28027/28269 - Where to buy ? Which Buiilder/Community is good ? (Charlotte: to rent, condo)

[slowlazygc]

Hi all,

I read through lot of the post here and you are all doing a great job of giving out information. Myself and my wife are moving to charlotte, NC from Denver, CO because of my wife's job. I can work from anywhere , so that is not a huge concern. We checked out the place and we like it.

She is now working in the research park area and we are now planning to make the move permenant. She now lives with roommates around the research park area, and expressed some concerns about mugging and buglary. She did not have a personal exp, but lot of her collegues mentioned the same i belive.

I would like to know if 28262 is a safe zip. To rent or buy ?

I narrowed down from my reaseach that i would like to be in 28027 or 28269. Close to 85/485/US-73.

Also i saw a huge difference in taxes between mcklenberg county and carabas. Is that a huge reason.

Also i am planning to invest around 160 - 180k and dont want to go beyond that. Infact would like to stay to the lower end. I saw a lot of builders have priced aggresive and have rates around 210 after the discount's and special offers.
(a) how much more will they go down by.
(b) i am considering only between pulte, standard pacafic and shea at this point. Any other good builder i should consider ?
(c) i like the south side better, but that makes it too long a commute and even if a job switch occurs at any point, we will not be working beyond uptown.

So considering this and i am just looking for safety first, which are the areas in the above zip codes i should be looking at ? If so what new neighbourhoods will you guys recommend ? What are the APR's people are getting in NC for 30 yr fixed ? What is the best mortgage lender ?

Also i want to stay away from condo's and townhomes as i dont want to pay the extra monthly maintainence.

Thanks for taking your time to read through this and thanks for your help in advance.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

Hi all,

I read through lot of the post here and you are all doing a great job of giving out information. Myself and my wife are moving to charlotte, NC from Denver, CO because of my wife's job. I can work from anywhere , so that is not a huge concern. We checked out the place and we like it.

She is now working in the research park area and we are now planning to make the move permenant. She now lives with roommates around the research park area, and expressed some concerns about mugging and buglary. She did not have a personal exp, but lot of her collegues mentioned the same i belive.

I would like to know if 28262 is a safe zip. To rent or buy ?

I narrowed down from my reaseach that i would like to be in 28027 or 28269. Close to 85/485/US-73.

Also i saw a huge difference in taxes between mcklenberg county and carabas. Is that a huge reason.

Also i am planning to invest around 160 - 180k and dont want to go beyond that. Infact would like to stay to the lower end. I saw a lot of builders have priced aggresive and have rates around 210 after the discount's and special offers.
(a) how much more will they go down by.
(b) i am considering only between pulte, standard pacafic and shea at this point. Any other good builder i should consider ?
(c) i like the south side better, but that makes it too long a commute and even if a job switch occurs at any point, we will not be working beyond uptown.

So considering this and i am just looking for safety first, which are the areas in the above zip codes i should be looking at ? If so what new neighbourhoods will you guys recommend ? What are the APR's people are getting in NC for 30 yr fixed ? What is the best mortgage lender ?

Also i want to stay away from condo's and townhomes as i dont want to pay the extra monthly maintainence.

Thanks for taking your time to read through this and thanks for your help in advance.

28027 is in Concord, which is in Cabarrus County. Taxes are cheaper there because it is a smaller town an less populated county. The school system is just a fraction of the size of Charlotte/Mecklenburg school system. Concord is a nice town with easy access to everything you need in Charlotte.

28269 is in the University area of Charlotte. The areas north of WT Harris are nice with many new or newer subdivisions - definitely worth a look. I just would not recommend you look anywhere south WT Harris that's all.

Both these locations give you great interstate access.

[Charlottean]

Where did you find a Shea home for $210K?

[slowlazygc]

Originally Posted by Charlottean

Where did you find a Shea home for $210K?

I did not find shea for 210. it was in the 270's. But i prefer these builders, though shea did not have any in that range. Mc Car had some in the range and Beazer did.

[slowlazygc]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

The school system is just a fraction of the size of Charlotte/Mecklenburg school system. Concord is a nice town with easy access to everything you need in Charlotte.

So u mean to say the school system is not that great in concord ? Though we dont have kids now, we would like to be at place where the schools are better as well.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

So u mean to say the school system is not that great in concord ? Though we dont have kids now, we would like to be at place where the schools are better as well.

NO, that is not what I meant at all. There are some very good schools in Cabarrus county. I simply meant because the city and the county are so much smaller than Charlotte and Mecklenburg THAT is why the taxes are lower - less infrastructure to support.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

I did not find shea for 210. it was in the 270's. But i prefer these builders, though shea did not have any in that range. Mc Car had some in the range and Beazer did.

I do not believe you will find any Shea home anywhere under $250. There is a hugh thread on here from earlier this year about McCar homes, you may want to search for it as MANY people caution against buying one. In addition, Sleazer, I mean Beazer, is well known for their problems too. You may want to consider some other builders, in my opinion.

[slowlazygc]

got it, thanks loves. any specific community that you can advice in that area. If you are familiar with it. I am not only looking for brand new, but houses built from 2004 and later.

so if sub-divisions are suggested i can look for them specifically.

Thanks

[slowlazygc]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

I do not beleive you will find any Shea home anywhere under $250. There is a hugh thread on here from earlier this year about McCar homes, you may want to search for it as MANY people caution against buying one. In addition, Sleazer, I mean Beazer, is well known for their problems too. You may want to consider some other builders, in my opinion.

Yes i read them and that is the reason i narrowed it to Shea, SP and Pulte. I can afford around 250, but i want to keep it to the lower end.. even if the market slides and that is the reason i am sticking to the 180's

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

got it, thanks loves. any specific community that you can advice in that area. If you are familiar with it. I am not only looking for brand new, but houses built from 2004 and later.

so if sub-divisions are suggested i can look for them specifically.

Thanks

I don't live on that end of the city so I am not as familiar with all the newer subdivisions - we have grown to fast in Charlotte the last few years it is hard to keep up! Hopefully some of our regulars who live in the areas you are interested in will come along and give you specific names - sorry!