considering move to Texas from S. California (Dallas, Austin: sale, HOA)

[elan]

I'd look in some of the smaller towns about an hour south of Dallas, like Hillsboro or something similiar. Here's some deals: Hill County Foreclosed Homes, TX | Hill Foreclosures You would be close to some good fishing at Lake Whitney.

more: http://www.foreclosuredeals.com/list/tx/ellis/

[Smiled]

Last time I was in Dallas there was a ton of stuff to recycle, floating in the Trinity River. And there was a battery (lead is recyclable) laying cracked on the bridge. At least 20# of lead there.

[preppyglam]

Im curious where you currently live in S. CA that your purchase-price budget of a TX home is under 100k. Typically we in S. CA pay rents that rival mortgages for at least 300k-450k homes.

We are moving from S. CA to TX soon and what I have found is that the ONLY thing that seems to be significantly "cheaper" are the houses, but in order to live in a nice area- you're still going to spend money on a house. Its not dirt cheap like most of Arizona or Nevada. Its nice that the lump-sum price of a house is affordable, and often much larger than what you can get for the same price in CA...but that being said...auto and homeowners insurance are higher, property taxes are higher and from what I can gather, electricity bills are rather large- esp. compared to CA. There are no state income taxes, which is nice...and it surely does help if you make lots of money to not have to pay that. But for modest incomes, state taxes are very low anyway...so while its a plus, its not that much of a plus.

Im saying all this to hopefully encourage you to really research the costs of living in TX. Its nice the barrier to entry into a nice house is low...but that's about it in regards to "cheaper". And, if that's a main reason for you moving to TX...may as well be disillusioned beforehand! =) Good luck!

[nsumner]

There are some decent neighborhoods in the metroplex with hard working people that cannot afford more than 100K home. They aren't McMansions and the OP has specifically said they only want around 1500SF. They aren't necessarily going to be new homes or have the newest updates but decent enough. One neighborhood comes to mind is in north Fort Worth in Keller school district in Zipcode 76137. Mesquite has some neighborhoods like that too. With some elbow grease you can make them shine. These aren't neighborhoods that are crime ridden either.

I would suggest making a trip and explore different areas and see if you see a fit for you.

Naima

[Bunkerboot83]

Originally Posted by ClarenceBodiker

Hurst-Euless-Bedford, North Richland Hills will put you pretty close to Fort Worth, and you can find some older, mature neighborhoods on the south side of those 'burbs that can be pretty affordable.

I agree, you should be able to find a good spot in that area, for someone like me who really dislikes DFW, try Keller and Denton area... Keller is beautiful (for the DFW area) and if you go a little farther north up I35 you should find some pretty reasonable housing. + You would be within 15-20 of downtown fort worth also... I think it's the best area in the metro-plex, and fairly reasonably priced - it's the best place in my least favorite place And it has a low crime rate vs. some other local areas.

Also beware of Texas if you or your children have severe allergies/asthma, some parts of Texas, including DFW rate high in the list of "worst air quality" and pollen counts in the USA.

[BigDGeek]

I know someone in Garland who paid about $85k for her house. Some people might consider the area "sketchy" but she loves it and she's never had anything stolen from her house.

[FiddleDeeD]

If you are looking at Dallas, the places where the parks, lakes, trails etc are is East Dallas, a very liberal area. And you need a few hundred grand for a decent home, but probably would need more like 300.

I would take the other suggestions of places like Tyler and Waco. They suit a lower budget, would have more homeschoolers and more conservative than places like Dallas or Austin (Austin has lots of outdoorsy stuff). Your price range is waaay off But, Texas is not like Cali in terms of scenery and outdoor activities, plus in the summer look forward to 100 degree heat. 100k in any large city will put you in a bad neighborhood. Even in smaller towns that is pushing it. Texas is a conservative state as a whole, but that is mostly made up from the rural areas, most of the cities are very liberal and metropolitan, as a whole.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I know someone in Garland who paid about $85k for her house. Some people might consider the area "sketchy" but she loves it and she's never had anything stolen from her house.

REALLY!!??


Here is a house for sale in Garland in my old neighborhood. I know the neighbors here and they are great families I actually had this same floorplan and this house "lives big". It's close to 190 without being on top of it, close to the mall and in a great area and the neighborhood is comprised of all the houses on culdesacs w/ park areas in the middle of each one.
2901 Periwinkle CT Garland TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11557825 - Realtor.com®

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

REALLY!!??


Here is a house for sale in Garland in my old neighborhood. I know the neighbors here and they are great families I actually had this same floorplan and this house "lives big". It's close to 190 without being on top of it, close to the mall and in a great area and the neighborhood is comprised of all the houses on culdesacs w/ park areas in the middle of each one.
2901 Periwinkle CT Garland TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11557825 - Realtor.com®

This person's house is in the 75042 zip code near the Resistol hat place.

[elan]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

REALLY!!??


Here is a house for sale in Garland in my old neighborhood. I know the neighbors here and they are great families I actually had this same floorplan and this house "lives big". It's close to 190 without being on top of it, close to the mall and in a great area and the neighborhood is comprised of all the houses on culdesacs w/ park areas in the middle of each one.
2901 Periwinkle CT Garland TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11557825 - Realtor.com®

For the money, that's not a bad looking house at all! As long as the neighborhood is safe, and you say it is, they should check it out. Look how close it is to Lake Ray Hubbard, they can fish too.