Myers Meadow in Southlake. Really as bad as people make it out to be? (Dallas: days on market, sale)

[bankingdom]

Hi Guys, I previously posted that I will be moving to Dallas from Minneapolis and will be working:
Two days a week in south Arlington
One day a week in Irving
One day a week in Fort Worth
One day a week in West Plano
(I KNOW IT SUCKS!!!!!!)

I got numerous suggestions on where to live from this board including East Keller, Southlake, & Colleyville. We had also had Flower Mound on the list but after discussing with many people we decided the commute would be too much to South Arlington and Fort Worth. Our budget was initially 800k+ but after we just spent a week in the area we decided we didn't want to go so high right away. We brought our budget down to about 650k.

We looked at about a zillion homes and areas and are VERY STRONGLY leaning towards the lower end areas of Southlake (more on the west side near Keller border). Homes seems much cheaper here. Schools are our #1 priority. We also don't mind a remodel project. So buying outdated 90's builds with flower wallpaper is just fine for us.

We saw a fantastic 4700 sq foot home on a .3 acre lot in the Myers Meadow subdivision and we did think it would work well for us. They had it listed for $650k this summer and now they reduced to $579k. It seems these are tract homes and we understand they were built to be cheaper but at about 20 years old we would be remodeling a fair amount to make it look nice.

I was wondering if anyone has any more info on the Myers Meadow subdivision. It seems the price per sq foot is significantly lower than most of Southlake and it seems to be a pretty nice area. We don't like flashy 6000 sq foot homes on tiny lots like the other new subdivisions. Why do people cringe when we mentioned Myers Meadow to a few people in Southlake? Is there something I'm missing?

I was thinking about putting a offer on this home and do some upgrades and sell in about 4-5 years. Am I making a mistake with Myers Meadow, or do you think I should up my budget and buy something in the newer parts of Southlake when it comes to resale?

I'm seeing stuff fly off the market in days in Keller, is that the hot new area? It seems the market in Southlake has slowed down tremendously recently.

Do you guys think Southlake is a central area for commuting to Arlington, Irving, Forth Worth and plano?

Thank you guys so much for your help!

[CMC_TX]

Myers Meadow is a nice family community with 90s tract homes. I have several coworkers who live there. The price per square foot is lower and homes stay on the market longer, just look at average days on market and sold price per square foot on a CMA and you'll see what I'm talking about. Land there is cheaper because it's so far West, almost closer to the border of Keller, so it's not as desirable as other Southlake neighborhoods.

I think it will continue to hold its value fine, but be careful not to over-improve for the area. Expect reasonable gains in appreciation due to CISD, but no quick profit. Even with improvements, I'd personally be concerned with the construction quality and do not like the style of the homes. Many have the exact same elevation / floorplan, ugly arched windows, ugly brick etc.

It's a good opportunity to get into Southlake on a lower budget but I personally wouldn't be over 600k "all in" including your renovations in that subdivision unless you plan to live there 15-20 years.

Talk to your realtor, there are other good options in the area for 650k.

[bankingdom]

Originally Posted by CMC_TX

Myers Meadow is a nice family community with 90s tract homes. I have several coworkers who live there. The price per square foot is lower and homes stay on the market longer, just look at average days on market and sold price per square foot on a CMA and you'll see what I'm talking about. Land there is cheaper because it's so far West, almost closer to the border of Keller, so it's not as desirable as other Southlake neighborhoods.

I think it will continue to hold its value fine, but be careful not to over-improve for the area. Expect reasonable gains in appreciation due to CISD, but no quick profit. Even with improvements, I'd personally be concerned with the construction quality and do not like the style of the homes. Many have the exact same elevation / floorplan, ugly arched windows, ugly brick etc.

It's a good opportunity to get into Southlake on a lower budget but I personally wouldn't be over 600k "all in" including your renovations in that subdivision unless you plan to live there 15-20 years.

Talk to your realtor, there are other good options in the area for 650k.

Thanks for this info. We are really trying to avoid using a realtor. I rather save the seller 3% and use that to bring the price of the home down. That is why I am trying to get as much info as I can from this message board I actually prefer fsbo the best since we can negotiate price more freely.

Any ideas of other areas that would be better for resale in Southlake? We actually are going to be going to Fort Worth once a week and I though being further west would actually be a good thing for us, no? Or is it best to be close town square?

[Rakin]

Nothing wrong with Myers Meadow. One of the more reasonable places in Southlake.

Unless your a status seeker who looks down on normal folk.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by bankingdom

We are really trying to avoid using a realtor. I rather save the seller 3% and use that to bring the price of the home down.

If the house is listed with a real estate agent, the 6% commish will still apply; just that the listing agent will get it all rather than splitting it with "your" agent. You won't directly save the 3%, but you may save anyway. Think about it, would the listing agent rather make something a bit less than $39,000 on your sale for less than $650k, or make a little more than $19,500 on someone else's sale for more than $650k that they have to split the commish?

FSBO is a good way to go sometimes, but: 1) most younger people are scared to death to sell a house this way; and 2) you can get owners who have no realistic idea what the house is worth and hold out for unrealistic prices.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by bankingdom

Thanks for this info. We are really trying to avoid using a realtor. I rather save the seller 3% and use that to bring the price of the home down. That is why I am trying to get as much info as I can from this message board I actually prefer fsbo the best since we can negotiate price more freely.

You won't save a penny. The listing agent probably has a contract to collect a % no matter if they sell or a Buyers agent makes the offer.

A common misconception.

[bankingdom]

Originally Posted by Rakin

You won't save a penny. The listing agent probably has a contract to collect a % no matter if they sell or a Buyers agent makes the offer.

A common misconception.

Oh damn....I was going to have in the contract to have 3% credit at closing in lieu of using a buyers agent. I am also going to lower my offer price by 3%. I was clear about this to the listing agent. If they are dirty they may hide this from their sellers.

Remind me again why we have realtors? I thought the internet was supposed to make them extinct like it did the travel agents...Sorry Realtors! I could do the exact same thing with a wifi enabled lock, cameras in the home and a title company for a LOT less than 5-6%. (i'm sure i will get a lot of feedback from the realtors on this one) SORRY!

[lepoisson]

I hope you got a decent salary increase by moving down here from the fantastic Twin Cities.

Have you considered Hurst, Euless, or Bedford? You'd be a 30 minute drive to most of your destinations (except for Plano maybe). Actually, living in Arlington wouldn't be too bad of a commute either. The drive out to Plano wouldn't be fun, but it's only one day per week.

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by bankingdom

Oh damn....I was going to have in the contract to have 3% credit at closing in lieu of using a buyers agent. I am also going to lower my offer price by 3%. I was clear about this to the listing agent. If they are dirty they may hide this from their sellers.

Remind me again why we have realtors? I thought the internet was supposed to make them extinct like it did the travel agents...Sorry Realtors! I could do the exact same thing with a wifi enabled lock, cameras in the home and a title company for a LOT less than 5-6%. (i'm sure i will get a lot of feedback from the realtors on this one) SORRY!

Ah, if only that was all there was to it. PLUS... What your suggesting would cost the seller even more money than working with a buyer's agent. So what would be their incentive to work with you exactly? Its precisely scenarios like these that make people wary of buyers/sellers that dont have agents. Expectations arent typically very realistic.

I'm not a realtor but this post makes me think you should probably get one.

[synchronicity]

Myers Meadow is fine. Lots are a little smallish and the houses are tract homes, and yes, there will likely be some people who look down their nose at you (Yesterday I was talking to a resident there who mentioned that some people refer to it as "Myers Ghetto", which is ridiculous but can you do?).

It's all within Carroll ISD, unlike places just to the west where you'd have to "opt-in".

As others have said, location wise it's a little west of where you'd prefer to be, and trickier to get to 114 now with the construction going on up at Dove. Given your commute, that might be the biggest negative. In your situation I would also look at parts of Colleyville that aren't too far west of 121 as an alternative. In general, Colleyville seems to be a little less expensive per SF than Southlake comparing apples to apples and the commute might be a little better, although there is no good answer given what they're making you do.

As you say, with a tract home closing in on 20 years old, you'll want to set aside some of your budget for updates/renovation (but as also noted, don't go too crazy).

A friend of mine once gave the advice "get the cheapest house you can in the best area you can". For the most part, I agree with that. In Southlake, I'd also recommend checking the subdivisions just east and west of White Chapel between 1709 and Highland (easier to get to 114 and not as far west). There are "older" homes (late 80's to mid 90's) there that might be OK on $/sf, and the lots tend to be larger.