Fleetwood Oaks condos safe for single female?

[lalalaolala]

Originally Posted by WillysB

The OP did say she was from the Bronx...

...okay, just kidding

Lol I am Asian, but I lived in the Bronx for a year. I just mentioned it because I don't need my surrounding area to be EXTREMELY safe, as long as nobody breaks into my condo, and homeless/poor/drug people on the street don't bother me, I am totally fine. I also rarely go out after dark. I sleep at 11 p.m. actually so as long as Butler street (I think the street I need to walk through to get to UTSW) is safe before 8-9 p.m. I am fine. And of course eventually I will buy a car. But I really hate driving......

btw, where exactly is the New Parkland? I am in an 8 year program so by the time I do rotations in hospitals the New Parkland will already be build (so I heard during my interview). It will be nice if the new parkland is north of medical drive and between Harrry Hines and Maple. Plus I think there will be a new dart station there, too. Right now between Harry Hine and Maple there is not much going on, but if there is going to be a hospital construction and new dart station, do you guys think it will be safer?

To Turtlecreek80, Why as a condo owner, it is hard to enjoy the upside of development area? Can you elaborate on the difference (in terms of investment return) between a whole building of condos, a single house/town house and one individual condo? Thanks a lot

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Lakewooder, completely agree about overall upside to the area in the next 10-20 years. But as an individual condo owner, you would see very little financial profit. Now if OP wanted to buy an entire building or a single-family home in the area, I think that would have tremendous potential.

True - as much as people think they will be in the same condo for the rest of their lives I have seen very few go the distance. I know one guy who has lived in the same condo on E. University for about 15-plus years.

Personally, I don't think I would feel afraid there - I've taken a few folks to the Salvation Army north of there. Probably the most danger would be being hit by a car on Maple.

[TurtleCreek80]

Sure- the part of your property that has a chance to appreciate is the LAND underneath your property. The physical structure itself will only depreciate as it ages. This is true of a house, apartment building, retail center, etc.

There is waaay more land under a single family home or an entire apartment building than your share of the land under your condo. A single family home in Dallas is generally on a .2-.3 acre lot, whereas a medium sized condo development (50 condos) may be on 2-3 acres. Divide 3 acres by 50 condo owners and you each own 1/17th of an acre. The one piece of your property value that has the chance to increase is tiiiny compared to the one piece of the single family homeowner.

Dallas is NOT a condo town at all because - on the whole- it is cheap to buy a single family home. Condos, even in the best locations, are usually on the market for 2-3x the days it takes to sell a sfh. Condo prices have fallen and remain shaky now due to the difficulty of securing home loans, especially in multi-owner buildings like condos. Too much risk (ie, if your neighbors foreclose, the remaining homeowners can potentially have to shoulder the HOA dues for the delinquent units).

I would strongly suggest you rent, not buy. My family had 30+ years of residential real estate experience in Dallas if that means anything to you.

[Lakewooder]

Well in this case my friend got a steal of a deal when he bought it for around $50,000 and I think they were selling for $125K in the last boom. Very unusual case. That's why I recommend that area quite a bit (E. University south of Lover's Lane from Greenville Ave to Skillman).

I also have that many years experience in Dallas Real Estate and I wouldn't buy a condo either..I might be tempted if it were so cheap that I could use it as a rental or I could gain control by buying several..but probably not.

[mSooner]

really? I thought it is about 16 minutes walk to UTSW, according to google map. Is it too far/too hot ^_^ /too unsafe to walk? Unfortunately I growing up in NYC I haven't learned how to drive yet...............

Dallas is just one of the cities where you REALLY need to get a car and learn to drive--there is just no way around it.

At any rate, my fiancé (we will be married in June) will be attending UTSW in the fall too--I guess you will be classmates! Even with me working full-time at a pretty well-paying job for a college-grad, we didn't feel comfortable buying. Most likely in 4 years you will be moving due to residency and I wouldn't risk having to unload anything--especially a condo.PP are right--Dallas is NOT a condo city.

To be honest, I'd look at living outside of the immediate med school area. Living close was our original plan, but after driving around I just couldn't do it. Rents are high, but like PP said, the place has hit rock bottom. Driving just 5-10 minutes further will put you in Oak Lawn or Uptown--similar rents and much better areas. We actually decided to go even further and look in the M-Streets/Lakewood area. Part of this is because I will be working north of the city, but we really like the area much better and found more rental options with more space.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info--we're both from the DFW and would be more than willing to provide you with more info.

Edited--I just saw this:

btw, where exactly is the New Parkland? I am in an 8 year program so by the time I do rotations in hospitals the New Parkland will already be build (so I heard during my interview). It will be nice if the new parkland is north of medical drive and between Harrry Hines and Maple. Plus I think there will be a new dart station there, too. Right now between Harry Hine and Maple there is not much going on, but if there is going to be a hospital construction and new dart station, do you guys think it will be safer?

If you are in the MD/PhD program, it might be worth buying. Still, though, I'd stay away from condos. And there really isn't anything all that affordable close-by home wise, unless you are willing to do some major renovations, which probably isn't the best idea for someone who will be so busy. Tough call!

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by lalalaolala

It would be great if you guys can share your opinions about the safety of Fleetwood Oaks and maybe recommend any neighborhood close to UTSW. Plus, if you have lived there, do you know why some condos there are selling so cheap? (well I am from NYC so maybe I don't have a good judgment of what's cheap or expensive) Bad location/HOA management? Thanks a lot!

I was in UTSW for about 10 years (grad school+postdoc) before moving to San Francisco. I lived close to that area on Cedar Springs and know the area very well. Although I never had any bad experience the area is somewhat sketchy. I would strongly recommend against walking on Maple/Butler at night. The area is also undergoing lot of development and will be really cool few years down the line when the DART rail and all development around it is operational. The houses over there saw lot of appreciation until 2008. The condos correctly priced by Dallas standards. I am not sure what it is like now but I think the area will see lot of price appreciation. So good time to invest.

Large chunks of residents in all the condos and apt on Fleetwood Oaks are UTSW students/postdocs/residents. Some of the best Mexican restaurants in Dallas are close to the area and the Windmill Lounge is a nice bar to hang out. I would suggest you rent an apartment there before making a purchase decision.

There are lots of affordable but nice condos near Lemmon & Inwood (Bordeaux village) and west of Inwood village on Lovers lane. These areas also heavy UTSW population. Its not within walking distance and there are no public transit on Inwood.

Of course if you have a big budget I would recommend buying in Oaklawn/Uptown and it is easy to get to UTSW from there using the 409 bus. Once you start driving this won't be an issue-

Dallas has lot of nice areas. I strongly recommend that you live in Inwood on the park until you start driving and then buy in a nicer area. Please send me a message if you need more info.

[lalalaolala]

Thanks for everybody's advice. Fleetwood oaks not only attract me because it is close to school, but it is also walkable to super market/hardware store, which is very important to me. If I lived in inwood on the park or med park, I will have to find nice classmates to drive me to grocery store/super market for at least the first year, which is not cool!

plus, most of med classes are held in the south campus, right? north campus is about research which I won't start doing until third year, so maybe it is a good idea to live close to south campus?

The dart rail will be built to UTSW by the end of 2010 so I hope that makes the areas a little safer/desirable soon. I honestly always go home before dark, unless I went to a party or something. And I basically don't go out after 8:00 p.m. So if butler is not too sketchy during the day, and not terribly dangerous at night, I will be fine. Great to hear fleetwood oaks is occupied by a lot of UTSWers!

The property I am looking at on fleetwood oaks is only about $78000 now. If I buy it one year later, I will lose the $8000 tax credit+first years's rent $6000=$14000, which is 20% of the purchasing price!! So for a property this cheap, it is really worth it to take advantage of the tax credit I think as buy as early as possible.

Finally fortunately i will get a lot of help from my parents so if I don't like fleetwood oaks that much, I can always rent it out and buy a new one somewhere else..and I am sure I will have a better idea of where/what to buy then. So it is a tough call to buy or not to buy it RIGHT NOW!

[senorita]

I(single female then) lived in the apartment(Towne Square) on Fleetwood oaks and have seen Bronx too. The walk between fleetwood oaks and UTSW is much better than Bronx but I would not recommend you walking after the sun sets. There is a homeless shelter closeby. Not a very great place to walk. As a post doc you might be wanted to work late hours. Always better to have a car for safety purposes. I would suggest it is also a good idea to learn driving as you will enjoy the city more and also feel secure.(get a cheap used car) Dallas is a good "life-friendly" city (unless you are victimized by allergies. I had to run for my life and quit after less than 2 years.)

I loved living in Towne square but Inwood on the park is another apartment from where the UTSW is closer/about the same but much safer to walk(I think a UTSW shuttle also runs from there to the school.)

Hope this helps. UTSW is a great place for research provided you are in the "humane" lab.

[Lady RN]

I am a single female wanting to relocate to Dallas and work at the VA Hospital. Where is a safe area around the hospital to live?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Lady RN

I am a single female wanting to relocate to Dallas and work at the VA Hospital. Where is a safe area around the hospital to live?

You will get more & better responses by starting a new thread vs hopping on to an old dead one.

The VA is not in a good neighborhood at all- safe enoughto work there, but you wouldn't want to live there.

Start a new thread and be sure to give your budget, whether you want to rent or buy, what kind of property you're looking for (old, new, house, yard, no yard, etc), what things you might want to live by (specific churches, malls, specialty stores like a Whole Foods, athletic/ outdoor activities, etc), and how long a commute (in minutes) you want.