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This site is a great resource and I'm very happy to have found it.
My wife and I are considering moving to Wake and Durham County. We are both 36 and we have 2 infants and a 3 year old. Some of the reasons for wanting to move are to escape the high cost of living in NJ, to give our children more opportunities than we can afford to give them here and to live in a slower, more relaxed and cleaner environment. I've been self employed for 12+ years and it's more than likely that I would start another business and continue to be self employed regardless of where we move to. My wife has about 18 years experience working in a library and would love to continue working in one. I've started to make a list of things we want/need and things we don't want. I'm hoping some of you can lead me to the areas in Wake or Durham County that would suit us best.
House needs minimum of 2,000sf, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, separate dining room, 2 car garage and gas utilities. 4 bedrooms would be better. We're in NJ where nearly everyone has a basement and we're used to using that space for storage. Since basements aren't common in NC we're thinking a 2 car garage would give us the storage space we'll need.
Prefer a house that's less than 10 years old and under $200k
We'd like to have 1+ acres of property, enough space for a little privacy from the neighbors and space for the kids to play but not so much that I need to spend an entire weekend maintaining it. I would like to have enough land to be able to build a separate workshop for myself.
We don't want to live in HOA community.
A good hospital should be less than 30 minutes away.
Local public elementary school with full day kindergarten. We'd like our community to offer sports and activities that the kids can participate in.
We don't want to be under flight paths to/from the airport. We're not far from Newark airport right now. We've heard enough.
We'd like to be close enough to retail shopping that everything we typically need to buy (food, clothes, toys, haircuts, pharmacy, etc...) wouldn't be more than 20 minutes away.
It's hard to imagine an area with as much traffic congestion as we have in north/central NJ but if there are any areas considered to be congested I'd like to avoid them.
Municipal taxes for an average home where we live now are $5k to $7k per year. We currently pay $5,100 per year. I've read taxes are anywhere from $1k to $3k per year in Wake County. Is this true? Is one town a better value than another?
City water and sewer are preferred to well water and septic.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I'd truly appreciate any thoughts, advice or questions you all can help me with. Thanks!
The only problem is your price point. There are still a few areas of wake county where you can get a newer 2000 square foot house on an acre +; but definitely not for under $200k; you are about 10 years too late for that. Kindergartens in NC are all full-day so that wouldn't be a problem. Most neighborhoods have HOA's, its just a fact of life. Some people prefer them, others don't; depends on what kinds of things they regulate. Just be aware that your kids will most likely get reassigned at least once during elementary school to a different elementary school; it's something that goes along with the growth in a county-wide school system; there are literally dozens upon dozens of threads discussing this topic
Last edited by just_sayin'; 02-20-2010 at 10:25 PM..
Agreed with the above. Your price point expectations is way low, especially considering your preferred lot size. I'd say that's your biggest obstacle. You can find cookie cutter homes that basically meet your description and price but they are going to be on tiny lots. There's a misconception that there are acre lots floating around all over the place. That's much more the rare exception than the rule in Wake or Durham Counties. But, if you are willing to live way out of town, you might do better.
Keep in mind that property taxes are lower down here but gas, alchohol, food, and sales taxes are higher. Oh, and they tax everything, and I do mean everything(just about).
This site is a great resource and I'm very happy to have found it.
My wife and I are considering moving to Wake and Durham County. We are both 36 and we have 2 infants and a 3 year old. Some of the reasons for wanting to move are to escape the high cost of living in NJ, to give our children more opportunities than we can afford to give them here and to live in a slower, more relaxed and cleaner environment. I've been self employed for 12+ years and it's more than likely that I would start another business and continue to be self employed regardless of where we move to. My wife has about 18 years experience working in a library and would love to continue working in one. I've started to make a list of things we want/need and things we don't want. I'm hoping some of you can lead me to the areas in Wake or Durham County that would suit us best.
House needs minimum of 2,000sf, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, separate dining room, 2 car garage and gas utilities. 4 bedrooms would be better. We're in NJ where nearly everyone has a basement and we're used to using that space for storage. Since basements aren't common in NC we're thinking a 2 car garage would give us the storage space we'll need.
Prefer a house that's less than 10 years old and under $200k
We'd like to have 1+ acres of property, enough space for a little privacy from the neighbors and space for the kids to play but not so much that I need to spend an entire weekend maintaining it. I would like to have enough land to be able to build a separate workshop for myself.
We don't want to live in HOA community.
A good hospital should be less than 30 minutes away.
Local public elementary school with full day kindergarten. We'd like our community to offer sports and activities that the kids can participate in.
We don't want to be under flight paths to/from the airport. We're not far from Newark airport right now. We've heard enough.
We'd like to be close enough to retail shopping that everything we typically need to buy (food, clothes, toys, haircuts, pharmacy, etc...) wouldn't be more than 20 minutes away.
It's hard to imagine an area with as much traffic congestion as we have in north/central NJ but if there are any areas considered to be congested I'd like to avoid them.
Municipal taxes for an average home where we live now are $5k to $7k per year. We currently pay $5,100 per year. I've read taxes are anywhere from $1k to $3k per year in Wake County. Is this true? Is one town a better value than another?
City water and sewer are preferred to well water and septic.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I'd truly appreciate any thoughts, advice or questions you all can help me with. Thanks!
I'm a fellow NJ transplant ( been here 5 years ) so I'll add my 2 cents
As others have mentioned... the 1 acre lots do not exist any more in that price point. I know right outside of Wake County you MIGHT find something but bear in mind you will be far removed from many amenities. Not sure what size lot you have now...but to offer a little insight. My sister in law lives in Flemington. They bought a house on an 1.50 of an acre. Let me tell you it takes my brother in law a good 5 hours to mow and take care of that yard. No joke! AND that is with his sit down mower which is an added cost of another 1K! We live on .25 of an acre and you get the lawn done in about an hour. Front and back..lol. We are not right on top of the neighbors either. You will see some that are only a few feet from each other but some want the zero lot...nothing to take care of. Just some food for thought regarding the size. For your kids age, take a look at the neighborhoods like ours. Meaning you have lots of families, kids playing outside, people walking their dogs etc. HOA's here are everywhere for the age home you want. The older neighborhoods where the homes are 30+ years you will have no HOA. They are not the evil entity people may think they are. Some are more restrictive than others but it helps with people who think they would like to slap up a chain link fence, park my car on the lawn or have purple shutters...ok I'm may be speaking in extremes but you get the idea. There are homes here and there that have basements. Our neighborhood actually has some and the homes here are under $230k. The best thing to do it make a few trips and drive around. You need to see all the areas for yourself. We did that and I also suggest you rent for the first year. Then take your time on what area suits your needs. House prices, property tax and car insurance ARE less than NJ for sure. But as others stated...everything else is the same. You also have a personal property tax. You pay it every year based on the current value of your cars, boats, etc..Can't recall what ours was.
There is traffic and yes it is more than what they had 10 years ago but my commute is a dream compared to the NJ turpike!
The home you seek is not common, as others have noted.
You can find a home with over an acre, fitting your description, but it will generally be a "waste" lot.
I.e., it will be a flood plain or may just have a stream on it that prevented the developer from subdividing it, or have power lines etc. But, that large lot will likely be in a neighborhood of smaller lots.
If something that fits your description comes to market, you need to be in a position to buy it right away, as there is little inventory.
That does not fit well with a 2 to 3 year relo window.
Agree with all these posts. Bear in mind it get so hot here, the grass grows quickly, so do the weeds. You will be spending hrs per wk on a 1 acre lot. The downside here to being on the kind of lot you mentioned, you will likely be somewhere where there are no sidewalks or maybe not even a place to walk, kids to ride bikes. Do you want to be shuttling them around everytime they want to ride their bike or play with friends? You might a house you are looking for in what I call a country subdiv. where there are a few to maybe 30 or so homes all on big lots. But for that price, it will be hard. Plus you will be on well, septic and propane. I think you should budget $250k and hope to find one around Clayton, Wendell. If you find one in another area it will be an older home.
I wanted a house on land like you are talking about but quickly realized that my daughter wouldn't hve her friends dropping by the house to play, inpromptu kid play in the street, she'd be more isolated.
Taxes, I have a friend whose house is tax values at $177k, the taxes are $1,628.
I think some law went into effect in the 1980's that all new subdivisions had to have HOAs. (I tried looking for the law, can't find it.) The law was passed to enable the government to charge HOAs for improvements made in the neighborhood that didn't fall under normal tax-paid improvements.
So if you want to be in a subdivision (which is good if you have kids), and you want a newer home, you'll most likely have an HOA.
If you don't want an HOA, then you need to concentrate on subdivisions built in the 70's, 60's, and earlier.
We came down here thinking we wanted an acre. We had trouble finding anything and our price point was quite a bit higher. Maybe a half acre would fit your needs? You will still have trouble finding it but it might be possible.
I think the closest you might find to what you want in Wake County would be Willow Springs. It's not the prettiest area but does fit most of your criteria. You could also look at Youngsville, close to Wake Forest, but just outside Wake County in Franklin County.
P.S. Don't get turned off by HOAs, they are not that bad. Just go in with eyes wide open and you won't be one of those "I can't believe the HOA is doing this to me" people.
This site is a great resource and I'm very happy to have found it.
My wife and I are considering moving to Wake and Durham County. We are both 36 and we have 2 infants and a 3 year old. Some of the reasons for wanting to move are to escape the high cost of living in NJ, to give our children more opportunities than we can afford to give them here and to live in a slower, more relaxed and cleaner environment. I've been self employed for 12+ years and it's more than likely that I would start another business and continue to be self employed regardless of where we move to. My wife has about 18 years experience working in a library and would love to continue working in one. I've started to make a list of things we want/need and things we don't want. I'm hoping some of you can lead me to the areas in Wake or Durham County that would suit us best.
House needs minimum of 2,000sf, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, separate dining room, 2 car garage and gas utilities. 4 bedrooms would be better. We're in NJ where nearly everyone has a basement and we're used to using that space for storage. Since basements aren't common in NC we're thinking a 2 car garage would give us the storage space we'll need.
Prefer a house that's less than 10 years old and under $200k
We'd like to have 1+ acres of property, enough space for a little privacy from the neighbors and space for the kids to play but not so much that I need to spend an entire weekend maintaining it. I would like to have enough land to be able to build a separate workshop for myself.
We don't want to live in HOA community.
A good hospital should be less than 30 minutes away.
Local public elementary school with full day kindergarten. We'd like our community to offer sports and activities that the kids can participate in.
We don't want to be under flight paths to/from the airport. We're not far from Newark airport right now. We've heard enough.
We'd like to be close enough to retail shopping that everything we typically need to buy (food, clothes, toys, haircuts, pharmacy, etc...) wouldn't be more than 20 minutes away.
It's hard to imagine an area with as much traffic congestion as we have in north/central NJ but if there are any areas considered to be congested I'd like to avoid them.
Municipal taxes for an average home where we live now are $5k to $7k per year. We currently pay $5,100 per year. I've read taxes are anywhere from $1k to $3k per year in Wake County. Is this true? Is one town a better value than another?
City water and sewer are preferred to well water and septic.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I'd truly appreciate any thoughts, advice or questions you all can help me with. Thanks!
You may want to look at the counties that border Wake, and speaking from experience, the schools in Wake are more hype than substance, especially when it comes to a "local" school. We have two young boys in kindergarten and 3rd grade, and lived in Wake Co for 3+ years. My oldest attended Wakefield Elem, then was re-assigned to a new year round school that was farther away for 1st grade. After 1st we decided to move out about 10 mins further and bought in Granville Co (borders Wake Co to the north). We bought a new 3 br home for $195k on 1.2 acres, and our school (rated a 9 on great schools) is only two miles from the house. It is about 15 minutes to Wake Forest (Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, restaurants etc), and about 30 mins to downtown Raleigh or Durham, but quieter with little to no traffic. Our taxes less than $1,500 annually, we are 30 mins to RDU, but not in any flight path, however we are on a well and septic, which is pretty standard out of any city limits.
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