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Hello all, im from Nor Cal(vacavile) and me and the family are thinking of relocating to north Dallas area (Mckinney, Allen, Wylie) and jus have a few questions. Let me give some background first. its me, my girlfriend and 3 kids. i work security here, she does administrative work. relocating, we wouldn't have jobs already, but we would have money setup of 2500 a moth for year or 2 so the job thing isnt a dire need right away.
would it be smarter to buy right away or rent for a year to establish employment then buy a place?
i would be lookin for similar work that i do here as would my GF.
i have also read that commuting could be a nightmare. where im from people commute to San Francisco and it could be 45 mins on a good day to 2-3 hours on a Friday before a holiday weekend with tolls for 2 bridges. but we do have mass transit here. is it similar to something like going in and out of Dallas?
also, why is housing so cheap? is there a catch LOL. i've been looking and there are great houses with great square footage in the low 200s. just seems to good but that's also the allure of relocating. our budget would b max 240k for a house.
Hello all, im from Nor Cal(vacavile) and me and the family are thinking of relocating to north Dallas area (Mckinney, Allen, Wylie) and jus have a few questions. Let me give some background first. its me, my girlfriend and 3 kids. i work security here, she does administrative work. relocating, we wouldn't have jobs already, but we would have money setup of 2500 a moth for year or 2 so the job thing isnt a dire need right away.
would it be smarter to buy right away or rent for a year to establish employment then buy a place?
i would be lookin for similar work that i do here as would my GF.
i have also read that commuting could be a nightmare. where im from people commute to San Francisco and it could be 45 mins on a good day to 2-3 hours on a Friday before a holiday weekend with tolls for 2 bridges. but we do have mass transit here. is it similar to something like going in and out of Dallas?
also, why is housing so cheap? is there a catch LOL. i've been looking and there are great houses with great square footage in the low 200s. just seems to good but that's also the allure of relocating. our budget would b max 240k for a house.
thanks in advance
Get jobs before coming here. Do your best to not arrive here unemployed. It isn't as easy as you think.
Yes, there's a catch to the cheap housing: property taxes, utility bills, and commute times. And Gestapo-like HOAs with required monthly fees. That $200k house could run you $4k-$5k a year in property taxes depending on rates (they vary from county to county, city to city, ISD to ISD). Count on high homeowner insurance rates too. $1k-$2k a year there. Those super-cheap houses are either in crappy areas of town or are so far out that if you needed to commute to Dallas, you'd probably be looking at a lengthy commute, possibly with up to $10 in tolls every day to boot. There likely won't be any mass transit going to those affordable homes either. No cities north of Plano are served by DART that I'm aware of. DART rail is spotty. If you wanted to take advantage of it there are only a few corridors you could consider, and those might stretch your $240k budget unless you're willing to buy an older, possibly not-updated home.
McKinney and Allen have no public transportation at all. I'm pretty sure Wylie doesn't either.
The rental market here is SUPER-tight and not having a job will definitely work against you. It's possible, sure...but when landlords are weighing applicants, the one with a steady job is always going to be a more attractive prospect.
Yea the property tax thing is the only thing I saw that would b "the catch". Insurance doesn't seem that a high a year and how are the utility bills. Here we pay garbage every other month which is about $50 and water every other month which can be upwards of $200. Then PGE which is gas and electric avg 150 a month. Similar there? As far as housing prices and areas, so that 240k would get crappy areas of Allen or McKinney?? Not worried bout the house having bell and whistles. Updating would happen over time. A the job thing, not having one was why I thought renting would be a bad idea. But could I apply for a loan for a house in one state with employment in another state? Lol Doesn't seem possible...thanks for the quick responses
Yea the property tax thing is the only thing I saw that would b "the catch". Insurance doesn't seem that a high a year and how are the utility bills. Here we pay garbage every other month which is about $50 and water every other month which can be upwards of $200. Then PGE which is gas and electric avg 150 a month. Similar there? As far as housing prices and areas, so that 240k would get crappy areas of Allen or McKinney?? Not worried bout the house having bell and whistles. Updating would happen over time. A the job thing, not having one was why I thought renting would be a bad idea. But could I apply for a loan for a house in one state with employment in another state? Lol Doesn't seem possible...thanks for the quick responses
Utility bills vary wildly here due to different rates, different lifestyles, and different construction ages/types.
My house is 1820 sq ft, built in 1957. HVAC is not new; it's in the middle of its useful lifespan, probably, now that my AC's evaporator coil was replaced this summer. I have a gas furnace and gas hot water heater. Oven, cooktop, and dryer are all electric. This makes a difference.
I keep my AC at 80-81 in the summer months and the heat at 68 in winter. My house's insulation leaves quite a bit to be desired. I have no radiant barrier, no solar-powered attic fans. My house's windows were replaced in 2010 with high efficiency windows. Doors are all original to the house. Nearly every light bulb in the house is a CFL. See how many variables we're juggling already? LOL!
My plot is .25 acres and I water 3 zones once a week for 15 minutes if it doesn't rain. No pool. Toilet is a 5-gallon flush. I shower rather than bathing. That makes a difference too!
So with all those variables (and probably several others I've forgotten):
Electric bill is usually around $140-$180 per month in summer, around $80 per month in winter.
Gas bill is usually $20-$30 per month in summer, $80-$100 per month in winter.
Water bill is usually around $90-$100 per month in summer, $50-$60 per month in winter. Garbage collection and curbside recycling is included in this, as is bulk trash pickup (brush, furniture, etc.) once a week.
Homeowner's insurance is about $1400-$1500 per year. (I need to see about getting a better deal.)
Property taxes are between $4500-$4600 per year with a homestead exemption. I'm anticipating a huge rise in 2015 since my property has not been reassessed since 2010 and market prices have skyrocketed here since.
No HOA, so no HOA monthly fees.
I don't know what $240k would buy in Allen or McKinney; I live in Richardson which is a fair piece south of there on 75. Richardson is an "inner ring" suburb of Dallas, meaning we share a boundary with it. In Houston or San Antonio, an area this close to downtown would most likely still be part of the city proper, but Dallas doesn't have a history of annexing outlying suburbs to the extent that Houston and San Antonio does. So, Dallas is not impressively huge on its own but the metro area itself is a monster. Depending on who you ask and what day of the week it is, it's either the fourth or fifth-largest behind NYC, LA, Chicago, and sometimes Houston. We're talking about 5.5 million to 6 million and growing every single day. Fort Worth alone is probably 600,000 people. Plano, another 200-250k. Richardson itself is 100k. Dallas proper, about 1.2 million.
DFW covers an area the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island put together. That's HUGE.
My point is this: Don't just focus on McKinney and Allen. Also, do yourself a favor and don't just buy a house as soon as you get here, especially in outer-ring suburbs like McKinney and Allen. What will you do if you find a job downtown? You will hate your commute, guaranteed. You'll wonder why the hell you bought so far away. What if you find a job in McKinney but your wife can only find a job in Fort Worth? Or Mesquite? Or downtown Dallas? Life'll suck for at least one of you. Also, it's not very wise to work so far from home if you have children, since if there's an emergency at daycare or school you won't be able to get to your child quickly. Plus, a lot of daycares tack on punitive per-minute fees if you're late picking your child up. One accident on northbound 75 can turn a 45-60 minute commute into a 2-hour ordeal from hell. Plus you'll have to shell out for that fine once you pick up Junior.
Bottom line: Don't even sign a LEASE until you both find jobs. Where you work will have a major influence on where you live...unless you like paying tolls and spending inordinate amounts of time in your car.
Caveat: I'm speaking as someone who does not like to sit in traffic. I don't like hellish, stop-and-go commutes. I don't like driving in city traffic. Right now my commute is 13 miles which is long by my own history but takes only about 20 minutes because of the time of day I leave, the direction I'm driving in, and the fact that 95% of it is on highways. It takes me a little less time to get to this job than it took me to get to my last one, which was only 7 miles away but in the opposite direction with many more traffic lights. A commute of more than 30 minutes is an automatic deal-breaker for me, unless the job is just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING. And there aren't any of those out there, at least not that I've found.
Utility bills vary wildly here due to different rates, different lifestyles, and different construction ages/types.
My house is 1820 sq ft, built in 1957. HVAC is not new; it's in the middle of its useful lifespan, probably, now that my AC's evaporator coil was replaced this summer. I have a gas furnace and gas hot water heater. Oven, cooktop, and dryer are all electric. This makes a difference.
I keep my AC at 80-81 in the summer months and the heat at 68 in winter. My house's insulation leaves quite a bit to be desired. I have no radiant barrier, no solar-powered attic fans. My house's windows were replaced in 2010 with high efficiency windows. Doors are all original to the house. Nearly every light bulb in the house is a CFL. See how many variables we're juggling already? LOL!
My plot is .25 acres and I water 3 zones once a week for 15 minutes if it doesn't rain. No pool. Toilet is a 5-gallon flush. I shower rather than bathing. That makes a difference too!
So with all those variables (and probably several others I've forgotten):
Electric bill is usually around $140-$180 per month in summer, around $80 per month in winter.
Gas bill is usually $20-$30 per month in summer, $80-$100 per month in winter.
Water bill is usually around $90-$100 per month in summer, $50-$60 per month in winter. Garbage collection and curbside recycling is included in this, as is bulk trash pickup (brush, furniture, etc.) once a week.
Homeowner's insurance is about $1400-$1500 per year. (I need to see about getting a better deal.)
Property taxes are between $4500-$4600 per year with a homestead exemption. I'm anticipating a huge rise in 2015 since my property has not been reassessed since 2010 and market prices have skyrocketed here since.
No HOA, so no HOA monthly fees.
I don't know what $240k would buy in Allen or McKinney; I live in Richardson which is a fair piece south of there on 75. Richardson is an "inner ring" suburb of Dallas, meaning we share a boundary with it. In Houston or San Antonio, an area this close to downtown would most likely still be part of the city proper, but Dallas doesn't have a history of annexing outlying suburbs to the extent that Houston and San Antonio does. So, Dallas is not impressively huge on its own but the metro area itself is a monster. Depending on who you ask and what day of the week it is, it's either the fourth or fifth-largest behind NYC, LA, Chicago, and sometimes Houston. We're talking about 5.5 million to 6 million and growing every single day. Fort Worth alone is probably 600,000 people. Plano, another 200-250k. Richardson itself is 100k. Dallas proper, about 1.2 million.
DFW covers an area the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island put together. That's HUGE.
My point is this: Don't just focus on McKinney and Allen. Also, do yourself a favor and don't just buy a house as soon as you get here, especially in outer-ring suburbs like McKinney and Allen. What will you do if you find a job downtown? You will hate your commute, guaranteed. You'll wonder why the hell you bought so far away. What if you find a job in McKinney but your wife can only find a job in Fort Worth? Or Mesquite? Or downtown Dallas? Life'll suck for at least one of you. Also, it's not very wise to work so far from home if you have children, since if there's an emergency at daycare or school you won't be able to get to your child quickly. Plus, a lot of daycares tack on punitive per-minute fees if you're late picking your child up. One accident on northbound 75 can turn a 45-60 minute commute into a 2-hour ordeal from hell. Plus you'll have to shell out for that fine once you pick up Junior.
Bottom line: Don't even sign a LEASE until you both find jobs. Where you work will have a major influence on where you live...unless you like paying tolls and spending inordinate amounts of time in your car.
Caveat: I'm speaking as someone who does not like to sit in traffic. I don't like hellish, stop-and-go commutes. I don't like driving in city traffic. Right now my commute is 13 miles which is long by my own history but takes only about 20 minutes because of the time of day I leave, the direction I'm driving in, and the fact that 95% of it is on highways. It takes me a little less time to get to this job than it took me to get to my last one, which was only 7 miles away but in the opposite direction with many more traffic lights. A commute of more than 30 minutes is an automatic deal-breaker for me, unless the job is just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING. And there aren't any of those out there, at least not that I've found.
thaaank you for that. that took effort. that is really appreciated. i get what your saying tho. i was just focused on allen and mckinney cuz of what i read and school scores. my kids are older so the day care thing isnt an issue. working 30-60 mins from where you live is kind of the norm where im from because the Bay Area is where the money is at. the utility bills seem ok. seem like my $2500 would cover cost while looking for jobs. jus wouldnt be eating steak and potatoes until work is obtained lol. still doing bunch of research and need to make the trip out there. thank you again. i'll keep posting questions if they come to mind
thaaank you for that. that took effort. that is really appreciated. i get what your saying tho. i was just focused on allen and mckinney cuz of what i read and school scores. my kids are older so the day care thing isnt an issue. working 30-60 mins from where you live is kind of the norm where im from because the Bay Area is where the money is at. the utility bills seem ok. seem like my $2500 would cover cost while looking for jobs. jus wouldnt be eating steak and potatoes until work is obtained lol. still doing bunch of research and need to make the trip out there. thank you again. i'll keep posting questions if they come to mind
You're welcome. This isn't the Bay Area (thank god) so housing costs will be much more reasonable here. However, the price of real estate is rising and has been rising for a few years now. Your $240k doesn't go as far now as it would have five years ago. Price increases in real estate have been slowing down recently but they're still going up.
At least one of you really should find a job before you relocate here. And yes, visit. You may find that you don't really like DFW and don't want to live here. That happens. It's definitely not for everyone. I don't like DFW, but I live here because of my family. Others have other reasons. This city offers little to nothing in terms of natural beauty and the climate is punishing for a good portion of the year. Whether you'll like it here or not depends a lot on what's important to you.
You're welcome. This isn't the Bay Area (thank god) so housing costs will be much more reasonable here. However, the price of real estate is rising and has been rising for a few years now. Your $240k doesn't go as far now as it would have five years ago. Price increases in real estate have been slowing down recently but they're still going up.
At least one of you really should find a job before you relocate here. And yes, visit. You may find that you don't really like DFW and don't want to live here. That happens. It's definitely not for everyone. I don't like DFW, but I live here because of my family. Others have other reasons. This city offers little to nothing in terms of natural beauty and the climate is punishing for a good portion of the year. Whether you'll like it here or not depends a lot on what's important to you.
you know what come to think of it, mt GF may be able to have a job before the move. she works at a call center for a major chain store so she could have the opportunity to work in one of the stores. the pay would prolly suck tho....but a lot of things to think about. thanks for all your help
Will you be paying cash for the house?
$2500 / month for a family of 5?
no, i would need a loan. and yes fam of 5. $2500 would be commin in with no jobs. when jobs are established, it would b 2500 plus whatever job income....
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