Please help me find a place in Dallas (Houston, Irving: condos, new home)

[shaneinhisroom]

Good afternoon folks!

I may be relocating to Dallas with my girlfriend in the coming weeks/month or so. I will be coming down for work, but will most likely working from home, since our official office is in Houston (originally planned as my permanent relo but more customers are down in this area). There is another branch of our office in Irving TX so we'd like to keep our house options close to there if possible, although I won't be going there every day. Please let us know of any possible areas to live based on this criteria:

We're 24 and 25 years of age, we don't go out much (once a month if we're lucky) to party but we do dine out maybe once a week or so. A sports bar or wine bar is all that's needed for us. We drive everywhere now, and we're used to it.

Our needs on the house:
Looking to buy
$160k maximum
2-4BR, 2-3Bath
~2000 SQ FT

Built within the last 4-8 years! Important because renovations are a pain and I'm interested in keeping home repair down to a minimum. Plus energy efficiency is huge.

Must have an attached 2 car garage. I race part time so I need to work on my car privately.

I also would love to be as close as possible to this address (it's a long range shooting range, my other big hobby):
5701 Fm 2578
Terrell, TX 75160

Lastly, it must be safe. Yes I own firearms, but I would not like to use them in my own home.

Please suggest some neighborhoods so I know where to direct my searches.

Thanks a bunch and looking to read the replies!

[lechevarria]

It sounds like you probaby will benefit from looking in Rowlett or Sachse which are relatively close to Terrel, featuer newer communities within your price range/age/square footage and you would not be too far from Irving if you had to go there for work.

[ChristieP]

Have you looked on a map to see how FAR apart Terrell and Irving are from each other?! There is no way you can commute from Terrell to Irving every day. The drive is over an hour without traffic, and in traffic, it would probably be closer to 2 hours! So, in order to keep your sanity, you are going to need to live closer to Irving. (Rowlett or Sachse are also both too far away to commute to Irving for work.) Also, Terrell is not what you would consider to be an "upscale" community at all; in fact, it's actually pretty redneck...

Another problem is your want of a new home for under $160k. Unfortunately, you will have to go to the far outskirts of the metroplex to find this, and again, the commute will be prohibitive.

If you can can consider older homes, Lewisville has what you are looking for: homes in your price range/size with attached garages, decent commute to Irving, and safe neighborhoods. The neighborhoods there also don't have HOAs, which might frown on you working on a race car in your garage. There are many restaurants and small bars in the area to keep you entertained.

FYI: there is a really nice gun range in the bottom lands of the Trinity River right in Irving: Elm Fork Shooting Sports They hold all sorts of shooting clinics and competitions.

[shaneinhisroom]

Thanks for your replies. Outskirts is fine (again, the office is just a formality. I probably will not be going there much at all). What areas can I start looking in?

[ChristieP]

OK, if you insist:
Royse City
Seagoville
Midlothian (research air quality before moving here)
Lancaster
Forney

FYI: the Terrell gun range has stopped accepting new members as of 11/1/11. You have to be a member or a guest of a member to go shoot. This might be a big kink in your plans. Highly suggest calling them before deciding to move out there.

[carroll4628]

You dont have kids, so schools aren't an issue. You have a gun, so safety is "taken care of" (maybe??). So what about Mesquite? For $160k you could probably find what your looking for and it's not as far out as some of the other communities. I know your looking for a "newer" home, but I think you could find something less than 10 yrs.

[shaneinhisroom]

Me having a gun doesn't mean that I want to be using it. Safety is still of the utmost importance. I have talked to the owner of the Terrell gun range, I will be shooting there if I do move to Dallas.

[DFWtransplant189]

There are plenty of town homes and condos within the op's price range in Irving-Las Colinas area. Why not start looking there first before looking elsewhere? Town homes may start in the 200ks though, however you may find an older one for lower.

[MurphyPl1]

I think there's a little confusion over the range he's looking for - I suspect the OP is seeking to use the North East Texas Tactical, which is not even open yet.

I would highly recommend you looking in Irving area first - they do have Elm Fork Shooting Sports very close by. It's your more traditional gun range, but if and when NETT gets up and running, it's not a very far drive on the weekends.

[carroll4628]

O.K. It's not like Mesquite is the hood, there's acutally some nice neighborhoods, anyway...

In all earnest, if you're going to Irving 1-2 times a month (or less), why would you live west of dallas(more expensive housing, further to your hobby) instead of looking in Forney? Forney is a great small community, new housing developments, just down to road from Rockwall (all the restaurants and shopping you could ever want, unless you're into upscale shopping).