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A year after Tropical Storm Chantal sent a wall of water rushing through Carrboro’s Weatherhill Pointe, the neighborhood’s biggest challenge isn’t mold, debris or reconstruction. It’s delinquency.
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The homeowners’ association has liens on seven homes, with two more expected “in the coming weeks,” according to board members.
Six of the seven delinquent properties were purchased by investment companies in the chaotic months after the flood, when longtime residents were forced to sell “as is” or walk away entirely.
Monthly dues are just $168, but for some investors, even that has gone unpaid.
Inside this 1990s blue-collar subdivision near Morgan Creek, “homes are just sitting vacant,” said Judy Beckert-Jones, Weatherhill Pointe HOA secretary, in an email.
“They’re not habitable. No work is being done.”
When Tropical Storm Chantal hit Central North Carolina last July, it dumped 9 to 12 inches of rain in some locations, stressing stormwater systems, damaging homes and businesses, and displacing dozens overnight. It caused six deaths and over $42 million in public infrastructure damage.
Weatherhill Pointe sits less than two miles east of University Lake. The overflow from the lake’s dam pushed a torrent of water downstream, adding to the deluge. In less than four hours, at least a quarter of the 80-home neighborhood completely flooded out.
Crews performed 57 water rescues from Weatherhill Pointe alone.
The board recently voted to waive late fees and interest for homeowners who lived there on July 6, 2025 — the day Chantal hit — and who fell behind during months of displacement.
Payment plans were offered to families whose homes flooded. But the same grace has not extended to corporate landlords.
“This is a strong and caring community committed to moving forward with repairs,” Beckert-Jones said. “[But] the HOA is taking legal action when necessary to make sure dues are collected.”
Two companies stand out.
Cary-based Best Investment Realty owns five liened homes — 301 Berryhill Drive, 115 Weatherhill Pointe, 309 Berryhill Drive, 124 Weatherhill Pointe and 109 Riverbirch Point. After the HOA threatened foreclosure, the company issued partial payments on each property. One home, 301 Berryhill, is now under contract for $335,000 after Best Investment Realty purchased it for $275,000 in September 2025, just two months after the storm.
Another investor, Fortunato Capital LLC, has a lien on 100 Riverbirch Point, a home it repaired and listed for sale. The HOA says communication has been sporadic. (It’s currently listed off market.)
Neither Best Investment Realty nor Fortunato Capital responded to The News & Observer’s requests for comment.
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A seventh lien involves a homeowner who moved out of town and stopped responding altogether, the board said.
For longtime residents, the delinquency is more than a bookkeeping issue. It’s a sign of a neighborhood in transition — from owner‑occupied to investor‑controlled.
Many say they’re also worried about plummeting house prices and the next major storm. They want to know what’s being done to mitigate the risks, including from University Lake and its aging dam.
Some, like Peter and Catherine Burke, both in their 80s, coordinated with Orange County’s Habitat for Humanity to rebuild. In Chantal’s aftermath, the nonprofit raised nearly $300,000 to repair 10 homes in Weatherhill Pointe and nearby Canterbury Townhomes, including water removal and drying, demolition and debris removal, mold remediation and reconstruction.
The Burkes returned home last March after eight months in limbo.
“Things have felt relatively normal since we moved in,” Peter Burke said. But he added: “As hurricane season moves on, I’ll be more nervous.” They remain without flood insurance.
Meanwhile, Orange Water and Sewer Authority, the local utility that maintains University Lake’s dam, is looking for solutions and pushing for a Morgan Creek flood management study as part of the Eno-Haw Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The plan identifies potential flooding hazards in Orange, Durham, Alamance and Person counties and lists strategies for addressing the problems. The Morgan Creek study will also look at whether University Lake, which has a “high dam hazard potential” and was built to overflow, can help in some way with flood management, OWASA staff have said, and be used to seek grant funding.
The staff also met with Carrboro and county officials and their emergency services staff to talk about how to better prepare and respond to future flooding, OWASA spokeswoman Katie Hall said. That included providing survey data to properly calibrate stream gauges up and downstream of the lake, she said.
But some homeowners aren’t waiting. They’re choosing to sell and move on, instead of taking on the cost of remediation.
Down the street, the owners of 305 Berryhill Drive tried to sell their 1,625-square-foot home “as is” for $315,000 on Aug. 12, without much luck. After four price cuts, they removed the listing. In January, it sold off-market for $239,000 to Holly Springs-based investor Khannas & Sons — below the home’s 2016 assessed market value, county records show.
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