Looking for house in $130K-$145K w/decent schools (Charlotte: hardwood floors, for sale)

[morethanmyself]

Hi all, I've been a lurker on the board for about 3 months now, when we first realized we were probably moving to Charlotte. We've been here almost a month and are renting near Matthews. My husband works in uptown for CHS and we have 3 kids, our oldest is 5 years old and just started Kindergarten this year. We're looking for a house in the $130-$145K range, we could go up to $150K if we absolutely have to, but from what I've been able to find it really doesn't open up anything more because our absolute cap is $150K. We're looking for a minimum of 1400sqft and 3brs (the boys share).

We are working with an agent and we love her, I'm just having a hard time telling her where to look. It's important to us to stay within 15miles of my husbands work because we only have 1 car and I have to take him to work and my son to school. We need a decent school, it doesn't have to be top rated because I'm home with the kids so I can always supplement their education, but it does have to be safe and a good environment.

So far houses I've found in our price range and with decent schools are, in descending order of greatschools.net ratings:

Valley Ridge (Mountain Island)
Keeneland (Mountain Island)
Avensong (Clear Creek)
Ashley Farms (Crown Point)
Woods at Coulwood (Paw Creek)
Northwoods (Paw Creek)
Cambridge (Reed Creek)
Reedy Creek (Reedy Creek)
Cresthills (David Cox)
Farmington (David Cox)
Davis Ridge (David Cox)

I looked up crime rates for the addresses for the houses for sale and the rates seem ok for all of the areas, some better than others, but nothing that really scares me- with the exception of a high number of armed robberies in Ashley Farms. But, we've driven through that area and it really seems ok.

So, after that long winded post, does anyone have any comments about the areas or the schools? Suggestions for other areas to check out?

TIA for any help!

[morethanmyself]

Thanks Barry! We've looked at Ft. Mill, but because we only have 1 car I have to drive my husband to work and then be back in time to get my son to school, with my 2 younger children in tow, it's just too far for me to drive 4 times a day.

We're really looking to stay within the I485 border just because of the drive.

[moonbeams]

I live in the Mountain Island Lake area. My daughter just started kindergarten there this week so far so good. All of my neighbors and others I've met rave about the school. I believe they are building another elementary school for our area that would be closer to Keeneland than Mountain Island Elementary. Keeneland is close to Huntersville, North Lake Mall and Birkdale Village.

[travlguru]

Too bad you aren't looking near Mint Hill.. great schools.. tons of kids in our neighborhood with only 46 or so houses and no cut thru.. we are moving and selling for 130-135,000. Big yard etc etc...

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by morethanmyself

Thanks Barry! We've looked at Ft. Mill, but because we only have 1 car I have to drive my husband to work and then be back in time to get my son to school, with my 2 younger children in tow, it's just too far for me to drive 4 times a day.

We're really looking to stay within the I485 border just because of the drive.

I will try to make a longer post shortly to address your neighborhood question, but first, WHY are you driving your husband to work? Isn't that very complicated and tiring? There are many bus lines, and from Matthews getting uptown is a breeze on the express bus! If anything you should maybe just be driving him to the bus stop

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by travlguru

Too bad you aren't looking near Mint Hill.. great schools.. tons of kids in our neighborhood with only 46 or so houses and no cut thru.. we are moving and selling for 130-135,000. Big yard etc etc...

Mint Hill is actually an excellent suggestion. Which neighborhood are you in?l

[morethanmyself]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

I will try to make a longer post shortly to address your neighborhood question, but first, WHY are you driving your husband to work? Isn't that very complicated and tiring? There are many bus lines, and from Matthews getting uptown is a breeze on the express bus! If anything you should maybe just be driving him to the bus stop

Because he's been a bit resistant to the idea of riding the bus, the only exposure he's had to public transportation was when we lived in Jacksonville, FL and it was a place for the homeless people to hang out during the day. I'm working on it though, so far we're in phase one of my multi-stage plan where I make it as big of a hassle as possible to get 2 adults and 3 small children out the door by 7am (not that this part of the plan takes much effort, lol).

I would definitely appreciate any suggestions and comments! Oh, and I think we just decided to nix Cambridge off the list. We remembered we'd driven through there once before and weren't impressed. Right now, we're really leaning towards Keeneland, Northwoods, and Ashley Farms.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by morethanmyself

Because he's been a bit resistant to the idea of riding the bus, the only exposure he's had to public transportation was when we lived in Jacksonville, FL and it was a place for the homeless people to hang out during the day. I'm working on it though, so far we're in phase one of my multi-stage plan where I make it as big of a hassle as possible to get 2 adults and 3 small children out the door by 7am (not that this part of the plan takes much effort, lol).

I would definitely appreciate any suggestions and comments! Oh, and I think we just decided to nix Cambridge off the list. We remembered we'd driven through there once before and weren't impressed. Right now, we're really leaning towards Keeneland, Northwoods, and Ashley Farms.

If your husband works in uptown that's perfect, drive him to the express bus. I used to take the express bus to uptown and it's great. No homeless on those buses just professional people going to work. I used to take public transportation for a short while in Phoenix but the express bus to uptown is nothing like that. Trust me I wouldn't have taken it or recommended it to anyone.

[BarbJ]

I have lived in Coventry Woods for over thirty years and love it. You can easily find a very well built home here for under $150,000. All of the homes here have hardwood floors throughout and many have updated kitchens and baths with good quality tile and granite counter tops. The neighborhood is well planted with many mature hardwoods. We have a very proactive neighborhood association. People of all ethnicities and professions live here. We have a Charlotte Observer editor, several UNCC professors, a number of engineers and many teachers. Very important is that the commute to uptown is very short - no more than 20 minutes during rush hour and 10-15 minutes at other times. But then you don't have to drive because we have good public transportation to uptown. Because of the quick commute, houses in our neighborhood are appreciating faster than the city average. I can drive to a doctor's appointment at any of the hospitals in between 10 and 15 minutes. Cottswold Shopping Center is about ten minutes away and South Park about 15 minutes away. Our library, the Independence Branch, (five minutes away) is extremely user friendly with extraordinarily friendly and helpful librairians. I volunteer tutor at Idlewild Elementary School and am extremely pleased with what I see here. Visit it and see for yourself.
Finally I haven't heard of a break-in or other crime here for ages. This is a safe neighborhood even if the news media and some narrow minded folks seem to see all of East Charlotte as an undesirable area. Look at it for yourself.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by morethanmyself

Because he's been a bit resistant to the idea of riding the bus, the only exposure he's had to public transportation was when we lived in Jacksonville, FL and it was a place for the homeless people to hang out during the day. I'm working on it though, so far we're in phase one of my multi-stage plan where I make it as big of a hassle as possible to get 2 adults and 3 small children out the door by 7am (not that this part of the plan takes much effort, lol).

I would definitely appreciate any suggestions and comments! Oh, and I think we just decided to nix Cambridge off the list. We remembered we'd driven through there once before and weren't impressed. Right now, we're really leaning towards Keeneland, Northwoods, and Ashley Farms.

Trust me, and reassure your husband, it is very unlikely he will have the kind of experience on an express bus here that he had in Florida! Express buses are the very nice here - clean, full of nice folks all heading to work - a pleasant experience. You could even live in Fort Mill like the other poster suggested - though I'm not sure where you'd find a home there in your price range.

Ashley Farms is nice. MI Homes built that neighborhood, and I love them.