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DH and I are looking for a retirement home in the area. We actually signed for a Ryan Home in Indian Trail, NC (still in the "we can get out without loss of money" time), but are now finding out that although it is being touted as Active Adult, there is no age restriction, just an HOA.
So we have moved our sights to possibly Carolina Lakes, but they are more expensive there. What's the good points, bad points? Keep in mind that we actually DO want age restrictions as well as an HOA. Long story, really crappy, bratty neighbors here at our Pennsylvania home.
I have a concern that the houses are too close together. Does anybody know if there are any actual photos of the place online somewhere so we can see what it's like? Maybe it's not as bad as I am thinking.
Any other 55+ places to consider? We really want to stick near Charlotte if possible. NO SNOW PLEASE!!!
It's nice with easy access to very nice parts of Charlotte like Ballantyne. It's also close to Fort Mill and Rock Hill SC. The disadvantage here is that growth is occurring and the roads are not being built up (for the most part) to handle the growth, so the area is going to be crowded and congested within 5 years.
DH and I are looking for a retirement home in the area. We actually signed for a Ryan Home in Indian Trail, NC (still in the "we can get out without loss of money" time), but are now finding out that although it is being touted as Active Adult, there is no age restriction, just an HOA.
So we have moved our sights to possibly Carolina Lakes, but they are more expensive there. What's the good points, bad points? Keep in mind that we actually DO want age restrictions as well as an HOA. Long story, really crappy, bratty neighbors here at our Pennsylvania home.
I have a concern that the houses are too close together. Does anybody know if there are any actual photos of the place online somewhere so we can see what it's like? Maybe it's not as bad as I am thinking.
Any other 55+ places to consider? We really want to stick near Charlotte if possible. NO SNOW PLEASE!!!
-the beauty of a Del Webb community is....once it is completed there's really not much need for you to ever leave (since everthing is right there).
the best suggestion I could give you is to get in touch with a poster on this site who goes by: south.charlotte&union (who's parents recently moved into Carolina Lakes)
lovethecarolinas........Thanks for the person! I fired off an email to them and hopefully I can get some input from a person with nothing financial to gain by selling us a house there.
I did look at the Gold Hill area before, but it appears the only thing left there are villas/townhouses. We most definately want a single family home and not be attached to anyone else.
Del Webb is supposed to be starting a new community up near Denver, NC, but being so close to Lake Norman, we are thinking they will probably be out of our price range. It's amazing how different the prices are for exactly the same houses, but in different areas of the country. The exact same houses over near Nashville, TN are approximately $25,000 cheaper than the ones at Carolina Lakes, but Nashville is not an area that I've really thought I wanted to live in. I really wanted to be near Charlotte.
You may want to check into Belair at Carolina Lakes ~ by Pulte ....It is about a mile or so from Del Webb ...I just purchased in this development (about 350 homes when completed) Though, not in the active adult living section, which is new (they created this section due to the overflow of active adults who wanted to move in sooner, rather than later) ....You could call to see if they have age restrictions in place...It is very nice in there!
That said, you can not use the facilities at Del Webb....as Belair at Carolina Lakes is considered separate.
Hi, You definately want to consider Sun City Carolina Lakes. I am in my 30's and have no ties there but have visited for several community events. Yes, the homes are close together, but the immenities are awesome. I'm looking forward to my retirement and hopefully live there someday.
They have a huge man-made lake, visitors center, golf course, golf cart trails-- tons of outside activities. All within 15 minutes of Charlotte. Also- taxes are cheap in Lancaster. This area of Lancaster County is called Indian Land and it is booming. Land has skyrocketed there and tons of retail shops are being built as I type this. I wish I owned some land there! Those folks with ten or so acres of land are instant millionaires!
Good Luck with your choice!
After reading your comments I felt compelled to respond. From your description, it sounds like you're talking about the Villas by Ryan Homes in Indian Trail/Sun Valley. If so, my parents live there and they absolutely love it. They also looked at age restricted communities and found that they may not always be 100% restricted or they may not be able to stay that way forever. So the Villas were a perfect choice since they were able to get such a great home for their $ and all of their neighbors are about the same age. I would really suggest living there!
After reading your comments I felt compelled to respond. From your description, it sounds like you're talking about the Villas by Ryan Homes in Indian Trail/Sun Valley. If so, my parents live there and they absolutely love it. They also looked at age restricted communities and found that they may not always be 100% restricted or they may not be able to stay that way forever. So the Villas were a perfect choice since they were able to get such a great home for their $ and all of their neighbors are about the same age. I would really suggest living there!
Is this community built out? My DH & I are soon-to-be empty nesters looking for a community were we will fit in. We don't care about the 55 & older restrictions..we care more about quality of the community & the homes. Are your parents happy with the Ryan product & service? I have read some scary stuff about Ryan Homes and am alittle concerned about them.
Yes I was talking about the Villas at Sun Valley. As of Sunday they still have about 12-13 lots left in the community. They were selling pretty fast at one point, but it has slowed down quite a bit.
Overall I liked the Ryan and found them to be good to deal with as to making changes in the house to an extent. The prices were good as well. We did see some things that could have used improvements, though. But they are making some improvements to their houses.......like now using low-e glass in the windows which up until about 3 weeks ago they weren't, which is really stupid for some place warm like NC. The biggest thing that I can tell you is to make sure you thoroughly read the contract as well as the rules & covenants of the community. Although the sales people are nice, they tend to have misinformation. Several times we were told something and had I not actually read the R&C I wouldn't have known that what we were told was incorrect (this aside from the age thing). And I strongly suggest that you get EVERYTHING in writing! Because of misunderstandings our time limit to get our deposit back was extended and since we did cancel I made sure to keep the email where we were told about the extension as well as get the cancellation and refund info in writing as well. We did talk with one person who lives there and he was very happy.
That being said, we cancelled the house with Ryan this past Sunday and purchased a house at Sun City Carolina Lakes. We just couldn't get past the no age restriction thing. And Pulte is very careful to make sure that they stay within the federal guidelines to stay age restricted as they had to jump through a lot of federal hoops to get it in the first place. SCCL have some lots on what they call their "hot list" that they really want to sell and we got a great deal on one of them.......equivalent to the money we were going to spend at the Ryan place anyway. Both my husband and I are much happier because that was our highest priority.
But if you don't care about the age restriction, then definately go and look at the Ryan place. It is nice and they have several nice plans to choose from and the price are good as well. Just make sure you really check out everything. There will be walking trails and an activity center, but it will be pretty small with no pool, tennis courts or other activities. But if you don't care about those, then that's fine. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions as I'm very familiar with it all.
Yes I was talking about the Villas at Sun Valley. As of Sunday they still have about 12-13 lots left in the community. They were selling pretty fast at one point, but it has slowed down quite a bit.
Overall I liked the Ryan and found them to be good to deal with as to making changes in the house to an extent. The prices were good as well. We did see some things that could have used improvements, though. But they are making some improvements to their houses.......like now using low-e glass in the windows which up until about 3 weeks ago they weren't, which is really stupid for some place warm like NC. The biggest thing that I can tell you is to make sure you thoroughly read the contract as well as the rules & covenants of the community. Although the sales people are nice, they tend to have misinformation. Several times we were told something and had I not actually read the R&C I wouldn't have known that what we were told was incorrect (this aside from the age thing). And I strongly suggest that you get EVERYTHING in writing! Because of misunderstandings our time limit to get our deposit back was extended and since we did cancel I made sure to keep the email where we were told about the extension as well as get the cancellation and refund info in writing as well. We did talk with one person who lives there and he was very happy.
That being said, we cancelled the house with Ryan this past Sunday and purchased a house at Sun City Carolina Lakes. We just couldn't get past the no age restriction thing. And Pulte is very careful to make sure that they stay within the federal guidelines to stay age restricted as they had to jump through a lot of federal hoops to get it in the first place. SCCL have some lots on what they call their "hot list" that they really want to sell and we got a great deal on one of them.......equivalent to the money we were going to spend at the Ryan place anyway. Both my husband and I are much happier because that was our highest priority.
But if you don't care about the age restriction, then definately go and look at the Ryan place. It is nice and they have several nice plans to choose from and the price are good as well. Just make sure you really check out everything. There will be walking trails and an activity center, but it will be pretty small with no pool, tennis courts or other activities. But if you don't care about those, then that's fine. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions as I'm very familiar with it all.
Gee..Thanks so much for all the info you provided. It sounds like you are in right place for your needs. Our former neighbors moved to Sun City in June and are very happy. We visited them in August while looking at the surrounding area. Their home is lovely and the amenities are wonderful. Although we liked it..we didn't love it so we are continuing our search.
Good Luck with your move & new home! We will be back in the area in a few weeks & will check out the Villas.
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Retirement in Charlotte, NC
