Relocating: Columbia SC Area - Green living/dog friendly (Dentsville: low crime, buying a house)

[sunflower999]

Our family: husband, wife and two lab's will be relocating to the Columbia area due to a sudden job transfer. We are looking for a 2,000 sq ft house situated on 1-3 acres of land. We plan to use the land for growing organic fruits/vegetables and plan to use solar/wind turbine power as much as possible. We currently live in a rural area outside Boston with quite a few farms. We have great neighbors, the area is quiet with a low crime rate. We live right right next to conservation land and love walking our dogs daily off lead. We will only have a brief visit to house hunt this November(3-4 days) and need some help to narrow our focus to 4-5 neighborhoods. We would appreciate any suggestions for what towns/neighborhoods would best fit our profile. We would prefer to buy existing home but would consider a new build if the property was in a good location. Also, any suggestions in what to look out for in buying a house in SC. In New England we have to be careful of radon, wood rot, ice dam damage and leaks in the basement foundation.

[Columbiadata]

What part of town will you be working in? To pick your neighborhood we need to make sure we don't have you driving too far, for conservation purposes.

[jlboney]

The lexinton area would give you an opportunity to purchase land, also Blythewood and the rural areas of Southeast. It would really depend on what side of town you want or need to live on. There is a green built home currently in Ascot in Irmo, but it's on a lot, not acreage.

[sunflower999]

Will be working just west of the Dentsville area

[Columbiadata]

Blythewood, Elgin

[sunflower999]

Thank you jlboney, we did some research and Lexington does show some potential. Mapquest says that Lexington is about a 20 minute drive to Columbia? We will look at Blythewood next. Would anyone know if Lexington is in a flood plain? We are use to having a basement but heard that this may be problematic due to the higher water tables in that area. What is the soil composition? sand or clay?

[jlboney]

There are various parts of town that has soil and clay. The soil is far more sandy in the Northeast and Blythewood areas. Basements are not the most common thing in our area, but there are some homes that have them. Most are walkout basements rather than completely underground. Parts of Lexington will be in flood plains and partial flood plans, it will go on a spot to spot basis unless you are next to water which will put you in a flood plain.

[Brandon Hoffman]

What price range? There will a limited number of homes in a subdivision to fit the description you have.

[sunflower999]

Hi Brandon,

We were looking at a price range between 300-350k, but may adjust depending on the property.

[Scrubbybear]

Have you thought of Lugoff? It's rural-turned-suburban, which means you can still get land and a nice house for a good price. Go to Realtor.com and put in Lugoff, SC within your price range and see if anything that comes up suits your needs. Lexington is very nice, but on weekdays it's a lot longer drive than 20 minutes from Columbia. The traffic is intense during rush hour and it can take up to 45 minutes to get to Northeast Columbia. Elgin, which is one town closer to Richland County, is more expensive than Lugoff, but a bit less of a drive. It's another great place to consider.