Author: Andrea T. Fowler

One of most fastest growing areas in the metroplex are right in Denton County. People are constantly migrating across the United States. Texas is holding its own as more people are heading to Texas counties. Of course we know that Dallas is listed as the number 2 metropolitan areas with the HOTTEST real estate markets. Two of the top counties that are in the “The Top 10 Counties Where People Are Moving” by Governing Magazine are right here in the Dallas area. Collin and Denton counties are ranked number 6 and 7 respectively.

Have you ever considered living in Denton County? It’s the ninth-most populous county in Texas with Denton being the county seat. Denton County is the located in the northern part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It is approximately 25 miles from Dallas and 35 miles south of the Texas and Oklahoma border.

As the metroplex continues to grow, most of the growth has been happening right in Denton County. The following cities are major components of the Denton County growth: Little Elm, Aubrey, Lewisville, The Colony, and Denton. Let’s delve more into Denton County cities to find your new avenue, shall we?

Aubrey 

For me the part of Aubrey that I know well is the part that sits on Highway 380. That’s what I thought until I made the journey to the Tulip Farm in Pilot Point that Aubrey was way more than Highway 380. Aubrey’s city limits expands further north near Krugerville part of Denton County. Aubrey is the city in the Denton County that is growing based on master-planned development by major developers in the metroplex.

Find Your New Avenue in Aubrey

 

Carrollton

This city is placed into two counties. The Denton County side of Carrollton is situated along the Sam Rayburn Tollway (121 Toll). North Carrollton is what I like to call it and houses schools in the Lewisville ISD.

Find Your New Avenue in Carrollton

Corinth

One of the “Lake Cities” that stands north of Lake Lewisville. It is between Lewisville and Denton and the schools are home to Lake Dallas ISD.

Find Your New Avenue in Corinth

Cross Roads

Yes there is a town in Denton County called Cross Roads and it is between Denton and Little Elm on Highway 380.

Find Your New Avenue in Cross Roads

Denton

The northernmost town of the metroplex is Denton. Denton can be considered so many things. When I first moved to Texas, Denton was what I knew outside of Dallas. That’s because my prime reason for moving to Texas was to attend graduate school at the University of North Texas. Denton is definitely “one of a kind.” I can barely describe it. I will say this if you ever find yourself in this town, check out my alma mater at one of its home games and cheer the Mean Green on. FYI – Denton is home to two universities but it is not all about the college life here. You can definitely raise your family in this town. This is being said by a woman who grew up in a college town.

Find Your New Avenue in Denton

Flower Mound

Flower Mound is bordered by Lewisville to the east and Highland Village to its north. It has a great proximity to the DFW Airport and even views to Lake Grapevine. The schools in the community are a part of Lewisville ISD.

Find Your New Avenue in Flower Mound

Frisco

Frisco along with Prosper has only some of its city limits in Denton County. West Frisco is mainly in Denton County. Frisco is the “King of the Metroplex Growth”. It will be home to new Dallas Cowboys practice facility and retail development which is slated for a 2016 opening.

Find Your New Avenue in Frisco

Highland Village

This small town borders the south far western side of Lake Lewisville as well as Flower Mound and Lewisville as its southern neighbors. The schools in this town are a part of Lewisville ISD as well.

Find Your New Avenue in Highland Village

Lake Dallas

One of the “Lake Cities” that stands north of Lake Lewisville. It is between Lewisville and Denton and the schools are home to Lake Dallas ISD.

Find Your New Avenue in Lake Dallas

Lewisville

Lewisville is the second most populous cities in the county. It always great access to different cities in the metroplex as major highways connect through the city. This town is approximately 20 minutes from the city of Dallas and is in the southern part of the county.

Find Your New Avenue in Lewisville

Little Elm

The 2000 census listed that this city had 3,646. Today this city has seen its population grow to over 32,000 people in 15 years. Here in Little Elm schools are divided into Frisco and Little Elm ISDs. Little Elm (as of today) is still considered rural so you will be able to use a USDA loan (rural home loan with 0% down).

Find Your New Avenue in Little Elm

Oak Point

I know what you are thinking. Andrea, did you just create a new city. I did not. Oak Point is a small town that is to the northwest side of Little Elm. Expect more people to call this place home as the Wildridge community starts to unfold soon.

Find Your New Avenue in Oak Point

Providence Village

What started as a master-planned community is now a newly created town in Denton County. Most of the homes in the community are apart of Providence Village and Aubrey.

Find Your New Avenue in Providence Village

Prosper

Just like Frisco, there is only a part of Prosper that resides in Denton County and it can be found alongside Highway 380.

Find Your New Avenue in Prosper

What’s one special thing about living in Denton County? Being able to enjoy a Texas summer alongside Lake Lewisville. The small towns that I mentioned border the lake and within minutes your family can be lakeside enjoying the view. Find more homes in Denton County at NewAvenueRealty.com

 

Is now the time to downsize? That may be a question you and your spouse have pondered. Are the kids gone off to college? Have the kids moved away and started their own family? Does the second floor of the home barely have any foot traffic? Then the answer may be, yes.

A recent study by Edelman Berland revealed that of homeowners who are contemplating selling their house in the near future 33% plan to scale down. Let’s look at a few reasons why that would make sense to many Americans.

In a recent blog post, Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, discussed the advantages of selling your current house and downsizing into a smaller home that better serves your current needs. Ramsey explains three potential financial advantages to downsizing:

1. A smaller home means less space, but it also means less time, stress and money spent on upkeep
2. Let’s assume you save $500 a month on your mortgage payment. In 30 years, you could have an additional $1–1.6 million in the bank to get you through your golden years.
3. Use the proceeds from selling your current home to pay cash for a smaller one. Just imagine what you could do with no mortgage holding you down! If you can’t pay cash, aim for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage and put at least 10–20% down on your new home. Apply the $500 you saved from downsizing to your new monthly payment. At 3% interest, you could pay off a $200,000 mortgage in less than 10.5 years, saving almost $16,000 in the process.

Realtor.com also addressed downsizing in a recent article. They suggest you ask yourself some questions before deciding if downsizing is right for you and your family. Here are two of their questions followed by their answers (in italics) and some additional information that could help.

Q: What kind of lifestyle do I want after I downsize?

A: “For some folks, it’s a matter of living a simpler life focused on family. Some might want to cross off travel destinations on their bucket lists. Some might want a low-maintenance community with high-end upgrades and social events. Decide what you want to achieve from your move first, and you’ll be able to better narrow down your housing options.”

Comments: Many homeowners are taking the profit from the sale of their current home and splitting it to put down payments on a smaller home in their current location and a vacation/retirement home where they plan to live when they retire.

This allows them to lock in the home price and mortgage interest rate at today’s values. This makes sense financially as both home prices and interest rates are projected to rise.

Q: Have I built up enough equity in my current home to make a profit?

A: “For most homeowners, the answer is yes. This is if they’ve held on to their properties long enough to have positive equity that will be sizable enough to put a large down payment on their next home.”

Comments: A recent study by Fannie Mae revealed that only 37% of Americans believe they have significant equity (> 20%) in their current home. In actually, 69% have greater than 20% equity. That equity could enable you to build a life you have always dreamt about.

Bottom Line

If you are debating downsizing your home and want to evaluate the options you currently have, contact Andrea T. Fowler of New Avenue Realty (972.813.9788) who can help guide you through the process.

 

Digital Risk recently polled Millennials about the housing market. Among their findings was the fact that nearly two-thirds of the generation who have recently purchased a home, have done so with less than 20% down; with 36% putting down less than 5%!

Here is a graph detailing the results:

This means that more and more American’s between the ages of 18 and 34 stopped paying their landlord’s mortgage and started building their own family’s wealth.

Millennials aren’t the only ones taking advantage of lower down payments.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that if the down payment required to purchase a home went from 20% to 5%, a renter’s Willingness To Pay (WTP) increased by 40%.

The problem is that thirty-six percent of Americans still think a 20% down payment isalways required when buying a home. Many renters may actually be able to enter the housing market sooner than they ever imagined with new programs that have emerged allowing less cash out of pocket.

Bottom Line

If you are one of the many renters now realizing that the home of your dreams is obtainable, contact me via phone or email at 972.813.9788 or [email protected] to guide you through the Dallas real estate market.