First House/Live In for under 90k?
Hey ya'll,
I'm saving for my first house (I'm tired of living in apartments for the last 4 years). I'm 27 and self-employed. I live frugally and I'm starting to research houses from $65-90k (70-75k would make me really happy). My main concern is safety, but the good news is, I'm willing to travel up to an hour outside of central Houston for the location. This will be my primary residence, but after a few years I may rent it out. I'm not interested in doing too too much rehab, my budget for rehab may be around $8k. Do you have any recommendations for neighborhoods or areas around town that may offer a decent and somewhat safe place to live? So far I've looked into Deer Park, Atascocita, La Marque, West Houston, and NW Houston/Cypress. I've found some houses for sale in my budget range, but I wanted to get some of your opinions. Thanks!
Rick
I think that its great that you are open minded to the location. They are rezoning flood zones right now and I would concentrate on areas that have no issues. I also ruled out any place without natural gas. Maybe you could consider a full kitchen and bath rehab if the location was right, in the end you would have a nicer property and hopefully a lower tax appraisal.
Thank you Sandra, yes I am very open minded! Thanks for letting me know about the rezoning of flood zones. I'll have to look into that. I'm also looking into Spring (hardy toll road and cypresswood area). I've lived here all my life but still feel like I don't know this large city all that well!
You might find something in that price range in semi rural areas like Hempstead or Hockley. Search Waller county in MlS.
I have owned several properties in 77373 (the Hardy/Cypresswood area you mentioned). It is going to be your best option on the North side of the city to find properties in your price range.
Thank you all so much for the quick responses :)
Since you are posting on this website, and because you mentioned "in a few years I may rent it out", I am assuming that you have a desire to invest in rental property beyond the one that "may" be rented out in the future.... So a couple of things about that. What you are planning/doing is a spot on formula for success as a real estate investor.
1- buying as an owner occupant is the easiest and least expensive way to buy property, and sometimes you get advantages that others don't when buying foreclosures. You can repeat the process ... Buy as a primary and live in your "2nd rental property" and so on... All with minimal down payments and lower interest rates...
2- living frugally - keep your expenses low and you will have that much more to invest in real estate.... Before you know it your investments will cover all your monthly expenses.
jeff
You really need to be working with a realtor. There are hundreds of houses in your price range. The problem is most of them are rundown and badly in need of repairs. A realtor can weed those out for you.
I'm going to say Texas City is your best best. There are homes in your price range there that seem to be in pretty decent shape. There are also homes available in that price range in places like Dayton and Crosby, but that may be too far of a drive for you.
PM me if you would like more info.
Good luck!
also go to har and setup an alert for the house that met your criteria, i'm pretty sure they will also let you do that with a regular customer account as well, or you can pm me your email with the criteria of the house u r looking for and i will set up an alert to go to your email daily or weekly .
welcome to BP
@Huy N. Yes, HAR will definitely let you set up auto-alerts on your searches with a Consumer Account. That would be the easiest way to go. The problem would likely be too many matches unless he narrows down his prospective area.
Originally posted by @Sandra Gibson:
I think that its great that you are open minded to the location. They are rezoning flood zones right now and I would concentrate on areas that have no issues. I also ruled out any place without natural gas. Maybe you could consider a full kitchen and bath rehab if the location was right, in the end you would have a nicer property and hopefully a lower tax appraisal.
Why did you rule out homes with natural gas?
Originally posted by @Fred Heller:
You really need to be working with a realtor. There are hundreds of houses in your price range. The problem is most of them are rundown and badly in need of repairs. A realtor can weed those out for you.
I'm going to say Texas City is your best best. There are homes in your price range there that seem to be in pretty decent shape. There are also homes available in that price range in places like Dayton and Crosby, but that may be too far of a drive for you.
PM me if you would like more info.
Good luck!
Thanks Fred, I plan on working with a realtor 100%, I just wasn't sure if a real estate agent would want to even work with me since I'm at least 6-8 months away from actually making my first offer on a property (pending financing approval of course). I probably shouldn't let fear run me, but my gut is telling me I may not be worth their time at this point. I'll look into Texas City, Dayton, and Crosby.
Originally posted by @Huy N.:
also go to har and setup an alert for the house that met your criteria, i'm pretty sure they will also let you do that with a regular customer account as well, or you can pm me your email with the criteria of the house u r looking for and i will set up an alert to go to your email daily or weekly .
welcome to BP
Thanks Huy! That's very generous of you!
NP! I love to add value to other people's life
A smart agent will work you for that long. Especially if you show them that you are going to be making multiple transactions over your life. One investor connection can change a realtor's life.
Originally posted by @Roger Smart:
A smart agent will work you for that long. Especially if you show them that you are going to be making multiple transactions over your life. One investor connection can change a realtor's life.
Totally true Roger. Good point.
Originally posted by @Jeremy Kersten:
Originally posted by @Sandra Gibson:I think that its great that you are open minded to the location. They are rezoning flood zones right now and I would concentrate on areas that have no issues. I also ruled out any place without natural gas. Maybe you could consider a full kitchen and bath rehab if the location was right, in the end you would have a nicer property and hopefully a lower tax appraisal.
Why did you rule out homes with natural gas?
I like natural gas cooking, heating and drying. Natural gas is a better use of energy, in the long run it will cost more to have all electricity. Small subdivsions do not allow propane units, which I would have to have.
Originally posted by @Sandra Gibson:
Originally posted by @Jeremy Kersten:Originally posted by @Sandra Gibson:
I think that its great that you are open minded to the location. They are rezoning flood zones right now and I would concentrate on areas that have no issues. I also ruled out any place without natural gas. Maybe you could consider a full kitchen and bath rehab if the location was right, in the end you would have a nicer property and hopefully a lower tax appraisal.
Why did you rule out homes with natural gas?
I like natural gas cooking, heating and drying. Natural gas is a better use of energy, in the long run it will cost more to have all electricity. Small subdivsions do not allow propane units, which I would have to have.
I agree. When I read your original post I read it as if you avoided homes with natural gas. My fault.
My other question is, does a home inspection do a good job of letting a potential buyer know of most of the potential repairs or mandatory replacements? If you had two home inspections that came out ok, one is for a 75k house and the other for a 100k house...would you trust the home inspection? Or would you let fear and uncertainty cause you to buy the newer house? Thanks in advance.