I am considering buying a home as opposed to renting an apartment. I currently live with my parents, so there is no hurry to purchase, however it would be nice to move out soon. As the thread title reads, I am looking for a condo or loft. I am looking for a fixer-upper type place. Where I can get a nice deal between 150-200k. I have been searching near mid-town Houston and I have found some pretty nice mid-rise condos. I am not sure where to begin looking and I figured some people here know of a nice up and coming spot or area where the return on investment is pretty high. Any advice is needed. I am not sure where to start looking for when it comes to finding a Realtor. Most important to me is that the place and area is relatively modern (I'm in my early 20's) and the area won't cause the property to decrease in value in the long term. Thanks in Advance CF!
Thanks coolweather, I have been browsing HAR.com for the past few weeks. I guess my knowledge of the areas I am looking into is very limited. I will definitely contact you for further info! Thanks again
Just be careful of older buildings (and new) and take into consideration high monthly maintenance fees as they can really add up
Also a realtor here, but not pressed. Willing to hook you with a Clutchfans discount if you want. Piece of advice is do your due diligence in researching the condo fees: what they include, increase history, % of payment in the building (this affects repair time for big projects).
Make sure you get a good inspector. Crap breaks all the time. Absolutely check out the AC and hot water heater units.
150-200k should get you a really nice, recently built and finished, place. A fixer upper is closer to 70k. Unless you're used to homes that cost a quarter of a million dollars....
look at Tremont Tower, i lived there before i moved to the royalton. Im in my mid 20's like you, the condos are between 140-190K, its the mid rise across the street from Royal Oak on westheimer right near montrose. Awesome condos, they're newer, 2 story units, I was renting mine for $1,995/month and my neighbor had the same unit and was paying $2,300....got mine off HAR. Bottom line, they lease for wayyyyy more than they're worth just bc of the great location, so if you wanna lease it you'll get top dollar, check HAR It's a cool building, very unique, and some cool characters that live there, the pool and gym are severely lacking so I moved out. The royalton is perfect for me, the unit is nowhere near as cool as the one I had at tremont and sadly I'm paying $2,700 now, but amenities like the great gym,pool,valet, and 24 hr concierge were big for me so I left. All in all if you value the condo more than the building features go for tremont tower, you won't regret it. I loved my year there, but my girlfriend wanted a nicer place
i was looking into a loft or condo and the main problem was the maintenance fees. they're pretty bad.
yeah i dont know how anyone can justify buying a unit with high maintenance fees. my wife and i looked at a few before purchasing our home and some fees were about a third of the mortgage!
There are some cool lofts in EaDo. With the Dynamo stadium opening, that neighborhood is starting to really get re-developed, and I would think property values will rise over there in the near future.
I'm actually thinking about investing some cash in properties down Harrisburg. THe new rail will bring development down into Magnolia and I'm going to get in on it fast.
Wasn't Tremont Tower the disaster building that got condemned like a billion times because the architects were idiots? OP, there's hardly any "fixer upper" condos you're going to find in the 150-200K range. And either way, I'd advise against "fixeruppering" anything right now. The concept of flipping property is kind of dead right now. Just watch the market and buy strategically. I got a great deal on mine that way (took about 10 months searching), and while I may not turn a profit on it, I'm surely going to be able to get what I paid. If you're interested in something a little less expensive that you might be able to "make nice" and turn over in 3-5 years, try 1441 East Street over on Washington. If you're set on Midtown, these look to be in your price range, btw. http://www.travislofts.com/ I used to live nearby, and they had a hell of a time finishing this place up after the housing crash. The prices on them have dropped like 50-75% over the past 2 years, so they're getting pretty desperate to move them.
