Hi-Rise, Mid-Rise, or Condominium?

[SherEPunjab]

wanted to get y'all opinions here. I live in Houston. planning on moving to a new place. I've never lived in a hi-rise before, but always thought it was a cool prospect. I can spend up to 200k, MAYBE 250k (if its a steal of a deal). I prefer spending around 150k though. I would probably like to purchase, but if you guys have a better idea, don't mind sharing.

My needs are as follows:
1) I do plan on living there myself

2) I wish to purchase it for an investment, as I will probably live no more than 1 year there. I plan on keeping it for rental income years 2 and on...

3) it should be ballin. it can be a condo/midrise/townhome/hi-rise. I considered owning my own small home (you can get good fannie may loans if the house is under 334k in value), but thats too 'oldish' for me.

I've lived in an apartment before. we had a small patio in the back but to be honest, I never used it. i dont' think having a patio is a big deal to me personally. I've kinda wanted to live in a hi-rise, but i hear they have maintenance fees.. any other things I need to consider? any advice if i should move into one or not?

so, what are the pros and cons? Hi rise/mid rise/townhome


thanks in advance.

edit: those famliar with houston, what area do you suggest, and any towers or condos/townhomes in particular? it should be near or south of the Galleria. edit 2: i was thinking downtown, i think it will appreciate well in a few years, but its kinda still seedy... as i will be living with my g/f, i dont feel comfortable in downtown houston just yet... edit 3: stupid title removed. hoping for relevant responses.

 

[EXman]

as i will be living with my g/f, i dont feel comfortable in downtown houston just yet..

Go to the Burbs then! or Galveston

anyways as having my own home after years of living in an apartment I cannot see spending a dime on something that shared a wall with another person. Can't you get a nice House there? Something Contemporary? Spend 250K and have to go knock on your neighbors door cause they yell to loud? my $.02 I lived around Chicago for awhile and had friends in the city but I could never live there full time maybe have an apartment to visit ut that be it. But then Heck just stay at the Hilton or Drake.

 

[deejayshakur]

why did i see 'hi-rise, mid-rise, or bikini'?

 

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: EXman

as i will be living with my g/f, i dont feel comfortable in downtown houston just yet..

Go to the Burbs then! or Galveston

Galveston? no needs to be near Galleria or south of that (due to work). Burbs are for old people and young families. (i'll probably move there next year). i want to get some city life, but not downtown city life.

 

[SherEPunjab]

bump

 

[OutHouse]

errr condom?

 

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: Citrix
errr condom?

i was hoping more people would read it, and more people would respond with relevant replies.
damn.

BUMP!!!! wake up people. looks like this may be another, check again tomorrow thread.

 

[Pepsi90919]

"la...tex..con...do-m........boy i sure wish i was living in one of those!"

 

[geckojohn]

Go for the condom-- it's a safe choice

 

[SherEPunjab]

damnit i shoulda made a poll ppl luv polls.

 

[Freejack2]

Move to suburbia and buy a house. If you buy anything in the city you are only going to lose money. In suburbia you are at least guaranteed to make money on the place. Unless it's New York City or similar (Is Houston like this?) nobody who makes a decent living lives in the city.

 

[So]

Suburbia!

Get a white picket fence!
It's texas, so you can drink in the alley with some cartoon characters.

 

[beer]

If you were in Dallas or Austin, high rise would be the way to go. But I would not look so much on apartment specifics in terms of size. Rather, look for stuff that is mixed-use, i.e, has apartments on floors two and up and has retail and restaurants on the ground floors. An example is like the West Village in Dallas, and they're putting some similar layouts in Austin. I think that is by definition what swank is, so I would look for it.

 

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: beer
If you were in Dallas or Austin, high rise would be the way to go. But I would not look so much on apartment specifics in terms of size. Rather, look for stuff that is mixed-use, i.e, has apartments on floors two and up and has retail and restaurants on the ground floors. An example is like the West Village in Dallas, and they're putting some similar layouts in Austin. I think that is by definition what swank is, so I would look for it.

downtown houston has that. i think thats the only place, maybe galleria. not sure...

 

[SherEPunjab]

bump for the day time crew

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Freejack2
Move to suburbia and buy a house. If you buy anything in the city you are only going to lose money. In suburbia you are at least guaranteed to make money on the place. Unless it's New York City or similar (Is Houston like this?) nobody who makes a decent living lives in the city.

LOL! Lots and lots of people who make a decent living live in my city. It ain't New York or Chicago either. I've got 450K+ high-rise condos 3-4 blocks away from my abode, and giant $4-8 million houses less than 1 mile away. My boss has millions in the bank and he lives in a low-rise condo 10 short-blocks away from me.

EDIT: Plenty of people experiencing huge appriciation here for the last 10+ years. It's moved away from the high-end houses, and it's due to move away from the condo market because developers have recently flooded in, but working-class (say, $100,000-250,000) houses and older duplexes are definitely still going strong.

 

[conjur]

Sugarland?