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Back in March I moved up from Florida, and I have to say, what a drastic change, for the better! I'm renting in Morrisville now, enjoying cheap rent and a nice country setting. My job is going well, though I'm also stockpiling money for any unexpected troubles.
That being said, I'll be ready to buy my first house within two years. I'm starting the process early however, since it will take some preparation and planning so I can get a really good deal and have an affordable payment. I want to have that 20% down. My budget is $100k. (I'm a single male age 31).
I could afford a lot more, but I don't want a McMansion! I'm spending all my hard earned money on a home studio & gear.
I do however want a nice quiet, small, semi-country home. I would very much enjoy having a few acres of woods around me, but also be within 20-30 minutes of town.
I've been to Apex & Fuquay Varina scouting around, and it seems like those areas might be an ideal match, since they are about 30 minutes from where I currently work, and should become a little easier to reach when that leg of 540 is completed.
I've also been told I should really check out the Wake Forest/North Raleigh area. I have a bit of time, but I'll take any suggestions to help me get more familiar with different areas.
Are you finding single family homes for 100k? Our price point is just a bit above yours- $130-135k and there are some single family homes but many townhomes (which we aren't interested in). If you look at townhomes though, you will find more options. You won't get the acres of woods, but some townhomes do back up to a lake, park, etc. Just suggesting this if no SFH's come up in your search at that price.
@ucctgg, I will certainly check out the Bahama area as well, thanks!
@annesg, Yes, if you wait for the right deal and look out in the country a bit.
@benthephysicist, Animation. It's been my dream for a number of years to produce a one-man feature length animated film, which I thought was impossible until I saw people doing it. So I went to school thinking I'd be working out in Hollywood, only to find I don't like Hollywood and that I'd rather spend my free time and money doing something I truly love. Pair that up with a dayjob that doesn't suck the life out of me, and it's a great combo.
@sowk09, It looks like there are things in that range if you look at some of the suburbs...Apex and Fuquay seem to have a lot of homes in that range. They're all fairly small if you have a growing family, but can be found. Townhomes I'm not really into either, I certainly prefer a private setting. I have seen a number of "starter home" and "fixer upper" type homes for $70-$90k, which means probably a few grand over a number of years to fix up some things. There do seem to be a lot of homes in your price range in some of the slightly older developments, but again that seems to be more of a suburbs location. I honestly don't mind the drive if I can avoid 40 D:
Back in March I moved up from Florida, and I have to say, what a drastic change, for the better! I'm renting in Morrisville now, enjoying cheap rent and a nice country setting. My job is going well, though I'm also stockpiling money for any unexpected troubles.
That being said, I'll be ready to buy my first house within two years. I'm starting the process early however, since it will take some preparation and planning so I can get a really good deal and have an affordable payment. I want to have that 20% down. My budget is $100k. (I'm a single male age 31).
I could afford a lot more, but I don't want a McMansion! I'm spending all my hard earned money on a home studio & gear.
I do however want a nice quiet, small, semi-country home. I would very much enjoy having a few acres of woods around me, but also be within 20-30 minutes of town.
I've been to Apex & Fuquay Varina scouting around, and it seems like those areas might be an ideal match, since they are about 30 minutes from where I currently work, and should become a little easier to reach when that leg of 540 is completed.
hoshinokaze, just to be clear, you said you're renting in Morrisville currently, and that Apex and Fuquay-Varina would each be about 30 minutes from your workplace, so does that mean that you're working in Morrisville or the RTP area? It seems unlikely that Apex and F-V would both be roughly the same commuting distance from your job then, though, since F-V is substantially farther away from the RTP than Apex is. I'm not trying to grill you, I just want to make sure we're clear on your specific geographic criteria for your search.
Assuming you are working somewhere in the RTP vicinity, I like ucctgg's suggestion of the Bahama area (just make sure you use the local pronunciation of ba-HAY-ma, rather than the Caribbean ba-HAH-ma), although Bahama seems awfully far from Morrisville and the Park. I've never actually made that particular commute, but that would strike me as excessively long and hassly. My thought would be either the area east or northeast of Durham (between Durham and Falls Lake), such as the areas around the rural community of Gorman and east of there, or else the areas to the southwest of the RTP, around Jordan Lake. Have you looked there? If you want a woodsy feel but with a reasonable commute to the Park, and also within 20 or 30 minutes "of town," those would seem like areas worth considering. I've known a number of people who live out in both those directions, and it still gets remarkably rural-feeling very quickly as you head away from the developed parts, out towards Falls Lake and Creedmoor from Durham, and towards the Wake-Chatham County line from Cary/Morrisville. But they're still quite convenient to the RTP (more so once 540 and the Triangle Parkway are opened), and they're also relatively accessible to shopping and other amenities in Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Raleigh. Because they're not highly developed yet, there aren't a lot of typical large, suburban subdivisions in those areas currently (though they're coming), so that can make searching for housing there on the internet a little tricky. But with some digging, asking around, and canvassing the areas by car when you have a chance, I would think you might find something that would fit your criteria. Again, due to the disparate development patterns there, the housing stock ranges from grand million-dollar mansions to decrepit singlewide trailers that you could probably buy from the owners for a couple packs of cigarettes. But I know I've heard of people buying small, simple, modest, older, decent little country homes with small bits of land out that way for somewhere around $100K, especially if you're willing to venture a ways off the beaten path, though clearly if you could scrape together another $30 or $40K, your options would be much broader. Just my two cents.
@tompope: Thank you for all the information. Currently I do work in Morrisville, in a business park near the airport. I do realize that FV is a bit further away. Perhaps I should rephrase my statement, I'd like to keep the commute under 45 minutes if possible? Then again, I should probably drive down there during commute traffic sometime. I do like your suggestion of the area northeast of Durham, I have friends that live a bit further north, and I drive past that area occasionally.
I hear you on the development, I wanted to maybe try and pick up a deal before the economy recovers to the point that the big developers start building again. Somehow I think that'll be awhile, but if I still have a job two years from now that would put me in a nice position to find something decent. I am in agreement on the extra $ as well, I would *like* to be able to say my budget is $150k, but I'm just going to have to see how things pan out. Thanks for the advice, I will certainly be driving all over the place in the next year trying to get a feel for everything.
@architect77: thank you for the advice, that is an area I've not checked out yet. Looks like the other side of 40 gets rural pretty quick to the south, that could be interesting. Thanks!
100K? if you find anything other than prefab, a mobile home or a shack up north around creedmore or the forest, you've found yourself a deal. You should also think of resale value as well. maybe something falling down back off pucell road??? like I said, a shake that unless you put about 100K into it you'll never sell. think it all the way through kiddo. and google Zillow, check homes and area prices there for starters maybe???.
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