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My daughter will be attending Charlotte University in September. My wife and I are in New York and are currently about 5 years away from retirement. We are looking for an investment townhome either on a lake or in a gated community where we could vacation and spend time visiting our daughter. Unfortuneately, the current economic conditions have made this a viable option. Is it possible to find a nice Townhome in a nice area for under $100,000? We do not want to travel more than 30 minutes to get to Charlotte. Are taxes and quality of life better in north or south Carolina? please Advise.
My daughter will be attending Charlotte University in September. My wife and I are in New York and are currently about 5 years away from retirement. We are looking for an investment townhome either on a lake or in a gated community where we could vacation and spend time visiting our daughter. Unfortuneately, the current economic conditions have made this a viable option. Is it possible to find a nice Townhome in a nice area for under $100,000? We do not want to travel more than 30 minutes to get to Charlotte. Are taxes and quality of life better in north or south Carolina? please Advise.
mildweather - The question you pose to the Charlotte forum is analogous to asking someone on the NYC forum "Gee, I'm looking to buy a 4 bedroom 3 bath apartment on W79th St and I'm willing to spend up to $250,000". You could probably imagine what the response would be like! While you might find a townhouse in Charlotte for that price, the chances are that you might have more than a few Section 8 recipients as neighbors. The probability of getting a townhome on a lake or in a gated community for that price are about as good as Eliot Spitzer getting his old job back by New Year's Eve. You might be able to get something decent for about double that, to be 30 minutes from your daughter in a gated community, but it won't be anywhere near a lake. Sorry to burst your economic bubble, but while Charlotte is a bargain compared to the Northeast, it's not that cheap!
Why not come down for a visit as soon as your daughter is in school and spend a few weeks scoping out the area. Charlotte does have a lot to offer, and is especially suitable to retired folks. I know, I'm one!
mildweather - The question you pose to the Charlotte forum is analogous to asking someone on the NYC forum "Gee, I'm looking to buy a 4 bedroom 3 bath apartment on W79th St and I'm willing to spend up to $250,000". You could probably imagine what the response would be like! While you might find a townhouse in Charlotte for that price, the chances are that you might have more than a few Section 8 recipients as neighbors. The probability of getting a townhome on a lake or in a gated community for that price are about as good as Eliot Spitzer getting his old job back by New Year's Eve. You might be able to get something decent for about double that, to be 30 minutes from your daughter in a gated community, but it won't be anywhere near a lake. Sorry to burst your economic bubble, but while Charlotte is a bargain compared to the Northeast, it's not that cheap!
Why not come down for a visit as soon as your daughter is in school and spend a few weeks scoping out the area. Charlotte does have a lot to offer, and is especially suitable to retired folks. I know, I'm one!
Em, you crack me up!!! Well said my friend, well said!
My daughter will be attending Charlotte University in September. My wife and I are in New York and are currently about 5 years away from retirement. We are looking for an investment townhome either on a lake or in a gated community where we could vacation and spend time visiting our daughter. Unfortuneately, the current economic conditions have made this a viable option. Is it possible to find a nice Townhome in a nice area for under $100,000? We do not want to travel more than 30 minutes to get to Charlotte. Are taxes and quality of life better in north or south Carolina? please Advise.
You can find cheap houses and town homes for much less than $100K. Unfortunately, these such homes in Charlotte attract low income families. Crime and unkempt properties tend to follow low income families more than average incomes so keep that in mind.
I was looking for properties under $100K also about six months ago. I fell in love with an older townhouse community just across the street from the Archdale light rail station. I can not remember the name of this community, but it sits beside an apartment community called Lake Mist. I found an end unit with an attic, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, fire place, washer/dryer connections were in an outside storage room, and 1,300 sq/ft of living space. The community was built in the 1970s and has been remodeled several times since then. The community is not the best maintained property, but the unit I desribed was going for $85,000!!! The HOA was $150 per month. I ultimately decided on a brand new townhouse near Tyvola Rd. for $130,000. I was able to get the new townhome without a down payment. I actually got $1,600 cash at closing!!!
This is a buyer's market. I would suggest that you look for something in the $120K to $150K range if you want a nice looking community. If you just want cheap, townhomes in the Hunting Ridge community on Idlewild Rd go for as cheap as $50,000 for a 2 bed/2 bath 900sq/foot unit. One bedrooms there go for $40K or less!!! This neighborhood actually looks good for it's price. This area also has a reputation for crime, but my mother used to live there and I NEVER felt unsafe at all when I visited her. She NEVER felt unsafe either. This is one of those areas of town that the news tend to ruin its reputation. Life there is not as bad as channel 9 makes it out to be.
You can find cheap houses and town homes for much less than $100K. Unfortunately, these such homes in Charlotte attract low income families. Crime and unkempt properties tend to follow low income families more than average incomes so keep that in mind.
I was looking for properties under $100K also about six months ago. I fell in love with an older townhouse community just across the street from the Archdale light rail station. I can not remember the name of this community, but it sits beside an apartment community called Lake Mist. I found an end unit with an attic, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, fire place, washer/dryer connections were in an outside storage room, and 1,300 sq/ft of living space. The community was built in the 1970s and has been remodeled several times since then. The community is not the best maintained property, but the unit I desribed was going for $85,000!!! The HOA was $150 per month. I ultimately decided on a brand new townhouse near Tyvola Rd. for $130,000. I was able to get the new townhome without a down payment. I actually got $1,600 cash at closing!!!
This is a buyer's market. I would suggest that you look for something in the $120K to $150K range if you want a nice looking community. If you just want cheap, townhomes in the Hunting Ridge community on Idlewild Rd go for as cheap as $50,000 for a 2 bed/2 bath 900sq/foot unit. One bedrooms there go for $40K or less!!! This neighborhood actually looks good for it's price. This area also has a reputation for crime, but my mother used to live there and I NEVER felt unsafe at all when I visited her. She NEVER felt unsafe either. This is one of those areas of town that the news tend to ruin its reputation. Life there is not as bad as channel 9 makes it out to be.
Good Luck with your search and Happy Holidays!!!
While this is all really good info UC, the OP wants a townhome on a lake OR in a gated community - a vacation, retirement kind of place in a nice area - none of what you have offered really fits the bill, but I do think others reading may find it helpful to them
And while I hate to disagree with you on such a nice day ( ) - there is a reason Hunting Ridge off Idlewild is so cheap - and those reasons ARE NOT exaggerated on channel 9 or any other news station.
And while I hate to disagree with you on such a nice day ( ) - there is a reason Hunting Ridge off Idlewild is so cheap - and those reasons ARE NOT exaggerated on channel 9 or any other news station.
Looking at the calls for service and reported incidents within a 1000 feet of there I would have to agree with you. Lots of drug charges, B&E and several knife/gun assaults.
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