Uncommon Knowledge
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In the past five years, Fair Market Rent for Asheville has skyrocketed. The estimated rent for a one-bedroom apartment has increased by 78% and has made the mountainous metropolitan area’s cost of housing as the highest in North Carolina.
Yet, Asheville is not the only North Carolina city facing steep rent increases, as well as the rapidly rising cost of homeownership. The Raleigh and Charlotte metros both saw increases of 54% in Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Here’s a breakdown of where some of the most and least expensive areas to rent in North Carolina are.
Perhaps a no-brainer, North Carolina metros and tourist towns are the most expensive to live in. Asheville’s Metropolitan Statistical Area tops that list in every metric — meaning the area is estimated to be the most expensive from those looking for efficiency apartments to those looking to rent a four-bedroom house.
Yet, there are other areas which are just as expensive in certain metrics. Here are the most expensive metros North Carolina if you are looking for a two-bedroom apartment:
As for those looking for a place that is more affordable, you may have to look outside of population centers — in some cases, a fair distance away from one. Of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 26 of them have the lowest estimate of $856 a month for a two bedroom.
For North Carolina families, a few counties halve the cost of Asheville’s FMR for three-bedroom units. Here are the 10 least expensive counties for those looking to rent three-bedrooms in North Carolina:
Especially if you are moving for a new job or looking to relocate to work at one of the several major UNC System universities, you are likely to wind up searching for housing in a metro area.
During that search, there is a high chance you may stumble across certain areas of major cities that are more expensive than others — you might even be able to tell a difference based on where you look.
A few of these areas include a major tourist beach town and an area just outside of Asheville that has some of Western North Carolina’s most expensive mountaintop mansions. According to HUD, the homes and apartments in the following areas are the most expensive to rent out in North Carolina:
All of this data was sourced from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development website estimates for FMR for 2024.
Fair Market Rent, or FMR, estimates are produced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and local public housing authorities. The number indicates how much it costs to rent a moderately-priced dwelling unit and determine payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher program.
The number is calculated by taking the 40th percentile of gross rents for typical, non-substandard rental units occupied by recent movers, according to HUD. That means an area’s Fair Market Rent reflects that 40% of rental units cost as much or less than the estimated Fair Market Rent.
You can learn more about how Fair Market Rent is calculated at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html.
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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.
An AMBER Alert has been issued for a missing child in Durham, North Carolina, who police said they believe has been abducted by his biological mother.
Nine-year-old Geon King-Parriett was last seen at approximately 6:03 p.m. on Thursday, Durham Police Department said in a statement shared with Newsweek. The DPD described the child as a Black male, approximately 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 100 pounds.
King-Parriett has brown hair and brown eyes, the police said. He was last seen wearing an all black outfit which included a black hoodie and black sweatpants.
His mother, Mariah King, is described as a 33-year-old Black female. She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. She also has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing gray sweat pants and a black crop top, and was wearing her hair up.
According to a report from local news station WRAL, the pair walked away from 202 S Benjamine Street on Thursday.
Social media users have been commenting on the Durham Police Department’s Facebook post, expressing criticism over how the AMBER alert was issued.
One user wrote, “Whoever sent out the Amber alerts needs to be fired. Both of them contained ZERO useful information, and the second alert wasn’t even correct.”
Another user wrote, “Whoever did the amber alert needs to rethink how they send an amber alert it gave no description or anything at all.”
Newsweek emailed the Durham Police Department for comment on the criticism regarding the AMBER alert, and a representative advised Newsweek that The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issues the Amber Alerts that are sent out to wireless phones.
Newsweek has reached out to The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons for comment.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Durham Police Department at 919-475-2511 or to call 911.
The term AMBER Alert refers to the emergency response system that shares information about child abduction in order to mobilize the public into locating the child.
The “AMBER” stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.”
The emergency message means that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger.
It was named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996.
The alert system functions by using media broadcasts, highway signs and other communication channels to share descriptions of the child, suspect and any vehicles involved.
As of 2023, 1,200 children were found through the AMBER Alert system and 180 children were rescued because of the emergency alerts.
A Wisconsin toddler remains missing months after an AMBER Alert was issued. The child’s mother and her boyfriend are currently facing child neglect charges.
3-year-old Elijah Vue was last seen on February 20 in Two Rivers while he was staying with his mother’s boyfriend, Jesse Vang. Vang took a nap and woke up three hours later to find the child gone.
The AMBER Alert said that “He was last seen wearing gray sweat pants, long sleeve dark colored shirt and red and green dinosaur slip on shoes.”
In June, an AMBER Alert Review was requested following the murder of a child in Louisiana.
Rep. Dixon McMakin said that the AMBER Alert system was “not as efficient or effective as it should be,” after it took “hours to issue” in the wake of the disappearance of two girls, Erin and Jalie Brunett on June 13.
Four-year-old Erin Brunett was found dead hours later. Her mother was also killed.
Update, 7/26/24, 10:45 a.m. ET: This piece was updated with additional comment from the Durham Police Department.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
A North Carolina high school teacher was arrested Wednesday for allegedly sexually abusing a student, police said.
Britney Marie Vernon, 39, was hit with three counts of felony indecent liberties with a student and three counts of felony sex acts with a student, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
The disturbing assault allegations against the Randleman High School teacher were first reported on July 1.
Police did not share the details or disclose if more than one student was allegedly targeted by Vernon, but said the accusations were troubling enough to issue a warrant.
The sheriff also did not clarify whether the alleged victim was Vernon’s student or their age.
The age of consent in North Carolina is 16.
Vernon is a Career and Technical Education Teacher (CTE) within the high school’s Health Services department, according to its webpage.
She began her teaching career at Randleman High on August 21, 2023, but had been a part of the Randolph County School System since August 2018, a spokesperson told WFMY 2 News.
Vernon has since been suspended without pay.
She is being held on a $75,000 unsecured bond and is due back in court on Aug. 12.
Randleman is a city with a population of 4,600 and is 20 miles south of Greensboro.
DURHAM, N.C. (FOX Carolina) – The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issued an Amber Alert Thursday night for a missing child from Durham.
Officials described the child, Geon King-Parriett, as a black male around 4 feet 10 inches tall and 100 pounds. They added that he was last seen wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants.
Officials said they believe the child is with Mariah King, a 33-year-old black female around 5 feet 4 inches tall and 140 pounds. Deputies stated that she was last seen wearing gray sweatpants and a black crop top with her hair in a bun with a ponytail.
According to officials, the pair left 202 S Benjamine Street on foot.
Anyone with information regarding Geon King-Parriett or Mariah King is asked to call the Durham Police Department immediately at (919) 475-2511. People can also call 911 or *HP.
Copyright 2024 WHNS. All rights reserved.
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