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Buy · Off-market first look

Buy in DFW with a straight answer. First looks. No fluff.

Get the houses J.D. is buying, fixing or hearing about before they list — and a straight answer on any neighborhood you ask about. There's no MLS search on this site. The list is the point.

Join the first-look list Text J.D. at (214) 616-6452

What a first look is

Three kinds of house, before anyone lists them.

When one fits what you told us, J.D. sends it to you. No MLS search here: Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com already do that well. This list is for the houses that aren't on them yet.

  1. 1 · Buying

    Houses J.D. has under contract.

    If he'd sell you his contract instead of closing on the house first, he tells you in writing that a contract is what you're buying, not the deed.

  2. 2 · Fixing

    Houses J.D. owns and is fixing up.

    On these he's the seller, not your agent, and you get that in writing before any contract (22 TAC §535.144).

  3. 3 · Hearing about

    Owners who've told J.D. they might sell.

    Nothing is listed yet. If one fits and the owner says J.D. can share it, you hear about it before the sign goes up.

Buy before you sell

Buy the next house before you sell this one.

Buy-before-you-sell programs put their money behind your offer, so you don't have to sell first or write an offer that depends on your sale. They work alongside your agent. The money is the program's, not J.D.'s: he doesn't lend, guarantee or front anything on this route.

How they work, in general

  1. The program looks at your current house and sets a backup price it would pay you if the house doesn't sell.
  2. It lends against the equity in that house, so you can make an offer on the next one without waiting to sell.
  3. You buy, move, and list the old house on the open market.
  4. If it hasn't sold by the program's deadline — 6 months at Knock, 180 days at Homeward — you can take the backup price.

The catches, in plain English

  • It costs money. Homeward's program fee is 1% of your current home's market value, and its Equity Unlock loan carries a fee of 1% a month until the old house sells. Knock's purchase offer on its own carries a contract fee of 2.25% of your current home's estimated list price; its FAQ doesn't publish the bridge loan's fees. On a $400,000 house, 1% is $4,000.
  • The backup price is a floor, not a market price. Homeward's is typically 90% to 95% of market value, minus a 6% agent commission.
  • You still need a mortgage for the new house. The program doesn't replace your lender. Homeward's program doesn't work with an FHA or USDA loan on the new house.
  • Not every house qualifies. Knock won't take manufactured or mobile homes, multi-family properties, properties it calls deed restricted, or — right now — a condo you're selling in Texas. Most Texas subdivisions have deed restrictions, so ask Knock what it means by that before you count yourself in or out. It also says significant foundation or water damage, or an unpermitted addition, can keep a house from qualifying. On Blackland clay, read that sentence twice.

Two programs that operate in Texas today, as examples — not endorsements:

  • Knock

    Bridge loan plus a backup purchase offer. Texas is on its list of states, and you can use any agent.

  • Homeward

    Equity loan plus a floor price. Your current house has to be in one of its states; Texas is one. You can use your own agent.

Terms checked October 5, 2026, on each program's own site. They change; read the program's page before you sign anything.

Five questions: is buy-before-you-sell worth a call?

This checks your answers against the published rules of the two programs above. It can't approve anything, and neither can J.D.

1. Do you own a house you'd sell to buy the next one?
2. Where is that house?
3. What kind of house is it?
4. Any major foundation or water damage, or additions built without a permit?
5. What loan will you use on the new house?

Week one

The DFW move-⁠in checklist.

Free, no signup. Six things to set up the week you move in, and who to call where there's someone to call. Print it and stick it on the fridge.

  1. 01 · Before move-in day

    Electricity

    Most of DFW has electric choice. The wires company — Oncor, in most of DFW — owns the poles and wires and handles outages, but it doesn't sell power or send the bill. You pick a retail electric provider for that — compare plans on Power to Choose, the Public Utility Commission's own site.

    Not everywhere. City-owned utilities and electric co-ops weren't required to open up. Two you'll meet here: Garland Power & Light, the city's own utility, serves about 85% of Garland residents, and CoServ, an electric co-op, serves parts of Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Grayson counties. There you sign up with the city or the co-op, and Power to Choose doesn't apply.

  2. 02 · Before move-in day

    Gas

    Atmos Energy serves the Dallas and Fort Worth area; start service in your name. In parts of Denton, Collin and Tarrant counties the gas company is CoServ Gas instead. No gas meter at the house? Skip this one.

  3. 03 · Before move-in day

    Water, sewer and trash

    Usually the city. Open an account with the city's utility billing office; Garland, for one, puts water, sewer and trash on one account.

    Sometimes it's a utility district instead, often outside city limits. If the house is in one, the seller owed you a “Notice to Purchaser of Special Taxing or Assessment District” before you signed the contract, and a signed copy is recorded at closing — look in your closing papers. It names the district (Water Code §§49.452, 49.4521).

  4. 04 · Move-in day

    Locks and shutoffs

    Rekey every exterior door and change the garage-door code. You don't know how many keys are out there.

    Find the main water shutoff and the breaker panel before you need them, not during.

  5. 05 · Within 30 days

    Driver's license address

    Texas law gives you 30 days after a move to tell DPS your new address (Transportation Code §521.054). Do it early: the homestead exemption below needs a license or state ID showing this house's address.

  6. 06 · Once you live there

    Homestead exemption

    File it with the appraisal district in the county where the house is — not with the Comptroller. It's free, and you file once, not every year. School districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value (Tax Code §11.13(b)), and from the next year on its appraised value can't rise more than 10% a year, plus any new improvements (Tax Code §23.23).

    Bought this year? You can claim it for the part of the year after you move in, as long as the previous owner didn't get it this year. Don't file before you've moved in: an application filed before you qualify isn't accepted.

    Bring a copy of your Texas driver's license or state ID with the house's address on it. For the part of the year you bought in, apply within a year of the purchase date (Tax Code §11.43(d)); for a full year, the usual deadline is April 30. Miss it, and a late application still works up to two years after that year's taxes go delinquent (Tax Code §11.431).

Checked October 5, 2026 against:

  1. Power to Choose FAQ (PUC)
  2. Oncor, About us
  3. Atmos Energy, Texas service territory
  4. City of Garland, Service Providers
  5. CoServ, Service
  6. Comptroller Form 50-114
  7. Tax Code ch. 11
  8. Tax Code §23.23

FAQ

Straight answers.

Is there an MLS search on here?

No. Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com do that well, and we'd only be copying them. This list is for houses that aren't on them yet.

Do I have to sign something before J.D. shows me a house?

If he's showing it to you as an agent, yes — and so would any agent. Since January 1, 2026, Texas law requires a written agreement before a license holder working for a buyer shows you a house (Occupations Code §1101.563). It has to say what he'll do, when it ends, whether it's exclusive and how he's paid — and that broker pay isn't set by law and is fully negotiable. A showing-only agreement can't be exclusive or run more than 14 days. If the house is one of J.D.'s own, he's the seller, not your agent: you get the seller disclosure below instead.

If I buy one of J.D.'s own houses, is he my agent?

No. When the house is one J.D. owns — himself or through a company he controls — he's the seller in that deal, not your agent. You'll get that in writing before any contract: he's a Texas real estate license holder (No. 0705914, sponsored by Myers Home Buyers LLC) acting for himself (22 TAC §535.144). You're welcome to bring your own agent.

What does buy-before-you-sell actually cost?

Some of it is published. Homeward: a program fee of 1% of your current home's market value, and a fee of 1% a month on its Equity Unlock loan until the old house sells. Knock: a contract fee of 2.25% of your current home's estimated list price on its purchase offer used on its own; its FAQ doesn't publish the bridge loan's fees. Ask for the total in dollars, on your house, in writing.

Does the quiz mean I'm approved?

No. It tells you whether your answers hit any of the published no's for the programs we checked. The program, its inspection and your lender decide.

Will J.D. tell me whether a neighborhood is good or safe?

He'll tell you what he knows about the houses: what sold and for what, how old the stock is, slab or pier-and-beam, the tax rate, the commute. He won't rank neighborhoods or describe who lives in them — fair-housing law keeps agents out of that, and it should. For schools, the Texas Education Agency publishes every campus's rating; for crime, the city's police department publishes its own numbers.

Do you sell my information?

No. Your signup goes to J.D. — not to a list of investors or a lead marketplace.

What areas?

Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Ellis, Johnson and Grayson counties. If you're looking outside that, we'll tell you who to call.