Need Advice on Durham Housing for IT professional (Raleigh, Cary: rent, HOA)

[quailster]

I am a IT professional in his late 20s trying to find a house/condo in Durham. I currently live in Cary, but I'd like to live closer to my new job, which is located in the American Tobacco Historical District. I have been looking at Realtor.com and Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed, and I think the "Hope Valley" area is the best overall for someone like me, but I want to verify from someone who've had experience living in Durham.

I earn 85k/yr, have no debt, and own about $60k in liquid asset excluding emergency fund. The maximum I'll pay is around $250k for a house/condo (HOA would lower that max), but cost <= $150k is preferred. I am leaning towards a condo, because I don't like mowing and other maintenance tasks involved with owning a house-- unless there's some cool service I'm not aware of that will take care of maintenance for me that's as cost-effective and hassle-free as paying condo's extra HOA.

I don't care much about living in a trendy place; I care more about safety and noise actually. Here are some of the things I value most in a house/condo in (approximated) descending order:

safety
close to work (within 15 min)
well constructed
noise
close to supermarket
close to good restaurants
environmentally friendly (like good insulation + not too big of a house/condo)
cost
culture/trend

I do not want to get a big place + rent out room(s). Instead, a nice 2-bedroom or 1-bedroom with a big, open living space would be best. I think South, SW, or SE Durham (relative to downtown) is the best long-term strategy because it's almost at the center of the Triangle. After I got laid off from Cisco Systems a few years ago, I know how stable a job really is not.

Given the information above, please let me know where are some good neighborhoods I should check out in Durham. Thank you so much for the help in advance!

[peperoberto]

I'm sure some realtors will chip in and provide an expert opinion on the matter, but in my opinion town homes in the Hope Valley section of Durham (or just about anywhere suburban) are a bad investment. There will always be 8-10 other units on the market when you go to sell, so even if you try to make your unit stand out with some upgrades you will be forced to sell at the price offered by comps. The glut of inventory will always keep the price from appreciating.

There are tons of great places to live in Durham where you can still pick up a single family home for $200k or less. You'll even be able to get most of your criteria, but expect to compromise on something. For example, you may get a well-built, 40-year old home but it may have bad insulation.

[quailster]

Thanks for the advice, peperoberto. So, suburb and condo is a bad combination in general, based on your experience, because it's difficult to resell and perhaps don't appreciate as much relative to single family units. I still feel a bit uncomfortable with buying a house because of

1) more cleaning to do
2) not environmentally friendly since I live alone and the heating/cooling cost would be more
3) exterior maintenance

Based on some quick Google search, if I hire lawn care and maid service, the cost of owning a house increases by $300/month, and the HOA fee is probably around $100/month less, so it'll be about $200/month extra, which is not bad.

I'm sure there are things I am under/over valuing here based on my lack of experience in owning a house. Perhaps I should consider mowing the lawn and cleaning as a good exercise. Currently, I try to maximize my free-time to work on my hobbies, which is somewhat of an "investment", since it's mostly reading and playing with technologies that might eventually be useful in my career, if that makes any sense. So, perhaps I should stick with my original plan and invest by maximizing time spent on career-building hobbies and just swallow the cost of a condo's lack of resell value and slow appreciation.

Maybe I'm over-thinking this. I'll organize my thoughts a little more and come back on this one. Thanks again for the advice!

[ZimaCheryl]

You didn't mention your long term plans.... do you see kids in your future?
I know Durham schools have a reputation for being not as good as other districts in the area. So if you were going to buy & then be selling in a few years to move somewhere with a better school district buying in Durham may not fit your needs. If you don't plan to have kids then one plus in favor of Durham is the lower property taxes. Maybe that savings is something you could put towards the lawn/maid service?

If you look in some developments you can get tiny lots. Take a 1/4 acre lot, put a house, garage & driveway on it & there really isn't all that much to mow or maintain in the yard.

For safety, like any large city there are good & bad neighborhoods. Check the RAIDS site & you can get a feel for any specific place you are looking at. RAIDS Online - Crime mapping, email reports and tips for the public

We are in North Durham (north of the mall & Rt 85). If you haven't looked in the area, I would suggest at least seeing what is around.
We like the area because we are back in a quiet neighborhood, but nestled between Guess & N. Roxboro Roads so we are 5 minutes from anything (stores, restaurants, church, bank, etc). Downtown Durham is a quick, easy drive & even getting to Raleigh for events isn't too tough.

I work downtown (W. Morgan St) and my drive is 6 miles, which takes about 15 minutes (give or take, depends on lights & school busses).
My husband works in RTP off of TW Alexander & has about a 15 mile/20 to 30 minute commute. Obviously the closer you go to Raleigh in the triangle the longer the drive, but in general it is not a bad drive. Rt 147 seems to have fewer issues than 40 most mornings.

[polarbear3]

Originally Posted by quailster

Thanks for the advice, peperoberto. So, suburb and condo is a bad combination in general, based on your experience, because it's difficult to resell and perhaps don't appreciate as much relative to single family units. I still feel a bit uncomfortable with buying a house because of

1) more cleaning to do
2) not environmentally friendly since I live alone and the heating/cooling cost would be more
3) exterior maintenance

Based on some quick Google search, if I hire lawn care and maid service, the cost of owning a house increases by $300/month, and the HOA fee is probably around $100/month less, so it'll be about $200/month extra, which is not bad.

I'm sure there are things I am under/over valuing here based on my lack of experience in owning a house. Perhaps I should consider mowing the lawn and cleaning as a good exercise. Currently, I try to maximize my free-time to work on my hobbies, which is somewhat of an "investment", since it's mostly reading and playing with technologies that might eventually be useful in my career, if that makes any sense. So, perhaps I should stick with my original plan and invest by maximizing time spent on career-building hobbies and just swallow the cost of a condo's lack of resell value and slow appreciation.

Maybe I'm over-thinking this. I'll organize my thoughts a little more and come back on this one. Thanks again for the advice!

Here are a few things you may want to re-think ....
- I don't know of any HOA that provides maid service so, as far as I know, you would still have that expense in addition to HOA.
- A house doesn't have to have a lawn. I've seen some beautiful native landscapes and they need minimal care.
- A house doesn't have to have a lot of square footage (and therefore higher heating/cooling costs). Figure out how much square footage you want and see what houses are available in that range. There are 2-bedroom houses that are about the same size as a condo/townhouse.
- You can always have extra insulation and other energy efficient features added if the house doesn't already have them.

Have you thought about renting a house close to work? That might be a way to find out if owning a house is something you want to pursue without the investment of buying.

And I agree with ZimaCheryl - think about where you want your life to be in 5 or 10 years. Do you see yourself working for the same company in the same location? Do you see yourself with a spouse/partner and/or kids? Your answers to those questions should help you decide your next move.

[mocharoman]

Single guys shouldn't buy houses on their own for two reasons. 1-no wife to nag them to mow, clean, do yardwork, etc. and 2-whatever house they pick their future spouse/partner isn't going to like. A condo or townhouse is a better lifestyle choice for now...even better, rent. If I were single, I would probably look at some of the places downtown near the tobacco campus. You won't have easy access to supermarkets, but you get the lifestyle and proximity to bars and restaurants.