What will 150K buy in Western NC (Winston-Salem, Asheville: real estate, houses)

[kelly237]

We are trying to plan out retirement finances and want to move
to a small western NC town. 20 to 20 minutes to shopping would be nice
but not essential. We are going to start exploring this year to get the feel of some of the towns we have heard about . Except for being Asheville
or Boone does the cost of living vary alot in the small towns and outskirts
of towns. We would like a small 1000 sqft house with about 5 acres.

[chickenista]

I don't think you can get such a place IN the mountains for that small of an amount of money, but you could get a place near the mountains. say.. the foothills.
It is not the cost of living, persay. it is the cost of real estate.
But with the economy as it is.. if you look hard and as sellers get desperate to unload their second houses, you could get lucky.

[bertha07]

mount airy north carolina is a nice quit town .iIt's andy griffitn home town it's on the eastern side of the mountains (foothills) Really has alot to offer for such a small town . Lots of restaurants parks, festivals small shops etc. Cost of living not too bad taxes are a little steep but I blame the previous polititians maybe the new ones will do better LOL Not much work here mostly textiles companies that have closed but talk is there will be energy related companies considering area also a prison .It's about 36 miles from Winston-Salem which has anything you need plus a great Medical Center .

[kelly237]

I think Mt Airy may be too flat for that we are thinking
altough we will put that on our "check out" list.

I have been 10 minutes from RDU airport so we take
that for granted and will miss close airport access.
Where can you have mountains/low cost of living/small town feel/
and an airport 30-60 minutes away???
We may not get all that but it's worth a try.

Rutherforton (sp??) looks interesting.

[kelly237]

Originally Posted by kelly237

I think Mt Airy may be too flat for that we are thinking
altough we will put that on our "check out" list.

I have been 10 minutes from RDU airport so we take
that for granted and will miss close airport access.
Where can you have mountains/low cost of living/small town feel/
and an airport 30-60 minutes away???
We may not get all that but it's worth a try.

Rutherforton (sp??) looks interesting.

ps... I can spell better than this..just in a hurry LOL.

[Tony1790]

Look at Erwin, TN area, you'd be within 40 minutes of Asheville, NC with low taxes and very low property costs, you should be able to find something in that price range.

Good luck,

Tony

p.s. Finding a newer home on 5 acres for <$150k, that's a very tall order, often it takes that amount of cash to find the land only.

[jstubbspt]

Ignore the above comments and give things a year or two before you buy. Your $150 K will buy what you're looking for (and most likely a bit more by then). Major price declines in the housing market in the mountains of WNC are on the way. Our bubble inflated a bit later than other areas; and therefore is taking a bit longer to deflate. Capitulation is coming.

[LiveLoveLaugh]

I say...if you want to do it do it now. $150. will buy you a nice cottage style home but I don't think you will find it on 5 acres. Good luck!

[kelly237]

150K is just a reference point so I can compare what that buys in different places. We may buy land and build a small cabin.
We want small because we are very basic needs type people.
Less room means the kids will have shorter visits

[KeysDreamer]

Originally Posted by jstubbspt

Ignore the above comments and give things a year or two before you buy. Your $150 K will buy what you're looking for (and most likely a bit more by then). Major price declines in the housing market in the mountains of WNC are on the way. Our bubble inflated a bit later than other areas; and therefore is taking a bit longer to deflate. Capitulation is coming.

I will agree with you on this. Unfortunately for us, we already bought our lot and hoped to build a house on it. Unless the prices really drop and I project they will with no major industry in the WNC area. A lot of WNC is secondary residences.

If prices are going down elsewhere and folks not being able to get financing for a primary residence, how are all these cabins going to sell at the prices being asked? Time will tell.