Thoughts on Buckner Terrace in East Dallas as potential house hack/mid term rental

[Lynn Nguyen]

I have been trying to find a good home to house hack in DFW for about 6 months now and can't seem to have any luck. Many of homes in the price range I am looking in need a lot of work. I came across new construction townhomes in the Buckner Terrace area in East Dallas. What are your thoughts or experience with this area? The community would be 10 minutes from downtown and White Rock Lake and fairly close to the Medical District. An idea I have is renting out some of the rooms as mid term rentals, targeting travel nurses.
Would love to hear your thoughts and insights. Thank you in advance!

[Bruce Lynn]

@Lynn Nguyen   What price range do you want to be in?

From what I've seen, that particular area is probably not a strong pull for STR/MTR/Travel medical staff.

What part of town do you work in?

While it is fairly close to White Rock, I never see anyone for that area use that as a draw.  Not sure people make that association.

Same with pull for medical district.   I don't think most people associate BT with medical district.

There are people very protective of the area and that is a good thing.  There are people that care and have lived there a lifetime.

Not sure it is on the upswing though, haven't seen strong gentrification there yet, don't hear people talking that that is the new hip place to be.

From what I see works best for house hack is probably 4bed 3bath or more if you can swing it, but price might be an issue, but chances are it will not be new or newer.

Seems like there might be a short window this year to make it happen.

Do you only want new construction?

[Lynn Nguyen]

@Bruce Lynn Thank you for your response! I am looking stay around or under 350k. My office is in Coppell but I WFH most of the time. I only go in a few times a month so I don't mind being a little further. I would prefer something more updated or turn key where I have to do less updates being a first time homebuyer. So far, I have been looking in The Colony, Plano, Carrollton and Lewisville.

[Bruce Lynn]

Quote from @Lynn Nguyen:

@Bruce Lynn Thank you for your response! I am looking stay around or under 350k. My office is in Coppell but I WFH most of the time. I only go in a few times a month so I don't mind being a little further. I would prefer something more updated or turn key where I have to do less updates being a first time homebuyer. So far, I have been looking in The Colony, Plano, Carrollton and Lewisville.

 I have a couple of ideas for you.   One is Villas of Cottonwood Creek in Irving.   Couple for sale there now.  Nice setup if you want a townhome.  Nice community.

[Ryan Thomson]

@Lynn Nguyen I wonder if your criteria may be a little unrealistic for the current market. 

House hacking is tough to cashflow in year one (with current house price run-ups and interest rates) for a couple reasons:

1. You are living in one of the rentable units

2. You are only putting 5% down so your loan amount is much larger and therefore your mortgage payment.

I would consider your net worth ROI. What I mean by this is considering how much your down payment returns to your net worth (appreciation, loan paydown, tax benefits, AND rent avoidance). Don't forget to include rent avoidance in your numbers! You have to live somewhere.

You may need to lower your return or cashflow expectations so you can get into a house hack that will allow you to avoid throwing rent money away every month. You know this, but don't forget all the other ways real estate makes you money. Paying down your mortgage and owning an asset that will appreciate over the long term.

[Kevin Von Storch]

@Lynn Nguyen I would advise staying north of I-30 if you're looking in Buckner Terrace. I lived in East Dallas for five years before turning my primary home into a rental about nine months ago. It's in the Eastwood Hills neighborhood which is just north from Buckner Terrace.

Homes have become increasingly less affordable in the area following a significant fix and flip movement over the last three to four years. That being said, you can still find a deal. Given it's still relative affordability compared to most of Dallas and proximity to downtown Dallas, White Rock lake, Casa Linda I think over time the area will continue to improve, however, there are still many rundown apartments in the area, gun shots are not uncommon, so desirability is hit or miss.

[Christian Montalvo]

@Lynn Nguyen This may be a bit far of a commute for you but there are duplexes for sale in Glenn Heights. This is a great area to house hack considering Desoto is killing it at football right now. A lot of families want to move to the area to get their kids in Desoto ISD for football. If you're wanting to do a mid term rental I would recommend areas like Euless that are close to the airport. My husband and I house hacked in North Dallas, Irving and Euless. Our most profitable with least wear and tear on the properties were in Irving and Euless. 

[Kevin Von Storch]

@Lynn Nguyen this might be tough to swing but wanted to let you know of an opportunity in Buckner Terrace I came across as I was looking through foreclosure notices.

Address: 2506 Dorrington Drive Dallas, TX 75228

As of now, the property is going to auction on 4/4. If you have the cash or could get it, this could be an opportunity to get into the area at a reasonable price point. I would run on Dorrington often, it's a good street for the area.

[Silvia Ochoa]

@Lynn Nguyen Love the area, I have owned 2 homes in the Buckner Terrace neighborhood and one in White Rock Hills, which is on the north side of 30. The homes are lovely, well built and have lots of character. It's location is ideal in my opinion and far too many people have overlooked it. Deep Ellum, Fair Park, White Rock, Baylor and downtown are all within 15 min drive or less. I would agree with Kevin's assessment of crime nearby. However, having owned homes on both sides of 30, I had more issues on the north side. That's why we moved back to Buckner Terrace. There is a short term rental down the street from me that's killing it, occupied all the time. I'm now considering turning my house into a STR. Anyway, just wanted to give you my opinion of the neighborhood since I live there. I'm also a real estate agent ;-)