Looking to buy within loop -- would love input (Houston: insurance, loans)

[theone33]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

Oh...all these small crimes is nothing compared to what is going on in Katy. Originally I thought this suburb is safer, but after third shooting near my house during last month I doubt that.

Here we go.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

North side.

Yea , the Bear Creek area, Colonies, and neighborhoods along Fry going up to W Lil York might really put a damper on what builders have envisioned for the "New North Katy" land around the grand parkway just north of I-10.

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by curbur

Yea , the Bear Creek area, Colonies, and neighborhoods along Fry going up to W Lil York might really put a damper on what builders have envisioned for the "New North Katy" land around the grand parkway just north of I-10.

Yes, but houses are in high demand there though. And this is the closest area to my work.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

Yes, but houses are in high demand there though. And this is the closest area to my work.

Well.. it will get built out either way for sure, I just don't want the trend of tiny KB homes that will mostly become rental units in 3-5 years to continue up 99 towards 290. I was hoping for more neighborhoods like what's going up south of I-10 or what's going up just south of 290 in Cypress.

[LocalPlanner]

Montrose still has quite a number of homeless/ wayward teens / drug addicts strolling around, often seemingly in greater number than what most interpret as "decent" pedestrians (stereotyping I know) at many times of day. In the 80s and 90s, frankly much of Montrose was pretty sketchy or downright rough. I don't think one is as much at risk of mugging or solicitation as 20 years ago, but it's not like it's pristine at all.

Also, keep in mind that while there is much in Montrose that's within "walking distance," the sidewalks are frequently terrible or missing altogether, so you can easily end up walking in ditches or in the street.

I agree with also looking in the Heights - though do you have to restrict yourself to Harvard Elementary zone? What about Travis?

Regarding car break-ins, those happen EVERYWHERE in the greater Houston area. Never, never, never, never, leave anything valuable in your car (except in the trunk maybe) if you can help it - especially in a visible area. This is as big a risk in the suburbs as in the urban core. Stores and restaurants along suburban freeways are probably the worst.

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by curbur

Well.. it will get built out either way for sure, I just don't want the trend of tiny KB homes that will mostly become rental units in 3-5 years to continue up 99 towards 290. I was hoping for more neighborhoods like what's going up south of I-10 or what's going up just south of 290 in Cypress.

But what if people don't want bigger houses and need something more compact and affordable but without crime? This is what I'd love to have here. There are some other things in life rather than paying off huge home loans and huge property taxes. And in Harris County property tax is about 3.5%.
And smaller house provides opportunity to focus on these other things, especially if you don't have kids and don't care about school districts. Low crime is the only ingredient missing here, other aspects are fine in this area. But maybe I'm just unlucky living next to drug house. Other parts of my neighborhood are pretty decent though.

[KatieKennedy]

Travis Elementary in the Woodland Heights is also good, but in my opinion the area is not as walkable as the Houston Heights (e.g. Heights Blvd, nearby walking trails and parks) area near Harvard. Harvard zone is also closer to the trendy restaurants on White Oak, 11th, and 19th streets.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by KatieKennedy

Travis Elementary in the Woodland Heights is also good, but in my opinion the area is not as walkable as the Houston Heights (e.g. Heights Blvd, nearby walking trails and parks) area near Harvard. Harvard zone is also closer to the trendy restaurants on White Oak, 11th, and 19th streets.

Makes sense.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

But what if people don't want bigger houses and need something more compact and affordable but without crime? This is what I'd love to have here. There are some other things in life rather than paying off huge home loans and huge property taxes. And in Harris County property tax is about 3.5%.
And smaller house provides opportunity to focus on these other things, especially if you don't have kids and don't care about school districts. Low crime is the only ingredient missing here, other aspects are fine in this area. But maybe I'm just unlucky living next to drug house. Other parts of my neighborhood are pretty decent though.

Most posters on this forum seem to think you should always buy the most expensive house you can reasonably afford, to try to put as much distance / insulation as possible between you and those whose socioeconomic status is lower than yours. Seems kind of a guiding rule of thumb for most, even though one could argue that you're financially better off allocating your investments to other things, or you might just enjoy spending on other things rather than a house.

Interestingly, in South Texas where I did some work during the oil boom a couple years ago, the newly affluent oil field workers didn't choose to upgrade their homes, or buy a home in a fancier neighborhood, with their extra income. They bought fancy pickups instead. (Many of them are having to give those back to the bank now.) Different values I suppose.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I live in that area you are speaking of, and true, the youth shelters are on the south west area of Montrose and Westheimer. They don't cause problems deep into the neighborhoods, at least not where I am, but I see the reports of the petty crime in the fringes.

Just a bit of history as you are new... that area used to be, and is still to a degree, the center of the pop culture, writers, musicians, artists and gays for Houston. But it is only a shadow of what it used to be, it is no longer cheap to live in as you will find out, and it has gentrified immensely over the last decade. It has driven out a lot of the 'stuff' of what once made it what it was.

New development in the area has created a flood of new residents, mostly young professionals, single, and the area is reflecting that. It has also created more traffic, busier restaurants, bars, etc. But it also brings to live the parks, the bar scene, about the closest thing Houston has to the densely populated areas of the other three larger cities. Notice I said 'closest thing', not the same thing.

As you noticed, you can walk almost anywhere in Montrose. All the restaurants, Buffalo Bayou Park, downtown, and you can walk to the rail lines and access the museums, zoo, NRG stadium, etc. You can switch lines and go to other points. So I would say Montrose is best for walkability.

The Heights is nice, I know a lot of people that live there, but they send their kids to my kid's school in Montrose (95 percent of kids are not zoned to the school). It is a nice 'suburb', but in Houston. The others are the West U.

There are festivals you can walk to, the concerts in the park, etc. If you are used to true urban living, then it is the place for you. Nothing like the other big three, but best for Houston. Good luck.