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Greetings All! Newbie here. With the real estate market the way it is, we have a shot at getting into the game and not spending 40% of our household income on a house (house poor? No thanks). We are primarily looking in Raleigh (job currently located), but are extremely flexible with nearly everything, as you have to be when you're looking to get a house for $80k! We're flexible, and could go for urban downtown or country livin'. Areas we have looked through thus far:
Lockwood/King Charles area ITB
Cloverdale in Garner
Smoketree in Raleigh (27616)
Durham - relatively adventurous, but not Cleveland-Holloway style pioneers
Johnston Co.
The typical house in some of these neighborhoods is normally $120 to 130k, but there seems to be a lot of variation in this market. I've seen homes in respectable shape go for $75k in Lockwood, Cloverdale, Smoketree, etc. We have patience and will wait it out for the best deal.
Does anyone have any experience looking around the Triangle in this price range? Any suggestions and past experiences would be more than helpful!
Cosmetic fixers are no big deal, but neither of us are particularly handy-people. We wouldn't be able to fix anything more than cosmetics ourselves. I guess condition depends on the area. Considering our limited price range, anything in an "upscale" neighborhood (Cary, Apex, NW Raleigh, most ITB neighborhoods, etc) would probably require more renovations than we could afford. It's doubtful we are going to be purchasing a home on the western side of Wake County, but I'd love to be wrong!
We are looking to avoid condos and townhouses, we would rather continue renting (no moral objections to them, just our preference).
The larger the yard the better, but a small yard is fine too.
I was curious so I did a Durham search. There are 285 homes listed for 100K & under. Some of those are townhomes/condos. But there is a great 1920s 4 square on Broad St listed for 100K. There's a nice little bungalow on University for 95K. On E. Club Blvd thate is a cute little brick bungalow for 80K. And there are several ranches sprinkled into that mix. Also, many homes under 80K. Get an realtor that is familar with Durham and they can help you figure it out.
Check out Six Forks North in North Raleigh. There are two homes listed for under 130k. This is not a bad neighborhood, I live here and LOVE IT!!! Close to 540, 5 minutes from North Hills and Crabtree. walking distance to tons of cool places to eat, and many of the homes back up the the greenway trails.
The homes are older, most built in the 70's and sit on at least a 1/4-1/2 acre losts, most are about 1/3. At the lower price points they usually have not had any major renovations, however they are livable and you can do small projects one at a time. The neighborhood dynamic is mostly singles, couples, or older folks.
Short sales can be problematical, and you have selected one. You can waste time and effort. The next step after short sale is foreclosure, and I have seen some properties in dreadful condition.
This is not to say that short sales cannot work, or that buyers never find value there, but just an FYI to be cautious.
"Short Sale. Contract only valid upon approval of thrid party lien holder. Process could take up to 8 weeks or mroe to complete. All broker commissions are subject to same thrid party approvals. List price not guaranteed."
You also might consider the value of City sewer services.
One of my concerns of a low price in a rural area is a possible septic system failure, and even if repair is affordable, no repair area for new leach field.
I live in the North King Charles Neighborhood, it is called Windsor park and is the bungalow community next to the bigger houses in the Longview neighborhood.
It is a fine neighborhood that has improved in the past few years (I have been living here for 5 years). You can still find houses here for under $100K that are mainly cosmetic fixer uppers. This is fairly prime ITB cheap but going up real estate. Most lots are in the .22 to .25 acre size. Houses were built in the 1950's and were 800sq foot bungalows with small kitchens, 2 beds, 1 bath and a living room. The common additions are a family room in the back (which is what I have) or a bedroom with an extra bath (neighbors have that and works well).
I bought my house for $87.5K ($2K back for repairs I requested in the inspection, about $2K in closing paid by sellers). Things I have done: tore carpet out of back living and put down fake hardwoods, Painted bedroom, replaced Heatpack, painted back room, tore out kitchen and built new cabinets, plus misc yard work is ongoing. The AC was at the end of life when I bought the place and I knew I would need to replace it, total cost for the unit was $3.5K.
To get a good idea of what can be done with houses in the area check out Team Home Buyer, they are flipping houses with some success and seem to do a great job. I would guess that even in this economy I could sell my place for the $110K to $120K range.
The neighborhood is quiet, a good mix of races and ages. I will say it is becoming a bit younger than when I orginally moved in. Crime is limited to the occasional breakin. Last year the only thing I heard of beyond that was a home invasion to an eldery lady a few blocks away. Dog walking is popular, starting to see more joggers. I no longer find trash in my front yard or too many strangers on the street. Overall for ITB living on the cheap I would rate it towards the top.
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