I am looking at possibly relocating to a work location in Richardson off the Bush Turnpike east of 75.

What would be good places to live when looking in the 200 - 250k range for homes? What would I need to think about?

If you don't have kids Garland is probably the best bet in that price range.

I'm assuming you are going to work at Raytheon or State Farm and they usually will help with the relocation, no?

Once you push just a little west, empty lots are going in that price range for several miles. That area is just booming.

In any situation, you are looking north and east.

We just moved to College Park (Spring Valley and Plano Rd) in the summer. We moved from the Lower Greenville area of Dallas, in an effort to chase a bigger house and better schools. (both of which we accomplished)

We are loving it! We miss the restaurants, but I'm slowly finding some bars I like and it's nice being out of the cluster of traffic that Lakewood was becoming.

Plano. Murphy. Wiley

Lots of options in E Richardson, that's where I'd be looking. Close to work and nice established neighborhoods.

There is a lot of new building and existing homes selling now in Wylie and Sachse.

Murphy/Wylie/Parker/Lucas

This is not my house but something like this in/around this Richardson neighborhood would be a good choice.

http://www.ebby.com/property/164469853/1411-elk-grove-drive-richardson-tx-75081

Richardson, Carrollton, Plano, Garland... Do you have kids? I would love to help. I'm an agent in DFW and know the areas well. Shoot me an email Liddy@thetomlinteam.com

I would definitely look in Richardson or Lake Highlands. We lived in the north eastern burbs for 7 years and moved into LH just over a year ago. Like it so much better.

Duck Creek in Richardson?

Normally I'd suggest far N. Dallas (city of Dallas but zoned to Richardson ISD). However, prices have gotten out of hand in the last 2-3 years. Houses that listed for $2-250k when I bought ten years ago are now going for $450 and up. Nearly everyone buying in our neighborhood now are young families with 1-2 kids aged 2-5 who used to live in Uptown / Lower Greenville / Lake Highlands but fled due to schools.

I live in the Fairways of Sherrill park almost exactly where you are referring to. Property values around here are going up quickly, but there are still houses in the area in your price range. Maybe look in the Crowley Park and surrounding areas.

The only tricky part are the schools. Buying a house zoned for Mendenhall elementary are going to be cheaper but that's because of the school

In the 200-250k price range you should look at Wylie, Sachse, and every now and then a 250k or under house will pop up in Murphy. All 3 of these towns will give you an easy commute to work using side streets if you prefer those to George Bush. There are even parts of Allen that are east of 75 that would work as well. Or look at Plano, east of 75. Some of the neighborhoods are run down, but there are few nice ones close to the Los Rios area that might be in your range.

Thanks everyone.

Lots of good info to look at.

I grew up at Plano and Campbell on the East side of Richardson. The location will be hard to beat for where you are going to be working, and for all of the places in DFW that are seeing gentrification and home prices skyrocketing, that area has stayed fairly stable. IMO, it's the next place that folks who buy homes and flip them will focus on, which should increase property values across the board.

That Fairways at Sherrill Park area is nice, but likely out of your price range at $250K. I would look anywhere off of Yale Blvd. between Campbell and Belt Line if you prefer an older, established neighborhood, or out towards George Bush and Renner if you're looking for a newer construction.

We have looked at what our house in Arizona would likely sell at and have the ability to look up to 350k.

I also have a 6 year old boy that we will be home schooling and a 4 month old daughter.

Is there anywhere that the extra 100k opens up that may be better places for me to look. My wife and I have been using all the recommendations o help identify what our options would look like.

There is a Autism Spectrum Center near Coit and Tx-190 that we are interested in being a reasonable distance from.

Are there any places within 190 - 75 - 121 - Dallas North Tollway we should avoid?

Thanks for all the help. We would be leaving a pretty nice/family friendly location so we are trying to understand what we would be moving into.

350k could get you into Canyon Creek in Richardson just south of 190/75. It's a well established, highly sought after neighborhood. At that price you'd likely be looking at doing some updates but it's worth being in the area. I highly recommend the neighborhood and it's a short drive (7-10 mins) to the Autism Spectrum Center.

https://www.zillow.com/canyon-creek-richardson-tx/

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/canyon-creek-north-richardson-tx/

Link to HOA site below with some info. HOA is not mandatory and only $15/year if you decide to join. The flag program is cool for an extra $35 but again totally optional! Walk to the park in the pics in a few minutes or jump in the car and be there in 1 or 2 minutes.

http://canyoncreekhomeowners.com/cch/

We've enjoyed living in CC for years but are looking to make a change now that the kids are grown. Our house is not on the market yet but we are prepping to list it soon and it will likely be around the 350 range. It's a great house to raise a family and we've been told we have a really good floor plan. A few details are below.

4-2.5.2 @ just under 2300 sq. ft. on an interior street. Some updates may be needed depending on your taste(ex. original custom wood paneling in den) but the big $ mechanical will be current. HVAC in 2015 (up to 17 seer) with Healthy Climate Merv 16 air cleaner and wi-fi touchscreen programmable thermostat, water heater 2013, new gutters with oversized downspouts and class 4 roof (save a ton on homeowners insurance due to hail) will be done in the next few weeks. Pella casement windows with shades between the window panes on front and sides. Custom exterior shutters frame the front windows. 6 mature, professionally maintained trees. A real brick wood burning fireplace with natural gas line, not some wimpy useless insert. Good curb appeal. No pool.

That's enough shameless promotion but do check out the neighborhood in general. You'll like what you see!

A couple of other Richardson options are Richardson Heights and The Reservation.

Several friends in CC and they all love it. And with zero offense to our realtor friends, y'all think about a private party deal. Very easy to do.

Canyon Creek is amazing but at $350k your house is either going to be small, dated as hell, or both, and need quite an investment.

Agreed with everyone that Canyon Creek is incredible, but wanted to point out that anything updated that is going to be decent sized (over 2,000 sf) will likely be $400+

One of my favorite things about the internet.

• OP - Hi I would like advice about living in this area. My Budget is X
• Internet - Ok well here is something 50% above your top end budget. Laters.

And 350k anywhere in PC/CC/Aldridge is going to be iffy, old, and in need of substantial repairs. I mean 350k is right on the dumpster line in the PC/CC area. None of that is really relevant here, but since the thread got semi-hijacked thought I'd throw that out there.

As someone very familiar with Canyon Creek, I agree with what Culdeus said. 350k will get you very little these days in Canyon Creek, Reservation, Estates West. And will get you nothing in Prairie Creek.

For 350k, I would look in Murphy or 75082 zipcode. Maybe 75023- its an older established area in Plano.
If you ever have the slightest possibility of enrolling any children with autism in public school, then Id shoot for a home zoned to Plano ISD. Murphy is split and 1/2 go to Plano and 1/2 go to Wylie. 75082 is Plano and so is 75023. Plano was one of the first school districts in the 90s and early 2000s to really have a good autism program.

Would be happy to help. I own Robinson Team Real Estate, based in North Texas. I've worked with many fellow TexAggers (not a word). If you want to just have a quick chat about your situation, I'd love to.


Cody Robinson
972-365-0432

If you're not working with Cody, you're doing it wrong.

I would concentrate on Duck Creek. Even then at $250,000 you will most likely get a home that still needs fixing up. As a point of reference we sold my Dad's house on the Garland side of Duck Creek by the golf course. Patio home. 1500 sq ft. Needed a bit of work and it went for $230,000.

We bought our (recently renovated) Duck Creek home for ~175 in '09. The house across the street just sold for twice that. It's out of control.

Neighborhood north of Duck Creek, Yale Park, is not bad either. Just avoid the southeastern side.

Thank you. That's very kind....

This is truth, at least related to PC. The tear downs in that neighborhood, even on interior lots are $400+

Since we are still in pure hijack mode:

400 for interior lots is a bit high for PCE.

Most of the homes are trading on a 2x multiple of lot value. Shaddock struggled to get this house moved:

http://www.shaddockcaldwell.com/331-ridge-crest-drive-richardson-tx-75080/

I think he ended up taking on water all told. My understanding was he went in for 350 on the lot and had 850 in the house, tried to sell it for a buck and came back to something in the 890 range.

He has two more going up on Ridge Crest right now and I'm 100% sure he didn't pay anywhere near 400 for those two lots.

Steggich is also getting squeezed on his house around the corner on crestover. He got that lot for 315 and also tried to go 1.05 and has pulled back to 920. That's below 2x multiple and implies a interior lot value that is maybe only 290.

That Shaddock sure looks familiar....