STEELE CREEK

Steele Creek is southwest Mecklenburg's growth corridor: farmland twenty-five years ago, now subdivision after subdivision of new single-family homes and townhomes, with more still being built. Toward the west the land runs down to Lake Wylie; toward the north it meets the airport and the I-485 and I-77 interchanges.

Buying here often means buying from a builder, and a builder's contract is not the standard state form. Read the deposit, delay and warranty terms closely, and pay for your own inspections even on a brand-new house: a pre-drywall inspection and a final inspection catch what a walkthrough will not. On resales, check the HOA documents and the plat for easements, and confirm whether the property is inside the City of Charlotte or in the unincorporated county.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is minutes away, I-485 rings the area and I-77 is to the east. Charlotte Premium Outlets and the Steele Creek Road corridor carry the retail, and McDowell Nature Preserve and Copperhead Island give access to the lake.