Moving to Dallas this summer, please help on house buying (Plano: how much, new house)

[eastcharming]

We will move to Dallas this summer. Right now doing some housing research on the north area of Dallas. Is Allen a good choice to buy new home? Or how about Frisco?

Please also help comparing these builders:
Budget :within 450K

1. Darling homes
2. Standard Pacific homes
3. highland homes

What do you think about these three builders? are they solid? which one you will go to?

Thanks!!!

[stephwin]

Where is your job? Between those builders, 1 and 3 are the better choices. We have a Highland and love it.

[eastcharming]

Originally Posted by stephwin

Where is your job? Between those builders, 1 and 3 are the better choices. We have a Highland and love it.

My husband will work at the downtown area. I know Allen is kind of far from it but it seems the housing close to the downtown are either very expensive or in a bad school districts. West plano is closer than Allen and has best schools I heard but there are few new house there. Besides, I heard the students there are too competitive. So I choose Allen. Or maybe Frisco. Any thought on that? Do we have any other better choice: closer and has better schools?

If we buy a spec house, how much percent do you think that we can negotiate with the builder? Is it wise to buy a spec or build a new?

[ChristieP]

That commute is going to be horrible! Expect an hour each way if he has to drive in rush hour. Yuck!

[BigDGeek]

You can have closer or a new house on your budget, but not both.

[Keepingitsimple]

Highland is a solid builder. It's fine to buy spec home if you like it and get a good price. Building your own with tract builders is basically an illusion to make you think that you are buying a custom. Allen and Frisco have long commute but schools are ok.

A better location with ok schools is West Plano's area served by Lewisville ISD, prices are lower than PISD homes.

[BigDGeek]

If you can deal with a house that isn't new (but has most likely been renovated on the inside), look at Richardson. The schools are great and the commute is much more sane. That is, if you can handle a house that isn't brand-spanking new.

[Keepingitsimple]

You can get a bigger lot and mature trees in Richardson and commute to Dallas is WAY better than exurbs.

[Rakin]

To answer your question: 1. Highland then 2. Darling

But both are good builders (I own a Darling Home) They many times are different styles so between the 2 just find the one you like the most.

Discounting ? Builder prices are going up monthly. Demand is huge, inventory is low and there is almost zero discounting.

[barnabasc]

That is a terrible commute. Killer, really. Is a new house far out on the prairie really worth that? They haven't been known to be such a good investment. You should search East Dallas in the Stonewall Jackson and Lakewood Elementary attendance zones. There are new houses in those areas but they are more expensive. Your budget will get you an older, smaller home but you will have a much more relaxing lifestyle. Even though it's ten minutes to downtown, it's like living in a small town.