Military Family relocating soon to Fort Worth...need help finding a good realtor and good neighborhoods (Dallas: extended stay, apartment)

[MsG10]

Currently my husband and I are in El Paso, Texas finishing out the last six month of his contract with the Army. We are heading towards Fort Worth with Dallas as a back up. Neither one of us has been to Fort Worth and know very little about the area and what neighborhoods and realtors are good to work with. I would appreciate any feed back or information on some safe neighborhoods and good realtors to work with when we begin to look at renting a home.!

Thank you for the help in advance!

Ms. G

[ChristieP]

Where will work be located? You really need to know where you will be working in order to decide where to live. DFW is HUGE and there are lots of nice, safe neighborhoods all over the metroplex. Also, you will need to have a job in order to rent a house or an apartment.

[MsG10]

My husband will most likely be working either on the railroads or as a diesel mechanic. I am looking at work closer to Fort Worth because that is where I would like to live. We both agree that while Dallas is nice, it might be a bit big and congested for us. A bit of drive isn't an issue.

[ChristieP]

That's a start, but still, you need to have a job lined up in order to know what side of town to look at. I just can't emphasize how huge DFW is. If you live on the north side of Fort Worth, like up in Keller, and your husband ended up commuting to the UP rail yard at University and I30, he could easily spend an hour a day sitting in traffic on I35W. (Also, that freeway is about to be totally reconstructed, which is going to last until 2018, so I wouldn't recommend any commute involving it until that project is over.) Now if he goes to work for BNSF, or at the GE engine manufacturing plant, then Keller will be a short commute. See what I mean?

In short, here are nice, safe neighborhoods in Tarrant county:
Grapevine (where I live, and we love it)
Hurst
Euless
Bedford
North Richland Hills
Keller
Fort Worth (north of loop 820)
Benbrook
Burleson
Arlington (south part near I20 and north of I30)
Southlake
Colleyville

Also, are schools a factor?
And, most importantly, what's your rental budget? You don't need a realtor to rent a house here.

[Threestep2]

"A bit of a drive" can be a nightmare in Ft. Worth. Why do you not spend time in an extended stay or on base if you can to explore job options and locations before committing to a lease? It may also have an impact on lease applications if both of you are unemployed.

[MsG10]

This is all excellent information, thank you so much!!! My husband is in contact with a couple of military reps from BNSF and we are hoping that it pans out. I am not as worried about finding a job for myself, as my husband will more than likely be brining in the larger income for the time being.

Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, heading out there to check things out is not an option for us and so we are going to have to rent a home "blindly" if you will. Thats why I am doing as much research as we possibly can so I can try and make a good decision. Schools are not an issue as we have no children and don't plan to have any for the forseeable future.

We do not need a fancy or huge home, just a nice 3bd 2 bth home that we can have guests and family come and stay. We do need a home that has a fenced in back yard that allows pets as we have two dogs that need room to move around in and I would like to continue my vegetable growing as soon as we get there. Our budget is max 1300 until we are both working.

I am curious though, I have heard from a few different people that I don't need a realtor in order to rent a home, what sites do you recommend that we look at that are safe and legitimate in order to look at homes.

Thanks again for all the help, it is really invaluable to me!!!

Ms. G

[ChristieP]

We can only recommend realtor.com here. They do list rentals. But finding a landlord willing to rent to someone with no job is highly unlikely. Rental market here is hot and they can be picky with tenants. You really should look at one of you coming out in advance and staying in an extended stay hotel or visitor quarters on base until they get a job.

Your budget is pretty low for a house in a decent neighborhood. You need to go up to at least $1500.

[MsG10]

From the time we leave here in El Paso and the time we get to Fort Worth for work will be 2 weeks max and my husband will already have a job. He must have a job in order for us to leave the Army, its part of his conditional paperwork. So Im not so worried about landlords not renting to us.

I guess realtor.com is where I have to head then and hope for the best.

Ms. G

[ChristieP]

That's good that he will have a job when he leaves the Army. Most veterans are not so lucky...

Once he finds out where he will be working, post again with where he will be working, and we can suggest some good areas that are nearby.

[loves2read]

you say you have two dogs--
landlords can be picky about dogs as well
many will not rent to people with certain breeds like pit bulls

I wish you the best of luck but think you might be oversimplifying the factors