Posted: 12/28/2011 4:40:42 AM EDT
Hopefully in the next 2-3months me and my wife will be purchasing our first home around the Austin area ie: Dripping Springs, Round Rock, Pflugerville etc. What im looking for is simply advice from seasoned home owners. What questions should I ask? We have been preparing for about a year financially, getting credit in order, and researching possible locations, etc. I just want to make sure I ask the Realtor and Mortgage company the right questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated 
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| Always remember the realtor works for you. They also work on commission so they have no real desire to negotiate or drop the price. Realtors are a somewhat necessary evil. If the one you choose isn't showing the houses you like find another one. They are a dime a dozen. Take realtors advice with a grain of salt. They are opinions on property not the words of God. Your buying. In today's market your the one in charge. Negotiate like a mfer. |
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Always remember the realtor works for you. They also work on commission so they have no real desire to negotiate or drop the price. Realtors are a somewhat necessary evil. If the one you choose isn't showing the houses you like find another one. They are a dime a dozen. Take realtors advice with a grain of salt. They are opinions on property not the words of God. Your buying. In today's market your the one in charge. Negotiate like a mfer. Heard that...I got that drift the first time I talked to one of them... |
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Get pre-qualified before even looking at one house.
School districts are very important. Even if you don't have/plan to have any kids. Check commute time to your job during actual days and hours you will be going. Not this week, and not on a Sunday morning if you work 9 - 5 M - F. Look for evidence of gang activity in your area. Check for registered sex offenders in your area. This would not necessarily be a deal killer for me, but I would want to know. Hell, look at the police blotter, call report or whatever it is called in your area. |
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Get pre-qualified before even looking at one house. School districts are very important. Even if you don't have/plan to have any kids. Check commute time to your job during actual days and hours you will be going. Not this week, and not on a Sunday morning if you work 9 - 5 M - F. Look for evidence of gang activity in your area. Check for registered sex offenders in your area. This would not necessarily be a deal killer for me, but I would want to know. Hell, look at the police blotter, call report or whatever it is called in your area. School Districts are important as we are planning to start having little one/s right after... The other you have listed are equally important. Thanks! |
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Are you looking for new construction or a resale?
I did homes for 13 years in Austin, so I know a thing (or three  )
Realtors want the quickest easiest buck - they work for you, but are paid by the seller. (sort of a conflict of interest wouldn't you say) Make sure your realtor is a BUYERS agent and you are signed accordingly, otherwise they work for the SELLER in getting the seller the best price (bad for you). A Buyers agent still is paid by the Seller, but has the fiduciary responsibility to YOU. Research your Realtor, the 80-20 rule applies (80% of the business is done by the top 20% of agents) School District and the actual schools in your neighborhood are very important. Research that. Traffic in the area is very important. As mentioned, don't take someones word for it. Drive the drive from your work to the prospective home when you get off work to see what it really is like. If new home, research the builder. New homes have some large advantages (energy efficient) compared to older homes. Sometimes they are a trade off in construction techniques (Old style "Stick Frame" is superior to newer "Truss Framed" or pre-fabed construction). New homes should have fewer issues and a warranty, but if your builder doesn't follow up on the warranty, you could be S.O.L. Mortgage - Check rates and service. Rates have never been better IF you have GREAT credit and Cash for Down payment. With fewer loans being done, there is a competition for every loan. Use that to your favor. Get a match on better rates from a company with better service while you can. Hope these helped BIGGER_HAMMER |
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Hammer thanks for your response.
Currently were looking at 2005 or newer just to be energy efficient. We have spent the last 12 months getting our credit in order and paying off and/or paying down ALOT of debt. Since then our credit score alone put us in a whole new bracket  . We will also be saving to put down some cash down payment. The Realtor seems to be a big issue here and I will definelty do my homework. Schools and neighborhoods are a BIG deal to both of us. We recently moved from South East Houston and know a thing or two about questionable neighboorhoods  . As far as the mortgage companies are concerned, I would have thought that all would be about the same? Are they any that you recommend we look at? Stay away from?
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Always remember the realtor works for you. They also work on commission so they have no real desire to negotiate or drop the price. Realtors are a somewhat necessary evil. If the one you choose isn't showing the houses you like find another one. They are a dime a dozen. Take realtors advice with a grain of salt. They are opinions on property not the words of God. Your buying. In today's market your the one in charge. Negotiate like a mfer. Heard that...I got that drift the first time I talked to one of them... This *can* be false. There are specialized realtors called "buyers agents", and many of them work on a reverse commission. They claim their commission as a percentage of the money they save you from the original asking price. I am using one of these in dfw. I highly recommend you finding this type of buyers agent. |
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If you don't have the impression your realtor is working for you, they are not. Dump them and get another.
If you can, bring an experience home owner you trust with when doing your inspections. Pay attention to details but a second set of experienced eyes will always help. Pre-qualify! |
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Always remember the realtor works for you. They also work on commission so they have no real desire to negotiate or drop the price. Realtors are a somewhat necessary evil. If the one you choose isn't showing the houses you like find another one. They are a dime a dozen. Take realtors advice with a grain of salt. They are opinions on property not the words of God. Your buying. In today's market your the one in charge. Negotiate like a mfer.[/quote] Nothing wrong with negotiation, in fact the seller expects offers/counter offers to a point. But as someone who is currently selling a house I can tell you once you agree on a price and sign the contract don't drag out the closing while trying to find ways to whittle down the original agreed upon price. We just told one supposed buyer to hit the road after they signed their own contract and after dead silence their agent told us they wanted us to install a bigger septic system or knock 30k off the price. Not cool. |
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things that suprised me.
yearly repairs. yearly cost of utilities. insurance taxes big ticket item death. now these are not deal breakers, or even points to look for in a house. These are budget items. when they tell you how much you can qualify for remember these extra things and bring that number down accordingly. expect to put at least 2 montly payments into your house for yearly repair work. That is just up keep, not updating/upgrading stuff. about once every 5 years, expect to have to dump about 5k into something that dies. if you don't great, if you do, have the money handy. while insurance is normally pretty stable. some times shit happens. Hail storm in the area, everyone's insurance doubles. Huricane wipes out people in the state, your insurance doubles. shop around on it too, but just have a little money set aside incase it jumps. Escrow accounts are the worst for that. End of the year, oops we didn't charge you enough, you owe another 1k. or whatever. Sometimes it is oops we owe you but rarely does that happen. Utilities are nuts. I don't do average billing so I can see exactly what is going on. From an appartment where montly utilities are pretty steady month to month, a house is kind of weird. winter is pretty light, on electricity, call it 150. summer here in texas goes wacky to 500 to 600 a month. now no one is going to tell you that. They give you an average bill or high and low, but you have to know, can I afford my monthly payments and tripple the bill I see now. Then there are upgrades/replacements. Fence dies. 2k for the cheap one. 8 k for the one you don't have to do again. repaint the house or put up siding. stuff like that. that happens every 3 or 4 years something needs work. |
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I can recommend a great realtor for the Dripping Springs/SW Austin area if you'd like. She was our seller's agent when we sold our previous house (in SW Austin) and our buyer's agent for our current house (near Dripping Springs). She will be the first person I call if we decide to sell and/or buy again. PM me if you'd like her contact info.
As for school districts, I agree with what everyone else has said. We previously lived within Austin ISD though the schools our kids went to and would be going to were pretty much among the best in AISD. Now we live within Dripping Springs ISD and compared to AISD we love DSISD and are very glad we made the move. |
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Realtors are evil, but only slightly less than their swanky relative the attorney.. Fixed it for you. I would buy at the county auction or through a foreclosure. In my opinion housing is still way overpriced, the economy is not tuning around, and it does not have a reason to do so. |
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Realtors are evil, but only slightly less than their skanky relative the attorney.. Fixed it for you. I would buy at the county auction or through a foreclosure. In my opinion housing is still way overpriced, the economy has not tuned around, and it does not yet have a reason to do so. |
Be weary of foundation issues too. Certain areas are worse than others, but the drought of the past 2 years has affected some homes that wouldn't normally be bothered by it. Know that a good caulk/paint job can make signs of foundation issues very hard to spot on a used house. My area sucks when it comes to the soil, think every house on my block has had issues. My neighbor on one side has had his foundation worked on 3 times. Mine had a corner done prior to me buying it and I thought it was not an issue as it came with a lifetime warranty. Now years later the entire slab needs leveling. Both quotes I've gotten are around $23,000. 
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Ask to see the property tax bills for the last couple of years or look it up.
Appliances gas or electric? Electric hot water heaters cost more plus cooking on a electric stove sucks. Get an inspection! I know someone who didn't and they had to replace the hot water heater, outside A/C unit, and had a plumbing leak all in the first 2 months after moving in. Get comps of all the other house's that have sold in the area. What is the average price per square foot of house's that have sold. The one your looking at, higher or lower. If so why? Back to the appliances, look at the date of the hot water heater, nothing is made to last more than 7 years, count on replacing it if it's older than that. Same goes for everything else, check the dates, even if there's something that lasts longer than 7 years or so, like 10, you'll have an idea on what you'll need to be replacing in 3 or 4. If your stuff is on gas, what companies are in the area. Some are way higher than others. Foundation in this state is a total crap shoot. Do not let the bank or mortgage company pick your insurance company. We did on our first home. They go with Allstate as they will insure most any home because they write the lowest form of policy allowed by law. You pay, they cover almost nothing. I have first hand exp. with them & warn whomever i can. AAA Texas covers everything unless it's written that its not. Whatever house you think you can afford, get a cheaper one. Its not just the payment, insurance and taxes. Shit breaks, it's expensive. Get less house than you can afford. Also, the real estate person and the sellers are not your source of info, they want to move it. Its no different than buying a car. If its so great, why are they moving? Don't take the first answer, like "we got a job elsewhere", oh really, who do you work for? Ask follow on questions to verify. If they cant answer they want out for a reason. Look up stuff on your own, police reports, insurance claims, taxes, anything stupid the local govt. is planning in the area. They wont tell you about. Home owners assoc. fees and rules. We had a guy on here with his Iraq war vet sticker on his pick up that was told by his home owners he couldn't park in his own driveway. No pick ups allowed in view!? That said, higher fees and rules also help keep the trash out. There's a reason why the same house is 25K more in a gated community with higher home owners dues. It's called quality of life by keeping out the trash. What you want is a balance. If your having kids, take a real good look at the school, what do they pay the teachers, talk to the school resource police officer and ask about problems, where the does the school rank in the state? Lastly, any house your looking at, drive thru on a friday & saturday night at like 10, see what goes on in and around the neighborhood. Drive thru again on a weekday day. Don't just go with the realtor when they know your coming. During the day, anyone wave, or are you getting the hard look? Anyone stop you and ask what your doing there? Is it out of concern, or are they thugs? Take notes from all of our posts and good luck. ETA; who picks up the trash, how much and do they have any stipulations. I had a company in another state that all you could put out was 2 cans, recycle crap had to be separated, and the city didnt allow burning. That little stuff can be a pain in the ass. Also, how much are the water bills, in this state, thats a biggie. |
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It's a buyer market now. So negotiate and low ball as much as you can, and going up from there. The longer the house on the market, the better chance for negotiation. If your family can save some $$$ now, then expect that your family won't be able to save those $$$ when you own a house because some unexpected, expensive repairs/maintenance costs. In other words, be much more frugal when you have a house. If you can, go 15 yrs... instead 30 yrs mortgage....And pay as fast as you can. Good luck. |
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A lot of good advice.
Get a copy of the Homeowners Deed Restrictions (also known as CCRs) to review to see what is and is not allowed in the community (shed in the backyard? above ground pools?, people putting their boat out in the driveway all year?) . Also the monthly / quarterly / annual fees for same. Sounds daring, but get out of your car and knock on a door or two (especially if you are with your Wife) ask people really living in the community if they like it. What do they like or dislike? They will gladly share their experiences if you just put them at ease and let them know you are new to the area or looking to live there. You might learn something the "experts" don't know! Your realtor will do a Comp Study (shows what has sold and for how much, (and as important what didn't sell) to help you figure out the cost in the area. ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL. So prices vary a LOT just blocks from each other based on WHO built it, WHEN it was built, and WHAT was built and for WHOM it was built. Look for rentals in the neighborhood (your realtor can check online). While some renters are good neighbors, ... too many are "not a good thing" to live around. Always leave room to grow. You may not need an extra bedroom NOW, but if the stork makes "multiple runs" in on your position, having the extra room(s) saves a move (which = a LOT of $$$). Same if Mom or M.I.L. comes to stay after the baby / (s) arrives. In the same theme - Garage - A two car garage is really a ONE car garage (+ "stuff"). A three car garage is a TWO car garage (+ "Stuff").... A "Stick" built frame home means you can use the attic & space above the garage for storage. NEVER do that with a Truss / prefab Built home. (the weight destroys the frame = voided warranty = uh ohhhh!!) Look at the terrain regarding foundations. We built in Cedar Park right onto Limestone (no movement issues there). In Pflugerville the soil is expansive / contracting "gumbo clay" and not conducive to a foundations long happy problem free life. Is the terrain level or sloped (sloped means water drains away and doesn't pool). Is you driveway higher than your garage door? - might mean water flows into the garage when it rains (Yes I have seen this!) I have a couple of realtors and mortgage people I'll e-mail you. Great folks who I'd gladly use myself. They work for YOU, and in this down market you deserve the best. The best will go out of their way to keep you happy for the referrals you can provide. The Crappy are just looking to you as a one time check! Mortgage, get a 30 year fixed, but pay it like a 15 year with two payments per month. It is absolutely amazing how fast this trick pays down your mortgage, (you are paying against the principle vs. just paying interest) plus you have the emergency fall back position of going back to the standard 30 year payments if your income has an unexpected drop. Best of both worlds. While a lot of people are saying "buy a foreclosure", I would advise not. Most foreclosures are BEAT! The people living there couldn't keep it, so most often they are trashed & thrashed. Think all the wiring and plumbing pulled out, A/C & all the light fixtures stolen, walls busted up, carpet pissed on or burned. Yes, they are often really a mess. sometimes one comes on market in better shape, but all Foreclosures are sold "As Is". Foundation problem discovered later? Broken sewer line under the house? Tough luck buddy!!! The prices on foreclosures are not so low to make all that much of a difference (by the time you pay someone else to fix them up - assuming you are not Mr. Fix It Handy Holmes) I think that Austin area has a lot going for it that other regions of the country do not have. Desirable place to be, good business climate, THE University of Texas (and many other higher education schools from San Marcos to Georgetown) plus the Fed and State Government offices associated with being the Capital of Texas. Austin didn't have the skyrocket up of 20% + a year that CA, NV, AZ & FL had, but it didn't have the plunging crash either. I'd say it is as good a time to get in as any. Prices are still down from the heights of the 2005-2007 peak. If you job is solid AND you have a back up plan just in case (like an in demand skill like engineer or save your money for a year emergency fund) now is a good time to go forward. Selling season usually starts out in Spring and comes to a boil in July - August because everyone wants to be "IN" the home in time to start school. Buying off time = fewer other offers = more leverage in negotiations. Best of Luck to You & Yours for a new(ish) home in 2012 BIGGER_HAMMER |
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In my opinion housing is still way overpriced, the economy has not tuned around, and it does not yet have a reason to do so. Agree 100% Quoted:
Mortgage, get a 30 year fixed, but pay it like a 15 year with two payments per month. It is absolutely amazing how fast this trick pays down your mortgage, (you are paying against the principle vs. just paying interest) plus you have the emergency fall back position of going back to the standard 30 year payments if your income has an unexpected drop. Best of both worlds. While a lot of people are saying "buy a foreclosure", I would advise not. Most foreclosures are BEAT! The people living there couldn't keep it, so most often they are trashed & thrashed. Think all the wiring and plumbing pulled out, A/C & all the light fixtures stolen, walls busted up, carpet pissed on or burned. Yes, they are often really a mess. sometimes one comes on market in better shape, but all Foreclosures are sold "As Is". Foundation problem discovered later? Broken sewer line under the house? Tough luck buddy!!! The prices on foreclosures are not so low to make all that much of a difference (by the time you pay someone else to fix them up - assuming you are not Mr. Fix It Handy Holmes) BIGGER_HAMMER Great advice!!! |
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Hopefully in the next 2-3months me and my wife will be purchasing our first home around the Austin area ie: Dripping Springs, Round Rock, Pflugerville etc. What im looking for is simply advice from seasoned home owners. What questions should I ask? We have been preparing for about a year financially, getting credit in order, and researching possible locations, etc. I just want to make sure I ask the Realtor and Mortgage company the right questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated Are you familiar with Austin traffic? If you know where you will be working you should pick something close to there. What price range are you looking in? What size house do you want/need? Do you have (or plan to have) kids (so schools matter)? There are quite a few houses for sale around where I live (just outside Pflugerville towards Austin). Houses in my neighborhood are between 1600-2420sq ft and usually either 3BR 2-1/2BA or 4BR 2-1/2BA. Pricing seems to be between about $100k-$150k. New they were 110s-150s. Some people will ask for more than that, but they don't seem to sell for more, it is a buyer's market. Some of the surrounding neighborhoods are higher or lower than mine. |
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Some folks here are saying the realtor works for you..
Remember this.. EVERYONE in the process of you buying a home works FOR YOU. They don't make a dime unless you spend the $. Remember that when the snide remarks come from the seller's agent due to you offering a lower price. Remember this when the title company says it will take a week longer than expected. Remember when you have to scramble for some document but yet someone else can drop the ball and delay the process. Be prepared to walk away if you have to. But just keep it in memory that through the whole process, everyone works for you and they need to act like it. During the housing boom too many people bought homes who shouldn't have and the "power" shifted from the buyer to the industry of the "enablers" who process paperwork or provide services in regards to a real estate transaction. Don't be afraid to tell the smartass clerk at the title company about their crappy service. Then call the owner and let him know as well. If you don't know construction, find someone who does to do the inspection. Have them look in the attic for proper electrical, plumbing, building techniques, insulation, etc. Look at other homes by the same builder if you can. -Luke |
Wow I never expected this many responses with such fantastic advice . I work over on 360 and not really have any experience with 35 traffic, to tell the truth I am used to driving 40min one way already...so not big of a deal? We were going to start looking at foreclosers first just for price sake but believe me when I tell you that I will look and research heavyly if we find something we like...coming from Houston the taxes here seem to be a quite a bit higher which we will have to figure into our ending price...I think our max for a home would be about 175k. Personally we both like the country feel but all the houses we have been seeing are either way out of our price range or older homes. Tradeoffs tradeoffs tradeoffs ....also we wanted a one story but after seeing the prices for an older one story at 175k already or a newer two story for 150k and almost twice the sq ft... I'm a pretty good negotiator and will look for the lowest price possible
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Wow I never expected this many responses with such fantastic advice . I work over on 360 and not really have any experience with 35 traffic, to tell the truth I am used to driving 40min one way already...so not big of a deal? We were going to start looking at foreclosers first just for price sake but believe me when I tell you that I will look and research heavyly if we find something we like...coming from Houston the taxes here seem to be a quite a bit higher which we will have to figure into our ending price...I think our max for a home would be about 175k. Personally we both like the country feel but all the houses we have been seeing are either way out of our price range or older homes. Tradeoffs tradeoffs tradeoffs ....also we wanted a one story but after seeing the prices for an older one story at 175k already or a newer two story for 150k and almost twice the sq ft... I'm a pretty good negotiator and will look for the lowest price possibleI used to work near 360/2222 and I could make it there from the PVille area in 20-25 minutes each way. $175k would easily buy any house in my neighborhood (just outside PVille) with a little left over. The 1 story houses are 1200-2000 sq ft. and the 2 stories run about 1600-2420 if my memory serves. Most are 3br,2-1/2ba some are 4br,2-1/2ba, all come with 2 car garage. The next neighborhood over from me is has a little larger and a little more expensive houses, but they are in the city of PVille, and also in an HOA. There are a couple other neighborhoods in the area at varying price points with different sized houses. Despite what one of the other comments about PVille being "get-ohe", my neighborhood is pretty quiet, and a lot of my neighbors are techies who work at Dell, IBM, Samsung, NI, etc. |
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions:
1. Can you negotiate on new builds? 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... 4. Any thing else I should know? Thanks in advance 
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions: 1. Can you negotiate on new builds? 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... 4. Any thing else I should know? Thanks in advance Have you driven the routes you will each take to work from that area during rush hours? If you work on 360 it will be a pretty long drive if you are very far north of Ben White. Have you visited the grocery and other stores you would shop at in that area? Those things will give you a better idea how you will really like the area. |
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions: 1. Can you negotiate on new builds? Yes, you can. 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? No, unless you feel hopelessly lost. Have the seller pay realtor fees too, if you go sans realtor use that also and ask for a 3% reduction. 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... Taxes, insurance, flood plains, sex offenders, cable, utilities available, etc... everything you can possibly think of. 4. Any thing else I should know? probably! Thanks in advance |
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions: 1. Can you negotiate on new builds? 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... 4. Any thing else I should know? Thanks in advance Have you driven the routes you will each take to work from that area during rush hours? If you work on 360 it will be a pretty long drive if you are very far north of Ben White. Have you visited the grocery and other stores you would shop at in that area? Those things will give you a better idea how you will really like the area. I actually live at manchaca and 1626..."kind of the ghetto" and I work at 360 and 2222. This is actually further north and in a pretty desirable area....so it would be a little closer to work. |
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions: 1. Can you negotiate on new builds? 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... 4. Any thing else I should know? Thanks in advance Congrats on your new home. Now, not to throw cold water on the deal, have you checked the crime stats, specifically burglary and known pedophiles in that area? We lived down there right when South Park Meadows was being developed. A few streets to the west on Slaughter is burglar row with clandestine familys that are all thieves and burglars in one form or another. We were lulled by the big sky and open space but those people down there in those older home areas are like something out of a horror movie, parents that don't question their gang member kids when they fill the house with expensive merchandise, grandparents raising criminal grandkids while their daughters are in mental institutes or living on the streets. I was using the term zombie trying to describe those people long before it became popular. Seriously, watch your property, have alarm systems in your vehicles and your house and don't be lulled by the eerie quite as you are always being cased. Go over to the APD substation on Ralph Ablenado and ask to see the crime activity. ETA- I just hung up with my longtime g/f who lived with me down there telling her someone on the arf.com thread was asking about moving there and she said "Oh, gawd..." |
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions: 1. Can you negotiate on new builds? Yes, you can. 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? No, unless you feel hopelessly lost. Have the seller pay realtor fees too, if you go sans realtor use that also and ask for a 3% reduction. 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... Taxes, insurance, flood plains, sex offenders, cable, utilities available, etc... everything you can possibly think of. 4. Any thing else I should know? probably! Thanks in advance I got everything except for number 2? Are you saying that since we are not using a realtor that we can ask for an addition 3% off? What realtor fees would they have to pay? Sorry not understanding... |
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Update: So I think we agreed on an area. South Austin (South Park Meadows) the only thing is that the neighborhood is new and currently being built out. The Builder is Buffington homes. The price seems to right and in the right area. Now my questions: 1. Can you negotiate on new builds? 2. Do I still need a realestate agent? 3. Is there anything I need to research past the usual? Taxes etc.... 4. Any thing else I should know? Thanks in advance Congrats on your new home. Now, not to throw cold water on the deal, have you checked the crime stats, specifically burglary and known pedophiles in that area? We lived down there right when South Park Meadows was being developed. A few streets to the west on Slaughter is burglar row with clandestine familys that are all thieves and burglars in one form or another. We were lulled by the big sky and open space but those people down there in those older home areas are like something out of a horror movie, parents that don't question their gang member kids when they fill the house with expensive merchandise, grandparents raising criminal grandkids while their daughters are in mental institutes or living on the streets. I was using the term zombie trying to describe those people long before it became popular. Seriously, watch your property, have alarm systems in your vehicles and your house and don't be lulled by the eerie quite as you are always being cased. Go over to the APD substation on Ralph Ablenado and ask to see a the crime activity. Yea that does make sense...I have a feeling I know which neighborhood your talking about . These are practically located Damn near right behind south park meadows shopping center...I just about had a heartattack when the sales guy said " for your max you would be living in the ghetto" we did look around and I be damn if he was right....needless to say we uped our price just to be out of that area. I lived in SE Houston and know what's its like to live in a "questionable" area and know what to look for...thanks for the heads up
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Congrats on the new home! South Park Meadows used to be a big open field that was a major concert venue before it was sold and developed. Lots of big name bands played there, funny to see shopping & homes there now..
My current home is a Buffington home, completed November 2010. My wife & I were very pleased with the entire purchasing & building process with Buffington. We are also very happy with the construction quality, especially compared to some of the other builders we looked at. No problems at all with our home after 1 year of ownership. |
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Congrats on the new home! South Park Meadows used to be a big open field that was a major concert venue before it was sold and developed. Lots of big name bands played there, funny to see shopping & homes there now.. My current home is a Buffington home, completed November 2010. My wife & I were very pleased with the entire purchasing & building process with Buffington. We are also very happy with the construction quality, especially compared to some of the other builders we looked at. No problems at all with our home after 1 year of ownership. Thats great to hear! We had never heard of them before, but their homes seem to be built quite well.
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new construction generally do not knock prices down. they offer you "free" upgrades included in your price.
IF you don't use your own agent for the deal, 6 percent goes back to them. normally 3 percent goes to your agent, so you can ask for a 3 percent discount if you don't use one. that is the norm. and worst case they can say no. |
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Quoted:
new construction generally do not knock prices down. they offer you "free" upgrades included in your price. IF you don't use your own agent for the deal, 6 percent goes back to them. normally 3 percent goes to your agent, so you can ask for a 3 percent discount if you don't use one. that is the norm. and worst case they can say no. Ahhh I see...
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