Help for a first-time buyer! (Rock Hill, Anderson: for sale, renting, townhomes)

[sandchug]

Note: This is a crosspost from the Charlotte forum...I was referred here for additional help!

Hi everyone...

I'm (relatively) new here -- just moved late last year -- and am currently renting in Ballantyne while looking for a nice place to put down some more permanent roots. I've looked at a ton of houses, both new and resale, and I'm no further along than I was when I started.

Here's what I'm looking for:
- something (preferably) south of the city close to 485 or 77
- around or below 200k - 3 br/2 ba at least
- home built in this century
- reputable builder/nice neighborhood
- smallest tax hit possible
- reasonable commute to the light rail or an express bus stop (currently utilizing 61X/62X)

I should mention that I have a realtor, but I want to solicit opinions from people who actually live in these places. I like the Indian Land/521/160 area, but that seems somewhat tough to get uptown from if using a bus.

As for new developers, I've mainly looked at Centex, but I know some others in the area.

Now that I've flooded you all with information, does anyone have some suggestions for a weary first-time buyer?

Thanks so much in advance!

[BagongBuhay]

Originally Posted by sandchug

Note: This is a crosspost from the Charlotte forum...I was referred here for additional help!

Hi everyone...

I'm (relatively) new here -- just moved late last year -- and am currently renting in Ballantyne while looking for a nice place to put down some more permanent roots. I've looked at a ton of houses, both new and resale, and I'm no further along than I was when I started.

Here's what I'm looking for:
- something (preferably) south of the city close to 485 or 77
- around or below 200k - 3 br/2 ba at least
- home built in this century
- reputable builder/nice neighborhood
- smallest tax hit possible
- reasonable commute to the light rail or an express bus stop (currently utilizing 61X/62X)

I should mention that I have a realtor, but I want to solicit opinions from people who actually live in these places. I like the Indian Land/521/160 area, but that seems somewhat tough to get uptown from if using a bus.

As for new developers, I've mainly looked at Centex, but I know some others in the area.

Now that I've flooded you all with information, does anyone have some suggestions for a weary first-time buyer?

Thanks so much in advance!

Why don't you tell us which communities your realtor suggested using your criteria? That might be a good start for people to start their comments.

[sandchug]

Here's what's come up thus far:
- Knightsbridge
- Waterstone
- Legacy Park
- Jones Branch
- Sandy Pointe (far away from a stop)
- Arlington (same)
- Clairemont

[BagongBuhay]

Knightsbridge is a nice neighborhood with all single family homes. It is a mature development and appears that homeowners are invested in their homes. KB kids go to Springield Middle and then to Fort Mill High.

I'm not sure about this piece, but I believe that Waterstone is mixed occupancy, which means there are single family homes and townhomes. Ask your realtor what this means for property values. I think the Waterstone kids also go to Fort Mill High.

Legacy Park is in Indian Land, going to IL Elem, Middle and High. It is in Lancaster County, not York where Fort Mill is. This is a new development...probably more new homes than resale.

There was a poster earlier that was looking into Jones Branch. Her comment was that it was too close to a highway, don't know exactly which one (21 or 77) and she commented that the noise was a bit much. I have no school info on this.

I have no info on the other communities.

[BKQC]

Originally Posted by sandchug

Note: This is a crosspost from the Charlotte forum...I was referred here for additional help!

Hi everyone...

I'm (relatively) new here -- just moved late last year -- and am currently renting in Ballantyne while looking for a nice place to put down some more permanent roots. I've looked at a ton of houses, both new and resale, and I'm no further along than I was when I started.

Here's what I'm looking for:
- something (preferably) south of the city close to 485 or 77
- around or below 200k - 3 br/2 ba at least
- home built in this century
- reputable builder/nice neighborhood
- smallest tax hit possible
- reasonable commute to the light rail or an express bus stop (currently utilizing 61X/62X)

I should mention that I have a realtor, but I want to solicit opinions from people who actually live in these places. I like the Indian Land/521/160 area, but that seems somewhat tough to get uptown from if using a bus.

As for new developers, I've mainly looked at Centex, but I know some others in the area.

Now that I've flooded you all with information, does anyone have some suggestions for a weary first-time buyer?

Thanks so much in advance!

Your realtor has hit most of the Fort Mill neighborhoods in your price range, but here's a few others:

Whitegrove
Whitley Mills
Willowbrook

I'm not sure if you're interested in townhomes, but there's a few in Baxter for sale under $200,000. Only problem is that they're 2BR. 3BR's in Baxter are usually in the $210,000 range, but with the market being tough for sellers, you could probably get it down to your price range. The benefit of being in Baxter is that you could walk to the 82X Express bus stop. It's right behind the Fort Mill Library. I take it daily and notice quite a few Baxter residents walking to the stop.

[sandchug]

Originally Posted by bibit612

Knightsbridge is a nice neighborhood with all single family homes. It is a mature development and appears that homeowners are invested in their homes. KB kids go to Springield Middle and then to Fort Mill High.

I'm not sure about this piece, but I believe that Waterstone is mixed occupancy, which means there are single family homes and townhomes. Ask your realtor what this means for property values. I think the Waterstone kids also go to Fort Mill High.

There was a poster earlier that was looking into Jones Branch. Her comment was that it was too close to a highway, don't know exactly which one (21 or 77) and she commented that the noise was a bit much. I have no school info on this.

I have no info on the other communities.

I actually looked at a resale in Knightsbridge. I really loved the neighborhood and its proximity to everything, but was unable to get an offer in on the home in time. I did notice from doing my research that KB seems to hold its value pretty well, and the Ryan Homes builds out there seem fairly solid.

Waterstone is indeed a mixed development, and I've seen it discussed a bunch on this board. There are a number of homes available in that neighborhood, but the ones I saw were either corner lots on busy streets, not staged well or had other concerns.

The Jones Branch situation...I would need to go down there and take a look, but there may be a few open lots in that development that are further away from 77 and would not be such a concern. There is a development here in south Charlotte that backs directly up to 485, and that has obviously knocked the value of the resale house available there down quite a bit.

The main question I have about the Indian Land area is whether or not anyone here commutes from there to uptown, and if so, what the easiest way to do so is. From the looks of things, the only real option in terms of mass transit is to hike it up 521 to Ballantyne Commons and take the 43 bus to the train. I know there are 82X stops along 77, but I am unsure as to the commute time from IL to 77. The time I drove it, it seemed pretty long.

I have also seen some comments on places like Baden Village, and those didn't seem to be too positive. Any thoughts there?

Thanks!

[greenvillesc]

Regarding the commute: My husband goes from Indian Land to uptown Charlotte everyday. We are building in a Ryan community off of Doby's Bridge near Indian Land. (I work in Indian Land.)His commute is a minimum of 45 minutes, and he leaves at 6 AM. He works on Independence, and the light rail (unfortunately) does not stop anywhere near his office.

[BackinSC]

We moved into Knightsbridge 4 years ago and love it. I work in uptown Charlotte and if I leave before 7am I can be at work in about 20-25 minutes.

[sandchug]

You've all been a great help to me thus far -- thank you all!

Is anyone familiar with the Stonewood community in Rock Hill? I've looked around York County and found some things I like, but I wanted to check this out too. It's down off Dave Lyle (I think the street name is Anderson). The community is built by Ryland.

I would honestly prefer to stay in Fort Mill, but after some of the things I've seen out there (in terms of commute, construction, etc.), I'm not sure.

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by sandchug

You've all been a great help to me thus far -- thank you all!

Is anyone familiar with the Stonewood community in Rock Hill? I've looked around York County and found some things I like, but I wanted to check this out too. It's down off Dave Lyle (I think the street name is Anderson). The community is built by Ryland.

I would honestly prefer to stay in Fort Mill, but after some of the things I've seen out there (in terms of commute, construction, etc.), I'm not sure.

Sorry I am not familiar with the Stonewood community in Rock Hill. You probably should start a new thread with Stonewood and Rock Hill in the title to possible garner more attention?

If you are open to older resell homes...there is an area in the Town of Fort Mill you might check out....it is called Whiteville Park. I love all the mature trees, and all the colorful flowers are wonderful through there right now (just a thought).