Flower Mound or Lakewood?? (Dallas, Fort Worth: real estate, mortgage, custom home)

[getmeoutofhere]

So basically, a starter home in Lakewood is double what a starter home in Flower Mound costs.

I don't think anyone is arguing that Lakewood sucks. In fact, it's the nicest spot in Dallas (I grew up right next to Tokalon and Lakewood Blvd.) - but not everyone has $400K to spend on a house.

[Lakewooder]

Good job, TC -- 7031 Lakewood is not a totally original Hutsell - the second story over the living room was added after a fire (in which the owner of the Prince of Hamburgers on Lemmon died). I believe the restoration was done by the resident Hutsell expert and aficionado of that block, so it's high quality IMO.

[Lakewooder]

This could be a country lane but it's in the heart of Dallas. It really irks me when someone who has only seen the airport or Collin County says Dallas has no trees.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by getmeoutofhere

So basically, a starter home in Lakewood is double what a starter home in Flower Mound costs.

For Lakewood "proper" (south of Mockingbird, east of Abrams, north of Gaston, west of White Rock Lake), yes.

But if you're just looking for a nice home that feeds into Lakewood Elementary School, no. Here are some "starter" homes for sale under $275k. They are mainly north of Mockingbird, east of Abrams.

4617 Rockaway Drive 75214
$264,500
3 bed/ 2 bath 1,634 sf built in 1953
nicely remodeled kitchen






7345 Rockhurst Drive 75214
$259,995
3 bed/ 2 bath 1,867sf built in 1958




Hollywood Heights also feeds into Lakewood Elementary and has some gorgeous starter homes for a good price!

414 Cordova Street 75223
$259,000
3 bed/ 3 bath 2,256sf
1927 Tudor cutie! Needs some updates, but is totally liveable and great architectural detail for the price!




6939 San Mateo Boulevard 75223
$229,900
2 bed / 2 bath 1,436sf
1949 bungalow

Originally Posted by getmeoutofhere

I don't think anyone is arguing that Lakewood sucks. In fact, it's the nicest spot in Dallas (I grew up right next to Tokalon and Lakewood Blvd.) - but not everyone has $400K to spend on a house.

I posted the pictures for Jay, who was asking how to tell the difference between an "estate" home and a regular ole Lakewood home...not necessarily to "sell" OP on moving to Lakewood.

[Carevy]

What is the best middle and high school in Lakewood?Thanks

[getmeoutofhere]

Turtle Creek, you're still $60,000 more for a starter home than in the suburbs. Or, conversely, if you get down towards the same price, the house is substantially smaller.

That's why the suburbs are so popular.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by getmeoutofhere

Turtle Creek, you're still $60,000 more for a starter home than in the suburbs. Or, conversely, if you get down towards the same price, the house is substantially smaller.

That's why the suburbs are so popular.

I know why suburbs are popular; I'm not an idiot. The "average" person wants the biggest home they can afford for the least amount of money.

But if 1 spouse works downtown and your family is willing to "make do" with a 2,000sf home (no media room?! poor baby!!), you will save around $2,500 a year by not commuting from, say, Frisco ($1,500 on saved tolls @ $6/day, $75 less per month in gas, $100 less per year by needing 2 less oil changes due to fewer miles driven). $2,500/year x 30 year loan = $75,000 MORE to spend on a home in Lakewood vs Frisco. If both spouses are commuting separately downtown from Frisco (and this does happen a lot), that's $5,000/ year saved x 30 year loan = $150,000 MORE to spend on a home in Lakewood vs Frisco.

It's all about trade-offs. If a family is willing to sacrifice 1,000-1,500 square feet in exchange for 425+ hours of commute time per year, then the Lakewood Elementary area is a good choice, as is the Stonewall Jackson Elementary area to the west of Lakewood, where there are MANY, MANY more homes in the $200k range.

If the family wants the biggest house possible for $250k and doesn't give a rat's a** about dad spending 500 hours a year in the car, then Frisco (or Prosper or McKinney or Flower Mound) is a good choice.

This is all assuming the job is in/near downtown. If the job is in Las Colinas or Legacy Drive area or somewhere else, then obviosly the commute trade-offs are completely different.

[Lakewooder]

You can get a bigger low-quality diamond for the cost of a better grade small gem. Or even a cubic zicornia! I'm sure those are popular out in big box land.

[ClarenceBodiker]

This will shock the hell out of some people, so brace yourselves, but there are actually some people that just prefer the lifestyle of the suburbs. I know this goes against everything city-data will have us believe, but it's true. I am one of those people. I've lived in both the inner city and the suburbs, but I just prefer the latter. And it has nothing to do with getting the biggest house you can for your money. My home is a mere 2,000 square feet. It's not always about schools. And it's not about hating the city and thinking it's terrible to live in. Some people just prefer the quieter and more scerene lifestyle. And yes, while places like Lakewood and Highland Park exist and do fit that description, they are hardly affordable places to live for a middle class, average joe like me and my fellow suburbaners. And believe it or not, there are plenty of neighborhoods all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area that are just as picturesque and lovely as these places when you take off the nostalgic, rose-colored Dallas shades off. Hell, I know neighorhoods that I think are flat out nicer looking than Park Cities and Lakewood, but that's just my opinion. You also don't have to be quite as well off to live in these places.

That's all I have to say about that.

[getmeoutofhere]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I know why suburbs are popular; I'm not an idiot. The "average" person wants the biggest home they can afford for the least amount of money.

But if 1 spouse works downtown and your family is willing to "make do" with a 2,000sf home (no media room?! poor baby!!), you will save around $2,500 a year by not commuting from, say, Frisco ($1,500 on saved tolls @ $6/day, $75 less per month in gas, $100 less per year by needing 2 less oil changes due to fewer miles driven). $2,500/year x 30 year loan = $75,000 MORE to spend on a home in Lakewood vs Frisco. If both spouses are commuting separately downtown from Frisco (and this does happen a lot), that's $5,000/ year saved x 30 year loan = $150,000 MORE to spend on a home in Lakewood vs Frisco.

It's all about trade-offs. If a family is willing to sacrifice 1,000-1,500 square feet in exchange for 425+ hours of commute time per year, then the Lakewood Elementary area is a good choice, as is the Stonewall Jackson Elementary area to the west of Lakewood, where there are MANY, MANY more homes in the $200k range.

If the family wants the biggest house possible for $250k and doesn't give a rat's a** about dad spending 500 hours a year in the car, then Frisco (or Prosper or McKinney or Flower Mound) is a good choice.

This is all assuming the job is in/near downtown. If the job is in Las Colinas or Legacy Drive area or somewhere else, then obviosly the commute trade-offs are completely different.

Well, I commute from way the hell out every day, and it's nowhere near $2500 a year.

Second, you're not factoring in a lot of other things. How about the extra $2000 - $4000 a year for taxes? Or the extra cost of repairing an older house?

Or how about that, even if your math is entirely correct, you can still get a significantly nicer and better house out here than down there? Plus, you don't have to deal with living in Dallas, which is a big plus.



Also, I have a couple of friends that teach in Dallas...just because a school has a good rating doesn't mean it's a school you'd want to send your kids to.

Lakewood Elementary is good, but the middle and high schools are more questionable. Not the case in Flower Mound.