What is the real crime story in Charlotte ? (Waxhaw: mortgage, real estate)

[carolina_guy]

Originally Posted by nkjaws

I do not feel my opinions and experiences are skewed. Never at any point have I said Charlotte as a whole is full of crime, I have infact continued to stand by my opinions about the Steele Creek area. Just like you can't judge a whole city by a few steets alone, you cannot judge Charlotte by the crime in the Steele Creek area. My goal is to be honest with people that ask and I am not sugar coating anything and will continue to advise people not to move to this area.

I think we agree here. Perhaps I got you confused with another poster but I still stand by what I said regarding skewed perceptions. In your case as you stated, you have only talked about your area of Charlotte, Steele Creek. However, there have been several posters of late who take their immediate environment and extrapolate the criminal activity to the whole of Charlotte metro. I think it is very important for you to speak up on Steele Creek for people should be privy to as much information as possible. I will agree with you 100% and will direct people away from that area as you will. There have been other posters however that would take your same experience and paint all of Charlotte as crime ridden which is simply not the case. I hope you and your family can remedy your situation soon.

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by nkjaws

While the overall market depreciation for our home is less then $80k, the builder dramatically lowered the prices on the homes in our neighborhood after the housing market crash and now people can get the same house with more options for around $60-$80K less.

Yes, everyone we talked to in the area told us the best place to raise a family was in either North Charlotte or the Steele Creek area. It wasn't until after we moved here that we noticed how you can go from sh_ _ to sugar in 2 blocks which isn't very comforting to me.

I do not feel my opinions and experiences are skewed. Never at any point have I said Charlotte as a whole is full of crime, I have infact continued to stand by my opinions about the Steele Creek area. Just like you can't judge a whole city by a few steets alone, you cannot judge Charlotte by the crime in the Steele Creek area. My goal is to be honest with people that ask and I am not sugar coating anything and will continue to advise people not to move to this area.

BTW, I am not sitting her wasting my time with nothing better to do then complain about crime. I feel that others should know about the crime in my area and also these are not my perceptions of crime. I have witnessed crime in my neighborhood on several different occasions, theft, break ins, and drug deals and the problem is not going away. Sure we could have a neighborhood watch if we had enough people in the neighborhood to vote yes, but since the builders still own a lot of the lots in the neighborhood and their votes count four to one compared to us homeowners, it doesn't look like we'll get a neighborhood watch any time soon. We have block crime captains which have proved to be useless. When we call the police after a robbery, theft, drug deal and response time is usually no sooner then 30 minutes and can be about an hour and a half from the time the call was placed. Here are few new crimes from a few hours ago...

1/2/2008 6:43:48 PMSTEELE CREEK2100 DIAMOND CREEK CR INJURY TO REAL/PERSONAL PROPERTYSTEELE CREEK7800 OLD PINEVILLE RD DV-ADW-NO INJURY

The builder should be more than receptive to starting a Neighborhood Watch, because if the perception of crime is that noticable in your area, they won't be selling many more homes! Failing that, you might try the "Jersey Approach" and tell them you'd "just hate to see something happen to their model homes". They'll get the drift. I'd also think of acquiring some protection and I'm sure some of the other posters have more experience in that area than I do!

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by carolina_guy

I think we agree here. Perhaps I got you confused with another poster but I still stand by what I said regarding skewed perceptions. In your case as you stated, you have only talked about your area of Charlotte, Steele Creek. However, there have been several posters of late who take their immediate environment and extrapolate the criminal activity to the whole of Charlotte metro. I think it is very important for you to speak up on Steele Creek for people should be privy to as much information as possible. I will agree with you 100% and will direct people away from that area as you will. There have been other posters however that would take your same experience and paint all of Charlotte as crime ridden which is simply not the case. I hope you and your family can remedy your situation soon.

Very well said carolina_guy, I agree

[Burgi]

Maybe I should add I believe the crime in our neighborhood was related to a certain developer who is now being investigated for illegal activity. Their houses were not selling so they started getting very creative with their loans. That is when all the trouble began.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Burgi

Maybe I should add I believe the crime in our neighborhood was related to a certain developer who is now being investigated for illegal activity. Their houses were not selling so they started getting very creative with their loans. That is when all the trouble began.

Wondering if you and WaxhawDad lived in the same neighborhood?? Like I said, I would love to figure out the reason for this jump in crime in areas of Steele Creek.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by Burgi

Maybe I should add I believe the crime in our neighborhood was related to a certain developer who is now being investigated for illegal activity. Their houses were not selling so they started getting very creative with their loans. That is when all the trouble began.

That makes total sense. Now I am getting a much better picture of the whole situation. What a mess.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by anifani821

That makes total sense. Now I am getting a much better picture of the whole situation. What a mess.

Ani, this was my gut feeling too. And if this neighborhood is close to nkjaws that might explain some of the problems they are having.

[Burgi]

Originally Posted by nkjaws

While the overall market depreciation for our home is less then $80k, the builder dramatically lowered the prices on the homes in our neighborhood after the housing market crash and now people can get the same house with more options for around $60-$80K less.

Yes, everyone we talked to in the area told us the best place to raise a family was in either North Charlotte or the Steele Creek area. It wasn't until after we moved here that we noticed how you can go from sh_ _ to sugar in 2 blocks which isn't very comforting to me.

I do not feel my opinions and experiences are skewed. Never at any point have I said Charlotte as a whole is full of crime, I have infact continued to stand by my opinions about the Steele Creek area. Just like you can't judge a whole city by a few steets alone, you cannot judge Charlotte by the crime in the Steele Creek area. My goal is to be honest with people that ask and I am not sugar coating anything and will continue to advise people not to move to this area.

BTW, I am not sitting her wasting my time with nothing better to do then complain about crime. I feel that others should know about the crime in my area and also these are not my perceptions of crime. I have witnessed crime in my neighborhood on several different occasions, theft, break ins, and drug deals and the problem is not going away. Sure we could have a neighborhood watch if we had enough people in the neighborhood to vote yes, but since the builders still own a lot of the lots in the neighborhood and their votes count four to one compared to us homeowners, it doesn't look like we'll get a neighborhood watch any time soon. We have block crime captains which have proved to be useless. When we call the police after a robbery, theft, drug deal and response time is usually no sooner then 30 minutes and can be about an hour and a half from the time the call was placed. Here are few new crimes from a few hours ago...

1/2/2008 6:43:48 PMSTEELE CREEK2100 DIAMOND CREEK CR INJURY TO REAL/PERSONAL PROPERTYSTEELE CREEK7800 OLD PINEVILLE RD DV-ADW-NO INJURY

Have you and your neighbors tried contacting the news and the paper? I know it sucks about the developer still being in control! Are there at least enough of you to make a stand?

[Burgi]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Wondering if you and WaxhawDad lived in the same neighborhood?? Like I said, I would love to figure out the reason for this jump in crime in areas of Steele Creek.

Yes, I know WaxhawDad from my old neighborhood. I sent him the link earlier. We lived in Steelcroft off of West Shopton Rd. His family jumped ship this past year.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Ani, this was my gut feeling too. And if this neighborhood is close to nkjaws that might explain some of the problems they are having.

Did you have any idea just how bad it was in certain areas over there? I surely didn't. However, I will say, I have noticed that prices were falling over the last two years. I like to just look up real estate and see what things are selling for. (I know - strange pastime, LOL).

THey need to get aggressive over there but how is another question. ????