Yet another "Where should I buy a house" ? (Dallas: rentals, HOA)

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by Rakin

LOL... In McKinney TX today between $300-400k (his price range) there are 7 houses available on the market with 4 of those being older than 1991. That's a huge price rage and very few houses.

That's not a "Ton of Inventory" and the cheapest is $190 / sqft with the most expensive at $313 /sqft. That also ain't "cheap". And it would be a very long commute for OP to the FTW / Keller areas plus nowhere what he's looking for in a comminity.

OTOH there are 80 homes in that price range "Under Contract". In the last 90 days 163 homes have closed. No one considers McKinney ghetto. It's selling like crazy.

The 7 homes is less than 3-4 days Inventory and I'd bet several of those are already under contract, the others are in serious need of repair.

You need to stop spouting crap you don't have the data to back up.

Yeah, I have seen the "Nobody is moving to McKinney and there are plenty of houses there for DIRT CHEAP" type comment posted on this forum several times (probably from that same poster), and it's CERTAINLY not true and makes me wonder if maybe they are talking about McKinney, Alabama instead of McKinny, Texas. You can't talk about the lack of inventory, skyrocketing house prices, bidding wars, etc. in the Northern burbs without talking about McKinney. At one point, all the transplants I knew who were moving to North Texas were looking in or buying in McKinney, and they certainly weren't "ghetto" or low income earners.

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by UP 270

How come no one is suggesting anything south of Arlington? Everyone pretty much is promoting points north. How about Cravens Park, Lynn Creek Park, and surrounding areas south of the 20. Forgive my ignorance if the answer to this question is glaringly obvious.

Also, why is no one saying wait a year for the market to improve for buyers.

As a matter of principle, I'm not going to be one of those people paying over the house's value. I'm determined to pay nothing out of pocket; I'm all about the 0 down VA home loan. Yet another reason I'm thinking new construction is my only choice. I'm willing to have a longer commute; I'm not willing to be a sucker.

People have def been writing that you should wait. No one has a crystal ball so its all opinion on the wait or not issue. My personal belief is that you should keep your nose in the air and if you find something that feels right, just go for it.

More jobs just happen to be in the Northern sector of the metro. So, if you are actively dating, you’ll likely find more people with careers living north of I-30.. Traffic is crazy busy.

I am a Landlord and my personal experience with applicants is that I generally don’t get single people applying for my places south of I-30.

In your situation, I’d look mid-cities “ish” between North Irving (Las Colinas & Valley Ranch) and North FTW (Arlington Heights). That includes many, many different cities and communities.

P.S. Locals NEVER say “the” 20. We just say 20, 30, etc. “the” is a dead giveaway that you are a newbie

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by tcualum

Which is more important to you: dating or owning a home? Unless you are prepared to join a megachurch that has a robust singles ministry, it will be difficult to buy something you want at your price point in an area that has lots of single women. Also, the commute up 360 from south of 30 is horrendous, especially since they're redoing the intersection of I30 and 360. You need to do the commute both ways before you settle on a location because the traffic in DFW can be horrendous and you don't want to have to pay a sky-high toll bill to have a decent commute.

Yeah, OP seems to want it all and not be willing to budge on anything on his wish list; he's going to have to decide which is more inportant to him to focus on in such a wide, spread out, and heavily congested area like DFW that has such a tight, virtually impossible housing market to break into: The single life of a young bachelor who wants to be close to all the action where he can go out and chase single women...or the life of a guy in his 40s who has a great income and wants to invest in a house that will appreciate and help him "build wealth," that will most likely be in a suburb full of married stay-at-home moms.

I say keep renting and rent in an area that is more single-friendly vs. family oriented, especially since he is already way behind the 8 Ball anyway, moving to a white hot, super tight housing market like DFW and thinking the prices might *possibly* go down a year from now, and that a 0% down VA loan is going to be enough to put him first in line for a desirable home in a desirable area in front of tons of folks moving to DFW with CASH to pay in full, pay a huge downpayment that's WAY above the 0% down he has to offer, or to bid WAY over asking price.

Good luck, OP...

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Then you’re probably not going to get a house in this market.

Our experience as sellers:
We listed our Grapevine house at 7PM on Thursday, and started showing at noon on Friday. Over the next 54 hours, our house had 37 showings, and a 2-hour open house that had about 25 more people attend. We stopped showings at 6PM on Sunday, and we had 12 “best and final” offers in hand by Monday at 5PM. The one we chose waived appraisal, option period, and inspections, paid title policy, offered $25k over asking price, and gave us 30 days to vacate after closing. There were several others close behind it that didn’t waive things, offered a lower sale price, etc. Many wrote letters to us practically begging us to let them buy our house.

The parts of South Grand Prairie you mention are Ok. You may be able to find a good house there.

^^^ Pay close attention to this post, OP, because this is the TRUE reality of the DFW housing market these days, and it's not magically going to get any better in one year's time. If anything, it will just get WORSE, which it has been doing every year for about 10 years now...

[texstout]

Because its a sellers market right now, many sellers may not choose a VA backed loan as they are looking for someone able to pay cash, wave an inspection, possibly pay over appraisal, etc. Even new construction will have its issues with a VA loan in this market - I've know people who've had their contracts ripped up after waiting almost a year for their new build as construction costs bloomed and now the builder decided to charge more for their home.

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by Julio July

or the life of a guy in his 40s who has a great income and wants to invest in a house that will appreciate and help him "build wealth," that will most likely be in a suburb full of married stay-at-home moms.

I know plenty of suburban women in their late 30s/early 40s that are getting divorced. They'll have kids, of course, so that's up to OP to decide if he's willing to go that route.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by Rakin

LOL... In McKinney TX today between $300-400k (his price range) there are 7 houses available on the market with 4 of those being older than 1991. That's a huge price rage and very few houses.

That's not a "Ton of Inventory" and the cheapest is $190 / sqft with the most expensive at $313 /sqft. That also ain't "cheap". And it would be a very long commute for OP to the FTW / Keller areas plus nowhere what he's looking for in a comminity.

OTOH there are 80 homes in that price range "Under Contract". In the last 90 days 163 homes have closed. No one considers McKinney ghetto. It's selling like crazy.

The 7 homes is less than 3-4 days Inventory and I'd bet several of those are already under contract, the others are in serious need of repair.

You need to stop spouting crap you don't have the data to back up.

My guess, and it's only a guess, is that from my interactions with quite a few McKinney residents over the years is that they always seem to measure McKinney's success and failure in relation to its neighbor Frisco. Whether that is done consciously or subconsciously I dont know. Now we all know that Mckinney is a perfectly fine city in its own right, and yes the housing market over there is just as crazy as it is everywhere else in the metroplex, but I'd guess that it is not nearly as hot as that of Frisco. So the perception tends to be what you are hearing from Leonard; that it's cheap blah blah when in fact the opposite is the truth.

[FreeVilley]

Rent for now in-town, in dallas or fort worth. Invest your down payment in some other investment vehicle. Meet a fiance, and from there possibly have a new home built. There is very little new construction under 400K... possibly some new construction put up on a lot that had a tear down in a speculative gentrifying area.

[mastershake575]

Originally Posted by UP 270

Also, why is no one saying wait a year for the market to improve for buyers.

Because it's wishful thinking. All waiting does in a desireable area is push the demand farther down the line. I'm not saying things are going to get much worst or might not get slightly better but reality is when you have 80% of people trying to buy right now that can't all that does it push things farther down the line (next year those 80% along with the people who originally planned on buying next year are all still going to be trying to get a house).

[Leonard123]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

My guess, and it's only a guess, is that from my interactions with quite a few McKinney residents over the years is that they always seem to measure McKinney's success and failure in relation to its neighbor Frisco. Whether that is done consciously or subconsciously I dont know. Now we all know that Mckinney is a perfectly fine city in its own right, and yes the housing market over there is just as crazy as it is everywhere else in the metroplex, but I'd guess that it is not nearly as hot as that of Frisco. So the perception tends to be what you are hearing from Leonard; that it's cheap blah blah when in fact the opposite is the truth.

I look at all surrounding cities, particularly Allen, Melissa, Plano, and to some extent Frisco, Prosper, and Celina. Some of them are farther out and uglier and should be cheaper. I compare houses that were valued about the same just a year or two ago. I can see from my agent's comps that my own neighborhood has not gone up one penny from last year and that houses in my neighborhood do not sell much above list and some sit on the market for a long time. Until June of last year, it was going up right along with everyone else. What happened all of a sudden then? It looks as though nearly everyone else had an increase in the last year. My real estate agent flat out told me it would not ever see much appreciation but also did not expect any decline, all due to its age. But that is not a barrier elsewhere. In this market though, that is a decline. There is no reason the price gap by age should vary by location or over time. I also saw sales data in the local paper showing that the east side saw a significant price drop from the prior year. Yet Melissa is now more expensive and affluent! What?! Relative to the whole county, it was all lower. Population did not increase in the last year or two. It seems to be about the worst place to be. I do see a sharp contrast among nearly identical neighborhoods and schools around McKinney so don't really get it. It was much more uniform up until June 2021. I know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I'm looking at real numbers, and I've been looking at them a long time.

It's crazy in some neighborhoods. Mine is a buyer's market for sure, and within the city it's not alone.