I second DallasBill's comment - look in Old Lake Highlands. Specifically, look in the area bounded approximately by: NW Hwy on the south, Abrams to the west, Church Ln. on the north, and Ferndale to the east.

My home is in this area, and was part of the 2009 White Rock Home Tour. After the WR Home Tour the Dallas Morning News home section published an article about our house on May 15th primarily because we were in your situation. My wife & I were also first time buyers and it took us almost 18 months to find a MCM that we could actually afford that wasn't ready to be torn down. It's a 60's Ju-Nel MCM that had great bones but needed updating, so we jumped on it as soon as it came of the market. We saved - literally - tens of thousands of dollars by doing 100% of the work ourselves. So, if you've got the tools (or friends with tools) and the know-how (or the internet and lots of confidence), you can definitely get it done without blowing the budget. 

North Dallas also has several pockets of cool MCMs, but they tend to be more expensive than the homes in Lake Highlands. One other plug for LH is the school system - most of LH is in Richardson ISD and N. Dallas is all DISD.

Good luck!

I am familiar with your house and it is very well done! 

Your area is indeed part of Lake Highlands, not Old Lake Highlands, which has a much higher concentration of MCM's.  Old Lake Highlands lies entirely south of NW Hwy and Lake Highlands lies entirely north.

I've found fun neighborhoods in unusual places like Irving, South of 183, and Arlington off I-30, anywhere there was development in the 50's-60's.  There are also 50's ranch homes you can find that may not be modern per se, but have cool bathrooms, built-ins, huge windows, nice brick work and are great candidates for a modern update.  Let me know your preferred price range and I can email some places to drive thru.

Mark

Previously Ryan Deyo wrote:

Ok, my wife and I are first time home buyers that like modernism.  We currently live in an apt in Grapevine and are looking to find something cool we might be able to work on.  MCM is great.  Affordable is our focus.  Any advice on where to look?

 

Ryan