i am thinking about moving in .... (Corpus Christi, Ennis: sale, real estate, apartment) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

DutchessCottonPuff · 12-08-2009, 09:07 PM

to town from Port Aransas . I know that sounds crazy to some of you .. has anyone here known anyone that did move from port a or Padre into town and liked it ?? I was born here but have lived in other places in my adult life including europe,hubby is the euro ,, but I always come home to PA.. this time it just isnt working out .. work is at NAS, horses are in FB , dance is in town .. then here ,, we have good jobs but not enough to justify the rent here anymore..or at least the rent/what you get to live in ratio. we live in a nice trailer but still for this rent ,, and it isnt bad for here ,, we could live in something way nicer in town ,, heck even back on Padre ...

I dont know,,, all my friends are gone ,,, they are tearing down all the older homes and putting up the new mega expensive homes .. I looked at ,,literally a shack the other day for about 275,000.. there is no way I would pay that for a dwelling like that ... things have really changed this time . For what we pay now,, I truely could rent a nice apartment/condo on or near Ocean ,or a nice house,in the older section off Ocean and I am thinking about it ... My daughter loves her school here so much but has been to Catholic school and loves it too and I guess 47 years of memories are hard to let go of . We are non military in our late 40's but sometimes get assigned to work for short periods in other places so renting is still best right now ,,plus I like the freedom. HAS anyone known anyone who moved off the island into town?? Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated ..

jbtx · 12-08-2009, 11:33 PM

DutchessCottonPuff,

I wonder about your priorities. IMHO, it is always better to own than to rent. At least you have some equity in ownership, which you will never have when you rent.

Getting a GOOD deal is always a matter of paying attention to the market. Are you asleep at the switch, or not? Now is a good time to buy, prices are down, foreclosures are plentiful, you should be looking for your dream home, not to upgrade your trailer house.

And,,,$200,000 will buy you a very nice house. No matter where you look in Corpus Christi. Good luck to you.

DutchessCottonPuff · 12-09-2009, 04:33 AM

I owned for many years ,,maybe 22 years ..lol I certainly never became rich from it , I even owned acreage in Rockport at one point . Real estate is def not the best investment in the world like some people think it is- there are loads of stuff written on that ...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124336746233955539.html

unless you have more than one rental property,residential/commercial or industrial ,, then I can understand,,

other than that ,,owning is really just a personal choice ,,,, if you think it is your best investment - go for it . I own several industrial properties in a bigger city, here in Texas, in a great part of town they are always occupied and always the least performing in my portfolio. I keep it because my dad left it to me .

Sometimes renting can be much better than owning for some of us ,, no taxes, maintanence ,insurance. If ( and when ) we are sent away for work again I dont have to worry about selling it or renting it .. I have had some major health problems and if something happened to my husband , I wouldnt be able to deal with the maintanence issues at all ,, I am able to rent better than I can buy and really the freedom and someone else doing the upkeep ,is very valuable to me ,I never feel like I am throwing money away,, there are lots of articles written both for and againt renting .. I make more with my other investments anyway,, I dont miss owning at all ... it is a relief .... this trailer is actually really pretty,new, and I am right by the ship channel ,gorgeous views and landscaping .. so the upgrading comment isnt applicable to me in this situation ..

Home ownership is really not the main issue ,, it is many different things. All the homes are pretty pricey here ,where I live ,whether you rent or own .. I was just wondering if anyone knew anybody else that had moved in from the island ,,rent or buy ,,, and liked it better.

CalallenMom · 12-09-2009, 05:53 AM

My father recently moved from PA a year or two ago, purchased a home in the southside of town and enjoys it a lot better.

DutchessCottonPuff · 12-09-2009, 06:08 AM

REALLY ??? I am so glad to hear about this,,,, I feel like I am the only one ever to consider this .. except I did meet a realtor on Padre at a moving sale ,that was moving in so her son could go either to Ray or King , it was something he apparently really wanted to do ,, I cannot remember which it was ..

Without getting too personal ,, what finally made him decide to do it ?,,and what does he like better ..

My life needs to be easier ,, you'd think that wouldl be here in PA but it doesnt seem to be that way this time .. I am spending wayyy to much time in the car, truck and sometimes I am so worn out I take that twice a day bus from here.

CalallenMom · 12-09-2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DutchessCottonPuff

REALLY ??? I am so glad to hear about this,,,, I feel like I am the only one ever to consider this .. except I did meet a realtor on Padre at a moving sale ,that was moving in so her son could go either to Ray or King , it was something he apparently really wanted to do ,, I cannot remember which it was ..

Without getting too personal ,, what finally made him decide to do it ?,,and what does he like better ..

My life needs to be easier ,, you'd think that wouldl be here in PA but it doesnt seem to be that way this time .. I am spending wayyy to much time in the car, truck and sometimes I am so worn out I take that twice a day bus from here.

I'll probably talk to him on Sunday or shortly after, so I can ask him more in depth, but one thing I recall specifically is him saying the real estate was just better in town. He felt like he could get his money's worth living in Corpus and sure enough, they bought a gorgeous house in The Lakes subdivision. Also, I remember commute was a factor!

DutchessCottonPuff · 12-09-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CalallenMom

I'll probably talk to him on Sunday or shortly after, so I can ask him more in depth, but one thing I recall specifically is him saying the real estate was just better in town. He felt like he could get his money's worth living in Corpus and sure enough, they bought a gorgeous house in The Lakes subdivision. Also, I remember commute was a factor!

I can surely believe that ,, as I said , I saw a shack ( a home I have known 40+ years that has been vacant/abandoned for some years ) , which I assume you were to tear down and rebuild leaving you with a nearly $300,000 lot before you built ...either way ,, if you rebuilt or just fixed up what is there ,,it is just too much .. The Lakes is a very pretty place.. I love the Gaza Strip section some other poster mentioned here once .. that Ocean,Ennis Joslin, Alameda ,Ayers, square .. I just love that 50's , 60's thing some of those houses have going on ...

plus all my Dr's are there

produrre · 12-09-2009, 07:05 PM

We spent many weekend looking at homes along the Bay Area (Gaza Strip?) recently and decided that the prices they were asking was just too much for the 'bones' that were available in the homes. We wanted an open floor concept and would have had to do a lot of construction work to the older homes in order to get that... and as the homes were at a higher price, we could sink more money in that we wanted. So we focused on the Lakes. Beautiful neighborhood... but didn't find our house there. We are closing on a house in Kings Crossing, at an area where the yards are a little wider and the landscaping is a little more mature. My initial impression of much of Kings Crossing was the way the homes were on top of each other, but the area we found was much more acceptable. For $240k we found a 2700 sf home that fits what we need perfectly. I would say that if you plan to live more than 3 years in a house, I'm all for purchasing rather than tossing away money renting. But if you arent staying in that home at least 3 years, it may not be worth the money that you have to put into it for closing costs, etc.

DutchessCottonPuff · 12-10-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by produrre

We spent many weekend looking at homes along the Bay Area (Gaza Strip?) recently and decided that the prices they were asking was just too much for the 'bones' that were available in the homes. We wanted an open floor concept and would have had to do a lot of construction work to the older homes in order to get that... and as the homes were at a higher price, we could sink more money in that we wanted. So we focused on the Lakes. Beautiful neighborhood... but didn't find our house there. We are closing on a house in Kings Crossing, at an area where the yards are a little wider and the landscaping is a little more mature. My initial impression of much of Kings Crossing was the way the homes were on top of each other, but the area we found was much more acceptable. For $240k we found a 2700 sf home that fits what we need perfectly. I would say that if you plan to live more than 3 years in a house, I'm all for purchasing rather than tossing away money renting. But if you arent staying in that home at least 3 years, it may not be worth the money that you have to put into it for closing costs, etc.

I just LOVE those old houses over there ( bay area/Gaza Strip),, I can't help it .. 60's pink tile in the bathroom and everything .. .and they are so strong too ,, been through so many storms,, oh I wouldn't change a thing ,the most we'd ever need would be around 1500- 2000 sq ft anyway , but everyone is different . I never think of renting as tossing money away .I DID used to think that but not now ... there is just more to life than purchasing/maintaining real estate .. not to say I wont ever again ,,but I am enjoying my freedom alot. I had a water pipe burst today and I didnt have to do anything but call the landlord and it was fixed ,, so I am Ok with that .. I havent owned since '06 and that was by choice.. 5 acres and a house in Rockport . Plus in my late 40's I doubt I would ever own anything free and clear with my health and we have no payments on anything else either, except health and car ins.. I got very VERY sick in 2003 and I will never be well totally and there are many things I want to get done .

We bounce back and forth between here and Europe alot. My husband is from there and for work also.. and we travel alot too ..,one of the reasons I sold my house.
I really just want to know if anyone moved in from the island into town and liked it better ... I guess whether their quality of life improved or not or stayed the same... I just love PA so dear .. I see people going in and out of the house where I grew up and just want to go back to my old room and tell them to leave lol I know you can never really go home !

ocean2026 · 12-12-2009, 06:42 PM

Port A has perhaps the best school district in the area. I don't know about Catholic schools but CCISD is pretty bad. If you have young boys keep them away from priests- if the true statistics of pedophiles involving priests were known - people would freak out.

You can live more cheaply in CC but you also run many times the risk or burglary or violent acts from criminals/gang members. If you live downwind from refineries there are other health risks. The ocean drive area is nice but expensive. I also like an area that no one else likes - "The Cut" but I do not recommend it for any but the least risk-adverse people.