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Old 05-16-2010, 08:52 PM
 
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Hello,

My wife, 7 month old and I will be moving to Dallas in a few months. I'll be working near I-635/I-75.

From the internet research we've done, we are definitely liking what we've seen about Murphy because of schools (Plano district), being able to get a larger plot of land and it not being too congested yet.

We are hoping to stay in the 300-350k range if that's possible and would highly prefer new construction.

Any recommendations on builder/community within Murphy? We would like to be in PISD. Based on what we've read in the forums, we are getting wary of Grand Homes, but on paper they seem to be the cheapest per sq ft. From what we've found, Rolling Ridge and Eagle Glen seem to be the only two subdivisions that offer new construction and are part of PISD. Are there others we should be considering?

Thanks in advance!
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Old 05-16-2010, 11:08 PM
 
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Hunter's Landing phase 5 also has new construction. Currently the builders are Shaddock and M. Christopher and maybe one other. The Mayor is actually building in that neighborhood right now.

Any of the neighborhoods will be good although I do recommend against Grand in Murphy. Big time.

I'm in Rolling Ridge and LOVE it. I volunteered up at the school for Field Day Friday even though I don't have kids at the school. But my BFF was the coordinator and I know a ton of the moms and kids so it just was way fun for me. And Saturday night we had a wine tasting/contest. Totally fun event. We'll also have a summer fun event at the end of the month (big neighborhood wide block party) and there's some happy hours planned at a local restaurant's patio. Plus they are trying to get a trip together to see the Rough Riders.

Oh and as far as PISD goes, one of the newly elected school trustees lives in RR and she rocks. Very engaged and very open to hearing thoughts and opinions. I expect PISD will only get better know that the 15-16 year tenured people are moving off.
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Old 05-17-2010, 10:30 AM
 
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Thanks for the tips. Do you think Shaddock or M. Christopher could come in the 300-350 range? We ideally want 4BR, ~3000sq ft.

Also, is anyone else building in Rolling Ridge besides Grand Homes?

Sounds like RR is a nice place to live.
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Old 05-17-2010, 12:36 PM
 
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
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Shaddock is in the high 475-700 range in Rolling Ridge. They are also building in Hunter's Landing and the only floorplan that they have that would be around 350K is a 1 story with 2600Sf. they could build a gameroom + bath upstairs to make it around 3000SF for about 365K. That is in Plano ISD as well.

There is another community in east Plano The Trails of Glenwood where First Texas Homes are building and you can get a lot of house for the money like a 3600SF loaded with upgrades for around 300K. DR Horton and Grand are building in the community as well. They purchased the lots from 2 builders that have shut down.

Naima
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Old 05-17-2010, 02:42 PM
 
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Good info to know!

How does First Texas Homes compare to Grand Homes in terms of build quality / service / reputation?

We are looking at Trails of Glenwood too although we are a little wary of the smaller lot size vs Murphy. That being said, it may turn out that based on budget we'll have to make that trade-off.
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Old 05-17-2010, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
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FTH is a good builder in my opinion. It is owned by a small family and they have less than 20 floorplans that they build and because they are so popular and sell very well they are not messing with the formula. They don't spend any money on marketing and that is one of the reasons they keep their prices lower.

The lots in Trails of Glenwood are pretty large. 80 X 125 and some are a little bit deeper to 140. That's HUGE for the suburbs where most builders are maximizing revenue by stacking up as many homes into smaller lots.

Naima
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Old 05-17-2010, 03:20 PM
 
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80x125 is a decent lot size. That's about the same as the lot size in Murphy. I got quoted 85x125 for Grand Homes lots in Rolling Ridge / Eagle Glen.

Good to know! We'll look into Trails of Glenwood a bit more as well.
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Old 05-18-2010, 12:35 AM
 
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Drees is the other builder in Hunter's Landing. Checked last night. And there's a few homes for sale, built but being sold other than by the builder.

Naima, when I talked to the Shaddock salesman a few months ago, they'd brought back another floorplan that Sotherby had in RR and Aviary. 7403 but I think it's maybe 7304 now. He didn't have any planned, just an option. That was 3600 sf 4 bedroom. It's my same floor plan with a few tweaks. We love ours. And I'm thinking in HL, that would be in line with what she's looking at price wise.

One of the founders of M Christopher actually lives in RR. I'm not sure they are going to be in the price range, but being more custom builders that's a flexibility.

As far as other builders in RR, I'm not sure. It's mostly Shaddock or Shaddock partner companies. Or Grand in Phase 4. Park Ave and Oakley were both building in 4, but when the economy took a dive I believe they both pulled out. I'll keep an eye out while I'm running around. But 4 will probably be more in your price range. Shaddock has gone a little nuts back in Phase 5 and the houses are enormous.
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Old 05-18-2010, 08:59 AM
 
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Thanks for the info. Very useful!

So you think Shaddock with that 3600 sq ft plan would be in the 300-350k range? That could be interesting. Although their website shows 386,900 starting for 7304. I guess they would come off of that though

We are still a bit wary of Grand Homes, so Shaddock sounds better.

Any thoughts on the Villas at Stoney Hollow/Ryland Homes? They seem to be in our price range, but the exterior of the house definitely seems a different style than Grand Homes or Shaddock.

Being that East Plano and West Murphy go into the same PISD, what are the differences in living in either of those locations, or is it pretty similar? How do they differ in terms of real estate appreciation or lack thereof?
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Old 05-18-2010, 09:16 AM
 
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I would be very surprised if they could actually get that amount for that home. We didn't even pay that in the throws of the real estate boom. :-)

West Murphy is new. I don't think there are many homes even 10 years old. There's new parks being developed as we speak, median beautification going on, active HOAs. My home took a hit this year, but we fully anticipate it going up before we ever consider selling.

East Plano is mostly older neighborhoods with a few newer ones around. The newer ones will be similar to what you find in Murphy. And there is a great park right - Bob Woodruff - that has a wonderful trail system. Since E. Plano is older the fluctuation in home value is probably going to be much less overall than the areas with a lot of newer stock.

The other thing to consider is that NW Murphy kids will all attend Murphy schools until the 11th grade when they will feed to Plano East. Hunt (the areas you are looking at all go there), then Murphy MS, then the new 9-10 McMillen HS. East Plano, depending on where you are looking will feed to Hickey (great school) and then to Armstrong MS and then onto McMillen and PESH.

Armstrong is currently the lowest performing school in the district. It was ranked Academically Unacceptable last year. However, that was due to one sub-category failing to pass one test at "acceptable" levels. And honestly when I looked at the numbers it really looked like they failed to count a whole classroom's test. Seemed "off." And there is a renewed focus on assisting the elementary schools that feed into Armstrong so that all students entering MS are better prepared, regardless of socio-economic status.
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