Many Questions about North Dallas Areas - Thanks in Advance (Plano: how much, houses)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by gogo542

Thanks Turtle for details info. Really appreciate it. I just checked on Moderator cut: see comment Richardson doesn't really have new homes. There are several in Plano.

I understand that Plano and Allen have Recognized rating for their district, and Frisco has Exemplary. And i can see it in Moderator cut: see comment that not all plano and allen have 9/10 schools (only the west part has 9/10 ratings school). In Frisco the majority of schools are 9/10. Do the Recongnized or Exemplary ratings has direct corralation with the SAT scores, pass rate, rankings?

As far as builders goes, which one do you recommend in Plano area? I understand that there is not much new development there.

Thanks.

"Exemplary" means the vast majority of students passed the old state grade level exams, have high average attendance rates, and almost no dropouts. It has no correlation to AP or SAT.

Exemplary elementary schools should be a must on your list b/c you would want 95%++ of your child's classmates to be performing at grade level. Come middle & high school, the national exams are a better gauge of the sxholl's success with avg and above avg students....you know, the ones your kid will be competing for college slots against.

Overall district ratings aren't as important as individual elementary schools as far as the TAKS rating system.

[cmw2133]

Originally Posted by gogo542

Thanks Turtle for details info. Really appreciate it. I just checked on Moderator cut: see comment Richardson doesn't really have new homes. There are several in Plano.

I understand that Plano and Allen have Recognized rating for their district, and Frisco has Exemplary. And i can see it in Moderator cut: see comment that not all plano and allen have 9/10 schools (only the west part has 9/10 ratings school). In Frisco the majority of schools are 9/10. Do the Recongnized or Exemplary ratings has direct corralation with the SAT scores, pass rate, rankings?

As far as builders goes, which one do you recommend in Plano area? I understand that there is not much new development there.

Thanks.

I think Kings Ridge is the only development in Plano I can think of. There's also Castle Hills but I'm pretty sure it's technically not in West Plano. I would talk to an experienced Realtor familiar with new homes to get their opinion about various builders. David Weekly, Coventry, Toll Bros., and Drees are pretty highly regarded. People here slam Grand homes. There's a bunch of others such as Highland, Plantation, K.Hovnanian, etc.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Allen to downtown Dallas (like, really downtown not just Dallas south of 635) can take 60+ minutes in rush hour. It's prob 20-30 min to Richardson. Reason being, your only route is 75 which is slower moving and has more 18 wheelers since its free. It took my coworker over an hour to get from Allen (by the outlets on Stacey Road) to NorthPark Mall (which is about 15 min north of downtown in rush hour) last week. And there wasn't even a wreck.

Frisco will be about 40-60 minutes with no wrecks via the tollroads to both downtown and Richardson. Richardson is cross-town from Frisco which probably equates to about 15 min less drive than all the way to downtown.

West Plano is a MUCH better commute (30-45 minutes via north Dallas Tollroad ) AND has significantly better schools than both Allen and Frisco (based on SAT's and AP's which are the best indicators of college prep). However, you won't find a new home for $350k in West Plano zoned to Plano Schools. (School districts don't follow city borders here so never assume a home in one city is zoned to that city's ISD. Always verify schools for the address). You will find homes for $350k they'll just be 15-30 years old.


Honestly, I would either look in Richardson east of 75 (Plano schools with a lot of newer homes), Far north Dallas in Plano schools, or Richardson itself. Pearce is an excellent high school- ranks smack between the 3 Plano ISD high schools and in the top 10 in the DFW area. Assuming you're moving from Cali for better quality of life (among other things) so embrace the city where your job is located and enjoy having a 15 min max "door to office" commute!!




As far as what you can offer for a home these days, you MUST hook up with a buyer's agent who is an EXPERT in the suburbs & neighborhoods where your search is focused. The DFW market is ALL over the place right now- some areas are seeing multiple, full price offers and even bidding wars on well-priced homes within hours of hitting the market. Other areas are chugging along with a decent rate of sale and increase to LY prices. Other areas are still declining and even battling foreclosures. Less than 20% of DFW homes are currently "underwater" and the market since Jan 1 has been significantly improved to LY in many areas. So there really isn't a "hard & fast" rule regarding what % of list to offer. Be assured the market is likely healthier than from where you're moving. Also be warned that home sales prices aren't public record in TX and therefore Zillow and tax appraisal values don't reflect the current market prices at all. Don't even look at Zillow.

The rental market is SUPER hot in almost every area so if you are considering renting a home be ready to move very quickly or lose your chance for that property. I listed a condo last fall and had 7 showings in 24 hours. One of those people rented it. Went into the MLS as sold at 0 DOM. Not uncommon AT ALL right now.

The only add I'd make to this post is that one, with diligence, can find homes for $300K-$350K in West Plano - not brand new but far newer, bigger, nicer than anything possible in the East Bay area for $350.

[gogo542]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

"Exemplary" means the vast majority of students passed the old state grade level exams, have high average attendance rates, and almost no dropouts. It has no correlation to AP or SAT.

Exemplary elementary schools should be a must on your list b/c you would want 95%++ of your child's classmates to be performing at grade level. Come middle & high school, the national exams are a better gauge of the sxholl's success with avg and above avg students....you know, the ones your kid will be competing for college slots against.

Overall district ratings aren't as important as individual elementary schools as far as the TAKS rating system.

Thanks again.

[gogo542]

Originally Posted by cmw2133

I think Kings Ridge is the only development in Plano I can think of. There's also Castle Hills but I'm pretty sure it's technically not in West Plano. I would talk to an experienced Realtor familiar with new homes to get their opinion about various builders. David Weekly, Coventry, Toll Bros., and Drees are pretty highly regarded. People here slam Grand homes. There's a bunch of others such as Highland, Plantation, K.Hovnanian, etc.

Thanks CMW... when the time comes, we will look both new and older homes.

[gogo542]

Originally Posted by EDS_

The only add I'd make to this post is that one, with diligence, can find homes for $300K-$350K in West Plano - not brand new but far newer, bigger, nicer than anything possible in the East Bay area for $350.

That's for Sure EDS... $350K here in East Bay won't get us a nice 2 bedrooms condo . My wife and I thought with the $350K budget we can get a great home with great schools there. We may need to increase the budget to $450K. We may need to sell our home here in Cali.

[Falafelosophy]

As others said, your best bet is 75082 zip code in Richardson for 350K and if you want West aplano schools then 75093 or 75024. I think you can find decent homes in 350K but 450K can get you a nicer and relatively newer place in a nicer neighborhood.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by gogo542

That's for Sure EDS... $350K here in East Bay won't get us a nice 2 bedrooms condo . My wife and I thought with the $350K budget we can get a great home with great schools there. We may need to increase the budget to $450K. We may need to sell our home here in Cali.

The trick in Plano - assuming the Plano West High School track is in your plan - is to look just east of Preston and especially just east of Hillcrest (Ohio) but west of Coit south of Hedgecoxe and north of Plano Parkway; while verifying school track of each address. My guess is if you look tomorrow you might find a few dozen homes in that "area" for between $275 and $400K. If you can go to $375/450K look in Deerfield.


Best of luck. I'm guessing you and yours will love it here.



ETA - thinking about it some more there are a few spots west of Preston in Plano that you might snag a home for ~$400K. Just west of Preston and just north of Plano Parkway leap to mind.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by gogo542

One other thing that i should mention is that my work hours are flexible and able to telecomute (work from home) twice/three times a week. If we start start driving around 6:30, will it be traffic still?

Thanks again.

There might be new construction in the far east area of Richardson, around Breckinridge Park.

Even leaving at 6:30, there will be traffic, but probably a little less than an hour later. Lots of people need to be at work by 7:00 or they are leaving early to avoid the biggest traffic mess too.

[BigDGeek]

Nothing wrong with older homes either. Take a drive down Waterview between Belt Line and Arapaho or through the Canyon Creek or Reservation neighborhoods in Richardson and you'll see what I mean. I'll take my neighborhood of 50s ranch houses over the sterile, soulless, HOA-controlled pinkish-red brick hell that is Collin County any day of the week.