Don't care about commute - McKinney, Plano, Frisco? (Prosper: houses, neighborhood)

[UnfairPark]

Whole McKinney ISD only has 4-5 NMSF. It may not tell you much but clears up one point, you are not getting an academically rigorous and high performing cohort though individual cases may vary. If you can ignore this fact, your housing dollar stretches farthest in McKinney as it’s not as popular as Frisco due to longer commute and weaker schools.

[UnfairPark]

Is this an error or does whole MISD only has 4 NMSF?

[GigiTer]

I hope you have a planning trip marked to look and tour the schools and communities before you concentrate so much on particular house hunt. We are recent transplants and ended up changing what we thought was our target area based on school tours and city “feel”. Your 3,500 plus, newer, community pool home can be found in lots of neighborhoods all over the metroplex.

[keribeth818]

It's been awhile since I've looked at pricing but you might find what you are looking for in the Eldorado area of McKinney. Valley Creek elementary, big, older homes with large lots and mature trees.

[souryab]

Thank you everyone for all this information. I will focus my search on the mentioned areas.

Thank you for the insight on the National Merit list. I've been focusing on Great Schools rating, but it seems I need to consider other metrics as well to evaluate schools.

GigiTier, which community did you end up buying in?

[NTXPerson]

Also, take a look at the website, txschools.gov. This website is run by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). They are the branch of government responsible for public education in Texas. They have a grading system for districts and schools. They announced the grades for 2019 just last month. There is some insight there for you as well.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by souryab

Ok, first, some clarification on the title of the thread. I work as a consultant that SOMETIMES requires me to fly out to client locations. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, a lot of clients are available via teleconferencing allowing me to work from home On the rare occasions I have to take a plane, I'm willing to accept a longish drive

So, what's important to me? I've compiled a comprehensive list regarding my desired house, but I think it will speak to the optimum suburb as well. Plan to buy in around Jan 2020. My family and I intend this to be our long term home (at least 15 years) till the kids move to college, so not much concerned about price appreciation (though of course it's nice to have).




Absolutely Necessary

• Budget minimum $400k, maximum $550k

• Square footage minimum 3500, maximum 5000

• Good schools, lowest acceptable rating 8 (Great Schools)

• Safety

• Bedrooms minimum 4, maximum 5

• Bathrooms minimum 3.5, maximum 6

• Media room

• No pool in house, but in neighborhood

• Max HOA $75, HOA not a pain in the ass, not free-for-all

• HOA has decent reserves, not many special assessments

• Max age of HVAC, fridge, other electricals 5 years

• Ability to independently manage HVAC for floors / sections

• Minimum garage space for 2 SUVs, no max

• Contingent on inspections and financing (20% down)

• Lots of greenery, yard

• Modern kitchen and bathrooms

• Commute not a concern

This puts you out of range for west Plano, probably. Plus, who cares how old the fridge is? What makes you think it comes with the house anyway? Don't assume it does. LOL-ing at your max HVAC age too for Plano; a house built in the 90s could have an HVAC system that's almost 30 years old...or one that was replaced last year. It's a crapshoot.

Preferred

• Projector with screen in media room

• Option to buy in-house furniture

• Ability to add solar panels

• Physical distance from neighboring houses, not too close

• Hardwood floors

• Mature trees in yard

My top 3 considerations are: schools, price, house size


Taking everything into consideration (and possibly some things I'm not aware of), please provide a ranking of the Dallas suburbs I should target with reasons for doing so. Please feel free to add more to the mix other than the three I mentioned.

1.) Buy your own projector, they sell them in basically every major electronics store.
2.) Why do you want someone else's used furniture? Gross.
3.) HOAs cannot prevent you from adding solar panels.
4.) New builds with tons of square footage and a neighborhood pool will by and large NOT be built on large lots, particularly in your price range. If you want a bigger lot, you'll have to spend more money or live in an older part of town.
5.) Hardwood floors can be installed by you, the buyer. All the houses you'll be looking at will be slabs, so installing a floating floor is a project that you can do yourself.
6.) If you want mature trees, you'll need to look at older properties. Go back to west Plano or older parts of Frisco & McKinney.

[stan4]

Literally nothing in 75093 zoned to PISD in op's price range unless it's like 2000 sq feet or way over by Coit. Plus, W Plano has no community center pools b c homes have their own pools.

[Capitalprophets]

PROSPER is where you want to end up. McKinney ISD is in no comparison. House size you mean lot size.

[HP48G]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

3.) HOAs cannot prevent you from adding solar panels.
.

My understanding is that while they can’t prevent it, the HOA still has to approve the installation, aesthetics and location of the panels....