McKinney TX Real Estate

Relocating to McKinney, TX 101 - What will my new McKinney home be like?

We've all heard that a large portion of fear, is fear of the UNKNOWN. When moving or relocating to a new city, there may be lots of fears and LOTS of unknowns! Especially if you have kids, like I do.

BUT WHERE WILL MY TOYS GO?

True story: When my husband and I were moving up from our McKinney townhouse in master-planned Stonebridge Ranch to a larger McKinney single-story detached home just a few miles away, my then 3 year old son was quite confused. He accompanied us on our house showings and would weigh-in afterwards about what he liked or didn't like. His comments were usually, "I like the house with the big trampoline", or "I LOVE the house with all the Star Wars toys!" and "Can we get the house with the Lego table in the boys room that is painted like outer space?".

I didn't put it all together until later that what HE was worried about were the FURNISHINGS TOYS in the home. He was scared to move to a place that didn't have cool TOYS. So, when we were standing in the house that we eventually bought, and said, "Yep - this is our new house - go pick out your room" he was scared. You see, the sellers had GIRL bedrooms. Pink. We finally put 2 and 2 together and explained to him that his things would be coming WITH us and the sellers things would going with them. We were fine and dandy after that point, but he didn't have any expectations of what moving would be like, he didn't have an idea of what kind of house we would move in to and these fears were sewn out of the UNKNOWN.

"MOM, WHAT'S OUR NEW HOUSE GONNA BE LIKE?"

While most adults are beyond a 3 year old's understanding of the moving process, that doesn't mean there aren't UNKNOWN'S. So, in an effort to educate those of you moving to our popular "Reloville", I'd like to present you with a list of 6 differences in what the homes in McKinney and surrounding areas are like, versus where you may be moving from! Share these with your kids too! Knowledge is power, and kids really like power.

1. With the exception of ONE community that comes to mind (Mallard Lakes), McKinney TX Homes do NOT have BASEMENTS. Welcome to North Texas, home of the clay soil! Clay soil + basements = cracking, bad mess of a house.

2. A large percentage of homes for sale in McKinney are brick. A popular trend is to incorporate natural stone in the elevations of homes, contributing to the very natural, country vibe that McKinney gives off.

3. Compared to many Northern and Midwestern states, our back yards are SMALL (average subdivision lot size is 60 by 120). Unless you are looking in the $500K+ price range where you might get a third of an acre up to 1 acre.

4. ...and speaking of back yards, many subdivisions use shared wooden fences. Other fences you might see if living on a golf course are the wrought iron fences that allow the views to be seen from the property.

5. It's HOT in Texas, therefore Community Pools are almost as necessary as air conditioning. Many of McKinney's subdivisions (large and small) offer small pools up to large beach club sized community pools sandy lagoons with splash pads! (Hint: the kids will LOVE this!)

6. One of the biggest befefits of moving to McKinney, TX is the fact that you can get a newer home at a reasonable price! Can I get an AMEN?

• 165 homes SOLD in McKinney (according to NTREIS MLS) from 6/29/09-7/29/09.
• Average price per square foot was $82.22
• Average AGE of home was 1998 - ONLY 11 YEARS OLD!
• Sellers received an average of 97% of sales price. Average list price was $231,558 and average sold price was $223,779.
• It took home sellers an average of 94 days on the market to get their McKinney, TX home SOLD!
• The average home that sold was a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with 2681 square feet

We're looking forward to having you as our new neighbors here in McKinney, TX. If you have any other questions, or UNKNOWNS, no matter how silly you think they may be - ASK AWAY! That's what we're here for! My McKinney TX Homes blog just might have your answers. And if it doesn't, I'll make a blog post out of it! You have my word on it.