North Garland vs South Garland (Dallas, Plano: custom home, neighborhoods, to buy)

[globe9]

The gf and I recently moved to Dallas and are currently staying at mother-in-laws(not as bad as it sounds since mil is always at her boyfriend's house). We are settled in with jobs now and are looking to buy a house.
We both work in North Dallas near Greenville and Walnut Hill.
We are currently staying near Duck Creek and Centerville. Our commute is a little less than 25mins at 5pm going home straight down Walnut Hill/Kingsley and we really appreciate that here.
We've been looking at neighborhoods mainly in Garland b/c of proximity to our jobs, Dallas in general for museums, AA Center, White Rock Lake etc. Also our budget is $150k and under, which seems to rule out Plano and most of Richardson.

We are looking for an older home, between 1500-2000 sq ft. 1 story. Mature trees, large lots, etc. I really like the Glenbrook neighborhood between Centerville and Kingsley. I like the feel of it and how its woods like if that makes sense. We are a little concerned b/c the neighborhoods around there seem hit and miss. One street looks great(nice lawns, houses in good repair, not too many cars out front w/toys, crap all over) but then just a few streets over its the complete opposite.

Yesterday we were driving in north garland and happened upon this nice neighborhood off of Beltline and Kingsbridge. Also can turn into it from Brand. We like this area a lot and there are some homes in our range.

Just wondering what the pros and cons of South Garland vs North Garland are. We don't have kids btw and never will as I'm sure that will make a difference.
We like the duck creek Greenbelt for walking, biking etc. Not sure if north Garland offers that.

Also open to Plano and Richardson, but don't know where to look for our price range and wants.

Any tips, advice, recommendations welcome.
Thanks

[ETex2]

I grew up in that neighborhood near Glenbrook, west of Duck Creek. It's called Orchard Hills, and much of it has managed to remain pretty nice with lots of older residents. Might not last but people didn't think it would last this long. South Garland has LOTS of small older homes, and as a result, the demographics have changed a great deal. A lot of empty commercial buildings, very few supermarkets, restaurants, shopping or new development outside of the areas around LBJ and Centerville. North Garland has the benefits of being located near Firewheel Towne Center, the Bush Turnpike, etc. Far north Garland is especially nice and lots of newer homes, etc..

But the commute would probably be best from south Garland, and your money will go a long ways towards a nice older home in a neighborhood with big trees, etc..

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by globe9

The gf and I recently moved to Dallas and are currently staying at mother-in-laws(not as bad as it sounds since mil is always at her boyfriend's house). We are settled in with jobs now and are looking to buy a house.
We both work in North Dallas near Greenville and Walnut Hill.
We are currently staying near Duck Creek and Centerville. Our commute is a little less than 25mins at 5pm going home straight down Walnut Hill/Kingsley and we really appreciate that here.
We've been looking at neighborhoods mainly in Garland b/c of proximity to our jobs, Dallas in general for museums, AA Center, White Rock Lake etc. Also our budget is $150k and under, which seems to rule out Plano and most of Richardson.

We are looking for an older home, between 1500-2000 sq ft. 1 story. Mature trees, large lots, etc. I really like the Glenbrook neighborhood between Centerville and Kingsley. I like the feel of it and how its woods like if that makes sense. We are a little concerned b/c the neighborhoods around there seem hit and miss. One street looks great(nice lawns, houses in good repair, not too many cars out front w/toys, crap all over) but then just a few streets over its the complete opposite.

Yesterday we were driving in north garland and happened upon this nice neighborhood off of Beltline and Kingsbridge. Also can turn into it from Brand. We like this area a lot and there are some homes in our range.

Just wondering what the pros and cons of South Garland vs North Garland are. We don't have kids btw and never will as I'm sure that will make a difference.
We like the duck creek Greenbelt for walking, biking etc. Not sure if north Garland offers that.

Also open to Plano and Richardson, but don't know where to look for our price range and wants.

Any tips, advice, recommendations welcome.
Thanks

You would think that your requirements and budget would make house hunting in Garland a breeze, but that was NOT the case for us this summer. We were looking for a home under $200K, and were open to most of Garland, but there was not much in that range, and what was in that range was crappy (horrible layout, real close to busy streets, etc). We ended up in Wylie, where your dollar goes a LOT further, but it would make your commute much longer. From Wylie I can be at 635 and Centerville in under 30 minutes, taking the back roads. Not sure about from Wylie to your job. If you dont mind the commute then look at Wylie, maybe Rowlett, (although that is also on the expensive side). My two cents.

[MurphyPl1]

I think the area in North Garland you are talking about is my old neighborhood. Near Coomer Park?

My husband lived there for 25 years (along with my step-daughter) and I lived there for 12. We really loved the neighborhood and proximity to what we needed. Especially once they finally built the mall!

We actually lived down the street from the park and near the creek. Loved the trees and the wildlife. Easy access to 190. Beltline and N Garland Rd is a few minutes away which gets you west and south pretty easily.

There should be plenty of homes in your range in that neighborhood, and many of them (especially near the park) are actually custom homes.

[LQQKOUT]

I would also look in Rowlett around the area of Springfield Park along the green belt area where there is a small lake, biking and walking trails.

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Or even this area.

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[globe9]

Thanks for the suggestions. We were going to check out Rowlett this weekend. I still think I prefer Garland just b/c of the short commute. I love that I can be home in 20mins and I don't even have to take any of the expwy's, interstates, etc.

I think the north garland area I am referring to is near Coomer Park. Really nice area there. Every street seemed nice and not just a few.

That is the weird thing about Garland imo. One, two, even four streets are nice, but then there are the streets with weeds and foil in the windows and 10 cars parked out front that are nearby. Very hard to find continuous good neighborhood here(and by good I don't mean big and new).

We'll find what we're looking for. Just have to be patient. Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming.

[jdallas]

I was in your situation back in June.
I had a backup contract on a house in Coomer Creek (and there was a backup to my backup as well) back in late July. The house was on the market 3 days, listed for 149k and sold for 144k. It was located right on the park side and was move-in ready. I had another offer on a house in Richardson that went on the market on a Friday and had 5 offers (including mine) by Monday morning. It was listed for 165k and sold for 172k after the bidding ended. I looked all summer for the same thing you are looking for in the Richardson-N. Garland area. In the 150k range, only a few were truly move-in ready and most were in pretty bad shape either structurally or in severe need of updating.
I would recommend watching the listings on Friday and planning on touring Sat and submitting offers by 9am on Monday. Most sellers will keep a listing open until close of business on Monday to get the best offer.
I ended up purchasing a one-owner home near Beltline and Shiloh near the golf course (3 days on the market). All of the usual suburban support facilities are near (Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, Target etc) as well as Firewheel for disposable income. It takes me 25 mins to get to work in downtown Dallas if I take Jupiter-NW highway and bypass 635/75 but I start work at 7:30 so I miss most of the morning traffic.
With school in session and interest rates nudging higher, the market may not be as competitive as it was in July/August though I still subscribe to the listing alerts and I haven't seen much lately in terms of new inventory.
I looked in Rowlett/Wylie as well but the neighborhoods didn't seem very stable to me. You need to be very careful in that price range. You will see a lot of people trying to flip houses so make sure you find out how long they have owned the property and look at the history carefully.

[LQQKOUT]

Originally Posted by globe9

Thanks for the suggestions. We were going to check out Rowlett this weekend. I still think I prefer Garland just b/c of the short commute. I love that I can be home in 20mins and I don't even have to take any of the expwy's, interstates, etc.

I think the north garland area I am referring to is near Coomer Park. Really nice area there. Every street seemed nice and not just a few.

That is the weird thing about Garland imo. One, two, even four streets are nice, but then there are the streets with weeds and foil in the windows and 10 cars parked out front that are nearby. Very hard to find continuous good neighborhood here(and by good I don't mean big and new).

We'll find what we're looking for. Just have to be patient. Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming.

Rowlett is right next door to North Garland......it would add maybe 2-3 mins to your commute. Good luck