The Matrix: Residential At Reeves & Adair St, Near U of H

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

Talked with a security guard at this project, I told him this is taking forever and he said he was glad.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[Stew]

18 hours ago, hindesky said:

I'm not crazy about the mix color scheme which makes it look like a cheap motel but I'll wait for the finished product before passing judgment.

They're using 2 different colors of the same color. Brown on brown, beige on beige. Oh and let's slap on a few white bricks in the corner. 

Yes it is an improvement to the neighborhood, but I think they’re trying to hurt my eyes. 😆

[hindesky]

I'm thinking this is the final colors, they are adding white rock on the corners. Looks like a cheap "No tell motel" off the freeway.

[hindesky]

Looks like a low cost motel but with balconies.

[hindesky]

Horrible color combination. Cleared the lot next door for what I assume is more parking lot.

[Stew]

On 1/11/2022 at 5:47 PM, hindesky said:

Looks like a low cost motel but with balconies.

I really do appreciate electricity but power lines and their poles are so ugly. I wish we could put the lines underground but I guess that would be too expensive. 😕 

Edited February 21 by Stew

[hindesky]

2 hours ago, Stew said:

I really do appreciate electricity but power lines and their poles are so ugly. I wish we could put the lines underground but I guess that would be too expensive. 😕 

Or in alleys like they are in my part of Montrose.

[hindesky]

Looks like they are tearing out interior sheet rock that probably got damaged before they closed it up.

[KinkaidAlum]

It's interesting to see a building marketed to college students with actual balconies. Drunk students are dumb. I used to be one.

[freundb]

But without balconies the multi story beer bong is much more difficult!

[Stew]

9 hours ago, KinkaidAlum said:

It's interesting to see a building marketed to college students with actual balconies. Drunk students are dumb. I used to be one.

The Matrix are $120,000 condos unless it has been repurposed as private student housing. 

[Specwriter]

1 minute ago, Stew said:

The Matrix are $120,000 condos unless it has been repurposed as private student housing. 

. . . drunk students with affluent parents.

Actually this might be a good investment for anyone with the means. My cousin's daughter went to Florida State in Tallahassee in the early 2000s. My cousin bought a three bedroom condominium in a small complex close to campus which her daughter lived in for the duration of her time at FSU (under grad and graduate) and rented the two remaining bedrooms to other students. Since her daughter graduated and moved away my cousin found a good leasing agent and has kept the property since. It is a nice cash generator for her.

[J Money]

Also out-of-staters can use a purchase like this to prove residence and get in-state tuition 

[Houston19514]

2 hours ago, J Money said:

Also out-of-staters can use a purchase like this to prove residence and get in-state tuition 

Ownership of real estate is neither necessary nor sufficient (and in fact, not even relevant) to establish residency for in-state tuition purposes.  Here's what UH says:  

"Residency Requirements

Generally, applicants who have resided and been employed in the state of Texas for 12 consecutive months prior to the time of enrolling in an institution of higher learning are entitled to be classified as residents. Foreign nationals who hold F-1 or any other temporary visas are considered nonresidents and are required to pay the nonresident/foreign tuition charges."

[Stew]

3 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Ownership of real estate is neither necessary nor sufficient (and in fact, not even relevant) to establish residency for in-state tuition purposes.  Here's what UH says:  

"Residency Requirements

Generally, applicants who have resided and been employed in the state of Texas for 12 consecutive months prior to the time of enrolling in an institution of higher learning are entitled to be classified as residents. Foreign nationals who hold F-1 or any other temporary visas are considered nonresidents and are required to pay the nonresident/foreign tuition charges."

So the residency rules haven't changed in 4 decades. 

Edited March 7 by Stew

[J Money]

24 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Ownership of real estate is neither necessary nor sufficient (and in fact, not even relevant) to establish residency for in-state tuition purposes.  Here's what UH says:  

"Residency Requirements

Generally, applicants who have resided and been employed in the state of Texas for 12 consecutive months prior to the time of enrolling in an institution of higher learning are entitled to be classified as residents. Foreign nationals who hold F-1 or any other temporary visas are considered nonresidents and are required to pay the nonresident/foreign tuition charges."

I had plenty of friends who went down this route to establish in-state tuition at UT just 10 years ago. Their parents would buy them a cheap condo in West Campus and get in-state status the next year. UT clearly outlines this on their admissions website.

"Requirements

If you are independent for tax purposes, you may gain resident status if you establish domicile in the state. If your parent(s) claim you as a dependent on their federal income tax return, they must establish domicile in the state for you to claim residency.

To establish domicile, you or your parent(s) must meet the following criteria:

1. Live in Texas for 12 consecutive months; and
2. Establish and maintain domicile for 12 consecutive months, as evidenced by:

• >Gainful employment in Texas;
  Note: Student jobs do not qualify as gainful employment.
• Sole or joint marital ownership of residential real property in Texas by the person seeking to enroll or the dependent’s parent, having established and maintained a domicile at the residence;
• Ownership and operation of a business in Texas; or
• Marriage for one year to a person who has established domicile in Texas."

[Specwriter]

The in-state tuition thing may not be as cheesy as if first appears. If someone owns real property in Texas he is paying property tax, taxes on utilities, and sales tax on goods and services for that property, etc. If only renting the renter those taxes are built into the rent. Politicians move around, or simply rent a place, just so they can run in races they feel they can win.

[skooljunkie]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:00 AM, Stew said:

I really do appreciate electricity but power lines and their poles are so ugly. I wish we could put the lines underground but I guess that would be too expensive. 😕 

At this point, all I'd ask for are some really basic standards and enforcement. I mean, it's pathetic. A new development was recently built near me where the poles were moved around and replaced but they kept a few absolutely useless ones within a few feet of the new ones. Why leave duplicate poles? A year later, they seem to be there to stay. Last year, it took me 5 months to get Centerpoint to remove a pole they left for over 6 months on the side of my building. Even more recent and nearby, Centerpoint moved more poles around and blasted out the concrete around them, leaving the busted concrete and a 4 foot pile of soil with no attempt to repave the area where they dug it out. That's something you just don't see everywhere else. It's a complete lack of care and enforcement.

[Houston19514]

On 3/7/2022 at 2:13 PM, J Money said:

I had plenty of friends who went down this route to establish in-state tuition at UT just 10 years ago. Their parents would buy them a cheap condo in West Campus and get in-state status the next year. UT clearly outlines this on their admissions website.

"Requirements

If you are independent for tax purposes, you may gain resident status if you establish domicile in the state. If your parent(s) claim you as a dependent on their federal income tax return, they must establish domicile in the state for you to claim residency.

To establish domicile, you or your parent(s) must meet the following criteria:

1. Live in Texas for 12 consecutive months; and
2. Establish and maintain domicile for 12 consecutive months, as evidenced by:

• >Gainful employment in Texas;
  Note: Student jobs do not qualify as gainful employment.
• Sole or joint marital ownership of residential real property in Texas by the person seeking to enroll or the dependent’s parent, having established and maintained a domicile at the residence;
• Ownership and operation of a business in Texas; or
• Marriage for one year to a person who has established domicile in Texas."

Per the rules, that would only work if the student was not being claimed as a dependent by the parents.  (And of course, the University of Houston, which is what we were talking about, is not the University of Texas.  It's odd that UT specifies property ownership.  UH appears to give the same weight to a residential lease as to property ownership. It was perhaps an overstatement to say property ownership is not relevant; but it is definitely not required and it is not sufficient.)

[HoustonIsHome]

I thought residency requirements were set by the state,  and not individual schools.

Also, I established residency in Texas for a year and paid instate tuition the following year. 

If Foreign students go home for summers they will pay out of state tuition the entire time.  

If they own property for the first year of school, the remaining years they will pay instate tuition. 

It is only relevant to be claimed as a dependent if and only if they are claiming residency through their parents. 

In schools with huge differences between instate and out of state tuition it is well worth it to buy as the money that would have gone to tuition would be generating equity instead.

[Houston19514]

15 hours ago, HoustonIsHome said:

It is only relevant to be claimed as a dependent if and only if they are claiming residency through their parents. 

That sort of misstates what UT's rule says.  If the student is claimed as a dependent on the parents' taxes, then the parents have to establish Texas residency.  The student establishing residency only works if the student is NOT claimed as a dependent on the parents' taxes.  So, if the student is claimed as a dependent by his parents, the parents purchase of a condo for the student to live in will NOT establish residency, unless the parents establish domicile in the condo.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

It might finally be open for the Fall 2022 semester.

[toxtethogrady]

On 2/21/2022 at 10:00 AM, Stew said:

I really do appreciate electricity but power lines and their poles are so ugly. I wish we could put the lines underground but I guess that would be too expensive. 😕 

If we all get solar paneling, we won't need powerlines. Or ERCOT. It's going to take a while, though...

[hindesky]

I don't think they are going to make it by the Fall semester. They seem to be tearing it up as fast as they can. Bumping into rain gutters, spilling paint/tar, missing handrails.