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If you are considering buying a new home in a VERY new neighborhood, you are taking a risk that we never had to concern ourselves with, in the past.
Before our "slowdown", buying in a brand new n'hood meant that by the time the n'hood was halfway finished, you had equity in your home. By the time the n'hood was totally finished, you had even more equity in your home. Now we have to concern ourselves with...is the builder financially stable? What happens if that builder goes bankrupt (something we very seldom had happen but seems to be the "norm" nowadays. What happens if the amenities that you were "promised" never come to be?
So the question becomes...how far along is the subdivision to make it safe? If it is 75% occupied, 50% occupied or 25% occupied? And...location, location, location.
And...consider your own circumstances. If you are planning to move within 5 years, will the subdivision be built out? Will the new construction affect the sale of your home? What happens if a less expensive builder comes along?
Brighton Forest closed 32 homes from 11/08 to 11/09 at an average sale price of $350,578. There are currently 9 homes for sale in Brighton Forest. Total homes at build out in Brighton Forest is expected to be 392. There are currently 85 homeowners in Brighton Forest.
South Lakes closed 9 homes from 11/08 to 11/09 at an average sale price of $275,278. There are currently 21 homes for sale in South Lakes. This is a direct quote from an August 8, 2008 press release about South Lakes
According to WakeGov, South Lakes has closed on 13 homes since the beginning of 2009. By contrast, Brighton Forest has closed on 14 homes since the beginning of 2009. I'm not sure where you are getting your facts. Those 14 homes averaged a sale price of $306,929. There are also 43 homeowners in Brighton Forest according, again, to property tax records. The difference is not as stark as you appear to make it.
I have personal knowledge of both the M/I homes builder and plans for South Lakes along with Impact Design. Local builders are going under because banks won't give them anymore loans. National builders are largely self-sufficient and can pay for their own building. That is why M/I was brought in and they are there to build a wide-range of homes, not just the mid-$160s as you suggest. If you want an idea of the homes that they are planning to build outside of the initial 20 lots, look at Greystone in Cary.
And M/I homes is not the only builder in the neighborhood. Biltmore Homes and Impact Design are both buiders in the community and there are negotiations going on with 5-6 other builders as well.
Preservation has essentially been bought out of the community and the remaining homes it had half-built are currently being finished. In fact, several have already sold. As for Impact being sued, name me a developer/builder in the area that has not been sued since the economic downturn. It's the nature of the business. They are still a strong developer and have still continued to put an investment in South Lakes despite the struggling economy.
I don't really understand your animosity towards South Lakes. I like both Brighton Forest and South Lakes. Both are nice looking communities that are still surviving despite many economic factors working against new communities. If you think it's just these two communities that are slow, then go visit 12 Oaks or any number of communities in Knightdale area where the out-of-state developers pulled out and left.
To the original poster, my suggestion is to simply come down and visit both communities. Ask questions and visit neighbors if you want. Feel free to PM me if you want. I would not listen to someone who simply is spewing out unfounded facts and appears to have an agenda.
Actually Wake.gov supports a larger count in Brighton Forest.
It is a little interesting how they split the neighborhood sales.
That makes it hard to get a good count, but suffice to say it is much higher than 42.
Having personally lost a LARGE deposit to a builder that went belly up while building my house in 2007 I tend to want to caution others against possibly incurring the same financial damage that I have suffered.
I prefer Brighton Forest to South Lakes. I feel that my reasons are well justified. I listed them in my first post in this thread and was promptly attacked for my opinion.
I have no agenda except to advise the OP. That's why I participate here.
The 43 homes referenced above are in one of the two distinct phases in Brighton Forest. As Mr. Jaquish pointed out with his links, the other phase has 42 homeowners. 43+42=85.
Bgroesse wrote-"If you think it's just these two communities that are slow, then go visit 12 Oaks or any number of communities in Knightdale area where the out-of-state developers pulled out and left."
I don't think Brighton Forest is slow at all. I never said that.
Let's use 12 Oaks as an example. It's actually a really good one. Just like South Lakes, it is an attempt to bring expensive upscale product to a location that will not support it. Is anyone really surprised that a zero-lot-line Charleston Home for $500,000 didn't sell in the backwoods of Holly Springs with a landfill on one side and a nuclear power plant on the other? I'm not. I can buy the same product for the same money or less in Amberly or Bedford-why do I need to buy in 12 Oaks?
Any failed development in Knightdale failed because Knightdale would not support homes at the price point offered. People with 300-400K to spend on a home have no reason to live in Knightdale when in this economy they can buy in Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, or even in Northern Fuquay-Varina (in a neighborhood like Brighton Forest, for example).
I have also never disparaged M-I homes. I have nothing bad to say about them.
I will say that in my opinion M-I homes will be making a big mistake if they attempt to move the price needle upward in South Lakes. If their plan is to build homes like the ones in Greystone I think it will not be possible to price them low enough to get people to accept the location. Just like 12 Oaks, or Knightdale, to use your examples.
Bgroesse wrote "I would not listen to someone who simply is spewing out unfounded facts and appears to have an agenda."
Pardon Me?
Bgroesse-you have 9 posts in this forum. You live in South Lakes. I went and read all of your posts-nearly all of your participation in this forum is a defense of South Lakes or Impact Properties Group. Your agenda is crystal clear.
I have nearly 800 posts here on a wide variety of topics. You have 9 posts on one topic. If you choose to come here and attempt to discredit me, that's fine.
We moved to Elliott Landing 2 years ago. We are down the street from South Lakes. We searched for one year before we moved. Besides the obvious financial/investment risks before getting into a developing subdivision the most important things to consider are more lifestyle issues.
How big do you want your S/D? Ours is 82???? lots with about 10 lots left all larger than .5.
Do you want a community pool?
How far are you willing to commute?
We were big fans of brighton forest. The larger houses (straight @ the circle) were not started/completed when we were looking.
South Lakes is great but appears to have smaller lots. My only concern would be the traffic pattern with only 2 entrances with the 1000+ homes unless they plan to build another road connecting to Kennebec.
Good luck! I believe that both schools fall under FV but in Brighton some of the services are provided by Apex.
Its getting close guys , take the gloves off and let me hear the thruth. I need all the help I can get. The good and the bad, I want to make an informed decesion. Not worried about the commute to work I'm retired. Just want a peaceful quiet life with good friends. Thank You
Have you visited both neighborhoods? I've driven through and around each, and think they're different enough that you'll "know" which one suits you better with a drive through.
Personally I'd choose Brighton Forest, for all the reasons listed above - primarily that South Lakes is so new, so big and nowhere near being built out. When South Lakes first started, before the housing market slowed down so much, I would have considered it, but not at this point. I also prefer the overall location of Brighton Forest.
You may want to check the News and Observer. South Lakes had a flyer in the paper and they have a 55+ area near the pool, all the houses are ranch plans 2-3 bedrooms, $175,000. Good Luck
Any new, updated news on South Lakes? How's it coming along?
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Get your facts right
