Houston Associates: Where do you live? How much do you pay in rent? Forum

[Anonymous User]

What is considered standard rent for a 1bd apt in inner-loop Houston?

[Ultramar vistas]

What is considered standard rent for a 1bd apt in inner-loop Houston?

Realistically for a biglaw junior, you can pay like 1200 for an older building in a less nice area, or 3000 for a brand new luxury building, or anything in between.

[blair.waldorf]

I pay $1300 for a nice, new (but not the newest building on the block) one bedroom in the Heights. You can find a lot of very nice apartments for between $1300-2000 in the Heights.

[Anonymous User]

$2800 for a 5BR 3BA house w/ pool and neighborhood tennis courts. Safe neighborhood, never flooded. 20min commute door-to/door.

Edit: as added color for our friends in other cities, it includes washer/dryer, dishwasher, all appliances, double convection ovens, Whirlpool jetted bathtub, front/back yard, patio, two-car garage, storage shed,
fireplace. Next to a park.

[Anonymous User]

$2800 for a 5BR 3BA house w/ pool and neighborhood tennis courts. Safe neighborhood, never flooded. 20min commute door-to/door.

Edit: as added color for our friends in other cities, it includes washer/dryer, dishwasher, all appliances, double convection ovens, Whirlpool jetted bathtub, front/back yard, patio, two-car garage, storage shed,
fireplace. Next to a park.

Where in the city?

[nealric]

Historically, Houston has been a city where the rent/buy calculus tends to favor buying. Most juniors won't have a down payment saved yet, but the city allows associates to buy a lot easier than California or East Coast offices.

Lots of nice places with an easy commute in the $400-500k range, which would be ~$2400 Mortgage + Tax.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

[Anonymous User]

Historically, Houston has been a city where the rent/buy calculus tends to favor buying. Most juniors won't have a down payment saved yet, but the city allows associates to buy a lot easier than California or East Coast offices.

Lots of nice places with an easy commute in the $400-500k range, which would be ~$2400 Mortgage + Tax.

Tax is 2.5%+ -- plus insurance -- both are huge parts of the cost of owning a house in Texas.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

Yeah flooding is a way smaller concern for renting, and also less in a high rise than a ground floor house. It’s still something to consider, but the biggest risk of flooding/hurricanes is damage to your house - if you own, that’s a headache and likely requires good insurance etc. As a renter, your personal property is at risk but it (1) is worth less (2) is cheaper to insure and (3) can maybe be saved during a storm if it’s small enough.

As a renter you also still technically have a risk of like, drowning or something. But that is a pretty rare outcome even in an extremely bad storm. Unlike wildfires and earthquakes and tornadoes and tsunamis and all sorts of other crap, hurricanes are primarily about wrecking homes and cars and property, not so much people (unless you’re right on the coast or unlucky). Buy emergency food, water, candles, etc and you can probably ride out even a really bad storm from your high rise apartment (might be stuck there though).

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

Yeah flooding is a way smaller concern for renting, and also less in a high rise than a ground floor house. It’s still something to consider, but the biggest risk of flooding/hurricanes is damage to your house - if you own, that’s a headache and likely requires good insurance etc. As a renter, your personal property is at risk but it (1) is worth less (2) is cheaper to insure and (3) can maybe be saved during a storm if it’s small enough.

As a renter you also still technically have a risk of like, drowning or something. But that is a pretty rare outcome even in an extremely bad storm. Unlike wildfires and earthquakes and tornadoes and tsunamis and all sorts of other crap, hurricanes are primarily about wrecking homes and cars and property, not so much people (unless you’re right on the coast or unlucky). But emergency food, water, candles, etc and you can probably ride out even a really bad storm from your high rise apartment (might be stuck there though).

Appreciate the insight! Actually feel way better about the hurricanes now, especially as a soon to be renter.

[nealric]

Historically, Houston has been a city where the rent/buy calculus tends to favor buying. Most juniors won't have a down payment saved yet, but the city allows associates to buy a lot easier than California or East Coast offices.

Lots of nice places with an easy commute in the $400-500k range, which would be ~$2400 Mortgage + Tax.

Tax is 2.5%+ -- plus insurance -- both are huge parts of the cost of owning a house in Texas.

I'm well aware. I own a house in Houston. With homestead exemption, you are looking at about $10,000/yr per $500k, or add $830/mo to the mortgage amount. Insurance isn't that bad, but is harder to estimate.

[nealric]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

Even if you rent, flooding is going to be a nightmare. You'll still end up with a lot of ruined stuff and having to find a new place to live. But you won't have to worry about repairs/rebuilding.

Flooding risk can be mitigated by being careful about where you buy. Something right along Buffalo Bayou is going to be MUCH higher risk than the northern part of the Heights (for example). Ask neighbors about what Harvey was like in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

Even if you rent, flooding is going to be a nightmare. You'll still end up with a lot of ruined stuff and having to find a new place to live. But you won't have to worry about repairs/rebuilding.

Flooding risk can be mitigated by being careful about where you buy. Something right along Buffalo Bayou is going to be MUCH higher risk than the northern part of the Heights (for example). Ask neighbors about what Harvey was like in the neighborhood.

Wouldn't anything above like second/third story in a high rise be safe?

[nealric]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

Even if you rent, flooding is going to be a nightmare. You'll still end up with a lot of ruined stuff and having to find a new place to live. But you won't have to worry about repairs/rebuilding.

Flooding risk can be mitigated by being careful about where you buy. Something right along Buffalo Bayou is going to be MUCH higher risk than the northern part of the Heights (for example). Ask neighbors about what Harvey was like in the neighborhood.

Wouldn't anything above like second/third story in a high rise be safe?

Your stuff wouldn't be damaged, but you would still need to move out if the ground floor is damaged extensively.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the memorial area like along the buffalo bayou just northwest of downtown? Seen a lot of reasonably priced stuff around there.

Anon with the $2800 house above. To also answer the other poster, this is roughly the area where I live, just closer to downtown. It’s a really nice area, but a lot of stuff flooded in Harvey so you need to be diligent checking the specific house/neighborhood. Our neighborhood never flooded and is actually extremely safe if you look at the flood maps, but it took significant research to figure that out. Also notably, most of the Harvey flooding in Memorial was due to the manual release of the spillways, so you can argue that it is not likely to repeat unless there is a similar disaster AND they choose to manually release again. I personally feel better skipping even that risk, but it’s not like those houses are flood-prone during normal hurricanes.

Thanks, am I correct in thinking that I really don’t need to worry about flooding if just renting in that area (high rise). Or is it also a nightmare for a renter? Sorry I really dont know much about what flooding entails

Even if you rent, flooding is going to be a nightmare. You'll still end up with a lot of ruined stuff and having to find a new place to live. But you won't have to worry about repairs/rebuilding.

Flooding risk can be mitigated by being careful about where you buy. Something right along Buffalo Bayou is going to be MUCH higher risk than the northern part of the Heights (for example). Ask neighbors about what Harvey was like in the neighborhood.

Wouldn't anything above like second/third story in a high rise be safe?

Your stuff wouldn't be damaged, but you would still need to move out if the ground floor is damaged extensively.

There’s also a difference between things at risk of flooding in a normal hurricane season, and those that flooded in an extreme event like Harvey. As a buyer you should think about both, but if you’re only renting for a year or two it’s easier to say “what are the chances we have something as bad as Harvey in the next year or two?” whereas renting in a place that floods in lesser storms is more likely to cause issues.

[Anonymous User]

$2400/mo mortgage for a 1300 sq ft house in the Heights but with a substantial yard. Also own an investment property in the loop (3 br/4 bath) and rent it out for about $3k.

Used an attorney loan for the house we live in so put 0 down and no PMI.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the commute from the heights? It looks similarly as far as the galleria area and I’ve heard awful things about that commute?

[Anonymous User]

$2400/mo mortgage for a 1300 sq ft house in the Heights but with a substantial yard. Also own an investment property in the loop (3 br/4 bath) and rent it out for about $3k.

Used an attorney loan for the house we live in so put 0 down and no PMI.

How long ago did you obtain the attorney loan? Heard about this like 3 years ago while still in law school. Now an Associate getting ready to buy but assumed these loans dried up given how wild the market has become. Most of my colleagues lately seem to go for traditional loans with 3-5% down and PMI but very low rates.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the commute from the heights? It looks similarly as far as the galleria area and I’ve heard awful things about that commute?

How long is a piece of string?

The Heights is pretty vast. If you live on the Eastern part of Woodland Heights you can be downtown in literally 5 minutes on a Sunday and 10 minutes on a weekday morning, whereas if you live up on the 20th street strip, it might take you 20, 25 minutes on a morning.

Regardless, the Galleria is outside 610 and physically / temporally further than almost all of the Heights, so maybe check your map…

[Right2BearArms]

How’s the commute from the heights? It looks similarly as far as the galleria area and I’ve heard awful things about that commute?

How long is a piece of string?

The Heights is pretty vast. If you live on the Eastern part of Woodland Heights you can be downtown in literally 5 minutes on a Sunday and 10 minutes on a weekday morning, whereas if you live up on the 20th street strip, it might take you 20, 25 minutes on a morning.

Regardless, the Galleria is outside 610 and physically / temporally further than almost all of the Heights, so maybe check your map…

Everything above is correct about the Heights. I live on the eastern side near N. Main and 45 and my commute is 5-10 minutes. It takes me a long to leave my desk, get to the garage, and get my car to the street as it does to get home once my wheels hit pavement most evenings unless there is a major wreck on 45. Good friend lives in Shady Acres (NW corner of the greater Heights inside the 610 loop) and his commute is 15-20 min usually, though he is close to the loop so he does not have to bother with many lights/stop signs to get on the highway.

I avoid the Galleria / Uptown / 610 West as much as possible. It is a zoo, the roads are always crowed (610 crawls from ~7:15-10 am every morning, and again from ~4-7:30 every night). The alternative routes into downtown involve stop lights or construction, and I don't trust the City to not eliminate 25% of the lanes of travel on many more major roads in favor of wider sidewalks and bike lanes that get used by maybe 50 people a day.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the commute from the heights? It looks similarly as far as the galleria area and I’ve heard awful things about that commute?

How long is a piece of string?

The Heights is pretty vast. If you live on the Eastern part of Woodland Heights you can be downtown in literally 5 minutes on a Sunday and 10 minutes on a weekday morning, whereas if you live up on the 20th street strip, it might take you 20, 25 minutes on a morning.

Regardless, the Galleria is outside 610 and physically / temporally further than almost all of the Heights, so maybe check your map…

Everything above is correct about the Heights. I live on the eastern side near N. Main and 45 and my commute is 5-10 minutes. It takes me a long to leave my desk, get to the garage, and get my car to the street as it does to get home once my wheels hit pavement most evenings unless there is a major wreck on 45. Good friend lives in Shady Acres (NW corner of the greater Heights inside the 610 loop) and his commute is 15-20 min usually, though he is close to the loop so he does not have to bother with many lights/stop signs to get on the highway.

I avoid the Galleria / Uptown / 610 West as much as possible. It is a zoo, the roads are always crowed (610 crawls from ~7:15-10 am every morning, and again from ~4-7:30 every night). The alternative routes into downtown involve stop lights or construction, and I don't trust the City to not eliminate 25% of the lanes of travel on many more major roads in favor of wider sidewalks and bike lanes that get used by maybe 50 people a day.

Would you recommend a certain part of the heights. I’ve been looking at both the west (shady acres) and east sides. Not very familiar with Houston at all but see it looks pretty safe overall. Any specific areas in the heights you’d suggest avoiding due to either crime or worse commute?

[Anonymous User]

How’s the commute from the heights? It looks similarly as far as the galleria area and I’ve heard awful things about that commute?

How long is a piece of string?

The Heights is pretty vast. If you live on the Eastern part of Woodland Heights you can be downtown in literally 5 minutes on a Sunday and 10 minutes on a weekday morning, whereas if you live up on the 20th street strip, it might take you 20, 25 minutes on a morning.

Regardless, the Galleria is outside 610 and physically / temporally further than almost all of the Heights, so maybe check your map…

Everything above is correct about the Heights. I live on the eastern side near N. Main and 45 and my commute is 5-10 minutes. It takes me a long to leave my desk, get to the garage, and get my car to the street as it does to get home once my wheels hit pavement most evenings unless there is a major wreck on 45. Good friend lives in Shady Acres (NW corner of the greater Heights inside the 610 loop) and his commute is 15-20 min usually, though he is close to the loop so he does not have to bother with many lights/stop signs to get on the highway.

I avoid the Galleria / Uptown / 610 West as much as possible. It is a zoo, the roads are always crowed (610 crawls from ~7:15-10 am every morning, and again from ~4-7:30 every night). The alternative routes into downtown involve stop lights or construction, and I don't trust the City to not eliminate 25% of the lanes of travel on many more major roads in favor of wider sidewalks and bike lanes that get used by maybe 50 people a day.

Would you recommend a certain part of the heights. I’ve been looking at both the west (shady acres) and east sides. Not very familiar with Houston at all but see it looks pretty safe overall. Any specific areas in the heights you’d suggest avoiding due to either crime or worse commute?

You know google maps? It tells you how long it takes to go from one place to another. You can make your destination “downtown” and then drag your starting point around the Heights to get an idea of how different areas/proximity to highway onramps will change your commute time. You can even select “arrive by 9:00am” to see what late-morning traffic will do to your commute.

In terms of crime, you can search “Houston crime map” and get wonderful tools like Trulia’s neighborhood guides.

https://www.trulia.com/n/tx/houston/gre ... hts/86420/

If you really want that anecdotal data though, the Heights is generally very safe, subject to the Houston-wide caveat that vehicle crime is rampant in all areas, and if you leave visible belongings in your car you should expect them to be stolen.

As a massive generalization, the closer to the center of individual Heights neighborhoods you are, the safer it is. Criminals enter the neighborhood via freeways and major thoroughfares, and opportunistic crime (the majority of crime) is more likely in those areas. If you live north of North Main, you are a gentrifier and should expect stray dogs and some sketchy people and houses, mixed in with million dollar builder homes waiting for people just like you. All of the fringes are a bit less “neighborly” and a bit less expensive, so live East of Shepherd, North of White Oak/6th, and south of North Main. if you want the real “Heights” experience, you want woodland heights or the area around the collegiate streets.

[Anonymous User]

How’s the commute from the heights? It looks similarly as far as the galleria area and I’ve heard awful things about that commute?

How long is a piece of string?

The Heights is pretty vast. If you live on the Eastern part of Woodland Heights you can be downtown in literally 5 minutes on a Sunday and 10 minutes on a weekday morning, whereas if you live up on the 20th street strip, it might take you 20, 25 minutes on a morning.

Regardless, the Galleria is outside 610 and physically / temporally further than almost all of the Heights, so maybe check your map…

Everything above is correct about the Heights. I live on the eastern side near N. Main and 45 and my commute is 5-10 minutes. It takes me a long to leave my desk, get to the garage, and get my car to the street as it does to get home once my wheels hit pavement most evenings unless there is a major wreck on 45. Good friend lives in Shady Acres (NW corner of the greater Heights inside the 610 loop) and his commute is 15-20 min usually, though he is close to the loop so he does not have to bother with many lights/stop signs to get on the highway.

I avoid the Galleria / Uptown / 610 West as much as possible. It is a zoo, the roads are always crowed (610 crawls from ~7:15-10 am every morning, and again from ~4-7:30 every night). The alternative routes into downtown involve stop lights or construction, and I don't trust the City to not eliminate 25% of the lanes of travel on many more major roads in favor of wider sidewalks and bike lanes that get used by maybe 50 people a day.

Would you recommend a certain part of the heights. I’ve been looking at both the west (shady acres) and east sides. Not very familiar with Houston at all but see it looks pretty safe overall. Any specific areas in the heights you’d suggest avoiding due to either crime or worse commute?

You know google maps? It tells you how long it takes to go from one place to another. You can make your destination “downtown” and then drag your starting point around the Heights to get an idea of how different areas/proximity to highway onramps will change your commute time. You can even select “arrive by 9:00am” to see what late-morning traffic will do to your commute.

In terms of crime, you can search “Houston crime map” and get wonderful tools like Trulia’s neighborhood guides.

https://www.trulia.com/n/tx/houston/gre ... hts/86420/

If you really want that anecdotal data though, the Heights is generally very safe, subject to the Houston-wide caveat that vehicle crime is rampant in all areas, and if you leave visible belongings in your car you should expect them to be stolen.

As a massive generalization, the closer to the center of individual Heights neighborhoods you are, the safer it is. Criminals enter the neighborhood via freeways and major thoroughfares, and opportunistic crime (the majority of crime) is more likely in those areas. If you live north of North Main, you are a gentrifier and should expect stray dogs and some sketchy people and houses, mixed in with million dollar builder homes waiting for people just like you. All of the fringes are a bit less “neighborly” and a bit less expensive, so live East of Shepherd, North of White Oak/6th, and south of North Main. if you want the real “Heights” experience, you want woodland heights or the area around the collegiate streets.

Thanks, appreciate the anecdotal data. Yeah I’ve been using the crime and and maps ETA features. Just wasn’t sure how accurate those were.

Is this also true for shady acres as a neighborhood of the heights? Not sure you were the above poster with a friend who lives there.