Building In The Heights

[Marksmu]

6,600 sqft house and acre lot must be pretty far out. I am sure it is nice but taken the size of the house plus the additional hours in commuting I wonder how much time you get to spend actually seeing your family. Would be awesome for someone who works at home and doesn't care about the typical amenities that living in a big city provides.

 

Also the amount of crime in an area is typically related to population density. If everyone in the neighborhood has acre+ lots, one crime there is worth 7+ in the Heights. Maybe more like 10+ once you factor in the additional retail.

 

If I had that kind of money I would buy a house half that size and then another on a beach or ski mountain. Although maybe you have both lol!

 

The house is in Memorial, the proximity of I-10 and Bunker Hill....,my commute for me is actually shorter since I work in Pearland and can just take the beltway around now...My wife's commute went from 15 minutes to between 23 and 35 depending on how bad the traffic is...

 

The crime is substantially different due to the substantially larger police presence over a very small area.  I have also been a firm believer that the Heights crime is driven in large part by the street grid (which makes traffic in the Heights a breeze)...it makes it SO easy for a criminal to get in/out of the heights using back roads.  Also the proximity to I10, 610, and 45 make a freeway exit quick and easy.  

 

In regards to a 2nd house, I do not have one, but I also do not have the need for one....Between my wife's family and my own, we  have multiple places we can go to get-away....but traveling with 3 young kids is still a lot of work, so presently we dont venture must past the ranch, or the in laws beach house.

 

Finally, as to the other poster who does not want to pay the bills/upkeep on a larger house - We are a family of 5 with 3 kids under 5 plus 2 big dogs, with frequent guests (in laws come at least 1x/week from out of town) The additional space does not need to be cleaned as frequently since its not as heavily used as when we were in a 2300 sqft house... about 700 sqft is a home office, which my wife utilizes to cut down on commuting...so the space is very well utilized.  It is a  new house - LEED construction so the bills on this house are actually less than my home in the Heights...My highest summer bill was $300 (Highest in Heights was $390), highest winter bill (gas) was $90....average is about $150/month, so its not really that bad, and it is tremendously more comfortable for a host of reasons.  Taxes are much worse, but that is expected.  The only thing that takes more time is the yard, but I do my own yard, so I do not mind...I would rather do my own yard than goto a gym, so I use the yard as my weekend exercise.

[mollusk]

If  the City of Houston had the same tax rates as the Villages, I'd wager that our police response times would get a lot shorter.

 

By the way, the Academically Acclaimed Spring Branch Independent School District ain't necessarily all that (said a Rummel Creek/Spring Forest/Westchester alum, from back when it was Super Bubble Land).  Believe me, those kids can come up with their own mayhem just as well as any kid from tha 'hood - detached parenting is detached parenting, regardless of the income level.

 

Edit:  For what it's worth, we all did just fine with Mom, Dad, six kids, and assorted pets and lingering relatives in 2,534 sq ft (per HCAD).  

[Ross]

If  the City of Houston had the same tax rates as the Villages, I'd wager that our police response times would get a lot shorter.

 

By the way, the Academically Acclaimed Spring Branch Independent School District ain't necessarily all that (said a Rummel Creek/Spring Forest/Westchester alum, from back when it was Super Bubble Land).  Believe me, those kids can come up with their own mayhem just as well as any kid from tha 'hood - detached parenting is detached parenting, regardless of the income level.

 

Edit:  For what it's worth, we all did just fine with Mom, Dad, six kids, and assorted pets and lingering relatives in 2,534 sq ft (per HCAD).  

 

The rates for the Villages are pretty much under half of Houston's rate. They do have a higher per property value, and have a much lower incidence of home grown crime. I would suspect the most common crime a Village resident commits is DUI.

 

A colleague bought a house zoned to Memorial HS, and her kids graduate from there. She said the biggest thing about MHS was the drugs were higher quality, and that her kids would have received an equivalent education at just about any HS.

 

[Marksmu]

The rates for the Villages are pretty much under half of Houston's rate. They do have a higher per property value, and have a much lower incidence of home grown crime. I would suspect the most common crime a Village resident commits is DUI.

 

A colleague bought a house zoned to Memorial HS, and her kids graduate from there. She said the biggest thing about MHS was the drugs were higher quality, and that her kids would have received an equivalent education at just about any HS.

 

According to the police blotter that comes out weekly, the most common crime is identity theft...Followed by arrests for traffic stops with outstanding warrants, and then vehicles being broken into at church properties during drop off/pick up.  I do not see much on the DUI/DWI.

 

Memorial HS is not all that, but it is substantially better than all of the non-magent HISD schools...It does not have the problem with violent gangs and other issues that plague many other inner city schools...that alone makes it easier for kids to succeed, but it is not the sole issue....I completely agree 100% that education is heavily dependent on the parents and parental involvement.  However, I firmly believe that kids with involved parents will eventually search out, find, associate with others who are pushed/driven in the same way they are.  While not always the case, I think that if a parent pushes his/her child to do well and does not accept failure or poor results that the child will over time succeed....My younger brother is a great example...He is 14 years younger than I am, and my parents push hard about the importance of education.  Anything less than an A- is unacceptable to them....His core group of friends in Junior High (Friendswood) turned to partying and soft drugs and being cool, and stopped caring about school.  Because my parents stayed on him and forced him to succeed, he gradually moved to a different group of friends who were more in line with how he was being raised.  He remained friendly with the other kids, but they were not his primary group of friends any longer...Especially after they started getting arrested for drinking, weed, and breaking curfew.

 

My point of that seemingly random story, is that I do believe certain income levels, combined with heavy the heavy emphasis on education create opportunities for kids to succeed substantially more often than not.  Most kids will seek out friends who share the same common core values about education and drugs, etc...  It is not to say that people can be successful and achieve great things at any school...it is acknowledging the politically unpopular fact that income creates opportunity, and more income creates more opportunity.  Parents with the means to ensure their children's success are usually successful.  My own daughter is quite stubborn, so she could be the exception,but we will see.   

[s3mh]

6600 sq ft on an acre lot in Memorial would go for $3.5 mil minimum unless a majority of the lot was unusable due to flood plain.  In fact, a 6600 sq ft house on an acre lot in Memorial might end up being a tear down as all the big lots are now getting filled up with 9-12,000 sq ft monsters.  Even with savings of $800k on private school, that kind of property is going to be financially inaccessible for the vast majority of people living in the Heights. 

 

I can see that there is an argument to be made about spending 900k for a typical high end house in the Heights v. $1.5 mil for a lower end of the market house in the Memorial area.  If you can afford the 1.5 mil house with the money you save on private school, you do get more house on a bigger lot in a quiet neighborhood with no petty crime.  And when the kids graduate, you can cash out and downsize.

 

I bought into the Heights for under $300k.  Most of the Memorial area is inaccessible to me financially.  In a few years, I could possibly be able to afford the bottom end of the market ranch houses north of I-10 and over between Beltway 8 and Gesner.  But most of those get sold off to builders as tear downs.  And any house that has been improved enough to not be a tear down, will still only be valued at lot value in the future when all the improvements become dated. 

 

I would much rather pay for private school if necessary and stay in the Heights than trying to squeeze into Memorial or end up out in the burbs.  I have always lived in big cities.  Dealing with the petty crime is second nature to me.  Having easy access to restaurants, the arts, the revitalized bayou and the museums is worth the extra cost.  HAHC may bug people, but I would never be able to deal with a HOA telling me that I cannot plant a fig tree in my front yard.  And private school is not money that is thrown away.  There are trade offs, but public school is going off a cliff with all the testing mania.  I have reservations even about the very good magnet my kids go to even though there is a lot of parental involvement in trying to keep the school from spending too much time on standardized test prep. 

 

I guess the bottom line is that you only live once.   I would rather spend 20+ years in a neighborhood where I am happy and not have as much money at the end of the day than to spend some of my best years living somewhere I did not like and having a few extra bucks when I retire.

[Heightsfamily]

There is a lot of finger wagging going on, but I think sometimes choices are just driven by a family's personal preferences. We were fortunate to move into the area in the eighties so did not spend near as much as we would have on houses. Private school came down to a personal choice as #1 got into the Vanguard at Travis and we choose to go private. We were quite happy overall (no school is perfect) with where are kids went and how it turned out for them. One thing I learned in the private school arena is that one HS may be a good fit for one child but not the other. For us, our two ended up at two different private schools as suited each. Having that choice was great. Along with no teaching to the test which was one of my biggest gripes against public schools. I will probably get flack for this, but I firmly believe that the private schools generally function academically a year ahead of public schools. That is a broad statement across all schools, not an indictment of all public schools. We felt that this led to a smoother transition to college for our kids. 

[Heightsfamily]

Oh, and we learned to never park on the street though this is much less problemmatic than it once used to be. We also were willing to work for a playdate as there weren't many in our neighborhood when the kids were younger. Planning was the key!

[Angostura]

A lot of this is down to personal preference and a family's specific circumstances, but if private school is baked into your plan, trading that expense for a house in a better school district CAN work.

 

Let's say you bought a half-million dollar house a few years ago w/ 20% down and a 15-yr mortgage. Including appreciation and principal pay-down, you may now have $350-400k in equity. If you take your current PITI, add in $20k per year, per kid for private school and go to a 30-yr mortgage, you can probably get to $1.1M if you have one kid, $1.4M if you have two (maybe a little more depending on the tax implications: tuition is not deductible, mortgage interest is). That kind of money can get you into Memorial (just barely). That said, you still have to qualify for the mortgage.

 

However, if the unforeseen happens -- job loss plus a significant downturn in Houston home prices -- being underwater on a $1.4M house and a $7500 mortgage payment gives you a lot less flexibility than having significant positive equity and a $3500 mortgage payment plus private school tuition. 

 

 

[Marksmu]

6600 sq ft on an acre lot in Memorial would go for $3.5 mil minimum unless a majority of the lot was unusable due to flood plain.  In fact, a 6600 sq ft house on an acre lot in Memorial might end up being a tear down as all the big lots are now getting filled up with 9-12,000 sq ft monsters.  Even with savings of $800k on private school, that kind of property is going to be financially inaccessible for the vast majority of people living in the Heights. 

 

I can see that there is an argument to be made about spending 900k for a typical high end house in the Heights v. $1.5 mil for a lower end of the market house in the Memorial area.  If you can afford the 1.5 mil house with the money you save on private school, you do get more house on a bigger lot in a quiet neighborhood with no petty crime.  And when the kids graduate, you can cash out and downsize.

 

I bought into the Heights for under $300k.  Most of the Memorial area is inaccessible to me financially.  In a few years, I could possibly be able to afford the bottom end of the market ranch houses north of I-10 and over between Beltway 8 and Gesner.  But most of those get sold off to builders as tear downs.  And any house that has been improved enough to not be a tear down, will still only be valued at lot value in the future when all the improvements become dated. 

 

I would much rather pay for private school if necessary and stay in the Heights than trying to squeeze into Memorial or end up out in the burbs.  I have always lived in big cities.  Dealing with the petty crime is second nature to me.  Having easy access to restaurants, the arts, the revitalized bayou and the museums is worth the extra cost.  HAHC may bug people, but I would never be able to deal with a HOA telling me that I cannot plant a fig tree in my front yard.  And private school is not money that is thrown away.  There are trade offs, but public school is going off a cliff with all the testing mania.  I have reservations even about the very good magnet my kids go to even though there is a lot of parental involvement in trying to keep the school from spending too much time on standardized test prep. 

 

I guess the bottom line is that you only live once.   I would rather spend 20+ years in a neighborhood where I am happy and not have as much money at the end of the day than to spend some of my best years living somewhere I did not like and having a few extra bucks when I retire.

 

We bought a lot in 2011 when our daughter was 1.5 and our friends had begun complaining about Love elementary.  Previous owner had torn the house down....No part of the lot is in the flood plain and we got in just before prices skyrocketed...I could sell now and come very close to doubling my investment if I wanted...there is a new home on my street for sale more than 2.5x what I spent to build my own...We stayed in the Heights another 1.5 years after buying the lot saving up money to build the house.....While there are multiple 9-12,000 sqft houses, they are still genuinely the exception.  Most newer homes are in the 4800-6300sqft range. On my street of 20 homes, only 3 are over 7000 sqft, and 7 of the 20 are less than 5 years old.   I do agree with you on the HOA, but my small pocket neighborhood does not have a HOA, and has extremely lax deed restrictions.  For example, I am not permitted more than 2 goats, nor an outbuilding capable of holding more than 2 carriages and the accompanying horses required to pull it.... no cattle, and I must remove any horse droppings that fall on the shared street...also no flat roofs...my restrictions have not been updated since 1920 something, just renewed every 10 years or so to prevent people from subdividing the lots. 

 

I do not see much difference at all between the Heights and Memorial except for crime, schools, and the quantity of small one off restaurants....the thing I miss most about the Heights is Dry Creek...I loved that place, and I still go back.  Both neighborhoods have lots of folks walking, the parks are crowded with families, dogs all over the place, the people are friendly, there are lots of good places to eat, and shop, etc.  Really the independent restaurants is the only thing the Heights really has a strong advantage.  I guess the Heights is also closer to the museums, but I MAY goto a museum or to the theater once, maybe twice a year...that is very very very low on my priority list (I think its low on just about everyones), and even the additional 8 or 9 minute drive to those places is inconsequential.  It takes me longer to get all the kids in the car than it does to drive just about anywhere.

 

I do agree with public school testing stupidity, but from what I have seen the mentality of studying FOR the test is much less prevalent where the pass rate is naturally very high..

 

I loved the Heights, I enjoyed my time, I come back frequently, I still have a rental property there...my move was for schools and my lifestyle....I do not think your choice to stay and go magnets is a bad choice at all...My point in chiming in was to answer the OP's original question...who is moving in and who is moving out, and why....I think schools drive the majority of the folks who leave the Heights out, and also the smaller home sizes are not as easy to grow a family in....That does not mean it cant be done, or that it cant be done comfortably, it just means more work keeping organized and having a place for everything. 

 

I grew up in a large house, on acreage in the suburbs, my natural tendancy is to be more comfortable with more space....others grew up in small homes, or are compelled by the small house lifestyle...to each their own.  Neither is right or wrong.

 

And conclusion, I tend to agree that private schools are about 1 year ahead of public...you have to be in all PreAP public to keep up with the private schools, and those classes are alot to balance with athletics and other extra curriculars, especially when so many of your kids peers are not doing the extra work....I think private schools tend to prepare the children for college better than public, b/c the expectation of success is more constant, but the sheltering is a bit of an eye opener when they do finally get to college.