Would you purchase a used house over 12+ years (Dallas: apartment, to rent)

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

The job is in downtown Dallas so to get to a new house that's $150,000 you have to drive and drive to the outskirts of civilization. It'll be safe in a family-oriented place where there will be kids in every house except yours. Your commute will be 45 minutes on a good day and 120 minutes on a bad day in heavy traffic with a lane closure. You might be coming in on a tollway adding to commute costs.

Seagoville is NOT a nice area!! The main industry there is a federal prison, and the crime rate is fairly high. Aside from the few newer homes, the houses there are mostly old and small, and resale value is going to be bad. Most residents there are low income. Schools are DISD and NOT the good ones. There are ZERO amenities: no good restaurants, nice grocery stores, etc. I would NOT recommend Seagoville for anyone...especially someone new to DFW!

The age of a roof has nothing to do with the age of a house here. Expect to replace a roof every 5 years or so due to the hail storms we get. Also, ALWAYS have covered parking to protect your car from those hail storms!

Short answer: RENT until you can afford more, and especially until you get more familiar with the DFW area!

[Mishie723]

The reason I made the price $150 is due to the fact I am not familiar with Dallas property taxes. Although I was pre-approved for $228, I do not want a $3-4 thousand dollar mortgage a month. Resulting in me being house poor as a result of underestimating my budget.

Thanks but the idea of moving to Dallas and living in an apartment building does not appeal to me. I can stay in NYC if I want to continue to live in an apartment building.

That was my concern with an older home, having to do major repairs as soon as I move in. That is why I said I was leaning towards homes less than 5yrs to avoids major repairs as soon as I move in.

[TurtleCreek80]

It seems you're convinced older homes have been neglected- not true in many cases! My mom's 1950's home had a 1 year old roof when she bought it a few years ago (roofs last 20-30 years...not 5 as pp said- unless you are REALLY unlucky with hail & storms!). It had brand new ÀC units. Granite counters and recently remodeled bathrooms. Electrical was in perfect condition, as was the foundation. The only major repair she's had was to install a radiant barrier roof liner to make the home more energy efficient (and that was 100% voluntary) and get a new garage door track installed. The biggest expense is maintaining the 50-75 year old trees (huge & fluffy) -its about $2k per year to keep them in good shape.

Now if you buy an early 1990's home with a 20 year old roof, original HCAC, plumbing, electrical, water heater, etc- yes, it's likely you're going to get socked with some big repair bills in the near term future. There are many homes built between 1910-1970 in Dallas that are "old"/"used" but in mint condition. Just have to do your homework and hire a good inspector.


I totally get wanting to have your own home, but it is really foolish to buy before you get aquainted with the area- especially on a meager budget that will exile you to living 1+ hour from work if you're hell-bent on new construction. A home is probably the biggest purchase/investment you'll ever make and you need time to properly research home values, real estate marker tends, where you want to hang out, where your friends live, etc before making a $150k mistake you can't undo without losing money. It will take about 5-6 years in DFW before you can sell and break even after paying realtor commissions and your closing costs. Homes generally DO NOT appreciate much here at all and you need to appreciate about 10% to break even.

What about renting a home or duplex (2 apartments, either top & bottom of a 2 story or side-by-side in a 1 or 2 story, that share a yard) if you will feel cramped in an aparment? You can rent in good neighborhoods for $1,000-1,500/mo - less than mortgage/taxes/insurance/maintenance on a $150-200k home!! Check Craig's List for rentals in 75206, 75214, 75208, and 75219. All are VERY close to your office. You wouldn't need to even get on the highway to drive to work.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Mishie723

The reason I made the price $150 is due to the fact I am not familiar with Dallas property taxes. Although I was pre-approved for $228, I do not want a $3-4 thousand dollar mortgage a month. Resulting in me being house poor as a result of underestimating my budget.

Thanks but the idea of moving to Dallas and living in an apartment building does not appeal to me. I can stay in NYC if I want to continue to live in an apartment building.

That was my concern with an older home, having to do major repairs as soon as I move in. That is why I said I was leaning towards homes less than 5yrs to avoids major repairs as soon as I move in.

With 20% down and excellent credit (750+ FICO), you are looking at about $600/mo mortgage payment on $150k home. Property taxes around $3,600/yr ($300/mo) and insurance about $1200/year ($100/mo). That's $1,000/mo total- not $3-4k!!! Possibly another $250-1,000 per year if you live in an HOA and budget about 1% of home value for annual repairs ($1,500) just to be on the safe side. The high end total costs are around $1200/mo with 20% down and $1500-1600ish with 3% down, FHA kind of loan.

[Grainraiser]

Well the first assumption here is you have to buy a house north of Dallas. This is simply not true. You can find a home that will meet all of your requirements except for the 30 minute commute if you are willing to look in neighborhoods other than north Dallas and the northern burbs. Richardson would be a great area but the house would certainly be more than 12 years old. This would be your only option if north Dallas is the only area your willing to buy. Places like Mesquite, Lewisville, Grand Prairie and others will have plenty of homes in your price range that will be less than 10 years old and located in safe neighborhoods.

[Squirl]

Rent a house. Look in zip code 75229 or many others

[TX75007]

I'd rent for a year until you get to know the area and the prices stop going down.

[loves2read]

consider using public transportation as well--
check the address for your building and find the closest DART stop to it--
maybe a bus stop, hopefully a train...
see where that route takes you
if you are not comfortable driving in Dallas traffic (and I agree that drivers are not good about using signals or following rules of the road) and don't like all the construction--then buying in area where you can make use of the growing DART system gives you more flexibility

and I wonder if your RE agent is giving you any advice about taxes and other associated costs of owning a home here--
it sounds like you get nothing just emails of houses with no insight about the costs to you--
that does not sound very helpful or knowledgeable on the agent's part...

will PM you a great MLS site to use so you can search on your own--
all of the listings will have the property taxes owners are paying and show the school district
even if you don't have children, school districts are important--that is the largest part of your tax bill probably and has lot to do with desireability of your neighborhood...

you can check any property online by going to the county tax appraisal district--and putting in the address of the property--will show the tax rates for any entity that property pays tax to
don't just the value of the house by the appraised value--that is too variable and does not directly correlate to the market value of the home--
In TX real estate sales are not required to be sent to the taxing authority--that is private info--and some people will apply and receive mitigation on their appraised valuations so their house might be less than a neighbor's that is older/smaller/in worse shape--
lots of variation with neighborhoods about appraised valuations...

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by ganongrey

The mentality of calling it a 'used house' is hilarious.

Ditto,

This thread has me rolling for sure. Our first house was 30 yrs old and in great shape. Now our current house was only 3 yrs old when we moved in but we didn't factor in age buying it...we just loved the aminities and location.

Anyhow, older homes have character

[Mishie723]

Hello,
Once again thanks for all the advice, everyone is suggesting to rent for a year prior to purchasing a home in Dallas.

I am learning from Property Virgins and First time Home owners shows and the books I have downloaded on my Kindle for first time Homeowners. As well as what I am reading on this site as well as Myfico site.

I plan on going VA Loan since I am a veteran. My scores are all over 750+ my bank Navy Federal offered me a rate of 4.5 in July when I was first pre-approved. I am DEBT FREE......Thank you God and Dave Ramsey!!!!!!!! Unfortunately still waiting on a transfer to SSA in Dallas., so my real estate agent is located in Dallas. He sends me pictures of houses and the details of the houses to get an idea of my ideal house. Plan is for me to come down and see a house, put a offer down and then fly back to NY. He said it takes about 60-90 to close on a house. With VA loan, I must take residence within 60 days.

SSA does NOT consider it a hardship to move to Dallas to purchase a home. So I am still waiting on my transfer.