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Wow, that is a lot of information. Thanks a bunch guys. I will try to answer some of the questions raised.
1. I am moving to Raleigh as part of my job. I am in technical consulting/ sales/ architect role covering mid-atlantic role. One of the requirements of the job is to be located in the Mid-Atlantic area such as VA, NC, SC, or Atlanta,etc. After about over a year search we figured that Raleigh is the best place for both quality of life, affordability, (not to mention Money Mag places to live), kids school, college, warm weather, reasonably cheaper houses still. Raleigh came out on top in almost every category we were looking for. (Except came out last in air travel convenience - no big international airport and USAirways hub - I Hate USAirways). Other than that it came out on top.
2. Iminformed2 - As far as Bostonion's dont move south. Oh, well if you live here for some of these Noreasters then you would change your mind. The winter only 1/3 over and we already had about 50 inches of snow. Lousy roads, snobby drivers, bad weather, costly everything and lots of snow. Ya family kept me here for a long time but guess what it is time.
3. I am a big golfer. Guess where is better for golfing.
4. My wife is an RN. She gave me the list of cities that would be good for career and Raeligh (Duke and all) is in her top list for her career choice. Ofcourse right next to Boston but oh well.
5. JNJ - Appreciate your suggestion on renting. I was thinking along the same lines. But my concern was that as Raleigh continue to increase in price didnt want to miss the boat and buy the same house at a higher price year or so later. We did that mistake in Boston after waiting so long we upgraded the house and it is not good. But I see your point. It will be a very good idea to figure out where you want to live first than worry about house prices. Say how did you find a rental in Cary. Thru a realtor or web?
6. Iminformed2 - Thanks for the newish resale idea. I was thinking exactly the same. As a matter of fact Walden Creek is one of the sub-divisions that we looked at. Gorgeous, though we didnt look inside a specific house.
Appreciate all the comments. Keep them coming
Thanks
Andy
LOL...I live in Rochester NY! Boston weather is like NC weather compaired to here. I prefer northern winters to southern summers....but that's just me.
Alright, I will give you that. Didnt realize you are from the lake shadows. Friend of mine lives in Albany area and I hear great stories about it. My classmate lives in ottawa and he thinks I am nuts complaining about boston weather. I guess it is a relative term .
One of the reaons we chose Raleigh over Atlanta, Austin, even Charlotte is because the southern summers are not that hot, again relatively speaking .
I will second the opinion on getting a good home inspection, you would not believe what can be found on a new home. As a Realtor, I would note that most builders will not give you a discount for not bringing an agent, although many will not "allow" you to have an agent unless you present with one, or with one's name when you first visit properties. You can certainly work directly with the builder and their rep, but of course they are by law representing their interests only, not yours. I have had circumstances where I was able to get provisions that were undesirable out of contracts in new construction, get better terms, lower deposits etc. from builders. As for home sales, in December about 240 new homes sold, according the the local Home Builder's Association. Many are offering some special programs and incentives, particularly on inventory homes. However, it varies subdivision to subdivision, and some builders are not all that flexible, even now. You can, as many have noted, get a good deal on "newish" resale, as there is quite a bit available in the areas you mentioned.
Alright, I will give you that. Didnt realize you are from the lake shadows. Friend of mine lives in Albany area and I hear great stories about it. My classmate lives in ottawa and he thinks I am nuts complaining about boston weather. I guess it is a relative term .
One of the reaons we chose Raleigh over Atlanta, Austin, even Charlotte is because the southern summers are not that hot, again relatively speaking .
Andy
My wife has family that used to live in Charlotte, and I've been there a few times, can't say I'd think there's a big difference weather-wise from Raleigh, atleast not that I've noticed. As far as Walden Creek goes, yes, that would still be my top suggestion for resale homes. The nicer more expensive and homes that appear to be built better are along Walden Creek drive and in the eastern half of the subdivision.
5. JNJ - Appreciate your suggestion on renting. I was thinking along the same lines. But my concern was that as Raleigh continue to increase in price didnt want to miss the boat and buy the same house at a higher price year or so later. We did that mistake in Boston after waiting so long we upgraded the house and it is not good. But I see your point. It will be a very good idea to figure out where you want to live first than worry about house prices. Say how did you find a rental in Cary. Thru a realtor or web?
We hade the same concern, but we thought how much of a difference is 6 month going to make? You never know what the market is going to do, and housing prices are so much more stable here than back in Boston that 6 month can not show that much of a rise in prices. We only signed a 9 month lease and we can get out of it if we find a house sooner (I still need a job, but that is another story! )
I did a lot of reasearch to get this rental. I did most of it online thru apartmentrating.com and rent.com. Then we came down for a weekend and started visiting places and going on their tours. We must have visitied 5 or 6 places, because you never know what a complex is like until you drive around and see what is going on. In an odd twist, the place we ended up was not on our original list. We drove by one of the sister properies, and picked up a brochure. We didn't like the sister's prices, so we visited here and loved it.
Let me know if there is anyting else that I can help you with!
I am impresed with your research and work you have done on the area you wanted to buy. BUying a home is always a buyers choice and he/she is the only person that makes that decision. If you decide to deal with a builders agent without an agent you will get no representation. everything that is writen in the contract is designed to protect the builder and also to protect builder interest. When you buy a resale house without an agent than you need to be very educated about the paper work that is involved and have to do lot of foot work to find inspectors and attorney's. This seem not too much work but it needs lot of time. The good thing for a buyer agent is that buyer is not paying for them it the seller who pays for their dues but you get the loyalty, skill and deligent from the agent.
You also get the experience and education of an agent that can prevent lot of mishaps through the process. an agent is trained for the market he/she is in. They make sure that their principal(you) gets the best deal out there.
An agent have the knowledge of his area and the neighborhood that you choose to buy in. They can provide you with demographic information, schools and much more than you can find online because they are provided and armed with that information.
An agent also have negotiation skill that he/she aquires during his experiences while dealing with many different sinerios that you as an consumer don't have to becasue these things usually are behind the curtain sort of say.
They are trained in working with tremondous amount of paper work that comes through there desk. They know there contracts and they can explain you the contracts before you sit and sign them. If any question or any suspicious issues they can change or ask the builder to strick so it doesn't hold you responsible. They know what is safe and how to negotiate that with the builder or the seller.
The most important is their professional contacts that they can provide you to get to the closing.i.e. Mortage broker,inspectors,Attorneys that can save you money and they are realiable and won't let you hanging in the middle. An agent works as the bridge between you and the resources to get you to the closing. A good agent will explain you the HUD statement that shows all your money where and how it is getting disbursed and if there are any duplication of the cost.
Well after all that said it is your choice to make if you want to worjk with an agent or you would like to explore your own. I always say to get an agent. They don't get paid by and they will only benefit. I hope this was helpful. Good luck.
Check out Bedford at Falls River in North Raleigh. Woonderful neighborhood and convenient to shopping (grocery stossre, mall, etc.). Personally, I find that the western part of North Raleigh is growing too fast.
You've left out one other choice. . . . . . buy a house that is not in a city at all. There is an area of Wake county that is south of Raleigh and Cary, east of Apex and Holly Springs, west of Garner, and north of Fuquay Varina that is unincorporated and does not belong to any city. This map shows it pretty good:
Could you be a little more specific. I looked on the map you linked to, and others, and am clueless. Since I will be coming down in March, I'd like to check it out. Thanks.
We moved here 11 years ago from the North Shore and love it. We are retired now and have the best of both worlds, nice weather and right in the middle of the east coast. Love Cary, you don't have to drive more than 5 miles to get most anywhere you need. Houses are a little more money, but worth it. Every time we were to fly from Logan, you had to pack an overnight bag to get there in case there was an accident on Rt. 1 and you would miss your flight. Being close to the airport is a BIG plus. Would love to see more people from Boston move here, most of our friends are from Jersey and NY. Good luck with your move, any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
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What an realtor could bring to the table.
I looked on the map you linked to, and others, and am clueless. Since I will be coming down in March, I'd like to check it out. Thanks.
