“Bargain” rarely comes to mind when thinking about real estate in the Park Cities, but boutique lender Guardian Mortgage Company and REALTOR® Terri Patrick Cox of Allie Beth Allman & Associates beg to differ.
“It depends on whether or not you have children and where you want to invest your money,” said Marcus McCue, Senior Vice President, Guardian Mortgage. “Many of our Park Cities clients prefer to invest their monthly obligations in their house, which they see as an investment, rather than property taxes or tuition, if they feel they can get a comparable education for their children from the public schools in the area.”
“If you live in Preston Hollow or North Dallas, you’ll probably have a bigger house than in the Park Cities with more acreage, but you’re going to have the costs of private schools and higher taxes, which will make that property more expensive on an annual basis,” adds Cox.
McCue runs the numbers for his clients and finds that the financial scales tip in favor of the Park Cities when a family has two or more children.
Recently he and Terri Cox sat down and looked at two sets of comparable properties in the Park Cities and North Dallas at the entry-level $795,000 price and at the more typical $1.4 million price. While the Park Cities homes cost slightly more in terms of required down payment and closing costs, the Dallas homes will cost a family of four more every year for the next 30 years. See HERE for detailed mortgage analysis of the four properties.
“To put this in perspective, the entry-level homebuyer with three children could buy the more standard-level Park Cities property of $1,435,000 instead of the $795,000 home in Preston Hollow or North Dallas and spend the same annual out-of-pocket,” said McCue. “With two children, that equivalency is $1,387,500 with no more out of pocket.”
His analysis assumes that the homebuyer will put down 25% and that the family in North Dallas sends their children to private school. He based his tuition assumptions on the average of the top 18 local private schools. Click HERE for the list and tuitions.
Many people are surprised to find out that taxes in the Park Cities are lower than in Dallas. “On a typical $1.4 million house, you are looking at a tax difference of approximately $10,000 dollars per year,” notes Cox. “Many homebuyers would prefer to spend that money on their house rather than taxes.”
From its 16 parks, private police force, emergency services and highly acclaimed school district to its enduring property values, Park Cities residents can now add “bargain” to their reasons for loving where they live.
If you would like Guardian Mortgage to run the numbers for your situation, call 972-248-4663 or marcusmccue@gmc-inc.com. Terri Cox can be reached at 972-841-3838. http://www.terricox.com if you want to learn more about the many “hip pocket” real estate deals in the Park Cities that never reach the open marketplace.