Under 300k - Sherman, Denison, Princeton, Denton or ? (Dallas, Austin: new home, safe area)

[smileyface123]

Looking to purchase a first time, single family home in a safe area, under 300k. Possibly new construction as I don't have much income for big repairs like old pipes, foundation or AC, etc.

Doesn't have to be north, but not sure where else to look. Trying to stay within 1 - 2 hours of Dallas as I do go into the office there 1 or 2 times a month. Have a kid in high school so a decent school would be nice but really near a good community college is probably better.

Also, I know I am in Texas, but we are liberal so that is also a bit of a factor too.

Any suggestions on best areas to start my search? Thank you!

[TeamLynn]

Sherman.....there is life there.
There are new homes in that price range, right near the new beautiful HS.
Princeton...not many amenities yet and the HS can be pretty far from some of the new construction.
Denton I don't think you can get new construction for $300K, maybe in Krum.
Denison for some reason has a lot of new construction, but at under $300K often no garage...and sometimes no drive at all?
In Texas I would want a garage.

Make sure you have a great realtor and a great inspector. Just did an inspection on a 18month old home and the builder did not do a good job. Lots and lots and lots of issues. Originally buyer I am sure didn't have an inspection done or a realtor and now get's stuck with $1000s in repairs on 18month old home.

[ChristieP]

I agree that new construction homes are often literally just thrown together and it’s not uncommon to see major repair issues, so there’s no guarantee that buying a newer home will allow you to escape repairs. I agree to get a thorough inspection, and possibly hire a structural engineer to inspect the foundation as well.

Do a search here about Princeton. It’s been discussed a lot…buyer beware.

Grayson County is notorious for high property taxes. That being said, Sherman is a nice town, and it does have Austin College (private 4-year) and a community college. Denison is more of a lake community with a lot of retirees.

Denton has the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, and it is definitely the most liberal of all the towns you mentioned. There is also North Central Texas College, which is a community college.

[stephwin]

All of those areas, except possibly Denton, are very conservative, especially when compared to Dallas proper and even some of the closer-in suburbs.

I'd avoid Princeton because of Highway 380. It's awful and honestly dangerous. For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to build the HS right off of it.

I don't know much about Denison.

Sherman might be a good option. There are two community colleges close by (north and south of the city).

Denton (or some of the smaller surrounding towns) will be good too. It's much closer to Dallas when you need to drive into the city and North Central Texas College and several universities are very close by.