3bd housing for UTSW 4 year residency (Dallas, Irving: apartments, rental, HOA fees)

[mc1117]

Our family is moving to Dallas next June for my husband's (at least) 4 year residency at UTSW and we would love some input regarding housing. We have two kids- they will be 1 and 3 when we move so elementary schools will be a concern in a couple of years.

Our first dilemma is regarding renting vs buying:
We have a house to sell which we might try to put on the market in early spring, but I'm concerned we won't have it sold in time to buy a new home in Dallas before we need to move at the end of June. So although we might prefer to buy, we may need to rent temporarily in Dallas. We are locked in for his residency for 4 years, but he needs to do at least one year of fellowship which may or may not be in the area. So I'm not sure if it really makes sense to buy especially since I don't have a good gauge on rent prices.

Budget- During this time we will be living off my husband's residency stipend which is currently 58k for his first year. It looks like we could afford something in the $200-225k range if we buy. If we rented, I would think something around $1200ish a month might be doable.

We're looking for a 3 bedroom in a family friendly area (kids activities/playgroups, etc) that is as close to UTSW as we can afford. Ideally, it would be great for my husband not have to commute more than 15-20 minutes if possible. Based on the research I've done and people we've talked to, the Park Cities, Lakewood and M streets are closest but way too expensive. There are a few different areas that we're currently considering- areas just east of Lakewood (Lake Highlands, Forrest Hills, Casa Linda), North Dallas south of LBJ (Walnut Hill or DeGoyler Elem neighborhoods, etc) and Coppell, but we don't have much to go on.

We've heard Richardson and Carrolton can be tough commutes so if there are closer options I'd rather not go that route. I've also heard Irving and Valley Ranch are popular for med students but not as nice for families? Not sure what to make of Las Colinas for us. Also not sure about the North Oak Cliff neighborhoods (Kessler Park/Stevents Park/ Winnetka Heights) but seems like an interesting option.

Any input on renting vs. buying or neighborhoods would be greatly appreciated.

[stephwin]

Coppell will be out of your budget as well. You can look at Las Colinas and Valley Ranch. I think Lake Highlands is also a good area to look at.

There is another thread on here that lists a few places you definitely don't want to live. It was posted a day or two ago.

[alastrian2]

I live in Winnekta Heights and commute to Parkland daily (~12 minute commute). North Oak Cliff is very family/community oriented, becoming more walkable by the day, and has a great infrastructure for playgroups and child related activities in the Rosemont Early Childhood PTA. Unfortunately, WH/Kessler Park/Stevens Park home prices have skyrocketed out of your price range from a purchase perspective, though you might be able to find leases of duplexes and smaller homes in your price range (Craigslist and Community Facebook Pages are your best bet). Other North Oak Cliff Neighborhoods to consider would be Elmwood, Lake Cliff Park and Keist Park.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Rent! It takes close to 5 yrs to reach break-even on selling, what with closing costs, fix-up costs, etc. You won't be here long enough.

[TurtleCreek80]

I would also suggest renting given your relatively short stint in Dallas. Your $1200 budget is going to be a BIG huddle to overcome. Even the neighborhoods zoned to DeGoyler Elementary are about $1/SF these days which yields home rental rates around $1800-3000/mo. I don't think you're going to find any single family homes in Lake Highlands for $1200/mo and the multifamily options there aren't great (tend to attract a different socioeconomic group than the single family house neighborhoods).

My best thought at the moment is to look in the Village apartments in 75214. An older 2-br is probably close to the top of your budget and it's zoned to Dan D Rogers Elementary which isn't as desirable as Lakewood / DeGoyler/ HPISD / Coppell, but is pretty good. It's about a 20 minute drive to UTSW and in a safe neighborhood just northwest of White Rock Lake.

In general, $1200/mo is a 2 br apartment budget, not a 3-br house budget. I'm speaking for most of the safe neighborhoods with good schools within a decent drive (30 min) to UTSW.

[EDS_]

Lots of wonderful and thoughtful advice so far. And BTW congratulations to you and hubby for earning any UTSW residency, there are absolutely no slackers allowed as it were.

Now for the contrarian angle.

1. My boy is an MS-2 at UTSW so I pay attention to the details as it were.
2. Something around 65% of MD residents end up living/practicing within 75 miles of their residency hospital.
3. Look in Carrollton just North of 635 for homes around $180/200K. Also there's a tiny run of nice homes immediately north of 635 and just west of Midway Road in Dallas (Farmers Branch?) that might work.
4. The only caveat related to buying is that property taxes are high here so budget/forecast accordingly.


If you all feel like your family might fall into that category buying might make some sense. Especially if the residency might run into a local fellowship or a combo residency lasting more than 4 years and then a fellowship. We will likely never see mortgage rates this low again.

From a game theory/raw economics perspective in Dallas right now buying is a better deal than renting* for a few reasons. Those that can buy have/will and the supply of rental houses in Dallas is historically on the short side so those that can't buy or will not buy are chasing a tight rental inventory.

*In 95% of US cities buying is a better deal than renting for nearly everyone and it's been that way since the 1800s assuming a few years in place.

Best of luck.

[RonnieinDallas]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Rent! It takes close to 5 yrs to reach break-even on selling, what with closing costs, fix-up costs, etc. You won't be here long enough.

THIS

I wouldn't buy right away, especially somewhere I'm not very familiar with. Plus, when you include property taxes and insurance, a $1100 - $1200 mortgage payment would put you in a sub-$200,000 house in remote suburbs, and that's after you've put down 20% and assumes you have a good credit score for a decent interest rate. Then there are things like maintenance, possible HOA fees, large appliance purchases etc. that hammer homeowners. Dallas is not cheap, and $200k only goes so far if you want a nice area with a reasonable commute.

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I would also suggest renting given your relatively short stint in Dallas. Your $1200 budget is going to be a BIG huddle to overcome. Even the neighborhoods zoned to DeGoyler Elementary are about $1/SF these days which yields home rental rates around $1800-3000/mo. I don't think you're going to find any single family homes in Lake Highlands for $1200/mo and the multifamily options there aren't great (tend to attract a different socioeconomic group than the single family house neighborhoods).

My best thought at the moment is to look in the Village apartments in 75214. An older 2-br is probably close to the top of your budget and it's zoned to Dan D Rogers Elementary which isn't as desirable as Lakewood / DeGoyler/ HPISD / Coppell, but is pretty good. It's about a 20 minute drive to UTSW and in a safe neighborhood just northwest of White Rock Lake.

In general, $1200/mo is a 2 br apartment budget, not a 3-br house budget. I'm speaking for most of the safe neighborhoods with good schools within a decent drive (30 min) to UTSW.

I agree, renting is the best option. The budget will have to go up though. 3 bedrooms is an unrealistic expectation in that price range