Moving to Leland-How is the town? (Wilmington, Westport: real estate, HOA, insurance)

[FranM]

Can anyone give us info on the town of Leland, we are considering relocating next year...our friends live in Wilmington but we have seen how the traffic has increased there and was looking to be outside of that but near enough to have various stores. Thanks for any info.

[NancyCL]

My daughter bought a new house in Leland in the summer of 2005 and was she surprised. She got hit with an almost $200 water bill the first month she lived there. Supposedly, she has to pay a $30 usage charge, whether she uses her water or not. Also, her electric bills run about $200 a month for a 1300 sq. ft. house. She called me not long ago to say she also go two tax bills; one for the county and one for the city. Along with that, she has to pay $25 a month homeowner's dues for the use of a swimming pool, which is supposed to accomodate the more than 1000 homes in the development. I live in Wilmington; have a house almost twice as large as hers, and have much less utility bills and taxes. Sure the traffic is heavy at times, but if you live in Leland and work in Wilmington, you have to worry about getting stuck on the Cape Fear Bridge if there's a ship passing. So, make sure you find out all the info before you decide where to go. Hope this helps.

[FranM]

Thanks for the info on Leland - we were considering moving into the Waterford Development...is this the type of development that your daughter moved into? We were only told about the electric bill, not the water bill...that $200.00 charge seems outrageous, since our water bills in NJ for 3 months comes to about $50.00!! I really appreciate your response and if you have any other info we would appreciate it.

[KJH]

I live in Leland and have been here for about 20 years. I live in a 2500 sq. foot house and our water/sewer bills are usually between $50 and $60 per month. Our electric bill is always under $200 and often under $100. We heat and cool with electricity. We do use those energy saving light bulbs...they really make a difference and enjoy a small energy saving discount that shows up on our bill. I don't know what it is for.
The traffic around here is getting worse and worse. The accidents are on the increase. The crime rate is horrible. There has been too much sudden growth and the city is not prepared to handle it. The inconvenience of the draw bridges going up is huge. It definately reminds me of my commute when I lived in Marin County, California. As the area continues to burst at the seams, the traffic is a problem.
I do believe the Waterford Community is nice, though. The people I know that are living there are pleased with it. Some of the other communities are not so pleased since there was so much building on low land and flooding can be a problem. I would definately check into whether flooding is a problem before you consider buying. I know of one family in the newer communities that every time it rains just a little, and that happens frequently, their entire yard is under water. It is not in Waterford.
I hope this helps.

[FranM]

Thanks for the info....I feel better about the move to Leland. As far as the draw bridges....isn't there the new bypass that you can use to get into Wilmington...that isn't a draw bridge is it? As far as the crime rate...what are we talking about...murders, burgulary...I know every area has their crime, but we were hoping for a simpler lifestyle...no stress, etc., and as far as the traffic, coming from NJ, whereever you go and whenever you go you have lots of traffic...maybe it's not as bad down here, but seems to be alot more since you moved 20 years ago.
Hope to hear from you again, you've been a big help.

[KJH]

There are two roads into Wilmington presently from Leland and they both have draw bridges. When you aren't traveling during commute time, or the bridges aren't up, or some other situation on the highways, traveling is very easy.
I saw a site not too long ago on an explanation of the crime rate. 983.5 in 2003 is very high. I wish I knew what the present rate is. Here is the site. When speaking of such a small area, it just takes one person going on a "spree" of say breakins and the rate soars.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Leland...-Carolina.html

[HokieinConway]

My sister- and brother-in-law live in what's technically Winnabow, but it's closed to Leland than anything else. They're in Westport and SAME THING with the water and electric bills having the surcharges. PLUS they have HOA dues to cover swimming, recreation activities, and people to do their lawn maintenance. Their water bills are always close to, if not over $100 a month. The electric bill rarely falls under $200 and the HOA dues are ~$200-250 a month if I'm not mistaken. If you look at the Brunswick Forest development, it's the same thing. I would really consider moving toward Forest Hills or somewhere on the north side of town if I were you.

Good luck with your move!

Jessica

[Kvela]

Hi, my husband and I are going to be transferring to the Wilmington area. He is in the military and unfortunately we are not going to get a chance to go there and look around before our transfer. We are having to do all of our house hunting over the internet. We are interested in the Leland and Monkey Junction area. Can anyone give us some advice like where are the good parts of town to live in? Where are the not so good areas? I read a few articles about the electricity and water in Leland and had some concerns about moving there. We are in need of help if anyone is able to offer some.
Thank you

[NancyCL]

I've read the comments posted at this site and the person who commented they have lived in Leland for twenty years and do not pay high water and electric bills must live in an older section. My daughter is in Mallory Creek with is next to Westport, but her mailing address is actually Winnabow. I know almost all the newer sections that have been developed are charging high utility rates as well as home owner's fees. We had even considered moving over there until we found out what the rates would be. In fact, we first looked at buying some land in Waterford before it was even built and were told back then to be aware the utilities AND taxes would be much higher than what we're paying in Wilmington. My daughter also works at New Hanover Regional Medical Center (hospital) and many times has been late to work due to the draw bridge being up, or there being an accident.

Someone mentioned the bypass...that's just in the planning stages now, and God only knows when that will be built or even if it IS going to be built. When we first moved to NC almost twelve years ago, Leland was nothing but a "one horse town" but now it's growing too fast to keep pace with traffic and all. In fact, Wilmington is now bursting at the seams too!

We live in the Monkey Junction area and it has been great living here. The new Veteran's Park school complex is practically in our back yard, so if you have children, this is the place to be for I understand the school system there is wonderful. Being retired myself, I wouldn't actually know for I don't have children in school.

One thing, though...we are being revalued this year, meaning our taxes are going to shoot up sky high, seeing we were last assessed in 1999, and back then, real estate was very reasonable here. Not only that, but all of coastal NC is getting hit with another increase in property taxes, thanks to Katrina, so be prepared to pay a high rate of insurance, which by the way, doesn't cover hurricane damage. I think there's something like at $3,000 deductible for hurricane damage, but don't quote me. Fortunately, where we are, we haven't had any damage to speak of, and that's enduring five hurricanes between 1996 and 1998. But, hey, from what I understand, it's getting expensive to live anywhere now! I'm originally from New England, and you can't touch a dog house up there for under $300,000, not to mention taxes, insurance and utilities. How can people live? Especially young ones just starting out? It's really gotten rough.

Sorry, to digress, but Wilmington, is a nice town, though traffic will drive you nuts at times, but everything is within about 10-15 miles that you could ever need. And, you can't beat the weather. So, lots of luck.

[NCSC]

Ditto on previous post. Traffic between Leland and Wilmington is bad/slow during morning and afternoon rush hour. One fender bender can cause bad traffic jams, plus you never know when the draw bridge is going to open.
You have to use either bridge unless you take the new 17 bypass, and that takes you all the way to Porter's Neck --- way out of the way if you are going somewhere in Wilmington. Traffic is also bad from Porter's Neck down Market and Military Cutoff. Military Cutoff gets 40,000 cars a day (according to Star News article last year) and it is two lane--will be four lane sometime this year, hopefully, but that widening has been going on for more than a year and everyone thought it would be finished by now. Just one more example of how Wilmington population has outgrown road capacity.

Stay as close to the city center as you can if you want to avoid bad traffic.

Don't know where your husband will be working, but I read that lots of military
stay in the Hampstead area -- that is a nice area if you don't need to be inside Wilmington. There are lots of good neighborhoods in Wilmington -- too many to begin to list. Also, it would depend on where you work and on your price range.

Good luck!