Need guidance on choosing a city/neighborhood to buy a home in DFW area (Fort Worth: real estate, apartment complexes)

[bethin]

These are my parameters:



REQUIREMENTS:
$150,000 or less
NOT on a busy street
brick or stone exterior
NICER neighborhood, or at least not a bad one
attached 2+ car garage
no pool
no HOA
favorable school district



PREFERENCES:
secluded, private feel, house set back from the road
larger yard, but not a lot of yardwork - does this mean I should go for heavily treed or Xeriscaped so little to no yard to mow?

small square footage house is fine
neighborhood w mostly brick/stone homes that also have garages
NOT a neighborhood filled w cars parked on the street
NOT next to apartments
NOT a snooty neighborhood
relatively lower taxes


I want something I can buy in the next 2 weeks.
I do NOT need financing.

Im working at home, so commute is not an issue.

A search engine where I can choose my own search options, more useful than zillow or trulia, would be great. I'd like to be able to search on garage size, no pool, etc. These options are not possible with Zillow.



Any ideas?

[ChristieP]

$150k or less: Euless, Hurst, Bedford south of 183.

[Squirl]

I will send you a link to a real estate website I like a lot.
McKinney, Frisco, Keller and North Richland Hills should all fit. The midcities of HEB that have been suggested are good, too. If you are interested in the Fort Worth side, check out Kennedale or southwest Arlington (schools that feed into Martin High School). Oh, also check out Red Oak.....but you will find mostly homes with large yards.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

$150k or less: Euless, Hurst, Bedford south of 183.

This is what I was going to recommend.

OP ... you need a house quickly ? You need a good RE agent who can guide you and find the right house that fits your needs & budget.

Large yard without a lot of yardwork.... contradiction of terms.

[bethin]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Large yard without a lot of yardwork.... contradiction of terms.

Maybe I need a desert yard or a jungle of a yard then? hehe I'm throwing out ideas. Like I said, I need some guidance. I like the idea of a larger yard, but I dont want to have to spend lots of time on it. Yes, I realize in MOST cases this can be a contradiction.

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by bethin

Maybe I need a desert yard or a jungle of a yard then? hehe I'm throwing out ideas. Like I said, I need some guidance. I like the idea of a larger yard, but I dont want to have to spend lots of time on it. Yes, I realize in MOST cases this can be a contradiction.

we pay a lawn service, not all that expensive!

[loves2read]

personally I think buying a home in 2 weeks when you have no idea of the area in general is fraught with mistakes

[bethin]

True, a 2 week goal is not ideal, although it could possibly be extended. I have some idea of the area, but not as good as someone who has lived in a particular area for years or decades.

[ChristieP]

We usually recommend renting for 6 months to get familiar with the area before buying...

[NCtoTX2012]

Rushing to make the biggest investment of your life just makes no sense! Why not move onto a rental for a short time? We have found numerous apartment complexes that offer rentals as short as 1 mo!