Where are all the old houses? They all seem new. (Raleigh: relocation, property taxes)

[lea1975]

I love older houses. The ones with the real wood floors that squeak when you walk. Not the PERGO floors.

I love the charm of an older house.

It seems like all I can find are newer homes.

Which towns are likely to have older neighborhoods with mature trees and older homes?

Thanks, Lea :-)

[MikeJaquish]

I suggest you consider Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, or Cary.

There are many older neighborhoods in Raleigh and Durham, with Hayes Barton, Mordecai, Boylan Heights, immediately coming to mind.

In Cary, the "older" neighborhoods date from the 60's and 70's. Cary has grown from under 4,000 people in 1970 to 117,000 today, so the vast bulk of housing is 0 to 20 years old.

[Bull City Rising]

Like Mike said, the older cities (not the newly built suburbs) are going to have these kinds of houses. Inside-the-440-beltline Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham are all going to have early- to mid-20th c. (and some select 19th-c.) homes.

Within Durham, do a search for the following neighborhoods:

Watts-Hillandale
Trinity Park
Forest Hills
Old North Durham
Old West Durham
Duke Park
Hope Valley CC
Northgate Park
Duke Forest

Good luck!

[CT-Guy]

Originally Posted by lea1975

I love older houses. The ones with the real wood floors that squeak when you walk. Not the PERGO floors.

I love the charm of an older house.

It seems like all I can find are newer homes.

Which towns are likely to have older neighborhoods with mature trees and older homes?

Thanks, Lea :-)

If you will consider moving to Connecticut instead, I'll sell you my older house. Yes, the floors do sqeak, and the deck is falling apart too

[RaleighRob]

With any town or city in the Triangle, to find the older homes, the easiest way is to start with the city's downtown, and work your way outwards. Just avoid all those shiny new subdivisions that the developers are putting out like factories, and you should find what you're seeking.

[redsoxwalking]

I too am interested in an older home, nicer feel, more for your money! I am just wondering if 1980s, 70s and earlier homes are in neighborhoods with a lot of rentals, turnover, and disrepair? Any areas where this is true? Thank you for indulging my speculation!

[RaleighRob]

^In most of the Triangle, rentals can be in old neighborhoods or new. I don't think older neighborhoods are necessarily any more prone to having rentals (which there's nothing wrong with, by the way, I myself am a renter). In fact those in historic districts will have more restrictions and have higher value than most new neighborhoods.

[lea1975]

But we just cant afford it. Would be much closer to family and friends there though!!!!! Since they are all in the NY/NJ area :-(

[askmisterbrown]

In Raleigh, some of the historic neighborhoods are very tony, with most of the houses restored and expensive. Others are very affordable, with many houses waiting to be fixed up. Most historic neighborhoods offer a great variety, with both expensive and affordable houses.
These are the historic neighborhoods, roughly from the most expensive to the least expensive. All are "Inside the Beltline."
Hayes Barton
White Oak/Bloomsbury
Budleigh
Cameron Park
Five Points
University Park
Oakwood
Boylan Heights
Glenwood-Brooklyn
Mordecai
Wilmont
Oakdale
Georgetown
Westover
Oberlin
Longview
Caraleigh
Idlewild
Thompson-Hunter
College Park
South Park

[VSB]

Originally Posted by askmisterbrown

In Raleigh, some of the historic neighborhoods are very tony, with most of the houses restored and expensive. Others are very affordable, with many houses waiting to be fixed up. Most historic neighborhoods offer a great variety, with both expensive and affordable houses.
These are the historic neighborhoods, roughly from the most expensive to the least expensive. All are "Inside the Beltline."
Hayes Barton
White Oak/Bloomsbury
Budleigh
Cameron Park
Five Points
University Park
Oakwood
Boylan Heights
Glenwood-Brooklyn
Mordecai
Wilmont
Oakdale
Georgetown
Westover
Oberlin
Longview
Caraleigh
Idlewild
Thompson-Hunter
College Park
South Park

My wife and I just returned from a scouting trip to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. The area is high on our list as relocation city. We spent a lot of time scouting out houses in parts of all three cities. We didn't look in Cary, Apex, or any of the other suburbs where most of the houses are new construction. Furthermore, when we told the local realtor that we were looking for something in an "established" neighborhood, she sent us to houses built in or around 1985-1995. Thus, we set out on our own.

Regarding the above list, the houses can be incredibly variable. We loved Glenwood-Brooklyn, for example.

However, we looked at this house:

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/rfs/281313621.html

at 502 Cole Street which was a renovated 3 BR, 2.5 BA Craftsman style house built in 1924. Sure it's cute, but it's on a small lot on the east side of Glenwood Avenue which backs up to busy (and noisy) Wade Avenue and Capital Blvd (401). It has new trees planted in the backyard to create some privacy from the streets below but it's still quite pricey for what you're getting.

Cross to the west side of Glenwood Avenue, and you'll find a quieter neighborhood that abuts the beautiful (and large) Fred Fleltcher Park. We loved this house:

Moderator cut: realtor websites not permitted here

for example, but they're asking $700K!!! The house is just three houses down from Fred Fletcher Park and we were standing in front of it with visions of our kids and dog running out the door having a grand time in the park. There were many smaller and/or unrenovated houses in the neighborhood, but if you want something that's already nice, you'll pay through the nose.

These houses are hardly "discounted" relative to the expensive housing markets of the northeast, DC-Baltimore region, or even Chicago. In fact, I don't think there is any discount at all for buying in these historic neighborhoods relative to other cities.

The only way to get something affordable IS to buy something really small, or really dilapidated, or to move to the newly expanding suburbs.

Overall, we liked a lot of what we saw, but we came back a bit discouraged that our dollar wasn't going that far. And surprisingly, NC Income Tax ranges from 6-8.25% (what! even Massachusetts, formerly known as TAXachusetts has a flat rate of 5.3%) and property taxes are high as well (1.7159 per $100 in Carrboro city). I guess they have to find a way to finance all the expansion.


Show me something with affordable elegance, and I'm there.