Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Dallas
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-04-2006, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Topeka, KS
1,560 posts, read 7,146,916 times
Reputation: 513

Advertisements

Not to pick, to each their own, but I'm not so fond of new homes for several reasons....

1. Exterior styling.
(Or the lack there of....) Why does it seem that all (hyperbole, I know it's not all, but it seems to be the rule rather than the exception,) of the new developments are cookie cutter? The developers need to mix up the floor-plans and offer more variety in their elevations. McKinney seemed (to me) to be the worst, with neighborhoods that seemed to be full of brick-covered boxes. My wife calls it Legoland, because it looks like a neighborhood built by my eight year old.

Having said that, it's not nearly as bad as some of the neighborhoods in Jacksonville, FL, where a subdivision would have three floor-plans with one elevation each and the only differences were the color of the stucco and the shape of the attic vents over the garage.

2. Interior styling.
Two story foyers, art niches, and planter shelves. Why, do they hate us? Who honestly wants to dust all that stuff? Who has any works of art they want their 6 year-old knocking over? Why am I paying for dead air under the roof? I want rooms, lots and lots of rooms, and no tiny bedrooms. I'd rather give up one of those "living spaces" for bigger bedrooms. Does anyone actually use that "formal living/study" that's always just to the right or left of the front door, and opposite of the formal dining, or is it more floor space I'm paying for, that I'll never use?

3. Yards.
Eh, who needs yards, right? It's crowded already and if they gave us yards, we'd just waste water trying to keep the "luxury", (and not drought-tolerant) grass looking green anyway.

4. Developers.
Some of the builders are corporate companies. It's all about keeping the investors (not the buyers) happy. Throw up as many houses as you can, as quick and as cheap as you can and then move on. While we're there, lets offer warranties that are in a lot of ways useless.

5. Character.
I like quirky homes. I want my stamped tin roof in the kitchen. I want my 6 foot, claw-foot, cast iron tub. I want the 70's intercom system that plays music throughout the house. I want the plaster surround around the chandelier. I want mature trees that offer shade and established yards that don't need constant attention.

Conclusion:

I want different things from what you want. And that's what's great about America. We can both have what we want. Within reason. And I tend to ramble....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-04-2006, 09:06 AM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,877,627 times
Reputation: 5787
Rmoov2tx,

Good morning. Ah, the football. It is college. The University of Texas and ou (lower case because that is just the way us Texan's see them is Oklahoma). Now, high school football is also big around here. You can be a part of it or not and no one is going to think any less of you. It is fun however to go even if your kids are too young for high school or already out of the nest. Great place to meet your neighbors and visit and get involved in the community on Friday night is at the hometown football game. My kids are not in high school yet but we have many friends that coach hs football so we go to just relax and the kids have a great time. If you want to know how big high school football is here just check out the paper on any day during football season (The Dallas Morning News for Dallas and the Star Telegram for Ft. Worth or check online at wfaa.com and dallasnews.com).

What type of neighborhood are you looking for? You mentioned that you live in a gated subdivision now. Do you want to stay in one? Do you want a LARGE master planned community? Older ranch homes? New or newer built homes? Older, more upscale homes? Close to downtown? Out in the suburbs? What kind of commute does your husband want? And what price range do you want to stay in? There is SO MUCH to choose from that it is kind of hard to point you in the right direction w/o some kind of idea of what you are looking for.


As for the property taxes, $2800, I WISH! On our last home that was right at $200K the yearly property taxes were around $4000. The home we have now is right at $12K a year. Now, each city/suburb has a different tax rate. The lowest rate is in the Park Cities (Highland Park & University Park). The highest is in Rowlett (avoid like the plague ). If you are looking on realtor.com or any other site and see a home you may be interested in you can look up their property taxes on the county tax appraisers site at dallascad.org (for Dallas County or you can link to Collin County from there too). Here you will see what their 2006 taxes were (tables w/ it all broken down for each taxing entity) and the past history of the property.

Hope some of this helps and please do, let me know more about what you are looking for in a home and I can more accurately point you in the direction that may suit you best.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2006, 06:04 PM
 
46 posts, read 192,662 times
Reputation: 12
Well that doesn`t sound to promising. We were hoping to get away from the high taxes and homeowners insurance. Those were the 2 reasons we considered the relocation. We thought Florida was trying to run people screaming from this state. LOL I was reading one of the forums....does Texas have inspections and emissions? In PA we had that but, not here in Florida. Well my husband leaves Monday morning for DFW. I sure hope he can find his way around. He is still waiting for the itin from his company. The count is on 3 days and a wake up. I quess I will know our fate once he arrives. LOL


Hope to hear from you all soon
Terri
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2006, 06:23 PM
 
13 posts, read 122,487 times
Reputation: 32
From someone who moved here 18 years ago...don't! The area is flat, the development ongoing, the people rigid, and the foundation problems you mentioned are horrendous. We just paid over $8,000 to have the back of our house lifted. The soil is black clay, the temperatures in the summer overpowering, and the lack of rain unbearable.

We moved from the northeast...wish we hadn't. Hate this **** area...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2006, 09:42 PM
 
46 posts, read 192,662 times
Reputation: 12
well Barnum........real sorry to hear that. We had a sink hole here in Florida the 2nd year we were here. Two days before Christmas and what a mess that was. Now I`m running from Texas before I arrive. I quess my husband will do his time and return back to Florida. Then we will consider another place.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2006, 10:35 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,877,627 times
Reputation: 5787
Rmoov2tx, don't pay him much attention. He lives in Rowlett and that is one place in the Dallas area that I would avoid like the plague. The highest property taxes around. A bunch of whiners and complainers. Cheap houses that are not taken care of, hmm, wonder why he had foundation problems? Cheap builders and cheap homeowners that don't have enough sense to know how to care for a slab foundation. Oh, they also have one of the highest water rates around and some really crummy streets and alleys. You literally need a 4-wheel drive to navigate some of the residential streets. It really is a shame what a sad state that this town is in being it is on a lake. The only housing on the lake are really run down duplexes, townhomes and a few single family areas that really show the apathy of the place. Not every home in Texas or Dallas has foundation problems. It is all a matter of being smart and wise when it comes to buying a good house and taking care of it. Really. Don't let him get ya down. I'd be grumpy if I lived in Rowlett too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2006, 11:16 PM
 
96 posts, read 421,781 times
Reputation: 35
Hi Terri, Your husband seems to pick Fort Worth. I'd suggest to stay in the burbs for low taxes, safety, and meeting friendly Texans. Fort Worth has big city problems. However, Dallas has big city problems that makes Fort Worth look like paradise. I live in Cedar Hill, 15 miles SW of Dallas, worked in downtown Fort Worth, (4 yrs ago), and the commute was 30 minutes. Have worked in downtown Dallas area for 3 yrs and commute in 30 to 40 minutes. Cedar Hill and the surrounding suburbs main draw: Nice scenery, a huge state park on a large, picturesque, lake, plenty of chain retailers and restaurants with a couple of good local favorites, (Grand Prairie's "OASIS" floating on Joe Pool lake), realistic housing costs, and peaceful racially mixed neighborhoods.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2006, 11:51 PM
 
96 posts, read 421,781 times
Reputation: 35
I am still trying to get the hang of this forum. I best read all yall's responses.
O.k. here we go, Cedar Hill is by far prettier, and not flat like Rowlett and most of Far North Dallas suburbs are.
There are good foundations in Dallas all the way to our house in Cedar Hill. Our slab of concrete sits on several feet of chalk stone with little to no clay under it. The clay in north Texas moves with seasons and the weather (esp. black clay at the surface). If good foundation techniques on your prospective house are done then no need to worry.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-06-2006, 07:16 AM
 
46 posts, read 192,662 times
Reputation: 12
Momof2dfw, Ricwil........Thank you both for the heads up. Ricwil you mentioned you live in Cedar Hill, I saw a home in Cedar Hill for sale. The subdivsion is BearCreek Crossing. Do you know where this is and, can you tell me a lil bout the area? Me< staying away from Rowlett LOL. The other ? I had for someone is about the homeowners insurance. Barnum ststed he had $8000 in damage assuming his foundation, doesn`t his homeowners insurance pay for the repair? The other thing I noticed is that every home has a fireplace and a fence around the back yard could someone explain please? With all talk about the haet can`t imagine y you all would want a fireplace I haven`t been told about auto inspection I asked if you have to have vehicle inspection in Texas? Really do appreciate all the help. Kinda getting a crasp of this forum stuff. Terri
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-06-2006, 10:10 AM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,877,627 times
Reputation: 5787
Rmoov2tx,
Yes, most homes have wbfp (wood burning fireplaces) and most are gas. Meaning you can buy gas logs and not have to worry about buying firewood (and it is cleaner and easier not to mention you can just turn it off when you go to bed and not worry about waiting for the fire to go out). Some people prefer burning real wood but it does bother some peoples allergies. It does get cool or cold enough here to burn it a few times a year. I love Fall, waiting to see how low it has to get before you smell someone burning their fireplace, lol. I knew one person that if it got done to 50 she had it on. It's just one of those things that is the norm here. Has been for YEARS!

Wood fences around the backyard. Ah, we love our privacy. I really do since I have a pool and I don't really care for the neighbors to see me in my swimsuit. Don't want to frieghten them . The much older neighborhoods that had the front entry garages always had 4' chainlink fences. Now we want the 6' and love to have 8' wood fences. The big thing is having a really nice board on board fence then there are not gaps that can be seen thru. A lot of people treat their fence w/ a treatment and a stain to keep them from graying. Helps make them last longer too or at least look better longer. If one is put up really bad and the posts were not set in concrete a good strong wind can knock a fence over pretty easy. We do get a lot of wind around here. Dallas actually has more wind than Chicago. Homes that back up to golf courses or greenbelts are usually forbidden from having these privacy fences and if they do have a fence it must be wrought iron. I guess it just goes to wanting some privacy and it helps keep the dogs in (and the kids). I grew up w/ the chainlink fence but now those are looked down on. Don't see them much except in much older neighborhoods. You will run across a few people that do not have a fence at all around their backyard.

Auto inspections. Yes. We have yearly auto safety inspections that must be done. The car dealerships service dept, quick oil change places and such do them. Here is the link to the State of Texas website that gives you all of the details on this and other info needed for moving to Texas (texas.gov)
http://www.living.texasonline.com/ca...categoryId=9.2
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Dallas

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:01 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top