Keller, Trophy Club, Flower Mound - Where's the best for us? (Fort Worth: for sale, foreclosures)

[caseyR]

Confirmed for our April 1st move date to Texas! Work is @ 170/377. We have friends that live in Keller, Southlake, Flower Mound, Double Oak & Downtown FT Worth. My fiance and I would prefer not to move into corporate housing then move again, but we don't have time to take trips & do the proper due diligence. All of our friends love their own neighborhoods so it is a little confusing. Looking for a safe develpment/community/neighborhood. (Not into community pools)
Betw $200-$300k would be our number. Any advice is truly appreciated!

CR

[ChristieP]

Where will you be commuting to? That will make a big difference.

Southlake is definitely out of your price range.

If you're not into community pools, I would avoid Keller...

[caseyR]

Thank you - Looking at Rolling Meadows in Keller, TX. Work is at 170/377 in Roanoke, I think it is. Any help is appreciated. Beazer Homes? Looking for a fairly new home with a pool. We do not have children (yet)..

[loves2read]

most people would suggest you rent if you anticipate moving within 5 yrs because of the difficulty getting back your money in short time

you need to be looking at a good MLS site for homes that appeal to you in your price range so you get idea of what is out there
you need to decide how much of a yard you want and how much privacy you need if you want a pool (most neighborhoods in your price range are going to have SMALL yards == under .25 acre for sure--which does not leave much room for backyard/pool/patio/play area

will PM great MLS site to use for looking around
it is organized by county/town/neighborhood so you can see any homes for sale in specific subdivisions very easily
also has map search and great map features
you can search this forum for Keller, Roanoke, and other towns but Southlake is definitely out of you price range

[5stones]

If you're not into community pools, I would avoid Keller...

That is absurb logic... by your logic then rule out ALL of Trophy Club since the entire community has commuinity pools. Most neighborhoods in soputhlake have community pools.
Rule out Roanoak alos since they have a community pool/rec center

Just because an area has a community pool you are not required to go to it.

Roanoak will have better pricing for you and is close to your work area.
Haslet would also offer better pricing for newer houses.
North Keller has some older 10+ yrs houses in your range that will have pools.
Flower mound is very nice and will have bigger lots but it's more $$ than Roanoak or Haslet.

We have found in this area it is better to buy a house with a pool already there than to put one in yourself. ($$$ not going to get 100% on resale). Unless you are in the house for over 5+ years. But even that in this economy may not be enough to re-coup the cost.
Also the cost of maintence and upkeep for a pool...energy cost as well. How much you will actually use it etc...
I have 3 kids and wish we had a pool...but friends of mine say it is more hassel and expense verses the actual use.

[loves2read]

we have friends and the husband is a builder--they had never lived in home with pool before he built their current home in colleyville about 5 yrs ago--the grandmother had home with pool and the kids would go there when they were smaller and they wanted to go alot[[the guy and his wife liked using it too so they wanted one of their own
it is really nice home--and has a bigger backyard with patio and great pool--Claffey, one of this area's best builders put it in--
they have twin girls about 13 now--initially the girls loved the pool and were in it almost every day in the summer--now that they are older they rarely go in it--
the people are considering putting that house on market and building on lot he has in a "villa home" development closer to 121 in the Heritage zone--this one would be big house but lot too small for a pool...
my take is once kids start driving, they rarely use pools unless it is for swim parties when their parents are out...
so for family with young children--pre teen--it is probably a good idea and you would get your use out of it--but you have to be pool people (we ourselves are not) to appreciate/use one--some people like the idea of a pool but not the reality of one

[caseyR]

Thanks 5Stones & Loves2Read - very helpful. The only reason I mentioned the community pools was to not have that be a giant pro..but I hear you. We LOVE a pool. We are not sure how long we are going to be there - hope to be there a long time to enjoy our friends and all the area has to offer.

Agreed 5Stones, a home with an established pool is the way we want to go. Thanks for the great help - I realize I'm a little overwhelmed and frazzled. Very new to me and have lots to learn.

[caseyR]

One more - can you kindly let me know the borderline areas? Have read posts on here about affordable homes off of loud and brightly lit highways with huge signs etc. Would not want that & don't want to make a mistake.

[loves2read]

get an MLS site and do some searches
your price point covers a lot of territory and different types of homes fall in that 100K difference--
Rolling Meadows that you mention is actually IN FTW city limits--not Keller city limits althought the homes are in Keller ISD schools--

this is common problem and when these developments were built the two cities and the school district allowed them to be marketed as being in Keller because they knew it would make selling the homes easier--
many threads about that borderline deception on the FTW forum
the zip code/mailing address has been changed to reflect the FTW city limits I thought so that the confusion was not supposed to still take place


from my perspective--buying in Keller city limits vs FTW is probably better because of resale and city code/building inspectors--you get Keller city services and city council vs FTW which has to respond to much larger pool of residents and seems to be more fractured with more problems

another reason why it is important to have local realtor familiar with the area who will provide accurate info about where you are looking...

there have been quite lot of foreclosures in that general area--lot of tract building by developers with the reduced qualifying practices--people buying multiple homes to flip for profit which did not work--and some of the areas don't seem to be holding property values that well--which you can see driving through neighborhoods--some of them have quite a few rental homes vs owner occupied too

There are people who don't but I prefer the areas EAST of 377 in Keller proper if you want to be close to work vs areas like Double Oak (a real drive) or even downtown FTW-
there are fewer massive developments to the east--but your 300K price point might make it more difficult to find what you want if you want larger lot or house--Keller is generally more expensive than FTW

check out some of these neighborhoods and see if you like their homes
Chase Oaks, Highland Creek, Summer Ridge Estates, Sarah Brooks estates
there is foreclosure in The Preserve at Hidden Lakes which is listed under 240K and that is really nice area

school districts in TX are ALWAYS important when buying a home--whether you have children or not--
better districts are factors in resale because of taxes and desireability and usually promote generally better neighborhood dynamics

Keller ISD is in that general area as well as Northwest ISD--Northwest is the "hot" district because lot of the new growth is going its way but its past stats were not that great and a district that is going through big growth can have problems assimilating/dealing with that influx--especially if tax money does not keep up with the growth

Keller ISD has excellent stats and good word of mouth for the most part but it is larger district with many elementary schools, middle, high schools...because of the district's growth some of those zones have been changed which caused some animosity from parents---


find one of the crime maps that are on the Internet and check out some areas--the apts in the area tend to hug the I-35 and larger streets--so try to find out if the reported problems are at apt complexes vs residential areas

[kkon]

If you have no kids and like downtown living, many remodelled homes are for sale in the Arilington Heights area. Zip code is 76107. Commute to Roanoke is a bit of a haul but it all depends on lifestyle. Roanoke itself has Briarwyck and there are also Ft Worth communities that border Roanoke - Seventeen Lakes and Chadwock Farms that are in that price range. A little further south you have Fort Worth subdivisions like Heritage and Woodland Springs that use Keller schools that would fit the price. Bluffs is the premium section within Heritage that has the cheaper homes in the 200s. Across from Heritage and Woodland Springs is Marshall Ridge which is considered true Keller that has homes starting in the 200s by Meritage.