Possibly moving to Fort Worth - new and original thread ;) (Houston: for sale, real estate market)

[Gamewiz]

I know there are a ton of these it seems in this particular section of the forums, but I figured I would still create my own so I could better outline my specific circumstances. About a week ago I created a thread in the general Texas forum here: Moving from San Diego to Texas, need advice!

In a nutshell, I'm looking to move to Texas (I'm currently living in San Diego), realistically not until 2015 but potentially sometime in 2014 should certain pieces fall in the right place. I have a contact in Fort Worth who might be able to help me land a job there and that seems to be the biggest card in play in terms of me getting a job in Texas, so I would like to prepare for that as much as possible.

Assuming the job is smack dab in the center of the Fort Worth, I'm trying to determine good neighborhoods within a decent commute. There are a few locations of this company within the Fort Worth area but I'm pretty sure the one I would be working in is right in the downtown area near Trinity Park.

Here's a few things about me to kind of give you a picture of the type of neighborhood I'm looking for, with the factors listed in order of importance (greatest to least).

• Overall decent neighborhood (no ghettos or medium-high crime areas) with the primary focus that I'm a family man with a wife and two kids.
• Need a place assuming a household income of around $50-$60k/year base salary, possibly quarter bonuses that would increase that income to around $60-70k. We would possibly be renting for the first 6 months or so while we are looking to buy. Again, this is contingent on a few factors I haven't ironed out yet. We have two dogs (one is rather big at 110lbs), so at least a small yard is preferred.
• Not sure of the type of climate/terrain I can expect in FW compared to Austin or Houston, but if there are areas more wooded, my wife and I LOVE the wooded areas and that would be ideal.
• Schools are something to keep in mind, however not a main factor as my wife might be homeschooling my oldest kid (she turns 4 this year) initially when the time comes.
• Distance from work probably would be fine up to and around 30-40 miles or so... I'm not too concerned with traffic because my work hours would be 6:30am - 3:00pm M-F, so I'd most likely miss the majority of work commute traffic. Basically I am easily willing to have up to an hour drive commute if necessary if that means living in a better neighborhood. Traffic will not supersede my need for a good place to have my family live in. I can't stress this enough.
• Some nice things to consider, but not a determining factor, are political/religious viewpoints. I'm a conservative, Christian, 2nd Amendment gun nut. Probably best if I'm not surrounded by opposing viewpoints, as it would just make stress levels go down a little, lol. Besides... I have to deal with that every day here in San Diego! :P

[Gamewiz]

I was looking at some places and just trying to get some ideas here.

Is this home in a good area? 14341 Cedar Post Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76052 - New Home for Sale - realtor.com®

It's not a wooded area (are there even areas like that around Fort Worth?) but the price range, size, etc., looks just about right. My question would then be related to the neighborhood itself and if it fits my criteria at all.

[ChristieP]

That is WAY up on the north end of Fort Worth!! Your commute from there to downtown is going to be horrible! The distance itself is quite far, and I35w is about to get a total reconstruction that will last 4 years. Yuck!

Unless new construction is a must, I would recommend looking in NE Tarrant County. That meets more of your criteria and will be a much simpler commute.

[Gamewiz]

Really? It's only 22 miles from downtown Fort Worth and keep in mind my commute is me needing to get to work at 6:30am and leaving work at 3:00pm, and I am absolutely willing to deal with up to an hour commute each way if need be. Ultimately if the farther away I get from the downtown area means my neighborhood being more quiet, safe, and less expensive (but not "cheap" as in reducing the quality of the area) then it is well worth the commute for me. So with that said is that the ONLY thing you consider to be bad about that house? I really can't stress enough that commute is NOT a factor in this unless we are talking a 2 hour commute each way, which I can't imagine that being the case since my commute isn't during prime hours (and checking google maps, right around the time I would be leaving work the traffic says it would only take about 40 minutes to get home... not bad at all).

Where is Tarrant county? I can't find it in doing a search under realtor.com.


-EDIT-
By the way, I really appreciate your input but in all these threads I've had about places in Texas one of the first things people comment on is the traffic. I live in San Diego and the traffic ain't all that great here either. My work is about 20 miles from my house and it is a 45 minute commute each way, each and every day... sometimes even up to an hour. It is really not a big deal for me. Traffic is one of the least important things for me when it comes to finding the right neighborhood for my family to live in. I just find it interesting that, despite saying this, the first thing people comment on is whether or not I'll have traffic getting to work.

The absolute, 100%, most pivotal things I'm looking for is a neighborhood that is safe, quiet, good for raising a family, and is within my price range (probably no more than $180k, with $150-160k probably the sweet spot). Other minor factors would be things like being in a wooded area and the area leaning more towards my personal beliefs and political standings. Traffic is one of the least important factors.

[texas_nightowl]

I don't know much about that area but if you search the forum on "Sendera Ranch" some information may or may not pop up.

22 miles is not the same everywhere. And I-35 is busy all the time. Yes, your nontraditional early schedule will help but that 22 miles could still likely be 40 minutes minimum and longer if construction or accidents are an issue.

And yes, I-35W from downtown FW to 820N is going to be under construction for the next 4 years. Traffic will not be pretty. At all.

Tarrant County is the county Fort Worth is located in. Actually, FW is the county seat. When Christie referred to NE (North East)Tarrant she meant the Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills areas.

Tree-d areas do exist...usually in the more established areas. New construction developments are likely to have been stripped of some trees. So really wooded areas may be difficult depending on your price range.

I know you gave your salary range, but realistically what range do you expect to be home shopping in? What is your max? Have you spoken to a banker/mortgage officer to get an idea of what you might really expect to qualify for?

[Gamewiz]

Originally Posted by texas_nightowl

I don't know much about that area but if you search the forum on "Sendera Ranch" some information may or may not pop up.

22 miles is not the same everywhere. And I-35 is busy all the time. Yes, your nontraditional early schedule will help but that 22 miles could still likely be 40 minutes minimum and longer if construction or accidents are an issue.

And yes, I-35W from downtown FW to 820N is going to be under construction for the next 4 years. Traffic will not be pretty. At all.

Tarrant County is the county Fort Worth is located in. Actually, FW is the county seat. When Christie referred to NE (North East)Tarrant she meant the Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills areas.

Tree-d areas do exist...usually in the more established areas. New construction developments are likely to have been stripped of some trees. So really wooded areas may be difficult depending on your price range.

I know you gave your salary range, but realistically what range do you expect to be home shopping in? What is your max? Have you spoken to a banker/mortgage officer to get an idea of what you might really expect to qualify for?

I don't disagree that construction would make traffic worse. I've been dealing with construction on the freeway I use right now to and from work for the past couple years and it isn't fun. Regardless, finding a good home is more important than making sure I have an easy commute.

Thank you for clarifying about Tarrant, that confused me lol. I will start searching throughout those areas!

Wooded areas was a minor preference... if we can land something in an area like that, then great! If not, it's not a deal breaker.

Based upon what I can do as a down payment, plus the fact that my cousin will most likely be moving with us and as such would rent a room from us, I have some flexibility here. Price range on the homes is probably a max of $180k, with life being easier with the $150-$160k range. Using the home I linked as an example, a mortgage on a $150k home (let's say I only put $10k down), 30 year fixed rate at 4.5%, where the previous property taxes have been $3500 (so I'll use $4000 assuming it's gone up in value), and assuming insurance at $400, that's a monthly mortgage of $1075. I can afford a monthly mortgage of $1100 assuming I make $55k/year and not taking into consideration whatever I would charge my cousin for rent.

My best friend is a real estate agent and we've been talking about great lengths regarding what I will or will not qualify for. I'm working on doing my due diligence in that area.


-EDIT- In checking real estate listings, not much is listed in the NE section of that Tarrant County... in fact it's pretty darn barren.

[ChristieP]

If you a looking for trees, far north Fort Worth is NOT where you want to be. That is out on the edge of the prairie, and the only trees are the little sticks that the developers plant when they finish a house. The suburbs I referred to (Hurst, NRH, Bedford, etc.) are all much more well-established and have lots of large trees throughout the cities. I think you might not have been entering the right terms in your search if you weren't finding many properties for sale in those cities. It's a very sought-after real estate market right now!

Plus, the commute from these areas is down 121, not 35W, and it is significantly shorter. On that note, there is absolutely no reason to make an hour commute here. There are plenty of nice places to live that are much closer. And yes, 35W is about to become a quagmire of construction. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy...

Do a search here for the old thread about far north Fort Worth and how the city gives that area the short stick when it comes to city services and police protection. There's also a good article in the Star Telegram archives, too.

[Gamewiz]

Thanks for the info, ChristieP. I'll continue to do more research on these areas!

[Squirl]

Trees and some new housing are in Mansfield, Burleson and Alvarado.....all doable drives. Burleson has some good elementary schools and new houses. I really like southwest Arlington WEST of Cooper Street, all the neighborhoods that feed into Martin High School have good schools. Arlington is a very large suburb and has some dicey areas near the city center and also on the east side, but the west side is nice and southwest has good schools and low crime....however no new construction but lots of trees.

[Gamewiz]

Originally Posted by Squirl

Trees and some new housing are in Mansfield, Burleson and Alvarado.....all doable drives. Burleson has some good elementary schools and new houses. I really like southwest Arlington WEST of Cooper Street, all the neighborhoods that feed into Martin High School have good schools. Arlington is a very large suburb and has some dicey areas near the city center and also on the east side, but the west side is nice and southwest has good schools and low crime....however no new construction but lots of trees.

So would something like this house in Burleson be in a good area?

2513 Greenhaven Dr, Burleson, TX 76028 - New Home for Sale - realtor.com®