kuttacondition

Hello All, First off I would like to thank the HAIF contributors who helped me select a neighborhood in Houston. After a little meandering through HAR and in central north/northwest Houston, I eventually found a great duplex in Sunset Heights to lease. It has been quite fun exploring the neighborhood (Canino's and the Aurora Picture show are current favorites) and Houston in general. In fact, I've enjoyed myself so much that, to the amazement of friends and family, I'm considering committing to Houston through the purchase of a house. Scary!! 1) House size/resale: My current apartment is 625-650 sq. ft depending on which eye you use for the tape measure. With a hanging system for my bike, this square footage neatly houses my worldly possessions. In terms of space, it works, but well, yeah, another room/larger kitchen would be pretty deluxe. Question. Given that I honestly don't foresee myself requiring additional rooms for children (gasp) anytime in the 5 yr horizon, should I buy more house than I think I need? Does having a 3/2 vs. 2/1 necessarily improve the resale value. Is demand for larger houses greater? 2) Rules of thumb for mortgage size. Somewhat related to the above. I'm looking at doing something like a 30yr fixed. With this I can afford to a house to $180,000 without taking out a second mortgage or PMI. Is there any reason I should look above this price range. 3) Weaknesses/Things I'm starting to look for in houses I get a little weak-kneed/will pay more for: a. Proximity to 290, I work near 290 and the Beltway b. Proximity to downtown c. Shade d. Hardwood floors e. House Security when away (I travel quite a bit) f. Open floorplans g. Garbage Disposals h. Dishwashers i. Porches/Places to char meat and read j. Windows that open k. Modern Electrical l. Resale/Investment Potential m. Room enough in the backyard for two people to toss a frisbee n. Bike lanes o. Neat built in cabinentry p. Local restaurant variety With these criteria I'm looking more and more at the Oak Forest area on the west side of TC Jester. The Heights are tempting but with prices going skyward and 610 not getting any better i think I'm probably going to have to move northward.What other neighborhoods outside the loop do you recommend? 3) Remodel vs. buying already updated: I'm not opposed to putting a little elbow grease into a house (major cleaning, paint, tile replacement, basic plumbing). However, many of the houses I've looked at require more substantial improvements to represent an improvement over my current living conditions. Questions. Should a first time buyer try and tackle a kitchen remodel (add appliances/functional counter tops/cabinets)? How much should I budget for a major kitchen remodel? Thanks for your help. Off to do the dishes, Andrew

Looking at the traffic figures from last year http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/hist/hi...?mapdate=063004 (pretty neat site) it seems that a place accessible to I-10 could be doable. I'm working 11 miles from the 290/160 interchange. Does an outbound commute from someplace near I-10 in north montrose/midtown or rice military of 30 minutes sound reasonable? Traffic is heavier for the drive home. Thanks for the help.

I'll be renting for the first year and then start looking for a place to buy. Ideally, I'd like to find a roommate for a 2db/2bath and save up money for a down payment. I'd like to spend less than $800/month/person including utilities.

Thanks for the tips! This is a great forum. I'm sure I'll have many more questions in the coming months. Andrew

Hello all, I recently accepted a job at an engineering firm in Northwest Houston (right off 290, ~ 10 miles outside the city center) and will be relocating from Cambridge, MA to Houston this coming September. Having lived a semi-urban grad student lifestyle for a number of years, I have come to value diversity, proximity to restaurants and the arts, as well the opportunity to discover local dives and ride my bike. Are there neighborhoods in or around Houston that offer a Texan variation on this theme? Friends have suggested that the Montrose area might be of interest. Any other suggestions? ?How long might the reverse commute take? Thanks for your input. Andrew