Time to Move AGAIN!!! (Dallas, Plano: sales, real estate, rental homes)

[teammayfield]

Hard to believe we survived Washington, D.C. Looking forward to our next move to Dallas, TX. We were really successful finding a nice home using this forum when we were dreading the D.C. transfer and hoping we have similiar success in Texas.

Background: Married / 3 boys (ages 11, 5 & 3) / Income 130K / wanting to buy a 4-5 bedroom (prefer a pool) in an area near my new office in Irving, TX (off of E. John Carpenter Frwy.) Prefer the 300-400K range. School ratings are very important.

I've been told to look in Flower Mound, TX. Are their any other areas that I should be looking? Any areas I should avoid at all costs? Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[TurtleCreek80]

Coppell. Public schools there are among the top handful of districts in North Texas. Closer to your office than Flower Mound will be. You'll be looking at older (well, Dallas "older" - built 1980-1990's) homes there. Great family community.

Flower Mound is nice too, just a farther commute. Homes will be newer there than Coppell (hence, the trade off for commute vs home age in your price range). Excellent public schools in Flower Mound; it's part of the Lewisville ISD and FM schools are definitely stronger than the Lewisville schools.

[CREW747]

For about $350,000 you can get a nice house in Southlake that might need a bit of updating.Check out The Chapel Downs subdivision...Best place to invest in a house if you need to commute to Irving.

[5stones]

^ ugg the commute from Southlake to Irving right now is a PITA with all the construction.
Also yes for $350k you will be really on the low end of housing and it will most likly need alot work/updating. Postives, the schools are good and the lots are big.

Coppell would work best for your commute and the schools are Excellant. However for 4-5 bedrooms and a pool I think 350k is going to be too low. Again if found they will be older and need of work/updating. Biggest con for Coppell is lot size, tiny yards and narrow streets with alleyways tend to give a "cluttered look" (IMO)

Flowermound would offer a bit longer commute, but you will be able to find a nice house with a larger lot in your price range.(newer etc....) Schools are good and shopping is close etc...

Plano would be another option for you.

Lewisville might work too but schools are not as good as the one listed above, but they are still good solid schools.

Frisco could work, has all you want for housing but the commute will be longer. Have Friends in Frisco who bought and work in Irving, and complain about the traffic getting to the freeway, once one the freeway it's fine, but you have to get out of the neighborhood first! They got the big newer house, but now wish they had bought in Plano.

[ChristieP]

Plano or Frisco to Irving would be a LONG commute! It would also be on a toll road, which would cost about $100 a month in tolls. There is really no reason to drive that far when there are better places closer to Irving.

Grapevine is another option. There are plenty of homes in your price range, but many of them will be older (70s-80s) and may need updating.

[loves2read]

Southlake gets overabundance of positive press--
there are wonderful towns/neighborhoods in DFW area in your price range in almost any area
and while Southlake-Carroll ISD gets top marks for school ratings--much of that is because of the high-income, high-eduction demographics that populate the ISD--
basically you get butter because you are working with top-grade cream...

I will PM a good MLS site--
look at a map for your office location and see how following freeways might affect your commute---
You should buy a toll tag and be prepared to just add money to your account regularly--more roads in TX are going the toll-route vs state funding so those that aren't toll roads now will be and there is enough cross over driving in DFW area that it is just worth it to get a tag now...especially if you fly out of DFW or need to detour through the airport because of traffic in Grapevine area

the 114 freeway is under construction in Grapevine/Southlake area--and will be for a year or so more
the 635 Loop around the Galleria/Dallas area is always under some type of work and is heavily traveled
Same with the Dallas Tollway
these are older, heavily traveled, and just depressing to me...
the 183/Airport Frwy is also under construction through the Mid-Cities (HEB area) into FTW for 2 yrs
the 820 NORTH LOOP is starting construction and will be horrible for at least two years

the ONLY freeway NOT under construction that I know of is the Bush Turnpike north of 183
it does not get that much traffic compared to say Airport Frwy, is newer, has room for traffic

the 121 NORTH of Grapevine Mills Mall is also in good shape, newer, and has capacity that is not full

There are many neighborhoods that fit your parameters--
I would suggest your look at other factors that might influence your choice--
do you require a local church or specific type of medical specialist
do any of your sons have particular interest you want to support or special need
*some ISDs are better in music/sports/academics (like offering IB programs or language immersion)

Lots over 1/2 acre are going to be difficult to find in your price range especially if you want a newer home...some people moving in from out of state are used to large (1+ acre) lots and not used to having houses overlook their neighbors

SOME neighborhoods are all electric--some have natural gas for heating (furnaces) but homes don't necessarily offer gas cooking
FEW homes will have basements for storage/game rooms

The age of the home and the lot will likely dictate the floorplan--with all beds up, or formal living vs study, or alley-garage entrances

The location/age of the development will also dictate the number of trees that might be in an area--
some cities were letting developers pretty much clear-cut any natural trees before 10 yrs ago and they would plant new trees on lots after homes were in...
if you want mature trees you can't assume that just any neighborhood will have them...

Also--in TX--the ISDs and the towns don't automatically share boundaries...One town can have 2-3-4 school districts that flow into its city limits--and one school district can serve 2-3-4 towns--
always verify the ISD that serves that neighborhood

our state uses Tax Assessment Districts--they are on line
you can use them to check the tax history for any residential property and most of the time find out who the builder was as well if it goes back far enough
the TAX VALUATION shows the entities you pay tax to--it is NOT the market price of the house
some homes in same neighborhood with similar age/sq ft can have very different tax assessment/valuations

Get a good real estate agent that knows any particular area WELL--
I would not automatically use the same person for shopping in Flower Mound that I would for looking at Southlake/Colleyville, or Coppell or Las Colinas--
Southlake/Colleyville are very close and there is lot of spillover in house shopping--but Flower Mound is different/unique to itself--
Las Colinas definitely different market--would be better to have agent familiar with its areas/features
That is just my opinion about research though--
These areas and markets can be very nuanced and what seems like a good deal to one person might not be rated as highly by another--who knows that particular market better

And remember that appraisers are assigned at random now--so you run the risk of getting an appraiser from out of the area dealing with only data-based comps when you go to make your deal...
ALWAYS include in your contract the language that the house must meet or exceed the contract price in the appraisal--
that might be considered standard language but just a heads-up

PS--the home rental market is very competitive--the better the ISD and location, the more competition for rental homes...to where rental prices are often higher than what a new mortgage rate would be--
remember that most of these rental homes were/are on the sales market and did not move so owners are trying to recoup their mortgage payment+taxes+ management fees...
make sure you know the status of any home that you might consider buying/renting

[loves2read]

checking an MLS site for Grapevine homes 3-400K--there are around 32 listings and at least 10 of them built after 2000
Just check listings--and see what you like/find--
many homes have changed owners several times since they were built--this area has had lot of mobility either from people transferring or from locals looking to move up in housing market--
you can find an older home that has been remodeled more than once--it just depends on how well the revisions were done...
I think with home sold more than once, your chances of finding an updated home is better than house where owners are the original ones...
but that might be over-simplification...just my take on what I saw/see
What you won't find is a new home in your price range on a large lot--unless you move to outskirts of DFW area--the boonies...
With the towns mentioned, the newer the home, the smaller the lot...unless your price is bigger...
so a house built in last 5 years is probably on lot that is .22 or maybe smaller...

[compSciGuy]

North Plano / South Frisco to Irving is about 25 minutes with regular traffic during rush hour. I haven't done the commute in a while, but I remember there was a highway merge (from 121 unto 77 or 35?) in the morning that was a pain.

[roskybosky]

Try Coppell. Best schools and recreation, parks, and visually pretty. Flower Mound has a little more of a 'tract home' look, and the eastern part is pretty crowded.

Coppell is your best bet.

[teammayfield]

Thanks for all the input. Just found out the move to Dallas has been cancelled and we are being reassigned elsewhere.

Have a great day!