Single Family Home in Cary for 200k? (Chapel Hill: renting, HOA)

[panthrkub]

We're looking to move to Cary and want to spend about $200,000 on a 3 bedroom/2 bath house. Do you know of any subdivisions that would fit this criteria? We'd prefer a single family home over a townhome. The year it was built is less important. TIA!

[sls76]

Try Kildaire Farms. It has a great location. Lots of families. There's a pool you can join. Lots of mature landscaping. Some very nice lots for the price. The homes are somewhat dated, but if you don't mind that or are handy, it might be an option. I'd guess three bedrooms start just above $150k.

[fester600]

We lived in Cary and sold out home (3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths) for $184,900. Oxxford Hunt is the community. It has a pool... It is a great community, we would have stayed, but my wife started a job in Chapel Hill and the commute (40+ minutes) was too long.

I hope this helps!
Matt

[panthrkub]

Thank you both very much! It's good to know we're not dreaming. I have looked around both of those subdivisions, but wasn't sure about the pricing.

Do you know if the pine needles in the gutters are a problem in Kildaire Farms? I love trees, but that's the first thing I noticed.

[sls76]

I'm not sure. Maybe they need to be cleaned out more. I just looked and there was almost nothing on the market in Kildaire Farms. Houses in that price range seem to be very liquid, even with the market somewhat slow and inventory up from last year.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by panthrkub

Thank you both very much! It's good to know we're not dreaming. I have looked around both of those subdivisions, but wasn't sure about the pricing.

Do you know if the pine needles in the gutters are a problem in Kildaire Farms? I love trees, but that's the first thing I noticed.

Sub-$200,000 is typically available in a few areas in Cary. The MLS is currently showing 28 sub-$200,000 detached single family 3/2 homes "Active." Some may be under contract, but obviously there are some to select from


Pine needles in gutters are a problem anywhere there are pines close to the house.
I cut down pines near my home to lessen the problem. Now I just deal with leaves in my gutters.

[panthrkub]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

Sub-$200,000 is typically available in a few areas in Cary. The MLS is currently showing 28 sub-$200,000 detached single family 3/2 homes "Active." Some may be under contract, but obviously there are some to select from

Wow, only 28? Maybe we are dreaming. That was my ball park figure.

Slightly OT: How much should we spend on a home, relative to our income, with excellent credit and no debt? Maybe that would give me a better idea of what we should be looking for. I *thought* we were middle of the road, income-wise, and doing good by not having car payments. It's probably time to call a mortgage broker.

[sls76]

I thought the rule is 28%/36% (housing as a percentage of total income/total debt as a percentage of gross income). If you had a $200,000 mortgage a 6.5%, you'd be paying $1200/month plus taxes and insurance--probably another $150/month. You'd get a tax deduction (federal and state if you itemeize) for your interest and taxes, so conservatively you can figure on about a $275/month deduction. I definitely recommend finding a good mortgage person to talk to.

[lamishra]

I live in Irongate in central Cary and most of the houses here are less than 200K. No HOA either.

[panthrkub]

I'll definitely look for a mortgage broker now. I think we just may be able to do better than that. But not too much.

36% of our gross income or less should include the mortgage payments, taxes, and fees, right? Ignoring the tax deductions for now. Maybe we should scale back his 401k contribution to 10%. It just doesn't seem like a lot of money would be left over for unexpected repairs and such. This scares us because we're renting now and have never had to maintain a home. We also have a child to clothe and feed.