Mc Kinney,Prosper,Allen (Dallas, Plano: cul-de-sac, 2015, houses)

[Pearls712]

Mc Kinney,Prosper,Allen .We are really loving these 3 areas.Budget under $350,000,all 3 areas are a decent drive for my husband work wise (he will be working in far North Dallas).

Which would you go with under $350,000....

Can y'all tell me your opinions and offer insight on these areas?
Thanks!!

[MckinneyOwnr]

We looked at all three areas before settling in McKinney. (We live in southwest McK.) We decided against Prosper due to location, it was simply too far out and it took too long to get to a major road for commuting. Where we live, we are very close to both US75 and 121. We also looked in Allen, but for our budget ($300k), the houses were older and didn't have the features we wanted.

So McKinney won due to a lot of factors, housing, location, amenities, etc. We also looked in Plano, you might want to look there as well, and my first choice was a house in Plano, but the wife liked the house in McKinney better. Guess who won.

[Pearls712]

Thanks for the input!

Yay for Mc Kinney! The neighborhoods we were interested in were north of Virginia off 380....one was Mayberry in Stonebridge Ranch.

While we could go ip to $350,000,we would be fine spending less if we could still get what we need.
Price wise we realize Prosper is the most expensive of the 3....there is practically nothing even available under $275,000.Allen and Mc Kinney have far more options under $350,000 than Prosper,but we are still on the fence about which area to go with.

Should we add Plano into the mix in the under $350,000 price range?

Not a fan of Frisco due to the overall small lots,so we decided to not consider it.We are looking for a lot that is at least around 8,000 sq feet.Prosper,Mc Kinney and Allen appealed to us more than Frisco when we drove thru neighborhoods.

[Castlehillybilly]

I would recommend that you explore Castle Hills, Far North North Dallas(PISD)and Far West Plano( PISD & LISD both) before you proceed. You may find a decent house, decent commute and good schools well within your budget.

[Wrecked]

Prosper doesn't have many options under $275k because most current builds are on large lots.(.25acres+). It would be hard to find the same lot sizes in your budget in any of the other cities you are looking at. All that said the brand new Windsong Ranch development in Prosper is said to be starting in the mid $200s(so says the developers but builders don't have prices posted yet). You sacrifice those large lot sizes though.

This development is very close to the North Frisco Mall development(and the retail development in prosper directly across the street from that project) and not far from Jerry Jones' Gates of Prosper retail development. Those three retail developments start opening in phases starting in 2015 through 2017.

What it comes down to is what are you willing to sacrifice. Lot size? House size? Age of house? Location? You aren't going to get everything you want in your price range. Pick your musts and start from there.

[Demopublican]

Your budget may not get much in West Plano/PISD/75093 but look around and you may find something you like. You'll get more choices in West Plano/LISD/75024 pocket.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by Pearls712

Thanks for the input!

Yay for Mc Kinney! The neighborhoods we were interested in were north of Virginia off 380....one was Mayberry in Stonebridge Ranch.

While we could go ip to $350,000,we would be fine spending less if we could still get what we need.
Price wise we realize Prosper is the most expensive of the 3....there is practically nothing even available under $275,000.Allen and Mc Kinney have far more options under $350,000 than Prosper,but we are still on the fence about which area to go with.

Should we add Plano into the mix in the under $350,000 price range?

Not a fan of Frisco due to the overall small lots,so we decided to not consider it.We are looking for a lot that is at least around 8,000 sq feet.Prosper,Mc Kinney and Allen appealed to us more than Frisco when we drove thru neighborhoods.

You're welcome.

8000 sq ft is a .18 acre lot, that is easily doable in McKinney and Allen for your budget (.17-.19 is a standard size lot in McKinney.) Ours is .18. You can find homes with larger lots, .22 to .25 aren't too difficult to find here, but they'll typically be corner lot homes or cul-de-sac listings.

Stonebridge Ranch is a great area, we live close by there, my parents do live there. They have some great amenities there too, their huge beach pool is really cool if you have kids.

I would definitely add Plano into your search. I used to live in Plano for 20+ years. Good schools, very safe. The downside of Plano is that it has gotten BIG. When we moved there, Plano had 100k residents. Now, it's closer to 300k. Even though almost all major roads are 3 lane now, there's just so much traffic, all the time. It doesn't have to be rush hour.

That's one reason why I prefer McKinney, there's about 100k people here, and it feels like Plano did 20 years ago. However, Plano has a housing premium, and the homes are valued more highly there than in McKinney or Allen, due to school district and location. That was ultimately why I wanted to buy in Plano... better housing appreciation. You'll pay approx 30k-40k more for the same home in Plano than you would in McKinney or Allen, at least that is what we found with our $300k budget. That was in 2010, it may have fluctuated a bit since then.

[UgglyRainbow]

It's still the same, you have to pay a premium to live in Park Cities, West Plano, Coppell, Southlake. If you look at CAD then 0.25 acre lot varies from $30k-million depending on location and schools.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

(.17-.19 is a standard size lot in McKinney.) ... You can find homes with larger lots, .22 to .25...

Great advice on this thread and I don't mean to hijack, but still get stunned seeing these lot sizes, especially considering the size of homes that tend to be on these lots (often with pools as well). Just the way newer construction is everywhere, but it feels really small.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

Great advice on this thread and I don't mean to hijack, but still get stunned seeing these lot sizes, especially considering the size of homes that tend to be on these lots (often with pools as well). Just the way newer construction is everywhere, but it feels really small.

To be honest, it doesn't seem small to me. I grew up in Plano and my parents had a 1 story, 3100ish sq ft home on .26 acres. I have a 3600 sq ft home, but it's two story, so I'm using less of the lot for house, and more for the yard. The distance between my house and the neighbors is the same as it was for their house in Plano and their neighbors.