Mansfield??? (Arlington: apartments, foreclosures, insurance)

[new2texas]

Has anyone heard of Mansfield Texas? If so, is it a good area? I am planning to move to Texas and have friends who really highly recommend it..any thoughts?

[NOTAM]

it used to be a nice small country town, but the last i remember, when i left Texas in 2003, it was buildilng up, with the urban sprawl from Arlington, so i am sure the population has increased.
heck, anywhere in Texas you cant go wrong, compared to other states

[Barn Babe]

I was just there a couple of weeks ago. Seemed like a nice place with lots of new construction. Lots of new businesses, too.

[stargazer]

Lots of affordable pretty homes going up over there, they also have good schools. I have a friend in Lowes Farms and adores it there.

[mullju]

I live in Mansfield I love this town. It has lots of big town amenities with a small town feel.

[KewGee]

It isn't bad if you like lots of homes and many people.

[blueskies49]

It used to be a very fine place to raise a family, a small town with an excellent school system. It still is, actually, and that's why it's growing so fast. Everyone has heard of its reputation and wants to be a part!

[case44]

Don't laugh, but this is one of the next hot areas in the Metroplex. I'm predicting there will be more bulldozers on even more corners in the days ahead.

[loves2read]

Where are you working? That would be BIG factor in where you live...

Mansfield had a 300% increase in foreclosures from last year 2nd qtr to this year 2nd str--will be interesting to see numbers for the past quarter---
the boom in Mansfield is happening because of cheap land bought about 1-2 years ago by development companies and the I-20 ---287 corridor into FTW...
they are probably going to shoot themselves in the foot--there seems to be an absense of city planning/zoning out there--
Mansfield schools are starting to feel the pressure of all this newer construction--their scores are falling and will have to build more schools to keep up with new kids...which is a stress since more students usually dilute the scores not improve them...
There is more shopping going in but roads are still a problem--many are just two lane with few lights to help traffic flow--if you are off the main roads like Debbie, getting to and from the freeway can be a real pain when traffic is heavy or weather is bad...
check where you buy since some of that out there is unencorporated and that means different city/county services...

[Ex-Mansfield]

I lived in Mansfield TX for 12 years and was lucky enough to sell earlier this year (many cannot). There are many reasons why our family left. People here are rightfully asking valid questions about numerous issues which are lurking just below the surface. But you will never hear the answers from real-estate agents and most especially the persistent bias as published by the City of Mansfield Government.

When we moved to Mansfield 12 years ago because we thought is was an up-and-coming community. It was rural and the schools were nice. But it did suffer from a good-old-boy network and lacked upscale class.

Elections
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Rather polarizing elements ran for office 2006. They lost in that attempt but it was (as they say in Texas) a very nasty fight. The cities demographics are rapidly changing and its only a matter of time.

Sub-prime Lending
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I attempted to take a shortcut home from work because of the horrendous traffic on southbound highway 360 near the Timberlake High School. I saw new homes which looked run down. They were not being maintained. It didn't make any since at the time.

School Ratings and Gangs
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The Mansfield School District includes large portions of of the southern portion of the City Arlington. There are many cheaply built homes and apartments there from the 1980s.

Mansfield Schools have fallen in their annual rating of state mandated testing. Many are now rated just acceptable. Gangs issues are rampant. The local authorities do everything in their power to avoid alerting citizens. The deterioration is simply not open to public discussion. But you do see it in the fierce school boundary fights as parents try to avoid trouble.

People like myself were willing to pay very high taxes to maintain high school standards, but the sub-prime lending was effective in circumventing it.
The school district has had a huge number of outstanding bond issues. The taxes keep going up because only 4-8% of the voters actually vote. But guess why the bond issue keep on passing? (I wish I could vote myself a raise too!). Some items such as the $$$ pool are highly questionable. The point being is there is no one looking out to make Mansfield and affordable place to live. For example taxes on a $180,000 home are now well over $5,200.
So what does the Mansfield homeowner get to look forward too? More school bonds passing yet the city wants to raising property taxes even more!
Why? because home values are falling. So like who wants to be on the losing side of this vicious cycle?

Living Outdoors with the Intense Weather
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Fire ants limit many outdoor activities. Clay soil cracks house foundations and brickwork everywhere. The intense sun or humidity kills you most of the time and is responsible for a lot of the road rage. So everyone stays indoors almost all of the time. Black mode is a serious problem which caused insurance rates to skyrocket. The literal cementing over of the DFW metroplex continues at a rapid pace.
The tropical air from the south and gulf merits special consideration. Its not nearly as nice as the air from the north in the winter. The is why there is seldom pleasant weather in north central Texas. Maybe this is why Texas was never settled until now?

Crime
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The contents of our car were rifled at 2:30am when we were selling our home. Never had one issue with crime before. I yelled at the guy and he still continued to grab our stuff. Police did nothing. This in an area adjacent to Kings Mill with its $350-600K custom homes too!

Energy Costs
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Sky high over and above the national average. They used to be reasonable. Texas did not learn anything good from Enron or California's deregulation. There is very little real competition. TXU ranks tops as a most thoughtless greedy corporation with the full support of the governor. They even wanted to build 8 more coal plants just south of DFW to choke the already mediocre air quality. No long term planning here. Just profits.
The increasing thermal mass (of shopping center concrete) seldom allows for the metroplex to cool off, even after the sun goes down.

Home Appreciation
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Prices peaked in 1994. Real-estate may appear to be inexpensive but the energy costs and property are taking a huge toll. Raising taxes cause home values to fall. We made nothing on selling our home after 12 years. In hindsight purchasing a home in Mansfield was a terrible investment.

Traffic
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Apparently many hurricane Katrina victims came and saw what they liked in 1995. Now they have returned permanently. Traffic congestion has steadily increased and must be taken into account when planning most anything.

Shopping
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The area has a great amount of shopping. But after awhile every new strip looks the same. Very few parks and things to do beside shopping and going out to eat.

Now you know the rest of the story