Another moving to Houston thread: Rice edition (Dallas, West University Place: apartment, rental)

[movingsomewherelse]

Hi Houstonians:

We are officially moving to Houston in June! My husband and I will both be working at Rice.

Both sides of my family are from Texas (grandfather is Texas Czech from Crosby, dad is from outside Dallas near the Oklahoma border). I think I have a good idea of what to expect in terms of weather and bugs, but don't know much about Houston itself. We visited the Menil Collection, ate lunch in Rice Village, shopped for records, drank bourbon downtown, and in general had a good time on our only visit there. But, that was only four days, and since it's such a massive city more information would be very helpful as we think about where to live.

Ideally, we would like to purchase a house within a year. Husband is gunning for a home purchase right away, since a mortgage in Houston is comparable to my 800 square foot rental in California, but I want to be sure we land in the right area and aren't stuck with a monstrous commute. This will be a jump in income for both of us (~185k combined), and I am trying to make sure we don't overextend ourselves. Husband has a condo in another state that we are going to rent out and have a management company handle. It should be about cost-neutral in a few months (about 100/month to maintain now).

Currently we are stuck deciding between a single-family home (mid century modern or ranch house) outside of the loop, or a fixer-upper or condo inside the loop. I have looked at the townhouses in our budget and don't like the looks of most of them (massive cubes, no personality -- I grew up in one and don't want to go back!). I will try to have an open mind, but dread dealing with HOAs and sharing walls if we don't have to. At the same time, it may be the only way we would be able to live in the walkable areas of Heights, Montrose and other close-to-Rice neighborhoods with our conservative budget.

Here's answers to the common questions:

1. Budget: up to 1500/month renting, 150-350k buying
2. How many bedrooms needed: 2+ (or ability to expand/remodel)
3. Renting or Buying: both, possibly rent and then buy
4. Apt, Condo, Townhouse, or House: house, condo, apartment, townhome (in order of preference)
5. Work locations: both at Rice University
6. Adults approx age: I'm 30, husband is 40
7. Approx ages of kids: none, DINKs
8. Commute time willing to put up with: 25 minutes or less (less the better)
9. What local amenities you want: if living inside the loop, walking to coffee, restaurants, bars, shops
10. What kind of vibe you are looking for: if inside the loop, bustling, artsy, diverse works for us. if outside: good sense of community, nice neighbors, all kinds of people are fine. We are willing to drive for weekend fun, but the closer to fun neighborhoods the better.

If there is any more information that may help, feel free to ask. Thanks everyone!

[houston-nomad]

My advice is to raise your buying budget and buy a mid-century modern or ranch in the Meyerland area. You can afford it on that salary. It's a great area, easy commute to Rice, close to everything in town, on the bayou bike trail if you're into that. Plus there are a huge number of Rice and UH people living in that part of town. Buy now, prices are only going up up up.

[14Bricks]

I would look in the Binz area aka the museum district if i were you. Not as nice as the areas around Rice Village(Southhampton and South Grove) or West University Place, but you'd still be close to work and Montrose and midtown.

[sunkistsyeh]

I know I was the one asking for advice yesterday but with re: the condo idea -- my sister-in-law just bought a real awesome townhouse in Midtown (at your price point) that has seen ~10% appreciation in maybe 8 months. It seems like a great area with lots of fun amenities nearby. They are young (late 20s) but they seem to like it a lot. However, it doesn't seem like the easiest place to raise kids if you were looking to start a family soon, though.

[ilikeme]

I would recommend looking in the Meyerland area. I live just a little bit west of there and commute to the Rice area. It is not a bad drive.

[Hifromhere]

So how much house do you guys think this couple can afford? If they are planning to have kids in the next couple years would you still tell them to up their budget? Some people like more spending money for vacations and extras than others.

[DJboutit]

Meyerland itself is out you need $450k to $600k to buy a house there Willowbend & Westbury fit your budget nicely