Seeking advice! - To build custom (Lucas, Seis Lagos) or to buy (West Allen/Mckinney) (Dallas: leasing)

[DallasChoices]

My husband and I have jobs in Plano and are looking to move up from our starter home now that we have young ones.
Our original thought had always been to build on our own land - that way we can build exactly what we need, and also have something bigger than the typical 65 ft lot.
We have seen some wonderful custom home communities (like Seis Lagos) where it seems that our dreams can be a possibility.

Right now however we are really torn on whether it is much more practical to buy something existing in West Allen and have a much shorter commute to work, since there are so many homes on the market and with current conditions you can buy a lot more that what you can build from scratch. We are also thinking ahead with regards to school districts as well. The new phase in Seis Lagos for instance is all Wylie ISD. how does that compare to schools in West Allen? What would parents out there recommend?

At the end of the day we are just wondering if in the long run, we are much better off buying or even building with a tract home builder in West Allen - from a practical standpoint.

We would very much appreciate some opinions, especially if you had made a choice where you chose between the two options and what you like/don't like about your decision in hindsight.
Or if you "had" to make a choice between the two - which way would you lean and why?

[tstal]

Dallas,

I think your main concern should be the school district selection. As you mentioned there are plenty of great homes on the market in Allen (I live in Twin Creeks II) but you could build on your own lot in Lucas or Parker. Some really love the Lovejoy district, but others do not. Allen has one high school and it is huge, at one point in the past few years being the fifth largest in Texas. It does, however have a multitude of elementary schools, and my son's kindergarten class has 22 students. Most of the elementary schools in Allen ISD are rated exemplary.

Shopping and access to ammenities are also a concern. Seis Lagos would be about a 10-15 minute drive to groceries, and a bit farther to places like Home Depot, or a good assortment of restaraunts.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your decision.

Tom

[backtotx]

We live in Seis Lagos and love it. We are in the phase of Seis Lagos that attend Lovejoy schools and our kids have settled really well there and are loving it also. I either go to Wylie for groceries or to Allen, although we may drive a little further to get to stores, you really don't notice it as you are in lovely countryside. The new homes in Seis Lagos do look nice but Wylie schools just don't match up to Lovejoy or Allen for that matter. We did consider Allen but didn't like the idea of such a huge high school.

Also, did you check out the management office at Seis Lagos? There are two plots on our street that have not been built on yet, our house is twelve years old and it is a very treed area. DM me if you need further info.

[DallasChoices]

thanks so much for the insight given from both sides!
It does seem to be that school district is a big concern. We are definitely years and years away from highschool (we are a very young family) but elementary school is definitely something worth looking at critically.
I don't know too much about the school system as we are not originally from this area, but it would certainly be important to have our kids go to a very good school with low teacher-child ratios and good education.
It seems that from everything I hear, Allen or Lovejoy are much more highly desired than Wylie, which could rule out that development phase in Seis Lagos (those are all Wylie ISD).

[hgreg]

Several years ago we had started building a home in Allen, but due to builder issues, we decided we needed to buy a resale instead. We ended up finding a home in the Lovejoy ISD and have never looked back! Allen schools are very good, but they are not rated as high as Lovejoy. Our kids have all done very well at Lovejoy. The parental involvement is quite high, which helps. We are considering selling or leasing our current home, BUT staying in Lovejoy ISD! Good luck with your plans.