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Hello there, I've been browsing the coastal NC boards for a while now. A bit of back-round, my family and I are currently living in a suburb close to Pittsburgh, Pa. My husband is a private contractor and does home renovations, painting, landscaping. I'm a stay at home mom to twin girls, But I do babysit occasionally to generate some income. When my girls are in school full-time, I plan on going back to work as well.
We want to sell our house within the next 4-5 years and are in the process of fixing our home to sell, at most our home is worth would be 150,000. Do to location and size. I've researched foreclosure and short sales as well in the Hampstead area which I love, and most and all are comparable to the housing market where I currently live. My questions are, though since I don't know the area completely as I've only visited relatives a few times, What neighborhoods would be best for a young family? I'm looking for walking/biking ability, close to schools, grocery stores, and a short distance from a swimmable beach. (When I say short distance, I'm talking a few miles, with a sidewalk I can walk/bike to?) Is this at all reasonable for the area in which I'm seeking? I'm not necessarily stuck on the idea of Hampstead, And i'm looking for locals opinions on what would be best. For what my husband does, Is this also reasonable to think he'll find good paying work in this field?
To help with the move, we also have family members in the Surf City, area so it's not as we know no one. Also some of our other family reside in central NC, and also SC.
My other question is, do you think a family with young kids would do well in a condo type setting closer to the beach and amenities? Or is that completely out of our price range?
What are HOA fees like? Killer or comparable to regular rent?
We currently pay around 600 dollars a month for all bills in our home. The school tax here is near 2,000 a year and it is KILLER. Are there any secret lingering taxes and or insurance things I should be aware of? Any advice would be great. Thanks for taking your time to read this! ( I have so many other questions so anything I didn't cover that you can think of please feel free to mention)
(We are not freeloaders and work hard for the little we have, and just basically want to relocate to a friendlier environment with a lot more outdoor opp for us for such an active family.)
I am most familiar with Surf City, so I will answer from that perspective.
1. There are some sidewalks in Surf City and Hampstead. I am not sure you can bicycle safely however, as there are discontinuities in the sidewalks.
2. There are 3-bedroom condos at the Surf City Gateway for $148.5 to $155K. It is a couple miles from the beach and I think it is reasonably priced. I think there is a pool and a playground.I have no information on condo fees. It is across from shopping: pharmacy, food store and Walmart. However, you could also find townhouses and single family houses for about the same price.
3. The homeowner's insurance including wind and hail coverage will probably be more than your property taxes. In Onslow County, we pay about $2300 for homeowners and about $1900 property taxes on a house worth about $300,000.
4. I think a skilled, motivated contractor can find work, but perhaps not as well paid as in Pittsburgh. Many people need screened porches built, for example.
5. For small SFH's, check the Neighborhoods of Holly Ridge, Sages' Ridge, Dogwood Lakes, etc. These have cul-de-sac streets that should be safe for small kids.
Last edited by goldenage1; 07-02-2014 at 05:42 PM..
I'd say move a little closer to where things are going on and find a smaller 3 bedroom patio home in the Ogden area. That way you're close to everything but you can still find a nice little house for 150K or less.
I am also only really with the Surf City area, seems to be a very nice area. If we could swing the price that would be my preference!
Thanks so much for that neighborhood advice, I'll be checking real-estate listings in those mentioned areas!
eoddom:
I've looked into the Ogden area, but don't know much about it. Definitely an area I'll explore further though. Just from browsing it on mapquest/and google maps I do find it a bit too close to the city, bodies anyways, and seeing it isn't too far from where we're looking (Hampstead) husband would be able to travel to this location and the surrounding. Do you think Ogden is better price wise in comparison? Taxes, hoas and the like? Thanks for taking the time to read my post!
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