Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks · First-Time Buyers
First-Time Buyers in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
Plain answers on the Texas contract, the two deposits and what your budget buys, before you're asked to sign anything.
First-Time Buyers in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks: what's different here
A first home in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks is a lot of new vocabulary at once, and a few local details that matter more than the listing photos. Oak Forest and Barrington Oaks give buyers a flatter neighborhood off Jollyville Road and Spicewood Springs Road, with most of the Round Rock ISD side feeding Caraway Elementary.
I'd rather you learn each step before you need it, so nothing at the closing table is a surprise.
Talk about Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
Why Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks buyers work with me
I grew up a few minutes away, and my wife and I bought our first house in Oak Forest. I've worked with several first-time buyers in the past year. The thing I see most often is a first home judged on photos instead of condition, and in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks condition matters.
How I handle it in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
- Start with the budget: a local lender I trust, and a look at Texas down payment programs through the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
- Learn the contract first: the option fee, the earnest money and the deadlines. What to know first.
- Look past the photos at roofs, AC, plumbing and the lot.
- After closing, file your Texas homestead exemption to lower the property taxes on your home.
More about Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
For the full picture of the neighborhood, see living in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks. Questions about first-time buyers here? Call me at (512) 698-3525.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to buy a first home in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks?
It depends on the loan and the home. A lender can give you real numbers, and Texas has state programs that help buyers who qualify.
What's the difference between the option fee and earnest money?
The option fee buys the right to end the contract for any reason during the option period. Earnest money is held at the title company and is what you risk if you back out the wrong way.
Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
What first-time buyers looks like in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
Two neighboring 1970s neighborhoods off Jollyville Road and Spicewood Springs Road, flat at the front and hillier toward Great Hills.
- The homes
- Two neighborhoods side by side. Oak Forest runs mostly along Oak Knoll Drive: flat at the front, then dropping into hills toward the back, where it borders Great Hills. Its homes are more substantial, with more interesting floor plans and more variety, mostly around 1,700 to 2,500 square feet and some larger. Barrington Oaks, built out between 1973 and 1983, is a smaller corner of the area and mostly flat. Milburn Homes built much of it as starter homes, so many floor plans repeat and the build quality is a step below Oak Forest's.
- Schools people ask about
- Split by address. Many homes on the south side of Oak Knoll Drive are Austin ISD. Farther back, the area is Round Rock ISD and most of it feeds Caraway Elementary (formerly North Oaks Elementary), then Canyon Vista Middle School and Westwood High School; few homes here feed Laurel Mountain. Confirm by address.
- Getting around
- Barrington Oaks is entered off Barrington Way, just south of Spicewood Springs Road. The Oak Forest side is entered off Jollyville Road.
- Nearby
- The Northwest Balcones and Oak View neighborhood park trails, and a City of Austin pool off Spicewood Springs Road that city residents can use. No neighborhood pool of its own.
- The trade-off
- No golf course, preserve or club: a practical neighborhood rather than a scenic one. Barrington Oaks is flatter and more uniform; the back of Oak Forest picks up Great Hills-style topography.
The method
How we do it in Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks
First-Time Buyers: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with James Brinkman?