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Hello,

We'll be moving from Chicago to Houston this Summer. After comparing few locations, I really like SL because of its mature neighborhoods, shops, FBISD, and diversity. Our budget is 300-370K, looking for a 4-bed, 3000+ sqft home (with a pool if possible), in a good school district, nice neighborhood and a good highway access. I hope you can offer some expert advice on my questions:

- Which locations should I look closely?

- I like one particular home in New Territory, and another one in Woodbridge Estates. I haven't seen many postings about NT or WE in this portal, so I'd like to know your comments on them.

- I'm amazed by the price difference between new constructions and comparable pre-owned homes, where new constructions may price $50-100K higher. What is the reason of such a huge price difference? Does that mean builders might be willing to offer huge discounts?

- I'm perplexed by the high tax rate for new constructions (e.g. Plantation Settlement tax rate is around $3.3 per $100, which is twice of downtown Chicago). Is this also the case with other new constructions, like Telfair, Riverstone?

- How much is a typical pool maintenance expense per month?

Thanks!

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I'm perplexed by the high tax rate for new constructions (e.g. Plantation Settlement tax rate is around $3.3 per $100, which is twice of downtown Chicago). Is this also the case with other new constructions, like Telfair, Riverstone?

Texas cities don't levy an income tax and have a very limited power to use sales tax, so we lean very heavily on property taxes. The total state and local tax rate relative to your gross income is probably going to be somewhat lower on the whole than in Chicago, Illinois.

Most new neighborhoods, Telfair and Riverstone among them, created taxing entities called Municipal Utility Districts to finance their infrastructure using bonds. The debt service on those bonds is typically pretty extreme at first, and as debt is retired or refinanced, the tax rate tends to come down back to reality.

Traditionally, if a development took place inside of a City, that entity was responsible for the maintenance of utilities; with the formation of in-city MUDs like for Telfair, the neighborhood is paying for its own utilities but is still subject to the same taxes levied by the City on other neighborhoods nearby.

There may also be other taxing entities such as the County, Community Colleges, Road Districts, or Flood Improvement Districts.

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You really can't go wrong with New Territory or First Colony. If you choose New Territory, you'll probably want to limit your search to the east side of the Grand Parkway (easy way to tell -- when searching on har.com -- east side goes to Austin High School, west side goes to Travis High School). Also, Sartartia Middle School is excellent. If you have kids and high school is a long way off, you should know that New Territory kids will most likely be zoned to the planned high school in Telfair. That's probably not a bad thing.

If you go with First Colony, stay in the Clements High School zone. But beware of crappy houses that are overpriced because they're in the CHS zone. The way I hear it, First Colony was being developed when the bottom fell out of the real estate market in the 80s. When that happened, the "reputable" builders bailed, and the "crappy" builders moved in. Drive around First Colony and you can pretty much tell the difference, though in your price range, this probably wouldn't be an issue.

New Territory is right next to Telfair, which is currently being developed. When they finish the roads in Telfair, the mobility options for New Territory will be greatly improved (University will go all the way to Highway 6). And there's supposed to be a huge retail development at the intersection of Highway 6 and U.S. 90A. Haven't heard exact names of businesses, but I think it includes big box, a grocery store and restaurants. Personally, I'm praying for a Chuy's (it's a Texas thing).

One more thing about New Territory: It's targeted for annexation by the City of Sugar Land. It won't happen any time soon, but when it does, the MUD tax will go away (I think).

Hope that helps ...

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Thank you all for the replies. They are very helpful.

I wasn't aware about the 0% state income tax in TX; that alone is enough to compensate for the higher property tax. I'm now more convinced to buy a pre-owned home in a good location rather than a new development, given the huge difference in price and taxes. I think the advantages of a new home do not warrant the extra moneys.

Does anyone know about Woodbridge Estates, up on Hwy 6? Does its proximity to the airport mean noise pollution?

Also, how much is a typical pool maintenance expense per month?

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We just moved to sugarland last year. We debated between the area around clements, new territory and sienna. We found a house close to clements. We are very happy with our choice, the schools are highly ranked, proximity to 59 is very good, lots of parks and mature trees. Woodbridge was not on my list for two reasons 1. I thought it was too far from 59 and 2nd the schools are not ranked as high as the ones here.

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... Woodbridge Estates, up on Hwy 6? Does its proximity to the airport mean noise pollution?

Also, how much is a typical pool maintenance expense per month?

I know a few folks that live there. A small neighborhood. But nice. Most the homes are 3300 SF to 4800 SF. But you will notice that they look very similar. I think there were only like 9 plans to choose from and most people picked one of five. Close to lots of things. Not too many amenities. You have a lake in the center. I had a friend that lived there for a little over 2 years, but then moved to Telfair in 2006, because he thought that it would be ideal for his kids. Pool maintenance, depends on the pool. There were some foreclosures in the area, so you might get lucky...Make sure that you find a lot that can house a pool. I am biased to Telfair...I am in the process of building there. I went with Telfair after a year of looking.

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One more tax question:

I've heard a couple of different information re. tax rates in New Territory. One said 2.57%, another said 3.86%. Which one is correct?

And then, I saw a listing in NT with price $365K and tax $8,393, which implies a tax rate of 2.3.

Let's say that it's true that NT tax rate is 3.86. Does that mean the assessed price will automatically increase based on whatever price I end up paying for that property? Hence if I buy it for $365K, then taxes will increase to $14K (=$365K x 3.86%)?

Thanks!

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One more tax question:

I've heard a couple of different information re. tax rates in New Territory. One said 2.57%, another said 3.86%. Which one is correct?

And then, I saw a listing in NT with price $365K and tax $8,393, which implies a tax rate of 2.3.

Let's say that it's true that NT tax rate is 3.86. Does that mean the assessed price will automatically increase based on whatever price I end up paying for that property? Hence if I buy it for $365K, then taxes will increase to $14K (=$365K x 3.86%)?

Thanks!

It's possible that the different quotes you are seeing are because one is calculated on the basis of a homestead exemption. As I understant it, the first year that you reside in your property as of January, you can take a homestead deduction. So, if you move to the area this summer, you will pay higher taxes in 2008, but your taxes will decrease in 2009, since you will be able to claim your homestead exemption then.

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Thanks for the reply!

Can you apply for homestead exemption in other communities as well (e.g. First Colony, Telfair)? Can you do that every year?

Any thought on how to calculate the tax dollars? Thanks!

You can claim a homestead exemption anywhere that you happen to be an owner-occupant of a property, provided that you don't have more than a couple tenants seperate units from you on the same property.

The most reliable way to calculate the tax rate is to use hcad.org (Harris County) or fbcad.org (Fort Bend County) by using an address search. They provide information on homestead exemptions and other kinds of exemptions (often not yet factored into the tax bill on your property of interest) on their websites.

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Hello,

We'll be moving from Chicago to Houston this Summer. After comparing few locations, I really like SL because of its mature neighborhoods, shops, FBISD, and diversity. Our budget is 300-370K, looking for a 4-bed, 3000+ sqft home (with a pool if possible), in a good school district, nice neighborhood and a good highway access. I hope you can offer some expert advice on my questions:

- Which locations should I look closely?

- I like one particular home in New Territory, and another one in Woodbridge Estates. I haven't seen many postings about NT or WE in this portal, so I'd like to know your comments on them.

- I'm amazed by the price difference between new constructions and comparable pre-owned homes, where new constructions may price $50-100K higher. What is the reason of such a huge price difference? Does that mean builders might be willing to offer huge discounts?

- I'm perplexed by the high tax rate for new constructions (e.g. Plantation Settlement tax rate is around $3.3 per $100, which is twice of downtown Chicago). Is this also the case with other new constructions, like Telfair, Riverstone?

- How much is a typical pool maintenance expense per month?

Thanks!

Wow! What part of Chicago are you moving from? I'm currently living downtown in River North and I've lived in Houston here and there over the past years.

  • Unfortunately, property Taxes are pretty high and the lack of state income tax doesn't do much for that cause (however, 3.3% isn't bad compared to 3.9% that's seen in some suburbs)
  • The positive is that you actually get a discount of 20% on your proerty taxes if it's your primary residence in texas
  • If you really want a single family home that will be comparable to the North or Northwest Suburbs of Chicago...SugarLand is definitely a good start for your price range
  • IF you want something similar to the larger townhomes of the Lincoln Park, South Loop, Mueseum Park or downtown areas of Chicago, you can find that in closer in areas like West University, Spring Branch, Memorial, West Houston(77077/Eldridge),Tanglewood, Rice Military areas
  • Other suburbs that may be nice can be found by just reading the posts on here

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Wow! What part of Chicago are you moving from? I'm currently living downtown in River North and I've lived in Houston here and there over the past years.

Hello there,

Thanks for the tips. Nice to hear from a fellow Chicagoan. We live in South Loop (wow I just noticed the same abbreviation). I've lived in a townhome and a condo in South Loop during the past 5 yrs. Smaller living space but very convenient location, as you can walk to everything. But now with a newborn we're pretty much convinced that we want a real house in the burbs. I thought Sugar Land would be nice, and the distance to downtown Hou isn't that bad either. It's prob similar with from Oakbrook to downtown Chicago.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

I live in NT and love it! You're welcome to email me directly (remove the xxx's) for more info. I'm no real estate expert, but I've lived in NT for > 9 years. You can contact me at ddelapassexxx@inamexxx.com.

Deanna

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  • 3 weeks later...

We ultimately decided to build a house in Telfair!

As we were planning to visit Sugar Land earlier this month, I felt very strongly of NT and FC. Then we visited some pre-owned homes at NT and FC, which looked good enough for me (especially compared to our tiny 1 bed Chicago condo, which will sell for a similar price as a 4 bed resale house in SL). However, once my wife looked at new homes at Telfair, she immediately discarded the idea of buying a pre-owned home. What can I say?

Although the price of the home we bought costs $100K more than what we initially intended to spend (albeit slightly bigger size), I figured that it maybe money well spent, considering the nicer kitchen & overall features we'll have, better technology & insulation, newer feels, no hassle of remodelling. Plus, this is an opportunity to build our 'dream home', where we can customize it to suit our lifestyle. We're pretty excited and hopefully everything will turn out well during the construction.

Hello,

We'll be moving from Chicago to Houston this Summer. After comparing few locations, I really like SL because of its mature neighborhoods, shops, FBISD, and diversity. Our budget is 300-370K, looking for a 4-bed, 3000+ sqft home (with a pool if possible), in a good school district, nice neighborhood and a good highway access. I hope you can offer some expert advice on my questions:

- Which locations should I look closely?

- I like one particular home in New Territory, and another one in Woodbridge Estates. I haven't seen many postings about NT or WE in this portal, so I'd like to know your comments on them.

- I'm amazed by the price difference between new constructions and comparable pre-owned homes, where new constructions may price $50-100K higher. What is the reason of such a huge price difference? Does that mean builders might be willing to offer huge discounts?

- I'm perplexed by the high tax rate for new constructions (e.g. Plantation Settlement tax rate is around $3.3 per $100, which is twice of downtown Chicago). Is this also the case with other new constructions, like Telfair, Riverstone?

- How much is a typical pool maintenance expense per month?

Thanks!

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Same thing happened to me. My wife and I looked at many areas in FC, NT, Sweetwater, Avalon...and decided to build the house the way we wanted in Telfair. congrats!....now the long wait...6-8 months :(

We ultimately decided to build a house in Telfair!

As we were planning to visit Sugar Land earlier this month, I felt very strongly of NT and FC. Then we visited some pre-owned homes at NT and FC, which looked good enough for me (especially compared to our tiny 1 bed Chicago condo, which will sell for a similar price as a 4 bed resale house in SL). However, once my wife looked at new homes at Telfair, she immediately discarded the idea of buying a pre-owned home. What can I say?

Although the price of the home we bought costs $100K more than what we initially intended to spend (albeit slightly bigger size), I figured that it maybe money well spent, considering the nicer kitchen & overall features we'll have, better technology & insulation, newer feels, no hassle of remodelling. Plus, this is an opportunity to build our 'dream home', where we can customize it to suit our lifestyle. We're pretty excited and hopefully everything will turn out well during the construction.

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