Deciding Between Allen, Frisco, Plano and McKinney... (Dallas, Sherman: for sale, foreclosures)

[Soon2BTXN]

Hello All,

We found a realtor at an open house. She seems OK. We haven't been out seeing homes with her yet. Our home search starts officially during the second week of November.

Originally we were interested in Melissa homes only as the commute to Sherman, TX would be easier. However, we are not able to find the bulk of what we want in Melissa within our budget.

Our realtor recommended West Plano, Allen and McKinney when we told her that resale value and location is extremely important to us. We are not partial to newer homes like most new buyers.

I really didn't want to buy a home past McKinney due to the Sherman commute. However, again, we are not finding the bulk of what we are looking for in a home we like via online searching in Melissa or McKinney.

This is what I've gathered so far:

• Location is very important for resale value.
• The bulk of McKinney homes have very small lots.
• McKinney will have a lot of newer homes built in the future so the value of your home may decrease at it competes with newer homes.
• Allen and Plano are almost out of land for building so it may make it a more desirable area for home owners. Homes selling in these cities will have lesser competition with new homes due to near land depletion.
• West Plano is more desirable than East Plano.
• Plano has better schools than McKinney. The ratio of student to teacher is less than the national average and about the same as McKinney schools.
• We were advised to not look in Prosper as this area is too new and several homes will be built in this area.
• Frisco has too many homes up for sale right now, new ones, foreclosures and several waiting to be built. I think the resale value of a home in this area will not be great due to the competition of newer homes.

Is this information accurate?

Also, in terms of resale value based on location only (not home details) will someone rank the following cities from most desirable (highest resale when the market turns) in terms of location to least desirable (lowest resale when the market turns)?

Locations:
Frisco
Allen
Melissa
West Plano
East Plano
Sherman

My ranking so far is as follows (from highest resale value based on location only when the market turns):

West Plano
McKinney
Allen
Frisco
East Plano
Melissa
Sherman

How far am I off? Your help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[HOAPRESIDENT]

Sounds accurate to me. But I don't think any place in Collin County is the place to move for resalse value. Instead, CoCo is the place to move for people who don't want a "pre-owned" house. Once you own it, the house devalues like a used car for the typical Collin County buyer.

Once the new wears off, who knows what that place will be like.

[TurtleCreek80]

For resale, I would rank West Plano #1 and Allen #2. The rest (other than East Plano) are all basically equal. Sherman isn't in Collin Co and I have no knowledge of the market, home values, or schools there. It wouldn't be on the list for 99% of people looking in CoCo. West Plano & Allen are better due to better quality schools and for being 90% built out and land-locked. Scarcity of undeveloped land and no new sub-divs to compete with are the best indicators for future value.

As for location, it depends on where you're going. For me, I would rate West Plano #1 because I prefer the Tollroad to 75, there's better shopping and restaurants there (for my taste), and it's the closest (distance & time) to downtown/uptown Dallas for arts, restaurants, and pro sports. I'm not a huge fan of the home styles/"architecture" there, but I think the terrain is pretty and like several of the neighborhoods (Lakeside on Preston?) that have lakes/creeks and park space running through them with fairly mature (20-30 years old) trees. I also like that most of the neighborhoods there aren't gated. For you, none of the things that matter to me may be relevant, you know?

[FarNorthDallas]

Have you looked in the Lovejoy school district - Fairview area?

[Soon2BTXN]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

Have you looked in the Lovejoy school district - Fairview area?

I glanced at their schools on the greatschools website. If I remember correctly they are ranked high but isn't that district without a high school?

[Soon2BTXN]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

For resale, I would rank West Plano #1 and Allen #2. The rest (other than East Plano) are all basically equal. Sherman isn't in Collin Co and I have no knowledge of the market, home values, or schools there. It wouldn't be on the list for 99% of people looking in CoCo. West Plano & Allen are better due to better quality schools and for being 90% built out and land-locked. Scarcity of undeveloped land and no new sub-divs to compete with are the best indicators for future value.

As for location, it depends on where you're going. For me, I would rate West Plano #1 because I prefer the Tollroad to 75, there's better shopping and restaurants there (for my taste), and it's the closest (distance & time) to downtown/uptown Dallas for arts, restaurants, and pro sports. I'm not a huge fan of the home styles/"architecture" there, but I think the terrain is pretty and like several of the neighborhoods (Lakeside on Preston?) that have lakes/creeks and park space running through them with fairly mature (20-30 years old) trees. I also like that most of the neighborhoods there aren't gated. For you, none of the things that matter to me may be relevant, you know?

I think we agree with everything you said. We also do not like the architecture of Plano homes. We actually like the architecture of Frisco homes.

When I told a friend that lives South of Dallas that we are looking at West Plano and Allen homes she stated the people in that area were snobbish. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I thought about the advice you gave me on the last post (diversity). That is really important to us. I had to explain this to her and the fact that I would like to have a home in a location that others may want to live in when or if we sell. After hearing this she understood.

We are also taking your advice and scaling back the square footage. We are looking at 2,500 to 3K now. Thank you for being so helpful to me.

[Soon2BTXN]

Originally Posted by HOAPRESIDENT

Sounds accurate to me. But I don't think any place in Collin County is the place to move for resalse value. Instead, CoCo is the place to move for people who don't want a "pre-owned" house. Once you own it, the house devalues like a used car for the typical Collin County buyer.

Once the new wears off, who knows what that place will be like.

It is unfortunate that people view new homes as being better. I am finding (with the exception of Frisco homes) that older homes have more character and uniqueness for the most part.

[dallas90210]

What is your budget for a house?

[FarNorthDallas]

Originally Posted by Soon2BTXN

I glanced at their schools on the greatschools website. If I remember correctly they are ranked high but isn't that district without a high school?

They used to send their high school kids to Allen High, but they built Lovejoy High School a few years ago.
Welcome to Lovejoy High School, Lucas, TX - Lovejoy ISD

[Soon2BTXN]

Originally Posted by dallas90210

What is your budget for a house?

It use to be $300K. We scaled back to $260K. However, I would love for it to be lower...like $210K.