North or South Kingwood - base for a Brit? (Houston: how much, houses)

[DaveBrit]

Hi!

I'm a Brit moving to Houston, as I work for a major US airline and will be based at Bush Airport. My wife and I are looking at Kingwood as a base, and we'll be buying property, as this is a long-term move to the States.

I understand that north Kingwood is in Montgomery County and south Kingwood is in Harris County. As a result of this, are the property taxes lower in Montgomery County, as there are no City of Houston-specific taxes? Does is make much difference?

We've seem some properties on har.com in both areas, and one that particularly interests us is priced at $179,000. The square footage of the property is 2300, and the lot is 6000 sq ft. Does anyone know what sort of taxes we'd pay based on this?

Also, if not Kingwood, can anyone suggest some other areas please? What about Humble, Spring, Porter or The Woodlands?

Thanks for your help!

[gkv74]

I live on the Harris County side of Kingwood. You will pay around $4500 in property taxes per year on a house worth $179K with the homestead exemption. I'm not sure how much property taxes will be on the Montgomery side. You will not have to pay City of Houston taxes but will have to pay some kind of MUD tax instead. My guess is that it will work out fairly close with Montgomery County possibly slightly less.

Kingwood is very nice and of the other choices, The Woodlands is the only place that is in the same league. Kingwood will be closer to the airport and a little bit less expensive as well. The Woodlands has better shopping and more restaurants.

[DaveBrit]

Thanks for the good information. I understand a MUD tax to include water, sewage, storm drainage? Is that right?

Anyone here from Kingwood, Montgomery County?

[Watchful]

Some will prefer the schools in Kingwood/Harris County (Humble district) to those in Kingwood/Montgomery County (New Caney district).

If schools are not an issue - for commuting purposes to the airport, some of the Montgomery County neighborhoods are very close to the freeway and would make a very easy commute.

Some of the Kingwood/Harris County neighborhoods (though very nice) are quite a ways east of the freeway - and the east-west drive can take like 15-20 minutes through Kingwood before you ever reach the freeway.

The very easiest commute to the airport would be from the Fall Creek neighborhood - a very nice development.

[SoHoVe]

Originally Posted by DaveBrit

Thanks for the good information. I understand a MUD tax to include water, sewage, storm drainage? Is that right?

Anyone here from Kingwood, Montgomery County?

Just FYI its a VERY small percentage of KW that is in Montgomery county. When I was looking at houses in the area the difference in taxes when other things were taken into considertaion wasn't considerable. Tax info is available on the HCAD website and I am sure Montgomery county must have a similiar site. It allows you to type in an address and check the taxes however note any exemptions the current owner might have that you may not qualify for.

[chris_ut]

I live in Kingwood - Montgomery County. My tax rate is actually a bit higher due to the MUD tax. You can go to MCAD or HCAD and type in the houses address and it will tell you exactly what you will pay in taxes. You might consider Oakhurst which is part of Kingwood but in Montgomery County/Porter. It has the shortest commute of any area of Kingwood due to the proximity to the 59 on ramp. Check out the neighborhood called The Park which has houses in your price range. Here is an example of a home there in your range: 25609 Thornhill Creek Court, Porter, TX 77365 - HAR.com

The houses in Oakhurst are newer so if you prefer an older home you will need to go to Harris County Kingwood areas (Bear Branch is a nice village with homes in your price range). If you have any specific Kingwood questions feel free to PM me. I have lived here a few years and own 2 properties in Kingwood. I would avoid areas north of Northpark Drive that are east of Hwy 59 as that area is probably the least nice part of Kingwood and homes there don't retain value as well.

[DaveBrit]

Originally Posted by chris_ut

I live in Kingwood - Montgomery County. My tax rate is actually a bit higher due to the MUD tax. You can go to MCAD or HCAD and type in the houses address and it will tell you exactly what you will pay in taxes. You might consider Oakhurst which is part of Kingwood but in Montgomery County/Porter. It has the shortest commute of any area of Kingwood due to the proximity to the 59 on ramp. Check out the neighborhood called The Park which has houses in your price range. Here is an example of a home there in your range: 25609 Thornhill Creek Court, Porter, TX 77365 - HAR.com

The houses in Oakhurst are newer so if you prefer an older home you will need to go to Harris County Kingwood areas (Bear Branch is a nice village with homes in your price range). If you have any specific Kingwood questions feel free to PM me. I have lived here a few years and own 2 properties in Kingwood. I would avoid areas north of Northpark Drive that are east of Hwy 59 as that area is probably the least nice part of Kingwood and homes there don't retain value as well.

Some good information there, thanks. You must know my taste - that house you reference is already on my list of 'properties of interest'!

[XodoX]

All the Brits move to Katy, I heard. The other Europeans take the risk and move inside the loop.

[jfre81]

Katy is quite a haul from IAH though, and Kingwood is closer than the inner loop too.

[JustCinco]

Overall the taxes in the Montgomery side is higher than the Harris side. On most of the Harris side there is no MUD (Municipal Utility Distric) tax, but there is city of Houston tax, on the Montgomery side there is MUD tax, but no city of Houston tax.