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Hi, I'm new to this forum and have been reading some here and researching the Durham area before we go down and check out the area. My DH will be working in the RTP and Durham would be a good location for us, even Cary, but it seems a little more expensive there. We have been living in a single family home in a rural town in MA, and need a change to more of the city life with much less yard to contend with. We currently have close to an acre. We would even consider a townhome, but we are looking for four bedrooms. I love the looks of the Stone Creek Village in Cary, with their European style flair. However, they are a little expensive, and I'm sure those model homes they show are chocked full of upgrades, which would bring the prices up even more. Lots more.
My question is do you know of any communities in the Durham area that have a similar community to Stone Creek Village, or do you know of any equally nice ones that looks like something other than a box? We have a colonial now, so we are eager to find something different. Stone Creek has arched doorways, angled rooms, and just a different look from what we are used to. One thing we can't live without, however, is a decent size kitchen. We are the type of people who cook. Our children are basically grown, so we don't care about the schools, other than for resale value. We do like trees and really don't like the way they cut down all the trees when they build a community. We also would prefer to buy a pre-owned home, or at least a home that is mostly built, as we've built two homes in the past and don't like the surprises that sometimes comes with that. However, we are somewhat open in general if we find the right situation.
How much less land do you want? Most of the newer communities in Durham have homes on lots between an eighth to a third of an acre.
Will you be working and if so, where? You are right to note that Cary is more expensive for a comparable house/neighborhood as Durham. One thing to take into account is that the traffic inbound to RTP is MUCH worse going from Cary than it is coming from Durham.
You could look at zipcode 27713 if you prefer a short commute to RTP. I'm not sure of communities with European flair, but its a good location with a lot of nice subdivisions.
Thank you for the info about the commute to RTP from Cary. We are hoping to keep it under $300,000 and he will be working at EMC, which is in the northwest part of the Triangle I guess. The zip is 27709. We are open to the lot size as far as it being somewhere between an eighth and a third of an acre.
Zip codes you'll want to target are 27713, 27707, and 27703
At the 300k price point, you have several options depending on the size home you want - what size do you require other than 4 bedrooms?
The best options to the West would likely be places like Woodcroft, Auburn, Woodlake, and Hope Valley Farms...those homes should typically range from 200 to 300k for 4 bedrooms.
To the South/Southwest you can look in places like Grandale Place, Lakehurst, Fairfield, or Audubon Park.
Grandale is slightly more expensive than Grandale place and has a public pool, but both are Centex Communities. I think you'll find that the appearance of the structures in Grandale is similar to Stone Creek Village in Cary from what I saw of pics on the MLS.
To the east you have options like Ravenstone and Brightleaf - Brightleaf is where I just signed to build a house and the Standard Pacific homes in there start in the low to mid 2s I believe and go up to around 350. Ravenstone is priced lower than this.
Sneezecake, thanks so much! You've given me a lot to check out, and I will definitely do that. I do recall looking at Brightleaf online and although I don't recall the specifics right now, I know I liked it enough to take a second look. I did see some posts indicating that the area might be in question; however, you are obviously not concerned since you're buying there.
As far as size goes, we would really like something around 2400 to 2600 sq. ft. The home we had before this one was 3000, and this one is just over 2600 and we really would like just less than this really. Some of the homes we've seen in the area are much bigger when we look for a 4/2.5+ home. We would rather give up a little living space, but not in the bedrooms, if you know what I mean.
We'd like to have a fireplace, a sunroom or enclosed porch and a nice size deck too, but we don't expect to find everything we would like.
Zip codes you'll want to target are 27713, 27707, and 27703
At the 300k price point, you have several options depending on the size home you want - what size do you require other than 4 bedrooms?
The best options to the West would likely be places like Woodcroft, Auburn, Woodlake, and Hope Valley Farms...those homes should typically range from 200 to 300k for 4 bedrooms.
To the South/Southwest you can look in places like Grandale Place, Lakehurst, Fairfield, or Audubon Park.
Grandale is slightly more expensive than Grandale place and has a public pool, but both are Centex Communities. I think you'll find that the appearance of the structures in Grandale is similar to Stone Creek Village in Cary from what I saw of pics on the MLS.
To the east you have options like Ravenstone and Brightleaf - Brightleaf is where I just signed to build a house and the Standard Pacific homes in there start in the low to mid 2s I believe and go up to around 350. Ravenstone is priced lower than this.
I second Sneezecake's recommendations, especially the 27713 zip code area. This zip code will locate you very conveniently to RTP, especially where your company is located.
The Stone Creek Village homes you like are Centex Homes, so I second the recommendation to check out Grandale Place, which is an existing Centex Homes development. There are several homes available within your price range.
FYI, I tend to prefer Fonville Morisey's real estate search engine for finding homes, since you can specify subdivisions, streets, etc. If you google Fonville Morisey, I'm sure it will lead you to their web page.
Grandale Place is right off of Grandale Road, which is just a hop, skip, and jump to RTP and to EMC.
Although older than Grandale Place, Woodcroft might be an option for you as well. Check out Mrs. Steel's postings on the forum for Woodcroft information.
A lot of good resources on this forum, and there are many people very interested in helping newcomers find their way around the area. Please feel free to post additional questions, and good luck!
Calvitts, this does appear to be a very friendly and helpful forum, and I have been reading the posts here for the past few days. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thanks for the info on Fonville Morisey's search engine as well. I'll be sure to check it out.
Now since you very nice people have given me plenty to look into, I best get doing it.
Since you prefer trees, you might like some of the established neighborhoods in the area. As otheres mentioned, I live in Woodcroft and there are some homes there that might fit the bill. Another neighborhood that might work is Fairfield (you'll find both new and older homes there). There are also numerous smaller neighborhoods sprinkled around the area that you might like (Woodberry Forest comes to mind, but there are definitely others). If you can go a little over $300K, I know of some nice homes in Hope Valley Green that are on the market right now, but they could be bigger than what you're looking for.
Do a search on this forum for the various neighborhoods mentioned & you'll be sure to find more information, as well as photographs. I know that there are tons of photos of Brightleaf out there & I've posted some of Woodcroft and I'm sure there's more to be found. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Woodcroft looks nice with all the trees, and the prices seem reasonable. The neighborhood looks a lot like where we live now; in fact, there may be even more trees there. This may sound like a silly question, but do you ever have bug problems due to having trees so close to the house there?
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