Southlake, Colleyville, Keller or Grapevine? (Dallas, Fort Worth: low crime, house, neighborhood)

[ajgranda]

OK,

I'm just beginning to do some research into a possible relocation to TX. I've come up with the folllowing communities: Southlake, Colleyville, Keller and Grapevine. I'm looking for a family oriented, friendly neighborhood with very good schools and low crime that has a suburban cosmopolitan feel. I am looking in the $500,000 price range for a well built, under 10 years old, 4 bed, 2.5 bath, about 3,000 sq ft home with about 1/4 acre in an HOA. Which of these towns would you recommend and why? Any significant difference in commute times to Ft Worth/Dallas?

Also, is having a pvt pool desireable in this part of Texas? It's a negative here in N.Y.

Much appreciated

[ajgranda]

Well forget about Grapevine. It's a little furthur out and has the highest crime rates of the four.

[Guingirl]

Well...when I was doing my research over a year ago, I looked at those areas as well.

We are actually going to build in Haslet. We are building a custom 3300 sq foot house of our dreams for 375,000.00 on a half acre of land in a great school district - Northwest. Haslet is definately more of a country feel.

[skyblu]

Southlake or Colleyville will be the best fit with the criteria you listed. Both have highly regarded public schools. I think there is more acreage available in Colleyville. They are very similar and right next to each other. Whichever you choose, you will find yourself in both suburbs frequently as well as Grapevine, too. Both are approximately the same distance from Dallas and Fort Worth, with Fort Worth being the closer of the two. Southlake has a little more traffic running through it than Colleyville, however, you may lean towards Southlake based on your criteria.

[ajgranda]

Thanks,
We are going to stick with Southlake and Colleyville. We are also planning a trip in May to Northern Scottsdale to see what it has to offer. The housing prices are much higher, but the property taxes are much lower. So it's an even wash when it comes to $$, if we stay there for 20 years. We will need to compare both areas.

[Guingirl]

Just another consideration when making your decision....Arizona has a state income tax where Texas does not.

[Jonathan.Lowe]

Originally Posted by Guingirl

Just another consideration when making your decision....Arizona has a state income tax where Texas does not.

However Texas has Property tax, based on their assesment of the value of your home. This does not take into account your ability to pay.

[Guingirl]

There are a lot of homestead exemptions though which you might not see elsewhere.

[ajgranda]

Based on a state website that shows counties, Tarrant county only has minimal homestead exemptions and none apply to me. When you are over 65 you get $10,000 off the value of you home. So, say the 3% property tax savings on a $400,000 is $300 (3% x $10,000). So you save $300 but you still pay $11,700 in taxes. WOW what a huge savings! Basically, homestead exemptions don't apply in Tarrant County. Some counties take 20% off your taxes, but Tarrant is not one of them.

[Guingirl]

So it would depend on your salary and whether you want to pay an income tax and whether that equates out to less than the difference in property taxes.

Im sorry if I offended you in some way. I was just trying to help. Good luck in whatever place you choose to live.