Gotta be careful out there. There is a ******* sheriff that collects taxes for some other pompous ass, and a bunch of homeless people that rob rich folks with bows and arrows. Rough town.

Worm01 said:

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ATM9000 said:

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I moved into the area a year ago and we absolutely love it. Location is great. You can get into town in 20 minutes and the access to the Beltway and I-10 to get wherever you might want to go is quietly a huge but understated perk to the area. Schools are all really good and great sense of community in basicallly every neighborhood.

Only thing I'll say as advice more than anything is you are likely buying an old ass house if you purchase in this area. We love our old house, but make sure you know everything you can about it before buying it because it will be expensive and old house maintenance can't be understated. Your wife will be swept away by updates in some houses because you'll see a lot not updated and the new refurbs look just so much nicer... just know that a lot of people tend to just buy the new cabinets and floors and countertops... but leave the galvanized pipe and aluminum wire and cast iron drain pipes for the new owners to deal with. In other words, if you buy in this area, make sure you are able to do so with a nice reserve of cash behind to take on unforeseen maintenance.

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This is 100% though. We got lucky to find one with "good bones" and mostly renovated, but there's still a lot to do (driveway is busted, galvanized piping, attic insulation is almost non-existent), But the trade off is big trees, houses that all have their own style, and not a lot of "keeping up with the Joneses". You should have plenty of good options in the 600's-700's, but they won't be new builds.

Also, careful with the ones that were flipped by investors. There's a few that have done it right and have been a part of the neighborhood. But there are others that have used cheap materials, and focused on aesthetics instead of doing a quality job. We looked at a few and you can tell the difference pretty easily.

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Lol... the good ol' 'Good bones' House. Every person I know in my neighborhood has had some sort of semi-major maintenance bugaboo after they've bought within 2 years. Every single one. When I bought, I was jazzed that I found a house with a new AC, Water heater, modernized drain pipe, fairly but had a beat to **** driveway, old electrical wiring, and galvanized pipe throughout the house. Dealing with galvanaized pipe wearing down and replacing it has been my big bugaboo. Sounds like you are ready for the drill though which is good. As long as you know and understand the potential costs it is all good.

But yeah... I've lived in some of the newer neighborhoods out west years ago and it feels good when you come home to the big trees, relatively well maintained and own style houses (not to mention the shorter commute time and being right next to Hershey and having daylight to utilize that park).

ATM9000 said:

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Worm01 said:

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ATM9000 said:

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I moved into the area a year ago and we absolutely love it. Location is great. You can get into town in 20 minutes and the access to the Beltway and I-10 to get wherever you might want to go is quietly a huge but understated perk to the area. Schools are all really good and great sense of community in basicallly every neighborhood.

Only thing I'll say as advice more than anything is you are likely buying an old ass house if you purchase in this area. We love our old house, but make sure you know everything you can about it before buying it because it will be expensive and old house maintenance can't be understated. Your wife will be swept away by updates in some houses because you'll see a lot not updated and the new refurbs look just so much nicer... just know that a lot of people tend to just buy the new cabinets and floors and countertops... but leave the galvanized pipe and aluminum wire and cast iron drain pipes for the new owners to deal with. In other words, if you buy in this area, make sure you are able to do so with a nice reserve of cash behind to take on unforeseen maintenance.

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This is 100% though. We got lucky to find one with "good bones" and mostly renovated, but there's still a lot to do (driveway is busted, galvanized piping, attic insulation is almost non-existent), But the trade off is big trees, houses that all have their own style, and not a lot of "keeping up with the Joneses". You should have plenty of good options in the 600's-700's, but they won't be new builds.

Also, careful with the ones that were flipped by investors. There's a few that have done it right and have been a part of the neighborhood. But there are others that have used cheap materials, and focused on aesthetics instead of doing a quality job. We looked at a few and you can tell the difference pretty easily.

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Lol... the good ol' 'Good bones' House. Every person I know in my neighborhood has had some sort of semi-major maintenance bugaboo after they've bought within 2 years. Every single one. When I bought, I was jazzed that I found a house with a new AC, Water heater, modernized drain pipe, fairly but had a beat to **** driveway, old electrical wiring, and galvanized pipe throughout the house. Dealing with galvanaized pipe wearing down and replacing it has been my big bugaboo. Sounds like you are ready for the drill though which is good. As long as you know and understand the potential costs it is all good.

But yeah... I've lived in some of the newer neighborhoods out west years ago and it feels good when you come home to the big trees, relatively well maintained and own style houses (not to mention the shorter commute time and being right next to Hershey and having daylight to utilize that park).

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For sure, it's all a trade off. The big one for us that got knocked out prior to purchase was the UG plumbing. We did a hydrostatic and camera'd the cast iron sewer lines, and they ended up replacing all of it. Felt bad for them, but I think insurance covered part of it. I'm sure the galvanized is the next big one, but our last house had galvanized piping and we just dealt with it as leaks came up.

Oh, and check the foundations. Especially East of Dairy Ashford where there's apparently a fault line that runs through the neighborhood. Use a realtor that knows the area (like the poster above) and you'll be fine.

But honestly, our first house was a new build and it had it's share of issues, too. It's true that they just don't build 'em like they used to.

We had a hydrostatic and camera inspection done on our house in NF8 and it passed. We moved about three weeks later after doing a few things. Literally a week after I moved in, my downstairs toilet started leaking which I assumed was just a bad wax seal.

Nope, turns out my sewer pipe was broken and the plumbing inspector and seller both told me to kick rocks.

There is a fault line. Actually there are a few around town that pose a problem for residential properties. If you follow the path of the Long Point Fault through Spring Branch/Memorial, you can see some significant elevation differences from one side of a lot to another.

I cannot imagine knowingly buying a house with a fault running under or adjacent the slab.

this google map shows the fault going through the west memorial and energy corridor neighborhoods
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&dg=feature&mid=12bgcN3dNeiGICouHqLZ41YGuYS8&ll=29.7593752142655%2C-95.57954185175078&z=14

the houses in Yorkshire on Bramblewood are a mess

that sucks. Who did the hydrostat? Did they do a camera test as well?

Hope you like peacocks

Water Turkey07 said:

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Hope you like peacocks

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have they been seen since Harvey?

yeah, tons of them. I've seen the most down Rancho Bauer toward the bayou.

Re the peacocks, I've been told or read it sounds like someone's getting murdered when they do their thing during mating season.

Not sure I get the response. I've taken a lot of Uber to and from the Heights and if it isn't rush hour, it is consistently right at 20 minutes door to door.

Just because I had seen the debate in this thread I paid attention to my actual commute time this morning. From pulling out of my driveway to turning off my car on the 5th floor of the garage in the Galleria area this morning was 27 minutes. Not bad considering there was a wreck in dairy ashford and another on i10.

Yeah I'm not saying it can't be done in 20 minutes, but it seems like an exaggeration to say that's the normal drive time. Especially if you live further back in those neighborhoods. I'd think the average is closer to 30. but whatever, maybe that's splitting hairs. I really like that area and considered living there.

I have two offices, one in the Galleria and one in the Heights. It takes me about 30 door to door to Galleria, but only about 20-25 to get to Studemont. The problem is usually 610. I can get to 10/610 in 12-15 minutes, but then it's another 15-20 to get South to Hidalgo.

Water Turkey07 said:

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Hope you like peacocks

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Underrated post.

Is the Meadow Wood / Spring Forest combo a good one? Haven't heard the best things.

SjAg said:

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Is the Meadow Wood / Spring Forest combo a good one? Haven't heard the best things.

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Spring Forest has minorities. This tends to freak people out.

Meadow Wood is a solid elementary.

Spring Forest gets Meadow Wood, Nottingham, a portion of Wilchester, and Thornwood (which is pretty rough) so it's certainly a different experience than Memorial Middle.

We bought a home in NF recently and are doing a complete remodel on the inside prior to moving in. Also putting in a pool. We have a 9 year old and another one on the way. We will have way too much invested into this home to expect to get our money out of it if something happens and we are forced to sell but we are going to roll the dice and hopefully we will be in the home for 20+ years. My office is very close as are other oil field service jobs so I feel pretty good about it. It is not a big home but we have never wanted a big home.

Doing some house browsing and Zillow has Memorial HS listed at 8/10...wtf? If that's an 8, what is a 9 or 10?

Boo Weekley said:

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Doing some house browsing and Zillow has Memorial HS listed at 8/10...wtf? If that's an 8, what is a 9 or 10?

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Just checked.

Tons of schools in Katy are 9s and 10s.

What's Mayde Creek or Morton Ranch lol?

Buy this one