Yet another "Where should I buy a house" ? (Dallas: real estate market, rental)

[tcualum]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

It's crazy in some neighborhoods. Mine is a buyer's market for sure, and within the city it's not alone.

Almost all of the homes in my neighborhood are sold via pocket listings these days. It's impossible to move in unless you have the right agent who has connections.

[TumbleweedJill]

Just buy a starter home in Fort Worth. Once you start dating and things get serious, you can then re-evaluate if you want to remain there or relocate to a new place with your partner. You’re probably going to want to relocate, and you can cross that bridge when you come to it.

[widespreadfan]

Originally Posted by tcualum

Almost all of the homes in my neighborhood are sold via pocket listings these days. It's impossible to move in unless you have the right agent who has connections.

I would guess based on other posts you have written that you are in a more affluent, established neighborhood. The kind of area where homes could always be sold via pocket listings.

[Leonard123]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

I would guess based on other posts you have written that you are in a more affluent, established neighborhood. The kind of area where homes could always be sold via pocket listings.

It doesn't have to be affluent. If the houses are cheap enough, they can always be sold by pocket listings. If my home were in poor condition, that's the only way I'd ever consider it. I'd be too embarrassed. Investors are always eager to snap up old homes up for rentals. Real estate agents with good networks will typically know a potential buyer. Putting it on the market will always get top dollar though.

[tcualum]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

I would guess based on other posts you have written that you are in a more affluent, established neighborhood. The kind of area where homes could always be sold via pocket listings.

Not necessarily. A lot of the homes in my neighborhood were over-customized in a way that no one except the owners would ever want. I saw some weird stuff when I was house hunting. A lot of the homes sat on the market for an insanely long time for that reason. Now, people are more willing to remodel to get what they want.

[UP 270]

Hey, OP here. Found a place I think like. It's the "Main 7 Urban Villas" townhomes in Arlington--130 Garden Court West area. Kind of between work(Ft Worth) and play(Dallas). Price is more than I would like but I can manage it; ~$430,000 mortgage on a $134,000/year pre-tax income with main debt being $800/month federal student loan payment. Those student loans will be forgiven in 5 years under the PSLF. With the VA home loan, no down, no PMI, and no funding fee. The payment will be ~$2700/month.

Centrally located with stuff to do and near UT Arlington. As a 42 yo single guy with no kids/wife, I think I could be happy there.

Before making this major life decision, I wanted to check-in with the internet one more time. The financial planner I spoke with said I should stick to $2500/month. I think $2700 is close enough to $2500.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by UP 270

Hey, OP here. Found a place I think like. It's the "Main 7 Urban Villas" townhomes in Arlington--130 Garden Court West area. Kind of between work(Ft Worth) and play(Dallas). Price is more than I would like but I can manage it; ~$430,000 mortgage on a $134,000/year pre-tax income with main debt being $800/month federal student loan payment. Those student loans will be forgiven in 5 years under the PSLF. With the VA home loan, no down, no PMI, and no funding fee. The payment will be ~$2700/month.

Centrally located with stuff to do and near UT Arlington. As a 42 yo single guy with no kids/wife, I think I could be happy there.

Before making this major life decision, I wanted to check-in with the internet one more time. The financial planner I spoke with said I should stick to $2500/month. I think $2700 is close enough to $2500.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Location seems ok as long as you don’t mind being blocks from UTA campus…I assume neighbors in a $400k townhome complex would not be loud college students? This is one of those places I can’t see a woman wanting to live assuming you meet that bride quickly like you want to….but I can see it possibly being a good long term rental property if you move on to a SFH due to campus proximity.

Does $2700/mo include HOA & an accurate property tax estimate? I really don’t love seeing debt payments over 50% of take home pay and you would be pushing 50% (possibly over if you have a car lease / payment too). But you do have a healthy take home pay with around $3000/mo left after PITI, utility/cable/internet bills, car & loan so as long as you can save / invest / play / give with $36k per year and meet your lifestyle / financial goals, then you’re probably ok.

[TheProtege]

Originally Posted by UP 270

Hey, OP here. Found a place I think like. It's the "Main 7 Urban Villas" townhomes in Arlington--130 Garden Court West area. Kind of between work(Ft Worth) and play(Dallas). Price is more than I would like but I can manage it; ~$430,000 mortgage on a $134,000/year pre-tax income with main debt being $800/month federal student loan payment. Those student loans will be forgiven in 5 years under the PSLF. With the VA home loan, no down, no PMI, and no funding fee. The payment will be ~$2700/month.

Centrally located with stuff to do and near UT Arlington. As a 42 yo single guy with no kids/wife, I think I could be happy there.

Before making this major life decision, I wanted to check-in with the internet one more time. The financial planner I spoke with said I should stick to $2500/month. I think $2700 is close enough to $2500.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

That area is so-so, but the city has been throwing money at the "downtown" area in the hopes that it will become the in place to be with some success. It is close to UTA so lots of people in the 20's-30's close by along with some good places to meet people over toward Mesquite St. More and more breweries, bars and eating places slowly opening up close by and they tend to always be packed. The location is very central with that being said Cooper st and I-30 might as well be a parking lot during rush hour. I've heard that I-35 isn't much better but don't know for sure. Those RR tracks are very active with freight trains (quite-zone so no horn, but yeah annoying) also the city jail is just on the other side of the tracks hence the bail bonds close by. I suspect that a good number of the residence of this place are professionals, but there are college students in there (probably multiple students sharing the cost) as I've seen a couple of them while cycling through. There is still a noticeable homeless population in that area as a lot of there services are close by, but it seems to be shrinking and they tend to stay hidden. Overall the area is slowly improving, but it was starting at a low point so it'll be interesting to see what comes in the future.
Just looked up the monthly cost on one of there townhomes ($440,000) and it came out to just over $3,000 a month with 20% down does your $2,700 include the $200ish HOA fee?

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Location seems ok as long as you don’t mind being blocks from UTA campus…I assume neighbors in a $400k townhome complex would not be loud college students? This is one of those places I can’t see a woman wanting to live assuming you meet that bride quickly like you want to….but I can see it possibly being a good long term rental property if you move on to a SFH due to campus proximity.

Does $2700/mo include HOA & an accurate property tax estimate? I really don’t love seeing debt payments over 50% of take home pay and you would be pushing 50% (possibly over if you have a car lease / payment too). But you do have a healthy take home pay with around $3000/mo left after PITI, utility/cable/internet bills, car & loan so as long as you can save / invest / play / give with $36k per year and meet your lifestyle / financial goals, then you’re probably ok.

Oh, yes, neighbors a couple blocks from UTA will certainly be loud college students. Four to a place, bought by daddy and rented out.

[ChristieP]

Wow. That is a crazy mortgage payment on a townhome, especially for a single guy. Hopefully they will appreciate over time and you'll gain equity. Multi-family housing in DFW is notorious for appreciating much more slowly than single-family housing.
I'm also a little concerned about the Salvation Army being literally across the street.