LoverofOldThings

You know, we ALMOST looked at Pineview Place. It is so funny that you mentioned it. We were driving towards the house in Pine VALLEY, and I accidentally programmed PINE VIEW into the GPS! Needless to say, we ended up in the middle of nowhere until I caught the mistake. I have heard about Garden Villas and Glenbrook. I read about Glenbrook on the forum. That would be a sell for my husband though, since he works in the neighborhood. (off Telephone Rd.) Apparently his colleagues are always telling him what a "dangerous" area it is. Someone told him that they "thought it was a nice neighborhood" until a stray bullet came through their living room window on Thanksgiving Day. So, he feels that it may not be safe. I fly out of Hobby a lot, and the apartments that I pass on the way there worry me. They worry him too. They looks like they are going to fall apart, and most of them say things like "first three months free" and "no deposit". However, some of the homes up near Reveille (probably not spelled correctly) are going for 200K plus. I have a hard time thinking they would ask for those prices in dangerous neighborhoods. What do you think? Is Garden Villas worse than Glenbrook? Right now we live in the Heights and I have a 20 minute commute each day. It would be a much longer commute if there were more cars on the road at 04:00AM and noon. So, the commute from the Mason, Pineview, etc wouldn't be that much longer. Most of my co-workers drive 45 minutes in, from Kingwood or Clear Lake, so I know I could do worse. As far as retail, we love Whole Foods and Half-Priced Books. Luckily, we are not far from either one right now. However, we are also not willing to pay Heights prices for real estate. The houses are so high at this point I cannot imagine them going much higher, and I have a feeling that our friends who just purchased a $400K bungalow three blocks from the new "villas" (aka crap townhomes that look nice but will fall apart in 10 years) and going to be very sorry they paid that much. We saw that Mason Park house. It's not bad, but very small. I cannot imagine that people with children would ever buy that house, unless they want their kids to play on the sloped front yard. I suppose that is why people with children eventually move out to the burbs. At least in upstate NY. It seems that is true here as well... I thought I read somewhere on the board that there was some new stores going into Gulfgate, Almeda and near the airport was being renovated....those were older topics and posts though.

As my husband pointed out, the more important line of this article is: "..the FOR PROFIT organization..." It's too bad. We're white, and we actually liked the house we looked at today in that neighborhood.

We looked at a TON of houses this weekend, but we were mostly interested in the neighborhoods. Mason Park Terr. was really nice. The house we looked at: http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y We thought it was cute, but the backyward was too tiny for even an herb garden! We are kind of partial to two bathrooms, since my in-laws stay with us about 2-3 weeks/year when they are traveling around during the winter, but we understand that it is unusual in older homes. ALSO http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y which my husband said would take a LOT of money to rehab. The garage is a complete teardown, and the HUGE front lawn and no back yard make that a lot of wasted space. We did like the neighborhood though, a lot! We liked Broadmoor, but the surrounding areas were a little scary. The two houses we looked at were in very bad shape, and we don't want to do any structural work. Plus, a young kid in a Mustang tried to run us over when we were crossing the street. Hopefully unusual, but we decided to jump back in our car and get out of there. Pecan Park was okay, it was funny to see houses that were so obviously cared for next to houses that I was surprised people were still living in. The one they are asking ~$140K for, that someone mentioned previously on the board, has NO lawn and it very small. It definitely is not worth what they are asking. We looked at another house in Pecan Park that was redeemable, but the apartment complexes down the street and strung-out looking people eyeing us as we drove by frightened us, and changed our minds. I think that area would have to improve a little bit more for us to be interested. We saw all of the lovely houses in Idylwood, and oooo-ed and aaaaaah-ed as we drove through. Those are out of our price range. If we planned on staying in Houston long-term (more than 5 or 10 years) we would seriously consider the hefty price tags. We saw this house: http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y What do you guys think of Pine Valley? It seemed nice enough, but they are asking too much for this house. It was decent, and I liked the funky old-school windows. It needs some work and has a cracked slab. Also, the windows will need to be replaced (broken) and the living room is so small you would not be able to get a couch in there. We liked the back yard though, and behind the garage would be the perfect place for a small garden. However, I have read that people think this development wil never appreciate in value....any thoughts on this? What are your thoughts on Glenbrook Valley? We would like something close to some shopping (books stores and grocery stores)....and even Idlylwood-ers have to drive a distance to get to the nearest grocery store. I have heard mention of some stuff commercial shopping being built in Gulfgate and Almeda.... ALSO -- We went to the Telwink Grill. THANKS! That place was great! Friendly and good, cheap food. We were a little nervous when we walked in and it was packed, but it was quick service. Now, if the people that sat in the table across from us had showered say, in the last century, it would have been a little better for us. But, hey, it was worth it. Also, we went to the Asian Tapioca place in that little plaza after we looked at a house near Mason Park. In NY we call them "bubble tea" and I was SO excited to have one again! My husband tried strawberry and I tried watermelon. The owner was there was talked to us a bit, it was very homey. *whew* To relax we drove out to the Med Center area (where I work) and lounged at the B&N and stocked up on foodie type groceries at the Randall's. It's sad that there is were not any nice places to shop and/or relax in the Eastwood area. The Med Center/Bellaire is too far away to drive for some organic food, but we would suck it up for a nice neighborhoods. Anyhow, let me know what you guys (and gals) think. So far you have really helped me get to know the area, and know where I should (and should not) be looking. Thanks!!!

Yes, my husband and I have driven around the neighborhood a bit, but I didn't realize how little we had explored until I saw how large Eastwood was. I always intend to go after work, but I leave the Med Center around 4AM...not a good time to go exploring. We are going to cruise around this weekend. He wants to check out the commercial stuff in the area anyhow. Recommendations for good places to eat? We prefer the little moma-and-pop places. Not big on fast food. No PMs yet, but I am definitely taking in all of the great information you guys are giving me. By the way, the comment about the random pack of dogs had me cracking up. Thanks!

Thanks for all of your advice, I really appreciate it. This is our first home purchase, and we are both excited and hesitant, which I am sure is normal. I have read, in previous posts on this board, about flooding in areas near the Bayou. Does that include homes around Mason Park? There are some properties on Azalea, Satsuma and Elm Street that we are interested in, but wondering if this area floods. One of the houses lists "good backyard drainage" as a benefit. We are looking in Broadmoor too but there doesn't seem to be much for sale right now. Waiting and looking and researching. Unfortunately, patience is not my forte.

Also, I forgot to mention...we don't have any children, so schools are not an issue. We don't mind living in a neighborhood with kids though. We are young professionals (okay, I have the read the boards, I know yuppie is a bad word) but we are quiet people. Smaller houses are fine with us for this reason as well. However, being able to walk (down the steet, to a park, etc.) would be nice. That's the biggest change for us moving from a small city in NY, we used to walk everywhere...

*lol* Musicman-- I didn't mean we were firm about the 100K. That is what we would prefer, but we are willing to go up to 160K. Usually these houses don't need much work though. There is a house on Altic going for under 100K --- a definite fixer-upper---but we weren't sure what that neighborhood was like at night. Thanks for responding.

My husband and I relocated from Upstate NY last year, and are looking at housing in the East End (eastwood) area. We are currently living in a rental in the Heights, but the only affordable homes we have seen there are the new townhouses that are going up everywhere. We like the feel of the neighborhood, but are not willing to pay $400K for a bungalow. I work in the Medical Center, and Eastwood seems like a nice neighborhood and will drastically reduce my current commute time. (When we moved here, we had no idea that 15 miles down 610 meant a 40 minute commute -- the lesson we learned.) Plus, the options are much more affordable than the Heights/Garden Oaks. I am looking for a quiet and fairly safe neighborhood, as I am on call 24-7 and sometimes need to leave in the middle of the night. However, we are not looking for one of those clean but character-less neighborhoods, and understand that living close to downtown will have more crime and commotion than living in Sugarland or Clear Lake. We would like a house for under 100K, preferrrably a bungalow, to restore. (Yes, I said restore, and not just renovate.) Are there specific areas that you can recommend? We have seen some listings that we were interested in...one on McKinney St, One on Altic St, etc...all fixer-uppers and decent size. Can anyone tell me about these neighborhoods? Unfortunately, when I see something that says "Broadmoor" or "Gulfgate", I am not sure where these neighborhoods are, and what their pros/cons are. I would like to live near a Park, but I am not sure if that means more crime in this area. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks!