Must do's for 10 yr old in Rocky Mount/SML

[Lizzy67]

j1n...we currently live in Northern VA and hava boat parked on the Potomac...talk about gnarly! But although it looks nasty and I've heard about bacterial issues in the Potomac - we are such water freaks that we don't care...not much will keep me out of the water. However, that being said - we would like to move to a slower pace of living than what DC area can provide (for all the obvious reasons)...We've never been to SML but will be visiting in a few weeks. Roanoke has consistently been on the list of top places to raise a family (on at least one of the bzillion groups that post those lists). The cost of living is cheaper - you have seasons there (which is a must)...and you have a large body of water. Now...why live ON SML, you ask? That has just been a goal of ours (my spouse and I - not necessarily the kids) - to live on waterfont property - where we can get home from work and go out on the boat whenever we want. There is nothing more beautiful, relaxing and serene to me than being on water. However, I am very concerned about the effects that living on a lake would have on my children. I need to have lots of kids in close proximity so my kids have friends to play with. Did somebody say that the nearest high school is an hour away?? That would be completely unacceptable. If SML living would not afford my kids to live near lots of children (which from the sounds of several of the posts, it would not), then we would have to forego this idea til the kids grow up. I love the idea one of you had about buying a cheaper home in Roanoke - which would afford us to buy a small "weekend" home on the lake. LOVE that idea! As far a commute - although living in the DC area, I'm no stranger to long commutes, I currently work at Quantico and have a very short commute...and have NO desire to go back to anything longer than 45+ minutes. So...am I barking up the wrong tree??

[j1n]

Fair enough (regarding your not having an issue with water gnarl. )
Yeah, I am going to say that, until it becomes even more developed and more folks live there year-round, the kids-having-lots-of-readily-available-friends issue will be just that...an issue. Again, unless you are willing to do lots of driving to keep the kids "in the loop" with friends.
We found a place, awhile back (I'm sure it's probably gone now), 3 bedroom if I remember right, manufactured home that had docking rights on the lake, came fully furnished, and came with a nice little houseboat...all for under 200k. So your "summer house" dream may be attainable as well.

[Diamond Dave]

Originally Posted by Lizzy67

Did somebody say that the nearest high school is an hour away?? That would be completely unacceptable. I currently work at Quantico and have a very short commute...and have NO desire to go back to anything longer than 45+ minutes. So...am I barking up the wrong tree??

You have to remember that Smith Mountain Lake is a very long lake that lies in three counties. Depending on where you live at the lake, you could be just a few minutes from Franklin County HS or Staunton River HS. An hour seems really long. The same with the commute. Depending on where you live and where you work, Roanoke (or any other town) could be very close or kinda far.

[seanpecor]

Eeek, there ain't no place on the lake just a few minutes from FCHS! The absolute closest would be a 30 minute drive, presuming you don't bus. If your kids bus, it's close to an hour drive one way.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you could afford to pay $500K for a house. That being the case you could have an absolutely delightful house in the Old Southwest City area, in a neighborhood with very mature trees, sidewalks, narrow streets, and tons of kids. If you ever take a driving tour in Roanoke, be sure to check out streets like Richelieu, Stanley, Cornwallis, West Ridge Road, Peakwood, etc. Absolutely beautiful. Then either buy a lot on the lake or a weekend home on the lake, without taking proximity to schools into consideration. You'll end up with a more idyllic lake property over the long term, your kids will be raised in a wonderful small city, and when they're all grown you'll have a lake house that the grand kids will be regularly visiting on the weekends

Sean

[Diamond Dave]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

Eeek, there ain't no place on the lake just a few minutes from FCHS! The absolute closest would be a 30 minute drive, presuming you don't bus. If your kids bus, it's close to an hour drive one way.
Sean

Eeek! Sean, it's like 20 minutes or 10 miles from Rocky Mount to any of the houses off of Brooks Mill Rd. And it's 12 miles from the 122 bridge to Staunton River HS!

Is that just barely the lake, and really just where the river starts to back up? Yep. Is it farther than that from the state park? Of course. But it's a big lake, and like I said, depending on where you are on it, you could be close or not so close.

[seanpecor]

Ooops, my bad! I'm not familiar with that section of the lake. I thought it was still the river in that area, with the associated silt buildup issues, but I can see from satellite images that the silt stops being a problem by Breezy Ln and I can see docks cropping up. You'd be 20 minutes from the high school in that area and you're definitely on the lake, not the river!

Sean

[Diamond Dave]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

Ooops, my bad! I'm not familiar with that section of the lake. I thought it was still the river in that area, with the associated silt buildup issues, but I can see from satellite images that the silt stops being a problem by Breezy Ln and I can see docks cropping up. You'd be 20 minutes from the high school in that area and you're definitely on the lake, not the river!

Sean

Yeah, it's not REALLY bona-fide lake, but that doesn't stop the realtors or the tax assessors from calling it such...

I hate to keep disagreeing with Sean, because clearly he is a great source of knowledge, but $500,000 buys a mansion in Roanoke these days. You can buy a 3,000-square foot two-story Colonial on 6/10 of an acre in South Roanoke for less than $400,000. The realtors have been telling us there are some "bargains" on the upper-end of the Roanoke housing market (read: SoRo), but that the middle-class range is more stable (read: Raleigh Court), relative to last year.

Like Warren Buffet says, buy low, sell high. Good values to be had in SoRo!

[seanpecor]

I didn't say that you can't find a house for less than $500K. I was simply using that as a target given my presumption of a particular buying power and the presumptions that follow that. For example, one should presume that we're talking a "done" house since in this market people don't tend to buy a 50 year old house that was last renovated 20 years ago, without taking measure of required renovations. And we're not talking light remodels in this market either. Typical remodels are $80/sq ft for high quality (not estate quality, which is $125 and up). Since the general condition of many of those houses that are for sale in Old SW CIty for less than $400K are "fair", one must keep that in mind. A brand new home or a recently renovated home in the desirable sections of Old SW City is not going to be had, in general, for $400K. One example of a recently remodeled home is the following on Richelieu for $559K:

Printable Flyer

With that said you can literally drop down two streets and get something for less than $400K, that's for sure. They're good homes, although the streets they're on and the construction quality are not as desirable to upper income folks and prices reflect that. For example, Stanley and Cornwallis lots adjoin in parallel but Cornwallis has notably more upscale homes with higher end finishwork and a more picturesque setting with mature trees, and so on. The typical 3,000 sq ft colonial on 6/10ths of an acre sells for $600K on Cornwallis (I know of such a one that sold in 2003, before the "boom"), while a similar sized home on Stanley might sell for as little as $400K. Again, these are "done" houses.

but $500,000 buys a mansion in Roanoke these days

You're joking, right? I'll assume so since this isn't Martinsville If by mansion you mean a very large upscale manor style home, then those can't be had for less than $750K these days, and they're getting more expensive, not less. We can thank Carilion and their recruitment of medical specialists from across the U.S. for this trend. I've got a number of friends who have bought such houses recently. Others have bought lots for $300K and built homes on them that make my 7,000 sq ft house look quaint by comparison. If anything the market for upscale homes has remained quite strong. Some examples:

8,600 sq ft home on Mudlick for $1,750,000:
3809 Mudlick Road Southwest, Roanoke VA 24018 - Trulia

6,900 sq ft home in Hunting Hills for $1,795,000:
5216 Peregrine Crest Circle, Roanoke VA 24018 - Trulia

6,500 sq ft home in Hunting Hills for $1,500,000:
5219 Flintlock Road, Roanoke VA 24018 - Trulia

5,000 sq ft on Allendale for $845,000:
3202 Allendale Street Southwest, Roanoke VA 24014 - Trulia

5,300 sq ft home on Peakwood for $798,000:
3648 Peakwood Drive Southwest, Roanoke VA 24014 - Trulia

Sean

[Diamond Dave]

I think we just have differing perspectives on what constitutes a large house in Roanoke.