Please educate me by analyzing pros & cons of these two properties

[Keepingitsimple]

Originally Posted by Rakin

It's hard to just look at photos on line and determine why one house is better than another.

You should get an experienced agent who can help educate you about the quality of a home, the builders and the areas.

The home in Murphy sold as a foreclosure in 08 and sold again in 2012.

This is good advice. There is a lot that one can tell by looking at listing,pictures,zillow and tax records but in the end you need a professional.

[Funtastic44]

I appreciate posters who took time to post. I learned a lot about these properties and process to screen listings. I am not interested in these houses or in those towns but trying to educate myself about eliminating listings to focus on good ones that suits my family's needs. I will contact an agent six months prior to end of my rental lease.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Funtastic44

I appreciate posters who took time to post. I learned a lot about these properties and process to screen listings. I am not interested in these houses or in those towns but trying to educate myself about eliminating listings to focus on good ones that suits my family's needs. I will contact an agent six months prior to end of my rental lease.

The thing about homes and the reason the Internet will not replace us agents is that you need to get inside a home to get a feel for it's condition, the floor plan, it's quality, ect.

What you see on line is marketing by us agents and many are really good at making a lemon sound like it's a great house. As you start to look you'll get a gut feel. You got to pound the pavement.

It really is wise to pick an agent who will help educate you and shoot straight on the good, bad and very ugly. You don't want an agent who just says yes all the time.

[BiGeek]

Why is house in Murphy priced so low?

[Funtastic44]

That's what I thought, something doesn't sit right.

[VZilyV]

Murphy -
Nice landscaping out in front
Hand scraped hardwood floors looks like (the texture keeps them from showing scratches easily.)
Why was it on the market for so long? Red flag
Beautiful dramatic entryway with the staircase...that has "wow" factor when showing a home.
Lots of crown molding. I don't like the wood crown molding in the office though.
Nice built in bookcase in the office.
Fireplace looks non-standard and is impressive
No pulls on the kitchen cabinets...I have this and I hate it. You'd need to add them or you'll ding up every cabinet in the place trying to open them.
Nice stainless steel appliances.
Backsplash pretty boring.
Nice looking kitchen island with the woodwork.
I like the vanity spot in the master bath.
Corner tub..is it a jacuzzi tub? At least its big.
Movie theater with platform for raised seating is a nice touch. Looks like its wired for everything already.
No pictures of the backyard so you'd need to see what is going on there. Is it fenced? Private or open fencing?
The home is on the corner...yuck. Cars will drive by 3 sides of that home. That Betsy lane looks like it might be a larger road too since its divided in the center. I do not like the placement on that.

Allen -
Also a nice exterior, but the landscaping isn't as stand out.
At a first glance, doesn't look like the touches are as nice. Less crown molding done, less impressive fireplace.
A few odd shaped rooms?
Kitchen appears much smaller and not as open.
Similarly nice island
Some custom painted walls. Pricey to do the texture like that...hope you like the color.
Master bath looks less than impressive. Small but at least there's a bench in the shower.
Part of the yard isn't private.
Seems quite overpriced to me although the neighborhood has a high price tag on it.

There's really no comparison between the two..the Murphy house, from the pictures, has a lot more going for it. When it comes to reselling it...those "wow" factors will really work well for it. Both appear to be roughly the same distance to a freeway although the Allen one is certainly closer to a lot of stuff in Plano.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by VZilyV

There's really no comparison between the two..the Murphy house, from the pictures, has a lot more going for it. When it comes to reselling it...those "wow" factors will really work well for it. Both appear to be roughly the same distance to a freeway although the Allen one is certainly closer to a lot of stuff in Plano.

The Murphy house may be nicer on the inside, but it has one major flaw that can't be changed: location. Backing to a major street and having a not-so-private backyard to boot can't cover up all the nice features on the inside. I didn't research but would bet this house is selling at a significant discount to interior neighborhood homes with similar size/ finishes. A buyer would have to understand going in that when you buy one of the worst homes in the neighborhood (location wise), it's not going to carry a premium when you go to sell it later on. If the buyer is fine with that and is ok with the "price of admission" to a certain neighborhood or willing to put up with a bad / noisy lot to get interior features he couldn't otherwise afford, then perfectly fine. Realistic expectations are key.

The Allen house, as you noted, is in a neighborhood people pay a premium to live in. Hence, less exciting features compared to Murphy.

It's generally the safest decision to bet on location above all other real estate factors.