Before we bought our home in Galveston, we used to rent the same beach house every year (kids were little).Yesterday said:
Our kids actually think the house we rent on LBJ in Kingsland is ours since we've gone to it so many times.
and just like that....we had our offer accepted in the fastest turn around in history....and I low balled him! Damn TexAgs made me buy a town house LOL!RoyVal said:
This post has been a great read (and very good timing).
My wife and I are empty nesters now (mostly except when my daughter comes home from college) and we've been south of Houston in the clear lake area (aka the burbs) ever since I graduated from college. I never got to to live "in town" but my wife and I enjoy the hell out of going into Houston to try restaurants and check out new bars and drive around and look at real estate (I've had my real estate license for 25 years even though I don't do real estate for a living), etc.
I'm trying like hell to decide between moving to a new home with an open floor plan (our current house is 3000 square feet, but not open floor plan at all so it feels small) or just buying a a condo in town and keeping our home. We've put in $150k in upgrades/upkeep over the last 20 years so we have it mostly the way we want it, plus I only owe 5-6 more years on it.....at a 2.5% interest rate so I'm in no hurry to pay it off.
Hearing all you guys talk about the enjoyment of a 2nd home REALLY has be considering pulling the trigger on a town home I've looked at 3-4 times very close to downtown Houston, close to a lot of things we enjoy and just keeping my current home! Driving into town has just become such a pain in the ass with traffic...I think we'd do even MORE in town if we had a town home.
We originally thought about making a town home a weekend getaway PLUS part time Airbnb, but some of your posts confirmed some of my thoughts about the hassle and stress of doing both...so thanks for sharing your thoughts.
death and taxes man......amazing how many GREAT properties I've seen over the years that I just couldn't pull the trigger on because of taxes....HumpitPuryear said:
Have a little lake cabin that we love. Bought it years ago when values and taxes were low. Then the VRBO investors came and then the tax man came. Now it costs us $10k annually for taxes alone. Consider the vacations you can have for $10k every year not counting insurance and maintenance. We are going to sell soon and buy property out of state. Which will likely be our retirement place. It's great that the value of the property went up so much but we are basically being taxed off the property which sucks. Texas needs property tax reform but that's another subject. You should be aware that your tax situation can change dramatically in Texas.
Yep, this is the one tax loophole left in Texas property taxes that will save you tons of money vs a "vacation home".Yesterday said:
Ag exemption and an RV.
