Need advice (Flower mound,Prosper,Wylie,argyle) (Plano, Denton: renting, new home)

[ken007]

We move to dfw area a year back and currently renting a house in McKinney and considering flower mound,Wylie,prosper,argyle area to buy a house.. We have 2 kids and both are in elementary(grade 1 and grade 4). I have a travel job so either I am on air or work from home.. our budget is around 500k and can stretch little bit too. Below is what we are looking in the area

1) Good schools as my first kids will start middle in next year or so.
2) Place which has some kid activities like sports,music classes..
3) Not too old houses..(some of my friends told don't buy houses which are built before like 2010)..

Appreciate any advice or suggestions..Or suggest any other area

[Rakin]

Your friends are mistaken.

[ChristieP]

I agree with Rakin.

Argyle is definitely more rural than the other options, and you would have to drive further for your kids' activities.

[mSooner]

Of the choices, Flower Mound is my favorite, but I don't know as much about Wylie.

I have no idea what Wylie schools are like either :/. You cant go wrong with Flower Mound schools and Argyle schools are highly regarded as well.

Flower Mound will have everything you want nearby. Proper & Argyle will have more of a rural feel and you will have to drive to neighboring cities (Frisco & Flower Mound/Denton) to get the activities, but they are there. Argyle does have the benefit of a smaller ISD (right now). Flower Mound is the easiest drive to DFW airport, but that might be a moot point if you aren't flying that often.

If you limit yourself to homes built in the last 5 years, you aren't going to find anything. You are fine buying an older home.

[Aceraceae]

Limiting yourself to 2010 or newer would be ridiculous.

[UnfairPark]

Among four towns on your list, three of them are evolving into generic subdivision oriented exurbs. If you prefer rural setting then Argyle is the right place for you.

[speedyg]

I'd look at the Plano ISD part of Murphy or the small slice of Wylie in PISD over Wylie ISD. The elementaries are Hunt and Bogess - both have great reps.

The main problem with older houses are energy bills. New homes vs old ones are night and day on that.

[ChristieP]

Not necessarily. Older homes may have had modifications to help make them more energy efficient, such as radiant barrier, additional attic insulation, etc.

[HeatherDFW]

I think all of those are great options. You might also consider schools in the Rockwall area as well.

As far as not buying anything built before 2010, that's all going to come down to personal preference. Some people just prefer new construction (me included) but you might end up finding an older home that has been updated and modified, making it as good as new.

[mSooner]

The main problem with older houses are energy bills. New homes vs old ones are night and day on that.

I have a hard time calling anything built after 2000 "old" enough to make enough of a difference in energy efficiency.

In a lot of these areas, there is a good chance that you can find something built before 2010 that is nicely updated, while something "newer" might be decorated in a style that is teetering on the edge of outdated, but just new enough that an owner isn't going to spend money to update it to sell. Just a though. At least look at everything in your price range before deciding.

Plus, I feel like there wasn't a ton that was even built from 2009-2012 and anything built after in a lot of those areas is going to be pretty much out of your price range.