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Update: We went looking for property in Raeford, and it'll run us $300K - $500K for new construction. There are a lot of subdivisions popping up still. It's a strange sight to see when there are 6 homes worth over $350K - $450K sitting in front of "normal" American homes in the $180K-$190K range (considering there's literally nothing in Raeford compared to Holly Springs, Cary, etc.
The cheaper lots with up to 20 acres are located in areas where we would never think to buy due to the lower median household income. It would just be painting a target on our family if we build a big house surrounded by families who don't have high six-figure incomes.
We're being offered a lot of incentives to buy up land and build by developers as I think Hoke County tax assessments are unusually high for a lot of the areas we looked at (according to our realtor). The Realtor thinks the city is slowly gentrifying the county by annually raising taxes under its economic development plans.
We talked to a few major developers and look at the builds they're doing, not sure how people in the city can afford what they're putting up. The lowest starting price for new construction was around $220Ks we saw.
We looked in Pinehurst, Southern Pines, and Aberdeen again by increasing our budget to the top end. We found one home that would require us to bring money to the table as it was in the $800K range, and had about 5 acres, but the home needed a lot of renovations (in our opinion).
We looked in Fayetteville off All American, nice suburbs but no land. We looked at Hope Mills, but got nervous due to the water contamination scares upstream from Cape Fear River area. So we went back to Raeford and may decide to buy the 60 acres closer to the city of Raeford for about $600K-$700K. Who knows...our realtor says a developer may buy it up and put up a Turnberry/Bedford style subdivision of mid $300K homes once they fill up inventory. Right now, a lot of the land has been purchased already and developers are sitting on subdivision plans but are willing to sell 5-6 acre parcels with HOA or restrictions (except easement if that applies for the tract we want).
Over the weekend, there were a few shootings in or near Raeford. At this point, being a gun-owning family, and given it 2022, we didn't think much of it since that's just life in the US.
Speaking of which, what's people's perspective on Hoke County Sheriffs? We're conservatives but haven't heard anything bad about anyone being soft on crime.
Update: We went looking for property in Raeford, and it'll run us $300K - $500K for new construction. There are a lot of subdivisions popping up still. It's a strange sight to see when there are 6 homes worth over $350K - $450K sitting in front of "normal" American homes in the $180K-$190K range (considering there's literally nothing in Raeford compared to Holly Springs, Cary, etc.
The cheaper lots with up to 20 acres are located in areas where we would never think to buy due to the lower median household income. It would just be painting a target on our family if we build a big house surrounded by families who don't have high six-figure incomes.
We're being offered a lot of incentives to buy up land and build by developers as I think Hoke County tax assessments are unusually high for a lot of the areas we looked at (according to our realtor). The Realtor thinks the city is slowly gentrifying the county by annually raising taxes under its economic development plans.
We talked to a few major developers and look at the builds they're doing, not sure how people in the city can afford what they're putting up. The lowest starting price for new construction was around $220Ks we saw.
We looked in Pinehurst, Southern Pines, and Aberdeen again by increasing our budget to the top end. We found one home that would require us to bring money to the table as it was in the $800K range, and had about 5 acres, but the home needed a lot of renovations (in our opinion).
We looked in Fayetteville off All American, nice suburbs but no land. We looked at Hope Mills, but got nervous due to the water contamination scares upstream from Cape Fear River area. So we went back to Raeford and may decide to buy the 60 acres closer to the city of Raeford for about $600K-$700K. Who knows...our realtor says a developer may buy it up and put up a Turnberry/Bedford style subdivision of mid $300K homes once they fill up inventory. Right now, a lot of the land has been purchased already and developers are sitting on subdivision plans but are willing to sell 5-6 acre parcels with HOA or restrictions (except easement if that applies for the tract we want).
Over the weekend, there were a few shootings in or near Raeford. At this point, being a gun-owning family, and given it 2022, we didn't think much of it since that's just life in the US.
Speaking of which, what's people's perspective on Hoke County Sheriffs? We're conservatives but haven't heard anything bad about anyone being soft on crime.
So do you have to be on-site at your job 5 days a week, and it's in Fayetteville? I just want to recommend other areas to you again, even if it's just Sanford or Lillington or something. I just do not think you and the fam will be happy in Raeford, because nobody is happy in Raeford. As for the shootings, sure it's America and gun violence reigns, but IME in small towns of a similar size in Arkansas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California small towns have next to no gun violence and if they do, it's a huge deal that the town will talk about for years...so for it to be considered normal in Raeford is a sign in and of itself. It's not a nice place.
So do you have to be on-site at your job 5 days a week, and it's in Fayetteville? I just want to recommend other areas to you again, even if it's just Sanford or Lillington or something. I just do not think you and the fam will be happy in Raeford, because nobody is happy in Raeford. As for the shootings, sure it's America and gun violence reigns, but IME in small towns of a similar size in Arkansas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California small towns have next to no gun violence and if they do, it's a huge deal that the town will talk about for years...so for it to be considered normal in Raeford is a sign in and of itself. It's not a nice place.
Yeah, it's on-site 5-days a week in Fayetteville (sometimes on Ft Bragg); it's a clearance role. We didn't find anything with a lot of acres in our price range in Lillington. We're surprised to see an old farmstyle house in Sanford listed at $1.1M which is ludicrious
Yeah, it's on-site 5-days a week in Fayetteville (sometimes on Ft Bragg); it's a clearance role. We didn't find anything with a lot of acres in our price range in Lillington. We're surprised to see an old farmstyle house in Sanford listed at $1.1M which is ludicrious
Why not consider renting a house within Hope Mills or a good area of Fayetteville so you can commute easily. Then buy your land with long term plans to build later.
One possible place for later is 9.5 acres in Vass with an old house, listing for just under $400K. The house is livable but needs modernizing.
Sanford is becoming more of a suburb of Raleigh, so the million dollar house is not so surprising.
Last edited by goldenage1; 08-09-2022 at 07:11 AM..
We retired in Raeford from WA state and are enjoying it. We have a little over an acre, quiet neighbors and are within reasonable driving distance of larger cities without having to live in the noise and congestion. Hoke county taxes are lower than Cumberland county (Fayetteville) and the area is less likely to flood than Vass. The flood maps and previous hurricane areas are what we looked at carefully as well as where we could buy without being in an HOA. You also have to look at CC&Rs carefully. One property we really liked was not in an HOA but a subdivision that was going to be assessed for dam repairs from damage done by hurricane Matthew that was going to run $20,000+ per property. I do admit that you have limited reataurant choices unless you are willing to drive 30 minutes or more. We hear of more crime in Fayetteville than Raeford. Also as far as our personal research went we wanted to avoid having to use Duke Energy as our utility provider. It depends on how quiet a lifestyle you want and whether or not schools are an issue.
Raeford… sheeeesh… God bless. Make the best of it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Southern Retirement stated it well… if you just want nice piece of land to live a simple lifestyle, riding out the rest of your years in a well constructed home that unfortunately will be surrounded by a pretty drab, uninspired landscape, then have at it.
But that might not matter much as Southern said if the availability of solid schools, potential resell value, readily available outside entertainment arent dealbreakers for you .
I will say it’s some good people there, but my business dealings in Raeford always created this downtrodden feeling within me… and I was just passing through. Smh.
We retired in Raeford from WA state and are enjoying it. We have a little over an acre, quiet neighbors and are within reasonable driving distance of larger cities without having to live in the noise and congestion. Hoke county taxes are lower than Cumberland county (Fayetteville) and the area is less likely to flood than Vass. The flood maps and previous hurricane areas are what we looked at carefully as well as where we could buy without being in an HOA. You also have to look at CC&Rs carefully. One property we really liked was not in an HOA but a subdivision that was going to be assessed for dam repairs from damage done by hurricane Matthew that was going to run $20,000+ per property. I do admit that you have limited reataurant choices unless you are willing to drive 30 minutes or more. We hear of more crime in Fayetteville than Raeford. Also as far as our personal research went we wanted to avoid having to use Duke Energy as our utility provider. It depends on how quiet a lifestyle you want and whether or not schools are an issue.
Yeah we saw the flood maps on Hoke GIS website. After driving out to different rural areas, we ultimately decided on Raeford.
It was a tough call between Sanford and Raeford but noticed Raeford has a lot commercial development going on. Most of the land is bought up by developers or firms. The low cost of living and low taxes (at least right now) we’re the deal breakers. Although, our kids will be going to private school in Fayetteville as Hoke needs to get their priorities together.
While I prefer conservative counties, I think Hoke’s alright. Since we saved some money on the loan, we might wait to buy some more land in Sanford for camping and target shooting.
Also has anyone noticed Raeford Walmart has flying drones for air delivery? Didn’t expect to see that in a small town. Times change
Raeford… sheeeesh… God bless. Make the best of it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Southern Retirement stated it well… if you just want nice piece of land to live a simple lifestyle, riding out the rest of your years in a well constructed home that unfortunately will be surrounded by a pretty drab, uninspired landscape, then have at it.
But that might not matter much as Southern said if the availability of solid schools, potential resell value, readily available outside entertainment arent dealbreakers for you .
I will say it’s some good people there, but my business dealings in Raeford always created this downtrodden feeling within me… and I was just passing through. Smh.
If Raeford was tucked next to a mountain, for better views, I probably couldn’t afford it. But you’re right, unless you have land and some landscape on your property, once you drive off the lot, you’re in one of those “drive through towns” that you stop at when you’re on a long road trip on a highway
Why not consider renting a house within Hope Mills or a good area of Fayetteville so you can commute easily. Then buy your land with long term plans to build later.
One possible place for later is 9.5 acres in Vass with an old house, listing for just under $400K. The house is livable but needs modernizing.
Sanford is becoming more of a suburb of Raleigh, so the million dollar house is not so surprising.
Some folks offering to rent their homes are military and charging outrageous prices because they can afford to do it. So we passed.
We looked at Hope Mills but got scared of the water pollution news stories about Cape Fear and Ft Bragg shenanigans.
We saved a few lots on Zillow one was in Vass. It was a huge undeveloped lot with potential but it was out there in no man’s land , never thought I’d say a place was that far out or at least felt that remote. Probably because the lot was undeveloped with no access to utilities, water, or sewer. Id have to dig and hope for a well and see costs on getting connected for utilities. Septic wouldn’t be an issue. Also considered getting solar panels and multiple solar banks to store excess energy to be completely off grid and run Starlink, but after seeing the total estimate , I laughed my ass back to Raeford
We retired in Raeford from WA state and are enjoying it. We have a little over an acre, quiet neighbors and are within reasonable driving distance of larger cities without having to live in the noise and congestion. Hoke county taxes are lower than Cumberland county (Fayetteville) and the area is less likely to flood than Vass. The flood maps and previous hurricane areas are what we looked at carefully as well as where we could buy without being in an HOA. You also have to look at CC&Rs carefully. One property we really liked was not in an HOA but a subdivision that was going to be assessed for dam repairs from damage done by hurricane Matthew that was going to run $20,000+ per property. I do admit that you have limited reataurant choices unless you are willing to drive 30 minutes or more. We hear of more crime in Fayetteville than Raeford. Also as far as our personal research went we wanted to avoid having to use Duke Energy as our utility provider. It depends on how quiet a lifestyle you want and whether or not schools are an issue.
I might possibly be relocating from Oregon to NC for a job. Any opinions on Raeford vs Hope Mills?
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