jodesbe

At 140K, within 2 miles, you might find a small (800-1000sf max) condo in a nice complex or a 1,400 s/f low end (but fairly new) house in a blue collar neighborhood like 77021 currently is...no place in America is like Tokoyo with safe walks at midnight (except on Rice campus) and then I'd be hesitant. We moved into our build on your lot home in the 77021 MacGregor Park Estates Subdivision about 2 1/2 years ago. My sons' car window was broken last year because someone wanted his large CD collection he left out in plain view ..it was at night on the end of our driveway and we didn't hear it, but we think his new alarm will run the next burgular away. I also had my little storage building broken into and stuff was lifted. The thief was a crack head that was occassionally hired to wash the car of my neighbor across the street (they go way back) and the drugie observed me saving the lawn mower which he sold that afternoon. I caught him a week later when one night he was trying to take our patio set off the back porch...it's so funny (now) to think of when I got into my car to chase him down the boulevard with my bristo set on his back...(he was arrested). This was a few months right after we moved in and I hadn't yet put up the 7 1/2 ft fence that's up now. When I lived in the suburbs (border of Houston on the line of Missouri City), we were burgularized three times in 20 years...a high school was two blocks away that apparently kept recuiting new members that burgularized the area for almost a decade before it was finally broken up. It's just amazing how prevalent crime seems to be in Houston, everywhere..and the type I've experienced is by opportunist for fun, or money for drugs. Incidently, that 400 score is probably too low since we recently learned that the police dept. has been "unintentionally" classifying crimes in a manner that has it appearing to be at a lower rate than it is in actuality. If you do eventually come near to 77021, and east of 288. I'd strongly suggest you stay north of Griggs Rd and Old Spanish Trail, and better to stay close to S MacGregor if you can find something decent for your budget. The west side of 288 is good immediately south and inside of 610 South Loop. A new development on Almeda Rd (just south of 610) has some nice condos just coming up that will have professionals most likely and it will be not more than 4 or 5 miles from Rice. I think they may fall into your budget. There are also some condos on 610 South Loop near Kirby that would be about 4 miles or less from Rice. These should not be too expensive although I honestly can't say what range they run. My wife and I are both HISD employees (in our 50's) and my son goes to Rice U. We live in a 3,400 s/f $320K (tax roll) house on a 70X150 ft lot (which gives me big 40ft front yard and 40 ft back yard) three blocks southeast of U of H. We built here intending to stay another 15 or so years. The area has high dollar homes right along with rinky dinky 50-60 year old homes occupied with mostly older people around us. When I first moved in the area, I noticed more "crazy looking people" in general because there are pockets of drug dens and poverty in the area. One-on-one violent crime is unheard of to my knowledge in the area however, so unlike the guy that said he noticed violence in RT, I haven't seen or heard of any around this part, but then, I won't go walking ANY street in Houston after 9 or 10 PM unless it's an emergency. Much of the serious crime is apparently around us, heard and seen on the news, and if you're not involved with their sort of activities, then you'll proably not get involved with their crime either. The addresses you listed are typical of this area, really nice a few blocks and then somewhat ratty around the corner or down a few blocks......Have you used google satillite to get visuals of the areas of these addresses you listed? Closing should take about a couple weeks, three weeks at most I'd think, if everything checks out fine. Except for new condos along 288 near to these addresses, the old established neighborhoods are 80% to 90% predominatedly black, (like me) but that's changing as a more diversified wave of folks are returning to the inner city, in part by high fuel, but even before then, they, like us, came to realize, you may as well pay the higher inner city tax rates or spend replacing the car more often while spending more time stuck in traffic.