Pictures of Woodcroft, Durham? (Raleigh, Fayetteville: days on market, transplants, HOA fees)

[rockyhillgal]

Might anyone be willing to post some pictures of Woodcroft, in Durham?

My husband and I will soon be relocating from NH. So far, we've taken one trip down, looking at communities and neighborhoods with a realtor. Our visit was heavily concentrated on Cary and my husband became very taken with Amberly...to the extent that it will be hard for him to look elsewhere for comparison purposes. I am concerned that Amberly, and other of Cary's developments, are being marketed primarily to transplants coming in equity and are perhaps artificially inflated in price. The right comparison to me is not what the same house would cost in NE, CA or FL, but how it compares to the Raleigh Metro market.

I have been monitoring this board since January and have noted many wonderful things about Woodcroft. It appears to meet most, if not all, of our criteria:

- Very close proximity to the southern tip of the RTP
-Recreational facilities within walking distance
-Sense of community
-Within decent driving distance to the universities.

Plus, it has the added bonus of lush, mature landscaping!

However, when I shared Woodcroft's web page with my husband he complained at the lack of pictures of the community. Might any of you have pictures to share so I can convince my husband to at least take a look?

Thanks!

[MrsSteel]

RockyHillGal, I live in Woodcroft. I'll go out today & take some pics for you.

[Indigoblue]

Woodcroft is drop dead gorgeous with wonderful trails I often wish I could pick up my house and drop it in there

[MrsSteel]

Let's start with a little info on Woodcroft. Here's the official website.
Welcome to Woodcroft (http://www.woodcroftonline.com/index.html - broken link)
Woodcroft is a community in southern Durham. The community is made up of smaller neighborhoods that branch off of Woodcroft Parkway, the main road through the community. Woodcroft Parkway begins at Hope Valley Road and then winds its way eastward. The community's eastern border is Fayetteville Street, although Woodcroft Parkway continues east into the Woodlake community.

Most of Woodcroft is dedicated to neighborhoods of detached, single family homes. There are smaller neighborhoods within the community where you can find condos and townhomes, too, but they are kept fairly seperate from the detached houses. The homes were built in the '80s (mine was built in '87). While the homes were being built, many of the native trees were saved, so most of the trees in the neighborhood are much more than 20 years old.

I recently received a postcard from some local realtors who offered the following statistics based on data taken from the Triangle MLS.
Woodcroft Condos
Average price: $83,588
Average days on market: 88
Woodcroft Townhomes
Average price: $135,207
Average days on market: 62
Woodcroft Detached Homes
Average price: $220,787
Average days on market: 47

Every month, the Woodcroft Gazette is published. It includes the Woodcroft Community Associate Minutes, as well as other info about the neighborhood & profiles of interesting people who live within the community. The most recent edition I could find on-line is from March 2007. Here's a link.
http://aconews.com/noc/woodcroft_gazette/edition/?haspdf=1 (broken link)

The Woodcroft Clubhouse is located on the western end of Woodcroft parkway. Here's their website.
Woodcroft Club, Durham, NC
One of the things I like about Woodcroft is that you do not have to join the club. This keeps HOA fees much lower than in surrounding neighborhoods (only $189 a year!). However, you may find that it's worth the money to join. They have plenty of activities for people of all ages. My husband and I might join next year. Maybe.

My very favorite thing about Woodcroft is the walking trails. There are miles and miles of paved, wooded walking trails throughout the neighborhood (a map is available on the official Woodcroft website). They are very well used all day long by people walking their dogs, jogging, or taking a gentle walk with the baby stroller. If you do any house-hunting here, be sure to find the trails closest to the house you're considering and take a stroll. If you like to ride bikes, you'll also be interested in the American Tobacco Trail which runs along the eastern edge of Woodcroft. Here's the website for more info.
The American Tobacco Trail

The location of the neighborhood is fabulous. We're about one mile away from I-40 & the 54. There are tons of shopping opportunities in less than 2 miles(multiple grocery stores, Southpoint Mall, etc). And Duke has many doctor's offices just outside of the eastern entrance to the community. RTP is about 10 minutes away, as is the airport. And yet, the community is sooooo so quiet! We lived out in the countryside before this and we're amazed that this neighborhood is just as quiet as where we lived before.

So that's all the good stuff. In an interest to give a more balanced view, here's some of the bad.
1. No sidewalks. If you want to walk to a neighbor's house or to one of the trails, you'll have to use the street. Luckily, the streets are wide, so it isn't really a problem, but I know some people prefer sidewalks.
2. Masonite. Many of the houses in Woodcroft have Masonite siding. You can do a simple search on the internet & on this website to find out more about this siding. Luckily, many of the homeowners in the area took advantage of the class action lawsuit and have had some of their Masonite replaced with Hardiplank (that was the case with the house we bought). Just be aware of the situation while you hunt around.


I'm having a little trouble posting the pics right now, so give me some time to fiddle with that. I'll be back later with the results!

[MrsSteel]

The hardest thing about taking pictures of homes in Woodcroft is the enormous amount of trees! Many homes can barely be seen from the street because of all of the trees. So I did the best I could to take pictures of houses that (1) fairly represent the typical homes found within Woodcroft that can (2) be seen from the street.

[MrsSteel]

Here are a few shots along Woodcroft Parkway.

[MrsSteel]

Woodcroft Clubhouse. Surrounding the clubhouse are tennis courts, soccer fields, a playground, and of course, the swimming pools. The sign needs a little help, but I think it may be fixed up this year.



The pool feels more like two pools because one area has lanes (the far end) and the section near the slide does not.


The kiddie poll is shaded! Hooray!


The back porch of the clubhouse.





One of the soccer fields (There are 2 or 3).


Before this class began, the tennis pro saw me taking pics and joked, "No photo is complete unless I'm in it!". So of course I had to snap a pic of him at work.

[tigerlily]

Mrs. Steel: Thanks for the pics and information. Woodcroft is indeed beautiful. Are all the neighborhoods covered by HOA's?

[MrsSteel]

And here's a view of the walking trails around my house. As I said before, they wind all through the community and along Woodcroft Parkway, too.









And lastly, here is the view from my back deck. Such a wonderful place to have a cool drink and listen to the birds. Please excuse the pine needles; We had quite a storm last night!

[MrsSteel]

Originally Posted by tigerlily

Mrs. Steel: Thanks for the pics and information. Woodcroft is indeed beautiful. Are all the neighborhoods covered by HOA's?

All of the homes within Woodcroft pay the HOA fee ($189 a year). It covers up-keep of the walking trails, landscaping in public areas, etc.