Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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We are looking at places in these 2 neighborhoods...
I'm concerned about the property in Breckenridge being very close to Davis Dr (very convenient!! but I'm worried about the road noise.... is it a busy road for most of the day/night?)
Any other insight you have to offer - or any other factors we should be considering before making our final decision?
How do you find the neighborhood, the people, the environment, the "vibe"..?
It really depends on where you are in Breckenridge. If you're up close to Davis Drive it might be a pain--that road gets pretty busy in rush hour, and stays well-traveled. There's plenty way back in Breckenridge but it sounds like that's not where you're looking. Downing is nice, if you have kids they can walk to Cedar Fork (provided they take the cap off), and it's a pretty quiet subdivision. The only problem I see there is that there are some through-roads that run between Town Hall and McCrimmon and Morrisville-Carpenter, so it depends on where you are in Downing.
I have friends who lived in Downing before moving to our subdivision and their relatives are still there, and they really liked it.
Exactly where in Breckenridge are you looking? The only part near Davis is the Manors I section and only maybe 15 or 29 homes in it are really close enough for noise. I used to live on the 200 block of Durston Loop and road noise was a total non-issue the only cars I heard were other than other neighbors.
Some parts of The Park are close to the shopping center but those are obvious so no hidden issues.
Some houses in Manors II and one other section I can't remember the name of are close to 540. I have no idea if the noise is a problem or not because I have not been in one of them since the road was put in.
As far as Davis, it is well travelled but traffic is so much better since they widened it a couple if years ago. Breckenridge has it's own traffic light as well as three or four other ways out in the back, including on to Old Maynard road which will be connected to and become Louis Stevens Dr right into RTP in the next couple of years. (check the town of Cary website for more info)
I've been amazed at how smoothly traffic flows on Davis since the expansion. And very bike friendly with the very wide shoulders. I can't imagine traffic noise is much of an issue, and even then only to a handful of homes. The road is pretty much dead by 7pm most evenings. That section of 540 doesn't see a lot of traffic as it is, and once it becomes toll, I'd expect a steep drop.
That said, I find Breckenridge one of the least charming neighborhoods I've ever been in. And I get really frustrated with it's residents who recklessly ignore the stop sign at Old Maynard (or the yield going the other way). Just a matter of time before someone dies at that intersection.
Breckenridge has better location since it's off the main Davis but from what i heard the homes are not as well constructed (Pulte) and the homeowners were picketing outside the subdivision, also close to 540 so you may hear some noise if you're on the backside....
Downing Village homes are better constructed but off the side roads
Both are good as that Morrsville area has grown leaps and bounds........there are tons of asians that live in these subdivisions and area......i know b/c most of my friends are asians
Having seen Breckenridge built from the beginning (were one of the first 50 homes there out of 1100) I would say the quality is about average for the large builders. Except for basement homes, they are mostly on slabs, which has some advantages and some disadvantages (personally, I don't want another slab home) but is also a preference thing.
Construction quality, the Manors 1 and Park 1 were built using OSB as sheathing all over the house. If you hit the side of the house, you are hitting something solid behind the vinyl siding. This is used as structural bracing also. From what I saw, all the rest of the homes there were built with the 1/4" plastic foam sheathing board with metal strap cross bracing for rigidity. This means if you push in from the outside, you just have the siding and a flexible sheet of plastic and thats it.
Pretty much all the Pulte homes lack "detail quality" on the outside. They do more than some by applying cap pieces above key windows and fake shutters, but things like no overhangs on the side, small soffits and small or no window trim take away a lot to the way a home looks from the outside, when compared to others. Some parts of Downing have even less detail than this and some are more, just be aware of what you are looking at.
Internally, the Manors 1 and Park 1 both had popcorn ceilings. I tried to get them to let me pay them to have smooth, but the people managing the Pulte office at that time beleived that this area it would not sell and they were still on a very limited customization program. Not sure where they were from, but that was crazy talk. Once they started on the other sections, AFAIK, they all had smooth ceilings as standard. So, if popcorn ceilings bother you, look in the back sections.
They also only had short cabinets in the Manors 1, but in Manors 2 they had the option for tall. They started allowing more options as they built more, so again, the further back you go, the more "high end" features you might find.
IMO, the Manors homes have HVAC systems that are slightly undersized as they used a damper system to give up and down control but with one unit. On a hot summer day, if both upstairs and downstairs called for cooling it would just not quite be able to do it. If I were moving into one of them now after living there for about 7 years, I would look to install a larger system with a two stage system and multi speed blower to allow for this. The Manors 1 homes are 10 years old now, so they are getting close to needing new HVAC anyway.
As far as people picketing, that was mostly over the shopping center being put in. IMO, those people had no leg to stand on as they all signed things in their closing documents that they knew a shoppping center was going in, there was a sign on the corner well before they built those houses, they got a nice fence that no one else got and having a shopping center that close does nothing but increase property values for anyone no directly bordering it anyway.
There were some people upset over they way the HOA was turned over and the situatoin Pulte left us all in by setting the dues too low, so that there was no way to pay the costs once they stopped kicking in their extra contribution, without an increase. There was also a dispute, similar to Cary Park, with the way some of the homes were sold with upgrade wooded lots backing up to a buffer, but allegedly no one from Pulte told people (though I remember seeing it marked on maps in the sales office) that 540 was going near some of them. Also, Progress energy decided to run a power line down the buffer and took a ton of trees down. There was a settelment where Pulte kicked in about $50k to replant buffer trees.
Most of these issues are long gone and settled and shold not be a problem now.
As far as the Old Maynard/Koppers intersection, it is pretty bad, but eventually, when the Louis Stevens realignment is done, that will be a 90 degree signalized intersection, so the turning issue should be no problem. Not sure when, but I imagine that once it gets opened to RTP later this year, it will put more pressure on.
I personally would choose Downing Village, as I have been told that there are a lot of rental/investment properties in Breckenridge. To stereotype, renters don't always maintain the property as well as a homeowner might. Plus, I would not like the constant turnover of neighbors.
I personally would choose Downing Village, as I have been told that there are a lot of rental/investment properties in Breckenridge. To stereotype, renters don't always maintain the property as well as a homeowner might. Plus, I would not like the constant turnover of neighbors.
I too think the post from Sherifftruman was very informative and repped him for it!
Breckenridge was all built by Pulte. As is Long Lake in North Raleigh. I had clients buy in both neighborhoods when they first began. I haven't heard much about the noise issue but maybe it is just those first ones near 540. My clients bought in other areas and so that wasn't an issue for them.
I haven't heard that there is lots of renters in Breckenridge...it is quite a large n'hood so I'm not sure if the number of renters is really that large in comparison.
I tend to like the looks of Downing Village better but that is just a personal prference.
Does Downing Village get more airplance noise than Breckenridge?
Vicki
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