Relocating to Dallas - Advice Needed (Plano, Richardson: 2013, renting, HOA)

[mtd2013]

Our family will be relocating to Dallas for 5 years as part of a job transfer. Our estimated arrival is Sept 2013. During our time in Dallas we will have one child in elementary school. My office is in the home, but spend a lot of time on the road. Safety, good schools and family fun activities is important. In our visit to Dallas, my wife really seemed to like the Frisco area. Seemed like a kid friendly place and close to a lot of nice restaurants, shopping, etc. Do you feel Frisco is a good place or would you recommend another area?

We are leaning towards building a new home with a price range of $350K-$475K. It seems Richwoods and Phillips Creek Ranch is getting a lot of hype. Would you recommend one community over the other? Would you recommend a completely different community? We heard a lot of people refer to East or West Frisco. Is one a better area to live than the other? Given all the homes and new constructions do you envision it will be hard to sell in Frisco after 5 years?

We are coming in knowing little, so guidance any of you could give would be "greatly" appreciated.

[stephwin]

I think Plano, Frisco, Allen, and McKinney are all very similar in terms of safety and being family-oriented. All have good, but not great, schools. I live in NW Frisco and really like it. East Frisco, particularly the NE, has a lot of new construction (including building out roads) although the two developments you mentioned are not in NE Frisco.

I think you will get a lot more house for your money if you buy used. I've read a few threads on here about Richwoods and it seems like the prices keep going up and up. I'm not sure how the other development is going to be priced, however. You can get a very nice house that is only a few years old for your budget.

But if you are dead-set on a new home, there are plenty of other new neighborhoods in NE and NW Frisco that match your budget so I would advise that you look around as much as you can.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

If the development is not built out in 5 yrs, you will take a huge hit when selling. Why buy yours when a new one is available around the corner? The answer is you will have to offer a big price difference. Buy an existing house in a built out area if 5 yrs is the limit. Between commissions and closing costs, you might break even.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

If the development is not built out in 5 yrs, you will take a huge hit when selling. Why buy yours when a new one is available around the corner? The answer is you will have to offer a big price difference. Buy an existing house in a built out area if 5 yrs is the limit. Between commissions and closing costs, you might break even.

This is good advice. I live in a very well-established area, bought my house 3.5 years ago, and would come out about $13k ahead if I sold my house for a conservative estimate.

[TurtleCreek80]

If you absolutely know your Dallas contract is 5 years max, I would strongly consider not buying if you expect to cover your down payment + realtor commissions/ closing costs when you sell. 5 years is about the minimum amount of time one needs in the DFW area to see the 10% appreciation needed to cover commissions + closing.

I know some people just prefer to live in their own home vs renting, so if that is your preference just be aware that it's unlikely you would make any money ( you might even lose a little) and be open to existing construction to mitigate your risk. You definitely don't want to be competing against brand new homes in 5 years if the sub-div isn't built out yet.

[stephwin]

My house was built in 2005 in one of the really hot parts of Frisco at the time. I'm not the original owner, but if they still owned the house and tried to sell it today they would probably get hit with a $15-25k loss. We bought the house in 2009 and if we sold it today, we would probably make $20-30k. Can you take that kind of hit?

So keep in mind that just because Richwoods is the hot neighborhood now, will it still be the same in 5 years? I'm already seeing people complain about the high house prices and the HOA cost (much more than most neighborhoods in Frisco). What if people finally decide it's not worth the price?

[Obamney1]

In plain English, better to buy a pre existing house in an established neighborhood with great location and top schools and stable resale prices.

[Squirl]

West Plano or North Richardson would be a much better investment.

[Katie S]

The Plano area is a great area to live in. It's safe and family friendly (I have family that lives there) and the schools are excellent.
Moderator cut: cannot cite competitor

[mtd2013]

Does anyone have any input on neighborhoods you would recommend?