Downsizing in Houston

[GettaClue]

We're empty-nesters in our mid-40's and currently own a very nice, 2600+ sq.ft., two-story, suburban home in an established area. We've always lived below our means and as a result, were able to pay the mortgage off several years go and now we're done with our parenting years as well.

We love our neighborhood. It's a safe and well-cared for area. But already, the house and yard maintenance on such a big home are getting to be too much for us physically. We would also very much like to reduce our ongoing maintenance costs and bolster our retirement funds. Frankly, we probably don't need but half the space we have and a much smaller yard would be nice too. In short, we're ready to downsize financially and space-wise and move on to a "forever home." Yet we are not at all eager to take on a new mortgage at this point in our lives either, so we'd like something comparable to the current sales value of our current home (roughly $160,000 to $170,000-ish.)

A number of our friends in other cities are doing this and saving a lot of money in the process. Many have found walkable neighborhoods with smaller homes and yards at prices less than what their homes had sold for. But where to do that in Houston? To move any where smaller in a nice area here seems to cost way more than it costs us to live here with all this space.

We really need a single-story home with a small yard space, and have no love for most townhomes as they exist in Houston, nor for highrise living. But we can compromise: We have seen some patio homes and rowhouse-style townhomes in other cities which might work very well for us, but they don't seem to exist in the same style/design/lifestyle/neighborhoods here in the Houston area. We could also perhaps do a smaller house on a bit of land, as long as 100% mowed lawns are not required.

We have no burning desire to live in "family friendly areas" either...in fact we are way over that!... yet we are not old enough to qualify for a retirement communty either (not that we're crazy about that idea either). The safety of a community is important to us too, and will become increasingly more so as we age.

When we talk to people in the area about our housing needs, most sympathize and seem to feel that we are part of a large and growing demographic who's needs have long gone unmet in this area.

Geographically, we need to generally stay central, west, north, NW. Our employer moves us between their offices in those areas every 2-3 years and we don't always work in same building as each other at the same time. So we aren't married to anyone section of town, but we can't commute from way across town either.

Does anyone have any suggestions for us?

[sowanome]

I know you mentioned that you have no burning desire to live in a townhome, but check these out. The places on McDuffie are a little higher than your price range, but there are some that usually hit the market in the $160-$180k range and they usually don't last very long. IMO, you can't beat this location, bc "Regent Square" will be within walking distance and the River Oaks shopping center/eatery area along with multiple parks are all within a 4 to 7 minute walk:

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

Here are the recently sold units:

http://www.har.com/HomeValue/dispProp.cfm?...&CRITERIA=Y

Hope this helps, if i think of anything else i will post it later on...

[GettaClue]

That's very helpful. Thank you! A single-story version of those could be something we'd really consider. (We've already had two knee surgeries and a back surgery over here, so stairs ought not to be a part of our future, if at all possible.) As you said, the location is great, and we especially like the yard spaces.

More ideas and thoughts are certainly most welcome!

[Porchman]

For the price range and living space you've described, you're probably looking further out. For relatively a relatively stable neighborhood, I would look in the Champions area, north of 1960 - either for an older ranch or perhaps a newer patio home like this one... 6812 Queensclub. Good luck.

[GettaClue]

For the price range and living space you've described, you're probably looking further out. For relatively a relatively stable neighborhood, I would look in the Champions area, north of 1960 - either for an older ranch or perhaps a newer patio home like this one... 6812 Queensclub. Good luck.

That patio home certainly meets a lot of our needs! We'll check out the area. Thank you!

[sowanome]

Here are other options, pretty nice community north of galleria just off of memorial and 610:

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

[TexasVines]

My suggestion would revolve around what you feel your house is worth in a down market VS what you feel it might be worth in an up market.....and it would be to find a place you desire or think you desire and possibly find one that needs a bit of "touch up" work and then purchase that place using the equity in your current home and rent that new place out for a few years.....you can find management companies that can take care of the work for you and if you are buying a place that needs some touch up already you can be less concerned with renting it as long as you break even or better on the rent or mortgage you could come out well ahead on the total deal

this would allow you to keep in your current home until housing picks up and your current house increases in value and it would also allow you to own buy a new place in a down market and get it before the market picks up....it would also allow you a few more years to see if that area is really where you want to be and if it is when you move you could have all the "touch up" work done and you would be moving into a nice fresh place with no work needed

I realize this is much more complex than what you may want, but I think housing even in Houston is too far down for you to make the best deal on your current property now....I feel OIL will be back up in a year and two years at the most and the overall economy will as well....but I think buying in a down market for a forever home has advantages as well....but the downside is that in todays market you will either still be paying a high price for something that will just about guaranteed to stay nice or you may well buy something in an area that is not so guaranteed and find it turns south over the next few years and then is ignored in the upswing because too many neighbors are holding out to "cash in" on the upswing or have moved on and are renting

buying now and renting would give you some options in a few years and allow you to attempt to gain on the up in your current home while gaining on the down in your new place

downsides are obviously renting for less than the mortgage, not finding a renter at all, having people tear the place up, finding you bought in an area you don't think you want to be in long term which means you need to unload two properties not one, but would also mean you still are in a place you like to try again to find a dream home, but if things are on the up you might gain some benefit on the sale of both or on your current property to offset the loss or "cost" of the second property

just offering a different option to think about

also if you incorporate the rental unit there could be some tax breaks both on the ownership of it and on the renovation of it and you could possibly do some "fancy" things when it came time to sell the current place and take personal ownership of the rental

[TheNiche]

Here are other options, pretty nice community north of galleria just off of memorial and 610:

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

Maintenance fees would probably be an issue, here, and in many townhome or condo arrangements. Retirees living on fixed income probably need to be looking for a fee simple townhome if they're going to live in central Houston.

I would strongly suggest Oak Forest as a neighborhood that fits your needs in terms of location, that is really very safe, that doesn't have gargantuan homes, that has mostly single-story homes, and that can be well within your price range. And even though you want this to be your "forever home", it does have a very bright future in terms of appreciation. If health issues came up and you needed to take out a mortgage or sell the home, you'll probably have more stored equity going here than you would out in the suburbs.

Take a look at these:

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

[goastros]

I disagree about the Oak Forest area. We were looking in there and didn't find anything good for under $200K. The one you linked to isn't in what I consider the more desirable area of Oak Forest (the closer to Antoine the more dangerous it gets).

[TheNiche]

I disagree about the Oak Forest area. We were looking in there and didn't find anything good for under $200K. The one you linked to isn't in what I consider the more desirable area of Oak Forest (the closer to Antoine the more dangerous it gets).

Yeah, I'd agree that the best parts of it are east of White Oak Bayou. But I linked to properties within a good price range all throughout Oak Forest. GettaClue can tour them all and see what he or she is comfortable with. Getting a good deal at their preferred price may require making some repairs or upgrades, but if this is their "forever house" then Oak Forest is the kind of neighborhood that would seem to be a good fit.

I'd think that Westbury (southwest) or Meadowcreek Village (southeast) might have some homes that are workable, too, but the location isn't really what they wanted.

[sevfiv]

The monthly maintenance fees of some of those places are pretty bad (in addition to a 150-200k payment/mortgage)...

[sowanome]

The monthly maintenance fees of some of those places are pretty bad (in addition to a 150-200k payment/mortgage)...

Maintenance fees are pretty high, but @ some of these places the fee includes electricity, cable , gas, and insurance. That stuff adds up on a monthly basis no regardless of if paid as one entire fee or 3 to 4 smaller bills. However, some of these places include very little, so go figure.....i guess that's what you get for not cutting the grass..

[TheNiche]

Maintenance fees are pretty high, but @ some of these places the fee includes electricity, cable , gas, and insurance. That stuff adds up on a monthly basis no regardless of if paid as one entire fee or 3 to 4 smaller bills. However, some of these places include very little, so go figure.....i guess that's what you get for not cutting the grass..

Master-metered multifamily complexes do not provide people an incentive to conserve the use of water, gas, or electricity, for instance by promptly fixing faucet leaks. What you end up paying for is other people's waste, so no these bills aren't necessarily the same as what you would pay otherwise. Also, you have very little control over the Association's insurance coverage. You might want more or less coverage than they provide. And it doesn't typically cover any of your personal belongings.

[rsb320]

Master-metered multifamily complexes do not provide people an incentive to conserve the use of water, gas, or electricity, for instance by promptly fixing faucet leaks. What you end up paying for is other people's waste, so no these bills aren't necessarily the same as what you would pay otherwise. Also, you have very little control over the Association's insurance coverage. You might want more or less coverage than they provide. And it doesn't typically cover any of your personal belongings.

Where I moved recently, water is master-metered. The property owner pays 25% and the residents split the remainder equally. I was told that the water conservation suggested this method, rather than just including it in rent. This way, everyone is accountable for usage and is more likely to economize and report leaky faucets and such.