Wife and I work 40 miles apart. Some questions. (Dallas, Arlington: real estate market, rental)

[shaneinhisroom]

So we have a little bit of a unique situation here, my wife works as a high school teacher in Melissa ISD, and I work in Oak Cliff. Currently we live downtown and she has to make the 38 mi trek every day of the school year. Mine is an almost-offensive 15 minutes compared to hers.

She loves Melissa ISD, and was a little late to applying for other schools near to us (Highland Park was the only one she applied to and she never got called back, shocking). She does not want to work in DISD.

Our questions:

1. What other ISD's of good reputation are there around us? She is a math teacher but is unofficially dual lingual in Spanish. Are any schools known for needing high school math teachers?

2. We are looking to have kids in the next 2-3 years. Would it be better now to invest in another property? Our small townhome on the M-Streets won't be conducive to bringing up a child much past 2-3 years old (it's a small 2 br with no yard). We've browsed some areas up north but commute for me would be treacherous. Our budget and wants: 350-400k, new-ish single family home, good schools and reasonable travel time to my work as I am less flexible with location. We looked at some new constructions by Village Builders and Drees but they are almost firmly in east Plano or Mckinney/Frisco.



Thanks!

[WorldKlas]

Midlothian has good schools, a very suburban student body, and is a great distance for Oak Cliff. Grand Prairie, Arlington and Mansfield all would work, too, for doable commute living locations.

I suggest you stay put until you get the dual commute issue resolved. You don't even have kids yet. A lot could change....... btw, there's some great new housing in the southern burbs much better drive to OC.

[TurtleCreek80]

Good advice from WK - get your wife's commute finalized and then work on the baby. You are so far away from outgrowing your current home or needing public schools that I would try to sit right where you are and just enjoy the appreciation on your M Streets place until moving is an actual "need."

HP is not going to call her back unless she already has a Master's degree and/or has connections to the school. If it's a goal of hers to work there, she should attend the job fairs and network with HP teachers & admin at any regional development training or classes she attends.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

Midlothian has good schools, a very suburban student body, and is a great distance for Oak Cliff. Grand Prairie, Arlington and Mansfield all would work, too, for doable commute living locations.

I suggest you stay put until you get the dual commute issue resolved. You don't even have kids yet. A lot could change....... btw, there's some great new housing in the southern burbs much better drive to OC.

Midlothian and the others are NOT CLOSE for a commute to Melissa though, where the wife works.

[shaneinhisroom]

Thanks for the suggestions. We will start applying for different schools in the areas you all have suggested. We never even bothered to look south of Dallas, thinking it was all undeveloped.

Another question - I know investment wise, north dallas is pretty saturated already, and wouldn't give us much more return in the upcoming years. Does anyone have any data for cities like Midlothian and GP/Arlington? Do we expect the real estate market to trend up and more importantly, NOT to trend down?

[Stevehanrahan41]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

Midlothian and the others are NOT CLOSE for a commute to Melissa though, where the wife works.

I think he was suggesting that if the OPs wife continues to look for new employment that those would be viable options.

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by shaneinhisroom

Thanks for the suggestions. We will start applying for different schools in the areas you all have suggested. We never even bothered to look south of Dallas, thinking it was all undeveloped.

Another question - I know investment wise, north dallas is pretty saturated already, and wouldn't give us much more return in the upcoming years. Does anyone have any data for cities like Midlothian and GP/Arlington? Do we expect the real estate market to trend up and more importantly, NOT to trend down?

As an investor I think much of the DFW area is a good investment. My properties in Arlington (Martin HS attendance zones) have greatly increased in value, my rental house in Euless (GCISD) has skyrocketed and my rent house in Midlothian -- which I've only owned a year has increased in value approx. 30%. Other than the Northern burbs, I see both the midcities and southern sectors with high performing schools as great investment opptys.

Midlothian is a gem of a town. Its progress was long delayed by a nasty local air quality issue that has now been resolved and the town is booming.

School performance is a great driver of real estate value for non-character/city convenient homes. Homes in sought after "character" areas or in good city neighborhoods are not as dependent on local school performance. If you are looking for a newer home, pay close attention to schools. For the southern sector, that means Martin High School attendance zone, the original Mansfield High School attendance zone, and all of Midlothian.

[shaneinhisroom]

Thanks so much for your reply. This was exactly what we were looking for! Is time of the essence for Midlothian? After looking at Mckinney prices, Midlothian seems to be a friggin' steal...

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by shaneinhisroom

Thanks so much for your reply. This was exactly what we were looking for! Is time of the essence for Midlothian? After looking at Mckinney prices, Midlothian seems to be a friggin' steal...

Hummmm........if I absolutely KNEW I would be living in Midlothian w/i the next year or two I would strongly consider making an offer on a house there and renting it out until I was ready to move. Yes, the real estate is increasing there. But in your situation it doesn't make alot of sense until your wife finds a job in the southern sector. Still, the weekend is coming so take a drive out there and see what you think of the area. You are a long time away from needing an elementary school, however, there are a couple of Midlothian elementary schools that are not performing as well as most of the district. When you are ready to buy a house anywhere its a good idea to gain information on the local public elementaries.

[mSooner]

Carrollton/Farmers Branch ISD, Irving ISD, and Coppell ISD would put you in a doable commute situation. Farmers Branch and Irving would be places you might have an appreciating home with a lower entry point.