That only works in speculative market like DC, Boston, Florida, and California. DC, Boston, and Florida has since had a correction and many home buyers are upside down on their mortgage. Closing costs when you buy, realtor fees, closing cost when you sell equals more than 15 percent of the house.That is not including maintenance costs. The house has to appreciate that much just to break even. That doesn't include the opportunity costs of the down payment that could be gaining interest in another investement and any differential you have between rent and mortgage. The only thing I can say a house does is it makes you save. There is no choice but to pay your mortgage.
Do your homework. It's worth investing the time into. The bottom line is how much money are you going to save each year? Equity is a beautiful thing.
Appreciate the info. So roughly 3-4% for property taxes each year? I guess that is the state's way of making up for no state income tax. Ridiculous
Just curious as to why you think they are a blight on the community. The main reason for me wanting to purchase a townhome is that im young (mid 20's) and have no family so I don't need a big house (not to mention I'm too lazy to take care of additional maintenance such as a big lawn). Also, I would like to live close to downtown and prefer a more contemporary style home (seems for this, townhouses are the only option). Plus, I think with the development of the Houston Pavillions and Discovery Green, it will spark a more urban environment in the areas surrounding it (a big reason why I'm starting to look in the Near East End/Warehouse District). I've always wanted to live in a more urban environment (hopefully what DT Houston will soon become) but I have a good job here in Houston and don't want to go somewhere else like NY just based on this reason alone.
I pay about 3% in taxes. Most places I've looked around Houston are 2.8%-3.3%. Never seen anything close to 4% but then I'm not looking to live inside the loop.
Yeah. It really depends on your income. If your income is not that high then living in Texas can suck because the property taxes hit you. This especially hurts for retired people. If you have a higher income it can even out, especially since the tax is deductible at least. Also, if you own a $400,000 house in Houston then you can probably afford the $16k. LOL. That's a pretty big house here.
Oh, don't mind me. But, if you're really curious: 1. Townhouses in Houston spring up in monolithic clusters, all built by the same company in the same year. It creates a boring homogeneity in the inner city, that you can formerly only find in the master-planned communities in the boonies. They have no soul. 2. By contrast, they are replacing old houses with a lot of character and some minor historical significance. The community of old houses that disappear have lots of character and lots of soul. I do recognize that many of them were in such disrepair that destruction was the only economically viable option. It's still a shame. 3. Townhouses bring a profile of young, single and mobile residents. They won't stay around long enough to build a genuine community. And, they usually don't cultivate neighborhood ties because they don't have kids, or affiliations with local schools, churches, or other institutions. They tend to think of the townhouse as an investment they live in and not a home. 4. The profile is also white and affluent. Their mere presence increases property taxes for the houses owned by poorer minority residents (who do contribute to the history, character and community of the area because they have set down roots), slowly squeezing them out of their neighborhoods. The destruction of the older community is not compensated with the creation of a new one, leaving an inpersonal collection of residences. 5. Many of the builders are throwing stuff up to capitalize on the gentrification without building for longterm asset preservation, or even architectural appeal. These townhomes will have to be later bought up and demolished to make way for something new. Our city has little standing history because of its readiness to build cheaply and bulldoze. 6. Rising real estate prices in the inner city is forcing neighborhoods like Midtown and Third Ward to go from low density to medium density housing. Medium and even high density makes sense in/near downtown, but these neighborhoods aren't that close. As downtown becomes ringed with townhouses, will anyone be able to live in an actual house near the city center? 7. For an urban feel, live in the actual downtown. A 3-story townhouse isn't going to feel much like Manhatten. There's probably other reasons, but that's what occurs to me off the top of my head.
I've heard this alot and generally have to agree. Alot of townhomes in midtown or other central locations look the same and are pretty "boring" looking, which is the reason that originality or creativeness is pretty high up in my criteria. I want a classic look while also being somewhat contemporary. I actually have my eyes on this one: www.delanocityviews.com Does anyone have any opinions on this one? The architecture seems original enough to stick out from the rest while not being too contemporary like many recent townhomes. You got me here. This pretty much describes me as when I do have kids, I plan to move more towards the suburbs. Although I wouldn't say that I will view it completely like an investment as I will most likely live there for around 10 years because I do not plan on having kids for a very long time. However, the way I see it, downtown Houston is becoming more urban than it ever was, and as these young single residents get older and move out, a new wave of young and single people will take over and downtown will continue to become even more urban. There are enough communties throughout all of Houston that I think having townhomes around central downtown would not necessarily be bad as this whole area could become a community itself. I agree with your other points but I think there is also good to go along with the bad. It seems that the majority of Houston wants a more urban center/downtown and you aren't going to get it with a bunch of neighborhoods of homes with large yards directly surrounding downtown. The huge development of townhomes around downtown is only going to increase pedestrian traffic and promote a more urban environment. Sure it may not preserve historic buildings and homes, but why can't we create a history now, so that 100 years from now people will view these urban homes/townhomes as "historic" buildings and maybe Houston will finally get an urban downtown.
