Carol Fox

Good morning,
These Matthews neighborhoods were built in the mid-1980s to the 1990s and all are very nice places to live. Brightmoor is the only neighborhood of the three that has a neighborhood swim club and therefore, monthly HOA fees. The other three neighborhoods either have no organized HOA or very minor annual fees with no neighborhood amenities. The Heathers and Oakcroft are located on the north side of Matthews and Brightmoor and Thornblade on the south side of Matthews. The Heathers and Oakcroft would have somewhat easier access to I-485, if that is important. Eventually an interchange with I-485 will be built fairly close to the other two neighborhoods, improving access. Traffic is a little heavier around Brightmoor and Thornblade because there is more commercial development nearby. The Siskey YMCA, a huge facility with many programs for families is within a couple of miles of Brightmoor and Thornblade.

Do not hesitate to contact me with more questions about Matthews neighborhoods or visit the Matthews page at CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.
Regards,
Carol - Wed Aug 27 2008, 04:08

Hi Mario,
I suggest that you look into Union County just to the south of Ballantyne and South Charlotte. The schools in Union County are highly rated and there is an abundance of affordable housing there. You may be familiar with the names of some of the towns there: Stallings, Indian Trail, Weddington, Waxhaw, Wesley Chapel. You can find more information on each of these areas and on the schools at CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.
Regards,
Carol - Mon Aug 25 2008, 06:21

Hello Kim,
The amount that you will pay in property taxes in the Charlotte area will depend on the county and town where the property is located. I recently did an estimate of 2008 property taxes for the City of Charlotte and some of the small towns on the south side of Charlotte. The results are listed below for City of Charlotte, Matthews, and Mint Hill in Mecklenburg County and Weddington, Wesley Chapel, Indian Trail, and Monroe in Union County.
City of Charlotte $2594
Matthews $2342
Mint Hill $2227
Weddington $1390
Indian Trail $1620
Monroe $2320
Wesley Chapel $1363

A good question to ask when comparing taxes in the various cities and towns around Charlotte is whether the county has reassessed property values for tax purposes recently. In North Carolina, reassessments of property for taxation only needs to occur once every eight years. Most counties in the Charlotte region will go through the revaluation process every four or five years.

Union County just completed this process in early 2008. New assessed values were determined in the spring and the local governments set new tax rates in June. Most properties will see higher tax bills in September because of this process. That's the bad news. The good news is that the numbers you see for the Union County towns above will probably remain fairly stable for the next four years or so.

Mecklenburg County is another story. The county tax appraiser is going through the process now of determining new tax values, which will be released in early 2009. While the local governments in Mecklenburg County will probably lower tax rates somewhat next summer to offset higher assessed values, don't be surprised to see that the 2009 property taxes on a $200,000 house will be higher than those listed above.

Visit carolinasmalltownliving.com for more information about living and real estate in Charlotte and its small towns.
Regards,
Carol Fox - Sat Aug 23 2008, 04:39

Dear Sarah,
Waxhaw has very good schools. The areas defined as Waxhaw 28173 in the real estate searches cover a large area that extends from the Mecklenburg County NC line along Rea Road to the Town of Waxhaw itself and further south to the Lancaster County SC line. This area is served by a number of schools. Additionally, a new middle school and a new high school are under construction off Cuthbertson Road near the Town of Waxhaw. They will open in the 2009/2010 school year and the assignment areas for this part of the Waxhaw area will change. The school board has already chosen the neighborhoods for these schools and the changes are posted on the Union County Public Schools website.

To learn more about Waxhaw and the Waxhaw area schools, visit the Waxhaw and the Education pages ofhttp:// www.carolinasmalltownliving.com. You will find links to the schools report cards and to the websites of the individual schools.
Regards,
Carol Fox - Tue Aug 19 2008, 05:23

To buy or not to buy in an area depends on the type of neighborhood and the amenities that you want nearby. It also has something to do with commute times if you are going to be traveling to a specific location for your job. I suggest that you make a list of the most important characteristics that you seek in a neighborhood, including things like commute times, schools, urban or rural and of course price range of house. Once you've made the list, you can begin to narrow your search. For information on the community characteristics of areas on the south side of Charlotte, check out my website listed below. - Fri Jul 18 2008, 15:28