Moving...my head is spinning.....help! (Coral Springs, Sunrise: real estate, house, landscaping)

[Frisco to Florida]

Okay.....my family is moving from a North Dallas Suburb (Frisco) to South Florida. My wife and I will both be working in the Sunrise/Sawgrass area. We have 3 boys (14/10/8) that are all very active in sports. The oldest is going into high school and football is very important.

Anyway, I've been looking at these forums for the past three weeks and my head is spinning! We are considering moving to Weston/Coral Springs/Parkland/Cooper City. Public schools are a main consideration, as is safety and the strength of real estate values.

Most of the threads that I found comparing these cities are older, so why not start a new one and make my head spin even more?

We are looking to spend about 500k on a 4/3 home. Prefer water view and pool. Also hope to have a decent football team for high school.

From what I gather reading the older threads....

Weston- nice landscaping. convenient location. home prices increasing. Overcrowded, but good schools. Very cookie-cutter homes and small lots. Will this really hold its value better than the others? Is it worth it to get a smaller, older home to be in this city?

Coral Springs- more home for the money. like some of the neighborhoods (Eagle Trace). Are the schools really that much worse than the others? People on here really seem to trash the public education here.

Parkland- good value for the money. Nice town...not as cookie-cutter as Weston. a longer commute, but not bad. Great schools. Chinese Drywall issues. Like Heron Bay.....but see a lot of homes that had sold for 800k in the mid-2000's now going for 500k. Why? Also...the High School doesn't seem that into sports. I value a good education as much as the next guy, but also would think that a school this big would have a better sports program?

Cooper City- like Country Glen. Any other nice neighborhoods? Will it hold its value the same as Weston/parkland? Good schools. Nice as nice looking as Weston?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I've spoken with a few realtors the past few weeks, and none seem to know all of these areas to well. They seem to work one, and are very biased towards that city.

Thanks!!!

[Nolefan34]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head with describing each city. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong choice. Those cities each have the best schools in the area, although South FL, and FL in general, are not known for good schools overall.

[boxus]

"but see a lot of homes that had sold for 800k in the mid-2000's now going for 500k. Why?"

Are you seriously asking this? Or you meant something else?

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by boxus

"but see a lot of homes that had sold for 800k in the mid-2000's now going for 500k. Why?"

Are you seriously asking this? Or you meant something else?

Ha, did he miss the real estate collapse that occurred in 2007-2008?

[StEt0417]

Originally Posted by Frisco to Florida

Okay.....my family is moving from a North Dallas Suburb (Frisco) to South Florida. My wife and I will both be working in the Sunrise/Sawgrass area. We have 3 boys (14/10/8) that are all very active in sports. The oldest is going into high school and football is very important.

Anyway, I've been looking at these forums for the past three weeks and my head is spinning! We are considering moving to Weston/Coral Springs/Parkland/Cooper City. Public schools are a main consideration, as is safety and the strength of real estate values.

Most of the threads that I found comparing these cities are older, so why not start a new one and make my head spin even more?

We are looking to spend about 500k on a 4/3 home. Prefer water view and pool. Also hope to have a decent football team for high school.

From what I gather reading the older threads....

Weston- nice landscaping. convenient location. home prices increasing. Overcrowded, but good schools. Very cookie-cutter homes and small lots. Will this really hold its value better than the others? Is it worth it to get a smaller, older home to be in this city?

Coral Springs- more home for the money. like some of the neighborhoods (Eagle Trace). Are the schools really that much worse than the others? People on here really seem to trash the public education here.

Parkland- good value for the money. Nice town...not as cookie-cutter as Weston. a longer commute, but not bad. Great schools. Chinese Drywall issues. Like Heron Bay.....but see a lot of homes that had sold for 800k in the mid-2000's now going for 500k. Why? Also...the High School doesn't seem that into sports. I value a good education as much as the next guy, but also would think that a school this big would have a better sports program?

Cooper City- like Country Glen. Any other nice neighborhoods? Will it hold its value the same as Weston/parkland? Good schools. Nice as nice looking as Weston?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I've spoken with a few realtors the past few weeks, and none seem to know all of these areas to well. They seem to work one, and are very biased towards that city.

Thanks!!!

We live in North Dallas not far from Frisco and moved here from broward county. We are looking to moving back. You will never find a house compared to what you have here. The homes here in North Dallas are so beautiful and cheap. But with your price range you'll def find a nice house and good schools in that those areas. I have a couple friends who live in embassy lakes in cooper city and love it. The schools are good there as well. I have another friend who lives in Parkland and the schools there are great. Her kids are big into cheerleading and the HS stoneman doughlas is great.

[StEt0417]

Originally Posted by Frisco to Florida

Coral Springs- more home for the money. like some of the neighborhoods (Eagle Trace). Are the schools really that much worse than the others? People on here really seem to trash the public education here.

Parkland- good value for the money. Nice town...not as cookie-cutter as Weston. a longer commute, but not bad. Great schools. Chinese Drywall issues. Like Heron Bay.....but see a lot of homes that had sold for 800k in the mid-2000's now going for 500k. Why? Also...the High School doesn't seem that into sports. I value a good education as much as the next guy, but also would think that a school this big would have a better sports program?



Thanks!!!

The reason why they are so cheap now is because the market crashed and florida got hit really hard! Also the education compared to how it is in North Texas is much worse, yea you can find good schools in broward county but coming from that area and then to North TX I can tell you that the schools here are much much better and you wont find a big hype of school sporting in Sfl like in Ntx. Ive noticed here that EVERYONE is really into their kids sports, you wont find that there in Sfl

[StilltheSame]

You seem to have a pretty good handle on your analysis. Now if it were my choice it would be in this order:
Parkland
Weston
Coral Springs
Cooper City

[Frisco to Florida]

Originally Posted by boxus

"but see a lot of homes that had sold for 800k in the mid-2000's now going for 500k. Why?"

Are you seriously asking this? Or you meant something else?

Sorry, my question came out wrong...... meant something else entirely. I see a few homes in Heron Bay that are going for much less than similar sized homes in the community. Seems to be some deals in Heron Bay that are too good to be true relative to today's market. The market in Parkland seems to have bounced back a bit since the crash....but some listings are still really low. Can't figure out if it is financial distress or something seriously wrong with the home (mold, drywall, etc.).

Unfortunately, Weston doesn't seem to have many of those "deals".

Thanks to all for the replies so far! It helps.

[Frisco to Florida]

Originally Posted by StilltheSame

You seem to have a pretty good handle on your analysis. Now if it were my choice it would be in this order:
Parkland
Weston
Coral Springs
Cooper City

Any reason for Coral Springs over Cooper City?

[Frisco to Florida]

Originally Posted by StEt0417

The reason why they are so cheap now is because the market crashed and florida got hit really hard! Also the education compared to how it is in North Texas is much worse, yea you can find good schools in broward county but coming from that area and then to North TX I can tell you that the schools here are much much better and you wont find a big hype of school sporting in Sfl like in Ntx. Ive noticed here that EVERYONE is really into their kids sports, you wont find that there in Sfl

Bummer to hear about the education and kids sports. Wasn't expecting it to be exactly the same as North Dallas, but was hoping we could find an area that was close. Thanks for the advice! Did you like Texas better than Florida?