Houston: Which areas to look at?

Question

Hi all! I currently live in Minneapolis and am looking to move to Houston within the next six months. I'm sick of waiting around for our hot market to cool down and honestly just tired of MN. I'm looking to purchase a single family home to live in, fix up, and rent out a year or so later. I might also purchase another single family home to fix up and rent out right away.

The issue is, I have no clue about Houston. If some locals could fill me in on which areas to look at and avoid, that would be very much appreciated!! North, West, East, South? Any certain suburbs I should be looking at?

Here's what I'm looking for:

-Single family homes

-Under $150k

-B or C class neighborhoods. I definitely don't need any fancy areas, I just don't want to be in a place where I'd be worried all the time.

-I really like suburbs rather than extremely populated downtown areas. A place that would still be within 30 miles to a populated area with jobs.

As for the amount of rehab, I'm on the fence about buying a home that's had flood damage. I've heard contractors down there have about a six month wait and materials are growing thinner. If that's true, I will probably need to stay away from those houses, since I don't trust myself to handle drywall and other larger projects. Cosmetics are no problem.

Any realtors in the Houston area that have experience in investing- I would love to talk to you!

-

Jieh Larson · Answer

@Brian Foster

I've got 2 out of the 3 you asked for:

Fort Bend:

http://fbcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicvi...

Galveston:

http://maps.riskmap6.com/TX/Galveston/

Brazoria: Haven't looked for it yet but it's got to be out there. Usually a quick google search will bring it up. Might have to dig around the County website.

Other flood maps I keep in my favorites bar:

Travis:

http://www.austintexas.gov/floodpro/

Polk:

http://www.co.polk.tx.us/default.aspx?Polk_County/...

Waller:

http://maps.riskmap6.com/TX/Waller/

If anyone wants to fill in any of the other flood maps in the area please share!

Jieh Larson · Answer

Here's the Montgomery flood map for the county just north of 99. Should fill in any gaps in the area @Brian Foster mentioned.

http://gis.mctx.org/apps/floodplains/

Brian Foster · Answer

nice tool to use when doing your due diligence

http://www.harriscountyfemt.org/

I don't think you can wrong with areas around the TX99 [Grand Parkway]. They will not all be in Harris Co but you can still find flood mapping tools for those areas.

The growth you will see along the Grand Parkway in the next 5-10 years will be as big as anything you can find in the Greater Houston Area and should be within your price point. I'd be happy to help you if you'd like.

Candace S. · Answer

I would do a search on google to figure out traffic time to where you will be headed most often. Miles don't quite compute to minutes near the city.  With 6.3M+ people in the Houston-metro area, it can get congested in some areas virtually 24/7 (west-610 by Galleria area).

There are some transitional areas within the loop that you might be able to get into for $150k off the market or needing quite a bit of work for an SFR, but with a $150k purchase budget, there are quite a few options.

I'm a native Houstonian and currently live inside 610 (the loop). PM if you want to discuss further.

Good idea to be cautious about flooded homes, especially those that sat under water for a couple weeks with a slab foundation...

Michael Dang · Answer

Growing Pearland (South of Houston) has some good neighborhoods and around Hwy 290 and Beltway 8 area in near NW Houston.  Definitely lots of options.  PM if you need more opinions on whats good or not good.

Plus read this thread.  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/585/topics/460176-areas-to-buy-in-houston

Aniekan Udoh · Answer

Humble, which is close to the airport, Katy north of i-10 and Cypress are good bets as well. There are tons of options in Houston. If you can visit and tour that would be very helpful. The Houston metroplex is a large sprawl.

Brian Foster · Answer

@Jieh Larson   As they say  Jieh Larson "You do mon"

Jieh Larson · Answer

Found Brazoria County

https://brazoria.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer...

Brian Foster · Answer

@Jieh Larson Thank you so much, great tool, do you know if Ft Bend, Galveston, & Brazoria have similar tools?  Great find thank you!

Fred Heller · Answer

@Brittney Lundeen    Old Towne Katy and the Katyland area sound perfect for you. It's separated from the sprawling area of Katy by I-10. Very quiet and suburban with a cute downtown area. And a lot of historic homes. I sold two homes in that area this time last year for around $150K. But the prices have been going up since then.

I'm also aware of some nice homes in your price range in the Tomball area. Another area I like is just south of the Grand Parkway between Tomball Parkway and I-45. You could buy a decent home there last year for $130K-$150K, but prices have been going up there as well.

PM me if you would like to chat.