Info, thoughts and opinion on Condos? (Houston, Katy: for sale, real estate, apartments)

[escapeNYC]

I'm will be relocating to Houston, and am thinking of living in River Oaks (the prices in River Oaks is comparable to the places I would think of buying in NYC). I think the best thing for us is to start out in a condo and move up.

I have seen several Condos on HAR that I like. In general, what is included in the maintenance fees of Houston condos (i.e. utilities)? Are property taxes separate and how are they calculated? Resale value? Easy to rent out? Are condos a bad idea?

Thanks

[Mom2Feebs]

Condos are not a bad idea, but location is sooo much more important when you are going to resell it.

Some, but not all, maintenance fees can include:

Trash/sewer/water
Hot water
Electricity, or a discount on electric
Groundskeeping
Outer building maintenance including roof
Plumbing maintenance (like a burst pipe in the walls, not fixing your toilet)
Pool maintenance, if any
Security, if any

River Oaks is a good location, do you mind if I ask which condos in particular?

[modster]

What is included varies by each condo complex. Some of the older ones are all utilities. Newer ones it is things like insurance for buildings themselves and sometimes water & trash pick up, grounds maintenance, but not much more than that. Do not assume anything and check with each one you go to.

I tend to think condos are more sensitive to economic downturns than single family homes, but there are certainly exceptions to that very broad based assumption. A condo in River Oaks, for example, would probably weather a downturn better than a single family home in an exurb.

[texas7]

Condos are good except you have to watch out for the one-time fees that pop up here and there such as when they replace the complex roof - they may decide to charge a one time assessment split between all the resident. Same with anything that affects the entire complex - new fence, new siding, etc.

[escapeNYC]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

Condos are not a bad idea, but location is sooo much more important when you are going to resell it.

Some, but not all, maintenance fees can include:

Trash/sewer/water
Hot water
Electricity, or a discount on electric
Groundskeeping
Outer building maintenance including roof
Plumbing maintenance (like a burst pipe in the walls, not fixing your toilet)
Pool maintenance, if any
Security, if any

River Oaks is a good location, do you mind if I ask which condos in particular?

I was thinking of either the Renaissance or the Reata

[citycondo]

Thats a nice one.
There's another one around the corner I forget its name...great location though for both.

There are also smaller complexes, like 5-10 units in the neighborhood. Worth checking out. For example.

check out River-oaks-condo dot com

seriously.

best of luck

[desertsun41]

EscapeNYC keep in mind that condos are very very hard to re-sell expecially in a down market. While the Houston area has not experienced strong signs of this recession, depression in some parts of the country, condo sales still lag behind single family detached. Coming from NYC where a 400 sqft room costs $3000 a month you will not have price shock in Houston.

Have you seen how inexpensive single family homes are? For the several hundred dollars a month for maintenance fees, for less then half that you can hire a landscaping company to do your nice lawn in your own detached home with no loud neighbors stomping next to or above you. Isnt that the main reason NYers who mostly live in human filing cabinets move to nicer place? To own their own dream home?

Is it the maintenance you are trying to avoid? After paying Assoc. fees most studies show it is still cheaper to own your own single family detached home. I may add that you do need to buy a sound - in good shape home. Most homes come with a homeowners warranty and if the seller dont offer it then you buy it. Anything goes wrong and it only costs you $35.


It's early. Wait till some of the Realtors come on board today. Perhaps they can better explain why condos are not such a good investment better then I. Exceptions to this rule are very well located condos. But most builders build these developments on cheap land like next to interchanges and next to busy roads in almost all cases.

Good luck in your relocation............

[jd2008]

Sorry to break in but I am interested in knowing more about how "bad" condos are for investment. Is it because of the general suburban nature of Houston? Honestly, from my limited experience, it seems that resale values for all homes in Houston are pretty poor, especially when compared to other parts of the country.

If I decide to stay in Houston for awhile I would be looking at condos as well (along with townhomes and perhaps some detached homes in particular areas). I can understand buying a condo in a place like Katy is a pretty poor investment but what about areas in Uptown or Midtown? Also, what about centrally located townhomes in areas like West U, Rice Village, or Midtown? These seem to be the nicer areas of Houston and one would think that demand in such areas would continue to stay strong.

[Topaz]

My family members are into real estate investment and their opinion is that condos only have good resale value in highly, highly desirable locations or during a real estate boom. I think the latter is unlikely for a long time but River Oaks would certainly qualify for the former.

[HTownNearNative]

Both Renaissance and Reata were originally apartments converted to condos. Both have suffered from many foreclosures (check har dot com). Both are next to busy thoroughfares. Renaissance is built of brick (good for insurance purposes) while Reata is built with stucco. Location of unit within the complex is critical (off-street is best).

You might want to check if there are any homes for sale at a River Oaks townhome community off McDuffie St which is a quiet street off West Gray St within walking distance of the River Oaks Shopping Center. These are townhomes built in the late 70's with 2 car garages adjacent to the home. These are in a better location as they are not directly on a main road. Not sure if you'd own the land directly underneath or not (fee simple townhome) - this is part of what makes a good investment. Renaissance and Reata have parking garages which means your car is unlikely to be in front of your home.

Since you asked about property taxes, property taxes are separate from maintenance fees. Many lenders require 20% down payment to waive escrow (adding property taxes) added to your mortgage payment. Also they may charge a fee to waive escrow so you can pay your own taxes directly to the tax assessor/collector. IMO, it's best to maintain control of your own tax payments and not rely on the loan servicing office to handle it. Check out hcad.com and tax.co.harris.tx.us