Forest Hills, zip 75228?

[PanTerra]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I took a drive down to the listing they gave me...I couldn't even get onto the street because it's gated. Along that stretch of Lakeland between Garland Road and Ferguson, it seemed to change street to street....nice, hood, nice, delapidated, nice, etc. The word I'd use to describe it would be....transitioning?

What I want to know is will a brand new home with no personality and next to no yard on a gated street full of the same kinds of houses be a sound investment for that area? My gut says no, but I don't know that area very well.

Driving from Garland on Lakeland you are on the border of Forest Hills (on the right) and Little Forest Hills (on your left). Little Forest Hills homes are considerably "cozier" and smaller lots than Forrest Hills. The neighborhoods are considerably different.

[Lakewooder]

Next to the area:

Update: 15-acre retail development planned at Gaston/Garland | Advocate Magazine

"Lincoln Property Co.’s plans for the intersection of Gaston and Garland prove we all should’ve bought there years ago. The real estate company is planning a vast, high-end retail development on the intersection’s three corners...


...That intersection is extraordinary because of its location and underutilization. It’s at the gateway of White Rock Lake, a few blocks from the Dallas Arboretum, a few blocks from a public golf course and adjacent to the Santa Fe Trail. That’s not even mentioning the hundreds of high-end homes in the area"

[jennifw]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

What I want to know is will a brand new home with no personality and next to no yard on a gated street full of the same kinds of houses be a sound investment for that area? My gut says no, but I don't know that area very well.

I live over in Lakewood so take my opinion for what it is.

That neighborhood sounds nice, but it will likely always be a new(er), flat personality house "close to" all of the cool architecture and funkiness of East Dallas. Would that work for me? Probably not since I like my old funky house. Would it work for some - probably or the houses wouldn't sell.

Are schools an issue? If not for your friends, what about resale?

[pepper131]

Sanger is the local elem school. The parents in the area are excited about the old principal leaving (left before the school year ended) and welcoming an incoming principal. I see things getting much better at Sanger with parent involved being welcome.

I don't understand why your friends would be looking at the Enclave at Ash Creek if they aren't working downtown or in the area.

[BigDGeek]

They have no kids, and they're used to a city with a more funky vibe than Dallas.

They'll be visiting this coming weekend so we'll get to hear what they think of the area.

Thanks everyone for weighing in.

[Considering Coming Back]

I grew up on that side of the lake. Nothing south of the tracks is "Forest Hills" which seems to have been covered, but it always bothers me when realtors try to pull that.

No offense to the poster who lives in that development, but I watched it go up the 90s and it was very cheaply done. Maybe not by Metroplex standards, but certainly by the standards of the neighborhood. It won't age well over the next 15 years, so keep that in mind.

The area is not "in transition" it is very, very stable. The homes south of Ferguson are being bought by young immigrant families as the older homeowners die off or retire. The areas to the north are getting posher (gentrifying?) but that wont spill over the tracks. There are lots of apartments near by (south of Ferguson) that have considerable problems. I doubt there would be any property crime in the gated streets, but their presence has always held back the retail nearby and kept 75228 the step sister to 75218.