Is Woodbridge going downhill??? (Wylie, Sachse: for sale, foreclosures, rentals)

[biafra4life]

The wife and I are looking to buy a home this year...we have been checking out Woodbridge in Sachse/Wylie...looking at preowned homes. The area is very pretty, lots of people out and about...yet one thing that stood out...there are a LOT of houses up for sale, we counted 4 on one street alone. Is this just a normal part of the hard economic times we are in, or is it a deeper sign of decline for Woodbridge causing homeowners to bail?

[Grainraiser]

It's just a sign of the times. Go to any neighborhood and you will see lots of homes on the market.

[FalconheadWest]

In a healthy neighborhood, at any given time, you should see about 10% turnover for the year. Not a big deal, though it might seem like a lot.

[nsumner]

There are around 60 homes on the market in Woodbrige including new construction ones.

It's not a huge number for a masterplanned community that huge. The one thing with a neighborhood like that is many people who purchased there when the neighborhood opened up and were first time homebuyers, have turned their entry level homes into a rental and purchased newer from higher end builders.

Overall, it's still a nice community.

Naima

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by nsumner

There are around 60 homes on the market in Woodbrige including new construction ones.

It's not a huge number for a masterplanned community that huge. The one thing with a neighborhood like that is many people who purchased there when the neighborhood opened up and were first time homebuyers, have turned their entry level homes into a rental and purchased newer from higher end builders.

Overall, it's still a nice community.

Naima

hmmm, so there are more rentals in that development? I'm not sure I want to buy a home surrounded by rentals due to all the problems that can bring.

[ETex2]

My brother and his wife live there and like it. The only think I don't care for is the lots in the area where he lives are tiny. But they are retired and not into yard work, so it is good for them. Overall, it's a nice community from what I've seen.

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

hmmm, so there are more rentals in that development? I'm not sure I want to buy a home surrounded by rentals due to all the problems that can bring.

They have a strong HOA and the rents aren't that cheap, I wouldn't let that thought stop you, just continue doing the homework as you have.

Naima

[pureguava76]

I have counted a total of (7) home rentals in Woodbridge as of this post. (5) of those are located in the northern Wylie section.

As the previous poster said, they are priced well, $1,500 to $2,300.

I have sent a letter to the HOA to ask about any rental restrictions, and why there might be so many new rentals in the area. Granted it might just be a sign of the times, but in Texas home purchasing has been on the rise, so I am a little doubtful.

I will update once I hear back from the HOA.

[biafra4life]

There also seem to be quite a few foreclosures in the area...many homes listed $40K or more below market. Again, maybe it's just the economy. I dont know.

[pureguava76]

We stopped looking in the Wylie and Woodbridge area due to those reasons, and others. Many of the houses we offered on in Woodbridge, the home owner was pretty upside down, and was aggressively pushing for well above comparables. This isn't the end of the world, but it isn't a good sign for a prospective buyer.

I did contact Woodbridge HOA and found that there are no rental restrictions in the area. So while it would be far fetched, the possibility of living on a street full of rentals exists in the future, at Woodbridge, something you don't want to hear when buying, and definitely don't want to hear when building.

They are also about to build a gigantic Wall-Mart across from the main entrance to Woodbridge, which could possibly create traffic issues at the main entrance/intersection. It could also bring unwanted traffic through the neighborhood.

After some research, we found that the Wylie City Council, even though the city is quite established and has been around for a long time, is still in somewhat of a "developmental" phase, with the influx of all the new people and development. There is always going to be back and forth on a city council, but the Wylie council seems to be highly protested by many of the residents. (found this from browsing forums, news, blogs, etc for almost a month) The political system is heavily divided and the taxes are a big issue, and they keep going up. Without a good overall feeling of the city management, I tend to get a bit nervous about future plans. I also saw complaints about the lack of property standard enforcement. In the neighborhood just northeast McCreary and 54, we confirmed this. This is an interesting area, as it seems there used to be quite a few good looking homes here, but it has clearly declined over the past few years. I saw fences knocked over, unkempt lawns and trees, trash, kids loitering in front of vacant homes. This obviously used to be a beautiful neighborhood like the neighborhoods north of it, and like Woodbridge, so it begs the question what is in store for the newer developments.

All in all, Woodbridge is a pretty development. And I love the small town feel of Wylie and I hope it stays that way. The people seem extremely nice. The schools look good, and even the Dart rail has plans to connect the T to Wylie via the "Cotten Belt" rail. I think Wylie will develop nicely, but I just don't want to take the gamble with my family right now.