Real estate prices in Texas crazy cheap?

[David1477]

Hi guys.
 
I currently live in Belarus, but I consider moving to the US for better career prospects.
 
I am used to boring Soviet commie block houses, so my standards for "a good place to stay" are comparatively low.
 
A 1-bedroom/studio apartment with about 300 square feet would be totally fine for me.
 
 
I heard that Zillow seems to be a common website to look for housing, and I checked a couple of cities. 
 
I found several condos in Houston, TX, for like $60,000-$80,000. Example: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2832-...5390_zpid/
 
This seems crazy affordable to me, since 2-3 bedroom apartments in Belarus cost roughly the same, but these buildings were built like 50 years ago, and the local monthly median net salary is like $450 (roughly a tenth of the salaries in Houston).
 
So, are condos in Texas just so crazy affordable, or am I missing something important? It seems too good to be true, and I know that most people on this forum live in the US, so maybe you can help me understand the situation. I would be very thankful!

[rachel83az]

Keep in mind that, with condos, you usually have to pay some sort of "upkeep fee". This may be an HOA fee or it may be called something else. Sometimes, the fee is as much or more than a mortgage payment would be. Like, hundreds per month. Sometimes is as low as $25-50/mo.

[Jonathan Whatley]

The typical reason that a condo unit in the U.S. would appear exceptionally cheap for its location is that the condo building or complex is non-warrantable, and therefore a unit there will not qualify for a conventional or a Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage.

If you're buying, that limits you to financing from cash on hand or from arranging a non-conforming mortgage, if you can. When you resell in the future, that will limit your buying pool to buyers who have cash on hand or who can and will arrange a non-conforming mortgage.

[David1477]

Keep in mind that, with condos, you usually have to pay some sort of "upkeep fee". This may be an HOA fee or it may be called something else. Sometimes, the fee is as much or more than a mortgage payment would be. Like, hundreds per month. Sometimes is as low as $25-50/mo.

Thank you very much, Rachel! That is definitely something to clarify before purchasing. Having an upkeep fee that is higher than the actual mortgage definitely seems like a situation one would like to avoid.
 
Do you think that prices like in the example I showed are realistic for an ok place in a large city in Houston? Or can I expect to end up in a condo with a hidden mold problem, and all of my neighbors are cartel members or something like this? Because it is hard for me to believe that one could get a small but livable place for just $60,000 in a thriving US metropolis with salaries of $3,000-$5,000 per month.

---

The typical reason that a condo unit in the U.S. would appear exceptionally cheap for its location is that the condo building or complex is non-warrantable, and therefore a unit there will not qualify for a conventional or a Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage.

If you're buying, that limits you to financing from cash on hand or from arranging a non-conforming mortgage, if you can. When you resell in the future, that will limit your buying pool to buyers who have cash on hand or who can and will arrange a non-conforming mortgage.

Wow! That is something a non-native would have never thought of. I didn't even know that such a classification exists. Is there any way to check this without having to ask the seller and hoping that he is telling me the truth?

[Jonathan Whatley]

You can't necessarily rely on asking the seller. The seller might not reliably know whether or not the condo is non-warrantable. Perhaps the condo was warrantable when they bought, but later became non-warrantable. Perhaps the seller acquired through inheritance.

When you're buying, your real estate agent can likely at least get a pretty good idea, and if your mortgage is conventional or FHA, your mortgage broker or lender would find out for sure. If you're buying with cash but you want to know that it's warrantable today to increase your confidence of attaining a warranted mortgage in the future, you could probably ask your real estate agent and your attorney to provide documentation as a condition of your purchase.

But remember, even if it's warrantable today, it could become non-warrantable in the future, and you couldn't point to the fact that it was warrantable when you bought to get a warranted mortgage in the future. 

In addition to the monthly condo fee Rachel mentions, some condos will occasionally charge unit owners a one-off "special assessment" fee to cover a unusual maintenance or operating expense.

My fairly confident guess is that a condo in Houston for $60k that seems okay visually is non-warrantable.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the asking price in a listing is sometimes much less than the actual lowest price the seller would accept. Sometimes a property is listed at a low price the seller will not accept to attract attention. Sometimes the seller expects a "bidding war" of multiple offers much higher than the listing price.

[LevelUP]

My fairly confident guess is that a condo in Houston for $60k that seems okay visually is non-warrantable.

Why would you think this?

The pricing of a house is primarily based on its location and the condition of the home.

While it’s possible to get a discount if a house doesn’t qualify for a federal mortgage, I wouldn’t expect it to be as much as 50% off.

You can't necessarily rely on asking the seller. The seller might not reliably know whether or not the condo is non-warrantable. 

The listing agent should know this information. If they don’t, they can ask the condo association, which should have the answer.

Do you think that prices like in the example I showed are realistic for an ok place in a large city in Houston? Or can I expect to end up in a condo with a hidden mold problem, and all of my neighbors are cartel members or something like this? Because it is hard for me to believe that one could get a small but livable place for just $60,000 in a thriving US metropolis with salaries of $3,000-$5,000 per month.

I used to be a licensed real estate agent, so I know quite a bit about how the housing market works. As for mold problems, first of all, mold issues are often overrated, and second, you can hire a property inspector to evaluate the property before closing the sale.

If you could have bought during the housing crash of 2008–2012, you might have gotten a ready-to-move-in, 3-bedroom, 1,000 sq. ft. house for as little as $20,000. I even saw a studio condo sell for as little as $8,000.

Today, you can still find some great condo deals in the Midwest, particularly in the suburbs of major cities, for under $100,000.

A condo fee can cover various expenses, such as:

• Utilities: Water, sewer, and trash collection.
  
• Repairs and Updates: Roof, siding, driveway, and other shared infrastructure.
  
• Maintenance: Lawn care, landscaping, and snow removal.
  
• Insurance: Coverage for storms, fire, and other disasters (typically for the exterior and common areas).
  
• Amenities: Features like a pool, gym, or community room.
  
  

The fees you pay often approximate what you'd spend on these services for a standalone house. As a condo owner, your primary responsibility is maintaining the interior of your unit, such as flooring, light fixtures, and plumbing. This makes it significantly easier to maintain your home.

The trade-offs of buying a condo versus a house include:

1. Limited parking options.
   
2. Rules and restrictions set by the HOA.
   
3. No backyard or a very limited one.
   
4. Less privacy and the potential for more noise.
   

Realtor.com  is a great place to search for homes.  Filter by property type and sort by price.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom...ondo/sby-1

[Jonathan Whatley]

My fairly confident guess is that a condo in Houston for $60k that seems okay visually is non-warrantable.

Why would you think this?

The pricing of a house is primarily based on its location and the condition of the home.

While it’s possible to get a discount if a house doesn’t qualify for a federal mortgage, I wouldn’t expect it to be as much as 50% off.

I've seen similar spreads between non-warrantable and warrantable condos in cities I'm familiar with.

Looking at this specific set of condos on S Bartell and W Bartell in Houston on Zillow but under For Rent, many units are listed for rent.

Too many of the units being rentals is a common reason for a condo complex to be non-warrantable.

[LevelUP]

My fairly confident guess is that a condo in Houston for $60k that seems okay visually is non-warrantable.

Why would you think this?

The pricing of a house is primarily based on its location and the condition of the home.

While it’s possible to get a discount if a house doesn’t qualify for a federal mortgage, I wouldn’t expect it to be as much as 50% off.

Fannie Mae/FHA rules state that if 50% or more of the units are rentals, the condo or townhouse does not qualify for a loan.

There are hundreds of listings in the Houston area. What percentage of those listings are you claiming don’t qualify for Fannie Mae/FHA loans?

Too many of the units being rentals is a common reason for a condo complex to be non-warrantable.

Fannie Mae/FHA rules are that if there 50% rentals then the condo/townhouse doesn't quality for a loan.  

There are hundreds of listings in the Houton area.  What percentage of those listing are you claiming don't qualify for Fannie Mae/FHA loans?

During the housing boom, many multifamily properties with 200+ units were converted into condos. Due to the sheer number of units, it’s common to see some of them being rented out.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Fannie Mae/FHA rules are that if there 50% rentals then the condo/townhouse doesn't quality for a loan.  

There are hundreds of listings in the Houton area.  What percentage of those listing are you claiming don't qualify for Fannie Mae/FHA loans?

I don't know. OP's premise is that this listing seems unusually low in price for a condo in Houston.

Reasonable explanations include that it's non-warrantable, and that it's been listed lower than the seller's true reserve price to encourage a bidding war or similar.

There could be another explanation, or the premise could be mistaken: maybe this isn't unusually low in price for a condo in Houston. What do you think explains the observation?

[David1477]

Fannie Mae/FHA rules are that if there 50% rentals then the condo/townhouse doesn't quality for a loan.  

There are hundreds of listings in the Houton area.  What percentage of those listing are you claiming don't qualify for Fannie Mae/FHA loans?

I don't know. OP's premise is that this listing seems unusually low in price for a condo in Houston.

Reasonable explanations include that it's non-warrantable, and that it's been listed lower than the seller's true reserve price to encourage a bidding war or similar.

There could be another explanation, or the premise could be mistaken: maybe this isn't unusually low in price for a condo in Houston. What do you think explains the observation?

I am not living in the US, so I don't know if that is a reasonable price for a small condo in Houston or not. When comparing it to my current country of residence it just seems too good to be true considering the purchasing power in that area ($60,000 for a soviet style 2 room apartment in Belarus earning $400-$800 per month vs $60,000 for a decent 1 bedroom condo in a US metropolis with far better weather and much higher salaries). That's why I asked you guys for your opinion

If $60,000 to $80,000 is a realistic budget for a small condo in Houston in an area where I don't have to expect any extreme circumstances (severe crime, homelessness, etc.), I would actually consider trying to move there and using this opportunity.

---

My fairly confident guess is that a condo in Houston for $60k that seems okay visually is non-warrantable.

Why would you think this?

The pricing of a house is primarily based on its location and the condition of the home.

While it’s possible to get a discount if a house doesn’t qualify for a federal mortgage, I wouldn’t expect it to be as much as 50% off.

You can't necessarily rely on asking the seller. The seller might not reliably know whether or not the condo is non-warrantable. 

The listing agent should know this information. If they don’t, they can ask the condo association, which should have the answer.

Do you think that prices like in the example I showed are realistic for an ok place in a large city in Houston? Or can I expect to end up in a condo with a hidden mold problem, and all of my neighbors are cartel members or something like this? Because it is hard for me to believe that one could get a small but livable place for just $60,000 in a thriving US metropolis with salaries of $3,000-$5,000 per month.

I used to be a licensed real estate agent, so I know quite a bit about how the housing market works. As for mold problems, first of all, mold issues are often overrated, and second, you can hire a property inspector to evaluate the property before closing the sale.

If you could have bought during the housing crash of 2008–2012, you might have gotten a ready-to-move-in, 3-bedroom, 1,000 sq. ft. house for as little as $20,000. I even saw a studio condo sell for as little as $8,000.

Today, you can still find some great condo deals in the Midwest, particularly in the suburbs of major cities, for under $100,000.

A condo fee can cover various expenses, such as:

• Utilities: Water, sewer, and trash collection.
  
• Repairs and Updates: Roof, siding, driveway, and other shared infrastructure.
  
• Maintenance: Lawn care, landscaping, and snow removal.
  
• Insurance: Coverage for storms, fire, and other disasters (typically for the exterior and common areas).
  
• Amenities: Features like a pool, gym, or community room.
  
  

The fees you pay often approximate what you'd spend on these services for a standalone house. As a condo owner, your primary responsibility is maintaining the interior of your unit, such as flooring, light fixtures, and plumbing. This makes it significantly easier to maintain your home.

The trade-offs of buying a condo versus a house include:

1. Limited parking options.
   
2. Rules and restrictions set by the HOA.
   
3. No backyard or a very limited one.
   
4. Less privacy and the potential for more noise.
   

Realtor.com  is a great place to search for homes.  Filter by property type and sort by price.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom...ondo/sby-1

Thank you very much for your insights! Having someone with industry experience answer my post is more than I could hope for! Sounds like 2008-2012 was THE TIME to buy real estate in the US. Unfortunately, I was still a little kid back then.
 
 
You mentioned midwestern suburbs as very affordable areas. I think that makes sense considering the lower population density and fewer high-paying jobs in these areas. But do you think that condos like the example I attached in my original post in areas like Houston are legit? I always thought of cities like Austin and Houston as expensive property markets. Maybe Texas is somewhat special regarding the housing crisis due to cheaper construction workers from Mexico? The relationship between earning opportunities, quality of life, and real estate prices just seems unnaturally good. That's why I was looking if there is an "It's affordable and nice, BUT..."