Looking to move to the Dallas area from Northern Michigan.... (Plano: for sale, foreclosures)

[Peter B]

My wife is a paralegal and I'm a Pharmacy Technician. Want to live in a nice sub w/ a 3000' or so sq ft house w/a pool. A little diversity is fine. Looking spend about $300k on a home. Where would be a nice place to start looking? We heard Lakewood is nice

[FarNorthDallas]

Paralegal jobs are hard to come by. I just talked to some recruiters and it's the worst they have ever seen it. Long time paralegals are retraining for other careers. Hundreds are applying for the few jobs available and employers have lowered the salaries. Has your wife secured a paralegal job already?

[TurtleCreek80]

You could get into Lakewood (maybe), Lakewood Heights (definitely), Junius Heights/ Munger Place (definitely), but it is going to be a 1200-2000sf home built in the 1910s-1950s. Probably not a pool & a 2nd bathroom is 50/50. Probably looking at a 2/1 or 3/1, maybe a 2/2 for $300k.

All that being said, it is a fantastic neighborhood- one of the most naturally pretty parts of Dallas- near both lake & woods. Houses full of character & charm with only moderate teardown/ McMansion situation. Wonderful town center with Lakewood Theatre, Matt'e El Rancho and other Lakewood institutions. Great public schools with several smaller private schools nearby.

But if you want a big, brand new house in "Big D" with a pool, the outer suburbs are where you will get the biggest bang for your buck because land value is still cheap out there. Frisco, Plano, Allen, McKinney, etc.

Your lot will be bigger in Lakewood area vs northern suburbs and you won't be hiding behind a gated subdivision. More diversity, especially as kids hit middle school.

Also, for the financial investment side of home purchasing, Lakewood is completely built out (as are surronding areas- have been for 60+ years), so you will never compete with a newer subdivision just a little further out (which is a very valid concern in northern suburbs). Also, the area has not been rocked by foreclosures as many parts of the northern suburbs have- many are builder foreclosures- built faster than demand. Home values in Lakewood remain steady to LY, just a little slower due to financing difficulties, esp in jumbo loans.

In Lakewood, you are paying mostly for land value & a little bit for house. So almost all of a $300k home is in the land value, which has only gone up over 90 years & will continue to do so. In a new build, the bulk of the sales price is the physical structure & all the depreciating assets inside (fixtures, hardwoods, etc). Just things to consider-

[theloneranger]

Lakewood is nice but may be a little pricey. You would be fine in a lot of houses in Northern Dallas--especially as you get further north, there are houses with pools selling for $200k which are nice ranches. You probably can't get a great house for $300k in Preston Hollow anymore but I'd look in Dallas north of Royal Lane and there will be lots of great homes for sale in your price range. It seems like houses are going for sale every day and they go fast over here!

You also might want to look in some of the suburbs like Plano (probably can't afford western Plano but if you go further east it's nice), Richardson (lots of homes in your price range and specs), Carrollton, and Farmers Branch. These are slightly older suburbs on the Dallas border (except Plano), but they are in your price range with lots of amenities close by.

I definitely wouldn't move here unless you've secured jobs, however. The job market in Dallas is better than in most places in the country, but it ain't good.

[CarolAnn64]

Just bought our home in FM last year--4 bedrooms, 4 bath, 1/3 acre, with a pool. Paid $320.

It's a town of about 60K but still has "small town" feel. Allen, Plano, Frisco, McKinney were all 1) too big and 2) had too much construction for us.

Look at crime stats, school stats, median incomes, diversity--all of those things.