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We live very close to you in Westchester Co. We visited the Charlotte area in early Feb. I'll share some of our experiences. It really depends on what you are looking for. I liked Tega Cay very much. Very pretty area, old established trees, not cookie-cutter looking. My husband vetoed it, however, because it has very little in the way of planned activities, the kind you can find in a community like Sun City in Indian Land (55+). That clubhouse is huge with over 100 clubs. For some reason, I didn't feel totally comfortable in Sun City. It is very cookie-cutter (which I know applies to a lot of these places). One thing that's odd for a NYer -- the grass in the Carolinas turns brown in winter. It's a different kind of grass designed to withstand the heat of summer. But even though it's cold up north (and snowy), our grass stays green all year. So Sun City in Feb. looked brown and drab to me. I know it will not be like that all year however!
Rothbear, on this forum, was helpful in answering some of my questions about Sun City. But back to Tega Cay, there is a clubhouse, but nowhere near the kind of activities you will find at Sun City (and probably also the Four Seasons, K Hovnanaian community). Tega Cay does have the Vintage Club that someone else on this forum mentioned. And it has a golf course and a restaurant, casual, publike. I had a very nice conversation there with a friendly waitress who loves Tega Cay. But still, you will not find things like book clubs, community garden, kayak facilities, poker groups, investment groups, arts and crafts groups, etc. like you will find in a place like Sun City. So, again, it all boils down to what you are looking for. In Tega Cay there may be some groups that sprout up and meet in people's homes. But a place like Sun City has a full clubhouse with a full-time activities director. If that doesn't interest you, then you may love Tega Cay.
We had looked at, and seriously considered, a community called Brunswick Forest in Wilmington, NC. That community is not age-restricted. We like a lot of things about it (including the fact that it is not age restricted). There are not as many activities as in Sun City but more than in Tega Cay. But Wilmington is in a kind of an out-of-the way area (it's 100 miles off Route I-95), and we feel Charlotte is more centrally located. We have family in KY so like being further west. We like the beaches/coastline in Wilmington, so, all in all, lots of difficult decisions.
Feel free to DM me if you like.
I live in River Hills (gated community of 1400 homes) in Lake Wylie SC and all of the above highlighted activities are available in addition to many more. The community has a country club, golf and tennis, in addition to a marina and lake front park.
My wife and I are empty-nesters who movd here from San Francisco 12 years ago and love the community.
I live in River Hills (gated community of 1400 homes) in Lake Wylie SC and all of the above highlighted activities are available in addition to many more. The community has a country club, golf and tennis, in addition to a marina and lake front park.
My wife and I are empty-nesters who movd here from San Francisco 12 years ago and love the community.
Please feel free to ask any questions about the community.
Thank you Belmarin. We have checked website. We will check it out when we visit this area. Is it options to join country club, golf, marina etc? How much is HOAs and membership fees ?
I don't have info. on membership fees at River Hills. Maybe Belmarin does. But I"ve been in communication with the Admin. Ass't. of the Community Association there, and she said you do not have to join the country club. The HOA fees were low, I think about $425 a quarter, or something like that. BUT they do not maintain your own property for you, as they do in a place like SCCL. You are responsible for your lawn, gardens etc. They only maintain the common property. We plan on taking a look at it next week.
I don't have info. on membership fees at River Hills. Maybe Belmarin does. But I"ve been in communication with the Admin. Ass't. of the Community Association there, and she said you do not have to join the country club. The HOA fees were low, I think about $425 a quarter, or something like that. BUT they do not maintain your own property for you, as they do in a place like SCCL. You are responsible for your lawn, gardens etc. They only maintain the common property. We plan on taking a look at it next week.
Thank you, and let me know what do you think after your visit.
With regards to Riverhills we did look there very seriously. We loved the Lake Wylie area and really wanted to move there. However, when we began looking at homes there we found so many of them needed major updating. We spoke with several residents who complained that you didn't really get anything for the HOA. In fact several said the HOA is based on the home and location so the $425/ quarter was the starting point. In fact we were surprised to hear that residents really didn't know what the money went towards. It is a beautiful area, it really is, but hard to pay over $1700 a year for HOA and not know what you're getting for that.
With regards to Riverhills we did look there very seriously. We loved the Lake Wylie area and really wanted to move there. However, when we began looking at homes there we found so many of them needed major updating. We spoke with several residents who complained that you didn't really get anything for the HOA. In fact several said the HOA is based on the home and location so the $425/ quarter was the starting point. In fact we were surprised to hear that residents really didn't know what the money went towards. It is a beautiful area, it really is, but hard to pay over $1700 a year for HOA and not know what you're getting for that.
I searched re-sales online, and houses look really old. I am not sure if I want to pay HOA like that.
[quote=pgaff57;29498430]With regards to Riverhills we did look there very seriously. We loved the Lake Wylie area and really wanted to move there. However, when we began looking at homes there we found so many of them needed major updating. We spoke with several residents who complained that you didn't really get anything for the HOA. In fact several said the HOA is based on the home and location so the $425/ quarter was the starting point. In fact we were surprised to hear that residents really didn't know what the money went towards. It is a beautiful area, it really is, but hard to pay over $1700 a year for HOA and not know what you're getting for that.[/QUOTES
Some of the homes(1400) do need upgrading, but many have been totally upgraded (new kitchens, baths, hardwoods, entry ways, decking, etc.) There is a range of home prices from the upper 100's to 1.5 million.
and the price reflects the condition of the home.
In my opinion the HOA fees are reasonable and at least 2/3 of the residents agree with me. It takes a 2/3 majority vote to increase the fees. Regardless of location or value of the home the fee is $425 per month (the condos pay an additional condo fee).
What do you get for the money:
2 interior, 1 waterfont community park, and playground that are maintained by the HOA fees.
Curbside pick up of yard debris (from leaves to large tree branches) that is converted to mulch by the maintenance crew and available for free to the residents.
Maintenance of existing and creation of new walking trails.
Maintenance of existing and creation of new street lighting.
Multiple community events For example community barbeque (with wine and beer) free to the residents.
Maintenance of all common areas (mowing, leaf removal, tree removal if necessary, etc.)
All electricity and water to maintain common areas.
Salaries and benefits for 3 full time commuunity office staff.
Salaries and benefits for 10 full time maintenance staff.
Purchase and maintenance of equipment (leaf vacuum truck, tree chipper truck, maintenance crew vehicles, security vehicles). Insurance and gas for the vehicles.
Upkeep on 2 entry gate houses and interior equipment (computers, etc.).
Salaries and benefits for 10 full time and 8 part time armed security officers.
I'm sure there is more but my mind is getting foggy. One justification is to determine what a monitored security system would cost per month vs. a secured gated community.
Quick question from above post: HOA fees of $425/month? Or per quarter? I was told it was per quarter. If it is per month, then when you add full country club and golf membership (we were told $379/mo), that gets pretty costly! Especially if they're not mowing your lawn for that. As beautiful as River Hills is (and I loved it), that cost is pretty tough to justify against someplace like Sun City with HOA fees about $200/mo. which includes a ton, including full lawn maintenance.
Quick question from above post: HOA fees of $425/month? Or per quarter? I was told it was per quarter. If it is per month, then when you add full country club and golf membership (we were told $379/mo), that gets pretty costly! Especially if they're not mowing your lawn for that. As beautiful as River Hills is (and I loved it), that cost is pretty tough to justify against someplace like Sun City with HOA fees about $200/mo. which includes a ton, including full lawn maintenance.
Sorry for the misinformation on the dues. I meant to type $425 per quarter. I also neglected to add road maintenance to the list. As we are a gated community, we are responsible for all the roads inside the gates.
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