wordgirl

Ditto. Thanks for all the information everyone contributed. It will be great if the plans come to fruition.

Just curious if anyone had any updates about the Northwest Mall. I saw in the Chronicle today that developer Jenard Gross is going to tear down the MetroNexus building at 610 near 290, "to make way for as many as 300 new apartments, 140 single-family homes and 200 townhomes."

The article continues...

"Gross said the industrial area northwest of the Heights shows promise as a residential neighborhood because of planned improvements at nearby Northwest Mall and a new office building under construction for HISD in the area."

Any specifics on the improvements? Would love to see something cool happening there.

Yeah, I think we've become emotionally attached to the home, and I know that's not a good thing.  But we've been seriously looking since the beginning of April, and this is the first home we could actually see ourselves living in, raising children, etc.  We could definitely see ourselves happily living there for any given length of time.

As far as the price, I think the average price per sq ft in OF is due to the fact that the majority of homes are approximately 100-300 sq ft larger, but are selling lower per sq ft since they typically need work.  This one's smaller, but needs VERY little work, with the exception of updating (per the previous inspection), which drives up the price.

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I think it is natural to get at least somewhat emotionally attached to a home. It is more than just an investment. Like you said, you could see yourself raising children there, etc. Good luck with your decision. We have enjoyed living in the area.

Sounds like you really like this house. The question I would ask myself is whether you could see yourself being happy living there for 8 to 10 years, whether or not the value of your home increases.

We bought a home way below the value of other homes on our street in GO, but it required quite a bit of work. That can really wear you down after awhile, unless you are a dedicated do-it-yourselfer, or have a lot of spare money to spend. Sometimes I wish we had paid more and had less work....but hindsight is 20/20.

About the teardowns...does lot size really matter? I have seen them starting to crop up in OF. Many of the houses take up the entire lot.

Yep.

Barely a bite on the Fall Creek vs. Kingwood vs. Summerwood thread.

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Yeah, I would have liked to see more people talk about the benefits/detriments of living in Kingwood or Summerwood. Plus there's so much that will be built in that area in terms of commercial development. I keep waiting for someone to tell me that the Deerbrook Mall is going to be renovated. Now that would be something! That mall...not so good. At least compared to Memorial City, where we are used to going.

The Real Estate forum didn't seem quite appropriate, but please feel free to move if need be.

We've put an offer on a home in Oak Forest priced around $140 sq/ft.  Our realtor emailed us a list of all homes in sold in the area over the past couple months, and it appears most homes have gone for about 97-98% of their asking price.  The average price per sq/ft seems to be $115-120 for that neighborhood.  Using that calculation, the home appears to be priced roughly $15K too high, although it is on a nice street, doesn't need a lot of work, has a nice big lot, but the house is small.

The seller's agent has already let ours know that they previously declined a higher offer.

For those familiar with the market in that area; what are your thoughts?  How do you feel about value enhancement in that neighborhood?  We love the house, and may be willing to pay a little more than we perhaps should if we think we can get a decent return on our money 8-10 years down the road.

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I live in Garden Oaks, but I hear that a lot of people are moving into Oak Forest who are priced out of my neighborhood. Seems like the area is improving. We have lived here about six years and expect to list our house about 45 percent more than we bought it for. Not exactly like the west coast, but not bad either. However, it seems that houses in the neighborhood are moving pretty slow now. Some have been on the market for a few months. I don't sense that there are many bidding wars going on, but I may be wrong. I think you definitely would get a good return down the road, as prices of Garden Oaks homes skyrocket. I would expect some more tear downs, however, since many basic ranchers there are not in the best shape. Your lot value alone may be worth something.

Good luck!

Pics?  Price?

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We're still in the process of fixing it up some to sell, so I don't have pics right now. We are thinking the $170,000 range. The neighborhood is really changing. There's a new house going up on the end of my street on 42nd, and new ones going up on Althea. Nice houses.

Thanks for all the info. Now we just to get our house on the market and hope to get enough for it to be able to move out there. Anyone looking for a 2 bedroom 1 bath "cute cottage" in Garden Oaks?

The new homes on Wilson are about a 3/4 mile form the land fill.  I don't think I'd live there.  They do have some nice fake-lakes.

Audobon is across form Fall Creek.  I don't think it's anything to worry about.  Some houses are nice, but most are not.

Have not heard much about Greens Bayou plans, but it wil run right through the new gold course.

There is also a great Co. park on the south shores of Lake Houston with boat ramps, etc.  I think it butts up to Summerwood.

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I think it is really hard to Houston to find somewhere nice that isn't close to somewhere that is kinda shady, maybe with the exception of Kingwood and the Woodlands. I hear police sirens all the time coming down Shepherd, but generally feel pretty safe because we are a tight-knit neighborhood.

The parks sound pretty nice. What are the people like there in Fall Creek? Lots of families?

My, how times have changed. I grew up in that area and know every nook and crannie of the Humble/Kingwood/Atascocita area. I remember specifically the conversation I had a number of years back with a friend:

me: "I don't think I heard you right, they're building a PGA caliber golf course and million dollar homes where?"

friend:"on the North Belt just east of 59"

Next to the garbage dump on Wilson?

Near it, closer to Audubon though.

Eeww.

Like I said, times have change and I am really impressed with Fall Creek, though I would have never thought someone would have had the guts to develop homes there. Always assumed that area would remain undeveloped old oil fields. The only problem I see is whether the area surrounding Fall Creek will fill in with other subdivisions. As long as the economy keeps chugging along I think it will. That's the main selling point of Kingwood and Summerwood, the fact that they are both large established residential areas. If you are more interested in commute times to Houston tho, Fall Creek has both areas beat by a mile.

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What and where is this Audubon neighborhood? I also read about it on the Kingwood.com message board. Is it any scarier than Independence Heights, North Shepherd and Acres Homes near where I live? I just try not to drive in those areas.

We moved from Midtown to Fall Creek last year with no regrets.  We love it.  Nice and quiet, although we do hear jets from IAH.  But I am a pilot and love it.

Summerwood is more built out, but that is a stressfull 8 miles from 59 during rush hour.  I also see those folks on the four-wheelers at Shell on Lake Houston Parkway.  That's just not my style, either.  You don't see that in Fall Creek.

Kingwood may have more to choose from retail wise, but plan on an hour commute, even if you take the bus.  And how often do you really go to Bombay Comapny, J.A. Bank, etc?

Fall Creek is lacking stores, etc., but they will come.  It was an easy adjustment for us, since Midtown lacked retail as well.  I want a little shopping, but I don't want to live in the middle of it, either.

I can get to downtown in about the same amount of time it takes me to get to Kingwood.  I can get to from driveway to parking downtown in less than 30 minutes with just about no traffic.  And we are one mile from the Eastex Rark and Ride.

Gotta work.  I'll post some more thoughts later.

FYI  - I think we won the battle to be zoned to the new high school.

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Thanks for the skinny of Fall Creek. Concerning the dump that HeightsGuy mentions...can you smell it from Fall Creek?

Thing about Kingwood is it sometimes takes forever to get to 59.  Kingwood Drive gets congested during rush hour, and traffic is fairly heavy all day.  And some of the subdivisions are seven miles or more from the freeway.  Also be aware that there's not much in Kingwood in the way of commercial development: you'll probably find yourself driving to the Deerbrook Mall area a lot.

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Yeah, I'm worried about that. But the thing Kingwood has is trees, and lots of them. Plus libraries, banks, grocery stores etc. The area around Fall Creek and Summerwood is still lacking many amenities. I know they will come. Who knows what it will look like though. The ugly sprawl on FM 1960 turned us off of Eagle Springs.

I think Fall Creek residents had a cow when the initial Atascocita HS boundaries were proposed because they remained zoned to Humble HS--which, among the more affluent residents of the district, has come to be considered the "ghetto" high school.  Last I heard, Fall Creek residents will be attending Atascocita.

I read that they passed a bond issue to build another high school near the beltway and 59, plus a couple more elementary schools in that area as well. Not sure about the middle school situation.

And you're wanting to avoid them while staying within commuting distance of Houston? 

I hear Fall Creek is really nice.  Midtown Coog lives there and will surely tell you about it when he sees this post.

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Yeah, not likely right? That's what my husband said. And we park our pickup on our front lawn, so I shouldn't be putting on airs.

We liked Fall Creek too. Pretty expensive compared to other neighborhoods, but you are paying for the location for sure.

Liked the trees and trails of Summerwood. Saw people on four wheelers riding down the sidewalk though. Not that there is anything wrong with that....

My husband and I are going to be moving from Garden Oaks (sigh) to the suburbs, because we are priced out of our neighborhood and are in serious need of a bigger house in better shape. I work from home to take care of my baby, but hope to someday return to work in the medical center. My husband works downtown. We are looking at the Northeast neighborhoods of Fall Creek, Summerwood and Kingwood. Any opinions on which is best? We are hoping to avoid too long of a commute and too many raving rednecks (non raving rednecks are OK).