The sequence
- 1. Napkin first. Every $850/month of housing payment supports roughly $100,000 of house in Texas, taxes and insurance included. Your comfortable monthly number, not a lender's maximum, sets your range.
- 2. District second. Even if you don't have kids: districts move resale value, and corridor boundaries ignore city names. Verify by address.
- 3. Pocket third. Six cities, honestly profiled. Drive your actual commute at your actual shift time before you love anything.
- 4. Money fourth. Get fully underwritten — not just prequalified — with a lender of your choosing before touring model homes, so a preferred-lender incentive has something real to be compared against.
- 5. House last. Now the model home's 4.99% sign is a math problem you can actually solve, with the Ledger open on your phone.
First-timer traps, corridor edition
The payment mirage: a monthly estimate quoted without the MUD/PID assessment can be off by hundreds. Demand the total tax rate in writing. The upgrade spiral: design centers are engineered to add 12–17% to your base price; walk in with a written cap. The year-three step-up: a 2-1 buydown means your real payment arrives in year three — budget for that number on day one, and if it doesn't work, the house doesn't work. The far-phase discount: the cheapest lot in a new community is often cheapest for reasons a five-minute walk reveals.
Educational arithmetic only, compiled August 2026 — not lending advice. Your own quotes, tax figures, and inspections are the data that count.
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