$200-300k for 4-5 bdrms/2500+sqft - is there a catch?

[austin-steve]

There are three catches:

1) Location - compute your commuting costs (as well as HOA, utilities, etc) so you know the "total cost of ownership" of the home. I won't go through the entire formula here, but it costs more for a downtown worker to own a $150K home in Hutto than a $200K home in South Austin.

2) Bastrop schools are are not sought after.

3) Traffic. Make a test drive from the area your considering at at least three different times or day, days of week. Traffic to Bastrop was getting bad in 1999. Roads have improved but not in keeping with population growth. Drive out there down Hwy 71 at 5:30PM and you'll see. Drive into Austin at 8AM and check it out.

Steve

[txgolfer130]

Bastrop is a great place and the homes are very nice in that price-range. I just sold my 4/3 2300+ sq. ft home in Bastrop back in October, and the location to things were sometimes on the far side of the time equation, however, it was not that much further than living in S. Austin and going to the Arboretum, or living in Round Rock and heading South to Barton Creek for example.

Bastrop schools, while not Eanes are good schools. Don't let anyone fool you.

Traffic, well it's hell ALL OVER, not just in Bastrop. The biggest factor is your way into Austin if that's where you're heading. If you need to take 71, and there is a major pile up, your gonna be stuck until Hwy 21 or Hwy 183 to try and find a way around. Traffic at 8 am took me 50 minutes to go from door to door in S. Austin. Going to my office off of Parmer leaving the house at 8am took me 55-60 minutes depending on traffic. When I had my house in far SW Austin and I had to go to my office off of Parmer I had to leave at 7:30 in order to get to the site by 8:45. And that was with no accidents. So traffic is bad everywhere, the difference is, sitting in bumper to bumper traffic getting aggrevated and trying to avoid getting cut-off or setting the cruise at 70, drinking your coffe and for the majority of the drive going with the flow of traffic until you enter Austin. The worst traffic is at holiday times. DO NOT WAIT to leave your office/job until 5 on Thanksgiving/Christmas. You won't get home until after 7. You have to factor in the traffic from Houston and places E. of Austin in that equation.

If you're looking in Bastrop, I can't recommend these two areas more: 1. Colovista and 2. The Colony in that price range. Also the Hyatt Hill country resort is an amazing get away and is SUPER family friendly.