Relocating to Charlotte's University City: What Do Newcomers Ask First?

People relocating to Charlotte's University City almost always ask three things first. Can I get to uptown without driving? What kind of home will I find? And which county and school system does a given address fall in? The short answers: yes, the LYNX Blue Line runs from UNC Charlotte to uptown with several stations in University City. The homes range from condos and townhomes to single-family houses, and age and size vary widely by neighborhood. The county and school system depend on the exact address, because this corner of Charlotte borders Cabarrus County.

Those three answers shape most of a University City search, and each one has a few details underneath it. At Carolina Signature Properties, we start every relocation with where you will need to be most days, then build the list of neighborhoods around it. Jeff Ward is a REALTOR® and the Broker-in-Charge and owner of Carolina Signature Properties, a North Carolina real estate brokerage based in Harrisburg that works across the Charlotte region and Lake Norman.

University City is the northeast corner of Charlotte, built up around UNC Charlotte. It sits where the light rail, I-85 and I-485 meet, and Concord Mills is a short drive up I-85. Our University City neighborhood guide covers the area itself. Here is how the first questions usually play out.

Can I get to uptown without a car? Often, yes. The LYNX Blue Line was extended to UNC Charlotte in 2018, adding 11 stations, several of them in University City. That makes it one of the few places this far from the center where a commute without a car is realistic. Whether it works for you depends on where you need to be each day and how close to a station the home sits.

What kinds of homes are there? A wide mix. There are neighborhoods of mostly ranch, traditional and two-story homes, newer planned communities, townhomes, condos and a large supply of apartments near the university and the Blue Line stations. Home sizes run from smaller attached homes and condos to larger detached homes.

What is close by? Concerts at PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte 49ers games at UNC Charlotte, and the Toby Creek, Mallard Creek and Clarks Creek greenways, which connect for walking and biking. A university, a concert venue and a rail line bring more activity than a typical residential corner. Some buyers want that, and others prefer a calmer street a few minutes away.

Which county is it in? That is the question to settle for every address, not for the area as a whole. The northeast side of Charlotte borders Cabarrus County, and some nearby communities cross the line, so a home a few minutes away can come with a different tax bill and school system.

A relocation has more moving parts than a local purchase, so we use the same order for every University City search.

1. Start with the destination. Your office, your daily routine, and how you want to get there. A buyer who works near a Blue Line stop uptown is shopping for something different from a buyer who drives to an office off I-85.
2. Decide how you would really commute. Walking to a station, driving to one, or skipping the train altogether are three different searches. A home within an easy walk of a stop is a different purchase from one a short drive away, so we settle this before looking at listings.
3. Compare University City with its neighbors. Highland Creek trades the rail line for an 18-hole golf course, four private pools and a fitness club, and it spans Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties. Mallard Creek follows the greenway with newer townhomes and small-lot homes. Prosperity Village has suburban streets with shopping and dining nearby. Our Charlotte neighborhoods page compares the whole northeast side.
4. Settle your numbers first. The Buyer Position Review covers your budget, financing and priorities before serious house-hunting, so the homes you see are homes that fit.
5. Tour from a distance, then in person. Virtual tours and walkthrough video let you see homes before you travel. When you do fly in, the trip goes to a short list instead of a driving tour of the region.
6. Learn North Carolina's offer rules before you write one. Offers here usually include a due diligence fee paid directly to the seller, an earnest money deposit held by the closing attorney, and an attorney-led closing. The buyer chooses and pays the closing attorney. When a home is worth an offer, the Offer Position Analysis comes before the offer is written.
7. Plan due diligence and closing around your move date. Inspections can be scheduled with reports sent to you, and questions can be handled by phone and video. The closing attorney can tell you whether remote or mobile-notary signing is possible for your closing. We set the length of the due diligence period with that distance in mind.

How we help you buy a home covers each of these steps in full, and relocating to the Charlotte area covers how we help buyers learn the towns before they arrive.

Most of them come from deciding on the area before deciding on the details. These are the ones worth avoiding.

• Assuming every home is near the train. University City covers a lot of ground. Some homes sit an easy walk from a station and many do not. If the light rail is the reason you are looking here, check the walk from the front door, not the distance on a map.
• Going by the neighborhood name for county and schools. The name does not settle it. The address does, and on this side of Charlotte the county line runs close by. We confirm the county and school assignment for every home you consider.
• Seeing the area only once. A campus, a concert venue and a rail line make the area feel different from one day to the next. If you can, see a short-list home on a weeknight and on a weekend before you commit.
• Treating the due diligence fee like a deposit back home. In North Carolina, if you walk away in writing before the due diligence period ends, you generally get your earnest money back, but the seller generally keeps the due diligence fee. Plan the fee as money you should be prepared to lose.
• Letting the first available house set the schedule. A job starts on one date, a lease ends on another, and a home you are selling elsewhere may close on a third. Some buyers rent for a few months first to learn the area, and others buy before they move so they only move once. Neither is always right, and we talk through which fits before you tour.
• Booking tours before the paperwork. MLS rules require a written Buyer Agency Agreement before you enter a home for an in-person or virtual tour. Our representation of you is set out in the written agreement you sign, and it is worth reading before your first trip, not on the morning of it.

Here is a hypothetical example to show how the steps fit together. It describes no real client.

For example, suppose a buyer is moving from another state for a job uptown, with a fixed start date and a lease that ends a few weeks after it. They would rather not drive to work, so the light rail puts University City at the top of their list before they have ever seen it.

We start with the commute. The buyer's office is a short walk from an uptown station, so the question becomes how far they are willing to walk to a station at the University City end. They decide on an easy walk, which narrows the search to the homes within that walk of a station.

Next, we put one alternative beside it. A single-family home in Highland Creek would mean driving or parking near a station, but it brings the golf course, the pools and more space. For each home on either list, we confirm the county, because a Highland Creek address may be in Cabarrus rather than Mecklenburg, and that changes the tax bill and the school system.

The buyer tours the first round by video. Two homes make the short list, and one trip covers both, on a weekday evening and the following morning, so the buyer sees the area at different times. When one stands out, the Offer Position Analysis is ready before the offer is written, with a due diligence period long enough for inspections to happen while the buyer is back home, and a closing date that lands before the lease ends.

The buyer still makes the decision. Our job is to make sure they understand the decision they are making. If you are planning a move, relocating to Charlotte covers how we approach the city as a whole, and you can talk with Carolina Signature Properties about relocating to University City. We will start with your first week of commutes.

This article describes our general approach and is not legal, tax or lending advice.

Is University City on the light rail?

Yes. The LYNX Blue Line was extended to UNC Charlotte in 2018, adding 11 stations, several of them in University City, with service to uptown.

What kinds of homes are in University City?

Neighborhoods of single-family homes of mostly ranch, traditional and two-story homes, newer planned communities, townhomes, condos, and many apartments near the university and the light rail. Age and size vary widely by neighborhood.

Can I buy a home in University City before I move?

It can be done. Virtual tours and walkthrough video help you search from a distance, inspection reports can be sent to you, and the closing attorney can tell you what signing options are available if you cannot be here.

Does every University City area address fall in the same county?

Not always. The northeast side of Charlotte sits next to Cabarrus County, and some nearby communities, such as Highland Creek, cross the county line. We check the county and school assignment for every address.