David Weekely - Woodbridge - Wylie? (Dallas, Plano: leases, HOA fees, buying a home)

[Babyneedsahome]

I just got done sifting through some posts I pulled up on a search, but a lot of them were at least a year or more old. I just wanted to see if I could get some more current opinions on this builder, community, part of town.

My husband and I are relocating from Northern VA at the end of June and are interested in buying a home right away instead of renting. We are expecting our first child in three weeks, and we also just took custody of our nearly 4 year old niece - so now school districts are really important since she will be starting soon. We don't anticipate staying in this home longer than 5 years, so we mainly need a good elem. school.

I had done some research on David Weekley last year when we first decided to move and am impressed with the builder. We were looking into Enclave at Grove Hill at the time, but now that schools are a factor, it's out the window.

Our price range is around $225k and we'd like to have a home that's not TOO far from downtown where my husband will work. We only need 3 bedrooms 2 baths and would rather have a smaller home with nicer upgrades than a McMansion that is going to cost a small fortune in utilities.

We would also like to live in a community near lots of shopping, restaurants, night life, family events, trails and parks. I like what I see at the Firewheel Town Center and Wylie seems to offer a lot of these things.

Any reason why this area wouldn't be a good fit for us? Am I off on my (somewhat educated) assumptions about the area?

[harishv]

The area itself that you picked is nice. At most 10 minutes to Firewheel, Home Depot/ Blockbuster/ Walmart/pizza joints/walgreens/grocery stores/starbucks all inside 7 minutes drive from woodbridge in wylie.
But it is a little bit of a drive downtown. My wife works downtown as well and it takes her 40 minutes by leaving at 7am and taking the turnpike (tollway) to I75.
David Weekley - cant say enough good things. I know a few people whose homes inside woodbridge are DWs and they all gave me glowing reviews.
In your budget, you could buy a home in the 50s community (as opposed to the 60s or 70s) and upgrade your home as much as u want and still stay inside your budget. I know for a fact that they have great incentives going on right now ( a friend bought a house last week from DW in Woodbridge) an you will come out well.
Cannot go wrong with the woodbridge community: lots of trails, lots of pools/play areas for kids/schools inside the community - its beautiful.
Just remember u r looking at a 3/4 hour drive to the downtown area.
Good luck.

[Valkyra]

Hello Babyneedsahome.

We just moved to Woodbridge / the Wylie side a little over a month ago and so far we love it. Based on your description of your needs, I think this would be a great area for your family, and a nice welcome to Texas as well. I know there are plenty of new families here, as well as a good mix of retired people and DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) like my husband and I.

We chose a Horizon home, but the D. Weekly's are very nice, very popular, and I've always heard good things about them. My realtor even purchased a D. Weekly. We chose to buy from builder inventory vs. waiting to build because we got a better deal. One of the reasons we chose Horizon over D. Weekly was based on inventory availability at the time we purchased, as well as yard size, but that depends on the lot. You will be able to negotiate a much better deal in price and upgrades with a realtor, btw. The realtor is paid out of the builder's marketing budget.

As for school districts, I've always heard Wylie ISD is preferred over Garland ISD. Do your research! However, I do not have children, so others may want to chime in on that aspect. School distirct is also important for resale value, of course. Also, do not assume that the elementry school currently located in Woodbridge is where your children will attend (see above, do research).

The only complaints I've heard about the area are regarding Hwy. 78 and the trains (NOT to be confused with DART rail, which is not in the area, but I've heard leases its tracks to the major railroad lines located here). Traffic on 78 can be a bit thick at times, but I've noticed it is mainly a bit congested toward Firewheel. Woodbridge is 10 minutes or less from Firewheel. Personally, I take the back roads to get around and rarely travel on 78. As for the trains, there is some debate over the horn noise (which Wylie council is now in the process of studying and possibly implementing "quiet zones"). I do not feel the noise is an issue where I am located, but the trains can sometimes be heard at night.

There will soon be a Super Target in Wylie, a sports complex, as well as more retail/restuarants moving in. The nice thing about this community is you are just minutes from several cities with plenty of shopping and essentials: Sachse, Murphy, Garland, and Plano.

Regarding a commute into downtown Dallas, consider the DART rail and see a recent thread here in which it is discussed and I comment on riding it commuting from Wylie (boarding in downtown Garland): //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...land-info.html

You can see more about Woodbridge here: Woodbridge :: Home PS: Don't forget to factor in HOA dues into your budget.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions I can try to answer.

[Babyneedsahome]

Thank you for the responses! The more we look at the community, the more it just seems to "fit". My husband is actually planning to use the DART to get to his job downtown since his building is very close to one of the stops. He will be working flex hours of 7-3, so hopefully he won't have to deal with much traffic getting to and from the station.

To PP who purchased a Horizon home - can you talk to me about your experience? We just came across some Horizon in stock homes that we really like, specifically the Copeland layout. We also have to work with what's instock with a builder since we don't have time to build. How happy are you with the quality of the home and amenities? How is the neighborhood?

TIA for all your help!

[harishv]

BTW,

i sometimes take the dart myself and i find it takes a little less time to get to the dart station on the George Bsh Turnpike a couple miles before you hit 75. I usually take the frontage/access roads until i reach the dart station. It takes me about 15 min to get there. You may want to look at which station the downtown stop is closer to and make your choice that way.
One thing i found about both the dart stations, the one in garland and the GBT is that parking is a problem - especially on mondays after 7.30am.
Our friends who bought a DW home last week went thru all the Horizon homes in Woodbridge as well and found that the homes were of equally good quality and size for the money. The reason they went with DW was because DW offered them far more incentives than Horizon did.
I agree with the previous poster or my fellow woodbridge owner that there are plenty of couples with kids and plenty without so its a good mix.
Neighborhood is very clean and well maintained. Lots and lots of trees and the golf course and the trails and the 5 or 6 neighborhood pools/pool houses are very nicely done and maintained.
People walk the trails and the roads with their kids/pets all the time. U will almost always see your neighbors or their kids riding their bikes in the neighborhood.
Quality of home -so far so good, but the real test will be a year after we moved in to see if anything breaks - how the foundation holds up etc.
HOA fees are $37 a month btw.
Good luck!

[Valkyra]

Horizon Homes is an affiliate of Highland Homes, which has a very good reputation. I believe they are a family owned company as well, and they are based in TX. Highlands Homes are a bit more expensive, but Horizon Homes are still the same quality and workmanship. One of the other reasons we picked Horizon is because of the two year warranty (most builders offer only one year), in addition to the HVAC and foundation warranties.

I will have to say that in our experience, Horizon was not as willing to negotiate. Our realtor really helped us in that regard and she really pushed forward on negotiating not only a better price, but a bit more in upgrades.

I heard that D. Weekly might be pulling out of Woodbridge, so I bet they do offer better incentives. Note this does not mean anything bad -- they will still honor your warranty, etc. as long as they stay in business. Centex is now building here as well, but I am not knowledgeable about their reputation.

So far we are happy with the quality and service of Horizon. We have a friend that has purchased two homes (via Highland) and has been very happy.

The Woodbrige neighborhood is very nice, and like Harishv indicated, there are community pools, parks, play areas, ponds, and a 7 mile trail system that winds through the golf course. It is kept up well and I always hear good things about it.

[harishv]

To Valkyra's point,

there ia a second phase in woodbridge that is supposed to begin in a year and a half. Weekley will NOT be buying land for the 2nd phase. This is it. From what i found out, the 50s community will be all done before the end of the year and the 60s and 70s within a year and a half. Then they are out!
Also, i was incorrect in saying 15 min to the station on the turnpike. its 20 min.

[Amyund]

Originally Posted by Babyneedsahome

I just got done sifting through some posts I pulled up on a search, but a lot of them were at least a year or more old. I just wanted to see if I could get some more current opinions on this builder, community, part of town.

My husband and I are relocating from Northern VA at the end of June and are interested in buying a home right away instead of renting. We are expecting our first child in three weeks, and we also just took custody of our nearly 4 year old niece - so now school districts are really important since she will be starting soon. We don't anticipate staying in this home longer than 5 years, so we mainly need a good elem. school.

I had done some research on David Weekley last year when we first decided to move and am impressed with the builder. We were looking into Enclave at Grove Hill at the time, but now that schools are a factor, it's out the window.

Our price range is around $225k and we'd like to have a home that's not TOO far from downtown where my husband will work. We only need 3 bedrooms 2 baths and would rather have a smaller home with nicer upgrades than a McMansion that is going to cost a small fortune in utilities.

We would also like to live in a community near lots of shopping, restaurants, night life, family events, trails and parks. I like what I see at the Firewheel Town Center and Wylie seems to offer a lot of these things.

Any reason why this area wouldn't be a good fit for us? Am I off on my (somewhat educated) assumptions about the area?

If you go out there, ask for Kelly Johnson, she is an awesome rep. [MOD CUT]

[Wyliejim]

I live in Wylie and was wondering if you had settled into Woodbridge yet? It is an awesome community and is quite convenient to the northern Dallas suburbs. One family thing to check out is Wylie's "Concerts in the Park" which is held each Thursday evening at Olde City Park in Downtown Wylie. The first concert will be on June 12 starting at 7:00pm.