Retirement in Texas (Corpus Christi, Houston, other)? Pros and Cons? (1 Viewer)

[MrCatPants]

The good news is our values went up, lol.

27% or so here on an already pretty staggering number. Yet...I can't really fight it in looking at recent sales.

 

[CraigT78]

27% or so here on an already pretty staggering number. Yet...I can't really fight it in looking at recent sales.

We hire a firm every year to fight it, so far so good - they are able to roll the value back 5%-8% each year.

 

[Darson]

A lot depends on your appraisal district - here in Fort Bend County we used to be able to protest and get reductions so there were plenty of firms supporting that who would take a % of the savings as their fee - now there are none as they're unable to get any meaningful reductions.

My neighbours just put their house on the market last Wednesday and they got 5 offers and were under contract significantly over asking in 24hrs. The market may be cooling slightly but not by much!

 

[CraigT78]

A lot depends on your appraisal district - here in Fort Bend County we used to be able to protest and get reductions so there were plenty of firms supporting that who would take a % of the savings as their fee - now there are none as they're unable to get any meaningful reductions.

My neighbours just put their house on the market last Wednesday and they got 5 offers and were under contract significantly over asking in 24hrs. The market may be cooling slightly but not by much!

That doesn't sound like cooling, lol.

 

[MrCatPants]

We hire a firm every year to fight it, so far so good - they are able to roll the value back 5%-8% each year.

I did it myself a few years back twice in a row, and held it flat for two years. No more holding back the market floodgates. Still below, so can't fully complain.

 

[David O]

Hey peeps!!

I'm looking for pros and cons from people that do, or have, lived in certain parts of TX. Specifically, Corpus Christi and Houston suburbs are at the top of our list right now, but we would consider any place in TX as long as IT DOES NOT REGULARLY SNOW AND GET COLD FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME in the winter.

Timeframe: 3 years from this May, so mid 2026.

However, we want to start visiting areas at different times of the year. Ideally, no humidity would be awesome, but that is a very distant secondary desire and not realistic.

We've done a ton of research, but I'm looking for insight from people that have lived in the Corpus Christi and Houston area. Again, we would live in the suburbs because living in the city sucks!!

Hit me with your pros and cons, as well as other potential TX options within the boundaries outlined above.

Thanks in advance!!
Kev

If you want I can tell you about both cities I have done business in both areas. I’ll PM you my phone number. Easier to discuss via phone.

 

[FDLmold]

I live in one of the most conservative counties in the state and it's no different here. The problem has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the large amounts of people moving to the urban centers in Texas from other states, paying ridiculous amounts for houses and driving up the comparable costs so you have no shot at winning an appraisal protest (not to mention the real estate investment corporations snapping up properties).

Depending on the state they moved from, they were able to, for example, turn that 500 sq. foot San Diego house into a 4,000 sq. ft. Texas house with money left over to grab a lake house. Those days are pretty much gone now unless you live further out in the country where you can still get land/housing for pretty good prices. The county claims my house has appreciated so much in the past three years that they are not even allowed by law to tax me on the alleged full appraisal amount yet.

I know home builders in the midwest who have picked up and moved to Florida and Texas. Y'all need them houses more than we do!

 

[toothpic]

Kevin,
Were you looking to live in the metro area of whatever city you chose or were you want to have a more quiet and peaceful space a bit further from the city? Yes, Texas has a lot of lands and yes, you'll see cows and farm/ranch land as soon as you get out of most cities That also means you get a lot more land and house for the money while being able to enjoy the city whenever you want to venture in.

Were you considering downsizing your home or planning for a home large enough for many visitors? Austin has gotten pretty expensive in the past few years. Houston hasn't scaled as much in propery prices based on when I left in 2018 until now.

San Antonio is up and coming it seems with lots of development and home builds. Boerne seems like a popular place for new homes there.

You also have nice moderate and small sized sized cities which could be good candidates. New Braunfels, San Marcos, Fredericksberg, Johnson City, Marble Falls.
Dripping Springs would be on that list as well but in the past few years it's exploded there both in population, construction and price. The hill country views just west of Austin is a great sight to wake up to in the morning while you have a cup of coffee.

Houston has the Woodlands which seems like a nice place to retire to as well. I love how the area is heavily covered in tall trees.

 

[toothpic]

@Seeking Alpha Social Club The Degen in Dallas meet up event is pretty dead center of some of the hottest times in Texas. If you can stand the heat during that time you should do fine

 

[DirtyTIVA]

I know Triston’s probably done with PCF for now but worth tagging @ImCrossland since he’s physically there and all.

 

[Seeking Alpha Social Club]

Kevin,
Were you looking to live in the metro area of whatever city you chose or were you want to have a more quiet and peaceful space a bit further from the city? Yes, Texas has a lot of lands and yes, you'll see cows and farm/ranch land as soon as you get out of most cities That also means you get a lot more land and house for the money while being able to enjoy the city whenever you want to venture in.

Were you considering downsizing your home or planning for a home large enough for many visitors? Austin has gotten pretty expensive in the past few years. Houston hasn't scaled as much in propery prices based on when I left in 2018 until now.

San Antonio is up and coming it seems with lots of development and home builds. Boerne seems like a popular place for new homes there.

You also have nice moderate and small sized sized cities which could be good candidates. New Braunfels, San Marcos, Fredericksberg, Johnson City, Marble Falls.
Dripping Springs would be on that list as well but in the past few years it's exploded there both in population, construction and price. The hill country views just west of Austin is a great sight to wake up to in the morning while you have a cup of coffee.

Houston has the Woodlands which seems like a nice place to retire to as well. I love how the area is heavily covered in tall trees.

These are AWESOME recommendations, thank you very much!!

We're looking to live in the country a bit, but have access to a major city when desired.

Downsizing a bit. Right now we have about 6k finished square feet including the basement with 7 acres of land. Ideally, a couple of acres would be perfect with a house around 3k to 4k square feet. My wife will need new...ish, and we're not opposed to building new. Oh yeah, and it wouldn't break my heart if the house has a pool.

Currently we live about 20 minutes away from the local mall and 60 minutes to Richmond and the airport. 15 to 20 minutes beyond a major suberb into the country and an hour from an airport is ideally what we're looking for.

We actually looked at homes in the Woodlands on line. We also looked just NW of Cypress going towards Magnolia.

We plan on making multiple trips to TX over the next few years to explore a ton of options. I greatly appreciate all the suggestions!!

 

[toothpic]

This are AWESOME recommendations, thank you very much!!

We're looking to live in the country a bit, but have access to a major city when desired.

Downsizing a bit. Right now we have about 6k finished square feet including the basement with 7 acres of land. Ideally, a couple of acres would be perfect with a house around 3k to 4k square feet. My wife will need new...ish, and we're not opposed to building new. Oh yeah, and it wouldn't break my heart if the house has a pool.

Currently we live about 20 minutes away from the local mall and 60 minutes to Richmond and the airport. 15 to 20 minutes beyond a major suberb into the country and an hour from an airport is ideally what we're looking for.

We actually looked at homes in the Woodlands on line. We also just NW of Cypress going towards Magnolia.

We plan on making multiple trips to TX over the next few years to explore a ton of options. I greatly appreciate all the suggestions!!

Also check out Georgetown, TX! Lots of properties out there with acerage and pretty nice homes too. It's about a 40 min drive to the main airport and plenty of ammenties locally. Introduce yourself to the local grocery chain named H-E-B and your life will feel changed for the better lol

 

[Seeking Alpha Social Club]

Also check out Georgetown, TX! Lots of properties out there with acerage and pretty nice homes too. It's about a 40 min drive to the main airport and plenty of ammenties locally. Introduce yourself to the local grocery chain named H-E-B and your life will feel changed for the better lol

Looking it up now...THANKS!!