Anyone that was leaning towards Wake County and went with Johnston County (Clayton) instead? (Raleigh: renting, house)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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pad3, the only reason I can think of for a realtor to steer you away is for the commute. If you are looking at working in N. Raleigh, anything in Johnston County is considered the boonies to most who live and work in Wake. Most who live in Johnston, however, think that the traffic tangles and construction is worse in Wake, and the length of time to get someplace is the same, regardless of coming from Cary on packed 40/1/540 or Clayton via back roads to 440.
It is all in what you are looking for. If there is a particular reason for the steering let us know and we can give advice. But, being one who looked at Wake, and chose Johnston, and couldn't be happier, I'll say be comfortable with your decision and go with your gut.
Our realtor is trying to steer us away from Johnston and towards Wake, but won't reveal why. Is anyone else getting feedback from their realtor? Thanks
Wow...it is times like this and these situations that can make realtors look bad. Johnson Co. is a wonderful and growing area that many people are chosing to live vs Wake County. It is a matter of preference, not the agents.
I suggest to google "steering" real estate and see if you happen to fall into a protected class. If you are then you need to deal with that particular issue.
You are entitled to see any home listed and or be given a good reason why not if you ask to see it. I personally can't imagine telling any client NO. It is their $$ and largest investment, not mine. Period.
If you are looking at working in N. Raleigh, anything in Johnston County is considered the boonies to most who live and work in Wake.
Johnston county is too far out for me. If I worked there, it would be a different story. I am anti-commuting. Working downtown, Wake county is the only option for me...
My realtor is from Cary. His specialty is Cary and N. Raleigh. He of course took me anywhere I wanted to go but I got the impression that he looked down his nose at Clayton. If you like Clayton, try to go with a local realtor. I think they will know more about upcoming development, road changes, schools, and utilities than most wake realtors. Clayton to us looked good on paper, good schools that the people on this forum seem to attest to, nice houses and good lots but when we spent a couple of days my husband said to me "do we have to drive all the way back down to Clayton"! That's when I realized if he is annoyed after a few days this isn't going to work everyday.
We used to have an interest in buying a house in Wake County until we found out that lot and house prices are too high for us to afford. We checked Johnston County and found out that we can get more land and house for the money, for just under $160K.
We live in Flowers Plantation, Clayton, NC, and very happy with our new home. The school is wonderful. My commute time is just under 20 minutes each way (to Garner), so it wasn't a problem for me at all.
Food Lion is just down the street from where we live. As for Walmart, it takes us to drive 15 minutes to get there.
Depending on your preference, we like the rural setting in our area and away from noisy city.
There are realtors IN Johnston County and Clayton that wouldn't steer you away from the area. I personally believe that realtors that steer their clients in directions that are convenient for them, are not good realtors.
Truthfully, I'd wait until you find an area you are sure about to "commit" to a realtor. Then you can find someone local to the area you like and not worry about being "steered" in ANY direction.
Ask the agent if its just that he isn't famaliar with Johnston County. If he isn't famaliar, maybe he is just holding on to you so that he doesn't lose his commission? There are alot of agents that specialize in certain areas and maybe Johnston County isn't his speciality? If thats the case, ask him to refer you and at least he'll get a referral fee and you'll get someone who is more willing to help you.
The Raleigh area is large and very different with lots of communities. It would be impossible for one agent to cover the whole area with any competency. We just brought in Clayton/Garner. In Clayton down the street from Garner. Our agent was very honest that she knew certain areas and shared with us her living experiences and why she elected to live where she does. As a former Cary resident she would describe Cary as pricey becoming over developed. We will be retiring and coming from a verrrrrrrrrrrrry pricey area that is now over developed. It all is what you want and what the realtor may have personally wanted. You can get more house for the dollar in Johnson then Wake and Johnson is taking off rapidly. I believe it is the fasted growing county in North Carolina. As one coming from an area that saw tremendous growth in the DC area I can tell you the home equity potential in Johnson County is incredible. Houses are cheaper and will eventually catch up with some other areas. Wake Forest is very nice, costly and very crowded with traffic to match. Remember the more expensive the house the more the agents commission. Most agents will help you spend every cent you have.
The Raleigh area is large and very different with lots of communities.
I completely agree! I remember when we first moved to Cary to rent. We had several realtors vying for our business but we weren't sure yet where we wanted to move. We prefer realtors that know a specific area intimately. I suppose a realty office can have experts for each town...that would be ideal but to me if an office is in Wake Forest, they might not know much about Holly Springs or Clayton.
Its why we chose an area first, then a realtor who was local to that area.
Lauren
I recently moved to Clayton from Maryland you can not ask for anything better only 15minutes from raleigh but away from all the commotion I really love it here
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Just brought a house in Clayton
