Home buying in Claremont neighborhood... thoughts? (Dallas, Garland: low income, apartments, crime rate)

[andyATMcandy]

We came across a gorgeous house in the Claremont neighborhood in our $300k budget. Really fell in love with it... but wondering if this is a good area to be in.

Whenever we looked in M streets/Lakewood area, $300k got us nothing. So we were really excited to see such a nice house, move-in ready with all the finishings within our budget... but we just don't know about the location.

It could be up and coming or it could just stay the same, I really don't know. There's not much going on over there down I-30 for now...

[Walter Benjamin]

I'm no expert but will brainstorm a couple of thoughts.

Anecdotally, personally I know a number of folks who live east of the lake in Casa Linda, Little Forest Hills etc., so that may bias my perspective. But don't know anyone in Claremont.

One theory would be that gentrification will expand outward in concentric circles from the center. So the first neighborhoods to be "hot" would be on the west side of the railroad tracks, then following that, those east of the tracks but west of Ferguson, then following that, those east of Ferguson. So according to that theory, if you can find something west of the tracks or west of Ferguson, that would be a safer bet in the near term, because that will get "hot" sooner than the areas east of the tracks..

A variation on that theory would be that the circles expand in terms of school zones, and in that case the main boundary would be the Sanger attendance zone, which goes as far as Buckner and Ferguson:
http://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX0...sanger2011.pdf

There is already a big effort by educated parents to "improve" Sanger, so if you are in that area, there is the chance that Sanger will go in the direction of Lee, Lipscomb, etc., on the other side of the lake, which would be hugely valuable. Whereas if you buy in Claremont, then you would be zoned for Bayles or Conner elementary (?), and to my knowledge, there is no such parallel effort there. So you would be on the "wrong" side of that boundary too.

Anyway, both of these come to the same bottom line... not that Claremont would be a "bad" investment, just that it might be slower to get "hot" than an area west of Ferguson, like Casa Linda.

Here's a couple of listings within the Sanger zone, for comparison:
2234 Springhill Dr. 75228
8713 Diceman Dr. 75218

The one west of the railroad tracks (in 75218; Little Forest Hills) is listed at $235/sqft, whereas the one east of the tracks (75228) is listed at $175, which supports the idea that the tracks are a significant boundary...

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by andyATMcandy

We came across a gorgeous house in the Claremont neighborhood in our $300k budget. Really fell in love with it... but wondering if this is a good area to be in.

Whenever we looked in M streets/Lakewood area, $300k got us nothing. So we were really excited to see such a nice house, move-in ready with all the finishings within our budget... but we just don't know about the location.

It could be up and coming or it could just stay the same, I really don't know. There's not much going on over there down I-30 for now...

You get more for your money there for several reasons:
1. Very bad public schools.
2. Further away from everything. Tradeoff is a 10 minute drive to better shopping & entertainment options.
3. Surrounded by lower income areas with higher crime rates.

Claremont itself is nice but as for gentrification potential, keep in mind Lakewood & Stonewall elementaries have been well-regarded for 25+ years and only in the last decade have home values skyrocketed. Claremont doesn't even have a remotely desirable neighborhood elementary school to drive gentrification.

To me, the biggest strike against Claremont is that it is just SO far east. It's another 10+ minutes east of Lakewood which pretty much limits a 30-minute commute radius to jobs that are downtown/uptown or out towards Rockwall. Even Preston Center would be pushing 40+ minutes in rush hour traffic and that's still really inside the 635 loop. If you want to stay under $300k, I'd look in more centrally located areas like 75229 or 75220.

[ChristieP]

Sadly, it's going to be an uphill battle for that area to get better. The bad schools will keep families from moving in, and the bad apartments and the old, small homes will still attract "riff raff" which will keep the crime rate up.

I lived in Little Forest Hills for 5 years. Yes, those tracks are both a literal and mental boundary.

[pepper131]

We live nearby in Casa Linda Forest - same neighborhood where the listed Springhill house is located. We had looked in Claremont and decided against it due to the low income apartments that line Ferguson and the low income apartments on Hunnicut near I-30. And I think the school zoned to Claremont is Conner which is much worse than Sanger.

We decided to keep our search north of Ferguson, west of Buckner.

But...I do have a friend who I run into every now and then, she lives in Claremont and loves it. They are a young couple with a baby. Not sure what street she lives on. So it might vary from street to street.

[Walter Benjamin]

One strategy could be to keep going (counter-clockwise) around White Rock Lake, into the good elementary schools in Lake Highlands, such as Lake Highlands, Moss Haven, and Hexter. All of those schools are already ahead of where Sanger is right now (by the numbers) and convenient to Northwest Highway if you have to drive west. Again, I'm talking about schools simply for investment purposes, regardless of whether you have kids.

602 Kirkwood Dr. 75218
10357 Bel Aire Dr. 75218
8716 Fenchurch Rd. 75238
9310 Highridge Dr. 75238
9030 Woodhurst Dr. 75243

[Walter Benjamin]

Further to TC80's comment about the distance.... I-30 has gotten a lot worse in the last few years. How much of that is due to temporary construction on the Horseshoe, and how much is just growth? I guess we'll find out. We live in Hollywood Heights (west/south of the lake) and I used to be able to go easily west on I-30 if I went on the highway by 7:00am. Now, it is totally backed up by that time, and it is quicker for me to go on the back roads, unless I leave as early as 6:00am, which I don't want to do.

Once you're east of the lake, you have that big bottleneck trying to get west across the lake/White Rock Creek, with only a few possible routes. If you're in Casa Linda or Little Forest Hills, you can at least get up to Garland on Lakeland or Highland without too much trouble, but in Claremont, you would also have to get across Ferguson too.

Basically, the distance issue is worse than it was just a few years ago, and the further east you go, the more that is exacerbated...

[andyATMcandy]

Thanks everyone. We dug more into the school and crime around the area, and ultimately ruled out that house and area.

Sticking to our guns with this. We've budgeted $350k so hoping to get lucky in one of the better areas. We never intended to be this far east at all... just haven't found anything in the sweet spot.

[InClaremont]

For what it is worth, I live in Claremont. My wife and I purchased about a year and a half ago. Both in our younger 30's. The neighborhood is basically a mix of older original home owners (homes built in the 1950s and 1960s) and younger couples with no kids or younger children. I see more and more couples walking with strollers every day.

We love the neighborhood. You can get a great house (mostly all 3 bed, 2 bath, and 2 garages) at a severe discount compared to other neighborhoods near the lake. The elementary school is not great from what I hear...but considering we do not currently have children we were not going to let the elementary school dictate where we were going to live.

All in all, great, safe, quiet neighborhood that is convenient to downtown, white rock lake, and casa linda plaza.

Please, though, do your own research if you're looking to buy. Don't believe everything I say or what other's on this board say. Go drive the neighborhood you are looking to buy. Talk to the neighbors. Talk to the mail carrier. Independent thought goes a long way.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by andyATMcandy

Thanks everyone. We dug more into the school and crime around the area, and ultimately ruled out that house and area.

Sticking to our guns with this. We've budgeted $350k so hoping to get lucky in one of the better areas. We never intended to be this far east at all... just haven't found anything in the sweet spot.

You really should look in 75220 & 75229. Better locstion but still the remodeled ranch style homes you liked in Claremont. Plus, several of the elementary schools are actually desirable (Withers & DeGoyler), with tons of private school options close by, too.