Three things I just don't understand about Texas real estate (Dallas: home builder, transfer)

[Tta]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

I've often wondered about that too. We have at least one subdivision here in Abilene that has rear entry garages and the alleys are very narrow as well. It looks like that could be a big problem if you get half way down the alley and another large vehicle is coming from the opposite direction. I suppose making them a "one-way" alley would elminate that problem.

I've lived in both types, and found I like rear garages more.
There are some things you can do for the situation you describe. If a car just pulls into the alley, and see an oncoming vehicle, they could back out if there are no cars behind them to allow the other car to exit.
If you are both in the middle of the alley, facing each other, one can simply drive into the driveway and let the other pass.

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by skids929

-Rear entry garages

-Tiny lots with giant pools consuming the entire backyard

-A giant house literally shadowing your backyard.

Spoiler

I am assuming that these are things that are not favorable conditions overall for resale since I see them on sub $400k homes in desirable areas. Allen and Frisco seem to have alot of rear entry garages, and Frisco seems to have alot of what I call Sardine lots.

No offense to anyone who lives like that, but I just don't get it. Looks like an awful way to live when the only breathing room is inside your house.

The older homes (1995 and up) I see in Flower Mound for the same prices look like they are zoned with a little more thought.
More established neighborhoods, trees, and looks like the topography is different, more hills and trees on that side of the metroplex.

Question is, are there considerable differences in topography and zoning in the FW suburbs as opposed to the North Dallas area suburbs?

Explain it with one word...

Preferences

[Lakewooder]

Mostly detached garages (some with quarters) around here - we have a few streets where homes were built in the 70s and 80s with rear-entry garages. Almost every street has an alley.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by pappy97

Can anyone here who have rear garage comment on this? Are there problems getting into and out of these alleys? They look so narrow I assume so, but I'd like to hear first hand. THanks.

We just added on to our 50's ranch and went from a weird rear/front entry (garage door faced the back fence, but you entered it by coming from the street and doing an eleventy-point turn) to a rear-entry.

We're only one of two houses on our alley who have a driveway facing the alley, but it does happen occasionally that we have an alley standoff, and it's a PITA. It basically requires a backout/restart by someone. If we had more of it, I'd probably recommend we go to a one-way alley situation.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

Explain it with one word...

Preferences

Right, this is stating the obvious..The point I am making is that there is a high percentage of newer homes in the greater Dallas area with these problems. Yes I perceive having an "alley" in my backyard to be a problem to be a problem, or another home on top of mine to be a problem, but essentially will work our way around it before we buy. But the problem is it eliminates entire Cities for us if they zone that way, which stinks.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by Prince Mongo

I think houses with rear facing garages have much better curb appeal, or at least detached garages that you can't see from the street.

Better curb appeal at the expense of your privacy and size of your backyard. Guess it depends on what you are after in a house..Quite honestly, I would think the curb appeal should be left primarily up to a well run HOA, that is their charter. I don't think curb appeal is, or should be, dictated by which direction of I pull my car into my house. Not to mention sitting in my backyard and hearing cars and garbage trucks over my fence doesn't sound appealing. I will take front entry or (preferably) side entry all day long over rear entry and an alleyway in my back yard.

I mean I say this stuff with all due respect to the state of texas and my potential fellow future native neighbors. But rear entry garages seem wildly impractical to me..And it seems to have little to do with curb appeal and alot to do with population densities for the cities tax benefit. There are some things I will give up for the proximity to a metro area and it's benefits, but not that.

[FarNorthDallas]

I'm an alley person since that's all I've had since I was 3. I like it. It seems like front entry means having to share fences with neighbors and we don't do that. I like having the cars in back. I like the trash cans in back. I like just seeing grass and trees looking down the street. Two cars can pass each other in our alley - it's wide. There is less traffic on the street because of the alleys. Also, I like the added privacy in our driveway. I can wash my car in the driveway without an audience. And I like it that me neighbors don't see my every coming and going.

The big negative is speeding in the alley.

This house was built in the late 1960s -all the "good" neighborhoods had alleys back then. Now it seems like the developers are cramming in as many houses as they can which means front entry, I guess. Narrow streets, small lots, front entry.

[hsw]

All about cost of land, esp land close to major offices and desirable schools

Lots of myths exist about "cheap" TX housing but reality is land costs in places like Highland Park or PrestonHollow dwarf those of wealthiest suburbs of PaloAlto or NYC....thus HP is land of 10K+sf new houses on puny 0.5ac lots that look much like privacy-free townhouses on NYC's UpperEastSide or SF's PacificHts

Biggest COL advantage of TX is lack of state income tax...a 10+% arbitrage vs NYC or CA

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

I'm an alley person since that's all I've had since I was 3. I like it. It seems like front entry means having to share fences with neighbors and we don't do that. I like having the cars in back. I like the trash cans in back. I like just seeing grass and trees looking down the street. Two cars can pass each other in our alley - it's wide. There is less traffic on the street because of the alleys. Also, I like the added privacy in our driveway. I can wash my car in the driveway without an audience. And I like it that me neighbors don't see my every coming and going.

The big negative is speeding in the alley.

This house was built in the late 1960s -all the "good" neighborhoods had alleys back then. Now it seems like the developers are cramming in as many houses as they can which means front entry, I guess. Narrow streets, small lots, front entry.

I like having an alley too but mine is not wide enough for two cars to pass each other. Since my driveway is a side entry (I am on a corner lot) it isn't an issue for me. I also do not see cars constantly going up and down the alley since half the houses on this street have front-entry garages anyway.

Also, in Richardson we do not have wheeled garbage cans; we use regular bags for garbage and special blue bags that you buy from the city for a minimal cost for recycling. Since there is no can to store garbage in until garbage day you can either stink up your garage with it (if you have one, which many homes don't since they have converted them into living space) or you can put it in the alley immediately where it is not likely to bother anyone. So that's another advantage to me. Some people complain about not having wheeled cans but I like our system here because it means we are not limited by the capacity of the can. I can throw out as much as I want or as little as I want. Some Mondays I have a huge pile of bags to be collected; other Mondays I may have only one. Or none. I like the flexibility.

[loves2read]

from what I have seen just driving around in areas with alleys--they are the step-child of the homeowner--they are usually trashy compared to the front streets in neighborhood--they catch debris from trash cans that spills out or from stuff thrown out of cars because "hey, it's an alley"
they are bare because there is no room for landscaping--
and frankly they can be prime targets for break-ins--
because there are rarely "eyes" on the alley--people have been carjacked pulling into their garages and garage doors have been jimmyed open for access to homes...

I would feel more unsale with an alley entry into my garage than with one from the front of the street or something like a j-drive or rear-entry from the front driveway---but I hate all those mini-corrections you have to make to get IN the garage with them...