Kings Gate · Trading Up
Trading up in Kings Gate
Sell and buy in the right order, with your numbers worked out first.
Trading up in Kings Gate for room and location
Trading up in Kings Gate is a natural move for buyers who want larger rooms, a bigger lot and mature trees without moving to the edge of town. Move-up buyers are one of the groups Kings Gate suits best. The larger properties can include pools, basements or multiple living areas, the kind of space a growing household looks for.
The move also means buying a home with some age. Most Kings Gate homes were built in the 1980s, so part of trading up here is deciding how much updating you want to take on.
Then comes the usual question: buy first or sell first? We'll answer it with your equity and your lender before you tour.
Why move-up buyers work with Shelby Cotton
I'm Shelby Cotton, a REALTOR® with eXp Realty, LLC in Lubbock. When you trade up, I run your sale and your purchase as one plan, with the timing between them managed as carefully as either price.
On the Kings Gate side, my background in architecture and civil design helps you judge the extra space. Does a second living area work for how you live, or is it a room you'll heat and never use? Is the basement dry and finished well? Is the pool worth its upkeep to you? A larger home is only an upgrade when the space earns its keep.
Your current home gets evidence-based pricing, careful preparation and a planned launch, with professional photography, video and drone shots where they help, a property website and targeted reach.
Your trade-up plan, step by step
- Know your equity. What your current home is likely to sell for, and what you'll net.
- Talk with your lender early. Whether you can carry both homes briefly, or need your sale to close first.
- Decide how much updating you'll take on. Updated homes cost more up front. Original ones cost more later.
- Prepare and launch your current home. Repairs worth doing, staging and professional media.
- Tour Kings Gate with a plan. Layout, lot, systems and features, with the cost of any work priced in.
- Line up the closings. Offer terms and dates written to fit your sale.
The seller side is on how I launch a home, the buyer side on how I help you buy, and the full approach on trading up in Lubbock.
Space versus newness
Many move-up buyers weigh a large Kings Gate home against a smaller, newer home farther south or west. Both can be the right answer. The Kings Gate home may offer more rooms, a larger lot, mature trees and a central location. The newer home may offer lower upkeep and current finishes. Price per square foot won't settle it. Your routine, your budget for updates and how long you plan to stay will.
If you want still larger homes and don't mind a scarcer market, look at trading up in Kings Park. For a golf-course setting, compare trading up to Lakeridge.
Budgeting for a larger Kings Gate home
The payment. A larger mortgage, higher property taxes and higher insurance. Your lender sets the ceiling, and your comfort sets the real limit.
Running costs. More square footage to heat and cool, more roof, a bigger yard with mature trees and, if there's one, a pool.
Updates. Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and lighting vary dramatically across Kings Gate. If the home you want needs work, that cost belongs in the plan from the start.
A reserve. Homes that are 35 to 50 years old can surprise you. Keep enough aside that one surprise doesn't disrupt the plan.
Selling the home you're leaving
The equity in your current home is what makes a larger Kings Gate home possible, so its sale deserves a real plan. Your buyer is likely comparing your home with others of the same size and age, and small differences in condition and presentation decide which one they choose.
Walk your home the way an inspector would and fix what they'd find. Freshen paint where it's worn, clear out enough that each room shows its size, and tidy the yard so the first photo is a good one. Most of that costs little and pays back in the offers you receive.
Then we'll time the launch. If you need your proceeds to buy, we'll list early enough that the closings can line up. Kings Gate has regular turnover, so the right home is more likely to appear on a workable schedule than in a scarcer neighborhood.
Map out your move
Want to see your numbers? Send me a note or call (806) 630-0455. The Kings Gate guide covers the neighborhood. Move wisely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kings Gate a good neighborhood for trading up?
It suits move-up buyers who want larger rooms, bigger lots and mature trees in a central southwest Lubbock location, and who are comfortable with a home that has some age.
Should I buy a larger Kings Gate home that needs updating?
It can be good value if the systems are sound and the cost of the work fits your budget. I price that work into the plan before you offer.
How do I decide between Kings Gate and a newer home?
Compare the whole picture: room, lot, trees, location, upkeep and finishes. Price per square foot alone won't answer it.
Kings Gate
What trading up looks like in Kings Gate
Mature trees, larger lots and a location that has become more central as Lubbock has grown.
- The homes
- Predominantly traditional brick homes from the late 1970s through the 1990s, most from the 1980s. Floor plans vary considerably. Many have rear-entry garages, substantial living areas and mature landscaping, and larger properties may have pools, basements or multiple living areas.
- Why people choose it
- Move-up buyers, relocating buyers who want mature surroundings, buyers wanting larger rooms and lots and mature trees, buyers who don't want to live on Lubbock's outer edge, and buyers comfortable evaluating an older home property by property.
- Schools people ask about
- Lubbock ISD. Buyers ask about Honey Elementary, Evans Middle School and Monterey High School. Verify by address with Lubbock ISD. It is sometimes confused with neighborhoods farther south in Lubbock-Cooper ISD.
- Getting around
- Southwest Lubbock between Quaker and Memphis Avenues, roughly 82nd to 98th Street. Locals say "around 82nd and Quaker, south toward 98th." Loop 289 is a short drive.
- Nearby
- Kingsgate Center at 82nd and Quaker, Charles A. Guy Park, and neighboring Lakeridge and Raintree. Shopping, restaurants and medical services all around.
- The trade-off
- Not cookie-cutter: homes differ in size, condition, lot, garage, pool, basement and renovation. Buyers compare them with smaller, newer homes farther south or west, so sellers have to show the value of location, lot, trees and construction, not only price per square foot.
Trading Up: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Shelby Cotton?