Cedar Hill questions (Dallas, Duncanville, Red Oak: for sale, apartments, foreclosures)

[Sven Haterius]

My wife and I are looking to buy a new house. We really decided that Cedar Hill is a good area but were a little concerned with it. From what I have heard the schools are sub par. We do not have any kids yet though so I am not too concerned with this other than it affecting our resale value. We were looking at a house that is pretty close to Joe Pool lake. I know that there are a lot of foreclosures out there right now. We plan on keeping our house for a minimum of 8 years. Does anyone have any information good or bad about this area? If we do decide to sell it in we say 8 or so years is it going to be hard to do or is the value going to drop. Any help that anyone has is greatly appreciated.

[nsumner]

For school info, I recommend GreatSchools.net. Where will you be commuting to and what kind of budget are you working with? that would help to direct you to alternatives if Cedar Hill doesn't work for you.

Naima

[DWong]

Originally Posted by Sven Haterius

My wife and I are looking to buy a new house. We really decided that Cedar Hill is a good area but were a little concerned with it. From what I have heard the schools are sub par. We do not have any kids yet though so I am not too concerned with this other than it affecting our resale value. We were looking at a house that is pretty close to Joe Pool lake. I know that there are a lot of foreclosures out there right now. We plan on keeping our house for a minimum of 8 years. Does anyone have any information good or bad about this area? If we do decide to sell it in we say 8 or so years is it going to be hard to do or is the value going to drop. Any help that anyone has is greatly appreciated.

If you do the math, renting (if you can a good deal) is better. TX homes appreciate at the same rate as inflation... high property tax and INS not to mention maintenence.
All you put into it.. you'll prob break even and when it comes time to move... not have to worry about selling to move.. you can just go..

[Acntx]

Although the schools are not the best, they aren't the worst either. Many people tend to base a school or school district's reputation on standardized test scores and ratings alone without examining other non-measurable factors. That being said, as long as a majority of the schools aren't considered "Academically Unacceptable" or failing, then I personally don't think that it would have a significant impact on a home's resale value.

Cedar Hill has done a good job of attracting retail businesses to the city and diversifying its tax base. Its natural "Hill Country-type" scenery and its location near Joe Pool Lake will always be an attraction to prospective home buyers. Those factors, together with its position near Dallas and a low crime rate according to statistics from this site mean that the area will more than likely remain desirable in the years to come.

[stargazer]

I know the area you are looking at and it is amazingly beautiful. I wish I could live that way again but the air quality issue will not allow us to move that way till that is resolved. I don't know either if it ever will. If you don't have any case of lung issues in your family, then it could be ok. Cedar Hill has very good memories for us as far as people, business's, shopping ect. For schools, they do have choices. There is a charter school called Life School in Red Oak, there is Ovilla Christian Academy in Ovilla, Canterbury in Desoto and a handful of others around.
All the best

[Sven Haterius]

Thanks for you guys help, everything has been very good so far. We have looked at the house that we are thinking about getting a few times and driven around the area. It seems like 1 out of every 3 or 4 houses is for sale which worries me a little bit. It also seemed like every subdivision out that way that we drove down was incomplete. It didn't seem like there was anything new going up. This may all be just because of the housing market problems right now, but it just worries me a little bit.

Stargazer, how long ago was it that you lived in Cedar hill and did you guys have much of a problem selling your house?

[stargazer]

Hi Sven,
We lived in Cedar Hill from 93- 99. The market was different then, we had our home under contract in 2 days after we listed it. We sold our home on our own and could due to it was a reproduction home which at the time was not selling for a huge amount. After we sold it, we moved into some apartments in Cedar Hill till our home in Duncanville was complete. We were in Duncanville from 99 till the end of 2002.
Best of luck.