Retired military moving to Burleson or Mansfield (Fort Worth, Arlington: co-ops, home builders)

[carcan73]

After 20+ long years in the military, I am finally retiring and have decided to move to the DFW area. After much research, and price comparisons, my family and I have decided on Burleson or Mansfield as both are in good school districts and close to shopping (and this mom loves to shop). We had initially thought Aledo, but 20-25 mins to get to a grocery store is just not a good idea. We are going to custom build a house and I have decided on Couto Custom homes. Now I need to find a lot that is about 1/2 acre or more that is in a neighborhood so that my teenagers can be close to friends. Any suggestions or referrals? Also...keep in mind I am doing this from an overseas location and will be buying my forever home without ever seeing it...so I desperately need as much detailed information as possible. I would also prefer city water and sewer if at all possible because I have heard bad things about co-ops and I don't want to drill my own well. Please help...

[TheProtege]

Your gonna have a hard time finding a half acre in mansfield. Burleson is still a little bit smaller and has more open land, but most of the neighborhoods are offering smaller lots. Id recommend splitting the difference and looking in unincorporated Rendon. Most of rendon is still "country" meaning that most communities offer larger lots closer to an acre and most lots will be purchased or can be purchased by custom builders only. Mansfield dose offer some communities on the far West side that fit your conditions. While burleson has areas on the far east and south side. Have you possibly considered Benbrook on fort worth's far SW side.

[holldog99]

Yeah, I was thinking Benbrook... isn't some of Benbrook zoned to Aledo schools, too? I also think Benbrook is pretty- lots of hills and views.

I've got limited experience with Mansfield (though it seems popular!) and have never been to Burleson. My husband is doing some work there, however, and reports that it's nice and the people there are friendly and proud of their town.

[loves2read]

You said you wanted a neighborhood--
neighborhoods are developed by someone/company and usually they have select group of builders in addition to themselves allowed to buy lots and build homes
I think you won't find a lot in a "neighborhood" that will let you buy the lot and have this type of house you mention built there--
don't know if it is a fabricated home or lot built but in my experience most developers don't just sell lot to anyone who wants to have a different builder build home--
they want to ensure the same building standards as the other homes to maintain property values

you can buy land and if you get permits ok'ed by the proper authorities then build a pre-fab home or lot built...
personally there are too many what if's you don't know personally to consider doing this from a distance--
and you need a realtor who knows the area
some of this land is not a good deal--there are issues that might not come up just looking at an MLS listing and a map...

[TheProtege]

Loves2read is correct about neighborhoods preselecting home builders. Usually the only exception are for very high-end neighborhoods or when a builder can't not finish out a community (Cabot Estates went through multiple builders before it ended up selling the lots off individually). In fact there are still 1 Acre lots for sell in Cabot estates, but most of them have been purchased. There are three half acre lots in the nicer part of Mansfield there technically not a neighborhood, but are located next to the high school and are surrounded by neighborhoods if you you’re going for more of a city feel. Unless you’re willing to give up you builder there's not much left in Mansfield. Burleson will have more opportunities to build especially with non-neighborhood lots. Be cautious about where in Burleson you choice to build at. A lot of the available lots will send you to either Joshua or Alvarado school districts. Castlehill Estates might be a good fit for you in Burleson. One more warning you'll want to stay away from the Everman/Crowley area just to the north of Burleson. Far SW Arlington has some neighborhoods that you might find interesting and the area feeding into Mansfield school or Arlington’s only good schools.

[carcan73]

I think I have finally found a lot...it's located in Burleson in the Valley Crest Estates. Not quite 1/2 acre, but like you all have said...it's near impossible to find anything in the Mansfield or Burleson in a subdivision...so I won't complain. I did end up having to change builders. Thank you for all your suggestions.
P.S. I hear Cabot Estates is having problems with their water supplier and that there are issues with the roads.

[loves2read]

Cabot Estates had water problems more than 5 yrs ago when we looked there

[bkw1]

I think you're going to love Burleson. The schools are great, the whole town is very friendly, plenty of shopping, but if we don't have it, Fort Worth or Arlington is just 20-30 minutes (max) away....
Welcome to Burleson!