House vs. Neighborhood - Mueller

Y

YuppiePrick

25+ Posts
I have an opportunity to buy one of the affordable homes in the new Mueller development. There's a really narrow window for buyers as you have to make under a fairly small amount but still need the credit and down payment. Luckily my assets and yearly salary let me squeak in.

That said, even the nicest affordable home isn't as nice as the one I live in at Wm. Cannon and Westgate. The living room is about a third the size and dining room and kitchen are substantially smaller as well. The finishing touches (carpet, light fixtures, counters, etc.) are cheap but could be upgraded. I'm also living less than half mile from my ex and we have 50/50 custody of our 4 year old. When he starts school in a year it'll be a major pain the *** for one of us.

Buuuut, I'm just in love with all of the stuff in the development for my kiddo as he would get older. There's a huge park literally right out of the front door with a small lake and great playscape. Just a few blocks away there's another park with a great basketball court, tennis court and a pool. Super safe for bike riding and just exploring. It's also a good - but not great investment. I'd be able to rent my current home too. Virtually no yardwork, but get to enjoy all of the green space right out the front door...

I'm really torn. And, of course, if I don't move super fast they will be gone. The two houses I'm interested in just opened up because the deals fell through...
 
I drove around the area the other day and was impressed. Seems like a really cool environment to live in for the right people. The pool/park/basketball court area is terrific.

If my wife and I were buying our first home this would be the top of the list

what's more important to you...location in central austin or more living space?
 
A bunch of things can happen. She could move, she could want to move one day.

You can listen to some cool music and have fun while making that drive whenever you actually have to make it. It is still much further than some make every work day of the year so you are ahead of the game.

The pluses are amazing for him as you are near everything. And if he ever gets hurt, the hospital is right there! Not that he will EVER be hurt. Just saying, you have everything there.

He will love going to your place. It will be the fun spot. I live close to that area and I would not move to where you are now, ever. I think you need to act, you won't regret it.
 
i have 5 friends and counting who live in those homes, most are there in the "affordable" program. i love the houses and would have bought one myself if i wasn't disqualified due to home ownership.......because i already own properties, even though i have NEVER made more than the cut off in any year (except maybe one), i don't qualify unless i sell my properties.
 
How does "affordable" work when you want to sell? It seems like those houses would appreciate pretty quickly when the buildout is complete.

1) could you rent it out later?

2) could you sell in 18 months and kick *** on profit?

3) do you work closer to this than your present home?

It would be a very hard deal to pass up for me if that was an option
 
Yuppie, it has been over a year since they told me i didn't qualify. it may be that you ARE allowed to own one other property...i just can't remember. of course, the trouble with that is with my rental income from my properties, i am pushed out of the range anyways (even though it is offset by mortgage of course!).

79, you basically only own like 70% of the house or something and the city of Austin maintains ownership of the rest...of course that is still a great deal because that just means that regardless of how much things appreciate, you get around 70% of that appreciation. i also think there is a timeframe in which you are NOT allowed to sell the property....that may be out to 7 years. or rather, you can sell it, but you get nothing. but i may be wrong on that.
 
1) You can't rent them, but you can take on roommates.
2) The city has a second mortgage on the rest of the value of the house. I would have a $163k mortgage and the city would have a $69k mortgage. When the house is sold the city gets a percentage of the profit based on the percentage of the total mortgage they hold. So about 30% in this case. You have to wait one year to sell.
3) I work downtown. For now anyway.
 
This one is really easy...live as close to your kid as you can. You have already disrupted the kids life enough by divorcing. Time to do something for him instead of yourself.
 
The main reason I'm considering it is for my kid. He can have amazing parks with basketball and tennis courts, a pool, playscapes, tons of open space, safe places to ride his bike and a small lake right out the front door. Better financial security for me benefits him too.

But thanks for the cheap shot. It's true that everyone with kids who get divorced are selfish ********.
rolleyes.gif
 
If you can make it more power to you, but keep in mind your back and forth drives to south austin will take away onr of the key advantages of living there. Namely not spending so much time in a car.
 
This sounds a lot like the "city beautification" or HUD grants that I had to work with while in mortgages.

The city basically holds a 2nd mortgage on your house- you are unable to refi unless its just a straight rate refi.

However, you gain the advantage of not being required to put as much down on the house.

The HUD and beautification certificates did have an expiration date on them (usually 10 years)

meaning that if you lived in the home for 10 full years, that "2nd mortgage" was instantly forgiven and you no longer owed that money anymore

is this similar?

will the city slowly prorate the 2nd mortgage down the longer you live in the house?

if so thats probably a great option (as long as you plan on living there for 10-15 years)
 
Where are the schools better? Is it possible for a kid to live with one parent but claim residency at the other to go to a better school? How does that work?
 
What are the qualities of the neighbors in a neighborhood like this? I have a friend who bought a nice house in a cheapo neighborhood. Everything looked real nice in the beginning. the developer spent a lot on the green areas, etc. Then many people started letting their house go to crap. I think he will be lucky to get his original money back in 5 yrs.
 
sco, it's like that in almost every major city these days. I think it's a myth that Austin is anymore expensive than Dallas, SA or Houston.

I don't think the schools are very nice in Mueller. I'll put it this way, I think Loopy lives in that area. Wanted you to know all the information.
 
I DO NOT trash the schools any longer!!!

I would assume that newer schools would come up or the old ones get a new infusion of kids that should help their quality out quite a bit, if there was even a lack to begin with. This is in spite of my living there and my evil eforts to keep kids down.
 
I think gentrification takes 10+ years, so just because a bunch of smart kids come in, doesn't mean the Loopys of the world just disappear and don't drag the rest of us down.
 
I promise i will always be around henceforth to drag you down! And the gentrification has been going on for about ten or so years.
 
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