Looking For A One Acre Lot In Collin County Or So (Plano: for sale, HOA)

[avayan]

Thinking about building, as opposed to buying, I have been looking for a land lot. Somehow Zillow, realtor, redfin, etc doesn't seem to show reality. For example I have driven through many places and seen "For Sale" signs but none of them show up on the Search Engines (for whatever reason...)


So, looking for:


1. One to Two acres. Closer to one, actually. Two might be overkill.
2. The Epicenter of the Search is Allen, with a radius of 25-35 Miles or so.
3. No HOA. One of the goals is to be able to build a Workshop (e.g. a metal building which most HOA's won't allow in the life of this Universe).
4. Or an HOA, which allows metal buildings (I know in Lucas, for example, some places are like this).
5. Way less than $200K/acre.
6. Decent School Districts. Somewhere where schools can be rated 7 through 10, as opposed to two through six.
7. A place where I can take one of those "Build On Your Lot" builders to build me the property.
8. Preferably one of these developments where there is an actual asphalt/concrete road as opposed to a lot of gravel.
9. The goal here is to build a workshop for my hobbies, not to ride horses. Just a data point.
10. Total budget should not surpass 500K. I know some places do ask for the home to be of certain value.
11. Cities I could contemplate: McKinney, Melissa, Anna, Celina, Prosper, Lucas, Parker, Murphy, Fairview, etc. (albeit I recognize some of these will be prohibitely expensive for us.)


Is there a search engine which is better for lot searches as opposed to homes? Any development out there which might approach what I am asking?

[bigbear63]

Lucas still has 2 acre lots but as you probably know those require 1 ac to be septic. There are lots of micro HOA's out there but most allow the shops to be built. You'll know quickly by looking at the neighbor's lots -- those that allow it have it. The Saddlebrook area does not. Others require non-metal buildings (must look like the home).

Also look in the ETJ areas near Lucas/Allen. There are quite a few homes that are unrestricted but those also come with no police,fire, etc...

Some existing homes in Allen probably have what you are looking for but the house/shop is already built. That might be a better deal.

I would highly consider the travel time to wherever you work if you start heading far north or east. I work with some folks from Celina that work in Plano and spend 1.5 hours each way in traffic.

[avayan]

Thanks! I have been day dreaming with Lucas for years! Unfortunately, most of what I have seen in this region is in the 600K and above, which is in the unaffordable side of things (for us). But then again, there is a price to be paid for two acres and Lovejoy, and that is just how it is.


The reason why we sold our previous home was precisely because of the 1.5 hour commute. This was in the 380 region and that "parking lot of a road" has become a nightmare! I can see how Celina might represent a similar scenario.


I am thinking the only place where I will be able to find a happy medium will have to be either McKinney or Melissa. But have not been able to find a lot to build on. I would still prefer to find a house with the workshop, though! Weirdly enough, those are supremely rare...

[MurphyPl1]

You will be hard pressed to find a lot in Murphy. The 1 acre lots are all already built.

Lucas and Parker are probably your best options.

[stephwin]

Are searching for lots/land on the websites? For instance, on Realtor.com search for the city and then at the top select "Land" from any property type. There are dozens of lots listed in Lucas alone, with quite a few in the Fords Cattle Ranch subdivision.

Could you buy an existing house you like and build a workshop?

[Lovejoy_family]

You can check Lowry Crossings / East McKinney and Princeton. You can definitely find land and no HOA with workshops out that way. Also the schools appear to be on the upswing.


https://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/districtrank.aspx

[avayan]

Originally Posted by Lovejoy_family

You can check Lowry Crossings / East McKinney and Princeton. You can definitely find land and no HOA with workshops out that way. Also the schools appear to be on the upswing.


https://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/districtrank.aspx

Holy Macaroni's Batman! Lovejoy is #5! No wonder you have to pay like $100K per property for this reason alone. Well, I guess you get what you pay for.


Thanks for the link; it was very enlightening!

[mikestrong]

East Mckinney has some. Looked at it about 8 months ago. Far East Mcknney.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

You will be hard pressed to find a lot in Murphy. The 1 acre lots are all already built.

Lucas and Parker are probably your best options.

In Murphy, there are some much older homes (late 60s, early 70s) built on one acre lots that already have large workshops/barns/out buildings. Some are zoned Wylie schools and some are zoned Plano schools.

[rosscountry]

Take a look at creek view landing in the McKinney area or one of the other larger lot communities in that area