Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey everyone
I grew up in Lexington. Moved to Columbia to attend USC and graduated a few years ago. I've been renting all over Columbia (Shandon, Heathwood, and Rosewood areas) and finally settled on buying a house in about 6 months. I'm trying to narrow down an area to look in, but I'm having some trouble on pros/cons of each. I have a budget of about $200,000 for a home. I am fine with either new construction or existing, but prefer existing. I really love the tree-lined streets of Forest Acres and they seem to have good schools in the area (AC Flora system). Only drawback of that area is for my budget, all I can find are older homes that have been semi-updated. I've also been looking in Cayce, Irmo, and West Columbia. I work in downtown Columbia, so commute from those areas would be fine for me. I will be getting engaged and eventually starting a family soon so I want somewhere low crime with decent schools. Am I missing any areas? I can't afford Shandon or Heathwood and I'm not crazy about the schools in the city limits other than Forest Acres. Cayce has decent schools I think and so does Irmo. Not sure about West Columbia, I'm sure it varies by the area. Any opinions would be great.
Thanks!
Hey everyone
I grew up in Lexington. Moved to Columbia to attend USC and graduated a few years ago. I've been renting all over Columbia (Shandon, Heathwood, and Rosewood areas) and finally settled on buying a house in about 6 months. I'm trying to narrow down an area to look in, but I'm having some trouble on pros/cons of each. I have a budget of about $200,000 for a home. I am fine with either new construction or existing, but prefer existing. I really love the tree-lined streets of Forest Acres and they seem to have good schools in the area (AC Flora system). Only drawback of that area is for my budget, all I can find are older homes that have been semi-updated. I've also been looking in Cayce, Irmo, and West Columbia. I work in downtown Columbia, so commute from those areas would be fine for me. I will be getting engaged and eventually starting a family soon so I want somewhere low crime with decent schools. Am I missing any areas? I can't afford Shandon or Heathwood and I'm not crazy about the schools in the city limits other than Forest Acres. Cayce has decent schools I think and so does Irmo. Not sure about West Columbia, I'm sure it varies by the area. Any opinions would be great.
Thanks!
I believe the Blythewood area is the fastest growing area with many homes in your price range. I also say you can not go wrong with good old Lexington. I also like Forest Acres (even though some edges of it can be rough) but if one cannot afford it, so be it. Rarely will one live their entire life in their first home, so maybe Forest Acres is in the future.
If looking in Lexington and you work in Columbia, I would look at staying below Route 6, especially on the lake side. Seems the traffic just pours in from above Route 6 especially from the lake side. Also one has several ways to downtown from the area. Rte. 378, Rte 1, Jarvis Clapman, etc. Even I20 to I26 to I126 is not a bad route.
I say forget West Columbia and Cayce although my in-laws would get all over me. Can you guess where they live...LOL
I have paid no attention to schools but are not Lexington 1 schools considered some of the best in the state?
I live in Blythewood area in my first house and it's about 25 minutes commute to downtown, so it depends where exactly downtown and add that on . 8-10 or so minutes of that is getting out of my neighborhood/off clemson rd.
I live in the Irmo/Ballentine area and if your looking for great schools, easy commute and in the 200K price range this area would be a great fit. I am a Realtor here in the area and can tell you that right now is definitely a buyers market so you should have a great deal to pick from.
If I can be of any help with first time home buyer information please let me know. If you look at my website link there is a whole section of information for new buyers. Good luck in your search!
Not sure if you've decided on an area as yet but I think I know EXACTLY what you mean! Ive been selling real estate since my senior year in high school and have had the opportunity to help other people with their first homes but when it came to purchasing my first home at 22 I was totally amazed at how indecisive I was about what area I would live in! Things like schools, neighborhoods and walkability now meant a lot more to me! I think that my experience of purchasing my first home taught me more than my previous 4 year of selling homes could have! I learned that a first time home owner needs to see EVERYTHING and have a person with know how of most areas in their town. Id love to take you around my favorite areas in town and where I decided to buy my first home !
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 8-10 or so minutes of that is getting out of my neighborhood/off clemson rd.
