Zip code 27703. So very close to Morrisville.

I have been talking to a realtor and it's amazing how nice the houses are in area code 27703 compared to the Raleigh area and for the price... geez.

Whacha think?

2/6/2007 9:50:01 AM

http://zillow.com
http://realestateabc.com

use those to get an idea but it's not perfect

2/6/2007 9:55:43 AM

That's the zip where my place is being built. I like the fairly close proximity to Briar Creek.

2/6/2007 10:00:18 AM

Durham County or Wake County? That will make a much bigger difference than zip code as far as schools/services are concerned. If you will not have kids in the schools, it won't be nearly as much of a deal. The rest of the difference will be in tax rate, "prestige", and level of services. Weigh these considerations vs the difference in mortgage payments and make your decision.

2/6/2007 10:01:32 AM

I'm leaving Ivy Commons and looking out that way, so far from what I have seen it's fine, my friend at glaxo has a crib out that way. Durham/Morrisville really gets a bad rap, there are very few spots that are bad. My loaded grandparents just got a condo out that way (cary, durham, morrisville border). I will be living out that way soon.

2/6/2007 10:03:09 AM

Yeah me too. I hadn't really said much about Durham to her except the fact that my boyfriend works there and she sent me a 'buyer's page' of Durham houses just to 'open my eyes' in a way..

She said that if you want a ranch there are an abundance of those in Cary/Apex/Morrisville/NCState Area but for 1.5-2.5 story homes it looks like Durham is the best bet.

I'm beginning to believe her.

Oh and the tax rate for the house I LOVE in this area is about as much as the house cost (like less than 4000 less). What does that mean?

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 10:04 AM. Reason : ]

2/6/2007 10:03:18 AM

Yeah. Durham had a must better selection of two story places and they were much more affordable. The tax rate is higher in Durham county than it would be in Wake.

2/6/2007 10:05:44 AM

^^ do you mean the tax value?

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 10:06 AM. Reason : ..]

2/6/2007 10:06:08 AM

Sorry I did mean tax value... I need to get more sleep.. For instance... the house I love is a $166,000 home in 27703. The tax value is: $162,215. The stats are: Built in 1998, 1925 sq feet, Appx Acres: 0.223, tax rate is: 1.31. Oops

2/6/2007 10:12:22 AM

It is common for the tax value to lag the real market price of the house. If a municipality wants more money from homeowners they will usually adjust the rate up and continue to let the Tax Value lag behind the market value. So 162215 x 0.0131 = $2125 a year / 12 months = $177 a month for taxes.

I live in 27703 too. Decent place to live if you don't have kids. Easy access to lots of shopping and restaurants, I-40, I-540, I-85, Hwy 70, RDU. I just compared the property tax I paid this year to the tax I paid last year and Durham is not going crazy upping the rate, mine went up $3/month in 2006 vs 2005.

I'm going to move before we have to put kids in school though. There was a NC judge trying to shut down Hillside High and Southern High School for bad performance. Wake county is having its share of troubles too but that's another thread entirely.

-- Dave

2/6/2007 1:12:54 PM

Where in that area?

2/6/2007 1:16:10 PM

nm

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 1:25 PM. Reason : nm]

2/6/2007 1:24:24 PM

have enough money left over to build a mote and fill it with sharks with laser-beams on there heads

2/6/2007 1:49:59 PM

Don't and if you do stay away from anything west of mineral springs toward down town.


for reference : I lived there my whole life sadly


oh and the schools suck other than oak grove

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 2:00 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 2:01 PM. Reason : zf]

2/6/2007 1:59:24 PM

Quote :

"Sorry I did mean tax value... I need to get more sleep.. For instance... the house I love is a $166,000 home in 27703. The tax value is: $162,215. The stats are: Built in 1998, 1925 sq feet, Appx Acres: 0.223, tax rate is: 1.31. Oops "

As stated, the tax value tends to lag behind, yes. However, the house will probably be reappraised next year, so don't expect to keep seeing it underappraised. At least in Wake County, they only do actual appraisals for the tax value every 10 years. This is why the tax value lags behind, since they don't really adjust for actual home appreciation between the 10 year appraisals. I imagine Durham is the same way.

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 2:55 PM. Reason : ]

2/6/2007 2:55:04 PM

i live in greenwood. where do all you other people in the 27703 live at?

2/6/2007 3:06:02 PM

Mineral Springs come June

2/6/2007 3:14:40 PM

we bought our house and its just off Mineral Springs in Durham. Its in one of the older neighborhoods, though there are tons of newer houses as well (ours was built in 86). However for the price and the size, we definately did well.

2/6/2007 3:27:50 PM

i grew up right beside it in 27713, its a great area. really good for commuting

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 4:31 PM. Reason : but durham public middle schools suck, so dont have kids]

2/6/2007 4:30:17 PM

the only area in Durham i'd consider moving to is by Southpoint Mall (zip 27707)
I work here and am starting to like the area

2/7/2007 9:46:56 AM

southpoint is 27713, and jordan is on the southern edge of 27707

2/7/2007 9:59:46 AM

Quote :

"As stated, the tax value tends to lag behind, yes. However, the house will probably be reappraised next year, so don't expect to keep seeing it underappraised. At least in Wake County, they only do actual appraisals for the tax value every 10 years. This is why the tax value lags behind, since they don't really adjust for actual home appreciation between the 10 year appraisals. I imagine Durham is the same way."

The house will most likely be reappraised just after it is sold.

2/7/2007 10:03:14 AM

^^ thanks

2/7/2007 10:46:24 AM

yeah durham really does get a bad reputation, the wealthiest neighborhood in the triangle is located in durham.

2/7/2007 2:35:30 PM

I am going to look at quite a few houses in the 27703 area tonight at around 6 w/ a realtor. I am excited.

2/7/2007 2:42:38 PM

are you looking at any houses off of tyne drive, hadrian drive, or vair st?

i (and unipride) live off of tyne.

anyone else live on the east side of mineral springs?

2/7/2007 9:20:51 PM

you'll be fine

2/8/2007 3:33:26 PM

Our favorite house that we looked at was off Mineral Springs & Tyne.

I love it but it's too early.

2/8/2007 3:42:08 PM

^too early? what do you mean?

Just to give you a timeline -- we started looking the beginning of Feb. Put in a few offers on different places, and finally got to our place. We offered for it around the end of Feb w/a closing date of march 31st.

Then we spent most of march dealing with the home inspections and paper work.

oh which house though? do you remember the address? I know there are several houses in our neighborhood for sale, so i'm just curious what they are going for now.

[Edited on February 8, 2007 at 4:24 PM. Reason : ..]

2/8/2007 4:23:10 PM

how much below asking price are you folks offering? i've seen typically 3%...

2/8/2007 6:08:01 PM

The lease is up May 31 which is why it's too early.

2/8/2007 10:46:56 PM

youre about to buy a house, just pay the 3 months rent

2/8/2007 10:48:35 PM

Yeah right. We're going to just look at 6 houses and pick our favorite out of THOSE.

[Edited on February 9, 2007 at 8:34 AM. Reason : er]

2/9/2007 8:34:31 AM

i have no idea why you made rollyeyes. my point is that a few months of rent is a pretty silly reason to wait to buy a house if you like one. but whatever, i obviously meant that you had to buy one of those that you just looked at.

2/9/2007 8:42:47 AM

Quote :

"how much below asking price are you folks offering? i've seen typically 3%..."

just FYI... there is no standard below asking price. The house is worth what it's worth and if your agent doesn't at least run a quick CMA on the property to give you an idea what you should offer, then make them do it. Definitely don't assume that just because a seller is asking for a price that they are even in the ballpark of what it's worth. Especially if it's been on the market for a while.

2/9/2007 8:44:37 AM

Quote :

"my point is that a few months of rent is a pretty silly reason to wait to buy a house if you like one"

Not really. A few months of rent will be over $1000. After closing costs, down payment, moving costs, etc, most home buyers, especially first time buyers, won't have an extra $1000+ to throw down the drain.

2/9/2007 10:52:20 AM

Quote :

"how much below asking price are you folks offering? i've seen typically 3%..."

The industry average is 7% markup. It all depends on the market though...many neighborhoods in Cary hold 99.9% of their list price value (seriously). In less booming markets a 7% markup is standard and a good realtor can get close to 7% knocked off the list price.

2/9/2007 11:19:11 AM

don't rule out a house because it is too early

how long has the house been on the market? if it has been on the market a while, a seller may be flexible on closing date just to know their house is going to sell.

of course if it is a nice house and not been on the market long, then you should act fast.

Offers are free. Make your offer with the closing date that you want. the worst that can happen is the seller says no.

You are worried about 3 months rent, but if you specify a closing date that is the end of march, then it is only 2 months rent.

Also talk to your lender about when your first payment would be due. We went with SECU and they work it so that your first payment is the second first of the month. So we closed on mar31 and our first payment was may1. If we closed on apr2, our first payment would be june1. So if you go with secu and don't close till apr2, then your first payment could be june1 which is when your rent would be due anyway right? apr2 is not that far away in real estate terms. we were fairly rushed closing in a month, so having two months for the negotiations, inspections, repairs, final inspections, and any back and forth in between will help you relax a little through the process.

2/9/2007 6:25:37 PM

Isn't that the same with any lender?

2/9/2007 6:29:13 PM

^^ the first mortgage payment is the same with any lender

2/9/2007 6:43:47 PM

NM

[Edited on February 9, 2007 at 10:29 PM. Reason : oop]

2/9/2007 10:27:23 PM

Quote :

"Also talk to your lender about when your first payment would be due. We went with SECU and they work it so that your first payment is the second first of the month. So we closed on mar31 and our first payment was may1. If we closed on apr2, our first payment would be june1. So if you go with secu and don't close till apr2, then your first payment could be june1 which is when your rent would be due anyway right? apr2 is not that far away in real estate terms. we were fairly rushed closing in a month, so having two months for the negotiations, inspections, repairs, final inspections, and any back and forth in between will help you relax a little through the process."

can i get some clarification on this point? my aunt who is a mortgage specialist says to close at the end of the month rather than at the beginning. if you close say apr 2, first payment due would be june 1 BUT you are still paying interest from apr 2-june1 (~60 days) whereas if you close mar 31 and first payment due is may 1 you are only paying ~30 days of interest.

4/9/2007 11:15:46 AM

Personally I think it would be better to close earlier in the month. Yes, you still have to pay interest, but it is lower since principle is not included. Imagine if you could get an interest only loan at the same low rate as a 30 year fixed.

4/9/2007 11:57:17 AM

here's a few google links i found that discusses it too

http://www.mtgprofessor.com/A%20-%20Options/closing_date.htm
http://www.goodmortgage.com/Mortgage_School/MS_closing_at_end_of_month.htm

here's another question - for the house i'm buying, the seller is including $3k in closing costs. if i find a lender with only $1500 in closing costs, if i buy a discount point does that get included in the closing costs that the seller is going to pay, so that i get the most for the $3k incentive? i'm pretty sure yes, but figured i'd ask since some of y'all know this stuff pretty well

4/9/2007 12:04:47 PM

Yes, it should be included.

4/9/2007 12:06:41 PM

I looked over the links. To me, it is simple math. Lets say your mortgage is $1000/month. If the month has 30 days then you pay $33 per day. If you close at the beginning of the month, you only pay interest for the remaining days, so if interest makes up $900 of your monthly mortgage payment then you only pay $30 per day. Obviously if you are stuck in your lease until the end of the month, closing early makes no sense at all.

Link #1 specifically says “On a purchase transaction, there is no financial advantage in closing on any day of the month, as compared to any other day.”, so that doesn’t really provide any information to pack up your aunt’s claim, Link #2 states that people like closing late in the month since they have to bring less money to closing, only a few days worth of interest instead of the entire a few weeks and goes on to say

Quote :

"Some homebuyers aren’t so sensitive to that one-time interim interest payment at closing, and instead love the fact that their first mortgage payment isn’t due for well over a month. If you are one of these people, then closing just after the month begins is right for you."

4/9/2007 12:16:01 PM

I am two miles from southpoint and couldn't be happier.

For me I wanted some space and it is hard to find a lot about .25 acres that hasn't been stripped bare unless the house was built in the 50s.

I ended up finding a wooded .6 acre lot in a quiet neighborhood. I also wanted to not have to rely on 40 to get to work coming from raleigh.

4/9/2007 1:23:04 PM

durham = buy a shotgun

4/9/2007 5:53:44 PM

^idiot

4/10/2007 10:51:09 AM