"We discovered McLendon Hills about 5 years ago, as we frequented it often with day trips.
It always felt like home when we were there. Such a feeling of peace, with stunning homes, majestic grounds, the lake, and the amazing equestrian center at its hub.
Finally, the universe presented the perfect piece of land for sale, which we bought and are currently reviewing plans to begin building our Dream House. Tom, Cristy, and the whole team are a God-send; very helpful and insightful—and, of course, it all comes with that Southern Hospitality.
We are looking forward to the next chapter, and calling McLendon Hills our HOME!"
~ Sally & Everett
"Living in California, Dan and I had tried for two years to find a piece of land for a retirement home and room for our horse. With no luck, we began to think of other states about the country and what might work and fit for us.
We had quite a list of standards that we felt we needed met. We wanted an equestrian community; a climate that was milder with each season; out in the county but close enough to shopping and restaurants; a lower tax area; good medical facility nearby; and land enough to facilitate our horse.
After much research we found a few communities that fit the model. We made a road trip, lining up each community. With each community we toured, we found some had issues that did not fit the bill, and others were possibilities. However, when we arrived at McLendon Hills, within minutes we knew we had found all that we needed and wanted.
Driving into the community through the front gates, greeted by the serenity of horses grazing the pastures, did set the tone with a mood of a place that drove us home. As we drove, we found homes designed with style and quality craftsmanship filling the streets, beautiful landscape that changes with each season and a pristine lake, complemented by a surrounding forest of trees. Horse trails meander through the tree covered pathways and walking paths take in the lake and or sunset each day. We were in love!
Greeted by Cristy and Tom, we felt welcomed and right away part of the community. Cristy took care of us with purchasing the perfect lot for us and our horse. Tom was there for questions as they arose, and we felt a security and trust in him.
We were only there a short time before we needed to get back on the road, but met several people in the community and could feel the friendly, homey and down to earth people who made us feel right away part of the community and at home.
We are very excited with our choice and are looking forward to starting the building process and moving forward with our new life at McLendon Hills. God has blessed us with this new place to call home!"
~ Christine & Dan H.
"We are so excited to build a lakefront home at McLendon Hills. This place puts the hills in Sandhills. We enjoyed exploring the large lots and found it very easy to work with the team to purchase our spot. The lake really brings down the blood pressure."
~ Jason & Michelle
"About five years ago we started thinking about where the best rated places to retire in the U.S. with horses—and Mclendon Hills was on that list. It took us five years to finally make the trip out from Illinois, and guess what:
Mclendon Hills is still on the best rated places to retire. We bought our combined lots on the second day of our visit. We not only got a view of this beautiful spring fed lake, our horses are now in our back yard, thanks to
Tom Carr,
Developer, personally taking us to see these lots. The
Mclendon Hills Construction Crew, headed by
Roger Worley, has been a dream to work with—from house and barn planning, to lot clearing, design, etc. They went the extra mile continuously to make sure we were happy during the process. We are living our dream, in
God's Country, thanks to everyone in Mclendon Hills who was involved in the process.
Our heartfelt thanks! "
~ Jody & Bob P.
"During our experience from finding McLendon Hills, purchasing our dream lot and designing our dream home the one phrase I kept saying to my husband was
“This place is heaven to me”. One of the most important features for me was to have the opportunity to have my horse close by and board at the beautiful barn and have access to amazing trails and arenas. Heaven. The entire design process was so much fun and we were able to build the perfect house for us. Heaven. And the proximity to excellent golf courses for my husband was a huge plus. Heaven. We are so grateful to have found such a wonderful and welcoming community to call home ---
heaven. "
~ Elizabeth O.
"When we were approaching retirement, we decided we wanted to start a new adventure in this new phase of our lives. We knew it wouldn't be easy to leave Hawaii after 37 years, but thought if we could live right on the waterfront somewhere, it would make the transition easier. We chose the Carolinas because we liked the idea of enjoying the 4 seasons, but without a lot of snow. After a few scouting trips, visiting ten different lakes throughout the Carolinas, and more than a hundred houses, we just couldn't seem to find the perfect fit until we came upon McLendon Hills. We had a choice of beautiful lakefront lots, and the area had a rural feel, while still providing close proximity to shopping, restaurants, and medical facilities. What really sold us, though, was the sense of community that we felt as soon as we arrived on our first visit. Now that our house is finished and we're settling in, the McLendon Hills community has been so welcoming, friendly, and helpful that we know this was one of the best decisions we've ever made!"
~ Barry & Denise
"We spent hours researching Mclendon Hills and I couldn't find anything wrong. The POA fees were the cheapest we had found @ $650 per year. There was a world class hospital minutes away. Mclendon Hills is located in West End NC...3-4 minutes from several good food stores, 23 minutes from shopping with every store and restaurant you could ever want. West End is about 2 1/2 hours from the ocean and about 3 l/2-4 hours from the mountains. We paid Tom, Ed, and Suzanne a visit on Feb. 21 at an Ideal Living Expo in Bridgewater NJ. We asked many questions and always found the answers to our liking. Tom Carr was very polite and not at all like a salesman. It was time for a visit! We arrived at Mclendon Hills on Sat. April 4th and it was nothing short of spectacular. The entrance way with it's big beautiful gates and all the beautiful homes, each nicely spaced. We went to church with Ed and Suzanne on Easter Sunday. They are two of the most welcoming people you will ever meet. Both my wife and I felt we had found our new home, however my wife said a woman does not buy the first dress she tries on even if it's perfect. We stayed for 2 nights and then headed for South Carolina for 4 days. We looked at many communities, but none were as nice as Mclendon Hills and all were much more costly for smaller lots. We went back to West End for 2 nights and put a deposit on lake front lot #163. We went back to Mclendon Hills this past August for 5 nights. The one thing I didn't count on is how welcomed we were and how many new friends we have made in such a short time. Our original time frame was to move in 3 years when my wife retires. I suggested she retire in 2 years instead and to my surprise she quickly agreed."
~ Jeff & Patti
“Mclendon Hills is a community that cares about their residents. Friendly people, good weather...coming from Chicago we love the southern hospitality and don't miss the traffic. There are a variety of festivals and social activities. The feel of country living but close to good medical care and shopping."
~ Terri & Danette
"A few years ago we sat down at our kitchen table in Flemington New Jersey to decide where we wanted to retire. After many visits to different communities nothing really rocked our boat. On our final planned trip to Tennessee we decided to drop on by McLendon Hills to take the tour, since Suzanne, the rep we met at an Ideal Living show a couple of years earlier, was very nice and friendly. We had no plans at all to retire in North Carolina. Just a quick courtesy visit. When we drove through the main gate, we were pleasantly surprised. Suzanne gave us the grand tour of the community and also a very important tour of the nearby towns; the even more important health care facilities. Back at the motel room that night, we both looked at each other and realized we really kind of liked McLendon Hills. We called Suzanne that night and told her we wanted to come back and take a more serious look. We met Tom Carr, the developer and builder, picked out a lot and then put down a deposit. Came back a couple of months later to close on the lot. Then met Roger Worley from McLendon Construction, picked out a floor plan for a new home to be custom built. Nine months later the home is complete and we moved in the first of the new year of 2018. When you have to make that final big decision of where you want to retire, and spend the rest of your life, a lot of factors have to go into that decision. Number one. Constant prayer. What type of lifestyle do you want to enjoy. The staff at McLendon Hills and McLendon Home Construction could have not been more helpful. It can be a very stressful time; a lot of decisions have to be made. Today the end result was well worth the wait. Just a simple drive through the main gate, saying "hi there" to the horses that greet you. A drive around the lake and through the community. That's all it really took. Looking forward to our first spring and summer nights sitting by the fire pit by our dock. Ah, such is life. It is going to be fun. Feels so good to finally call McLendon Hills our home."
~ Kevin & Tamara
“Have you ever relocated and felt at home immediately? Having just moved from Connecticut, we can tell you first hand that the Mclendon Hills community has embraced us from Day 1. Call it what you want, but we are loving that good ole' 'Southern Hospitality'. We know we made the right choice with Mclendon Hills.”
~ Rheo & Faith.
“We love the
lake! Sailing, swimming, fishing, kayaking all summer after a morning full or horses or golf. It doesn't get any better than this!”
~ Sandy C.
"Kathy and I want to sincerely thank you for guiding us through a complicated
property transaction that not only included the basic buying and selling
contractual components inherent to a property purchase, but also atypical
aspects involved in merging lots and redeeding.
On the people side of the transaction, you ensured that both the buyer and
seller felt that they both participated in a fair buying and selling
experience.
In facilitating the successful completion of the contract and settlement,
you knew exactly with whom to work and optimally how to work with the right
government offices, companies and people necessary to ensure the transaction
went smoothly.
What you brought to the table to effect a smooth transaction cannot be
understated and underscores the difference between working with a
broker/realtor that has little experience and one that has experience second
to none.
Your ability and knowledge and general wisdom ensured an amazingly fast and
efficient buying experience in a transaction that could have easily
derailed.
Kathy and I know the value you enabled and will be sure to seek your wise
guidance and support in the future, and intend to refer many people your way
seeking the optimal buying and/or selling experience for themselves.
Thank you so much for your superb insight, enabling, and support that
ensured our wonderful buying experience."
~ Craig & Kathy Curtis
"We recently moved into our dream home in McLendon Hills. It would not have been possible without the wonderful construction and competent assistance provided by McLendon Hills Construction and the entire staff working together to support us. Our new home was the culminaton of over four years of searching for the right property, planning the home layout and deciding on a builder. McLendon Hills Construction listened to our needs, provided expert advice and gave their full attention to the smallest of details during the building of our home. Their patience and support throughout our many changes was indicative of the Mclendon Hills Construction personnel. We could not be happier with our dream home and with McLendon Hills Construction for helping make "the dream" a reality."
~ Carl and Cassi Chandler
"We found our dream retirement area that had everything we were looking for in West End, NC. In our search I was wondering if this dream community existed since we weren't finding it until we called Cristy at McLendon Hills. We found our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and then had our home and barn were built and now enjoying our new community with our horses."
~ Jeanne & Jamie
"Love our new house. Thank you and Suzanne for all your help finding this gem!!"
~ Kimberly
"McLendon Hills had us at 'Hello'!
We fell in love quickly with this beautiful community and it's residents; both human and equestrian. From the stunning stone and iron gates, to the community barns and horses that greeted us on our first visit, to the many options available in terms of lot size and topography, we just knew that this is where we wanted to enjoy our active retirement years. We built our lake front home in 2010, and traded the cold winters of upstate NY for the wonderful climate of the Sandhills of NC."
~ Michele J.
"Feels like we've lived here forever!
We are especially enjoying our new lives at McLendon Hills. In some ways it feels like we've lived here forever which is one of many affirmations we keep experiencing that reinforce our decision to make McLendon Hills home! :)"
~ Lisa K.
"As you know it is a difficult time resettling anywhere but when we discovered McLendon Hills we knew the search was over and we had foun 'the one'. We feel so very fortunate to have found this wonderful place called McLendon Hills. We look forward to some very good times with good neighbors!"
~Robert & Dianne S.
"When Lynn and I were in our late fifties we started doing research looking for the ideal place to retire and decided on North Carolina. We rented a car and began our three week discovery tour covering all four corners of the state. We visited multiple communities, took lots of photos, looked at many houses and liked so much of what we saw it made our decision of where to retire much more difficult. I had my heart set on the Lake Norman area so I could have a boat nearby. We flew into Charlotte and quickly decided that was not going to work out for us. We then decided to drive to the Southern Pines and the Pinehurst area because a friend had recommended it. The moment we drove in to town, we both said "this is where we need to be". I had been corresponding with Suzanne Clarke via email so we got in touch with her and she found the perfect house for us. Suzanne was extremely helpful and set up an appointment for the next day. We fell in love with the house and the rest is history. We couldn't be happier living in McLendon Hills, it is the perfect fit for us. This community is so welcoming, there is a diverse group of people that make great neighbors, the properties are beautiful, the equestrian center is of the highest quality, and the lake and pavilion is perfect for community gatherings.
"
~Ed & Lynn S.