DeCordova Bend Estates, Granbury, TX

About DeCordova Bend Estates

DeCordova Bend Estates is in Granbury, in the Fort Worth & Western Metroplex region of Texas. Developer: Texlan Corporation (original developer, per the owners association's history). Status: Open. Not age-restricted; it is included for retiree-oriented amenities.

DeCordova Bend Estates is a gated golf-course community on the shore of Lake Granbury in Hood County. Its owners association describes it as a gated golf-course community located near Granbury and 45 minutes from downtown Fort Worth, which is the association's own estimate. The association's history page says Texlan Corporation began platting 1,651 lots on 855 acres along the lake in 1969 as a weekend retreat for north Texans, that weekend users began using the nine-hole golf course and clubhouse, and that by 1972 the area had become the community known as DCBE because it proved attractive for full-time living.

DeCordova Bend Estates is also an incorporated city. The association's history page says that in early 2000 residents elected to form an incorporated city, the City of DeCordova, while the members of the owners association own the amenities and streets. The Census Bureau's place file lists DeCordova as an incorporated place in Hood County, and its 2019-2023 survey estimates a population of 3,086 for DeCordova city, a median age of 54.5 years, and 1,005 residents aged 65 and over, which is 32.6 percent. Census figures describe the city, and the community's own boundary and the city's may not match exactly. The association says the community has approximately 26 miles of roads and 1,500 homes, condominiums and town homes.

DeCordova Bend Estates is both a community and an incorporated city. It is a single gated lake-and-golf community whose residents chose to incorporate, it has an older-than-average population, and its amenities (the club, golf, marina, tennis) are what draws retirees, so it is treated here as a community inside the Granbury area, with a note that it is a separate city for tax and governance purposes. It is all-age: neither the association's pages nor the Census data describe an age requirement, and the association presents it as a place where week-enders chose to live full time. The 32.6 percent figure describes who lives there; it is not a 55-plus rule.

Age restrictions at DeCordova Bend Estates

DeCordova Bend Estates is an all-age community, not a 55-plus community. The owners association describes a gated golf-course community that began as a weekend retreat and became a full-time residential community, and its pages describe no age requirement. Residents who want a 55-plus age-restricted product should look at communities that state such a restriction in their governing documents.

Housing types at DeCordova Bend Estates

• Single-family homes on platted lots, including waterfront and water-view homes
• Condominiums and town homes (the association says about 1,500 homes, condominiums and town homes in all)
• Lots offered by the owners association (the association's site menu has a Lots for Sale by the HOA page)

Pricing at DeCordova Bend Estates

The Census Bureau's 2019-2023 housing profile estimates a median value of $300,800 for owner-occupied homes in DeCordova city, median monthly owner costs of $1,795 for homes with a mortgage, and 95.2 percent owner-occupied units among 1,666 housing units. These are survey estimates that lag the market, and waterfront homes can differ widely from the median. The association's site directs buyers to realtors for current listings and gives no lot or home prices.

HOA and fees at DeCordova Bend Estates

DeCordova Bend Estates is governed by an owners association with rules the association describes as designed for the safety, security and serenity of the neighborhood. Its history page says the members of the association own the amenities and streets and share in the cost of operating the amenities. The association's public pages give no dues or assessment amounts, so ask the association for current dues, the budget, any capital or transfer fees, and the status of reserves before buying.

The association says its golf courses are open only to residents and their guests, with the exception of charity tournaments such as the Acton and DCBE Volunteer Fire Department tournament each June. Its site menu has Join Membership, Membership Types and Club Information pages, and it gives no fee amounts for club or golf membership, so ask whether those carry charges separate from the association's dues. Tee times are scheduled through an online tee-time system.

The association's history page states that the City of DeCordova does not tax its residents, and gives its own example of saving $550 a year in property tax on a $150,000 home. That is the owners association's statement, not an official tax record. Hood Central Appraisal District's adopted-rate tables for 2022 through 2026 list rows for the cities of Granbury, Lipan and Tolar and do not list a row for the City of DeCordova, which is consistent with the association's statement, but a buyer should still ask Hood CAD and the seller for the actual tax certificate for the parcel, because county, school-district and other levies still apply.

Water and sewer service comes from Acton Municipal Utility District, which says it was created in 1982 to serve the Acton area, DeCordova Bend Estates, Indian Harbor and Pecan Plantation, provides water to all its members and provides sewer to members in DeCordova Bend Estates, among other areas. A utility bill is a service charge and is separate from a property-tax levy. Hood CAD's 2022 table listed Acton MUD at a rate of 0.02 per $100; its 2023 through 2026 tables do not list it, so confirm whether any district levy applies to a given lot.

Amenities at DeCordova Bend Estates

• 18-hole championship golf course (par 70, 6,423 yards from the back tees, designed by Leon Howard and Dave Bennett, with greens converted to Champions Bermuda in 2016)
• Durant Golf Course, a nine-hole par-3 course
• Marina with two covered docks and 74 boat slips
• Two lighted tennis courts and a fitness center
• Swimming pool with poolside deli and a golf driving range
• Four-space RV park
• Gated community with about 26 miles of roads

Healthcare near DeCordova Bend Estates

Lake Granbury Medical Center, a 73-bed hospital at 1310 Paluxy Road in Granbury, and its freestanding emergency room at 5309 E Highway 377 are the closest hospital facilities named on the hospital's website. For specialty care, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth describes Granbury in its service area. The association does not publish a drive time to a hospital, and neither does this site. Ask the association how emergency response is organized for the community, and confirm Medicare network coverage for the hospital you expect to use.

Airport access from DeCordova Bend Estates

The association lists a mailing and club address at 5301 Country Club Drive, Granbury, and describes the community as near Granbury. Granbury Regional Airport, owned by the City of Granbury, has a 5201-foot concrete runway and is open to the public. For airline service, DFW International Airport is the major airport serving the region; the association says the community is 45 minutes from downtown Fort Worth, which is its own estimate, and this site does not publish drive times.

Why DeCordova Bend Estates is included

A gated, all-age golf and lake community on Lake Granbury that is also the incorporated City of DeCordova. The Census Bureau's 2019-2023 survey estimates a median age of 54.5 and 32.6 percent of residents aged 65 or older, and the community offers an 18-hole course, a nine-hole par-3 course, a marina and a fitness center.

Alternatives to DeCordova Bend Estates

• Pecan PlantationA gated golf, marina and airpark community of about 3,000 acres south of Granbury, open to buyers of all ages, with a mostly Hood County location, an owners association and, by the Census estimate, a population in which nearly half are 65 or older.

Guides relevant to DeCordova Bend Estates

• 55-plus communities versus all-age master plans in Texas
• Golf and Texas retirement markets: what is included, what costs extra and who can play
• Texas lake retirement markets: water levels, flood and drought exposure, and private versus public lakes
• Texas MUDs, PIDs and special districts: how to read the bill and the closing disclosure