Flat Exemptions Love Cheap Houses
Texas shields a flat $200,000 of home value from school district taxes for over-65 homeowners (the $140K homestead plus $60K senior exemptions, 2026 tax year). Flat — not a percentage. Watch what that does across the Del Webb price ladder:
| Home Value | Shielded From School Tax | Share of Value Protected | Where in the Lineup |
|---|---|---|---|
| $375,000 | $200,000 | 53% | Union Park entry plans |
| $525,000 | $200,000 | 38% | Typical Frisco Lakes resale |
| $650,000 | $200,000 | 31% | Premium-corridor new build |
Add the school-tax freeze, Denton County’s missing hospital district, and the simple fact that smaller numbers throw off smaller bills, and Union Park is structurally the most tax-efficient door into this brand — even though Little Elm’s combined rates (published around 2.46% in Little Elm ISD territory) are nothing special on paper. Rate is not the whole story; what the rate applies to is.
$143 a Month Is True. It Is Also Half the Answer.
Union Park’s 55+ section is a neighborhood inside a Hillwood master plan, and that nesting produces two assessments. Del Webb’s published figure is $429 per quarter — about $143 a month — for the age-restricted amenity center and programming. The Union Park master association bills another $120 to $135 a month, and it earns its keep: front-yard lawn care, smart home monitoring, and the master plan’s 35-acre central park, trails, and event calendar.
So the honest monthly figure is roughly $270. That reframes the value question: against Robson Ranch at ~$331 the gap is modest, and Robson’s 55+-dedicated amenity package is in a different weight class. What Robson does not include is lawn service — worth $100+ a month to plenty of retirees — and that single line is where the Union Park comparison either works or collapses, depending on how you value your Saturday mornings. Full assembled numbers: the Union Park true cost guide.
Age-Restricted at Home, Grandkids Two Minutes Away
Some buyers want a complete 55+ world; others tried one and found it sterile. Union Park serves the second group. Your street and amenity center are age-restricted, while the surrounding master plan runs food truck nights, splash pads, and playgrounds — infrastructure your master assessment partly funds and your visiting grandchildren will exploit thoroughly. Frisco’s retail and medical corridors sit fifteen minutes east; the lake is closer.
Two diligence items specific to this corridor. First, several Little Elm-belt developments carry PID assessments on top of standard entities — demand the lot’s full taxing entity list before writing anything. Second, on a mid-$300s base, Del Webb’s current DFW incentive money is a proportionally larger discount than the same dollars on a $600K premium-corridor home; spend that leverage deliberately.