch!
Qamar

How much wiggle room is there in your budget? Most counties have similar tax rates, with Williamson being pretty high. You may need to extend it for the type of house you're wanting.

[qamarfaiz]

Originally Posted by drshdw

How much wiggle room is there in your budget? Most counties have similar tax rates, with Williamson being pretty high. You may need to extend it for the type of house you're wanting.

around $10K

[FalconheadWest]

A good site to compare schools is har.com. It's Houston's association site, but they have all the school rankings across the state. It's factual information, not subjective information like greatschools.com.

I have a new listing coming up in Wells Branch this month. If you're willing to do a little work to make it your own, we're going to price it under $150k and it'll be a great buy for that area.

[Mrs.JT]

I lived in Wells Branch for almost 10 years. When we purchased our home in '96, the area was a lot more inviting, in my opinion. It's still a decent area, nevertheless. I miss the convenience, and it's still very nostalgic for me, but I can't say that I'd ever move back.

Wells Branch is split into to districts: PISD and RRISD. We lived in Stoneridge, and our kids would have attended Connally High School. Connally opened in 1996, and it seemed to be a pretty good school back then. But as the population of Wells Branch changed, the school seemed to change. My son still has friends who attend Connally, and he often shares horror stories with me and mentions that he probably would've found himself in trouble had we stayed in Wells Branch. Of course, I realize that each student will have a different experience at school, and parent involvement is key. I take the time to establish a rapport with my son's teachers and school administrators, but I'm not sure if that would have been enough at Connally. I probably would've been on campus once a week just to monitor things. If schools are a big concern, this might be something you'd want to consider.

I know you said you want to stay within proximity to your job, but have you considered Plugerville? I've heard great things about some of their elementary schools, and Hendrickson High School is a pretty good school. My son attended for one year before we moved to Round Rock.

I think there are homes within your price range in the Blackhawk/Falcon Pointe area.

Good luck with your search!

[qamarfaiz]

Originally Posted by Mrs.JT

I lived in Wells Branch for almost 10 years. When we purchased our home in '96, the area was a lot more inviting, in my opinion. It's still a decent area, nevertheless. I miss the convenience, and it's still very nostalgic for me, but I can't say that I'd ever move back.

Wells Branch is split into to districts: PISD and RRISD. We lived in Stoneridge, and our kids would have attended Connally High School. Connally opened in 1996, and it seemed to be a pretty good school back then. But as the population of Wells Branch changed, the school seemed to change. My son still has friends who attend Connally, and he often shares horror stories with me and mentions that he probably would've found himself in trouble had we stayed in Wells Branch. Of course, I realize that each student will have a different experience at school, and parent involvement is key. I take the time to establish a rapport with my son's teachers and school administrators, but I'm not sure if that would have been enough at Connally. I probably would've been on campus once a week just to monitor things. If schools are a big concern, this might be something you'd want to consider.

I know you said you want to stay within proximity to your job, but have you considered Plugerville? I've heard great things about some of their elementary schools, and Hendrickson High School is a pretty good school. My son attended for one year before we moved to Round Rock.

I think there are homes within your price range in the Blackhawk/Falcon Pointe area.

Good luck with your search!

Very informative. Thanks a lot for sharing. Pflugerville is nice but things are getting little pricey there. I guess people are finding out that P'ville ain't that far from Austin/RR and ain't that bad either. Since I am new here, would you mind telling me where exactly Blackhawk/Facon Pointe areas are? Some locations there(like H.E.B. or some elementary school) I could use as reference would be really helpful.

Thanks again!
Q

[Mrs.JT]

No problem.

Falcon Pointe and Blackhawk are on the outskirts of Pflugerville where SH 45 and 130 intersect. Hendrickson High School is pretty much in Falcon Pointe. Stone Hill shopping center (Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Cinemark) is on the other side of 130.

HTH

[riaelise]

Like h886 mentioned, you have to go by a school by school basis vs. an entire district. In PISD, there are some marginal schools as well as exemplary schools. Ms JT's recommendation of Blackhawk/Falcon Pointe is a good one, as they are zoned to some great schools. Blackhawk is a golf course community. I'd recommend my own neighborhood - Greenridge - as it also is zoned to great schools and has homes in your price range (current builders are Pacesetter and Lennar). I second the recommendation of Pflugerville. The area of 685/Sh 45 is chock full o' new construction if that's your thing, and there are a number of master planned communities with amenities. I'd also recommend some of the older neighborhoods of Pflugerville such as Saxony, Willow Creek, and Heatherwilde. Mature trees, older construction, more "old town" feel to them. These neighborhoods tend not to have a lot of inventory, so that should tell you something. I think two of them are zoned to a consistently highly rated school (Timmerman).

Pflugerville is still a good bang for your buck. There are also some nice neighborhoods in your range in Round Rock, as well.

[qamarfaiz]

Originally Posted by Mrs.JT

No problem.

Falcon Pointe and Blackhawk are on the outskirts of Pflugerville where SH 45 and 130 intersect. Hendrickson High School is pretty much in Falcon Pointe. Stone Hill shopping center (Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Cinemark) is on the other side of 130.

HTH

I visited the Falcon Pointe and Blackhawk areas over the weekend and both are very nice. I especially liked Facon Pointe area. It has everything one is looking for plus it seems it's far greener that where I am now(Tech Ridge). Stone Hill Shopping center is close by. Thanks a lot for the recommendation.