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NBR What do you think of this house/area?
Thoughts? I don't know the area so I'm not sure what it's like. I'm not sure about the pool/park being soooo close. I asked my friend what her thoughts on the pool were and she said "Means you'll go to the pool more." haha What do you all think?
https://www.realtyaustin.com/idx/homes/texas/leander/78641/206-cottontail-dr/8799522.html
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Re: NBR What do you think of this house/area?
It looks nice. I don't really know much about that area but I have a couple of friends who live in Leander and they like it. I can't tell how far the house is from the pool and park but I can say that we live about a block from ours. It's almost directly behind our house but you have to walk down the block because of the fences. I haven't used the pool once and I really thought I would have by now. (We've lived here for two summers.) I think it'll be nice when the baby is here and older so I can walk there easily.
I don't know if you guys are set on a specific area but we live in Hutto (smaller town, North East of Austin) and we really like it. Since it's farther out than many areas, you can get great homes at really low prices.
I did google maps, that's how I figured out how close it is. It's right next door. I don't think I'd be using the pool, I was mainly concerned about noise etc.
I'm not set on a specific location, just want something in a nice area that's safe and family friendly is all. I do know Hutto, I have some friends from when I lived there before that live there. I wasn't the hugest fan.
We don't have a lot of money for the downpayment since we're not getting relocation and have to pay for our entire move ourselves so I'm looking for something that I can possibly get a USDA loan at. Leander seems to be nice and an area for that. It is a ways away from where DH will be working...
If it weren't for down payment problems I'd want a house in Cedar Park or Round Rock. I love the Terra Vista area in Round Rock. DH's job is off Grand Ave Pkwy off 35 in RR.
Yeah...I know.
The common sense part of me says you're right and I should do that...the "I don't want to throw money away in rent that will cost more than a house payment or live in an apartment again" side of me says BUY A HOUSE! Ugh.
52 Choices For Better Health
I would be slightly weary because of location. A lot of houses out that area are depreciating in value because of location, builder, abundance of houses, etc. We sold our house in October and didn't find anything that we loved (and we took a huge hit on our house because we thought the house would appreciate in the then new neighborhood and it didn't). So for us we want an established house/neighborhood because with all the builders around the Austin area there really isn't a definite way to know if the neighborhood is going to appreciate or not. We decided to sign a 7 month lease on an apartment and I was really sad because I didn't want to move into an apartment. Honestly I love it! We got a 3 bedroom 2 bath and it is just slightly smaller than our old house but you would never know, we are on the first floor surrounded by our garage, and storage so the only noise we hear is from upstairs. We are also right off the courtyard so it's super easy to take the dogs out. The best part is with our bills and rent we save over $400 a month compared to our old house. I would honestly rent if I were you so you can get a feel for the neighborhoods. There were several houses we LOVED on the internet search and then we went and looked at them and nixed them because of neighborhoods or something with the house.
I moved from Round Rock to Silicon Valley (bay area) last winter. We had corporate apartment luckily, but would have rented to find a neighborhood that fit us and our wants. We're talking a whole different level of housing costs here, but even if we were moving to a less expensive place, we'd rent before making a purchase. Most movers will let you store with them for X amount of time and then it's not usually much of a fee to extend it.
We had some things set aside for the apartment and the rest was delivered to our home once we found one.
As far as that house being near the pool, I know you used to live here, but was that with kids? I seriously spend the entire summer wet to keep cool. I think you'd use the pool more than you think.
Good luck!
Don't know if it's where you can get your USDA loan at, but have you looked in Pflugerville? My neighborhood is off of Grand Ave and I know there are tons of neighborhoods of that road with both Pville and RR addresses that are nice.
Have you looked in the area near Old Settlers Park in Round Rock? Houses are generally less expensive than the one you linked, some are more wooded areas, and you're not a million miles from the rest of the world. I can make it to 35 in less than 10 minutes.
ETA: Referencing your DH's working of Grand Ave.
We just sold our house that was literally right off that street. The house you linked would take your DH about 25-30 minutes on the toll road and traffic. I would consider Forrest Creek in Round Rock or Pflugerville (though the house prices are depreciating according to almost every single realtor we spoke with). Also I would look at University Federal Credit Union's home loan program they have a really great program that could possibly help you too.
I bet you anything your DH and my DH will be/are working for the same corporation. Email me, if you will, at baylorgirl 80 at g amil
Being new to Austin, I can offer nothing on an opinion about that area. I live in South Austin.
However, I went through the same dilemma you are in regards to buying vs. renting. We ended up going with renting. We are renting a fantastic 4 bedroom house in a great, family friendly neighborhood. At first I was really bummed about renting. We moved from Chicago where we had been renting for 6 years because the home prices were ridiculous so I one of the main selling points my husband used on the move to Austin was that we could buy a sweet house. When we came to look though, I was so overwhelmed - Austin has so many awesome neighborhoods and I had no idea where we'd want to "settle" in. I am so glad we did rent now. I love this house and neighborhood but now after spending some time discovering the city, I will probably want to move further west, maybe further north as my DD gets older, mostly because of schools and kid related activities.
If we do choose to rent, you should have no problem finding something that you like. We were pleasantly surprised with the amount of homes for lease (and nice apartments). Oh AND, we got a short term lease with an option to buy, or extend the lease, if we decide to go that route.
I can completely relate to what you are going through!