Home prices out east

[barbeetantrums]

Looking at www.realtor.com , noticing that homes in the CLT area are actually less expensive (more inexpensive?) than the PIT area. Is that right or am I just looking at dumpy houses? How are the property taxes at CLT compared to Allegheny County?

What I'm looking at, specifically, are three bedrooms, two baths, minimum.

 

[SSRinPHX]

I can't tell you about that VS the PIT area. (It's a LOT less than PHX!) I do know several people that work in CLT but live in South Caroline because the taxes are cheaper as are the homes.

 

[LD3]

If you live in Meck county NC you'll pay about 2K in taxes for a 150,000 house...tax rate has not increased for approx 17 yrs, but taxes do go up due to assessed values going up. 150 will get you a pretty nice home...

 

[MrAeroMan]

Whatever you do seriously consider your choices very carefully. Mecklenburg County is A LOT more expensive than adjacent counties. Meck schools are a mess and wanting to spend tons of money on bond referendums. Union County, NC Cabarrus County, Gaston County offer great alternatives. If I had to do it again I'd move to SC and commute. It's not that bad a drive.

 

[barbeetantrums]

I can't tell you about that VS the PIT area. (It's a LOT less than PHX!) I do know several people that work in CLT but live in South Caroline because the taxes are cheaper as are the homes.

This is the cheapest home I could find in Tempe and Guadalupe.

That is going for $150,000.

I'm not even sure non-Mexicans are allowed to live in Guadalupe. A chunk of the town is a Yaqui Indian reservation. Never seen any white or black folks living there. They have some great restaurants if you want authentic Mexican food.

 

[SSRinPHX]

You should see what you get for the same $$$ in Chandler too. SCARY! The house I live in was bought 3 years ago for $135,000. It'll now sell for $260,000. It's gotten BEYOND stupid here.

 

[barbeetantrums]

You should see what you get for the same $$$ in Chandler too. SCARY! The house I live in was bought 3 years ago for $135,000. It'll now sell for $260,000. It's gotten BEYOND stupid here.

God forbid you don't want to live in an apartment anymore.

 

[FM2436]

I can't tell you about that VS the PIT area. (It's a LOT less than PHX!) I do know several people that work in CLT but live in South Caroline because the taxes are cheaper as are the homes.

PIT is one of the few areas in the Country were housing prices are actually falling. My secretary, who was born and raised in PIT, regularly visits her parents who still live in PIT. She tells me it is not the cost of a house that is expensive, but it is the taxes that are killers. Expect to pay not only property taxes, but also County, school, and Bourough taxes.

 

[barbeetantrums]

PIT is one of the few areas in the Country were housing prices are actually falling. My secretary, who was born and raised in PIT, regularly visits her parents who still live in PIT. She tells me it is not the cost of a house that is expensive, but it is the taxes that are killers. Expect to pay not only property taxes, but also County, school, and Bourough taxes.

Mt. Lebanon and Squirrel Hill are killers for taxes. There are those now opting for the short commute from West Virginia and Ohio. There is a trade-off, however. Weirton, Follansbee and Steubenville have noxious clouds of sulfur dioxide from the mills. Asthma rates are extremely high, there. Brooke and Hancock counties can get pretty stinky in West Virginia.

 

[CLTBWIDAYSYR]

Whatever you do seriously consider your choices very carefully. Mecklenburg County is A LOT more expensive than adjacent counties. Meck schools are a mess and wanting to spend tons of money on bond referendums. Union County, NC Cabarrus County, Gaston County offer great alternatives. If I had to do it again I'd move to SC and commute. It's not that bad a drive.

And you get what you pay for. If you want to live in suburban hell in a house that looks exactly like the one next door, by all means look at the areas mentioned above. If you want a little diversity in housing types and neighbors, stay in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Myers Park High School (in Charlotte) is one of the top ten public high schools in the United States. It is ranked the best public high school in North Carolina (and happens to be located in the most beautiful neighborhood in the city in my opinion).

Union County is famous for low taxes and sprawling cookie-cutter McMansions. The town of Indian Trail has approved 9,000 additional housing units and they can't even handle the ones that have already been built. Union County schools are on a collision course with collapse due to rediculously low taxes. The County is imploding due to no money to expand roads, sewer and water, or parks.

If I was forced to live outside of Charlotte and had children, I would look at Ft Mill, SC in York County. Great parks, good schools, and even a decent suburban tract housing development called Baxter (new urbanist community with alleys, small yards, and front porches). Belmont, NC in Gaston County is a beautiful town very close to the airport with a great walkable downtown, a four-year Benedictine college (Belmont Abbey), and the area's only full-scale botanical garden (Daniel Stowe).

 

[MrAeroMan]

And you get what you pay for. If you want to live in suburban hell in a house that looks exactly like the one next door, by all means look at the areas mentioned above. If you want a little diversity in housing types and neighbors, stay in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Myers Park High School (in Charlotte) is one of the top ten public high schools in the United States. It is ranked the best public high school in North Carolina (and happens to be located in the most beautiful neighborhood in the city in my opinion).

Union County is famous for low taxes and sprawling cookie-cutter McMansions. The town of Indian Trail has approved 9,000 additional housing units and they can't even handle the ones that have already been built. Union County schools are on a collision course with collapse due to rediculously low taxes. The County is imploding due to no money to expand roads, sewer and water, or parks.

If I was forced to live outside of Charlotte and had children, I would look at Ft Mill, SC in York County. Great parks, good schools, and even a decent suburban tract housing development called Baxter (new urbanist community with alleys, small yards, and front porches). Belmont, NC in Gaston County is a beautiful town very close to the airport with a great walkable downtown, a four-year Benedictine college (Belmont Abbey), and the area's only full-scale botanical garden (Daniel Stowe).

Stay in Charlotte Meck if you want to but keep in mind the crime there is horrendous. Record year for homicides this year as well as car jackings, robbery, home invasion etc.

Myers Park is a great place to live if you can afford it. You want to talk about Mcmansions go look in Myers Park and get ready to dole out in the high six figures for a decent house. The reason Myers Park is such a great school is because all the money that goes with the mansions pulls a lot of weight at the school board and offices so they put the best of the best teachers in the school.
All the areas around Charlotte do not have cookie cutter houses all over the place. While there are some if you look hard enough you will be able to find great affordable housing that will fit anyone's needs without paying through the nose in taxes that you would in Meck County. Charlotte and Meck county just got awarded with having the 22nd most highest taxes of major cities in the US. Not a great feat in my opinion.
Union County is not imploding unless you're talking to someone in Meck County that believes in high taxes. They're jealous all the people that know better in Meck County are leaving them with a higher tax burden by moving out of the county. White flight is rampant from Meck County due to all the above.
Do yourself a favor and move to SC. York County is a great place to raise a family and you won't go broke doing it.

 

[fanlube]

If I'm not mistaken didn't they just impose a moratorium on new subdivisions in Union county?

 

[barbeetantrums]

I'm just a simple ramper. Can't afford a mansion, McMansion or otherwise, just want a homey-home. The kind grandma used to bake pies in. The kind where the kids can play out in the yard and be safe. I want a yard where the dogs can play ball and the cat can lay on the porch unbothered.

 

[CLTBWIDAYSYR]

If I'm not mistaken didn't they just impose a moratorium on new subdivisions in Union county?

The Town of Indian Trail passed a moratorium on the approvals of new subdivision development. It is for 18 months and has no bearing on already approved subdivisions (9,000 single-family units, or about 24,000 new residents).

Already, Charlotte Hwy through Stallings and Indian Trail carries over 18,000 vehicles per day (VPD) (15,000 VPD is considered over capacity) and there are no plans or funds to widen the road until sometime after 2015. Likewise, no farm to market roads through Union County have a place in the North Carolina Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) plan. NC-84, which connects Monroe to Wesley Chapel and Weddington, is proposed to be widened to four lanes in 2012.

Taxes are higher in Mecklenburg than in the surrounding counties. They are far less than any other Hub city in the system. Crime is at its lowest point in ten years. Vast majority is drug related (just like any city in America). Then again, I don't want to live in Stepford, so maybe a few imperfections don't bother me so much.

I live in the Cotswold neighborhood of Charlotte, about four miles from the center of the city, and two miles from SouthPark, a large shopping mall and office park. Decent size ranch houses on half acre lots go for about $200 per square foot. My house is in the Myers Park High School area. There are new homes being built in the area (2,100 square feet with detached two car garages) that start at $280K. A fixer-upper in the neighborhood can be purchased for under $200K.

 

[cltbay1homie]

The Town of Indian Trail passed a moratorium on the approvals of new subdivision development. It is for 18 months and has no bearing on already approved subdivisions (9,000 single-family units, or about 24,000 new residents).

Hell why not move to Gaston Co. buy a doublewide on .25 acres for $75K. Pocket the rest, and in a year or two, maybe you will be able to come up with a down for a Park Model in a 55 plus Park in the Phoenix area. OH..forget the kids..they are not welcome out here.