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1) It seems to me many people come here to City Data and ask'So how are the schools in such and such community?' How far did you go in evaluating the schools, school district and the school in the community you planned to live in?
Since I do not have kids yet, this factor wasn't all that important. I saw the schools that my neighborhood was zoned for and looked on at South Carolina school cards. Fort Mill schools are pretty good schools and get good grades every year.
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Originally Posted by johne482
2) With new constructions--how thorough an investigation did you do? Builder's background? Talk to neighbors? Hire an engineer even though it was a new construction?
We are still in the process of our build. I looked at their JD Power rating and it was average. I also looked on better business bureau to see if they have any bad knocks. I tried to find bad threads about the builder and couldn't find one. Our Real Estate agent feels they create a quality product. When we get to the steps, we will be doing inspections.
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Originally Posted by johne482
3) Resales. What did you do to insure your purchase?
Since we didn't want a foreclosure, we felt we could get brand new construction for just a little more than what we would have payed for a resale.
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Originally Posted by johne482
4) Like and similar communties for you. Check out the # of kids in nabe? Or, number of singles?
We drove around the neighborhood a bunch of times before we signed. We noticed a lot of families and stuff out on the front patios. We also noticed neighbors talking with each other. These things made us feel like it was the place for us.
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Originally Posted by johne482
5) Reputation of your buyer's agent?
I didn't go off reputation. I just went into an Allen Tate agency and felt our agent bent for us. We rode around with him to see his style before we signed and felt he was the one for us.
Great! So glad it worked out for you. One question--did you and yours come to Charlotte without the job and hoping to find one?
I notice a lot of posts here made by people with disappointments "finding" jobs. What I don't understand did they come without a job or did something happen to that job after they got here?
I admit we were "cocky" and came without a job. Hubby is very good in his field and could easily find a job in Florida. We never dream it would be so hard here to find a similar job. He did interview but always came in "second" choice. Also the same recruiters that interviewed him here asked if he would consider moving back to FL as they had positions there available. When he asked why didn't he get hired here, they said they chose an internal candidate.
Finally after several months, he went into another field and was internally referred and got the job in a week.
So whenever I see posts here about coming without a job, you can be sure I get in there and say NO don't do it!
Oh and the only reason he didn't transfer within his job from FL because it was only local to Florida.
Here's the biggest lesson I learned with our relo from the DC area...
Just because you move for a job, it doesn't mean that the job will automatically work out and you will live happily ever after!
DH was offered a position in Raleigh last January. He moved into a corporate apartment (paid for by his new company) while I finished out our lease in Northern VA and packed up our place. We thought the company he found would be great and that he would have a long term career at this place. Meanwhile, my employer offered me the chance to take my job with me and work remotely. At the time, we thought we were so lucky!
Boy... were we wrong. The image that the company portrayed during the hiring process and the first week or two of work turned out to be... well... the exact opposite of what it was like to actually work there. The personality of my DH did not mesh well with his boss and other superiors in the company. In the end, DH lost his job over a small mistake that he made at work. Personally, I think they used this mistake as an easy way to fire my husband.
He was out of work for a grand total of 11 months, and we survived only on my salary. I just thank my lucky stars that we do not have any children nor did we have to worry about making mortgage payments (rent was hard enough!)... I don't know how we would have done that with what I bring home.
We spent months looking for a new job for him in Raleigh because the idea of moving again so soon was not appealing. But, all of the interviews were for positions based in Charlotte, so we started doing our research on Charlotte. Soon, he was offered a new job and here we are! We are definitely enjoying our new city and all it has to offer.
So... for all of the prospective transplanters out there... take heed of everyone's advice to not make the move without a job... but also learn from our experience and make a plan "B" if said job does not work out! I think this is a valid piece of advice for anyone, though particularly for folks who work in a highly-specialized field where jobs may not be as plentiful as in other fields.
I did a lot of research before coming up here. We started looking into it of May of 07. I knew coming up here would be much cheaper for us as far as house prices/taxes and insurance so that was a big incentive. Plus we wanted the change of seasons/mountains and easy travel access by car (driving over 8 hrs just to get out of FL sucked). We came up here 3 times and looked all over before settling on Concord area. We moved up/got an apt on short term lease and we then looked at houses until we found the right one. Now as far as that, we chose a new house and it's pretty large as we wanted the space and for future resale for families. Job wise-the bf had such a strong resume/track record that we knew him getting a job wouldn't be a problem. The 4 places he applied they ALL offered him a job and chose the best money one plus location. My job was easily transferable. So far so good. We can't complain and now we're getting the itches from the families back down in Miami to come up and visit. We both know that will turn into future moves as well though.
None at all. I'm a big fan of the jumping into the deep end type move. You're only setting yourself up for disappointment otherwise. You'll end up like one of the many prudes in Charlotte or on this board that move here with a grass-is-greener attitude then ***** and whine about little things like a Hooters uptown and fireworks being shot off when they realize Charlotte wasn't the answer to life's problems. ;-)
We wanted a resale....if you get a loan, you automatically get title insurance to insure your purchase....Our realtor was rec'd to us...she was a friend of our transplanted friend...she was awesome....I looked at a lot of houses and get a feel for the area...[b]I think renting before you buy is the best tip I can give you...You can really get a feel for the areas that way without making a mistake...We just unpacked the basics (we threw out a lot too) or you can store a lot of stuff...
We wanted a resale....if you get a loan, you automatically get title insurance to insure your purchase....Our realtor was rec'd to us...she was a friend of our transplanted friend...she was awesome....I looked at a lot of houses and get a feel for the area...[b]I think renting before you buy is the best tip I can give you...You can really get a feel for the areas that way without making a mistake...We just unpacked the basics (we threw out a lot too) or you can store a lot of stuff...
My bad grammer.
You are insuring clear title to the property only. What I meant (insuring)that the house had good bones. No structually defects and a rough estimate what all repairs would cost.
Sorry for the use of that word.
If the only thing this thread accomplishes is relating the horrors of coming here without a job------I feel I did my job advising in a round about way.
We are researching extensively before uprooting to Charlotte. Relocating is a big decision, and we are doing our due diligence since we will be uprooting established careers. I think too many people make too many life decisions on a whim. We are the exact opposite and thus far it has worked out for us. So that is what we are doing with our relocation to Charlotte.
We have friends in the area that have helped initially. After talking with them we visited. We scoped out things important to us – safety downtown (daytime and after dark); took the light rail to/from various locations; drove during “rush hour” North to the Lake Norman area and South to the Lake Wiley area; visited various communities, malls, gyms, restaurants; I even interviewed puppy training schools and veterinarians (no kids, but a to-be puppy will be joining us soon after the move); etc.
After the visit, we knew we could live there, so we took the research further – contacting the Chamber of Commerce, a Realtor, tax office, etc. I also read the newspaper online daily to see local happenings – crime, things to do and have contacted various agencies to see what is coming to downtown Charlotte in the near future. Everything so far is working out great and we are prepping for interviews.
The master plan is to rent for 6 – 12 months before buying. This will allow us even more time to research communities, builders, traffic, safety, etc. And while I am confident already Charlotte is where we will settle down long term, we also just want to be 110% sure – hence renting.
So, yes - for us, researching the area is very important before moving. AND, we won't be moving without jobs. :-)
Last edited by 6SigGuruMD; 07-09-2008 at 12:31 PM..
We are researching extensively before uprooting to Charlotte. Relocating is a big decision, and we are doing our due diligence since we will be uprooting established careers. I think too many people make too many life decisions on a whim. We are the exact opposite and thus far it has worked out for us. So that is what we are doing with our relocation to Charlotte.
We have friends in the area that have helped initially. After talking with them we visited. We scoped out things important to us – safety downtown (daytime and after dark); took the light rail to/from various locations; drove during “rush hour” North to the Lake Norman area and South to the Lake Wiley area; visited various communities, malls, gyms, restaurants; I even interviewed puppy training schools and veterinarians (no kids, but a to-be puppy will be joining us soon after the move); etc.
After the visit, we knew we could live there, so we took the research further – contacting the Chamber of Commerce, a Realtor, tax office, etc. I also read the newspaper online daily to see local happenings – crime, things to do and have contacted various agencies to see what is coming to downtown Charlotte in the near future. Everything so far is working out great and we are prepping for interviews.
The master plan is to rent for 6 – 12 months before buying. This will allow us even more time to research communities, builders, traffic, safety, etc. And while I am confident already Charlotte is where we will settle down long term, we also just want to be 110% sure – hence renting.
So, yes - for us, researching the area is very important before moving. AND, we won't be moving without jobs. :-)
Your're going to be fine! I did about 85% of what you did. Will do the rest ie: lt. rail in two weeks.
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Due Diligence 101
