• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

gawntrail is Dallas, TX bound....

G

gawntrail

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2004
Messages
872
Location
Moreno Valley, CA
CPers,

gawntrail is visinting the Dallas/Fort Worth area in August. This is my first trip into the Lone Star State. I fly into OKC (Southwest does not fly into Texas from Ontario, CA) on Wednesday night the 18th (about 11pm). I will be driving down that night and just crashing in the car probably. I have to be back at OKC to catch my flight out the 21st at 6am. So that basically gives me Thursday and Friday to soak up Dallas and the outlying areas. My wife and I are putting our house in SoCal on the market in December. We are looking to be sold and moving by June of '05. Texas seems to be the place for us to take our California money and live a great life. I'll be scouting areas to buy.

We're interested in a middle class area where we can find good schools and homes that meet the following criteria: Single story; 4-5 BRs; 3-4 Baths; 3500+ sq ft; 1.0+ acres; preferably with a built in swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Extras in the house are not necessary, but always nice. We're looking in the $250K - $325K range. This will be a CASH purchase. Also looking for a duplex/triplex/4plex in Dallas proper or Irving proper for an investment piece (<$125K).

*Once we move and get settled, we will then be looking for a lake front lot to use on weekends and vacations to boating, fishing, snorkeling/scuba diving, and general frollicking (once our SoCal rental is sold - sometime in the future).

Since we are not selling ours until after December, I know that particular houses on this trip are not going to be on the market when we buy, but I am interested in getting an idea and feeling for neighborhoods and citys/towns around Dallas. My wife and I are teachers and I am a HS Football coach, so the school districts are important too! If any of you Texans, or people who know about Texas could give me some pointers and/or advice, I would appreciate it.

I also have two evenings available Thursday the 19th and Friday the 20th. I'd like to meet with any of you, smoke a stick or two, have a few beverages, and generally shoot the ****.

I'm looking forward to this trip and our eventual move. I'm also looking forward to meeting up with any CPers in the Dallas area to mini HERF with. It ought to be a great trip.

See you in two weeks!

Soon to be an ex-SoCal (and looking forward to it),

M. Gipson
 
Howdy, welcome to Texas, and make sure you pick up a Lone Star Beer, inventor of the longneck bottle, and so labeled the "National Beer of Texas". Glad you got out of California, Texas is like no other place on earth. We have plains, hill country, East Texas Piney Woods, swamp land, coastal land, west Texas mountains, and the best football anywhere. We invented chili, which never has beans, and you won't find better beef barbcue anywhere, which is only served with sauce on the side. You won't find more trophy white-tailed deer, or bigger catfish and largemouth bass. The best bird hunting is the Texas Coast, and there's close to a hundred vineyards in Texas, most in the hill country. Dallas area is beautiful and the people there are great, it's not quite as good as Houston, but close. ;)
Ok, I'm off my soapbox, welcome to Texas you'll like it here, especially if you're our hero, a highschool football coach. :) :)
 
Give Rockwall a look. It's on the far east side of Dallas right by Lake Ray Hubbard. There's a lot of great neighborhoods in the area that fit you're description. In fact, many of the houses on the lake front match waht you're looking for (at best what I can tell). You may also want to look at McKinney or Frisco... both are fast-developing areas.
 
Good luck finding an acre lot!

You will need to buy significantly outside the metroplex (I am already 1/2 way to Oklahoma from Dallas in McKinney) or buy a much larger house to get a whole acre. One third of an acre is considered big here. Rockwall that vewphishy suggested might have large lots available, maybe Murphy, Wylie, Melissa, Prosper, or Farmersville might also have something.

It is hard to find more than a 1/3 acre for a house that size. In the mid 200's to mid 300s you will likely see a 90' x 120' to a 90' x 140' lot used for houses up to 4500 square feet, and premium lots 1/4 to 1/3 acre in size. Going to outlying areas is necessary to get big lots.

Builders that impressed me the most when I was shopping 2 years ago were Drees, Darling, DR Horton. Use Ebby Halliday Realators if you get an agent. I can put you in touch with the agent I used so that they could start looking for you ahead of time if you want.

Matt
 
I concur about lot size, in Houston there's quite a few lots in the city that are 1 acre plus, but they're also 12-18 million dollars plus. Unless you live outside the main neighborhoods you probably won't find an acre for less than a million without a house.
 
Cash deal? FSBO for me. Saves you and them a pile of cash. :) Come on down, take a peek, make some offers and Welcome to the neighborhood. :) Will need to know where you're working (vacinity anyway) to clue you in on properties to look at. The DFW area is a VAST and sprawling area. Rockwall could be 90 minutes from somewhere in NW Dallas and FW as can Frisco/McKinney from the Midcities area. Throw us a bone here. :)
 
Horse is absolutely right.

Heck you could live in SE Plano and find driving to NW Plano too long of a commute; can easily take 30 minutes without traffic.

McKinney is nice, although the property Tax is the worst in the county, the schools here are nice because of it. You should check out Stonebridge Ranch while you are here. It is a monstrous master planned community here in McKinney with a LOT of neighborhoods that have similar price ranges. Overall the prices range from the 120's into the 2 Million Range. There are 13 neighborhoods selling now that range between 300 and 500 thousand. Stonebridge Estates is the only neighborhood with lots 3/4 to 1 acre in size, but the houses there start at 600k.

The communities' website is huge, check it out here.

Matt
 
Well, the day has arrived. I am packed and have a selection of cigars that would make Fidel jealous :p I fly out of Ontario, CA at 4:25PM PDT and have a layover in Phoenix. I arrive in OKC at 11:05PM CDT. I'll be down in Dallas as soon as I pick up the rental car and make the trek. I'm scouting north and east of Dallas on Thursday and South and west of Dallas on Friday.

I look forward to meeting Jack and anyone else I might be able to get to. I'll look for an internet cafe in the morning to check in and see what's up. Bye for now.

Soon to be an Ex-SoCal :D

Coach G :thumbs:
 
Ah Texas... where every house has wheels on it and the sheeps is nervous...

NA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top