Looking for a neighborhood and builder (Columbia, Clemson: transplants, for sale, condos)

[scrappinhappy]

Hi all~ I'm new to Columbia, having moved from southern Minnesota about a month ago. I'm trying to determine what area of town to be in and whether or not to build. We're early thirties, not big bar people with an 11 yr old. Schools are really important to us, and I'm working in the research park. We want to be in a family area that is safe and contains walking trails etc, and I don't want to feel like my neighbors house is right on top of mine. Any suggestions?

Most of the developements that I've seen are a couple of different builders and I was wondering if there have been any issues with them? Specifically we are looking at Essex or Shumaker. Should I rethink that? Any and all information is welcome!

Thanks~

[jlboney]

Essex and Shumaker both make nice homes. Also, Mungo is a good builder here and they are all over Columbia. Richland 2 and Lexington schools have all gotten high honors. There are a lot of great deals being offered by builders at the moment. What price range are you looking in? Greenhill Parish, Longcreek Plantation, and Lake Carolina all have walking trails. Greenhill Parish and some of the communities within Longcreek are on the high end side, but Longcreek and Lake Carolina will both have communities that are more affordable.

[scrappinhappy]

We're looking in the 250-300 range. I've looked at Crescent lake in LC and liked that. But it maybe stretching a bit to unless we can get a deal with one of the builders.

When we were originally looking to move here, I really thought that Lake Carolina was the place to be for families, but there seems to be a mass exodus out of that development. It bothers me to see so many homes for sale in the NE. It almost deters me from wanting to buy here. Does that make sense? I wonder if there's something going on that I don't know or if it was just really over developed initially?

What about the Polo Rd area, wildewood?

[jlboney]

Wildewood may have some homes that are in your range, or at least the areas around it will. Wildewood is also very nice. Parkridge at Polo is just up the street from there on Polo Rd, and it is an all brick community with new homes for sale as well as resales.

I understand the concern that there are a lot of homes on the market right now, but there usually are a good many homes for sale in Northeast. There has been a ton of development here and there is a ton more going on now and planned for the future. We also have Fort Jackson which brings in and takes out a lot of people to and from the Northeast. When they come, a good many buy, and when they leave they sell.

[meeks715]

We purchased a home in Lexington. Its a Mike Lowman home. I love my house! The builder was very friendly and on top of things. He went to the closing (which is not common in MD) and answered all last minute questions we had. Go to his website.... mikelowmanhomes.com. We have the wellington...its a bit too big for the three of us but it was beautiful.

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by scrappinhappy

We're looking in the 250-300 range. I've looked at Crescent lake in LC and liked that. But it maybe stretching a bit to unless we can get a deal with one of the builders.

When we were originally looking to move here, I really thought that Lake Carolina was the place to be for families, but there seems to be a mass exodus out of that development. It bothers me to see so many homes for sale in the NE. It almost deters me from wanting to buy here. Does that make sense? I wonder if there's something going on that I don't know or if it was just really over developed initially?

What about the Polo Rd area, wildewood?

I live in Lake Carolina and while the softening housing market has put more homes on sale than before, by no means would I characterize any sort of "Mass Exodus" out of Lake Carolina or the Northeast in general. Because the NE is transplant-heavy (military, corporate, medical professions, etc.) and is fairly transient, there is always some movement/turnover in housing sales. The soft housing market has just put a few more homes than historically normal, especially since transplants can't easily sell there houses in other states as was the case 2-3 years ago. Since the Columbia metro is a very stable housing market where home prices never bubbled, we don't have anything as near as bad as it is in say, Florida, California, or suburban DC. It's a speed bump, as I see it, not a crash.

What's generally been happening as far as I can see is that (1) houses are staying on the market a bit longer (3-4 months instead of 1-2) and (2) housing prices are not experiencing any real appreciation (plus or minus 2 percent annual appreciation rates, I would say). In contrast, the markets that have crashed (FL, CA, etc.) from their bubble peak have (1) a massive glut of unoccupied houses/condos (staying on the market for 5-6 months if not longer), and (2) house prices that are plummeting by drammatic amounts (minus 20, 30, or even 40 percent).

I will say that Lake Carolina definitely is one of the "places to be" in the Northeast with families. We still have (arguably) the most highly-rated public elementary school in the county, a very good middle school, walking trails that are widely used, two pools, and a popular YMCA. I would never call it "heaven" or "utopia" (nothing's ever perfect), but it is very comfortable place to be and the vast majority of people here I have met are very happy with their decision to live here.

There also other good subdivisons in the Northeast - Wildewood is definitely a good one, but it tends to have older families and is on balance more expensive (it's a bit closer to the Interstate, the city, and local retail amenities). I would check out other subdivisions all over Blythewood (Longcreek, Cobblestone, Stoneridge, etc.), Polo Road/Clemson/Sparkleberry (Wildewood, Woodlands, Woodlake, etc.). There are lots of good deals on houses in your price range now. I would look at the "excess" inventory of houses as a plus if you are buying now - prices aren't going to collapse and you can afford to be picky on what kind of house/neighborhood you want in your price range.

[shareyourinfo]

We just moved from NE to Lexington and our children go to Gilbert Schools. We couldn't be more pleased. We live in The Farm where the houses have each about 1/2 acre. The neighborhood for kids is fantastic. The only drawback of living in this area and going to Gilbert schools (which are about 10 miles away) is the bus picks the kids up at 0620...yikes, not at all what we are used to. Good Luck to you.

[meeks715]

we are neighbors!

Originally Posted by shareyourinfo

We just moved from NE to Lexington and our children go to Gilbert Schools. We couldn't be more pleased. We live in The Farm where the houses have each about 1/2 acre. The neighborhood for kids is fantastic. The only drawback of living in this area and going to Gilbert schools (which are about 10 miles away) is the bus picks the kids up at 0620...yikes, not at all what we are used to. Good Luck to you.

[pdvincit]

A word to the wise: Ask you attorney about why you do not need a new home warranty in South Carolina.

[LexingtonDad]

Originally Posted by pdvincit

A word to the wise: Ask your attorney about why you do not need a new home warranty in South Carolina.

You have posted this on every thread that remotely mentions buying a home. Care to elaborate on your statement?