Where to live near Lackland with good schools but no HOA/large yard/more country? (San Antonio: to rent, houses)

[Gymcoachfl]

Hello! My family is moving to San Antonio this summer and I am looking for advice on a good place to live within a reasonable driving distance to the base. We would like to buy a house preferably between 150-200k near a great elementary school. (Rated 9-10 greatschools) I have been searching online and all I can seem to come up with is homes in subdivisions with small yards and HOA's. Or great homes with more land near terrible schools. We are in Tampa and tired of living right in the city with homes so close together. Does anyone know of some good areas to search that have decent sized lots/nice views/ no HOA- near good schools?

Thanks in advance!

[Bo]

This is a truly tough combination of characteristics you've come up with.

"Near Lackland with good schools" is probably impossible, unless your definition of "near" extends out for 10-15 miles.

"No HOA- near good schools" is a challenge in itself, too - but wanting acreage compounds the challenge.

At the price point of "150-200k," something on that list has to go.

What is it you fear about HOAs?

[cbeltran428]

Originally Posted by Bo

This is a truly tough combination of characteristics you've come up with.

"Near Lackland with good schools" is probably impossible, unless your definition of "near" extends out for 10-15 miles.

"No HOA- near good schools" is a challenge in itself, too - but wanting acreage compounds the challenge.

At the price point of "150-200k," something on that list has to go.

What is it you fear about HOAs?

Yup, your price point is too low for acreage property with a home. Look outside the loop around Potranco and 1604. That's probably the closest you'll get to Lackland with good schools, but you might not find the exact type of properties you're looking for.

[TexasRedneck]

Castroville area...but you need to up your budget, or reduce your land size.

[CyVaquero]

The areas around Lackland are rough.

There are a few older custom developments north of Marbach with larger lots outside 1604. Coolcrest and Rolling Oaks Estates outside 1604 on Potranco, we live in the latter but haven't seen any properties under $250k since we bought ours - based on the size of the recent builds out here I doubt if we ever will again. For a commute reference, my wife works on Port San Antonio (old Kelly AFB) and it is about a 20 minute commute taking 211/90 when she leaves at 6:15. There are places scattered about just hard to find. You should set your build date criteria to before 2000 to help find those neighborhoods.

Castroville isn't cheap, there has been some money fleeing the city out that way from what the locals tells me. Castroville area is Medina Valley ISD, not bad - just a rural school district. We like it and have talked about moving out that way once things get too congested where we are at.

Things become country real quick when you go southwest of Lackland. Madona, Altacosa, Lyle, & Somerset are all farm communities just as close as Castroville, I remember seeing a place out that way which was a Texas ranch style with 5 acres, a well filled pond and large workshop for what we paid for our current place (low 200s). At the time it was too far out for my wife.

[Azure110]

I second Castroville (for now). Soon, it will just get crowded there too.


Hondo is a bit further down the road from Castroville but can meet just about everything else on your list except I don't know which city has better schools.

[Gymcoachfl]

Bo, our concern about HOA's is mostly because my husband hates the idea of having other people tell him what we can or can't do/have on our property. We dealt with one before and it was annoying. For me I feel that is one of the things we may have to compromise on because so far I have found nothing meeting all my wants. I'm not looking for a ton of land, but something like 1/4 acre would be great as opposed to most of the lots we have seen. I would do a smaller lot if it backed up to woods or a natural area.
Also by close I mean within a 30 minute drive give or take.

[Gymcoachfl]

Originally Posted by cbeltran428

Yup, your price point is too low for acreage property with a home. Look outside the loop around Potranco and 1604. That's probably the closest you'll get to Lackland with good schools, but you might not find the exact type of properties you're looking for.

Thanks, I will check out that area! We can afford to go a little higher but I would like to try to stick to a lower price point if we can find anything in that range that meets our needs.

[Gymcoachfl]

Originally Posted by CyVaquero

The areas around Lackland are rough.

There are a few older custom developments north of Marbach with larger lots outside 1604. Coolcrest and Rolling Oaks Estates outside 1604 on Potranco, we live in the latter but haven't seen any properties under $250k since we bought ours - based on the size of the recent builds out here I doubt if we ever will again. For a commute reference, my wife works on Port San Antonio (old Kelly AFB) and it is about a 20 minute commute taking 211/90 when she leaves at 6:15. There are places scattered about just hard to find. You should set your build date criteria to before 2000 to help find those neighborhoods.

Castroville isn't cheap, there has been some money fleeing the city out that way from what the locals tells me. Castroville area is Medina Valley ISD, not bad - just a rural school district. We like it and have talked about moving out that way once things get too congested where we are at.

Things become country real quick when you go southwest of Lackland. Madona, Altacosa, Lyle, & Somerset are all farm communities just as close as Castroville, I remember seeing a place out that way which was a Texas ranch style with 5 acres, a well filled pond and large workshop for what we paid for our current place (low 200s). At the time it was too far out for my wife.

Thanks so much for all the information! I'll check it all out when I get a chance. I did find a few houses that had great lots and were priced well out that way, but they were near really bad schools. I would have to say I could compromise on the lot size and HOA but could not compromise on school quality.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by Gymcoachfl

Bo, our concern about HOA's is mostly because my husband hates the idea of having other people tell him what we can or can't do/have on our property. We dealt with one before and it was annoying. For me I feel that is one of the things we may have to compromise on because so far I have found nothing meeting all my wants. I'm not looking for a ton of land, but something like 1/4 acre would be great as opposed to most of the lots we have seen. I would do a smaller lot if it backed up to woods or a natural area.
Also by close I mean within a 30 minute drive give or take.

One thing to consider is that traffic seems to be getting worse and worse in San Antonio so you may want to rent first to get a feel of the best routes to and from work before buying. Start with the best school and try renting nearby.