Hi Kathleen,

I see your question was from a few months back. I think a visit to NC would be a great idea especially since you are not in a rush to make the move. The central part of NC is a great area because we are 3 1/2 hours to the mountains and 2 hours to the beach. Our climate is mild and if you are interested in a more quaint, small-town area, you can enjoy that in Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Garner or Clayton while still being close enough to Raleigh for plays, concerts, museums, etc. Give me a call if I can be of further assistance.

Hi Kathleen,

First and foremost you should speak with a lender so you know exactly how much home you can afford. To be able to take advantage of the 8K first time buyer credit you'll have to close on a property before November 30, 2009.

Even though you don't have children you'll want to purchase in an area with good schools because this will increase your resale potential when you decide to sell in the future.

FV is a nice area and properties are considerably less expensive than Cary, Apex or Morrisville. As others have mentioned you'll get more house in FV. Other areas for you to consider are Holly Springs and Garner.
For me to provide specifics I would need to know what type of home are you looking for, i.e. condo, town home, single family, sq. footage, lot size etc.
A good site to go onto is Realtor.com. you'll be able to peruse different areas and see properties that may appeal to you.
I recommend that you visit the area and see for yourself what appeals to you.

Good luck,
Lizete

I would love to help you with this, but to give you the best advice I need to know a couple of things
What types of ammenities do you desire your new home and community to have? Would you like a home with yard maintenance included? What price range are you looking to find a home in?
My office, Century 21 Becky Medlin Realty, has been the Fuquay Varina real estate source for over 28 years! If there is something that you are looking for in Fuquay Varina we are the best place to find out about it!
I can be reached thru Trulia or my website. Have a great day and best of luck to you!

Hi Kathleen,

Fuquay, Holly Springs Apex, Garner, Clayton all are good choices here and all have that community feeling you desire. You can see homes on the internet and check them out. Go to http://www.zillow.com and you can search based on your criteria you put in and do all of these cities mentioned by everyone. Include Raleigh too, as it has areas that are right up against Garner, Fuquay etc. I have lived here all my life but lived in the Maryland area for years before moving back and wouldn't go back. My husbands family is from the NJ area, you will like it here. I would suggest getting with a Mortgage consultant and working up the house amount you can afford before shopping and you will know exactly what to look for. Also, when you get close to moving to get a letter with that is great to have for your realtor.

Ginger Chmelewski

Let me one of the first to welcome you to Fuquay-Varina! I moved to the “Quay” when we started growing out of our Cary home in 2001. We are fortunate that commuting was never an issue for us and we love the small town feel and friendly people of Fuquay-Varina. We are just far enough from the hustle and bustle of Raleigh but certainly close enough to take advantage of all of its offerings.

It’s great that you have time to research the area before you move. I would be happy to send you a relocation package if you’d like, just give us a call (919.573.6150) or request on at info@buyersadvantagegroup.net. At Buyers Advantage Group Realty, we represent home buyers only and often work with folks who are planning well in advance of their move; so please let us know if we can help you in any way. In the meantime, you may want to visit some of the following websites to learn even more about your future hometown:

http://www.fuquay-varina.org/
http://fuquayvarina.mync.com/site/fuquayvarina/
http://www.celebratefv.com/?page_id=26

And, if you have the opportunity to visit the area, we will be happy to arrange an area overview tour for you!

There are some great communities in NC with a community feel. Fuquay is nice and so is Holly Springs. I would love to send you a welcome to NC package that will have maps, info on home communities and local area attractions. Call me at 919-218-8973 and I will send you one!!

Kathleen -

Depending on your budget, there's a great many options. Here's some information on recent appreciation rates in Wake County:

http://raleightrianglerelocation.com/post/1089428/will-my-ne…

You may also want to compare property tax rates for different locations - these can make a big difference in your buying power:

http://raleightrianglerelocation.com/channels/regional_local…

Depending on what you're looking for, your dollar will go farther in Fuquay-Varina, than, say, Cary. Cary's average list price is $396K, while Fuquay-Varina's average list price is $272K. Fuquay-Varina has more small town appeal. Cary continues to attract homebuyers to it's well-planned streets, but population has grown to 130,000, while Fuquay-Varina has a 2008 population level of just 17,000, while still only 10-20 minutes from Cary/Raleigh attractions.

Welcome to the Raleigh area - it's a beautiful destination!

Fuquay Varina is a suburb of Raleigh, so you can get more house for the same amt of money...but you may also want to consider areas like Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, and Raleigh itself. Are you interested in townhomes, detached homes, or condos? Would you rather live in a place with a small town feel or in an area where there's plenty to do based on your age? I was showing homes in Fuquay this week to an out of town client. If you would like for me to forward you a list of homes to give you an idea of what's available currently in your price range, feel free to contact me with the specifics. This area continues to grow and since there are so many options now for buyers, it's a great time to buy and you can afford to be picky. I've lived in Raleigh since 1995 (and went to school in nearby Chapel Hill), so I'm very familiar with the market in the area. If you would like a list of subdivisions by area that have the best appreciation rates over the past 13 mos. , I'd be glad to forward you some information. You can contact me via my website link...thanks and have a great evening!