Thanks all for the responses. Yeah, we're "lolpoor" but I was hoping we could keep the commute reasonable with that budget. Going to keep tabs on HAR, but we may end up staying put for another year or two if there's really nothing decent out there at that price point.

Jamie, I did a cursory search of Oak Forest homes listed on HAR over the weekend, but it seems like we would have the same budget issue. Definitely open to hear your pitch though.

I recommend you letting him set you up a search so you see things the instant they go up instead of waiting on the daily har notification. That was how we found our current house and what I am using to find my next investment property.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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SjAg said:

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You're not getting anything in Wilchester for that budget,

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Even in NF8/Westchester your pickings are probably getting slum at that price.

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Agreed. You might find something on the small side for that price, but they are very rare. Have some family moving into NF8 in about a month for around $600K. I think the house is barely 2,300 SF.

Shoot me a text (cell is in my profile), and let's set up a time to talk. As Sea Speed mentioned, I really do think the email blast is the way to go. You don't have to win every deal, just one. And the longer horizon you have, is he better deal you'll get.

Also, a strategy I haven't mentioned in a while (because rates were so low), would be to use your Red Pear Rebate to buy down your interest rate. We ran numbers for a client today and this was going to save them about $350 a month. You could also do this to be able to afford more house as well.

Wouldn't it be better to just hold that money from rebate and then refi if/when rates go down?

I guess I need to read up more on when buying down makes the most sense.

Aggie09Derek said:

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Wouldn't it be better to just hold that money from rebate and then refi if/when rates go down?

I guess I need to read up more on when buying down makes the most sense.

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Why not both?

Aggie09Derek said:

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Wouldn't it be better to just hold that money from rebate and then refi if/when rates go down?

I guess I need to read up more on when buying down makes the most sense.

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It would depend on how fast you think it takes for rates to go back down. On this one I think the break even point would be about 20 months or so but I may be miscalculating that.

Unless you're buying a knockdown new build on Oak Forest, you're better off in Shepherd Park Plaza.

https://www.har.com/s/42b98F2c6A1b

https://www.har.com/s/2696DDA6aC

Those aren't bad, but the school zoning leaves something to be desired (unless you have a firsthand account?). We certainly can't afford a $650k house + private school, and I haven't done enough research on how exactly the HISD magnet programs work/how likely you are to be accepted in them. Assuming it's highly competitive and/or a major commuting nuisance?

12thAngryMan said:

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Those aren't bad, but the school zoning leaves something to be desired (unless you have a firsthand account?). We certainly can't afford a $650k house + private school, and I haven't done enough research on how exactly the HISD magnet programs work/how likely you are to be accepted in them. Assuming it's highly competitive and/or a major commuting nuisance?

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Middle school and high school will the same as Oak Forest.

Only difference is Elementary. My take is Oak Forest Elementary is overrated based on programs that no longer exist or are extremely limited in number thanks to Covid and budget cuts. Durham or even Garden Oaks elementary aren't much different and each have their own focus.

Having said that, we go the private route and planned to all along.

Between St. Rose and OSL there's great local options that are private school affordable (comparable to day care costs). Not all private school is St. Johns in costs.

sorry, but I don't think this is great advice.

For better or worse, the quality of HISD schools is largely dependent on the student body makeup.

Oak Forest Elementary is 16% Free Lunch
Garden Oaks is 42% Free Lunch
Durham is 62% Free Lunch

I don't know what St. Rose is these days, but you're not going to get private school for under $8-10K per year, which isn't an insignificant expense for a lot of people.

OSL is $10kish
St. Rose is $13Kish.

I used to think the same regarding school lunch. My conclusion was based on people I know with kids in those schools was different. In some cases they had kids in multiple of those or had moved them. Just reinforced that a lot of HISD statistics were smoke and mirrors.

After having two kids go through an elementary in HISD, I promise you it makes a difference.

I'm sure there are parents out there that don't love Oak Forest either, but having friends and clients who have taught and/or sent kids there, it's still considered one of the best in the district.

AgLA06 said:

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OSL is $10kish
St. Rose is $13Kish.

I used to think the same regarding school lunch. My conclusion was based on people I know with kids in those schools was different. In some cases they had kids in multiple of those or had moved them. Just reinforced that a lot of HISD statistics were smoke and mirrors.

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What about St Ambrose?

I'm in SPP and one of those houses you posted is down the street from me.

Diggity said:

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After having two kids go through an elementary in HISD, I promise you it makes a difference.

I'm sure there are parents out there that don't love Oak Forest either, but having friends and clients who have taught and/or sent kids there, it's still considered one of the best in the district.

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Sure. That's just not saying much.

maybe that's why the OP was looking at SBISD?

Honestly I don't know much about St. Ambrose these days. Their Kid Venture camp moved over to OSL. It was always a rung below the others growing up.

St. Rose if you are Catholic.

If not, OSL is Lutheran so closer to most denominations and don't have all the saint / purgatory stuff. Their 60 acre campus is second to none. Takes me about 7 minutes to drop my kids off from my driveway from the middle of the hood.

Just offering up comparable options it didn't sound like he was aware of. Hood is nicer than Spring Branch but schools are supposedly less.

I know of a lot of people that were going to move to send their kids to X school only to find out about School like St. Marks in Sprig Branch or St. Rose or OSL and go that route anyway because of the difference in education and environment and the cost wasn't what they thought.

AgLA06 said:

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Just offering up comparable options it didn't sound like he was aware of. Hood is nicer than Spring Branch but schools are supposedly less.

I know of a lot of people that were going to move to send their kids to X school only to find out about School like St. Marks in Sprig Branch or St. Rose or OSL and go that route anyway because of the difference in education and environment and the cost wasn't what they thought.

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Wait are you saying that SPP or Oak Forest is nicer than the Spring Branch neighborhoods the OP mentioned? Because that is absolutely not the case. Better neighborhoods and much better schools.

What I'm saying is SPP is a nicer neighborhood than the neighborhood that is Spring Branch (HISD). The neighborhoods that comprise Spring Branch ISD are the Memorial Villages outside of the BW8 and have nothing to do with Spring Branch neighborhood (610 to BW8 & I-10 to Hempstead). None of which has ever made sense to me.

As I live in SPP and I had to survey every street in Spring Branch Neighborhood (where my inlaws lived) for work when Spring Branch Business District did all the beautification. That I'm sure.

Some good data/links below on some of the schools discussed on this thread. The only one I'm really going to comment on is Frank Black Middle. I think it gets a bad rap from times long gone, and seems to be on the upswing. And it actually has the highest percentage of GT student population when compared to any of the other middle schools listed below (with a huge amount of OFE students about to join the fun in a year or two [OFE student populations almost doubles from the 4th grade to 3rd grade classes]).

Wilchester Elem.
Eco Disadvantaged - 6.6%
Gifted & Talented - 15%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 18 / 1

Rummel Creek Elem.
Eco Disadvantaged - 4.9%
Gifted & Talented - 14.9%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 17.4 / 1

Oak Forest Elem.
Eco Disadvantaged - 15.9%
Gifted & Talented - 47.9%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 18.4 / 1

Stevens Elem.
Eco Disadvantaged - 90%
Gifted & Talented - 3.7%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 14.2 / 1

Garden Oaks Montessori
Eco Disadvantaged - 42.4%
Gifted & Talented - 23.5%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 17.4 / 1

Durham Elementary
Eco Disadvantaged - 62.8%
Gifted & Talented - 11.3%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 17.1 / 1

Memorial Middle
Eco Disadvantaged - 8.0%
Gifted & Talented - 33.0%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 17.4 / 1

Black Middle
Eco Disadvantaged - 50.8%
Gifted & Talented - 33.3%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 19.6 / 1

Spring Forest Middle
Eco Disadvantaged - 43.2%
Gifted & Talented - 12.6%
Teacher/Student Ratio - 17.4 / 1


All data per HAR:
https://www.har.com/school/101912211/oak-forest-elementary-school
https://www.har.com/school/101912245/stevens-elementary-school
https://www.har.com/school/101912157/garden-oaks-montessori
https://www.har.com/school/101912115/durham-elementary-school
https://www.har.com/school/101912042/black-middle-school
https://www.har.com/school/101920045/spring-forest-middle-school
https://www.har.com/school/101920118/wilchester-elementary-school
https://www.har.com/school/101920112/rummel-creek-elementary-school

That's because the teacher / student ratios are a joke and nowhere near accurate. The number of kids actually allowed into the programs is much less than expected even if they qualify or attend the school.


Oak Forest Elementary is now maxed out in capacity and you're no longer guaranteed to have your kid go there if zoned. That was a fun episode to watch play out when HISD told people who bought million dollar homes just for that reason.

Quote:

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Stevens Elem.

Eco Disadvantaged - 90%

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Woah, how's this possible? Does everyone who lives in this zone just magnet out or go private?

who knows. In 2019, they show as 100%

Just got an update from the PTA president

Wolfe elementary officially upgraded to an A . Fleetwood, barkers landing and half of Thornwood feed into it. Eldridge to HWY 6 on memorial drive

AgLA06 said:

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What I'm saying is SPP is a nicer neighborhood than the neighborhood that is Spring Branch (HISD). The neighborhoods that comprise Spring Branch ISD are the Memorial Villages outside of the BW8 and have nothing to do with Spring Branch neighborhood (610 to BW8 & I-10 to Hempstead). None of which has ever made sense to me.

As I live in SPP and I had to survey every street in Spring Branch Neighborhood (where my inlaws lived) for work when Spring Branch Business District did all the beautification. That I'm sure.

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Your Spring Branch ISD map left out 3/4 of the district. You have a map of homes zoned to Stratford HS. The Spring Branch neighborhood is most definitely in SBISD. Northbrook and Spring Woods are not HISD schools. They are still high percentage economically disadvantaged schools though.

Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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Just got an update from the PTA president

Wolfe elementary officially upgraded to an A . Fleetwood, barkers landing and half of Thornwood feed into it. Eldridge to HWY 6 on memorial drive

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I'm very confused by these different ranking systems.

The site I use just updated their rankings and Wolfe dropped based on test scores.

I get the feeling that these school districts are gaming things.

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/schools/2517002806/school.aspx