Triangle relocation thread

[Gard]

I hope someone can help me out with a real-estate question.

I've been looking at the new condo's being planned for downtown (Plaza, Hue, etc), if I walk into one of these places during the pre-order phase (properties are not MLS listed yet) with a buyer broker representing me, will the developer typically pay the buyer's broker's fee, or should I expect to be on the hook for that? Appreciate any feedback

[Movingsouth]

Hi,

I'm looking to relocate my family, wife and 2 year old daughter, possibly to Cary. I'm looking for a neighborhood that is safe, family oriented, good schools and has well built newer homes (500K range) in a HOA with activities. Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Jones_]

Hi,

I'm looking to relocate my family, wife and 2 year old daughter, possibly to Cary. I'm looking for a neighborhood that is safe, family oriented, good schools and has well built newer homes (500K range) in a HOA with activities. Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Gard]

^^^

What he said. Cary is pretty much all like that through & through. Much of far North Raleigh (basically north of 540 and sandwiched between Brier Creek and Capital Blvd.) is like that as well. Wake Forest has some nice neighborhoods as well.

[Movingsouth]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry, but I can't locate the Triangle relocator forum. I am concerned with N Raleigh because I've seen some of their schools not rated well, according to greatschools.com. I think Wake Forrest is out of the way. I want to be near the research triangle for job opportunities and culture. Yes, I am looking for an HOA with a community pool, clubhouse etc. I think this is important since I will be relocating and it will make it easier to meet people. Are the any particular HOA's in Cary that especially nice? Keepng in my mind a 500-550K budget for a newer 3000 sq ft house. I have read that Preston is very nice.

Thanks

[Gard]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry, but I can't locate the Triangle relocator forum. I am concerned with N Raleigh because I've seen some of their schools not rated well, according to greatschools.com. I think Wake Forrest is out of the way. I want to be near the research triangle for job opportunities and culture. Yes, I am looking for an HOA with a community pool, clubhouse etc. I think this is important since I will be relocating and it will make it easier to meet people. Are the any particular HOA's in Cary that especially nice? Keepng in my mind a 500-550K budget for a newer 3000 sq ft house. I have read that Preston is very nice.

Thanks

[Beth Y]

I will note that, regarding school's, many of the district redrawing is due to areas of the County having drastic population shifts. Much of CAry was farmland one year and hundreds of homes with young families the next. The system is building schools as fast as it can, but the developers are building faster. So, when school district population drastically changes due to, say three new subdivisions, the lines are redrawn. The moral to this story is that, the more established your district is, the more secure you are. However, even this is not always perfect, as many will tell you.

[Jones_]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry, but I can't locate the Triangle relocator forum. I am concerned with N Raleigh because I've seen some of their schools not rated well, according to greatschools.com. I think Wake Forrest is out of the way. I want to be near the research triangle for job opportunities and culture. Yes, I am looking for an HOA with a community pool, clubhouse etc. I think this is important since I will be relocating and it will make it easier to meet people. Are the any particular HOA's in Cary that especially nice? Keepng in my mind a 500-550K budget for a newer 3000 sq ft house. I have read that Preston is very nice.

Thanks

[Movingsouth]

Oh I'll warn you about the schools, if you don't know already. All the public schools in Wake county are the same school system. It is the norm these days here to redraw the school districts pretty much every year and shuffle kids between schools, so there is no guarantee your kids will be in the same school from year to year. Lawsuits against the school board over it (and their love of year round schools) seem to be the norm as well lol. The school system tries to maintain an equal balance of demographics (rich kids, poor kids, minority kids, etc.) in all the schools and have been known to bus kids in from other areas of the school system to achieve it. Its an interesting policy and I personally like it, but there are others who hate it, so I thought I would tell you about it ahead of time. Other than that, its all good!

[Transplant]

Oh I'll warn you about the schools, if you don't know already. All the public schools in Wake county are the same school system. It is the norm these days here to redraw the school districts pretty much every year and shuffle kids between schools, so there is no guarantee your kids will be in the same school from year to year. Lawsuits against the school board over it (and their love of year round schools) seem to be the norm as well lol. The school system tries to maintain an equal balance of demographics (rich kids, poor kids, minority kids, etc.) in all the schools and have been known to bus kids in from other areas of the school system to achieve it. Its an interesting policy and I personally like it, but there are others who hate it, so I thought I would tell you about it ahead of time. Other than that, its all good!

[/quote

Thanks for the continued replies. My understanding was that any redistricting was for highschools only. Is that correct? I only have a 2 year old daughter and no more children are planned, so I'm not concerned with having children in different schools/schedules, thank God. I will not however permit my daughter to be bused any long distance while in grammer school. I hope that is not being done. As for highschool, we have 11 years to worry about that and I'm hoping the system will improve by then. If not, we will send her to pvt school.

Any other opinions on the nicer HOA subdivisions in Cary? We may also consider N Raleigh as long as its a really nice HOA with ammenities. We can go up to 600K, but would prefer not to and we are not looking for a McMansion or anything larger than 3200 sq ft. It seems that they build the homes BIG down there :-). I've seen that alot of N Raleigh is still rather rural with lots of property, septic and wells. That is what we don't want.

Thanks, AL

]

[ncwebguy]

We will try to be helpful, but the worlds of "home owners associations with amenities" and "urban planet" rarely intersect, especailly around here.

As others have said, you can get a lot more of a vibe by spending 10 to 15 minutes in a neighborhood than spending hours researching online.

Cary may look closest to RTP on a map, but Apex isn't that much further away and has a lot of new construction. There is a lot going up near NC 55, Davis Drive, Morrisvile/Carpenter, and High House Road. That area is near Preston, so it is roughly the same area for less money/ameneties.

In southern Durham, Woodcroft and Chancellor's Ridge have a lot of what you are looking for, though they are mostly/completely built out so you won't get anything new. Earlier in the relocation thread, Rennisance Park (south Raleigh) was mentioned. I think their clubhouse and pool are already open, though few houses and townhouses are open yet.

In North Raleigh, there seems to be a lot of people who like Bedford/Falls River and Wakefield, though parts of Wakefield are out of your $.5 M price range. I'm sure there are more (including the established North Ridge, etc.) but I don't know the names of any of them.

As far as I know, all of these developments are on city water and sewer. Not an outhouse to be found, except maybe as an ironic yard decoration.

[Movingsouth]

Thanks for all the useful information. I've done a bit of research and Chapel Hill appears to be a nice place to raise a family. Are there nice HOA's there? How long of a commute to RTP? How does it compare to Cary or N Raleigh?

Thanks again

[urbanvb]

Also consider other city sites that may have more detailed info on particular neighborhoods/areas.

[Jones_]

Thanks for all the useful information. I've done a bit of research and Chapel Hill appears to be a nice place to raise a family. Are there nice HOA's there? How long of a commute to RTP? How does it compare to Cary or N Raleigh?

Thanks again

[Transplant]

Thanks for all the useful information. I've done a bit of research and Chapel Hill appears to be a nice place to raise a family. Are there nice HOA's there? How long of a commute to RTP? How does it compare to Cary or N Raleigh?

Thanks again

[orulz]

Agreed - if you're looking in the $500k range but don't want anything huge, give Chapel Hill a look. Both Meadowmont and Southern Village would be good options.

Orange County doesn't have quite the same growth issues as Wake/Durham counties, due to very strict land use policies in the county. The lack of ability to cheaply subdivide and develop rural farmland means that even moderately intense development stays within city limits, and stays in check. This pressure does increase land costs, but it won't push things out of your range (which even in Chapel Hill may buy you more than you're accustomed to.)

In addition, CH/Carrboro City Schools are sometimes said to be the best school district in the state. There's an elementary school actually within each of these developments (Meadowmont = Rashkis Elementary; Southern Village = Mary Scroggs Elementary).

Meadowmont is a bit shorter commute to RTP so you might look there first. Plus, thinking ultra-long term, Meadowmont is penciled in with a stop on the Chapel Hill->Durham and Chapel Hill->RTP->RDU transit line, whereas Southern Village is not. There's no guarantee that these transit lines will happen at all, much less within the next 10 years or so, but it's something to think about.

[Movingsouth]

Hi,

Thanks once again for your suggestions. You have all been very helpful. It looks like Chapel Hill (specifically 27516 zip) is on top of our list now. Meadowmont and Southern Village seem to be exactly what we are looking for although there seems to be a lack of inventory. I found one house priced at 515K in SV but Im not sure if I like the Charleston design and it seems a little small at 2387 sq ft. We can probably go up another $100K if we have to. We are looking for something more along 2700 sq ft with an open floor plan, high ceilings and updated throughout. I havent found anything in Meadowmont, period.

I have found some nice homes in Lake Hogan Farms along with two new communties, Claremont and Winmore. Is anyone familiar with these communities?

I have also researched propety taxes, ouch! $1.69/$100 value for Chapel Hill/Orange County property tax. Is that correct? That would make a 600K home's property tax $10,140/yr. This is doable, although I'd rather not do it :-). What a big difference between Wake County's, $1.02/$100. I think its $1.054 for Cary. Is it really worth the difference? I guess this is part of the reason the population of CH has grown only 4% the past 5 years vs much higher for Cary.

Also, what is the story with vehicle taxes in NC? I've read 1% of value as a property tax and something about 3% for Highway use tax (HUT). Is that right, 4%of you car's value on taxes? That seems way high.

Thanks again for all your insight.

Agreed - if you're looking in the $500k range but don't want anything huge, give Chapel Hill a look. Both Meadowmont and Southern Village would be good options.

Orange County doesn't have quite the same growth issues as Wake/Durham counties, due to very strict land use policies in the county. The lack of ability to cheaply subdivide and develop rural farmland means that even moderately intense development stays within city limits, and stays in check. This pressure does increase land costs, but it won't push things out of your range (which even in Chapel Hill may buy you more than you're accustomed to.)

In addition, CH/Carrboro City Schools are sometimes said to be the best school district in the state. There's an elementary school actually within each of these developments (Meadowmont = Rashkis Elementary; Southern Village = Mary Scroggs Elementary).

Meadowmont is a bit shorter commute to RTP so you might look there first. Plus, thinking ultra-long term, Meadowmont is penciled in with a stop on the Chapel Hill->Durham and Chapel Hill->RTP->RDU transit line, whereas Southern Village is not. There's no guarantee that these transit lines will happen at all, much less within the next 10 years or so, but it's something to think about.

[Transplant]

Hi,

Thanks once again for your suggestions. You have all been very helpful. It looks like Chapel Hill (specifically 27516 zip) is on top of our list now. Meadowmont and Southern Village seem to be exactly what we are looking for although there seems to be a lack of inventory. I found one house priced at 515K in SV but Im not sure if I like the Charleston design and it seems a little small at 2387 sq ft. We can probably go up another $100K if we have to. We are looking for something more along 2700 sq ft with an open floor plan, high ceilings and updated throughout. I havent found anything in Meadowmont, period.

I have found some nice homes in Lake Hogan Farms along with two new communties, Claremont and Winmore. Is anyone familiar with these communities?

I have also researched propety taxes, ouch! $1.69/$100 value for Chapel Hill/Orange County property tax. Is that correct? That would make a 600K home's property tax $10,140/yr. This is doable, although I'd rather not do it :-). What a big difference between Wake County's, $1.02/$100. I think its $1.054 for Cary. Is it really worth the difference? I guess this is part of the reason the population of CH has grown only 4% the past 5 years vs much higher for Cary.

Also, what is the story with vehicle taxes in NC? I've read 1% of value as a property tax and something about 3% for Highway use tax (HUT). Is that right, 4%of you car's value on taxes? That seems way high.

Thanks again for all your insight.

[RaleighRob]

Consider though you get your money's worth in Chapel Hill's taxes. Superior schools (best in the state), free public transit throughout town, nice parks & rec, a good police & fire force as well. You get the idea.

I'm not sure on the vehicle taxes...it's a combo of state and county. I think I paid $140 for my Yaris in Wake County...or something like that. (I could be wrong though...I lease and it's usually just added in.) Then there are the DMV tag fees and such, which is separate.

[Movingsouth]

OK, I got the Chapal Hill tax rates directly from Orange County for 07. The total including CH city, county tax and school district tax is .016135 per $1 or 1.6755/$100. Vehicle tax is the same. I'm glad to hear the tax rate is on assessed value that will help, but I am still estimating around $8,000 for a 600K house, not too bad. It's true Raleighrob that the increased servives so outway the extra in property tax. I'm glad to know you feel that way about Chapel Hill.

Also, if anyone has heard anything about those other neighborhoods in Chapel Hill that I mentioned, Lake Hogan Farms along with two new communties, Claremont and Winmore please let me know.

Thanks again and a realtor search will be my next move.

Tax rate for chapel hill seems to be $1.462/$100 assesed value according to the N&O. Not sure if thats right or not. One thing to understand, though, is that sale value and tax value are not the same here in NC. That $600k house may have a tax value of $400k. You'd have to look it up.

There are no seperate school taxes here in NC, so you won't get a double hit like you would in many Northeastern areas.

There is a tax on vehicles, I believe it is taxed at the same rate as a house, as its considered property. I know I'm not paying 4% on my car, but the 1% is right on.

[Jones_]

The 3% thing is the title transfer fee assessed by the State. It used to be sales tax based on the actual price but people were submitting bills of sale for like 100 bucks and paying in cash the actual several thousand. This is a real bi#$% for say a father trying to give a decent car to his son....gotta pay 300 dolalrs if the STate thinks the car is worth $10,000. Info here.

[Gard]

I didn't see this mentioned, so I'll add it to the conversation. In addition to your tags, there is a vehicle inspection sticker you have to get as well. Most service stations do the state vehicle inspections and they cost about $30

As for the developments your looking, I don't know anything about either one.

[Jones_]

I didn't see this mentioned, so I'll add it to the conversation. In addition to your tags, there is a vehicle inspection sticker you have to get as well. Most service stations do the state vehicle inspections and they cost about $30

As for the developments your looking, I don't know anything about either one.

[Movingsouth]

Hi,

Thanks for all the info on HUT and MV fees. I am going to contact a local realtor today. I will be making a trip out there just before Thanksgiving to get an idea of the various neighborhoods. We are not planning to put up our house for sale until March 08 and are looking to move by Sept if everything goes well.

One more question, how is the crime in Chapel Hill? The stats show about avg crime compared to the rest of the country, but its considerably higher than Cary. Why is that? Where is this crime coming from?

Thanks again

[orulz]

One more question, how is the crime in Chapel Hill? The stats show about avg crime compared to the rest of the country, but its considerably higher than Cary. Why is that? Where is this crime coming from?