Questions about renting a house in East Dallas (Plano, Forest Hill: apartments, rental homes)

[Kaybee3]

Hello everyone. My family and I are relocating to Dallas later this summer, and I have some questions regarding renting a house in the East Dallas area. Here's our situation:

We are relocating from out of state and plan to move around Aug. 1. My spouse will be commuting to the area near Baylor Medical (Swiss Ave and N. Washington Ave). We would like to live close enough to commute by bike in cooler weather. Ideally, we would locate in the area east of downtown, west of White Rock (I think this includes Lakewood, M-streets, not sure what the other neighborhoods are called?). We will also consider neighborhoods east of White Rock if they are within striking distance of trails. We'd like a house and need at least three (3) bedrooms. We'd really like to spend less than $1500. We do have young children. We DON'T need luxury, amenities, new housing, etc. But something relatively safe and not completely dingy would be nice.

Questions:

1. Can we actually find a house in the Lakewood (or surrounding) area within that budget? Or will we be better off searching east of the lake?

2. I have read on this forum that most houses for rent in Lakewood just put out "For Lease" signs and don't advertise. Is that true of other areas, either west or east of White Rock? Are there specific streets that anyone could recommend we drive when searching for a house in this price range??

3. We are planning a house-hunting trip at the end of June. Is this a reasonable time-frame to expect to find a rental for an Aug move-in? Is there a "prime rental season" in Dallas when we might find more houses available?

4. Is there any compelling reason to consider a relocation realtor? If you are a realtor, please don't answer this question. We are already daily trolling the MLS as well as Zillow, Craigslist, and the Dallas morning news & observer.

Any other thoughts/advice for a young family moving to the area?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[jason0111]

IDK, but I'm going to keep an eye on this post, too. I've been wondering if the many relocation realtors are worth hiring, too.

[loves2read]

Dont know about that area specifically but most rental homes cycle so people know before school is out where they might be--so might not be many homes available for your time frame

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Kaybee3

Questions:

1. Can we actually find a house in the Lakewood (or surrounding) area within that budget? Or will we be better off searching east of the lake?

It's going to be nearly impossible in Lakewood and the other prime neighborhoods between the lake and 75. The rental market is REALLY tight in Dallas right now (my condo leased in 1 day last fall!) and 3br rental homes are more in the $2500 & up range, when you can find one. You would prob have better luck looking at duplexes (still difficult) or maybe apartments.

I would highly suggest looking east of the lake in the Old Lake Highlands, Little Forrest Hills, etc neighborhoods (75218 & 75228) and also Lake Highlands (75238) just north of the lake. Although based on what is in MLS, going to be hard there too on )$1500 for a house.

Originally Posted by Kaybee3

2. I have read on this forum that most houses for rent in Lakewood just put out "For Lease" signs and don't advertise. Is that true of other areas, either west or east of White Rock? Are there specific streets that anyone could recommend we drive when searching for a house in this price range??

That is true and you'd pretty much have to canvas the whole East Dallas area. It's not like some streets have more rentals than others, except for some of thr duplex streets (McCommas, Winton, etc).

Originally Posted by Kaybee3

3. We are planning a house-hunting trip at the end of June. Is this a reasonable time-frame to expect to find a rental for an Aug move-in? Is there a "prime rental season" in Dallas when we might find more houses available?

Prime rental season is spring through summer as people - especially with homes- are moving at the end of the school year. However, with the market SO tight now, be prepared to sign a lease as soon as you find an acceptable property. It may be for earlier than you need it, too (7/1).

Originally Posted by Kaybee3

4. Is there any compelling reason to consider a relocation realtor? If you are a realtor, please don't answer this question. We are already daily trolling the MLS as well as Zillow, Craigslist, and the Dallas morning news & observer.

Why not? It can't hurt and you don't pay anything. I am a landlord and the realtor commission is always paid by me out of thr first month's rent check. East Dallas can be a bit "block by block" in terms of safety, so especially with your budget it can't hurt to have a neighborhood expert assisting in your search.

Originally Posted by Kaybee3

Any other thoughts/advice for a young family moving to the area?

It's a great area! Enjoy it!

[mSooner]

Good luck! You will love the area. Wish I could offer more!

[Kaybee3]

Thanks for the advice. A bit disheartening, but it's better to know what we're up against.

I had been referencing a few earlier Lakewood area threads and was hoping things would still be the same. I believe you that it's even tighter now than a year ago, though.

//www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...wood-area.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ntal-home.html

I'm wondering if we should move our house-hunting trip earlier. Or if we should consider duplexes. We'd really like our kids to be able to play outside in a yard, but maybe you can still do this with a duplex.

[ChristieP]

Many east Dallas duplexes have big yards. We used to own one in Little Forest Hills and it had a great backyard with deck, trees, etc.

[VonHuffenHausen]

You will have to go East of the lake, just like Turtlereek mentioned, probably 75228 (look further down from the Forrest Hills Neighborhood. Look at the neighborhoods down Lakeland to the left and right, close to Ferguson and just over near Casa Linda). Your budget is very low, but may it be possible. All of the trails connect to (or actually begin) at the East side of the lake. The Santa Fe trail is right by the spillway. You can cut around downtown to Baylor, but there really aren't any trails that are direct, that might be the best. It is only a 15 minute drive in traffic. There are some great family friendly neighborhoods over there. My last one bedroom apartment was the same as your rental budget for a 3 bedroom house, keep that in mind and go East of the lake.

[reubenray]

Originally Posted by Kaybee3

Thanks for the advice. A bit disheartening, but it's better to know what we're up against.

I had been referencing a few earlier Lakewood area threads and was hoping things would still be the same. I believe you that it's even tighter now than a year ago, though.

//www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...wood-area.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ntal-home.html

I'm wondering if we should move our house-hunting trip earlier. Or if we should consider duplexes. We'd really like our kids to be able to play outside in a yard, but maybe you can still do this with a duplex.

I was the OP in one of the threads you referred to. We ended up getting with a realtor to look for us. They sent us updates to check on until we actually got there. Being that we move quite often we new pictures of houses are misleading so knew what to expect. We also was limited on how long we could be there to look and you need to go as soon as possible. It seemed like each time we would think one particular house was good it was gone.

We could not find anything in the Lakewood area. We spent hours driving up and down the streets and saw very few signs. We actually ended up in a house just South/East of Ferguson. I would not go any any further than that. Look at the North End and to the East of White Rock Lake. I saw several houses recently for rent on La Vista Drive, but do not know anymore than that.

How critical is it for you to be in that area? I needed to be close by my job being I could be called at anytime to go by my jobsite. We ended up only 10 minutes away-this was a big factor for me.

[thumpcbd]

As TC80 mentioned take a look in the L-Strees (North of NW Hwy, west of Plano Road, east of Ferndale and south of Walnut Hill). Lately I have seen many houses for rent in the neighborhood, although a few of them have just rented. Most are asking around 1500.