Some questions about apartment codes here in San Antonio (Howe: real estate, sublease)

[txbullsfan]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

I pay $1010/month for my mortgage on a 3 bed 2 bath house which I purchased new in 2010. I've refinanced once when interest rates were lower. My payment stayed the same but I shaved 4 years off the mortgage. My property taxes have increased a little bit, but once a year I make an extra escrow payment to offset the difference so my monthly payment stays the same.

My daughter and I have airborne allergies to foods and chemicals that would be unmanageable living in an apartment. We also have to have an air conditioner that works really well, which we didn't have very often in the apartments we lived in. I'm lucky we bought the house before I got as sick as I am now.

I think my apartment may be making me sick but I am not sure. Trying to pin down the neurological health issues (and other health issues) I am having and I am pretty young and its unusual. Cant pin it on family history or any other factor. People keep telling me older paint and mold issues will cause neurological, behavioral and other health issues and that I have a problem with the apartment but I am stuck.

I have an Awair IAQ device that monitors indoor air quality and the VOCs are usually averaged at over 1,100ppb (or almost full dots/ really high in the app). According to the Awair company, those numbers are unhealthy to them and they say according to the EPA. When I emailed them, they say those numbers are way above the average they are seeing on their servers. So I keep the windows open. But as you know, SA gets hot and humidity (above 50%) activates dormant mold (seen and unseen), so keeping the window open all the time is not an option.

I bought a nice Frigidair dehumidifier that helps with humidity in my apartment for a couple hundred bucks. I bought an Austin Air Healthmate 450 air purifier for about $750 bucks that helps with the VOCs but the VOCs arent even totally manageable with that. I think I have narrowed down where the VOCs are coming from and I think its the community attic. In an apartment, as you can imagine, people cook, smoke, paint, clean and do all kinds of crap. Many household cleaners have VOCs in them. VOCs are a toxin. Those scents/VOCs/toxins are traveling up to the attic, wafting around up there and then getting through the attic access panels. I just sealed mine up with some weatherstripping and it seems to be helping but still, the VOCs are high. This building in general has had issues with flooding and mold. My neighbors downstairs said they too have mold on their bathroom walls because of no venting. Apartments were built in the 80s. So, if they have a mold issue too and others in my building do too then that stuff may be in the walls even though I dont see it. Maybe not though. Maybe we are adequately addressing it though through OTC products. Not sure whats going on.

But what can I do in the current housing market? Id love to own my own new(er) home and not deal with this crap (old paint, old insulation, not up to code building etc.) . I cant go elsewhere because rents are going through the roof. I cant buy because housing prices and property taxes are also going through the roof.

I am glad you and your daughter got thing figured out. Got a spare bedroom?

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by txbullsfan

But what can I do in the current housing market? Id love to own my own new(er) home and not deal with this crap (old paint, old insulation, not up to code building etc.) . I cant go elsewhere because rents are going through the roof. I cant buy because housing prices and property taxes are also going through the roof.

I am glad you and your daughter got thing figured out. Got a spare bedroom?

What I meant was that you can buy a house. If you can afford $875 for rent, you can afford a mortgage payment. If houses are too expensive for you, broaden your search area. I live in 78245...it's at the very edge of what I considered an acceptable area, but I had to go where I could afford the house I wanted.

[RadiantBaby]

Instances like this are when you call city code enforcement to come take a look.

City code is long and varied: If an inspector finds something wrong, they'll know and get the ball rolling.

[txbullsfan]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

What I meant was that you can buy a house. If you can afford $875 for rent, you can afford a mortgage payment. If houses are too expensive for you, broaden your search area. I live in 78245...it's at the very edge of what I considered an acceptable area, but I had to go where I could afford the house I wanted.

The thing is, with renting an apartment, there is no additional property tax or homeowners insurance.

If the total monthly payment was $875 (mortgage, property tax, homeowners insurance) per month or even $1,000 per month for those things for a really small but new(er) one story house on a small lot of land in a decently safe neighborhood then I can buy a house.

Right now, with the SA housing market, one could not find something like that unless, usually, its a much older home in need of repairs, in a high(er) crime area, or it truly is a "diamond in the rough" but it sells off the market so fast because of stiff buying competition.

[TrapperL]

If you can afford $891.00 a month. Then look at this one in Woodlake which is far east side towards Randolph. The payment includes principle, interest, taxes, HOA, and insurance. This was a very well kept neighborhood the last time I was in the area. It has a pretty strong HOA which has kept the area up and looking great. Took me less than 5 minutes to find this one on realtor.com
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-00634#photo16

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by txbullsfan

The thing is, with renting an apartment, there is no additional property tax or homeowners insurance.

If the total monthly payment was $875 (mortgage, property tax, homeowners insurance) per month or even $1,000 per month for those things for a really small but new(er) one story house on a small lot of land in a decently safe neighborhood then I can buy a house.

Right now, with the SA housing market, one could not find something like that unless, usually, its a much older home in need of repairs, in a high(er) crime area, or it truly is a "diamond in the rough" but it sells off the market so fast because of stiff buying competition.

The $1010 I pay for my mortgage includes my property tax and homeowners insurance. The only thing I have to pay other than that is my HOA dues.

If you're serious about buying a house, you should get preapproved for a mortgage and find out how much cash you'll have to put toward closing costs and down payment. Then you can be ready when the perfect house comes along.

[txbullsfan]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

The $1010 I pay for my mortgage includes my property tax and homeowners insurance. The only thing I have to pay other than that is my HOA dues.

If you're serious about buying a house, you should get preapproved for a mortgage and find out how much cash you'll have to put toward closing costs and down payment. Then you can be ready when the perfect house comes along.

I have qualified for much more then what I can afford.

I could do $1010 total cost per month (mortgage, property tax, home owners insurance) for a new(er) home. The problem is finding them. They are diamonds in the rough and competition is fierce. My search regularly turned up homes that were much older, for much more then this. Or they were in much need of repair or in rough neighborhoods that I wouldn't feel comfortable having my 3 year old daughter in. The "diamonds in the rough I did find" I was outbid almost immediately on even when I bid asking price. In fact, some properties that were "diamonds in the rough" that were just listed, were sold and taken off the market literally as I was driving to the property according my realtor. Eventually, after a while, he got frustrated and I was frustrated and we ended our working relationship.

If you or anyone sees a "diamond in the rough" please feel free to PM me.

1. New(er) small one story home (5 years or newer)
2. Garage
3. Safe neighborhood
4. Decent schools
5. Within 15 miles radius of my daughter who lives with her mom near Medical Center

Basically, what the typical person is looking for in a reasonably affordable starter home. A starter home that is not close to $200,000, which is what new starter homes ballooned too here in SA over the last 10 years.

[TexasRedneck]

They ballooned to that price point because nowadays, folks expect "starter homes" to be 2,000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 2-car garage with all kinds of upgrades. A starter USED to be a 3-1-1 on a modest lot. It's the market demand that's driven that more than anything else - and a builder is going to build to what the market will buy.

Couple that with the fact that your target area is pretty much built out already, and you're going to have trouble finding what you want, especially that new. I think you need to look at older homes in good repair. Frankly, I think you'll be buying a better home, all told.

[Azure110]

I don't see too many one story homes that are 5 years or less old.

It is not that the expectation of 4-2-2 starter home is unrealistic, it was the norm for awhile until the real estate market blew up locally. At one time, you COULD get all of that before prices went up.

3-1-1 is like going way back to the Ray Ellison days of home building. It is not the norm anymore.

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by Azure110

It is not that the expectation of 4-2-2 starter home is unrealistic, it was the norm for awhile until the real estate market blew up locally. At one time, you COULD get all of that before prices went up.

Yeah.....back in the 80's and 90's........all the way into the early 2k's, you could. There's this thing called inflation, too. In the 80's, Ford F150 XLT SC was sub-15k....3-2-2 was $80k. 2003, Ford F150 XLT was 25k....4-2-2 was $130k. Today, F150 XLT SC is $38k, 4-2-2 about $200k.

You're like my Dad was when I bought our first house "Boy, are you NUTS?!?? I paid less than that for our first house with TEN ACRES!!" I had to remind him what he was getting paid when he bought that property......

Between inflation and our own ever-expanding idea of what is "necessary", most bank accounts don't have a chance. Our cable bill is now $170/mo - in the early 80's, it was under $20 for the same. I was spending about $70/mo for cell service (about the only thing that's really gotten cheaper - until you add all the extra garbage they love to stack on), and we're now paying $115/mo for two iPhones. Gas was about $1.20 in the early 80's - today, we're around $2.50.

So - it's not just a hotter local market - it's life in general has gotten more expensive.