There is a house my wife and are thinking about buying in north Austin, north of Rutland and south of Kramer in between Metric and Lamar.

Anyone know anything about that area or live around there? What is crime like...I know it's bad on Rutland and to the south of it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I have a buddy that bought over there and regretted it once he had a kid. I heard crime is pretty bad till you get to 183.

Thanks for the reply. It seems like it's concentrated in certain areas from the crime maps I've looked at but still want more real person experience with the area. Wife and I will like start having kids within a year.
Our plan is to renovate the property and resell or rent in 5 years or so.

It is a sketchy neighborhood, try going north of braker between lamar and metric. That neighborhood seems a little nicer and quieter

My office is on Metric and anything to the east of Metric you have to be careful. There are pockets in there (some new town homes south of Kramer and an existing gated town home also) that are ok but still a bunch of duplex's that are rough. At least 3x a day there are police and ambulances going full tilt up and down Metric and several of those go east on Boyer that goes into that duplex area. With all of the development at the Domain and on Burnet it will eventually start to clean up.

There are some town homes and homes between Kramer and Braker that are pretty nice and also and you can even go north of Braker (once you get past the first block of duples's) and several pockets in that area.

quote:

---

It is a sketchy neighborhood, try going north of braker between lamar and metric. That neighborhood seems a little nicer and quieter

---

Do you know from experience?

To give you a better idea where the home is, it's close to the north Austin Civic Association and Cook Elementary School.

Don't know how to link, but use the below address and it will give you all the info you can stand.

http://www.austintexas.gov/GIS/CrimeViewer/

Good luck!

doesn't seem to be much going for that area unless you like eating at kiefer's deli all the time, which i do.

Thanks for the links and input everyone. I think we've decided to pass on that house. We'll keep it in the back of our mind while we keep looking.

Max budget of around $300k...trying to find something central to north central it even northwest. Also willing to go east side if it's in a good area near Mueller.

Let me know if you have suggestions. Thanks

I'm partial to the Balcones Woods area, East of 183, South of Duval, North of Braker, West of Mopac. Good elementary close by, major hospital a block away, Domain is a 10 minute bike ride, Arboretum is less than 10 minute bike ride. There's still some thug trash that blows through burglarizing, but not any more so than any other similar neighborhood.

It is a high crime area..I would look elsewhere especially with children in the plans. Yes I am speaking from personal experience.

I grew up in that neighborhood and went to Cook Elementary and I can personally vouch for the safety there...30 years ago.

Oh, and I haven't really been back since but have heard through my old high school buddies that our old neighborhood is now a colossal mess/war zone and they don't even drive through for old time's sake.

In partial defense of the neighborhood, all those ambulances on Metric are due to the fact tht there is a dialysis clinic just south of Rutland.

lived on rutland for a year and then got the heck out of there. that area south of kramer all the way to 183 is bad news. we would always hear and see the police heli at night. countless number of cop cars. Couple of months ago austin allocated some money to rename rundberg and clean up the area because of all the crime going on.

Moving from Austin to Houston has given me a new perspective on "crime" in Austin. It's very tame, even in this area. I lived off of Braker on the ease side of 35 for several years, and it wasn't bad at all. The area you are talking about is somewhat rougher, but it mostly stuff like petty theft and prostitution.

Houston crime is most definitely worse and yes Austin's crime is tame in comparison. Most Austin 'thugs' would get their lunch eaten if they moved to a bigger city like Houston or Dallas. But I will say that far worse things than petty thefts/prostitution occur in the 'Rundberg' area on a daily basis. Media just doesn't talk about it, they'd rather discuss bike lanes, free transient housing or another animal shelter.

quote:

---

Max budget of around $300k...trying to find something central to north central it even northwest. Also willing to go east side if it's in a good area near Mueller.

---

you can find something in that range in the Windsor Park/University Hills neighborhoods just north of Mueller. crime isn't too bad, outside of a few pockets; mostly just a lot of middle class housing that's pretty close in and on the way up.

quote:

---

you can find something in that range in the Windsor Park/University Hills neighborhoods just north of Mueller. crime isn't too bad, outside of a few pockets; mostly just a lot of middle class housing that's pretty close in and on the way up.

---

Have a few friends in that hood and it is definitely on the way up. This house just got remodeled and they are asking $425
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/1612-westmoor,-austin-tx_rb/
Just 250K more than they paid for it 5 months ago.

I think they are overshooting at that price. Don't get me wrong, I think those neighborhoods are good now and have tons of potential to go higher. But there are some problems that need to get cleaned up before that happens.

quote:

---

Moving from Austin to Houston has given me a new perspective on "crime" in Austin. It's very tame, even in this area. I lived off of Braker on the ease side of 35 for several years, and it wasn't bad at all. The area you are talking about is somewhat rougher, but it mostly stuff like petty theft and prostitution.

---

I also leave off of Braker east of 35. But, I am guessing you are still west of Dessau where it drops of a little. Overall, not a bad neighborhood for the area and price.

[This message has been edited by defroach (edited 8/16/2013 4:22p).]

quote:

---

quote:
you can find something in that range in the Windsor Park/University Hills neighborhoods just north of Mueller. crime isn't too bad, outside of a few pockets; mostly just a lot of middle class housing that's pretty close in and on the way up.


Have a few friends in that hood and it is definitely on the way up. This house just got remodeled and they are asking $425
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/1612-westmoor,-austin-tx_rb/
Just 250K more than they paid for it 5 months ago.

---

Lol...that asking price is a joke. Look at the comps plus no way that gets appraised for $425k...I see it appraising between $350k-$375k. But hey...some crazy person might pay it. Location location and location

This is funny...

I just retrieved my bedside pistol and walked outside because I heard 2 gun shots across 183.

There are pockets of crime throughout the city. I left Austin to Hays county
3 years ago and won't look back. We have crime off and on in Kyle, but no police helicopters shining in your backyard. I lived in south Austin around Slaughter/Manchaca. Gunshots and lots of transients. Walking in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood Castlewood was nice but we had a low income housing area next to us that was named the 2nd most drug crime area in Austin behind Rundberg Ln.

I live in the Milwood neighborhood on the NW corner on Duval and Amherst. It has great schools and low crime. The area had a wide variety of house prices.

Actually, a house just went on the market yesterday. I don't know the address, but its on Enchanted Forest dr.

quote:

---

Lol...that asking price is a joke. Look at the comps plus no way that gets appraised for $425k...I see it appraising between $350k-$375k. But hey...some crazy person might pay it. Location location and location

---

$220/sq ft isn't far from the norm in that neighborhood right now. I think it is a pretty mediocre remodel but it seems like a seller's market right now.

Better staging but way closer to the sketchier elements of Cameron road $231 per:

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/29406832_zpid/days_sort/30.336695,-97.664809,30.294239,-97.727981_rect/13_zm/_fm/

Closing on our house today.

I highly recommend our agent, Jon Rue.
jon at jonrue dot com

[This message has been edited by LihaiAg06 (edited 10/3/2013 2:23p).]

And Yes, we found a home in North Austin but far enough North that crime isn't a problem...North of Braker in between Lamar and I-35.

[This message has been edited by LihaiAg06 (edited 10/3/2013 2:36p).]

I rent a house in NACA. I have had no trouble here, neighbors are very friendly. Several Vietnamese and Thai families close by, but the neighborhood as a whole is well on the way towards gentrification. You do see some sketch from time to time but I have never felt threatened by it.
I'm also two years out of school and rooming with two fraternity brothers, not settling down and planning for parenthood. Just my two cents. Hope it was helpful!