Dal-rock area of Rowlett (Dallas, Garland: fit in, for sale, mortgage)

[cue]

Now I know there is some people who have very very strong opinions about Rowlett, and I'm not wanting to get into a debate about how much you hate or love the city as a whole! I'm just looking for info about this small area(Dal-rock) of Rowlett.......

If you live there let me know what the deal is with it, the area I'm looking at is along the lake in the Rockwall school district area. I've heard it used to be mostly retirees and that is changing into more families, is that the case?????

Also snakes are a big fear, should it be in that area????

Is there anything really important that I should know about this area, besides the high water bills and potholes, those are not dealbreakers!!!!!

[FalconheadWest]

You should know that until Bush finishes getting built, Dalrock is the only street out of the area and the traffic is horrible! It could take you 15 minutes just to go from I30 to 66. Other than that, it's just a bunch of older homes, mostly built in the 70's, though there are some newer sections.

[momof2dfw]

First off it is Dalrock (there is no hyphen).

That area is within the City Limits of Rowlett but in Rockwall County w/ Rockwall Schools. There is only 1 elementary school in Rowlett for the Rockwall ISD and there will NOT be another (Cullins - Lake Pointe Elem) and it is a VERY BIG SCHOOL as far as elem schools go. For jr high and high school the schools are across the bridge IN Rockwall. There are also zilch plans to put a jr high or high school in Rowlett to serve Rockwall ISD students on that side of the lake. Your talking a long drive (in terms of commuting to school) in heavy morning rush hour traffic to get your kids across the lake to school in the mornings and then back home or off to work. The schools are not right on the other side either in Rockwall. It could easily take you 20-30 minutes just to get your kids to school in the morning over in Rockwall. Yes, bus service is provided but not for before or after school activities.

Dalrock Rd traffic is HORRIBLE!!!!! Even on weekends it can be crazy.
The Dalrock and Hwy 66 intersection is a busy intersection. For folks in Garland and beyond the only way to get to Rockwall and beyond is thru Rowlett. With all of the road construction going on in Rowlett that seems to be never ending most people take the 1 road of their 2 options that is without construction or the least amount of construction. Until 190 comes thru it is not going to be any better.

The housing is a mix. You have the much older Fox & Jacobs homes (of which most have not been kept up that well), then you have a bit newer (late 80's-early 90's) tract homes. A few older custom homes closer to the lake and on the three "circles" that go right off of Dalrock close to Miller. Another pocket of newer tract homes built in the 90's. Across from the elem school and back behind the hospital you have a pocket of Centex homes built late 90's to early 2000. There is also a small pocket of zero lot line patio homes. And then the one small new construction gated street right off of Dalrock close to the railroad tracks. That new development has been under construction w/ lots being for sale for well over 3 years. You will notice that most of the lots are still for sale and only a few homes actually built and lived in. Values overall in this area have not gone up. Most have gone down in the last few years.

As for who lives in this area - there are a lot of families in that area. That is one reason why the elem school is so large. There might be a few seniors that have lived there for many years and have stayed put but it is not a "magnet" for seniors by any means.

If your trying to decide between other areas and The Shores still - GO WITH THE SHORES!!!!!! Not only a MUCH better area w/ more "prestige" and MUCH CLOSER to the schools you also get a LOWER property tax rate (take a look at these forums and all of the people moving here from California complaining about the high property tax rate) because the City of Rowlett has one of the highest property tax rates around. If the high water bills don't bother you then you might be okay but I refuse to be robbed by a city that keeps increasing the water rates (3 times this year alone - so I'm glad I no longer own property there). There is a forum that is solely Rowlett - take a visit over there and you will see that the discontent for the city right now is VERY HIGH! Their rates on property taxes and city services are going up yet services are being cut like crazy. I'm just letting you know this so that you won't become one of those people that moves here and ends up in an area w/ very high property tax rates and city services and then thinks it is like this all over the state. Not all areas are equal even here.

[cue]

Sorry about how I spelled Dalrock, I thought thats how its spelled. The shores vs. the lake area in Dalrock part of Rowlett. We are still looking at both. But the fact that my husband hates cookie cutter subdivisions throws a huge rake in what we will both settle on. Coming from Ca. the taxes don't seem as extreme as it would be to those who live in texas. Because even though we pay 1.2% tax on our house now, it will still be the the same amount of tax money as if we buy a $250,000 home there with out the $3100 a month mortage payment before taxes on my 1400 sqft house that I have here. Coming from Ca. We are used to big schools and driving a distance for everything. And as for traffic, I don't think you really ever have experience traffic like here, all the guys my husband travels with for work come out here and can't understand how anyone would deal with the traffic here. As for city services or crappy city govt, well that's like hitting most cities in Ca. on the nose. Not that I don't love the state for what it has to offer, but we have all the problems that affect Rowlett as a whole. In most suburbs of LA county that are not HOA's you have one good street and one crappy street, that's Cali living for you. So moving anywhere in Texas is going to be so much better even with the problems Rowlett is suffering now. And as for water bills, every bill is high here. Gosh I didn't run my air but all of but three days this summer and my electric bill was still $200 dollars, and that's with no one being home most days during the day, you'd be amazed what we pay out her for everything, I know were crazy out here to accept it, but we just do!!!!! We just wondered if living lakeside in Rowlett is a peace thing. It looks so pretty and all were looking for is a slower pace of life. I think the shores sounds nice and it is still high up on the list, but I'm just trying to get opionions in all directions good and bad!

[FalconheadWest]

Most of what mom said about is true, except some of the communities she mentioned are not in Rockwall County/schools, they are still Dallas County and Garland schools. And to compare this area to The Shores, the price ranges are complete opposite. We're talking $115-150k for the area off Dalrock (on average- yes, there are some more expensive homes), and The Shores is a much higher price range being a planned community with golf course and such... however, there are some natural springs under many of the homes in The Shores, and they can pop up at any time, so be careful over there.

[cue]

Oh and the people coming from California that complain about property taxes are those that should be slapped because here's the deal.......

If they bought the same size home that they had in Ca. the property taxes would be the same amount they were used to paying. However these are the people that sell a 2000 sqft home in Ca. for $600,000 to only go buy a 5000 sqft home for $600,000 just because they were used to paying a mortgage on a $600,000 home but didn't do there research on taxes so they feel screwed in the end. I bet these are the same people that complain about have $700 air bill in the summer!!!!! I feel no pitty for them, if they just down sized a bit they would still have a lovely home in a price range that they are used to paying.

[cue]

Here's what I'm trying to take in account. If you take out the ammenties of the shores and all the city, taxes, and water issues of Rowlett, which area is more peaceful, living on the lake in the Dalrock area of Rowlett or living a few blocks from the lake in the shores neighborhood area of Rockwall???? Here's who I am, I'm a 30 year old stay at home mom of two who has always been really involved with my kids school. My husband has a great job and a great income but you wouldn't know it,. We drive average midpriced cars and are not into any bling, but I refuse to keep up with the Jones. I'm a tee shirt, jeans and flip flop kinda girl with a pony tail and no makeup on most days. I've from the midwest but have been in Ca. for almost 10 years, but I really never left my midwest beliefs behind. All I'm looking for is a peaceful and calmer way of living and an area of similar types of family, crap coming from Ca. anything will be more peaceful. So on that note, which area would my family fit in better?????

[momof2dfw]

Calmer, quieter and peaceful? The Shores in Rockwall HANDS DOWN!!!!! It is totally a different atmosphere. The area of Rowlett your looking at just to run to the nearest grocery store your going to be dealing w/ a LOT of traffic. Running to the corner store in Rockwall, there is a Walmart Neighborhood Market right on the corner of Lakeshore Dr. and Hwy 66 on the same side of 66 as The Shores. With the golf course, meandering streets, more "nature" and "open spaces" it is by far the best of these two options. Unless your living right ON THE LAKE on the Rowlett side your not going to know "I live on the lake".

Oh, and yes, I've personally dealt w/ the traffic in California. YIKES!!! Drives me CRAZY every time. I could NOT do it on a daily basis at all.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by cue

Oh and the people coming from California that complain about property taxes are those that should be slapped because here's the deal.......

If they bought the same size home that they had in Ca. the property taxes would be the same amount they were used to paying. However these are the people that sell a 2000 sqft home in Ca. for $600,000 to only go buy a 5000 sqft home for $600,000 just because they were used to paying a mortgage on a $600,000 home but didn't do there research on taxes so they feel screwed in the end. I bet these are the same people that complain about have $700 air bill in the summer!!!!! I feel no pitty for them, if they just down sized a bit they would still have a lovely home in a price range that they are used to paying.

Totally agree with you here. It amazes me everytime. Read on these boards and you will see this often, "why is it so cheap". What they are NOT taking into account are all of the expenses that go into a much LARGER home. But they feel that in order to justify the move to Texas or most anywhere outside of California they have to find the BIGGEST & newest house w/ EVERY option possible. Not knowing that the next year they won't be able to afford it or the upkeep. That and they all seem to flock to the same so-called "hot spots" and bypass many great existing areas w/ homes w/ more character, closer to work/shopping/dining/attractions that also have a MUCH BETTER resale value.

[FarNorthDallas]

Traffic in that area is really really bad. I would also call the school and ask what kind of parental involvement they allow. Some of the bigger schools don't allow parents in the schools because they get way too many of them. My friend had a kid in a larger Rockwall elementary school and no parents were allowed in the school at all except for the work/copy room. They had about 1000 students and used to have LOTS of moms at the school every day and it was disruptive.

I understand that you are coming from CA and used to traffic (I have lived in SoCal), but you don't have to settle for that here. You have options and choices to avoid unnecessary traffic issues. I hope when George Bush/190 is finished the traffic congestion settles down in that area, but until then, it's really bad.