Stonebridge Ranch Villages McKinney (Plano, Richardson: HOA fees, houses, landscaping)

[TexasMK]

I was looking on this thread and on several websites, but I could not find description or characteristics of the villages at Stonebridge Ranch (SBR). Our budget is $250,000.
Does anyone who lives there have any insight on SBR neighborhoods? Something in my budget, family oriented, within walking distance to a park and maybe with some trees? Is there a village that fits all of those preferences?
Another concern I had is that houses are so close together. Is privacy an issue because of the proximity to the neighbors? Thank you all.

[CREW747]

Yes ,the houses within Stonebridge Ranch are very close together.Stonebridge is one of the best master planned communities in north Texas.It is in a very safe ,wonderful part of Mc Kinney (west mc Kinney).It is a great place to spend about $180,000 on a house. Since a lot of the lot are small,it is also a good choice if you need to keep landscaping costs low.Stonebridge is full of many families and the amenities are great.Mc Kinney isd buses to even out
economically disadvantaged students.That was one of our biggest turn offs with Mc Kinney.We had looked in the Eldorado community then realized our children would be zoned to attend Faubion middle school on the east side of Mc Kinney.We would not be zoned for the middle school close to the house that we would have purchased.

We were turned off by back alley garages and did not want to be in an area with overall small lot sizes .We ended up buying in Prosper ( built brand new ) about 5-10 minutes west of Stonebrige ranch.if you are looking for an entire town with larger lot sizes that is family oriented and scenic check out Prosper.If your price range is about $230,000 plus check out Cedar Ridge Estates and Greenspoint.

Good luck with your search!

[PlanoGirl]

No, there is no "description" of the type of houses in each village...some are custom neighborhoods with a lot of variety, some area more cookie cutter neighborhoods with only a handful of floor plans. And many are somewhere in between. The age of the villages range from brand new to almost 30 years ago, and of course architectual trends change throughout the years...so you will see that reflected through the developments. Despite what price level the village , great care was taken to make an aesthetically pleasing neighborhood. The landscaping is abundant, and a number of pockets of natural area were preserved. There are parks throughout SBR...you shouldn't have a problem walking to at least one and maybe two or three from anywhere in the community. Houses can be close together...in some neighborhoods more than others. But because of the community design (curved streets, lots of culdesacs, golf courses, creek/open space areas), it is possible to find a home that has a larger lot, irregular shaped lot, or lot that does not back to another home. Your budget will be the biggest limiting factor...but it is still do-able. The older homes will have more time to have established landscaping and tree cover which will further provide privacy.

Here's a sample of different house styles in the area:

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That a look around on realtor.com )or whatever site you use) and if you specific houses that meets your criteria, feel free to DM me to get the inside scoop on neighborhood, school, park, village "feel" , etc.

Happy House Hunting!

[TexasMK]

Thank you for the info. I did not know that about McKinney schools.

[TexasMK]

PlanoGirl, that was a lot of great info and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

[PlanoGirl]

Originally Posted by CREW747

Yes ,the houses within Stonebridge Ranch are very close together.Stonebridge is one of the best master planned communities in north Texas.It is in a very safe ,wonderful part of Mc Kinney (west mc Kinney).It is a great place to spend about $180,000 on a house. Since a lot of the lot are small,it is also a good choice if you need to keep landscaping costs low.Stonebridge is full of many families and the amenities are great.Mc Kinney isd buses to even out
economically disadvantaged students.That was one of our biggest turn offs with Mc Kinney.We had looked in the Eldorado community then realized our children would be zoned to attend Faubion middle school on the east side of Mc Kinney.We would not be zoned for the middle school close to the house that we would have purchased.

We were turned off by back alley garages and did not want to be in an area with overall small lot sizes .We ended up buying in Prosper ( built brand new ) about 5-10 minutes west of Stonebrige ranch.if you are looking for an entire town with larger lot sizes that is family oriented and scenic check out Prosper.If your price range is about $230,000 plus check out Cedar Ridge Estates and Greenspoint.

Good luck with your search!

Crew makes good point but I want to clarify a couple things:

1) I don't agree with Crew's price limitation. I would say SBR is a great place to spend up to 400-500K. I wouldn't go above that, as then you are getting in the upper range, where it will be harder to resell (smaller pool of buyers). But there are PLENTY of neighborhoods WAY above $180...many where the resale is MUCH better than the lower priced ones. So, don't let her comment scare you. A $250-300 price range is great for this area!

2) Mckinney isd does "bus"...i.e. they try to avoid the rich school/poor school thing by zoning to encourage socioecomon=mic diversity in their schools. Some people see this as a bad thing...personally I think it is a good thing. Just do research on what schools the house you are interested in is zoned to. None of the school commutes are unreasonable...the example Crew gave above is only a 5 minutes drive...but ya know, it's on the east (gasp!) side. As a point of reference, I had to drive 10-15 minutes to my junior high/high school in Richardson, and they didn't "bus". So, things are always as they seem.

3) I don't know why Crew keeps mentioning the back alleyways in Mckinney. Mckinney has loads of front-entry homes (though rear entrys are found as well). Actually, Stonebridge Ranch is probably 90% front-entry!! Off the top of my head, I can only think of one village that isn't.

NOt saying Prosper can't be a choice for you....there are pros and cons...and you can search this site to find many threads highlighting those. But you came here to ask about Stonebridge, so my focus was on that

[MckinneyOwnr]

PlanoGirl has done a good job of listing some of what you'll find in SBR. However, there are many developments in McKinney that offer the same type of feel the SBR does, but with lower HOA fees. With a budget of $250k, I'd say 50-60% of homes in Mckinney are in your price range. Here's a home that I believe just sold, just down the street from me.

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You'll notice the front garage, most houses in Mckinney have front garages, or side garages. I happen to have a back garage and alley, as I prefer that look vs having a garage door up front, so you can find that as well if you prefer. There's also a park within walking distance of this neighborhood.

This area is just a bit east of the SBR area, and has a bit newer construction. Good luck with your search, if you have any questions just ask.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by CREW747

Yes ,the houses within Stonebridge Ranch are very close together.Stonebridge is one of the best master planned communities in north Texas.It is in a very safe ,wonderful part of Mc Kinney (west mc Kinney).It is a great place to spend about $180,000 on a house. Since a lot of the lot are small,it is also a good choice if you need to keep landscaping costs low.Stonebridge is full of many families and the amenities are great.Mc Kinney isd buses to even out
economically disadvantaged students.That was one of our biggest turn offs with Mc Kinney.We had looked in the Eldorado community then realized our children would be zoned to attend Faubion middle school on the east side of Mc Kinney.We would not be zoned for the middle school close to the house that we would have purchased.

We were turned off by back alley garages and did not want to be in an area with overall small lot sizes .We ended up buying in Prosper ( built brand new ) about 5-10 minutes west of Stonebrige ranch.if you are looking for an entire town with larger lot sizes that is family oriented and scenic check out Prosper.If your price range is about $230,000 plus check out Cedar Ridge Estates and Greenspoint.



Good luck with your search!

Honestly what are you talking about Crew? Back alleys in McKinney? Those are not the norm there..If your going to steer people into Prosper at least do it with facts. sheesh..

OP, search crew47s posts and you will see a heavy bias toward recommending Prosper. Moderator cut: see comment McKinney works well for your price point, and quite honestly you would be alot closer to 121 if you look in the right spots.

good luck

[TexasMK]

That is a very nice home MckinneyOwnr. Proximity to parks/trails is important because of my 2 small kids. PlanoGirl, thanks for the helpful post again.
I am working in Sherman, and SBR is about 30 min drive against the traffic flow. It also has all the ammenities I would like in a home and neighborhood.
Keep the info coming, it is greatly appreciated.

[CREW747]

I should have specified that I meant we did not like back garages with alley ways,we saw that in frisco and Allen more than Mc Kinney....