Good areas south of Dallas for house purchase... 400-500k Budget (Fort Worth: lease, condo)

[WinstonKennedy]

29 & 27 y.o here (no kids) looking to buy our first house in the Metroplex.

We moved to DFW a little over a year ago from England and have been loving it so far. We initially moved to Fort Worth, and lived in a condo in the Cultural District in Fort Worth for the first 7-8 months that we were here. However, following a new job for one of us in Garland, the requirement became to live somewhere with a better commute. Since, we've been living in a town home in Las Colinas on a 6 month lease while commencing the search for a more permanent home. We like the Las Colinas area, but my daily commute to Mansfield at 45+ minutes on the toll road is becoming a hassle so we are probably discounting that area.

We have looked quite extensively at areas, but wanted to get local advice from people who have been living in DFW for longer than my wife and I before making final decisions on locations.

Our primary concerns with our search are the following:

- Sub 45 Minute commute to Job located in Mansfield
- Sub 1 Hour commute to Job located in Garland.
- Budget between $400 - $500k
- Decent amount of Land (ideally 0.5+ Acres)
- Close Upscale amenities (Central Market/Trader Joe's, Nice Shopping District)
- Custom Home (non-Grand Homes or other)

Right now, we do not have children, but school district is something that is always useful to consider also.

Given the locations in question (unfortunate about the job locations!), the only area that we have really liked so far has been the Lake Ridge community in Cedar Hill.

If anybody has any comments on this area, or any alternative areas that they believe would be good for us to look at, please let me know!

[Grainraiser]

I would suggest you look at Sunnyvale since it will meet most of your criteria.

[carroll4628]

- Sub 45 Minute commute to Job located in Mansfield - Maybe, more like 45-60 min from Sunnyvale

- Sub 1 Hour commute to Job located in Garland - It could be 15-20 min in Sunnyvale depending on where you're coming from

- Budget between $400 - $500k - That's a good price range for new construction in Sunnyvale, or more land for an older (10-15yr home)

- Decent amount of Land (ideally 0.5+ Acres) - No problem in Sunnyvale. (If you use Truila or realtor.com you will not see the additional lots being developed in the Stoney Creek subdivision or some of the other areas.)

- Close Upscale amenities (Central Market/Trader Joe's, Nice Shopping District) - NO WHERE NEAR Sunnyvale. You'll have to drive downtown. Firewheel in Garland isn't too far (and neither is Rockwall), but I wouldn't call anything around here "Upscale shopping".

- Custom Home (non-Grand Homes or other) - Yes, there are custom builders here.

Basically, there's less traffic on this side of the Dallas clock, so you'll compromise on shopping vs. commute times.

[WinstonKennedy]

I've just looked at the Sunnyvale commute and its a little over an hour from Mansfield.

Of the two jobs the Mansfield one is less flexible with commute time, as i'm in the office 5 days a week. The garland one is more flexible, but over an hour just doesn't work I'm afraid.

Thanks for the feedback though both!

[ChristieP]

The problem is that Mansfield and upscale shopping are mutually exclusive. There is basically no upscale shopping south of I30 except in Fort Worth. If the commute is that important to you (which I totally understand), then live in Cedar Hill and just realize that you will have to drive a ways for upscale shopping.

[Acntx]

I'd recommend Cedar Hill or DeSoto as they are likely to have the largest selection of homes in your price range. The other southern suburbs such as Duncanville, Lancaster, and Ovilla (owing to its small size) don't have many homes in your stated price range, but there are a few homes on the market in those communities that you might consider as well. The southern suburbs are mostly middle class communities, so they don't have a lot of "upscale" shopping options. Cedar Hill does have an open air regional lifestyle center (Uptown Village) with over 70 stores and lots of retail businesses.

All of the aforementioned places also meet your commute time criteria to Mansfield and Garland.

Hope this helps.

[nsumner]

Where in Garland is the job? North close to Firewheel? Or further south close to 30 or 635?

One note about Lake Ridge. Beware of the foundation in the neighborhood. I have sold many many homes there from 300K to 900K and every single one of them had major issues, even new ones. But there are some beautiful custom homes and the lots are really large. Most of those custom builders are out of business hence their warranties are not in place.

The lot size you are seeking really limits neighborhoods and even areas to suggest. Grand Prairie would have been a good suggestion but the lots and lack of custom builders disqualifies it. Depending on what you're looking in a home, you might want to consider Forest Hills and Casa Linda in east Dallas, there are some nice cottages with large lots.

Naima

[Ilovethewindycity]

Lake Ridge in Cedar Hill is a gorgeous area, you can find heavily treed lots, acreage and friendly neighbors. I've lived here for almost 4 years and love the neighborhood. It's true that to get to some of the shopping you want you have to venture to Dallas or Fort Worth, but that is true no matter which suburb you live in that is South of Dallas. If you live in Dallas or North of it you can find Central Market, Trader Joe's, etc easier. But going in to town is a cool thing, you can make an event of it, just plan accordingly. Actually we find ouselves in Dallas every weekend but we've learned we are city people and the suburbs are not a dream for us, the same was true when we lived in Frisco always in Dallas on the weekends.

As for foundation problems with homes, that is true of most of DFW. I've lived in Frisco, Dallas and now Cedar Hill. We haven't been in a home that did not require foundation work. Texas soil moves a lot, you will be surprised at how much movement there is here. I just want you to be aware it will be difficult to find a home that has not, does not, will not have problems with foundation. Just accept the fact that foundations in Tx will have to be fixed and maintained. You should not take away from the previous post that only Cedar Hill has foundation problems.

[Squirl]

I think Cedar Hill is your best solution considering the commute perimeters. I also like North Arlington 76012 or 76006 which might work out for the Garland & Mansfield commutes by catching 161 off hwy 30.

[RenaInTexas]

I would recommend you look in 75154; namely Oak Leaf, Ovilla, and Red Oak.

Oak Leaf will definitely meet your commute needs because you will be driving against traffic on 20 to 635 to get to Garland. There are no track homes in Oak Leaf; all custom. Red Oak and Ovilla have both. All of Oak Leaf is 1/2 acre plus. Most is 1 acre and fitting your price range will be a breeze.

We also do not have foundation problems that Cedar Hill and other parts have because we are sitting on rock....try getting a pool put in. I am sure this isn't a blanket statement of course.

Red Oak ISD is great and the best one in the south. Save for Midlothian. Cedar Hill is pretty good; but I have friends pulling their kids out of school bc class sizes are becoming unmanageable. 27-30 kindergarteners with no teacher aide. My kids are in Red Oak and we love it. We don't have the SAT scores that Plano does, but that has nothing to do with the school. Red Oak has the programs for every kid to succeed how they choose. We have a ton of grants, corporate backing, and community support. What I am saying is certain schools draw high achievers; therefore their scores will be high regardless of what the schhool offers. Red Oak isn't a school of high achievers; but it does serve all students. From the trailer park to the million dollar home. Red Oak was a Recognized district in 2011. Gifted and Talented starts at Kindergarten.

The neighborhoods are real neighborhoods; no HOAs and the neighbors talk and the kids play together and the whole community watches them and knows who they are. If you don't like knowing your neighbors that is fine too; we have some we never see and just wave as they drive by. The neighborhoods are diverse as well. You will most likely have every race represented in most neighborhoods. Our street is almost even among whites and blacks and there is one hispanic family. All the kids play toegether regardless of race. All the families talk as well. We are not segregated like other parts of the Metroplex; so be sure you are fine with that. If you want less diversity Midlothian is very similar but much less diverse and will probably be more than an hour to Garland. Our crime rate consists of graffiti; theft is typically at construction sites and its the contractors doing the stealing.

We have all the basic amenties and Cedar Hill shopping is 10 miles away.

If you have more questions about this area feel free to ask or DM me.