Hedingham / Mingo Creek vs Lake Royale

[NovaTen]

I would look more around Falls of Neuse area- like Alyson Pond or Durant Trails. Hedingham has many issues with the builders and takes a long time to resell. Plus it's a much bigger community and the pool is always packed not liked Alyson Pond or Durant - great communities with smaller number of families in them- not as much traffic etc. Plus the schools around that area are great!
I recommend trying the drives during the time you would be driving it to work and see how long the drive is not on a Saturday or Sunday.

[weluvwakeforest]

I agree with VickieR - she wrote -

"I'll agree with NRG on Hedingham and Mingo Creek. Hedingham started out as a very nice neighborhood with golf. When the developers built the townhouse section, they kept pushing more and more in a small space. It makes the area look crowded and with so many cars crowded into a small area, it just doesn't have a good feel. There are some areas with larger houses that still have a very nice "feel" but you'll have to check them out for yourself."

The developer (Fred Smith) built a townhouse section vs. the estate type homes he promised.. and he built wayy to many in a small space.

The surrounding neighborhoods leave a lot to be desired. The Walmart is just plain nasty. It's a shame, it was a great starter home community in the late 80's.....

[ameji2001]

I felt the same way about Mingo Creek. I rode through there last week and felt a weird, odd feeling. The entire neighborhood was deserted, yet there were some cars and obvious people living there. I got out as quick as i could.

Originally Posted by wife&mama

Just a note about Mingo Creek - the pool and clubhouse were under construction all spring/summer 2007. Definitely explains why no one was there over the summer. We now have a nice, new athletic center in the clubhouse and I think there were a few updates to the pool. Even so, I actually prefer the pool complex at Riverwood, which we have access to and it's jst 10 minutes down the road. The Mingo Creek pool is very basic - fine if you're just looking to do some laps - and there's a shallow area for the little ones. But Riverwood has more for the kids to do. All in all, the amenities (particularly, having access to all the Fred Smith communities) are very nice.

Mingo Creek is a pretty quiet neighborhood. We live in the townhome section and it's VERY quiet. We're one of a few homes with kids. Seems like most of the townhome occupants are young, single folks or young, married, no kids.

Commute: The commute from Mingo Creek to N Raleigh is very convenient. My husband actually works in RTP, and commutes via I-540. I don't travel during rush hour, but I can get to Falls of Neuse Rd during the day in about 15 minutes.

Crime Rates: statistics say that Knightdale's crime rate is about the same as the US average and the NC average. My personal experience is that I feel safe here, in the city and in the neighborhood.

Resale values: we just moved here about 8 months ago, so I'm not entirely sure. However, there is a new phase of townhomes being built right now - they will be exactly like ours (which was built in 2006) and will sell for about 10% more. I'm happy with that. I have heard that real estate in this area will increase in value significantly in coming years due to the opening of I-540 which gives Knightdale easy access to Raleigh and RTP. Hopefully that will be true... it seems reasonable.

Schools: We homeschool, so I really haven't looked into the school situation at all. Perhaps someone with more info can chime in on this topic. Hodge Road Elementary (K-5; year round) is located at the entrance to the neighborhood. I have a friend who's kindergartener attends there and so far, they are pleased.

I'm not sure what sort of commute you're used to, but Lake Royale is OUT there... it would probably take you an hour to get to Falls of Neuse Rd. When we were looking for homes last spring, we were tempted by Lake Royale. It seems like a lovely place, but every time I mapped out the commute, I cringed.

Hope this helps some. Good luck with your search!

[hedinghamres007]

Having lived in Hedingham now for some years, its a lovely place to call home! You can find out all the information you need on Hedingham at:

[url=http://www.hedingham.org]The ONLY Official Hedingham HOA Sponsored and Authorized Website[/url]

Yes, there are some ups & downs (what place doesn't) but I feel that the pros greatly outweigh the cons.

[skiwert]

I live in Lake Royale and it is indeed waaaay out here. That is the only thing that I really dislike about it. It probably wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to drive two lane roads to get anywhere. It is definitely NOT convenient. My husband works in Raleigh on Six Forks Road and I work in Durham so we are living in our cars at this point.

But on the bright side, the neighborhood is very very quiet and very well taken care of - I am really impressed with their police force, amenities etc. Just wish it was about 15 miles closer to Raleigh.

[coltank]

Have you checked out the new community in Wendell called Edgemont Landing. That neighborhood has lots of amenities and you can build on a pond I hear. You can jump on 264 bypass and to 540 over to Falls in no time. You should check it out I hear really great things about it and not the other 2 you mentioned.