Starter home in Houston for $100K or less?

[wordgirl]

Hi all. My brother-in-law is looking to buy his first home. He works in Sugarland, and would like a fairly short commute. Since he is single, he was looking to buy a fixer-upper, or a small home in an area that might appreciate in the future..like we did back in the late 90s when we bought a teeny-tiny house for super cheap in Garden Oaks. We did well when we sold the house several years later. Are there any deals like this still in the Houston area? He only has about $100K to work with. I saw some cheaper houses on the southwest side in Robindell and Larkwood that would be a decent commute. He would also be open to places in Sugarland, Missouri City, etc, but doesn't know the good areas from bad. Any advice? Is it even possible to buy a home, not a townhome, in a not-so-scary neighborhood for this amount of money?

Thanks!

[Simbha]

I can't comment on how feasible it is to buy a decent house for this price in the area your brother-in-law is looking, and I don't know the area at all; however, I do know that you can do fairly comprehensive searches on HAR.com. Click Find A Home, then go to Single Family. Then, just choose the criteria that you/he want. I'd suggest starting with HAR MLS Area code 30, as this is the Fort Bend county area - where Sugarland is located. You don't have to choose something for all fields - and, in fact, I'd recommend against doing so as it'll limit your search (perhaps too much). Once the search results pop up, you can click on each for more details, including (in most cases) pictures of the exterior and interior. You can also find a map to get an idea of the location. Finally, you can locate the listing agent's information if you want to set up a visit.

A preliminary search that I conducted using MLS Area 30 and a price range of between 90k and 110k turned up 34 homes. From the pictures, at least, some look fairly decent. I have no idea in which areas these are located (or whether to his liking), but that's probably a good list from which to narrow down his search.

I hope this helps. Best.

Simbha

[sevfiv]

Yes - like above I am not sure about proximity to Sugar Land but using HAR to narrow down some choices is a good starting point. Then take a handful of options and go look at them - it becomes apparent pretty quickly if you'd want to live in the area or not (at least in my experience).

[kylejack]

http://har.com/mapsearch is pretty useful IMO.

[Fringe]

About the only thing in or around Sugar Land for that price is Covington Woods or Town West subdivisions. Both doable for a single guy.  He could also find something in Sharpstown area. (Does he speak spanish?)

[Norhill Realty]

Is he going to finance this property? If it is going to be a primary residence, he should be able to only put down 3.5% with a FHA loan program.

I would recommend looking at some fixer-uppers in the East End.

[SaintCyr]

3rd ward or quitman area (west side) ... I would invest in a large dog as well.

Edited February 1, 2010 by SaintCyr

[sevfiv]

Wow - I would definitely stay as SW of downtown as possible unless he wants to live part time in his car. Maybe there are some older, more established areas in Richmond/Rosenberg in that price range...?

[wordgirl]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We have been looking at Har.com, but I always like to get the inside story on hoods as well from folks like you guys.

Is he going to finance this property? If it is going to be a primary residence, he should be able to only put down 3.5% with a FHA loan program.

He is going to finance. His parents are going to cosign because of his credit issues and 100K is their limit. Do you have to have good credit to qualify for an FHA loan? East End is appealing, but a longer commute than he had hoped for.

Wow - I would definitely stay as SW of downtown as possible unless he wants to live part time in his car. Maybe there are some older, more established areas in Richmond/Rosenberg in that price range...?

Yeah, I think he is going to explore those areas and see what he can get. Or I think he may need to consider townhomes instead with that price range. $200,000 would be more like it.

[sevfiv]

Just remind him that townhomes often come with monthly association fees! I had considered one with modest fees ($150/month) but it also really didn't cover much..

[kylejack]

FHA loan generally wants 620 FICO or better, and the last 2 years of credit history generally needs to look pretty good, and any chargeoffs or judgments generally need to be paid off.

[wordgirl]

About the only thing in or around Sugar Land for that price is Covington Woods or Town West subdivisions. Both doable for a single guy.  He could also find something in Sharpstown area. (Does he speak spanish?)

Fringe, thanks for these suggestions in Sugarland. Do you have any idea whether they are safe neighborhoods or not? I know next to nothing about Sugarland.

[Fringe]

Fringe, thanks for these suggestions in Sugarland. Do you have any idea whether they are safe neighborhoods or not? I know next to nothing about Sugarland.

Covington is still a safe family neighborhood. Town West has it's good parts and not so good parts (like most of Houston).  I will say I know at least 3 different people that have lived there for a number of years without any problems. 

[H8S 4 LIFE]

wordgirl: My in-laws recently sold their home in Quail Valley, located in Missouri City, off of Cartwright Rd. and Murphy Rd. It is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage attached. This 2-story home was sold for $107,500. I thought that was rather cheap for the area, considering that when I first met the Mrs. Her parents lived in a well kept neighborhood in the late 70s/early 80s. The neighborhood, as well as most of Mo. City seemed to drop off into oblivion during the 90's. This very same neighborhood has went literally to hell. Their house, IMO, should have gone for well over 200k, but because of the surroundings, they were forced to settle on the 107k so that they could retire to their ranch in Falfurrias.

The point of the story is this: for $100k, in Sugarland, Mo. City, Stafford, etc. you are going to have a difficult time finding both a nice property and a safe surrounding. He'll do better off finding a nicer home in Rosenberg or Richmond, which should be pretty simple to find for $100k, and make the short commute up 59 to Sugarland. There are some rough spots in Rosenberg as well, but the pricepoints on the homes in various neighborhoods will give you a good idea of where in Rosenberg/Richmond he will want to go. Just remember, if the deal is too good to be true it probably is. There are reasons some homes are so cheap.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

You can definitely still find properties and homes inside the loop for well under $100k. There are large numbers of available homes in my neighborhood in the range of $30k. I would knock them down and start over, but I see plenty of people renovating.

As far as commute, I drive 17 miles every morning from 288/610 out to Beltway 8 and Westpark. It's normally 15 minutes, but can be 20 minutes if it's raining. Sugar Land is 25 miles from my house, so you might count on a 25-minute commute. Reverse commutes are nice.

[Fringe]

Saw this listing on Craiglist for $103,616.  Looks like it could be in Covington Woods or maybe Town West. At least it looks like the style of homes from those neighborhoods.  Not a lot of detail but shows your price range could be possible.

3br - Beautiful, Well-Kept & Updated!! REF C404 (SUGAR LAND)

[sevfiv]

Speaking of style - is that a concern of his?

[wordgirl]

Speaking of style - is that a concern of his?

Not really. I think just something that's not a total wreck and has at least two bedrooms will fit the bill for him.

Saw this listing on Craiglist for $103,616.  Looks like it could be in Covington Woods or maybe Town West. At least it looks like the style of homes from those neighborhoods.  Not a lot of detail but shows your price range could be possible.

3br - Beautiful, Well-Kept & Updated!! REF C404 (SUGAR LAND)

Looks nice! I'll have to send that along to him. That's pretty much what he is looking for.

You can definitely still find properties and homes inside the loop for well under $100k. There are large numbers of available homes in my neighborhood in the range of $30k. I would knock them down and start over, but I see plenty of people renovating.

As far as commute, I drive 17 miles every morning from 288/610 out to Beltway 8 and Westpark. It's normally 15 minutes, but can be 20 minutes if it's raining. Sugar Land is 25 miles from my house, so you might count on a 25-minute commute. Reverse commutes are nice.

Yeah, I forget how much a difference a reverse commute can make. Good point. What neighborhood or area are you in?

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Yeah, I forget how much a difference a reverse commute can make. Good point. What neighborhood or area are you in?

I'm in South Union, right between 288 and Scott St. Many of the homes date back to the 40's, typical post-war 2/1 stick homes. Many of those have been added onto over the years. They're in various states of repair or disrepair. You can find some with good bones that are worth rehabbing. There are plenty more that should be knocked down, and plenty of vacant lots too.

There are some newer homes (<5 years old) sprinkled throughout the neighborhood too, if rehabbing isn't a preferred option.

Neighborhood is safe and quiet.

You've got other options directly across the freeway along Holly Hall with all the townhomes. If you're concerned about resale, those are a better bet, due to the steady stream of med students and young doctors from the Med Center. When we were looking around for a home about 8 years ago, you could still get a nice townhome for $70k. Don't know what they run nowadays.

[sarahiki]

I like the Robindell idea, if you can find a decent place there for 100K. Easy commute to Sugar Land, and close to Galleria, etc.

[sevfiv]

I like the Robindell idea, too - good housing stock and probably not too bad of a reverse commute.

Neat midcentury homes, too, and for cheap:

http://search.har.com/engine/6209-Grape-St-Houston-TX-77074_HAR43862330.htm

I used to live by Holly Hall/Reliant area and it wasn't my favorite - lots of traffic but I headed north instead of south. South Union might be a good option but if he drives around tell him not to take Holly Hall/Mainer St. as his first time entry street

[wordgirl]

I like the Robindell idea, too - good housing stock and probably not too bad of a reverse commute.

Neat midcentury homes, too, and for cheap:

http://search.har.com/engine/6209-Grape-St-Houston-TX-77074_HAR43862330.htm

I used to live by Holly Hall/Reliant area and it wasn't my favorite - lots of traffic but I headed north instead of south. South Union might be a good option but if he drives around tell him not to take Holly Hall/Mainer St. as his first time entry street

Thanks! That one is pretty cute! The good thing about that neighborhood is that he wouldn't be too far to come visit us up in Humble, compared to being out in Richmond and Rosenberg. And being a single guy he can be close to all of the city action.

Do you think that neighborhood might be a good investment because of the midcentury homes? Looking at this board, that seems to be the hot thing right now.