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We REALLY want to move to Charlotte. We can’t afford closer in established neighborhoods. We were set on Huntersville/Cornelius but after months searching we’ve given up hope of finding what we want at our budget there. We want Fort Mill home prices/value in Southpark, which obviously isn’t happening. So we’re coming down for a third time to focus on southern suburbs, and we’d welcome any impressions on the communities in the title. Matthews may be a little out of budget and we’d also like to be closer to water like Lake Wylie. And the more amenities like restaurants, grocery, drug, etc. the better to us. The closer to Charlotte proper the better to us.
Any impressions or comparisons on the communities in the title or others were missing would be most helpful. Thanks!
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
We REALLY want to move to Charlotte. We can’t afford closer in established neighborhoods. We were set on Huntersville/Cornelius but after months searching we’ve given up hope of finding what we want at our budget there. We want Fort Mill home prices/value in Southpark, which obviously isn’t happening. So we’re coming down for a third time to focus on southern suburbs, and we’d welcome any impressions on the communities in the title. Matthews may be a little out of budget and we’d also like to be closer to water like Lake Wylie. And the more amenities like restaurants, grocery, drug, etc. the better to us. The closer to Charlotte proper the better to us.
Any impressions or comparisons on the communities in the title or others were missing would be most helpful. Thanks!
Most of the development has been on the North/South axis. Less has been on the East/West axis. Therefore it's more likely to find lower prices on the east/west axis.
Also, the closer you are to Charlotte the higher the price, as a rule.
OP, what’s your budget and what type of house are you looking for? Is a daily commute or public schools a factor?
From what I’ve seen, Cornelius may be a bit higher but Huntersville prices are pretty comparable to Fort Mill/Tega Cay/Matthews IMO. If anything I think Fort Mill/Tega Cay are a little higher.
Indian Land tends to be a little more reasonably priced from what I’ve seen, and is close to amenities and technically “Charlotte proper” (Ballantyne), but is a little further from uptown (but about the same travel time as Cornelius).
If the main amenities you want to be close to are grocery stores, a few restaurants, etc while still being near a lake you can check out Denver, or maybe the NW Charlotte area near 485/16 (the former has most of the amenities you seem to be looking for, the latter maybe a little less but is closer to downtown and some other areas where you can find more amenities).
I think you mentioned something about builders in a different thread. If budget is a concern, I’d definitely stick to resales. The issue with a lot of new construction is that most of the good locations are already built on, so you’re either sacrificing on location or paying a pretty penny for it. Plus most somewhat reasonably priced new construction tends to have crappy yards.
OP, what’s your budget and what type of house are you looking for? Is a daily commute or public schools a factor?
From what I’ve seen, Cornelius may be a bit higher but Huntersville prices are pretty comparable to Fort Mill/Tega Cay/Matthews IMO. If anything I think Fort Mill/Tega Cay are a little higher.
Indian Land tends to be a little more reasonably priced from what I’ve seen, and is close to amenities and technically “Charlotte proper” (Ballantyne), but is a little further from uptown (but about the same travel time as Cornelius).
If the main amenities you want to be close to are grocery stores, a few restaurants, etc while still being near a lake you can check out Denver, or maybe the NW Charlotte area near 485/16 (the former has most of the amenities you seem to be looking for, the latter maybe a little less but is closer to downtown and some other areas where you can find more amenities).
I think you mentioned something about builders in a different thread. If budget is a concern, I’d definitely stick to resales. The issue with a lot of new construction is that most of the good locations are already built on, so you’re either sacrificing on location or paying a pretty penny for it. Plus most somewhat reasonably priced new construction tends to have crappy yards.
We're hoping to stay under $450K for an energy efficient, open concept, one story 3/2 to 4/2.5 with a 2-car garage. In our experience so far, that eliminates most (but not all) resales. Two stories are far more common. We were shocked at how many homes in established neighborhoods )e.g. between Uptown and Southpark) in our price range didn't have garages. And almost none were open concept, much less energy efficient. So it seems our choices are new construction (with a big premium as you note) or a recent construction resale, and those tend to be in suburbs anyway.
As for amenities, we'd like some variety of grocery and restaurants nearby and all the other shopping basics. Outdoor activities without driving too far also highly desirable to us.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
We REALLY want to move to Charlotte. We can’t afford closer in established neighborhoods. We were set on Huntersville/Cornelius but after months searching we’ve given up hope of finding what we want at our budget there. We want Fort Mill home prices/value in Southpark, which obviously isn’t happening. So we’re coming down for a third time to focus on southern suburbs, and we’d welcome any impressions on the communities in the title. Matthews may be a little out of budget and we’d also like to be closer to water like Lake Wylie. And the more amenities like restaurants, grocery, drug, etc. the better to us. The closer to Charlotte proper the better to us.
Any impressions or comparisons on the communities in the title or others were missing would be most helpful. Thanks!
I think that I vaguely remember you saying that you're from the Midwest. You are asking specifically about grocery stores. We have a grocery thread. When it was started, it was intended for people to post items that they were looking for, but it morphed into documenting chains coming, going, & new stores opening. It's a long thread.
We don't have Meijer here. We do have a good range of stores. We don't know your price range on groceries. That makes it sort of a shot in the dark for recommendations. For instance, if you do some shopping at Aldi, chances are that your local stores haven't gotten the remodel yet. All Aldi stores in the US are being remodeled because their main competitor from Europe is moving into the US. There are some Lidl stores in this area, and all or most Aldi stores here have been remodeled. So, if you do shop at Meijer, being near an Aldi & a Lidl will lessen the blow. On the other hand if you shop at an upscale chain, we have those too.
We REALLY want to move to Charlotte. We can’t afford closer in established neighborhoods. We were set on Huntersville/Cornelius but after months searching we’ve given up hope of finding what we want at our budget there. We want Fort Mill home prices/value in Southpark, which obviously isn’t happening. So we’re coming down for a third time to focus on southern suburbs, and we’d welcome any impressions on the communities in the title. Matthews may be a little out of budget and we’d also like to be closer to water like Lake Wylie. And the more amenities like restaurants, grocery, drug, etc. the better to us. The closer to Charlotte proper the better to us.
Any impressions or comparisons on the communities in the title or others were missing would be most helpful. Thanks!
So does everyone else.
If resale is important to you stay as close to center city as you can afford.
I'm in a similar situation. I'm moving from Michigan. I've looked in Indian Land and Fort Mills. Check out Bent Creek and The Retreat at Rayfield. Both are in Indian Land. Also look at Brayden and Mason Bend in Fort Mill. Both cities have excellent schools. I enjoy Meijer as well. But there is no Meijer there but Walmart and SuperWalmart are very similar.
Last edited by RedZin; 11-26-2018 at 07:38 AM..
Reason: No realtor or broker names allowed in forum posts.
Thanks for all the suggestions. We’re perfectly happy with Harris Teeter for groceries and they seem to be all over. We can go to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Reid’s etc. occasionally.
Resale isn’t at the top of our list but always a factor.
We’ve shied away from Matthews, Mint Hill, University and eastern burbs to stay closer to lakes, rivers, USNWC. Bad decision? Matthews seemed about 20% more expensive than Fort Mill too, though we may have to cave on our budget.
And full disclosure, we’ve looked at almost every production builder anywhere near Charlotte and David Weekley and Toll Bros seem to stand out. There are a couple builders we’ve ruled out completely, but there are others we might still consider if DW and TB don’t pan out. That’s governed where we’ve looked (and not) to some extent, but we have looked at many developments.
I’d say we’re 50:50 on new builders vs resale, only because resale inventory is very limited for what we’re after. This is intended as our forever home, so we’re not willing compromise too much on what we’ll buy.
One neighborhood I might recommend taking a look at if you haven’t already is the Gates at Waterside Crossing near Denver. They have both resales and new construction. I don’t see much in the way of single-story resales but looks they do in new construction (Niblock). Looks like some may have a nice view of power lines though.
Regarding being near water, do you have a boat or plan to get one? If not, you may find that you don’t really go to the lakes/rivers that often. Might not be a bad idea to be closer to the USNWC though if you plan to go there often.
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