Family of 6 moving quickly to Rockwall or Collin County - many questions! (Houston: for sale, real estate) - Dallas - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Tyryztoll · 03-02-2015, 04:29 AM

Hi, I'm a husband and father of 4, and was thrilled to accept a position in Wylie, TX last week. I went to middle and high school in the Houston area, but this will be my wife & kids first time living in Texas. We're moving March 24th, and I have a few questions.

First - I am driving one of our 2 vehicles down before we move so that I can house hunt, and I want to leave the vehicle and fly back to Chicago because we don't have a 3rd driver available to us for the move (I'll be driving the moving truck and my wife our other vehicle). Is there an affordable parking option with an airport shuttle for me near DFW where I could leave my vehicle for a couple weeks and then pick it up after the move is finished?

Second - We'll be renting to start out, and I'm gonna be on the hunt for a single family detached house. Does anyone know what is usually required up front to rent a house there? I'm assuming it would be at least first and last months rent to move in (we have no pets), but didn't know if there were real estate agent fees or other things. Trying to figure out how much we'll need for that. Also noticed that not many of the homes come with refrigerators or washer/dryers. Is that normal?

Third - We're looking to settle within 30-40 minutes of Wylie in either Collin or Rockwall County (I work 3 days a week), and very much want to find a rental home in an area we could also buy in a year or so from now after we're settled. Don't want the kids to have to change school systems and all once we buy. We're playing it safe and spending $1,500 a month (3BR 2BA) on rent - MAYBE a bit more if we found the right place. These are the towns we've focused on thus far, according to the rental homes we see online: Rockwall, Fate, Royse City, Wylie, McKinney, Princeton, Allen, Plano. Now, I'm nervous about places like Rockwall, Plano and Allen because I've heard the homes for sale are much more expensive there, and don't want to put us in an area we can't afford. Would appreciate any and every opinion I can get from folks who have been through this type of move or who know anything about any of the above. Thanks so much, we're very excited!

jennifw · 03-02-2015, 05:34 AM

Welcome (back) to Texas.

Regarding your car, what about your office? I would start there before looking at a paid lot/shuttle location.

2nd, I would search this forum regarding all of the cities you mention. There are lots of threads on schools and housing options on most of those towns. No fridge/washer/dryer is normal for this part of the country.

Good luck.

TurtleCreek80 · 03-02-2015, 06:40 AM

What will be your home buying budget? Rentals usually require first month's rent and a deposit equal to monthly rent at signing. Realtor commissions are paid by the landlord, not the tenant. You will have better luck renting an apartment than a home if you plan to rent for less than 1 year.

For the suburbs & towns you mentioned, here is how the schools rank in descending order:

1. Plano - one of the tip top public school districts in DFW. Neighborhoods near 75 are more affordable and there are plenty of apartments.

2. Allen, McKinney, and Rockwall - solid Tier 2 public schools. I would do everything you can to rent and buy in Plano, Allen, McKinney, or Rockwall because the public schools are substantially better than the other towns on your list.

BIG GAP

3. Wylie - ok if you just can't find anything in the top 4 burbs.

BIGGER GAP

4. Royce City, Fate, Princeton- JUST NO. School quality is not good. Additionally, Princeton is well known for a meth problem as well as having a large sex offender "cluster" (when they get out of jail, they know they have friends in Princeton). I believe Royce City is the town mentioned on another recent thread that doesn't even have a grocery store because the city council is so hostile to businesses. I don't think Fate is a terrible place to live but you can do so much better.

ChristieP · 03-02-2015, 09:18 AM

Fate is actually quite good. It's just east of Rockwall and has many nice, new homes. Part of the city feeds into Rockwall ISD.
It's a quick drive into Rockwall for shopping/restaurants.

Royse City schools aren't awful, but they aren't as good as Rockwall. The city is getting a WalMart soon, but it will actually sit outside the city limits due to the political situation. It's a blue collar town with affordable homes.

Gvn2Fly · 03-02-2015, 09:34 AM

Check out east Plano and east Allen first. While McKinney is a nice city, it is further away from Wylie but go for it if you see something you like. The small town of Murphy could also be an option for you. It doesn't have it's own school district so some of the town feeds into Plano ISD and the other half feeds into Wylie ISD.

EDS_ · 03-02-2015, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Fate is actually quite good. It's just east of Rockwall and has many nice, new homes. Part of the city feeds into Rockwall ISD.
It's a quick drive into Rockwall for shopping/restaurants.

Royse City schools aren't awful, but they aren't as good as Rockwall. The city is getting a WalMart soon, but it will actually sit outside the city limits due to the political situation. It's a blue collar town with affordable homes.

FWIIW - Royce City's High School SAT average was 1376 in 2013/14. That's right there with Duncanville, Little Elm and South Grand Prairie.

Allison81 · 03-02-2015, 10:59 AM

Some of Fate feeds into Rockwall schools. It's booming right now with new homes. I would keep it on your list for a rental for sure!

Tyryztoll · 03-02-2015, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennifw

Welcome (back) to Texas.

Regarding your car, what about your office? I would start there before looking at a paid lot/shuttle location.

2nd, I would search this forum regarding all of the cities you mention. There are lots of threads on schools and housing options on most of those towns. No fridge/washer/dryer is normal for this part of the country.

Good luck.

My office really won't work because it's in Wylie and I don't have a ride to the airport. Was hoping to find a somewhat cheap parking option with a shuttle or something similar out near DFW.

Tyryztoll · 03-02-2015, 12:31 PM

Someone asked about our home buying budget. I'm not really sure what we could get approved for down there. I can tell you I'll be making $36 an hour with 40 hours a week, and that my wife also works 2 days a week as a cosmetologist. We have 4 kids, 2 4th graders and 2 babies. No pets. 2 vehicles, 1 of which is paid off.

Surprised to hear someone say "just no" to places like Fate and RC. The schools are ranked pretty high on the real estate sites, although I am aware that nothing really compares to the Plano/Allen districts. Don't get me wrong, we would love to live in the best area possible, but are also looking for the most bang for our buck as long as we're in a nice safe place with good schools.

Also, we will not be renting an apartment. We need a single family home with at least a small yard for the kids.

Tamara0914 · 03-02-2015, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Time for Texas!

Someone asked about our home buying budget. I'm not really sure what we could get approved for down there. I can tell you I'll be making $36 an hour with 40 hours a week, and that my wife also works 2 days a week as a cosmetologist. We have 4 kids, 2 4th graders and 2 babies. No pets. 2 vehicles, 1 of which is paid off.

Surprised to hear someone say "just no" to places like Fate and RC. The schools are ranked pretty high on the real estate sites, although I am aware that nothing really compares to the Plano/Allen districts. Don't get me wrong, we would love to live in the best area possible, but are also looking for the most bang for our buck as long as we're in a nice safe place with good schools.

People are saying no to RC because of its city government - who has an issue with opening grocery stores and other businesses apparently. Do you really want to live in an area like that? You can get way better, and better schools than that, so why do it. I've been to Fate, a friend of mine just bought a home there with her husband and 2 children. It is a bit far removed for my taste, but definitely get more for your money, and the area is on the rise. Like another poster said, some of the schools feed into Rockwall ISD - which would be great for you. There are some really lovely homes being built there, and I've seen quite a bit of familes with children.