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We looked at a home at the front of this development yesterday; I guess it was Phase I? It was beautiful, but we don't know much about the area. The realtor took us there based on where I'll be working and the best location for a shorter commute. We're going to explore some today and see if we like the development and the surrounding area. One of the concerns we had was that the sale price was $50K below the tax value. Where we come from (NY), tax value is meaningless to a great degree, but that seems not to be the case in NC. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. We thought that perhaps something was wrong with the house and the realtor is doing that research for us now, but what I found more concerning is that the sale price seems to be well below what the current owners paid for it. Are homes in this subdivision losing value? I've been looking for information here on City-Data, but much of it is quite old and may not be useful. Some of what I read mentioned an ineffective HOA and Board, which is concerning. I think the last mention of this was 2012 or 2013, but lots can change in a year or two and then again it could change not one iota. Feel free to DM me if it's something you'd rather not discuss publicly.
Another question, what are the schools like? We have one in high school and one in grade school. Both kids are very bright and definitely college-bound, so we want to make sure they're getting a quality education and we'd rather not do private school. If we're already paying taxes for local schools, I feel like that's where they should go, but if the quality is poor, I'll need to find alternatives. The information given to use by the realtor lists the elementary schools as Spring Valley and Holt; the middle school is Neal; and the high school is Southern. Any information on these would be most appreciated.
FYI, Durham was my first choice of locations, over Cary and Holly Springs, which were shoved down our throats in previous home searches, a few years ago. I'm not dissuaded by the bad press and have heard great things from former and current Durham residents. I just want to make sure that the neighborhood suits us. We really want a quiet, family-friendly community where we can settle in for awhile. Thanks in advance for any advice, direction you can offer.
Only thing I can tell you about is the general are. I bought a new construction tract home in the last phase of a development a couple of miles from you off Fletchers Chapel Rd. The area is nice and quiet and convenient to everything.
I personally believe that most of the anxiety about Durham schools is nonsense and based on certain... reasons... but I grew up here and had good experiences. If I had children and were raising them here, I would rather send them to Durham schools than Wake or Chapel Hill. That's just me. I feel a lot of the 'better schools' are pressure-cooker environments for children and they often tend to overlook certain students. I think it's unhealthy.
But I would not bring a child from out of state and put him in Southern. Depending on your background it will be a very, very different environment than y'all might be used to.
Generally the public perception for Durham High Schools is:
DSA
Riverside
Jordan
Northern
Hillside
Southern
Some folks might have Riverside/Jordan switched and some might have Hillside/Southern switched as well, but generally it goes like that.
I went to Northern FWIW and I would have no issue sending my children to either Hillside or Southern. But that's if I was to raise them here in Durham - bringing them from out of state is a different issue.
Thanks for the feedback. By everything, do you mean shopping and such?
Yeah. The area feels country at least to me coming from what could be considered sub rural Central NJ but you won't have to drive too far for anything. There's a Food Lion up the block from you and a new Harris Teeter a few miles up 98 heading towards Wake Forest.
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