Falls at Imperial Oaks, Benders Landing, Woodson's Reserve or Harmony? (Houston: sales, rentals)

[katygirl518]

I posted a little bit ago about moving to Humble, but I don't really know if that's what we are looking for. My husband would be willing to drive a little more to have more amenities around. That said, we've started looking in the Spring part of Conroe ISD. Someone referred to it as the Oak Ridge area? I guess because of the high school?

Does anyone know anything about the above communities? We are looking in the $400-$450K range. We would like to build new or buy a house less than 5 years old. All of these communities seem to have that.

I was wondering what the difference is in the communities. Our current community in Katy has residents with older kids in high school, so if we did a move, we would really like one with young kids (ours are 4 and 6). We are really trying to find somewhere with kids playing in the street etc. But not a community that is so starter home that all the families will move anyway.

Any thoughts on these neighborhoods? I read Bender's Landing doesn't have a MUD tax. Do the other communities south of 99 have a MUD tax? I know The Falls does have one.

[Texascrude]

Falls, woodsans, and Harmony are all the same -- just drive through and get a sense for which you like more. I think woodsans is probably the nicest of the three and then I'd put harmony next, but they're all essentially the same thing.

Benders is going to be the outlier, but you won't have many options at $400k. If you can find one that fits your criteria, though, it's a great place. All custom homes on acre+ lots. There is one section that has half acres, and a small section with smaller lots, but most are on acres. Lower tax rate (about 2%) since you don't have the mud tax. Kids on the street are hit or miss -- some have tons and some have none, so you'd have to knock on some doors and ask your neighbors to be.

[pc50]

There are 4 gated sections in Benders Landing Estates named Cross Roads all built by Trendmaker. They have houses around $450k with access to all the Benders Landing Estates amenities. The lack of a MUD tax in this community saves $400-$500 per month on a typical 30 year fixed mortgage. Also a new high school and intermediate school located within 2 miles are scheduled to open in 2018 with Benders landing being zoned to them. I also would not call them small lots, they are 70 and 80 feet wide which is larger than what you will get for your budget in your other choices.

[houstongal22]

Originally Posted by katygirl518

I posted a little bit ago about moving to Humble, but I don't really know if that's what we are looking for. My husband would be willing to drive a little more to have more amenities around. That said, we've started looking in the Spring part of Conroe ISD. Someone referred to it as the Oak Ridge area? I guess because of the high school?

Does anyone know anything about the above communities? We are looking in the $400-$450K range. We would like to build new or buy a house less than 5 years old. All of these communities seem to have that.

I was wondering what the difference is in the communities. Our current community in Katy has residents with older kids in high school, so if we did a move, we would really like one with young kids (ours are 4 and 6). We are really trying to find somewhere with kids playing in the street etc. But not a community that is so starter home that all the families will move anyway.

Any thoughts on these neighborhoods? I read Bender's Landing doesn't have a MUD tax. Do the other communities south of 99 have a MUD tax? I know The Falls does have one.

You should be able to find all this information for any house by having demographics pulled in for an specific address. It boils down to zip code not subdivision though. However it provides you with great valuable information from the percentage of home owners vs rentals. to a breakdown by age group and education. This may help you understanding the neighborhood composition, turn over (rentals) and much more. Ask your agent they should be able to pull this on any property/zipcode. I do it all the time when clients need additional information. Good luck on your home search

[LakeConroeGal]

a lot of the neighborhoods that you mentioned will for sure have families and several children depending on the street you live on.
I agree Woodson's Reserve to me is probably the nicer of the ones that you mentioned with Harmony and the Falls of Imperial Oaks after that. Benders Landing is also a nice area with much larger lots. Oak Ridge area is off of I45 and typically tends to have older homes then the neighborhood's you mentioned. You might also check out some of the stuff in the Woodlands areas. A little bit further away then some of the other neighborhoods you mentioned from 99, but still great areas for families and kids and there's always something going on. Good luck

[wildkarrde21]

Disclaimer: I live in the Falls so I'm going to be a little biased

All of the neighborhoods you listed are comparable. I'm going to agree with most of the posters and say that Woodson's Reserve is the nicest (same developers as The Woodlands, so there's an emphasis on keeping a lot of the trees, etc). They have nice amenities although your only option out of the neighborhood is 99 feeder or driving through Benders which is to the south.

Bender's Landing will be a little more expensive than your budget, but they do have 1+ acre lots that you can custom build on which is nice. Only con is that they don't have sidewalks from what I've seen. Every time I've driven through there it feels like you're more isolated from your neighbors (probably as a result of the large lot sizes), but I'm sure the people are friendly. It has a similar issue to Woodson's, as the only exits are onto the 99 feeder or Rayford Rd.

I'm going to disagree slightly and say Falls is nicer than Harmony. Like the other two neighborhoods, almost all the entrances to Harmony are incredibly annoying to get out of as they exit out onto the northeast bound feeder road for 99, which means you have to take it up to a U-turn if you're trying to go southwest. The entrance at Rayford Rd almost always has heavy traffic. That being said, you are close to some of the brand new shopping centers off of 99 (which has HEB and some dining) and the houses are comparable to Woodson's and Falls. But if you want to get into the Woodlands it will take longer as you really only have the option of Rayford Rd or u-turning onto 99 and dealing with I-45.

Falls is on the west side of 99 and has 3 different routes over to the Woodlands, so you have options (even if they can get clogged too). Your budget would fit very well over here and there are plenty of young kids all over the place with sidewalks everywhere. Economically it's pretty diverse, from the mid 200s to the 800s. We're also getting a YMCA that should start construction later this year along with a 100 acre lake that will feature water recreation. You still get easy access to all the commercial development off of 99 but can get over to the Woodlands quicker than the other 3 neighborhoods.

All four neighborhoods are zoned to highly regarded schools, so you can't go wrong there. Falls, Harmony and Woodson's all have MUD taxes I believe. Not sure about Benders. Despite my bias, they are all great neighborhoods.

[RCH99]

Originally Posted by wildkarrde21

Disclaimer: I live in the Falls so I'm going to be a little biased

All of the neighborhoods you listed are comparable. I'm going to agree with most of the posters and say that Woodson's Reserve is the nicest (same developers as The Woodlands, so there's an emphasis on keeping a lot of the trees, etc).

Woodson's Reserve is being developed by Toll Brother's and Cemus Development, LLC. The Woodlands Development Co. is not involved.

[katygirl518]

Thank you all so much for your replies! I have a couple of more questions now. I saw on another post that the newer part of Benders Landing to the East (probably the part we could afford) is in a flood zone. Does anyone know anything about that? Are any of these other neighborhoods? And since my husband would be driving to downtown, would you say the commute down the Hardy (estimated at 45 min on HAR) is accurate? Does the Hardy get really congested? We are coming from living off I-10, so I suppose anything would be better than that haha

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by katygirl518

Thank you all so much for your replies! I have a couple of more questions now. I saw on another post that the newer part of Benders Landing to the East (probably the part we could afford) is in a flood zone. Does anyone know anything about that? Are any of these other neighborhoods? And since my husband would be driving to downtown, would you say the commute down the Hardy (estimated at 45 min on HAR) is accurate? Does the Hardy get really congested? We are coming from living off I-10, so I suppose anything would be better than that haha

There are houses that back up to the spring creek that would likely be in the flood plain -- most houses won't be. Just run the address through the govt website to check

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

There are houses that back up to the spring creek that would likely be in the flood plain -- most houses won't be. Just run the address through the govt website to check

Actually when we almost bought a lot there several years ago, the sales rep told us that much of the last 2 sections being built there would fall into the flood plain. I'm not sure how that might have changed in the last couple of years with the record flooding Houston has had.