Mansfield: I have searched already... (Arlington, Bedford: low income, for sale, 2010)

[Eric S]

but still have one question in particular regarding one subdivision in Mansfield. I have been working with a realtor online and have looked at a number of homes and subdivision from afar (New Jersey). What's the deal with Cabot Estates? It seems to have very nice/well built homes, but a few appear to be under foreclosure. I really like the acre+ lots of Cabot Estates, but wonder if any of you folk local to Mansfield have any idea or opinions on that area overall? Am I better off in a slightly older neighborhood or a more established community, albeit one with smaller lots? I like the idea of a little space around my home, but not if I am the only person out there! Is that the "bad side" of Mansfield?

TIA!

-Eric

[loves2read]

We don't live in Mansfield but several years ago we were looking for larger lot and looked at Cabot Estates both before it really started building and after--forget it--that is a danger zone to me
We live in north Tarrant co--not close to Mansfield but were looking for property to build/retire with so thought that might work--
area had trees and was fairly close to where we live now--better than Granbury area anyway--also not that bad a drive into downtown FTW--and you could get an acre cheap enough to build a nice home...
so we thought it was worth a look--we drove down there several times--
developer sold lots to several local independent builders who have good reputation--at least 2-3 years ago when the bulding was beginning--
but it is uincorporated area of the county--not in city limits == which is one reason land was cheap
the developer did a crap job of building streets w/in the development--the last time we went they were already starting to have problems with subsidence/hollowing out--there were no curbs along the edges of the road to prevent crumbling--no sidewalks so kids have to bike in the street and you have to walk there as well...
Custom Builder's Retreat (236046)
see that there are open drainage ditches
and notice that the front view of this house does not allow for any sideways movement
nor do the back views--tight and nothing outside the fence line is shown....


there are real poverty pockets around Cabor Estates --why would you spend 400K+ to buy house where something like that is less than 300 yards away--
open drainage--so mosquitoes will be problem when there is rain...
the last time we drove through there was probably 6-9 mo ago--
there are some people living there and taking care of their homes but there are homes that have gone foreclosure because the builders could not sell them--they looked bad--no maintenance to yards

that part of Mansfield is more mailing address than city services--it is on the west side of 287 which has lagged on development vs the eastern side--that side has schools with more minority and low income students--to some people it is the wrong side of the tracks
that area is close to Kennendale which is rural area with little or no zoning as well

risky to build/buy home where there is little zoning--you can kiss your equity good bye if someone decided to buy acerage and have a small stable or run some cows right behind your home...


I would never suggest that even getting a house in there CHEAP would be a good deal and I would certainly suggest that you NEVER buy a home without spending some time driving through the area--how did you find that realtor and what are they saying about Cabot Estates?
I am so glad that we did not buy a lot when it first opened and start building a house--

are your working close to Mansfield? Is that why you are looking there or was it the larger lot sizes that caught your attention
Traffic around Mansfield is the pits--rural roads, poorly marked in many cases--287 and 157 are two main N/S roads--ones going E/W not that great
2 lane for most part making traffic slow--lots of intersections
sloped/grassy areas by roadside so that there is no pull-off lane for parking if you have car trouble
there is quite a bit of new construction--retail/residential going on down there but there have been significant # of foreclosed homes as well--

there is subdivision called Tuscany Valley Estates with several homes for sale as well out that way--read something in the FTW paper not too long ago about complaints those people have with flooding--think they were trying to get county to buy their land or something...

[Eric S]

loves2read, you have been a wonderful resource for my family as we have searched the forum in anticipation of our move to the Arlington area. I will be working in Arlington with a firm that is relocating us from New Jersey. We have been working with a realtor that has set up a web portal for us to see homes in our price range ($275K to $375K, roughly) that meet our criteria (4 bedrooms w/ 2- car garage if more than an acre or 4 bedrooms w/ 3-car garage if less than an acre). Those are the types of homes that I am looking for. Cabot Estates seems to over very nice lots that are an acre + in size that are in the Mansfield Independent School district. I was told be friends and company employees that Mansfield would be a decent choice.

Thanks for your wonderful insight and advice.

-Eric

[cabotestateshomeowner]

I am a homeowner in Cabot Estates, Mansfield TX. Overall, this is a great neighborhood - great neighbors and nice homes. We have one major problem out here though.... we don't have enough water to support our subdivision. The water company we use is Southwest Water Systems, formerly Monarch Water Company. We are restricted to Level 3 Water Restrictions from July - December every year. Which means absolutely no outside watering. This does not fair well for a one-acre lot. Some of the homeowners on higher elevations out here have such low water pressure during peak watering times that they cannot even flush toilets.

We have live here for almost 3 years and every Summer, we have been told that Monarch would be drilling another well "this Summer". In October of 2008 the homeowners began to share information and everyone was hearing something different. We have been proactive since then and met with representatives from Southwest Water Systems. They claim they have no money for a new well until 2010 at the earliest.

Our Developer would like to continue selling lots even though he knows the problems we are having. Homeowners are not being told of the water problems.

In December 2008 several neighbors put out signs stating, "Before you buy in Cabot Estates Ask me about the WATER". We have had several people stop to ask questions and we are being honest with them. I've even had realtors stop to ask questions, because they are not being told of the problems either.

On January 22, our Developer send a "warning letter" to all homeowners demanding that we take the signs down citing a restriction in our Covenants. He has never enforced Covenant violations before, but since these signs are effecting his pocketbook he is threatening to enforce this one.

My concern is that people are not getting good info before they buy their "dream home" in Cabot Estates. Once the water system is updated, the neighborhood will be great. You just have to be willing to wait.

[Eric S]

Wow. Thanks for being so candid and forthcoming with information. We purchased a home in Bedford instead of Mansfield just this month. Cabot Estates has some impressive homes. I hope that you all get your water issues sorted out sooner than later.

Thanks again and enjoy your community. In four/five years, I am absolutely certain that the west side of Mansfield will be the more desirable side. You will really love those acre + lots.

-Eric

[loves2read]

hope you are happy with your choice Eric
lots of positive things about Bedford...hope your children make smooth transition into schools...
guess they are at Meadow Creek---good school from what I hear...

[LowesFarmHomeowner]

cabotestateshomowner,
Wow, I am soooo glad to see your post.....very informative post. We currently have a house in Lowe's Farm, but would really like a bigger house on a bigger lot....everything is so bunched up in Lowe's Farm. One of the reasons we bought our current house is because it overlooks the neighborhood park/pool so it doesn't seem quite as cramped (i.e. no houses staring right back at you when you look out the front/drive up to the house).

At any rate, we have been looking at Cabot Estates for a very short period of time, and we found something that we really like. We drove through the neighborhood last weekend and noticed all the "Water signs" scattered throughout, but we were unable to find any further information. We are scheduled to meet with our realtor to look at a house on Saturday, so it is great to have this information in our "back pocket" to think about.

One more question....what is stopping individual homeowners from drilling their own private water wells? Just a thought I had.

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by loves2read

hope you are happy with your choice Eric
lots of positive things about Bedford...hope your children make smooth transition into schools...
guess they are at Meadow Creek---good school from what I hear...

L2R, thanks for the well wishes! The more we looked in Mansfield, the more and more we found the drive down 360, Matlock, Cooper and 287 to be unbearable from N. Arlington. We tried many different routes, but always came away feeling drained for the experience.

We really got set on N. Richland Hills, but likewise feel lucky to have avoided buying in that town because of a distinctly opposite, but undesirable, experience driving up 820, on 193/121 and Interstate 30 to get back and forth. Not to mention that driving for 10-15 minutes on Davis or Rufe Snow was a real drag after getting off of the HWY.

And then there's Bedford! What a pleasurable surface street drive compared to the other towns. I can take Industrial all the way to the office... and shopping will be a breeze for the wife. The neighborhood is beautiful AND the builder - thanks to the market conditions - was ready to deal.

Thanks for your help and advice.

My kids are 2 1/2 and 4 months, so we'll grow into our new home and town.

What a journey! Just a few months ago we were still in NJ and only asking questions about DFW on this forum! Now we have found what appears to be the house of our dreams. we are very happy. Bedford fits us in so many ways.

Thanks.

-Eric

[cabotestateshomeowner]

LowesFarmHomeowner,

An irrigation only well is going to cost about $8000. We have been told that there is no guarantee that it will work. If you wanted to have water to sustain your yard and home it would be very expensive (maybe $20,000). You should contact Geyer Drilling Company in Mansfield to get more info on this. If you are looking to seriously buy out here, you could probably negotiate the cost of the irrigation well with the seller.

Besides the water, this is a great place to live. We have great neighbors that I am thrilled to have my kids grow up with. The ladies have Bunco night and we have an annual Neighborhood Carnival in the Fall. The only reason we (neighbors) are talking about the water issue is to try and get this fixed sooner rather than later. And we feel that people should be told of the problem and be able to make an informed decision before moving out here. If the water issue was fixed, we would have absolutely no other problem living out here. Some of the other posts have mentioned "the junk" around us, but I think anytime you want to move out from the city, you are going to have that.

Several of us still have our signs out and would be happy to talk to you about the neighborhood if you want more info. Just stop by.

[LowesFarmHomeowner]

cabotestateshomeowner,

Have you heard anything about the community trying to group together to get a volume discount on water well installation? My realtor said she heard about it.

Also, I sent you a couple of private messages.