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Hey All,
There was another thread similar to this one but with questions about Belair development. I didn't want to hijack that thread, so I started a new one.
My wife and I recently moved to Ballantyne from New Jersey. Sorry if we brought the weather with us
We are currently renting while my wife finds a job at which point we will go into buying mode. We originally thought of Union County as my brother-n-law and his family live there. But with all school redistricting going on it kind of scares us. Thing is, we don't have kids, but the last thing I would want to do is buy somewhere(build new or existing) and because of local school board politics that seem to happen every couple of years, the minute we move in, the kids have been re-zoned and our property value takes a hit. Again, we don't have kids and we probably are not looking to move again once we buy, but it just seems there is so much uncertainty and overall negativity across the border in UC that we are now leaning towards Indian Land or Fort Mill. The fact that housing, property taxes(this is a big one as we are from northern Jersey) and gas are much cheaper than NC helps with that decision as well.
As I stated above, my wife has to get a job. I work from home.
Sorry about the back-story, as i tend to be a bit of a chatty Kathy, but here I will finally get to my question. Has anyone heard anything or does anyone know anyone who has bough in Carolina Reserve on Jim Wilson Road? How do they like it? We saw it last week and love it. We have always liked Lennar. We originally thought about Lawson development on Cuthbertson Road in Union County, but we could get the same house in CR for less money, less taxes and less uncertainty. Another question is, does anyone who lives in that area do the commute to Ballantyne? How about to Pineville-Mathews Rd (51)? I have a commute to my living room, but my wife will have to commute and I don't want it to be too crazy. The salesperson, who was very nice, at CR said you can get to Ballantyne in 10-15 minutes. Is that true during rush hour? Obviously as the whole area gets built up, any congestion will worsen. So a 20-25 minute commute now, might be 30-45 or more in 5 years. Again, we're from Jersey so we know all about bad commutes, bad driving and good bagels, but I don't want to buy and than as the area grows, because we are so far down on 521 for my wife to have a bad commute. We came down here to have a better lifestyle.
One other question, can anyone tell me if there is a gym around this area. We currently go to LA Fitness on 521 in Ballantyne. We don't need a gym that big, but we do need something.
I apologize for being so long winded, but that's how us Yanks are. Hopefully, I will be able to just chill a bit now that I am down here. I sincerely appreciate any input/feedback.
We are purchasing a home in Carolina Reserve, and are very excited. We will close in a few weeks. Currently, we live in Indian Land, and I work in Ballantyne. The commute is super easy. I'm originally from PA/NY, and lived in FL as well, and the traffic on 521 is nothing compared to what I had in the north or what I had in FL. Also, the clubhouse at Carolina Reserve will have a fitness room in it for resident use. If you have any other questions, let me know!
It takes me at least 15 - 20 minutes to get from Community House Rd and Ballantyne Commns Pkwy (In Ballantyne) to the intersection of 521 and 160 during rush hour so, beware of realtors that give you the non rush hour, non rain numbers.
We chose Fort Mill but did look at Carolina Reserve early on. A few things to consider before buying:
Indian Land is an unincorporated town in Lancaster Cty, which means that its at the mercy of the County when it comes to descions being made for the area. The only good schools in Lancaster County are in Indian Land (the schools are at the county level just like Union county). Beware that Carolina Reserve puts you at the far end of Indian Land, meaning that a rezoning can push you into other schools that are not IL. Hasn't happened yet but with the growth you never know -- this was a big factor for us since we have a 4 year old.
There have been some complaints from the people that live in IL that the county has been approving too many subdivisions without properly planning for them. Note the lack of left turn lanes into the subdivisions in IL, cross over to Fort Mill and its a different story. There's also complaints about many stores and businesses opening such as pawn shops and pay day loan places.
Finally traffic. My son's daycare is in IL on the corner of 160 and 521. In the evening around 5 PM traffic builds up horribly on 521 towards IL. Its at a standstill right after 160 (where Lowes is). I suggest making the drive at rush hour to see for yourself and if you can deal with the traffic. The big issue with IL is that there are very few ways in and out with 521 being pretty much the main road (not that Fort Mill is much better but there seem to be more options and back roads). I too lived in NJ and had to deal with nightmare traffic, and though here its not like there, the driving style of folks in heavy traffic here will have you wanting to pull your hair out at times.
Just giving you a perspective from someone that looked at the area a while back and the different options. The entire area is really nice so you really can't go wrong with what you choose. Its important to be aware of some of the back story in some of the areas.
I live in the subdivision across from Carolina Reserve. I work in South Park and get there in about 40 minutes. We really like the area, it is growing which is nice. We are still hoping for new restaurants and shopping…we have been waiting 3 years. I have never heard about rezoning us to different schools out of Indian Land, if they did I would move immediately. I do not think that is a concern. Overall we are happy we bought here and like the area. I go into Ballantyne all the time, you just have to buy with the mindset you have to drive to shopping and restaurants, which we did.
We moved down from NJ in 2011. We lived in Waxhaw for 2 years and moved to Carolina Reserve in April 2013. We looked into buying in Lawson (Lennar), but pulled back for reasons I rather not comment on. After several weeks of house hunting we kept drawing back to Carolina Reserve. The community is filled with people who work in Charlotte. Overall, we love the area which is not congested and close to Charlotte. Good luck!
Thanks for all the comments guys. Last weekend, my wife and I saw a few more developments and liked them as well so we are now even more confused
We feel good about Carolina Reserve, though, it will be one of our finalists. Thanks again for the feedback.
We are just starting the process of looking at developments in that area (Fort Mill or Lake Wylie)
Can you elaborate on what you saw and what you did or didn't like?
My wife and I just looked at Carolina Reserve and liked it. Can anybody that lives there comment on the build of the house?
We don't live there, but our next door neighbor moved to one of the active adult homes there and loves it. They are very happy with the house, and said that their inspector was impressed with the quality, especially the "detail" work. We looked there when they first started and liked what we saw but stayed at the 55+ instead. You might want to ask and see if the sales person would be willing to take you to something that is under construction so you can take a closer look.
we have been living in Carolina Reserve for about a month and half now. The neighbors are incredible, everyone is friendly and willing to stop and say hello and discuss whatever is on your minds. We live on the Meadows side and are very pleased. The only thing is we have found out just recently that they (Lennar) plan on building townhomes in front of our subdivision, this has been an issue with some of the residents. Then in front of the townhomes they are planning on a shopping and businesses. Across the street in back of Walgreens we have been told a "Big Box' Store has a contract on the that land, we were not told who has the contract , but we are all hoping its not Walmart!
The community is great, seems everyone enjoys being here, I know we are pleased and could not have asked for a nicer home, we were going to build in Sun City , but the escalating costs there are incredibly high for a smaller home, and then they started having you bid on your lot of choice, when they told us that, we looked at CR and were very pleased.
My husband works at SouthPark office Building and his commute is about 30-35 minutes.....its really not to horrible....really as long as you can avoid 485, I think you will be fine. Hahaha, and you said you were long winded!!
as for the build of the home, we are very pleased, so far its excellent....We have the Canton Model, in the targeted for 55+ , the kitchen is what sold us, we have a huge island and more than enough room. We are having an inspector go through our home when we have been in here for about nine months, this way if there are any major flaws we are still under warranty.
Come take a look at CR, this community will be built up fast, the prices are great for what you all get!! Nice quality and great layouts.
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Carolina Reserve
