Good Neighborhood for House $200K or Under Near Fort Worth? (Dallas: section 8, best neighborhoods)

[Aggie Girl]

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to Fort Worth. We do not currently have children, but we would like to live in an area that is family-friendly and has good public schools. My job would be in downtown Fort Worth. Any thoughts on the best neighborhoods to find a new or updated home for $200K or under?

Also - anyone had a good experience with a realtor they would suggest?

Thanks!

[ChristieP]

Mid-cities, such as Hurst, Bedford, Euless and North Richland Hills. You can occasionally find ones in Grapevine in that price range but not very often.

[Aggie Girl]

What is the commute to downtown Fort Worth like from these cities?

Are places like Colleyville and Keller way out of our price range?

[loves2read]

Commute from Bedford to downtown via 183 is about 20-25 min depending on traffic--less from Hurst--more from Euless--and you are going against the sun both ways which is helpful especially in the summer months...

Keller has housing in that range--probably west of 377 but there are some older neighborhood E of 377 in that range...Colleyville really not anything on MLS now that you would probably be interested in...that and Southlake are the two most expensive avg price per sq ft ...
MidCities won't have anything new unless it would be in Hurst around Hwy 10 (that is really in FTW but has HEB schools=-the elementary in that area was rated Exemplary most current TAKS scores)...
There might be older home in Grapevine you could redo around that price...
will PM good MLS sites to use

[Aggie Girl]

Great advice (and I really appreciate the PM with good MLS sites)!

Would you say that Keller or HEB has better schools, or would you say they are about equal?

My husband and I are both 29-year-old professionals and are currently childless--what would be a better place for us to live as far as activities, etc. for young childless couples?

I guess I am looking for the best of both worlds, but I am thinking a good school district will = better resale.

[loves2read]

good ISD does equal better resale value

right now Keller gets more omph with the real estate people--Keller has more new subdivisions and frankly more houses on the market==it has some nice parks and has new shopping areas--is making nice mixed development area off 1709 and the Point swin center...and Keller still has some undeveloped land so there is room to grow but most of that growth will be in more expensive homes which won't help you right now...many streets in Keller have not been upgraded--two lanes and open bar-ditches--only couple handle high traffic--1709 is one of them--Rufe Snow is another
377 is Keller Main St through old town Keller--undergoing widening--messy and lots of traffic--goes into FTW and n to Denton/parallels 35 sort of
Keller has good swim center and bike trails but there is no real mall, no movie theaters, and few real restaurants--there are churches--but most people wind up going to Southlake, NE Mall in Hurst or Grapevine Mills for shopping but there are mix of people == young adults in houses, young families, and older retired people hwo have lived there for long time...

HEB area is not necessarily older but basically built out, == lots of new construction in Keller ISD is in FTW city limits and that mailing address will maybe change in that zip code soon--article in FTW paper about that possibility--my prediction is when that does happen --when that zip goes to FTW vs Keller--then those houses will see drop in their listing value--not much at first but it will happen because some people don't get the difference--they think when they see house advertised with Keller vs FTW in address that it is IN Keller--which has much more positive profile -- the fact that the address just tells what was already true will finally be recognized and that zip will lose its luster to certain extent

Keller itself has public parks vs the FTW area whoch I think has none---lots of other positives for Keller that are absent for FTW side--
people who live in that area though sound pleased with their neighborhoods--they say the area is friendly and they are pretty happy with their schools...

HEB is older but like I said there are some nice neighborhoods and really very safe areas--fairly stable--not lot of rentals in areas I am thinking about...areas with mature trees if you like that but lots are not all that big...people can't buy houses for teardowns because lots are too small...
but there is good hospital in Bedford--Harris HEB and lots of drs offices--HEB ISD has two HS that are IB schools, has top ranked band at LD Bell, has improved the performances of the elementary schools and frankly think it has less upheaval in the admin of ISD--now that Keller has settled down their ISD will probably improve but I think any ISD growing as much as Keller's gets some growing pains--I think there is more variety between the schools in Keller than there is in HEB for quality on their high school levels (don't know that much about their elementary schools)...look at preformance levels on TAKS scores for past 5 years--not just one--that will give you idea of quality...
Keller has quite a few elementary schools where teachers will be retiring this year and next--they will have to hire replacements--that makes a difference in how well a school performs the next year--there is always a learning curve even if a teacher has experience..Keller has fairly high tax rare--second to Southlake I think

You might also consider North Richland Hills--Home Town has some homes in yoru price range--it is theme neighborhood--houses look like
they are from the 40s--lots are smaller and there are alleys--personally I don't like how their streets are laid out because they are narrow--no place to park really--and they get crowded when cars are parking on sides--but it feeds into new elementary school that is well regarded...
it is also pretty convenient to shopping/a the freeway into FTW
other parts of NRH are newer and more expensive-400/500K homes and some parts are older and neighborhoods aren't holding up well...lots are fairly small in most subdivisions -- like under quarter acre--and there is lot of variety in quality--so you have to check out the area around them...zoning varies

You might be able to find something for your price range in Grapevine if you were willing to buy older home and do some work on it--Grapevine is very up and coming--construction to attract convention business is pretty strong so it has $$$ from visitors--there will be highway across Lake Grapevine within next 3 yrs which will make getting back and forth to places like Flower Mound, Lewisville, Frisco easier
Historical Grapevine is nice--Grapefest just finished--that is big marketing event for the local wineries...
Mustang Dr is Grapevine has lots of hits on police web sites for crime activities--that street has some apts with section 8 housing -- but think the city of Grapevine in the downtown area is not so problamatic--some subdivisions in Euless feed into GCISD--off Cheek-Sparger and 121 and north
Grapevine-Colleyville has good rep for ISD now and

people are talking about how good Northwest ISD is but frankly I think Northwest is really not producing results it should considering the +++ for the student body it has...
Southlake Carroll is very well regarded but not in your price range
most homes in Southlake around 200K are considered teardowns for their lots

There are plenty of restaurants and shopping in the HEB area NorthEast Mall has all major stores including a Dick's Sporting Goods--and it is easy 20 min to Southlake for shopping/restaurants or Arlington for Ranger games==lots of movie theaters in area--there are large and small churches in variety of denominations if that is important to you, church-schools if that is important when you have children, parks with adult softball and basketball leagues in the area as well as very popular youth activities--good YMCA in Bedford with activities for adults and youth
two good drama groups with Artisan theater in Hurst and On Stage in Bedford
but you can get almost anywhere in Mid-Cities within 15 or 20 min except the far reaches of Keller or Grapevine by the lake...so best to just drive around and see what you like and what is best commute to work...
what about your husband--if you are working in downtown is he working out of the house?

You can even drive into FTW from the Mid-Cities w/o getting on the freeway--takes longer but you can do it...
big drawback is that the only public tranportation is the TRE--Trinity Rail Express--train service into downtown fTW or Dallas -- one station in Richland Hills just west of NE Mall and the other in south part of Hurst by Bell Helicopter...but if you are working close to the station in FTW might be worth your while to consider taking it--evne with cheaper gas...

[Synopsis]

We live in the northern part of Hurst, right where it intersects with Colleyville to the East and NRH to the West and just love it here. It's safe, kid friendly, and affordable. It's also only about a 15 - 20 minute commute to downtown FW.

[Aggie Girl]

Synopsis - can you give me some streets in the area where you live so I have a better idea of where to look?

In your area, do you have a good selection of grocery stores? restaurants? malls? physicians? hospitals?

Thank you!

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by Aggie Girl

My husband and I are both 29-year-old professionals and are currently childless--what would be a better place for us to live as far as activities, etc. for young childless couples?

Do NOT move to Keller. It is a huge family town and if you're not parents, you will be bored to death and will constantly be driving somewhere else for nightlife and things to do that don't involve kids' soccer games, etc.

My husband and I are also childfree, and we LOVE Grapevine. There are lots of activities here and we have several good friends who we like to hang out with in the downtown area. We also like downtown Fort Worth itself. There are a lot of condos and lofts that are popular with the young professionals, and the small homes in Arlington Heights are very sought-after.

Pretty much all of the school districts in NE Tarrant County are just fine. I honestly can't think of a school district here that is undesirable for resale.

[Aggie Girl]

We also like downtown Fort Worth itself. There are a lot of condos and lofts that are popular with the young professionals, and the small homes in Arlington Heights are very sought-after.

What price range are we talking for these places? Is $200K even possible for this type of place?

Do you commute to downtown Fort Worth from Grapevine? What's that like?