Need commute info on a few Houston areas (San Antonio, Sugar Land: sales, real estate) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

CaliFamily2Texas :) · 09-13-2006, 12:09 PM

Hello everyone!! I read this forum daily and it's great!

My family and I will be relocating to the Houston area in January. We are very excited and look forward to becoming Texans!

My job would most likely be downtown or the galleria area. How would the commute be if I lived in Pearland, Friendswood, Clear Lake, Cinco Ranch, Sugar Land or West University? I know that most of the houses in West University are really expensive but I also found some smaller (not mansions) homes for affordable prices. Do you know if all of West University is nice or is there also a bad area and this could be the reason for the cheaper houses???

Thanks again for all your help!

AK123 · 09-13-2006, 08:20 PM

If you are working in downtown, West U would be the closest neighborhood. Sorry I'm not familiar on if it has "bad areas", maybe someone else here will know more about that.

The suburb with the easiest commute to downtown would probably be Pearland, with Sugar Land being next.

With Clear Lake and Cinco Ranch, you'll end up sitting in a bunch of traffic. But maybe someone more familiar with Cinco Ranch can clarify that.

On the other hand, if you end up working in the Galleria area, then Clear Lake, Friendswood and maybe even Pearland are going to be too far. In that case, your best bet would probably be West U or Sugar Land.

CaliFamily2Texas :) · 09-14-2006, 12:46 PM

I visited Houston about 3 years ago. I was in the zip code 77089 which is Houston & is not a suburb. I thought it was a wonderful neighborhood, quiet and very family oriented. I was there for about a month and enjoyed it very much. I fell in love with Texas. Do you happen to know if this area has high crime?

AK123 · 09-14-2006, 04:54 PM

I'm not familiar with that zip, but looks like it's near Pearland/Friendswood. I'm not aware of a crime problem there, but don't go by just what I say because I don't know that area well.

The zips you want to stay away from are the ones in southwest Houston, along Beltway 8. That's where crime has gone up recently.

You can do zip research at these links:
Moderator cut: link removed
https://www.city-data.com/zips/zipdir/dir97.html

CaliFamily2Texas :) · 09-15-2006, 10:23 AM

Thanks JJP!! I will look into those websites!! You have been so helpful!

CaliFamily2Texas :) · 09-15-2006, 10:33 AM

JJP, I am planning a trip to Houston about a month prior to moving and staying there for a week. I will be there for job interviews and looking at the surrounding areas. Once I know where I will be working I will narrow it down to a specific area. I'm soo excited. I have spoken to a few recruiters over the phone and they said I would not have a problem finding a job in Houston. I pray all works out!

I had a question, are the property taxes more expensive in new master planned communities? I know property taxes are high already compared to other states but is there a list where it shows Houston and surrounding area taxes? This would also help!

I'm not sure if there is but I thought I would just ask.

momof2dfw · 09-15-2006, 01:05 PM

Just because a house is in a new master planned community does not make a difference on the tax rate except for the value of the house. In Texas every county, city/town, school district, government subsidized hospital (ie: from your property taxes), community college district, etc is what sets your tax rate based on the market value of your property. It is different for each one. The market value in Texas is supposed to be reevaluated every 3 years but can be done more often if there is a change in the local real estate that warrants it for your neighborhood. You can look at each counties tax apprasials website and look at the tax rates for each entity that taxes your property. The one for Houston is Harris County. It can be found at http://www.hcad.org/
If you find a house that is outside of Harris County they should have a link to that county. You should also be able to pull up the information for any property that you are interested in to see what they have the market value set at, what the taxes are for that year and the past history of values/taxes. You can see if there is a decline or an increase which may show more than what you see just driving down the streets. If you pay well above the tax appraisals market value for your house they can and probably will come in the first year and raise your "taxable market value" to that sales amount. So be very leary about paying well over that amount. You can fight or protest the value they put on your property but that first year you can forget it as they see it IS worth that $.

CaliFamily2Texas :) · 09-15-2006, 04:08 PM

Thanks Momof2dfw! Your always very helpful. I thought it was different if it was a master planned community since everything is new. I went to a community here in California a while ago and the tax rate was higher and the realtor stated because it was brand new so the area tax was higher compared to the older area. I guess it is different from CA since california is based on what you pay versus what it is worth. Thanks again!

Steel Man · 09-15-2006, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliFamily2Texas :)

Thanks Momof2dfw! Your always very helpful. I thought it was different if it was a master planned community since everything is new. I went to a community here in California a while ago and the tax rate was higher and the realtor stated because it was brand new so the area tax was higher compared to the older area. I guess it is different from CA since california is based on what you pay versus what it is worth. Thanks again!

Here in San Antonio, and I would probably say other cities, special tax assessments are granted to developments as a way to entice the new business. For example, San Antonio has been trying to entice PGA to build a second large PGA Village on the north side. I believe that the city was offering a tax assessment to the PGA so they would be able to recoup some of their costs (roads, improvements, etc.). Then, the PGA could add an extra property tax to home buyers in this development. This type of arrangement is commonly asked for by other developers.

AK123 · 09-16-2006, 10:18 AM

The tax rate will depend more on the county and city, not the specific development.

For example, Sugar Land has lower property taxes than neighboring Missouri City and (I think) Houston.

However, every neighborhood/master-planned community will have different annual fees you will have to pay; this is separate from the property tax. This pays for upkeep in the area like landscaping, fences, etc. They usually range from $400-800 depending on the neighborhood.