Lake Property in Metroplex or other? (Dallas, Fort Worth: real estate, foreclosure, lease)

[onlyinboards]

Hello, first post. My wife, 3 kids and I are planning on moving to Texas. We have decided to move there due to the great home prices and weather. We want to live on the lake year round.

We'd like an area with:

1. good schools
2. full time residents (non seasonal)
3. boat docks/lifts available
4. good water for waterskiing/wakeboarding

the places we've considered are:

Granbury, Waxahachie, Ray Hubbard, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Creek Lakes. I work from home and my wife is a teacher so the commute really isn't an issue.

Any input would be great! The Metroplex is so big that checking out all the lakes in even a weeks time is almost impossible so we're trying to narrow it down.

Other suggestions welcome as well. Price range is 550 - 675k

[munchcolo]

It sounds like you're going through the same process that my wife and I did recently. We're relocating to the Dallas area and want to be on or right next to a large recreational lake. Here are my impressions of the Metroplex lakes we looked at:

Lake Ray Hubbard-Great lake with lots of powerboating, sailing, and fishing opportunities. To me, it seemed more "built out", i.e., not many newer available subdivisions near the lake, at least in areas we liked. We were looking primarily on the east side of the lake, around Rockwall.

Joe Pool Lake-Not as big as Ray Hubbard, but still plenty big, and a really nice lake. We looked only at the Grand Peninsula/Mira Lagos area. It was fine, but it didn't ring our bell.

Lake Granbury-We drove there one afternoon. It's really pretty out there, but we didn't realize how far out it was until we got there. We ruled it out because we need to be closer to the airports.

Lake Lewisville (east side)-Ding, ding, ding. This is what we settled on. It is a really big lake, and I understand that it gets a lot of traffic during the summer. Nevertheless, we really liked what we saw. There are several new subdivisions near the water. We chose one called The Tribute. You can see it at thetribute dot com. In your price range, you can buy a really nice house there. I don't know much about the schools there; we are empty nesters, so schools were not an important part of our decision making process.

You didn't say what kind of house you're looking for. Do you want a new house or existing construction? Do you want a newer subdivision or an established neighborhood? Large lot or average subdivision lot size?

You can pm me if you want more information on how we arrived at where we ended up.

[nsumner]

I grew up on the mediterranean and when I moved to Texas, I just had to be by a big body of water, so Eagle Mountain Lake was first (I just didn't know better, we had a very short time to choose a house and we bought there), but then we had to move closer to Dallas and we ended up by Lake Ray Hubbard. We absolutely love it here.

Here's a with info about the different lakes.

North Texas / Dallas Fort Worth area lakes at a glance

Lake Ray Hubbard is very beautiful. If you are looking particularly at waterfront property where you can have a boat dock, it can be achieved up to 675K but difficult. It is really very desirable and when waterfront homes on the right side of the lake come on the market they usually sell within a couple of days.

Grandbury is beautiful too. I haven't been there in about 6 months but I agree with munchcolo, it is very far to anywhere. It is much more affordable though. Catalina Bay is a nice community with new waterfront homes within your budget and the architecture changes from mediterranean to contemporary which is refreshing for the area to steer from the cookie cutter style. There are some homes that are beauties in other waterfront communities.

Eagle Mountain lake, I actually still own a house on there. It's also a nice lake. There are very few areas where there is some good frontage such as an area called "Lake Country" or in Azle in a community called "Oak Harbor". Those are the 2 communities in my opinion that have the best frontage.

Lewisville lake is very popular for boating. It's also one of the largest ones too. I don't believe The Tribute has waterfront lots, but it is indeed a nice community with some beautiful waterviews. The school district is Little Elm. There is a community very close to The Tribute called Wynnwood Haven Estates that has some very nice homes on the water. Highland Village, Shady Shores, on the west side of the Lake have a couple of communities with some homes on the water. Many of them are in a cove instead of the main body. Little Elm has several custom homes that are not within a specific community that are waterfront.

Cedar Creek reservoir, I am not too familiar with but I have seen some beautiful waterfront estates advertized there in an area called Pinnacle Club which has a country club and it's in the city of Mabank. I think it's about 90 minutes from downtown Dallas... may be someone more familiar with the area will chime in with more accurate details.

You can probably visit all areas within a week's time.

Naima

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by onlyinboards

We want to live on the lake year round.

We'd like an area with:

1. good schools
2. full time residents (non seasonal)
3. boat docks/lifts available
4. good water for waterskiing/wakeboarding

the places we've considered are:

Granbury, Waxahachie, Ray Hubbard, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Creek Lakes. I work from home and my wife is a teacher so the commute really isn't an issue.

Price range is 550 - 675k

I'm going to start w/ the lakes and that will dicate the rest.

Granbury - As has already been mentioned this is a bit far to be away from the city. Granted, if your not commuting to work in Ft Worth (closer than Dallas) it would be doable. Your wife being a teacher should be able to find a job nearby. Schools, don't really know the schools that well in that area. Granbury USED to be mostly part time residents and retirees. That has changed some but not a lot. More full time retirees though and less weekenders. You can build a boat dock/lift on this lake. Not a big lake though.

Waxahachie - ???? The only "lakes" out here are small private lakes.

Lake Ray Hubbard - There are 5 cities that have shoreline on Hubbard and each have their own school district. Rockwall, Heath (both part of the Rockwalll ISD), Sunnyvale, Rowlett & Garland (both in the Garland ISD). In your price range Rockwall & Heath are going to be your best bet. Only a few years ago did the City of Dallas (who owns the lake) released the take line to the cities to lease back to the property owners that back up to the lake. Now you can build a boat house/lift on the lake (only 2 companies have the rights to build them though but both are very good). VERY easy to get into downtown Dallas yet still like your "out there a bit" w/ some peace and quiet. GREAT lake and much better than most area lakes in terms of smaller crowds. The schools in Rockwall ISD and Garland ISD are great. Rockwalll is still growing school wise and size wise. There is not much lake frontage left at all but you can find homes that are on the lake. Price might be a bit higher than what your looking at unless you stepped down in quality and age of home quite a bit. There are now several developments along the shores of the lake for boaters to tie up and get a bite to eat. This is a full time resident area and no weekenders and not really a TRUE "retiree" destination like lakes further out are.

Eagle Mountain - smaller lake. Not sure if you can build a boat dock/house out here at all. I highly doubt it due to the size of the lake. Marinas are going to be your best bet. Still being "developed" even after all of these years. Not as popular as other area lakes for development. Does get the weekend crowds though from that side of Dallas and surrounding communities.

Cedar Creek Lake - both sets of grandparents lived out here while I was growing up. Have several friends w/ lake houses out there. CROWDED!!!!!! Houses are built much closer together than in some closer in burbs. You can stand on your deck and talk to your neighbors on theirs. The size of the boat dock/house your allowed to build depends on the size of your lot and house. There are some houses and developments that are not so close together but they are going to be well above your price range. This lake also attracts more weekenders and retirees.

Lewisville Lake - this was mentioned by others. You can NOT build a boat dock/house on this lake. Your only option is one that rolls out for when you want it and then roll it back up when your done for the day. More like a pier and not a boat dock/house. There are several marinas around the lake to keep your boat though. This is a Corp of Engineers lake. This lake is the most CROWDED and DANGEROUS lake in the entire DFW area. It is not dangerous in and of itself but by the many MANY MANY people that use it. A lot do not know how to swim and go out further than they should (case this past weekend w/ several drownings here). Boating safety is also hard here due to the sheer numbers on the lake. I grew up being on this lake a lot as well and will hardly get on it now. Only have due to friends living there and that is it. It is closer to more entertainment, jobs, shopping, etc than some but ties w/ being in Rockwall on Hubbard and might be even worse due to high volumes of traffic on that side of the metroplex. I'd take Rockwall or Heath any day. Someone mentioned The Tribute earlier and there are not any lake front lots there but the golf course does have some lakefront. Lke Hubbard there are several cities/towns that border this lake as well: Lewisville, Highland Village, The Colony, Little Elm, Denton, Shady Shores, Lake Dallas.

In a nutshell the only lake you have mentioned that comes close to meeting your requests is Lake Ray Hubbard.

[$DFW8$]

Lake Ray Hubbard is going to be your best bet if you're wanting to have a house right by the water and be very close to everything. I would check into Chandlers Landing in Rockwall. Its right by the water and it's gated. If you're a teacher, then you are going to have no trouble getting a job, because all the school districts around there are growing fast, so they're having to build new schools and hire more teachers all the time.

[txlegalpro]

If good schools are your main concern, you should go with Rockwall or Heath on Lake Ray Hubbard. Excellent schools here, but waterfront property is at a premium. The good news is you will be making the best investment you ever made. I live on Lake Ray Hubbard, and have been investing in and selling real estate for 20 years, and I have always made the most money on lake front or good lake view properties. I live in Rowlett, across the lake from Rockwall, where you can find some less expensive properties and older neighborhoods with no HOA - I prefer it here because it is just more laid back, but you may prefer the other side since you have a young family and there are more social activities there. I live in the Dallas County side of Rowlett, but a portion of Rowlett is in Rockwall County, so if you buy there your kids would go to Rockwall schools.

If you are looking for a steal, I have found some great deals for clients on Eagle Mountain Lake. It is one of the few lakes around with actual lake front properties in foreclosure, but one of the reasons is the high taxes there.

[txlegalpro]

Also, you can have private boat docks on your property in Rowlett, but not Rockwall. Heath has recently approved docks, but they are still writing the legislation to determine the building requirements. I expect Heath to be much stricter about their docks than Rowlett (they will probably want them to match your house. LOL) However, even though you will find the most expensive lake properties in Heath, it is on a gorgeous area of the lake and this will be a great time to get in - once the dock allowance in Heath is official and residents start building them, it will increase the property values substantially.

[destin04]

We are only 1 hour 5 minutes from the metroplex....
Check it out!
Hideaway Lake Club, Inc.

[rosscountry]

Joe Pool Lake Dallas

you would be able to build or buy a nice home within that price range.

This is one of the closest drive to downtown dallas that is a lake community and easy access to many attractions in Dallas and FT. Worth. Plenty of family activities in the actual community itself. It is also just a few minutes a way from one of the largest state parks in Texas.

there is a waiting list for waterfront for lake ray hubbard so that is out.

getting something with views of whiterock lake in Dallas will be tough as well.

Lake Lewisville and lake dallas areas are getting built up and traffic is an adventure to get into Dallas.

(I am assuming that easy access to Dallas and Ft. Worth attractions are important to you)

[area]

How far of a drive is it to downtown fort worth from rockwall or rowlett?
What type of deals are you aware of in eagle mountain? Is it a big differance in taxes in eagle mountain compared to other lake communities? I hope to be relocating within the next 6 months or sooner.
Anita