I'm looking at getting a job in the South East corner of Houston. Pasadena to be accurate. If things work out, I should be starting Sept 13th-20th. I have a great friend who is letting me stay with them through the probationary phase which should be around 3 months. The reason I am posting up, is that after the probationary period, I would like to move off of the air mattress and get a more permanent living situation. If anyone knows of good property within a reasonable drive, SE Houston area, could you drop me a message about it? I haven't done much scouting out of the area personally but I have been advised to stay south of the Beltway and away from I-10. Ideally, I'd like to pick up a nice foreclosed house. 3 bedroom 2 bath with a big enough yard to get my truck into the backyard. I don't mind minor repairs. As I will be just going into an entirely new career in an entirely new state, I am not sure how much I should pay or how much I'll have available to spend so I have no idea what my price range really is.
Send me anything and I'll cull through them as I get more info. I know the ren community has untold treasures within and I hope ya'll can help me find one to live in.
While I can't offer any assistance I wanted to say YAY!!! Congrats!! I hope things work out!!!
I am very jealous!! We are hoping that something will work out for us to get moved to TX in the next couple of years.. Fingers are crossed for a job transfer.. but one never knows!!
YAY You!!! ;D
Right after Hurricane Ike, there were quite a few houses in the area for sale that needed work ... but the easy ones to fix up have mostly been bought by builders, refurbished (at varying degrees of quality), and put back up for sale. There are a number of empty lots in some areas, where the houses have been removed, where you could buy and build what you'd like (but you may want to add a few feet of elevation to the lot, just in case ;) ).
Take Care,
David Baldock
(in Webster, near NASA)
And in that part of town, do not forget to budget for FLOOD INSURANCE. For the piece of mind, it is well worth the money.
Grov, check out HAR.com for listings. It lists all homes posted by realtors. You can search by location, price, house size, etc. Most listings also have pics. That site was immensly helpful when we were looking.
Oh, another site to check is Zillow.com - search for Pasadena, TX (http://www.zillow.com/homes/Pasadena,-TX_rb/), which is a cross between Maps, Real Estate Listings, and County Records (assessed property values).
Take Care,
David Baldock
Thanks for the flood insurance reminder. Coming from Baton Rouge, I think I have a pretty good handle on the weather and it's dangers because here and there are around the same latitude but with so much stuff about to happen I don't want to forget something as important as that.
Quote from: Grov on August 27, 2010, 01:06:28 PM
Thanks for the flood insurance reminder. Coming from Baton Rouge, I think I have a pretty good handle on the weather and it's dangers because here and there are around the same latitude but with so much stuff about to happen I don't want to forget something as important as that.
Think more Lake Charles or Lafeyette for storm/flood worries than Red Stick. You'll be 50 or fewer miles in from the coast, but only a couple from the bay.
Zaubon
Quote from: Grov on August 27, 2010, 01:06:28 PM
Thanks for the flood insurance reminder. Coming from Baton Rouge, I think I have a pretty good handle on the weather and it's dangers because here and there are around the same latitude but with so much stuff about to happen I don't want to forget something as important as that.
If you're going to get a loan, your mortgage company will do a floodplain analysis due to the area, and will most likely require that you obtain flood insurance. I worked in the property claims division of my company during Rita and Katrina, and it was ASTOUNDING how many people in TX/FL/LA didn't have flood insurance.
This would be a good website to check out, homepath (dot) com. It is FNMA's list of foreclosed properties. Obviously what's available now may not be available in three months, but it doesn't hurt to check out prices and such.
Hey Grov - I have 3/2/2 in the Spring area I plan to put on the market in about 3-4 months. A handy man special with a big backyard. Too far of a commute though. If you were to be working in Baytown, it would probably be doable.
3/2/2 with big yard is the idea but you are right. I think that would be too far of a commute. Wish the plant was on the north side...
I'm thinking my best shot will be the foreclosed route. For purely personal reasons, I hope it slumps just a bit more before I'm ready but overall, I hope it does recover.
Baton Rouge isn't as far off of the water as most think, 30 miles from the big lakes then it's out to open ocean, but it's true that we don't sink quite so readily as our more popular southerly neighbor. If a big one comes, either location is pretty screwed without preparation. Message received though. Back to house hunting.
Quote from: Grov on August 27, 2010, 08:52:24 AM
I'm looking at getting a job in the South East corner of Houston. Pasadena to be accurate. If things work out, I should be starting Sept 13th-20th. I have a great friend who is letting me stay with them through the probationary phase which should be around 3 months. The reason I am posting up, is that after the probationary period, I would like to move off of the air mattress and get a more permanent living situation. If anyone knows of good property within a reasonable drive, SE Houston area, could you drop me a message about it? I haven't done much scouting out of the area personally but I have been advised to stay south of the Beltway and away from I-10. Ideally, I'd like to pick up a nice foreclosed house. 3 bedroom 2 bath with a big enough yard to get my truck into the backyard. I don't mind minor repairs. As I will be just going into an entirely new career in an entirely new state, I am not sure how much I should pay or how much I'll have available to spend so I have no idea what my price range really is.
Send me anything and I'll cull through them as I get more info. I know the ren community has untold treasures within and I hope ya'll can help me find one to live in.
Grov, I live in Pearland and commute to Pasadena every day, with a 15 minute commute on Beltway 8.
There are several new housing developments in the Pasadena area. The whole area is expanding, plus the forclosure market is wide open.
Awesome intel Mike. Was wondering how easy that jaunt actually was during real hours. Hope I can get a solid foreclosure outside of a neighborhood association, haha.
It's official. I have the job and it starts Sept 20th. My first 6 weeks are training and run Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 4pm so several weekends (at least Sats) of hitting TRF are in my near future.