Hedingham Townhomes or Indigo Townhomes? (Durham: for sale, apartments, crime)

[sundance896]

I know I've posted on my housing dilemma several times. I apologize for any annoyance, it's just that I'm young and need some guidance.

We have narrowed it down to two places:

Hedingham Townhomes: two story, 1 br/1 ba. Patio and balcony. Gas and electric. Washer/Dryer included. Good size for us/shouldn't be as expensive to heat/cool (?) A little out of the way for where we need to be (45 min commute) $755/mo plus water, gas, electric, cable/internet.

Indigo Townhomes: 2br/2ba. Entire second floor is master bedroom. All electric. Washer and dryer have to be rented. More space than we need, but who ever complained about too much living space... but may cause higher utilities. 30 min commute. $825/mo plus water, electric, cable/internet.

We don't entertain much company so the 1 bedroom would be manageable with a pullout couch. I'm torn between these places!
Also, safety is an issue... which place is better to go for a walk after dark? The reviews I've read for both places were not super recently so I wanted to check on here and see if anyone has any opinions.
I'm not necessarily looking for firsthand knowledge... just adult advice

[adlnc07]

Well, for me a shorter commute would be worth $70 a month! Is the 2nd choice also closer to the other non-work amenities you need?

I can't speak to safety though as I'm not sure where either of these places are.

[saturnfan]

Hedingham is a value but near a problem crime area.

[Starglow]

Originally Posted by saturnfan

Hedingham is a value but near a problem crime area.

My former neighbors moved there last year and their son's car was stolen from their own driveway the very first week they moved in.

[sneezecake]

Are you talking about Indigo in Durham off of Page Road? Those are practically in RTP and while I don't know the community itself, the location, which I drive by every day, is excellent for RTP, Brier Creek, RDU, and there's a grocery store and Ace Hardware within walking distance.

I have never heard anything good about Hedingham.

[hemera]

my hubby and me have lived at the Indigo. we liked the floorplans and utilities were pretty affordable. the reason why we left was safety issues. i didnt feel safe there at all. although they have a gate, the gate was broken a lot and people tailgated a lot.
-the dumpster was 3 times on fire while i lived there, cause kids from the neighborhood across the street thought it was funny playing and smoking there.
-strangers at the pool, who didnt live there at all and climbed the fence at night.
-police was there all the time (once i woke up and 3 police officers where chasing a suspect in the parking lot and ended up jumping on him in front of my door)
- 5 people living in a 1 bedroom

these were all reasons for us to leave. we talked to the office a lot about those issues, but they never did anything against it. although they knew about those problems.

this was 2 years ago, and i have heard they have changed managment and maybe it has gotten better. just check it out. drive by in the evenings talk to people who are leaving there and you should get a sense about how it is now.

[solarity]

I lived in Indigo from 2005-2008 and my husband was in an apartment there for a couple years before that. We had the other townhome floorplan though with two beds upstairs. I liked the community ok, we kept to ourselves as many people did. We got to know only one neighbor really. The fitness area always seemed busy so I stopped trying to go. I never used the pool. I never noticed any of the things the pp mentioned and I was pretty close to the trash compactor so not sure when the fires happened. The gate was a little frustrating at times since so many people seemed to not work it properly and then it would mess it up. Having Brier Creek so close was wonderful. Commutes for us were great. The only issue we had was twice my gas cap was unscrewed and tubing was laying on the ground (this happened during the day so maybe someone came and they took off??). I never noticed any missing gas though. I had an SUV so it made me somewhat of a target. We liked the convenience of the area so much though that we bought a house in a community not far away. I felt safer there than the college community I had moved from but I wasn't going to go walk around in the dark on my own. Apartments always seem to have their own issues or at least the ones I've lived in. Oh I do remember once a firetruck coming, maybe that was when there was a fire at the compactor? I was miffed, the firetruck had no idea that they couldn't get through the gate I lived on. We had to go out and tell them to go to the next gate, we had no idea how to open it (its locked permanently). I had to tell the office to put a sign up (not sure they did), if there is an emergency that is not good if they can't get into the community!

But seriously, I would look at commute as the critical decision.

[MI-Roger]

My son has lived there 5 years and never has had a problem. Neither is he aware of any problems experienced by neighbors.

That development is HUGE! The location of the Town Home probably makes a difference. I am not aware of any 1BR units in the area where he lives, all are 2BR or 3BR with 2 or more baths.

[silv333]

Stay away from HEDINGHAM!!! It should say something why there are so many properties for sale.

Take it from someone that's a "public servant"....Hedingham = no go...

[weluvwakeforest]

Originally Posted by silv333

Stay away from HEDINGHAM!!! It should say something why there are so many properties for sale.

Take it from someone that's a "public servant"....Hedingham = no go...

Is it the neighborhood or just that side of town in general??