Southern Village - opinions please!! (Raleigh, Cary: appointed, rentals, countertops)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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After a long (and hot!) weekend of house hunting, we are seriously considering a move to Southern Village. We are ready for a change, moving from suburban DC and are leaning toward the "planned community" appeal of SV.
We loved the pool at SV. We went to take a look and they invited us in, gave the kids snacks and gave us a tour. So welcoming. The pool at Lake Hogan Farms we didn't like as much. There was no baby section, no lifeguards and there wasn't a deep end for diving (my 10 year old was upset by this). Of the "unplanned" n'hoods we saw, however, we did like Lake Hogan Farms the best.
So... any current thoughts on Southern Village? The good? The bad? We are going back and forth between buying and renting for a while, then buying (maybe next summer). How are home prices there now -- relative to say a year ago? Does it seem like a good time to buy? We looked at a number of homes with price reductions.
We're looking in the $550-$800 range. Hope to be settled by fall. Eager to get settled.
One significant advantage that Lake Hogan Farms may offer over Southern Village is commuting ease if you have to commute toward RTP or Raleigh. From the south end of Chapel Hill, it can be slow going to go along the 54 bypass and Fordham Blvd as you head to I-40.
Lake Hogan Farms does offer quicker access to I-40. It could get slower over time though, as northern Carrboro grows, and more subdivisions are added along Homestead Road.
The good: It is a very nice community. They did a great job of...essentially building a small town with some shopping, restaurants, even a school. It's great for walking. Personally, I really like the look of the homes. In many ways, it seems like an ideal community.
The bad: From what I saw, the construction quality is terrible. Granted, this may vary (it should at least) by price point. Your low end was my top end, so take this for what it's worth. But, the quality of materials that I saw were worse than I've seen in a lot of rentals. I saw a lot of cheap windows, creaking floors, poor drywall, flimsy fixtures, you name it. I saw some of the cheapest countertops I've ever seen - and, I'm including my old college rentals here. I was really shocked by what I saw when I went inside a lot of the homes. I hope that this is not true for your price range. But, it does appear that you pay a hefty premium simply for living there.
I'm with Clever User Name when it comes to construction quality. Not in SV in particular but in the area in general. Spent four days in May in CH and was very dissappointed with what we saw. Just got back from doing the same tire kicking in Cary and N Raleigh. Not much better there! Had somebody tell me that the metal drawers in the custom kitchen were an upgrade. Seems that a lot of the places will need a lot of work over the next 1O-15 years
I'm with Clever User Name when it comes to construction quality. Not in SV in particular but in the area in general. Spent four days in May in CH and was very dissappointed with what we saw. Just got back from doing the same tire kicking in Cary and N Raleigh. Not much better there! Had somebody tell me that the metal drawers in the custom kitchen were an upgrade. Seems that a lot of the places will need a lot of work over the next 1O-15 years
One reason I have rented 21 years.
Building and fire codes are a joke.
Many production builders use non-union poorly trained (and sometimes illegal alien) labor.
You get a lot of square feet here compared to other areas, but many new homes here start hemorrhaging maintenance money at around 5 years.
One significant advantage that Lake Hogan Farms may offer over Southern Village is commuting ease if you have to commute toward RTP or Raleigh. From the south end of Chapel Hill, it can be slow going to go along the 54 bypass and Fordham Blvd as you head to I-40.
Lake Hogan Farms does offer quicker access to I-40. It could get slower over time though, as northern Carrboro grows, and more subdivisions are added along Homestead Road.
I'm just curious - While one can get to I-40 quicker from Lake Hogan Farms, the entrance to I-40 would be further away than Southern Village. Is the commute time really shorter? Google Maps says that Southern Village is a shorter commute with no traffic (for what that's worth).
I'm just curious - While one can get to I-40 quicker from Lake Hogan Farms, the entrance to I-40 would be further away than Southern Village. Is the commute time really shorter? Google Maps says that Southern Village is a shorter commute with no traffic (for what that's worth).
Not sure what you're looking at.
From Southern Village to I-40 via US US 15/501 to 54 Bypass/Fordham Blvd. to NC 54 east is 6.1 miles.
From Lake Hogan Farms to I-40 via Homestead Road to Weaver Dairy Road to MLK Jr. Blvd. is 4.0 miles.
(I did not account for any distance within either neighborhood.)
That difference isn't terribly meaningful. But ... local traffic on Fordham Blvd and NC54 is very congested and slow mornings and evenings. My guesstimate is that it could create a difference of up to 15 minutes between those two commutes.
From Southern Village to I-40 via US US 15/501 to 54 Bypass/Fordham Blvd. to NC 54 east is 6.1 miles.
From Lake Hogan Farms to I-40 via Homestead Road to Weaver Dairy Road to MLK Jr. Blvd. is 4.0 miles.
(I did not account for any distance within either neighborhood.)
That difference isn't terribly meaningful. But ... local traffic on Fordham Blvd and NC54 is very congested and slow mornings and evenings. My guesstimate is that it could create a difference of up to 15 minutes between those two commutes.
Sorry for not being more clear. The previous post mentioned commuting to RTP or Raleigh. Coming from Southern Village, you would access I-40 closer to RTP than you would from Lake Hogan Farms. So, you would spend less time on I-40. Just pointing out that the time it takes to get to I-40 isn't the entire commute.
If your guesstimate of 15 minutes is accurate that's a pretty big difference though.
Sorry for not being more clear. The previous post mentioned commuting to RTP or Raleigh. Coming from Southern Village, you would access I-40 closer to RTP than you would from Lake Hogan Farms. So, you would spend less time on I-40. Just pointing out that the time it takes to get to I-40 isn't the entire commute.
Oh, yes, that's true. The one good thing about commuting from the Chapel Hill area toward RTP or Raleigh is that it's against the heaviest flow of traffic on I-40, so it's usually smooth sailing once you hit the freeway.
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