My Wife and I are a Special Needs Couple. Need Advice (Dallas: sale, apartments)

[Stanton1433]

My Wife and I are new to the Dallas area. We originally met in Dallas in a group housing project in town. After some hard work I got a job as an engineer and she is a school teacher for children with special needs. We are both 29.
We are looking at moving into a house or condo. My wife and I were searching for some areas close to our location that were beautiful yet able to manage without being too much money. My wife makes 38,000 and I make now 85,000. We found a condo in Colleyville which is nice. She chose the condo because it was a beautiful place and it was relatively cheap at 325,000 for a 2 bedroom place.
The condo is close to both our work places (2 miles). We both don't feel comfortable with driving long distances especially on the highway. Its close to walkable areas to get food and grocery stores.


My question is. What is the overall acceptance of an area regarding our unusual situation since it is somewhat a more wealthy area. We are fairly easy to talk to but don't really like huge crowds. We both love to go for walks, and enjoy coffee at coffee places.

[MobiusStrip]

No answer but congratulations on your successes! I bet you guys are so proud. I can relate to the highway driving issue. I was actually fine in metro DC because of all the congestion and slow speed limit (55 max iirc) but here in rural Texas, the 75 mph gives me the heebiejeebies.

[ChristieP]

$325k for a condo in Colleyville is really overpriced. (Its at the Village, right?) You could go just a little further away and get a single family home in Hurst or Bedford for $100k less!

[Stanton1433]

Originally Posted by MobiusStrip

No answer but congratulations on your successes! I bet you guys are so proud. I can relate to the highway driving issue. I was actually fine in metro DC because of all the congestion and slow speed limit (55 max iirc) but here in rural Texas, the 75 mph gives me the heebiejeebies.

Yes. sometimes driving super fast can be tough. I know my wife does not feel comfortable driving more than 55 mph. For me not so much.

[Stanton1433]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

$325k for a condo in Colleyville is really overpriced. (Its at the Village, right?) You could go just a little further away and get a single family home in Hurst or Bedford for $100k less!

There were cheaper condos but She really wanted to stay closer to shops and condos near Main St. These were for reasons of transportation and jobs.

[ChristieP]

I would seriously look elsewhere. Resale on condos in DFW is notoriously poor, and these are already overpriced for the market. You could lose money in the long run! Also, your debt to income ratio is close to being maxed out with that much of a payment. It leaves you little room for emergencies or savings.

[HP48G]

ill agree.. 2 bedroom condo in generic DFW suburbia for 325K is not cheap at all and will likely suffer poor resale prospects. How much is the HOA ?

--
I just googled.. if it is "The Village" they sell 1,200 sq ft units with 150 month HOA for 325K. :O!. Theres another 2 bd on sale for almost 400K :O

[Bp25]

Don't forget that condo HOA can be high. What is the monthly HOA amount there?

[WorldKlas]

I do want to warn you that traffic is about to get very, very difficult around that condo on Main. They are going to undertake a massive road project. I also believe you can make an offer for under $280K. Don't offer full price if you decide to go for this condo. Lastly, I believe there are some nice villas/gated community in Bedford that would also be a good fit.

I think those condos will be hard to sell because they only have single car garages in the burbs where a car culture prevails.

You are talented and educated people. You will do fine socially!

[Stanton1433]

Thanks for everyones advice. The Condo's HOA is monthly at 220 a month. How much do 2 bedroom apartments in this area run. For the short term I am not going to try to build equity quite yet. From what I am looking at, Colleyville seems like a very expensive place to be. Is $1200 for a 2 bedroom, water, gas, elect included good.


Another thing, my wife and I have a job & lifestyle coach in Wisconsin where I am from and she echoed the same thing about Condos. She said an apartment for now is the better option despite the lack of ownership.


Maybe to start from scratch. Jill and I are looking for an apartment in a northern area of the metro closer to the Highway 183 Near Bedford. I know someone already mentioned about Bedford and Hurst Area to be an option. If we wanted to travel a little further to work. What are everyone's thoughts on Las Colinas It seems to be a cool walkable area.