Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just got a promotion in my company that will be moving my family and I (including my 6 horses) from Seattle to the Triangle area (the closer to Raleigh the better). I'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect of finding a home considering the fact that I've never spent any significant amount of time in NC.
Can anyone offer words of advice for good places to look for farms (maybe beyond the MLS)? I'd like to find a place that has a decent amount of property (10+ acres and more would be nice), at least some existing fencing, a barn, and a nice home (3+ bedrooms) in the $500K general range. I'd like to be within commuting distance to Raleigh, but I don't have to be in town every day, so perhaps my idea of commuting distance is a little further out than your average commuter. I'd also like to be within an hour of an airport.
Is there much available to lease in the area? We'd love to lease something for 6 months before we buy, but recognize that may be harder than your average renter with the 6 horses (and dogs, cats, and kids) in tow.
I'm hoping that someone has some leads of some sort on farms that aren't listed on the MLS yet? Thanks in advance for your help (and I apologize if this is the eight millionth "where should I move?" post). After the research I've been doing into the area I'm really excited about the move for more than just the great career opportunity!
South of the Triangle in the Sanford/Southern Pines direction is a pretty big horse area. Where will your job be? That would be a bad commute for somewhere in the Northern part of the Triangle, but maybe not to Cary or Southern Wake.
NC State University has one of the best Vet schools in the US, and they have a large animal program--you might contact them and ask about local places that are horse-oriented (especially for SIX!). I'm sure they have their fingers on the pulse of the equine situation in this area!
The NC Horse News message board might be of help in your search. It is a very friendly board. NC Horse News Message Board (http://forum.nchorsenews.com/default.asp - broken link)
They also have a section for real estate in their classifieds. Good luck!
You will be able to find a farm and your 10 acres at your price.
Are schools an issue?
Chatham County may work for you. New Hill area and other S and SE of Pittsboro.
Would you board your horses for a short lease while you learn your way around?
Thanks for the quick replies!
Mike--Schools are an issue in that I have two small children (ages 2 and 5), but I'm guessing that if I'm relatively close to the Raleigh area the schools will be better than they are where I am now (way out in the boonies across the water from Seattle).
And yes, I'm definitely considering boarding the horses and moving into a rental/lease place while we get to know the area a little better. It would be GREAT if we could find something to buy right off of the bat, but I recognize that getting familiar with the area first is a much better idea. Even better would be finding a place to lease for 6 months that had a barn and pastures for the horses...but that's, of course, a little more complicated than just renting a house.
My job will have me spending maybe 20% of my time in Raleigh, and probably 40+% of my time flying around the SE (as far north as Missouri, down to Florida, and over to KY, Tenn, etc.), and the remaining time working out of a home office. So it's not that I need to be in Raleigh every day. But several of the people I'll be managing are based out of Raleigh, so it would make my life easier to live within a decent driving distance from them. But it's probably worth mentioning that I currently live a ferry boat ride and 45 minute drive from my daily work place now, so my commute is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours each way every day. Just about anything is better than that!
Thanks again for the responses so far. It's much harder to find legitimate horse properties (and not just 10 acre parcels with no horse infrastructure in place) than I expected!
Mike--Schools are an issue in that I have two small children (ages 2 and 5), but I'm guessing that if I'm relatively close to the Raleigh area the schools will be better than they are where I am now (way out in the boonies across the water from Seattle).
And yes, I'm definitely considering boarding the horses and moving into a rental/lease place while we get to know the area a little better. It would be GREAT if we could find something to buy right off of the bat, but I recognize that getting familiar with the area first is a much better idea. Even better would be finding a place to lease for 6 months that had a barn and pastures for the horses...but that's, of course, a little more complicated than just renting a house.
My job will have me spending maybe 20% of my time in Raleigh, and probably 40+% of my time flying around the SE (as far north as Missouri, down to Florida, and over to KY, Tenn, etc.), and the remaining time working out of a home office. So it's not that I need to be in Raleigh every day. But several of the people I'll be managing are based out of Raleigh, so it would make my life easier to live within a decent driving distance from them. But it's probably worth mentioning that I currently live a ferry boat ride and 45 minute drive from my daily work place now, so my commute is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours each way every day. Just about anything is better than that!
Thanks again for the responses so far. It's much harder to find legitimate horse properties (and not just 10 acre parcels with no horse infrastructure in place) than I expected!
Schools make it tougher.
There is some interesting inventory out there that probably works for your work and your horses, and it would be fun, but the schools are something you will have to thoroughly research.
Another approach may be to find a nice enough home with an available parcel adjoining. Tougher to search for, but not impossible.
But, I think with 6 horses, you probably need to get into the 20 acre range.
And what you seek is niche enough, you need to be here, with a workable rental arrangement and ready to pull the trigger quickly when the right place hits the market.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 12-31-2009 at 06:25 PM..
Mike gave you some good suggestions...Apex, New Hill, Moncure, Pittsboro, Siler City. Can't speak to the schools myself. May still be some opportunities to the NE of Raleigh, and up towards Wake Forest. How about S or E of Clayton? Archer's Lodge area? S. Pines has has a lot of properties up for sale lately, but would bet they're >500k. Check to the north of Durham around Rougemont. NC Horse News will give you a broad brush of horsey types in the area and may connect you with other resources.Don't often see house and farm for lease, especially for 6 horses, but might try some of the horse properties that have been on the market for extended periods. They may be in a position to lease. Board around here ranges from $200 for self care/pasture up to $350-650 for full care.Have you thought of buying land and building to suit? Not the cheapest approach, but may get you more of what you want.
We bought an acreage just outside of Creedmoor, which is 20 miles north of Raleigh. We have 25 acres and a 5,000 sq. ft. house that we bought for 400K. No outbuildings, barns or fences though, but I'm working on it.
Its a pretty nice area. Some commutes get pretty congested but I take Hwy 50 south out of Creedmoor down to Raleigh to I-540. Its a pretty easy drive. It's only about 40-45 minutes to the airport, again a very easy drive. There are some boardings barns north of Raleigh. We're also pretty close to Wake Forest. I'm only about 40 minutes to RTP too.
If your work at home involves the internet, be sure to check availability of reliable, high speed connection. I read in another thread that Chatham County is way behind.
Chatham County has Embarq in areas, and I use MiFi from my cell phone carrier to run the business through. It ain't T1, but it works!
There's always Road Run through Time Warner Cable.
Internet access isn't the problem it used to be.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
