moving to Wilmington... (Washington, Burgaw, Leland: apartment complexes, rental, car insurance)

[Tammy B]

Hubby just accepted a job offer in Wilmington. He will be looking for a rental until we can find a house. Neither one of us feels the need to live near the beach, we prefer to live in land. Any advice of where to look. We will be moving with a teenage daughter. Not too picky about the rental, but as far as a home, we would like a home with some land, not near busy roads, yet not too far of a drive to the city. What areas should we avoid? We aren't in a huge hurry to purchase a house, so we have the chance to take our time. How high are the electricty prices, car insurance, homeowner insurance? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Tammy B

Not too picky about the rental, but as far as a home, we would like a home with some land, not near busy roads, yet not too far of a drive to the city....How high are the electricty prices, car insurance, homeowner insurance? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You might like Burgaw and Rocky Point, as they are country areas. However, the Topsail/ Surf City schools are the best rated in the area. Electricity and car insurance are comparable to what we paid in the Washington DC area. For example our last electric bill was $212 for the hottest month we've had, on a 4-Br house. Homeowner policies, if you buy a house, depend on the distance from the water. Expect them to be higher if you need wind and hail insurance. Also, the water bills tend to be high, especially if you have lawn irrigation. For example, $60/month is low for a summer month.

[Dad6Kiddos]

Tammy B, how much land? If you want a larger lot such as 1 acre+ you'll probably need to check out Leland, but it depends entirely on price range. For example for 1-5 acres there are about 11 active listings in leland. And they are mostly 100-350K. But in wilmington there 47 homes but the typical price is $500,000+. However there are exceptions in the 28412,28411 zips in particular where prices for 1acre+ are lower 200-300ish. Hope that helps.

You'll figure it out in no time or just find some websites that allow you to use acreage as a search criteria--most don't but there are plenty that do.

Castle Hayne also offers lower prices for acreage.

[Tammy B]

Thanks for the help! We will start house hunting in a few months, for now...I will remain in Maine and hubby will be renting an apartment for the winter. Any opinions on good apartment complexes?