Best places to retire in East Texas? (Houston, Tyler: condos, gated)

[heaven75765]

There is two seperate sections to Holly Lake Ranch. The first part is the main community, condos, houses, and the golf course. Then several miles down the road is a trailer park which was intended as a weekend retreat, but at some point became a retirment and low end housing area. I lived there with my family for three years andthe only problem we e er had was calling on a dog that bit my daughter, calling security when I thought I heard something outside my house one night and one call when we thought someone had broke into our neighbors house that has sat empty for three years.Maybe there are some bad seeds but in all reality there isnt many.

[shry1961]

sound like to me cindi dial is a condesending hateful two faced *****

[thecains02]

Mineola, Lindale, Hideaway Lake are your best options. Be glad to send you details!
www.lesliecainsells.com

[huhknee]

I live at Holly Lake Ranch and I have yet to see any problems out here. There is a trailer park that is also considered Holly Lake Ranch but is not part of the gated community. These crimes could have possibly occurred in the trailer park but I couldn't say for sure. This is a very peaceful and quite community with lots of things to do and all ages enjoy it here. My mom and dad have lived here for over 10 years and never had an incident of any sort happen to them or their friends. Hope this clears things up a little.

[dirtyGoat2000]

I know this is a very old thread, but in hopes to keep others who wish to buy in Holly Lake Ranch, (specifically on the active listing for 429 Evening Shadows,) apprised of the ongoing methamphetamine manufacturing and dealing situation in the area, I wanted to include this post.

I was recently looking to purchase the home located at 429 Evening Shadows in Section 6 of Holly Lake Ranch.

While viewing the 429 property a couple of times in the past weeks, I noticed the 405 property next door was heavily trashed by ‘assumed squatters’, as stated by the realtor showing me 429. The porch of 405 donned a rebel flag, a great amount of junky items and litter, which was also dispersed throughout the front yard and side of the home. The front of the yard also contained 2 caged dogs, (most likely to notify the squatter/meth-head(s) of someone approaching the property,) and a table/tarp cover set-up that I would speculate is where the chemicals to manufacture the meth were/are still being kept. An additional deal-sweetener was the two giant-sized personified M&M statues, positioned like gargoyles at the front entrance of the driveway at the 405 property.

Upon requesting more information on the situation with the 405 home, I was provided with very little feedback from Holly Realty, Century 21, the sellers at 429, and the Holly Lake Ranch HOA, (aside from a potential squatter situation.)
Neither the HOA, nor either realtor, or the sellers of the property clued me in on the 6+ years history regarding the meth-cook residing in the neighboring house at 405, and instead expressed shock and “surprise” that anything like this was going on. Gotta' make that 6% I suppose…

I proactively contacted the Wood County Sheriff's Department and requested a record check on the 405 property. From there, I gained adequate information to assist further in revealing the below facts.

Possession of the 405 Evening Shadows property is partially held by Vivian Davis, a relative of the deceased Vivian Shelton, who previously owned the home and passed away in 2006. Vivian Davis, (discussed earlier in this thread,) was arrested multiple times for possession and transport of meth-amphetamines while residing at 405. In addition, Davis’s daughter 'passed away' at the 405 property at around 3:00 AM in 11/2010 at the young age of 28. There was a death investigation conducted on this tragedy that was later given the status of inactive/suspended. Other reports of burglary and violence were also recorded on the 405 property.

In addition to all of this, theft of the a/c unit on the 429 property has recently occurred, and I am not sure of what else.

Vivian Davis is currently imprisoned, and her release date is unknown. Davis is still a trustee of the 405 property, along with the main trustee, Raymond Shelton who currently resides in Franklin, TN.

After speaking with a security guard at Holly Lake Ranch, I was informed that there has been little to no movement on the situation by the HOA to seize or place a lien on the property while any of this activity has transpired for the past several years.

All this to say… buyers beware. Holly Lake Ranch, specifically section 6, actively contains crime related to meth manufacturing/dealing, squatting, theft, and potentially murder.

Do your homework, and do not put your trust in any party that will receive monetary gain from selling you something you are considering as an investment; in this case, a home in Holly Lake Ranch.

[huhknee]

I don't know much about section 6 but that's probably because I have only gone there a couple of times just out of curiosity. Section 6 and the trailer park section are both "Holly Lake Ranch" but are not accessible from the two main entrances. After going to both of these sections I would not live in either one. In my opinion they both seem to be less attractive. Most of what I have seen from the main two entrances has been beautiful and a great place to live. Maybe I am biast but the west side is my fave as the houses are spread apart more and there isn't an access road running around the outside of the sections as you have on the east side. You are going to have issues in every community, however, I haven't witnessed anything even close to what dirtygoat2000 has mentioned in my area. You have to use your common sense...if you are looking at buying a house and if the neighbors look like a trash/crack house then why would you even think about living there??? We have never had anything stolen or had any drug issues or, for that matter, any crime on our street since I have lived there. My point is, don't automatically say no to Holly Lake Ranch as there are many wonderful things here on the ranch...just be smart about the section you choose to live in.

[Mark Senior]

I was in and lived near Holley Lake Ranch for five years until April this year, moved to be closer, and in Tyler. The sections you referred to are non-connected to the main part of Holly Ranch itself. The sections you referred to are not to be lived in at any price, you couldn't pay me to live there. The only reason I know this, found this out,I decided to see what was "back down there"

I had many friends in Holly Lake Ranch, many residents were retired from the Midwest or from other areas and many from DFW. The only complaints I heard were those residents wanting to cut down trees or break other rules strongly enforced by the HOA. Most liked it there. So please separate the two areas of Holly Lake Ranch, actually most residents of HLR don't know that the other area even exists, no reason to even see the area, drive by, to or anything.

[huhknee]

To clarify the "resort" statements made about Holly Lake Ranch, there is a section of timeshare condos owned by Silverleaf. Silverleaf and Holly Lake Ranch share their amenities.

[jajoiner]

I am currently looking at relocating and buying a condo in Holly Lake Ranch so the posts by cindydial are interesting, yet disturbing to me. It is one thing to look at different retirement areas and contribute opinions/comments to help others also looking, but I find it a bit "over the top". When someone sounds as bitter as this lady does, it almost appears as though someone has offended her or something else is going on. It does affect my consideration of this area for retirement, but something is not right because she sounds very angry. No reason to be angry, just select another area to live and move on. Puzzled by her rudeness and judgement of a community she has no intention of living in. It does help people like me to see reviews for areas, but these posts are more puzzling and disturbing than helpful, in my opinion. Can anyone else contribute in concurring or rejecting her comments? It would certainly help me in making any decisions regarding Holly Lake Ranch. Is cindydial speaking of the gated community I am considering???
Thanks.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

Oh me, I live only two miles from Holly Lake Ranch. Weekend, second cabin type, expensive, homes were first under construction around 1965-1970 from memory, not the internet. Later came expensive water front, golf course homes, a few new homes are still being built each year even in this bad economy.

Now, here is the IMPORTANT PART OF MY POST. Oh I know many people in Holly Lake, many, many from "up North" lol and hundreds if not thousand, of retires from DFW, the main source of new comers, I am in contact with these people daily.

Now pay attenntion !!!! Holly Lake has 12 to 15 different sections, it covers about 4 -5 square miles. This is, how can I say, it nicely, a run down section of mobile homes, many abandoned, do not pay their dues each month section, separated by over a mile from the rest of the sections of Holly Lake. This is where most all the crime you mention has occured.

The county peace officers scattered miles away are responsible for this, now small section. Yes, it is off the road of "main" Farm to Market road, get me Main FM, lol, so all types of activies go on.

The whole heavily wooded, and I hope still beautiful next year, county by the the name of "Wood" is sparsely populated only 40-45 thousand about 40-50 people per square mile, that rural, even for Texas. So meth type crimes go more undected than they would be in DT Dallas.
The area did grow 15% in the last ten years. Mainly a couple of small area besides Holly Lake, Mineola, Hawkins and the area nearer Tyler grew in population, not Hawkins proper but even smaller areas near the Tyler, Smith County Border.

So this has been, one bad rap put of the entire area of Holly Lake, when it is a small isolated section of Holly Lake that has a big problem in that section. Holly Lake Security doesn't "secure" there, no dues are paid for the securtiy so no security, Holly Lake pretty much doesn't act like the area exists.

This is what I wrote 6 - 7 years ago. MOST everything the lady, with WAY to much "worry time" on here hand, does NOT know, DID not KNOW there is or was a "trailer part" section of HLR that is almost a mile away from ALL other sections of HLR. It may be closed by now? Again, this does not represent HLR!

Many of the crime reports or for the rural county were FROM this section, Buuuuuut, in HLR they have their own well manned security. I lived will NO security, for my home, security system, most homes did not, in the small Woods subdivision with no known or reported crime in the 5 years I lived there. There are 25 homes, we walked the "circle" with our pets and small children, no problems, not a gated community, no patrols.

So take her "rants", her concerns as partly misplaced or misinformed? Sure there may be family abuse or typical crimes inside HLR. there are about 3,000 permanent residents who live there, more in the winter, I hope this gives you a little more "true" insight into the area.

Come visit, in late March or early April to enjoy some of the dogwoods in bloom, a little later, early May to see the hardwoods with leaves among the many huge beautiful tall pines.

HLR DOES try to enforce the codes, and they do not allow you just to "clear cut" your property of trees. They are trying to keep the well kept natural woods look. They don't want it to look like West Texas. lol

Who knows, whether you would like it there are not. Possibly rent a cabin there for at least a week, and talk to the "locals" who eat at the restaurants. You will not find it to be ----- trash.

Yes, there is less expensive "sections" but the sections are spaced as to NOT affect the value of other sections. Example: a small square foot non brick home will not, can not be built, next to a home twice the square footage with stone and brick and twice or more the value.

You could see all this on a visit. Best to you.