Urbannomad

I have to admit that when I first moved here I thought that building was some kind of huge day-care, youth facility, or community center. I never would have thought it was the Federal Reserve Bank. Glad to hear that it is much nicer on the inside though.

It's about 2 blocks south of there @ Beall and 18th.

Our search is for a 3+ bedroom 2+ bath w/ garage without significant restoration/maintenance problems. Price is difficult to discuss online - like anyone, we just want a good value for the money we spend, whatever range that falls in. We are looking in areas that seem appropriate for our budgeted purchase price.

Sounds like you have similar criteria to those of my wife and me. If I may, below are two suggestions. We bought here and absolutely love the place... 3bd 2.5 bath, 2 car detached garage, small yard (front and back), faces the street/sidewalk not a courtyard for 250k. Everything else in the neighborhood starts around $280 - $350K for a concrete yard. It's new construction if you are open to that, I like the old bungalow fixer-upers but since we both work that wasn't a reality for us. But like I said I bought here so my opinion is definitely biased but take a look around the area.

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

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

Guess I'm done pimping out shady acres for now.

Sinclair elementary isn't as bad as most of the others in the heights but there is only a small section of shady acres zoned to that school and Waltrip high instead of Reagan another plus. Hamilton junior high which serves most of the heights and shady acres is also the vanguard magnet so it should be pretty good. But as with all urban school districts if you want the best education you have to go private. My wife and I are holding out hope for sinclair- hamilton- and waltrip to improve as the area genetrifies, which was another reason for using buying where we did in shady acres bc the elementary schools in the heights have further to go than sinclair.

If you want to compare schools here is a site that I like to use:

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/go/TX

I'd recommend Shady acres... 14-26th East of the Bayou and West of Shepard/Durham. I live in that neighborhood and there isn't a lot of low-income apartments or shacks, there are some old warehouses but those are quickly disappearing and being replaced by new construction. Of course the area is still transitional so it all depends on your idea of what is acceptable. Coming form Washington DC we find the area to be extremely nice and a steal for the money, but someone coming from Katy would probably tell you otherwise. It's very similar to your initial heights area but quite a bit less expensive because it's less well known or "discovered." One realtor told us "you don't want to live there" but once we drove around we fired her and hired a new realtor based in the neighborhood, because while historically it may not have been nice, now it is almost entirely redeveloped. I wouldn't be afraid a raise a kid in the area and there are lots of parks and ballfields for family activity.

The Bally's on N Shepard is, in my opinion, the best option. It's easiest to get to (if you live in the north end of the heights esp), very cheap if you pay upfront and the gym is a decent size though the free-weights are little out dated. Houston gym is very hip feeling but you definitely want to see the inside of the place especially if you are planning to workout around 5. The price seems ok, but the place is TINY and that's no exaggeration. I'd love to see someone put a good gym in the heights somewhere. Seems like we could definitely support one.

Maybe it's not an issue right now, but if a major goal of downtown is to bring in full time residents then adding even more bright lighting probably isn't a great idea. I lived in downtown Salt Lake City for a few years and they had this stupid blinking red light on a building, that looked cool from the freeway but sucked when it would light up my apt all night... I think they actually turned most of the lights on the highrises off around midnight which helped. But I guess it all depends on what you want downtown to be, a token colorful post card image, or an actual vibrant neighborhood with much better "low-level" street-scenes. Or maybe you can figure out a way to do both.

I just refer to it as the "Washington Ave. Area" as well. It's simple but it works. Unless there can be some real historical significance tied to the name or an obviously geography, I find many new neighborhood names to be overly pretentious... just like condo buildings. And while some parts of the Washington Ave. area definitely have historical names, there really isn't one I can think of to tie it all together. I think someone mentioned the Old West End and I think that is a simple but good name for the overall area as well, perhaps better than just one street name.

Closing on a house on Beall St. in Shady Acres this Friday. I must say I've really been impressed with the neighborhood and think it has great potential. Just wanted to say hello to all my new neighbors out there.

I am also considering a home in Shady Acres so any tips on who to talk with for the best flood insurance rates would be greatly appreciated.

Great pics, thanks for sharing! I especially like the last one.

I think if you don't pay extra to buy it they are going to come and move it off the property just so you can't have it. Unless this listing is for more than one adjacent parcels and they'll throw in the one one with house on it for 95K more... otherwise who knows?

ziprealty.com is excellent as well. They have a really cool map and aerial search so you can look at specific neighborhoods and the listings pop up based on the extent of the map. They seem to have the full public mls and, what I really like, they show you the asking price history and days on market so you can be informed about the market and the property. Worth a look.

http://www.costar.com/Products/CommercialMLS/

A small fee for the basic service (commercial MLS), a quite larger one for the full product access. May be more "in-depth" research oriented than you are looking for but worth checking into.

I understand on some level people's dislike of new development\redevelopment.... BUT... at the same time I don't think it's unreasonable to build a 7 story building very near the core CBD of the 4th largest city in the nation. I mean, I understand the uniqueness of the Heights and all but Houston is still a major city and change is a way of life and higher density is a large part of living in the city. It really makes little sense to have, so close to the core CBD, single family homes on large lots.

Now if this was up near the 19th Street area I could understand the argument, I am in no way against all preservation but I feel this has to be balanced with the realities of urban life. After all, if we want things to never change, develop, or grow we could easily move to a far-out suburban cul-de-sac. Sounds like growing pains and people having a hard time accepting that Houston is becoming a true urban city.

Not paying state income tax makes a huge difference. I'd take higher property taxes over my MD state income tax any day. My wife and I together lose about $700-800/month to state income taxes so multiple that by twelve and you'll see what I'm talking about, especially since we still have to pay property taxes (really not THAT much lower) as well. Couple the no income tax with the low cost of housing and Houston really is the best deal for a large city. It's true the government is going to get it from you one way or another, but all things said, I feel like the overall tax burden in TX and Houston is lower than most other places.

I agree with jdbaker... I live in DC now, but I'm considering a move back to Texas and the condo fees there are outrageous. Even the higher-end condos here in DC, which is really all they build, you would never be stuck with a condo fee over $400 at most, unless it covers ALL utilities which usually only the older, not individually metered condos do. From looking at what is covered by the fees it's typical stuff and pretty much the same both places. Then you have to add onto that the property taxes that are quite a bit higher on condos in Houston as well. At least you don't have to pay state income tax which will be a bonus but doesn't make up the difference in higher property and sells tax.

Maybe it's because there are so many condos in dc as compared to houston... I dunno? Long story short, the fees have made me start looking at midtown townhomes and bungalows in the heights since you get so much more for your money, and better (only slightly with townhomes) resell value. So confusing, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this though.