Houston Reverse Mortgage
I need some advice from anyone who lives in the Houston or Austin
area. We currently live in California and the cost of living is
getting outrageous. We have heard that Houston and Austin are pretty
inexpensive places to live. After 4 years and 2 homes, we have about
$175k in equity (and its going up by the minute). We have heard good
things about both cities, and the housing is extremely cheap compared
to here. From what we gather, we could almost pay cash for a home (not
having a mortgage at 35 sounds pretty good!!!). I would like to get
some first hand information from anyone who lives there. Below are my
questions:
1. What is the housing market like? We would like to live in a good
area, with good schools, and preferably with 30min or less commute.
We have kids so we are interested in a family type environment.
2. Any areas/suburbs you can recommend that fit this criteria?
3. What is the job market like? I am a teacher and my husband is in
I/T.
1/ The housing market in Houston is extremely inexpensive. I moved here
from New York City a little over 5 years ago. For $675 I rent a duplex
that would easily cost $3500 a month in NYC. You can expect to find
houses to buy for great deals, too. Even if you simply used your equity
to buy instead of taking out another mortgage you'd be able to find a
house that meets most of your criteria. If you got another mortgage you
could get a great house that meets all of your criteria.
2/ there are lots of good places to live in and around Houston. A 30
minute commute means you'll probably want to be inside Beltway 8, and
there are lots of places to be had there. You'll want to look on the
West and Southwest sides of the city. As I rent inside the loop (Loop
610), I'm not sure exactly about individual neighborhoods and the prices
of houses in them.
3/ I can't see that you would have any problem finding a job as a teacher.
IT may be a little more difficult, but since I'm in the building
industry I really wouldn't know