Huffines Communities - Providence or Savannah? (Denton, McKinney: for sale, foreclosure, buying a home)

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

If you provide price range, minimum sq ft and where you will be working, we can give suggestions that are closer to the office. Also, keep in mind that if you have to drive 40-50 miles to work - you are effectively adding $200/month to your travel bill that you could allocate to a larger mortgage (that you'd get a tax deduction for... unlike with a fuel bill... and the mortgage wouldn't fluctuate like gas prices - not to mention the wear/tear/depreciation on your vehicle by commuting long distances).

For what it's worth, $200 per month is roughly equal to a 30-year loan @ 6.5% interest on $30,000.

Plus you lose the opportunity cost of making say, $30,000 per year in appreciation on a $300,000 house in Lakewood.

That's at a 10% rate, we've been double digits for 5 years or so...my Realtor friend says it's actually 18% right now...so you would make almost $60,000 ....

[aceplace]

I bought a house in Savannah a few months ago and I love it out here. The development is located in the middle of what is open country, but there are woods and pasture land and the countryside is beautiful. Youcan see pasture for about 100 yards in any direction before the view is limited by forest.

The shortcomings others have mentioned are true enough. The lots are small, 40 by 120... but I don't mind. My back yard is grassy and large enough to enjoy. I don't use my front yard, so its size is irrelevant... except there is less of it to mow.

The travel time to downtown Dallas is significant, maybe about 1 hour, after you figure the time on the roads to get to the head of the ND Tollway. But the tollway is being extended to US 380, just a few minutes away from Savannah.

There is plenty of shopping in the area, and lots more is going in, especially along US380. There is a large center with a Lowe's and a Super Wal-Mart about 4 miles away in Little Eln, and a new shopping center with another Wal-Mart is under construction a couple of miles from Providence. There will be a mixed-use town center a few miles from Savannah, and the Savannah community itself will have a mixed use town center of its own in a few years.

Savannah is more expensive than Providence, and is closer to the Tollway, and seems to me to be a little better quality, but the community features of both Providence and Savannah are exceptional. Like swimming pools with water slides. The architecture of these communities is a strong feature... Savanna looks like Craftsman homes in the turn of the centure, like you'd see in the M Streets of Dallas, and Providence is much the same.

Many municipalities in the suburbs mandate brick on houses, but these communities don'have brick exteriors. This allowed the builder to feature architecture that is very different from the typical brick box... and I particularly like it. The developments are not actually in a municipality, just a water district, which provides many of the same municipal services. The HOA subsidizes some extra services from the Denton County sheriff's office for police protection.

Bottom line... I like it here, and I'm glad I moved.

[sonshinelife]

I love the appearance of Savannah, but I have to ask about the siding. Is the siding wood or something more permanent? I thought about looking there but became concerned when I saw they were constructed of little brick. I just recall my brother and sis-in-law buying a home that was primarily wood siding and they had a lot of upkeep on that home. I'm just curious. I love the overall appearance and would be willing to consider looking out there if the product was more permanent. Does this make sense?

[jolo]

Wow. I never calculated in the travel expenses into the equation. That's just plain common sense. We're first time home buyers and this is all so overwhelming.

It's just my husband and I - right now. So, we'd be looking for a starter home. We're hoping for something no more that 200k, 3/2 with a nice sized yard. I'm not to sure about sq footage, but I'm thinking less than 2000, but a little more than 1400. ? Is this do-able?

[jolo]

Oh, and work would be downtown Dallas.

[FarNorthDallas]

Are you looking for a new home? New construction?

[jolo]

We're open to both. We started out w/old charming neighborhoods, started making our way out, one circle at a time, and now suburbs???? The change from old, charming homes to suburbs was just made this past weekend. That's why we thought Savannah/Providence would be a good compromise. Now, we're officially off that - back to square one. ugh....

[KBilly]

Originally Posted by aceplace

I bought a house in Savannah a few months ago and I love it out here. The development is located in the middle of what is open country, but there are woods and pasture land and the countryside is beautiful. Youcan see pasture for about 100 yards in any direction before the view is limited by forest.

The shortcomings others have mentioned are true enough. The lots are small, 40 by 120... but I don't mind. My back yard is grassy and large enough to enjoy. I don't use my front yard, so its size is irrelevant... except there is less of it to mow.

The travel time to downtown Dallas is significant, maybe about 1 hour, after you figure the time on the roads to get to the head of the ND Tollway. But the tollway is being extended to US 380, just a few minutes away from Savannah.

There is plenty of shopping in the area, and lots more is going in, especially along US380. There is a large center with a Lowe's and a Super Wal-Mart about 4 miles away in Little Eln, and a new shopping center with another Wal-Mart is under construction a couple of miles from Providence. There will be a mixed-use town center a few miles from Savannah, and the Savannah community itself will have a mixed use town center of its own in a few years.

Savannah is more expensive than Providence, and is closer to the Tollway, and seems to me to be a little better quality, but the community features of both Providence and Savannah are exceptional. Like swimming pools with water slides. The architecture of these communities is a strong feature... Savanna looks like Craftsman homes in the turn of the centure, like you'd see in the M Streets of Dallas, and Providence is much the same.

Many municipalities in the suburbs mandate brick on houses, but these communities don'have brick exteriors. This allowed the builder to feature architecture that is very different from the typical brick box... and I particularly like it. The developments are not actually in a municipality, just a water district, which provides many of the same municipal services. The HOA subsidizes some extra services from the Denton County sheriff's office for police protection.

Bottom line... I like it here, and I'm glad I moved.

I'm happy that you are happy. When we were looking at plans to custom build our home in 2004 in Lake Highlands, we took a drive out to southern Oklahoma to see Savanah. What a waste of time. You are correct -- it is a classic example of faux craftsman housing, with every 6th house being exactly the same with a reversed floorplan from #3, and it all looked like a scene from The Trueman Show. With a town center water park. Surrounded by fields of nothing. And it's AT LEAST 1.5 hours from downtown Dallas now because we have friends in Prosper who concur on that.

Huffines sells cars for a living, and now they are into "planned communities" in the stark middle of nowhere. Take that into account now that gas is approaching what the rest of the world has been paying for 10 years and make your own informed decisions. There is absolutely no way there is ever going to be any appreciation beyond inflation there for 10 years -- it's tooooooooo islolated and too formulaic.

And, no sir, this is not a slam on you, it's a slam on "nirvanas" like Savanah.

[lh_newbie]

No need to cut down Savannah. It's not your gig - and that's acceptable. It's a perfectly fine place to live if you work in Denton or McKinney.

$200K, 3BR, 2BA, working downtown Dallas.

I just did a quick search in Richardson. There's a lot of options there. Also saw several options in the 1600-2000 sq ft range in the L Street area of Lake Highlands. I'm sure people like Lakewooder that have lived in the area longer than I have would be able to shed some light on other options.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by KBilly

I'm happy that you are happy. When we were looking at plans to custom build our home in 2004 in Lake Highlands, we took a drive out to southern Oklahoma to see Savanah. What a waste of time. You are correct -- it is a classic example of faux craftsman housing, with every 6th house being exactly the same with a reversed floorplan from #3, and it all looked like a scene from The Trueman Show. With a town center water park. Surrounded by fields of nothing. And it's AT LEAST 1.5 hours from downtown Dallas now because we have friends in Prosper who concur on that.

Huffines sells cars for a living, and now they are into "planned communities" in the stark middle of nowhere. Take that into account now that gas is approaching what the rest of the world has been paying for 10 years and make your own informed decisions. There is absolutely no way there is ever going to be any appreciation beyond inflation there for 10 years -- it's tooooooooo islolated and too formulaic.

And, no sir, this is not a slam on you, it's a slam on "nirvanas" like Savanah.

I guess there's no accounting for taste. I think Savannah is wonderful, with its faux-craftsman styling, its open spaces and fountains. And those fields of nothing are beautiful.

Every 6th house the same? I don't think so... there are dozens of floor plans.

It does have a strong community association that enforces strict rules, so I don't have to live with my neighbor's garish tastes.

It is away from downtown Dallas, so if that is a consideration, Savannah is not for you. It takes me about 45 minutes to drive to Preston and Northwest Highway, and downtown would be another 15 minutes, albeit not at rush hour. It'll be better when the tollway is finished to US380 in a few months, but I'd agree that a commute to downtown is not practical.