Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for March, 2010

Trading Garden Time for Shop Time

Posted in gardening, Quality of Life, tagged , on March 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Since mid-January I’ve been clomping around in a “walking boot” provided by my doctor after we concluded that I’d fractured my fibula back in December.  The walking boot is supposed to keep everything fixed in place so that it will heal correctly.  It’s no doubt way better than wearing a cast all the time.  I could remove it to take a shower and change clothes.  Still, it was not much fun to walk on the boot everyday.  I sure couldn’t sneak up on anyone because of the noise the thin rubber sole made on most floors.  When time came to review the situation last week with my doctor, I proposed moving to an ankle brace as a logical half-step to freedom.  The doc agreed that it would give me most of the protection that the walking boot did, but that I’d need to be especially careful not to get into situations where I could force my ankle to twist and re-injure myself.  I was really getting tired of having my toes hanging out of that boot all the time and missed very much wearing a shoe on my left foot.  So I promised I’d be good and got my ankle brace.

The upshot of this is that with my need to be extra careful, I don’t see much liklihood of having a garden at my Mooresville, NC home this year. There’s just too much chance of fouling up on the uneven ground of a garden.  Using my tiller to plow is out of the question, but even then, if I got a friend to plow, there’s much more work to do to bring a garden out of the ground and too much chance of having to start over in “THE BOOT.”  So, this may be the first time in about twenty years that I’ll have to go to the store or farmer’s market to get my tomatoes and squash.  I’m so used to just going out to the garden to pick what I want, I may experience a bit of withdrawal from not being able to just pull a tomato and slice it up five minutes later.

I know as I get older I’ll have to give up some things I enjoy. I watched my parents go through that unhappy evolution.  But I’m not ready to give up my garden for the long haul.  I may be the only person on the street that grows vegetables, but I think that’s the neighbors’ loss (except when I bring them a bag of my vegetables).

The good news is that I may be able to trade garden time for shop time.  Don’t think there’s much way to hurt myself (at least my foot) in the shop- my silver lining.

Read Full Post »

Payback for Wretched Excess

Posted in General Real Estate Market, tagged , on March 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Just talked to my daughter, Laura, who lives in Raleigh.  She’s loves to curl up with the newspaper everyday.  We were talking about how my real estate business is going, and she mentioned an article she read in yesterday’s News & Observer about an entrepreneur who built a luxury home in the Raleigh area several years ago and put it and its 71 acres on the market for $32 million.  It never sold, has gone through some dividing up of acreage, and recently was bought by a mortgage company for $5.6 million.

HERE is a link to the article.

Welcome to the “new normal.”

Read Full Post »

Insulated Windows- To Fix, or Not to Fix?

Posted in General Real Estate Market, Iredell County, Lake Norman, Mooresville, Real Estate, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Some of my clients and I just got the results of an inspection on a house in Mooresville, NC  that we have under contract.  The house was built in the mid-seventies, and the windows have basic IGUs- Insulated Glass Units.  These units in the windows are what you’ll see in most homes, with two panes of glass separated by a space that may at one time have provided a partial vacuum designed to improve the insulating value.  Over time, these units may lose the seal that preserves the partial vacuum and get moisture inside, clouding the glass.  That’s what the inspection report said has happened with many of the windows in the house.  My clients, the buyers, must decide if they want some or any of these window units replaced.  The reason is that inspections point out what parts of a house are no longer performing the functions for which they were designed.  In this case, the insulating value is less than original, and the ability to see through the window is less than the original.

This is a good example of the interpretation of the language in the standard offer to purchase which says inspected components of the house must be able to perform the function for which they were designed.  Are windows designed primarily to keep out the wind and rain and let in the light?  If so, a failed seal is not a big deal.  However, if you add to your definition of functionality that they are also meant to reduce heating bills just like other insulation in the house and provide a clear view to the outside, then a failed seal means that the window is not performing the intended function- at least fully performing it.

Gets tricky, doesn’t it?  If you are selling your home, you might want to think about this if you have some cloudy windows.  Most buyers will get an inspection and most inspectors will say the window units need to be replaced.  One way to keep that from becoming an issue is to go ahead and replace those faulty units now.  It makes negotiations much easier when there’s not much in the way of repairs to negotiate.

Read Full Post »

Tax Benefit for First Time and Repeat Homebuyers Not Having Much Effect

Posted in General Real Estate Market, tagged , , , , , on March 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Real estate agents make a living helping people buy and sell homes.  For quite awhile, there have not been nearly enough home buyers or serious sellers to keep us agents happy.  There are always some buyers and sellers out there, and we’re thrilled when we get to help someone, particularly since the funky market has made it more difficult to get from an offer to a successful closing than ever before.  We just would like more, please!

We’ve had high hopes that the extended tax credits for first time home buyers and new tax credit for repeat buyers would heat up the market substantially.  We have seen some degree of improvement lately- about what you’d normally see in the spring around here.  Yet, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest focused on the benefits of the tax credits.  I think we did get some a real boost last fall for the first round of these credits, but projections now are showing limited response to the current, and likely last, round of tax incentives for home buyers.  This is in spite of historically low mortgage interest rates and low housing prices.  Housing won’t be this affordable again for a long time.

As most understand, the future hangs mostly on the recovery of the economy and the (un)employment numbers.  We’re always hoping for a magic bullet, but this time it looks like the bullet is traveling at a donkey’s pace.

HERE is a link to a good Bloomberg Business Week article that pulls all of the variables together.

Read Full Post »

Our Realtor Association Gets an Honor

Posted in Iredell County, Lake Norman, Mecklenburg County, Quality of Life, Real Estate, tagged on March 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Realtors Care Day, 2010 is coming up on April 23.  This is an event where hundreds of local Realtors perform maintenance and rehab work on many houses in Mecklenburg and Iredell Counties.  Our Realtor Association, through its Housing Opportunity Foundation, created and implemented the program for the first time last year.  Today we were informed that we’ve been nationally honored for this achievement.  Here is a press release from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association:

The Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association Housing Opportunity Foundation and City of Charlotte are one of two national recipients of the 2010 Ambassador City designation by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors for their successful partnership on the Foundation’s Realtors® Care Day initiative.
Realtors® Care Day, an all-day, home-repair initiative to assist homeowners in both Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, requires the involvement of hundreds of Realtors® as well as collaboration with the City of Charlotte and the foundation’s nonprofit housing partners. The U.S. Conference of Mayors and NAR have for the second time since 2005, designated Charlotte as an Ambassador City to highlight this successful private/public partnership aimed at expanding housing opportunities. The Realtors® Care Day project will serve as a model to other Realtor® associations and communities around the country.
“The goal of the Ambassadors for Cities grant, which was awarded to only two Realtor® associations this year, is to encourage collaborative efforts aimed at expanding housing opportunities in communities across the nation,” said Chris Clemans, 2010 Chair, Housing Opportunity Committee, for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). “By bringing together the City of Charlotte, elected officials, area housing nonprofits and 650 Realtor® members, the Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association Housing Opportunity Foundation’s Realtors® Care Day will serve as a model of a public/private partnership that can be replicated by other communities. We are honored to bestow this special designation and an award of $5,000 toward the project, honoring the deep commitment of this community-wide initiative.”
A formal ceremony will be held with association and NAR leadership along with officials from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to officially present the award to the foundation on Realtors® Care Day, April 23, 2010.
For more information, visit the association’s Web site at www.CarolinaHome.com or www.RealtorsCareDay.com.

____________________________________________________________

Pretty cool, huh!

Read Full Post »

MIT- Mitchell in Town

Posted in Iredell County, Lake Norman, Mooresville, tagged on March 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Those of us who live in and around Mooresville, NC have for years referred to our local institute of higher learning as “MIT.”  As you guessed from the title, that stands for “Mitchell in Town.”  This facility opened in 1984 and has provided convenient training and educational opportunities to south Iredell residents for all those years.  It has proved very popular and has been previously expanded as a result. 

Today, the college had a ground-breaking for yet another expansion to include a new 35,000 sq. ft, three-story building to serve our local educational needs.  This is a $5.5 million project that will help our area keep up with the influx of students, young and old, who need to update their skills for a changing work environment.

Click HERE for a recent Mooresville Tribune article and artist’s concept of the building.

Read Full Post »

Real Estate Market Heating Up

Posted in General Real Estate Market, Real Estate, tagged , , , , on March 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

My fellow agents and I are seeing some upbeat interest in selling and buying homes among the local population lately.  Buyers and sellers are starting to call our office and our agents.  That’s one reason why it’s been awhile since I’ve posted here.  When I have the choice of writing a nice blog post or working with a client, the client always wins!

A couple of observations may be appropriate coming from this activity for people who are thinking of buying or selling. 

First, for buyers, yes there are lots of homes on the market and more coming on.  Many are short sales or foreclosures.  Lots of buyers tell us to start looking at that group of homes.  When we look into the listings, we find that often the reason they are having to be a short sale or foreclosure is because they tried to sell conventionally in the past, and there’s a good reason why they didn’t sell.  If we go see the property, we’ll take one look and understand why it didn’t sell when the owner wanted it to sell.  The lesson to learn is that when you want to buy a property, don’t just insist on seeing nothing but short sales and foreclosures, particularly if you want to live there.  There are plenty of good deals out there being sold by motivated buyers who will agree to a reasonable offer.

Next, for sellers, everyone wants to sell for the highest price possible, and I’m all for that.  As a matter of fact, one of my jobs as a listing agent is to help you get the best price and terms for your property.  Yet, sellers need to understand that even though there are lots of great ways for agents to market your property, and the amount and quality of property marketing can vary, no amount of fancy advertising will cause a buyer to want to pay too much for a property.  The purpose of property marketing is to get the property in front of as many potential buyers as possible since it’s a numbers game, and every buyer has a unique set of goals to meet in buying a property.  So, effective marketing coupled with reasonable market pricing will get people in the door.  Effective marketing with too high a list price will bring no one in the door and waste time and effort.  You will not get offers until you get some people to look at your property.  Let’s talk about how to determine a reasonable list price that is competitive with others in your market.

Read Full Post »

Two Great Choices for Iredell Music This Weekend

Posted in Iredell County, Lake Norman, Mooresville, Quality of Life, Real Estate, Statesville, tagged , , , , , , on March 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

You’ve got great choices to enjoy live music in Mooresville and Statesville this weekend, from bluegrass to symphonic.

From my friend, Stu Eaton of Mooresville Concerts:

THE NEW DIXIE PHARAOHS

Saturday, MARCH 13th at 7:30 PM, meet the New Dixie Pharaohs in Downtown Mooresville, playing a blend of traditional and progressive bluegrass. This performance and the remainder of the series will be at the Historic Downtown Mooresville playing in the Joe Knox Theater at the Charles Mack Citizen’s Center, 215 N. Main St, Mooresville, NC. Tickets are $10, $5 for students, children under 10 free. Call (704) 662-3334, or at the door.

Begun by founding members Larry Perrell and Don Smart, the New Dixie Pharaohs have been performing traditional and progressive Bluegrass music in and around Charlotte, NC for twenty years. Originally the brainchild of Bassist Larry Perrel and Guitarman Don Smart, their blend of traditional and progressive bluegrass has created an ever growing fan base and they can be found performing regularly at local venues and clubs. They bring a diverse background of musical tastes and influences together with a sincere love of what they call “Just Good Pickin.” Since beginning this musical venture in 1990 as the entertainment act for a corporate sponsored United Way fundraiser, the band has grown into one of the finest bluegrass acts in the area. Their diverse repertoire spans several genres, most notably a regional North Carolina sound, with old-time fiddle and Dobro from our nearby mountains, a welcome influence. They have shared stages with Blue Highway, Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent and Thryd Tyme Out.

From Iredell Concert Association:

LAKE NORMAN ORCHESTRA

March 13, 2010, 7:30PM

Statesville Senior High School- Mac Gray Auditorium

The Lake Norman Orchestra was formed in 2002 and started performing throughout the Southern Iredell, Northern Mecklenburg, East Lincoln and West Cabarrus area in 2003. membership has grown to more than 60 active members and is open to any musician who plays strings, woodwinds, brass or percussion. They currently perform six to eight concerts a year at both outdoor casual presentations or more formal indoor concerts. Their musical talent and professional performances have brought rave reviews.

Enjoyment is the key to the LKNO’s success as it provides a venue for musicians of all ages to perform.

See ticket information at the Iredell Concert Association site HERE. For this final concert of the season, you can attend for free if you buy a season ticket for next year’s performances. Brochures for next year are available at the door, and you can download a copy here: Brochure Concert Schedule 10.

Read Full Post »

Troutman Library Update

Posted in Iredell County, Lake Norman, Quality of Life, Troutman, tagged , , on March 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Went to the monthly meeting of the Friends for the Troutman Library.  Of course, we’re all excited at the prospect of opening that wonderful new library building and seeing it full of books and people, and we were assured it will open sooner rather than later.  The big holdup right now is the Iredell County government trying to figure out how to pay all of the county’s bills and commitments.  Tax revenue is down, and all government bodies are squeezing things to stay solvent.  Iredell County agreed that after the citizens and the town of Troutman built the building, the county would stock, staff, and run the library.  Now it’s crunch time.  It looks like the library will be ready to open by mid-May or sooner.  Some equipment is yet to be ordered, including some shelving.  Shelves have to be installed and books received, set up in the system and shelved.  Bernie Thompkins, who will be running the library for the county says that it will start out with around 7,500 books and CDs and have multiple computers for patrons to use.

We continue to sell imprinted bricks (in honor or memory of whatever you choose) for $75 or $125, depending on where they are placed, to raise money for the library.  Plans will soon be in place for establishment of a Friends of the Troutman Library group which is a bit different that current organization which was not intended to be in place for the long term.  The new group will be a support group to help raise funds for and run auxiliary programs for the library.  The library staff will also be taking applications for volunteers to perform a variety of tasks for the operation of the library.

Plans are also being made for our semi-annual Library Fund-Raiser Used Book Sale.  More to come on that.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the above.  I can help you get in contact with library staff or if send you a form for ordering bricks.

I think you can count on being able to spend some hot summer days in the cool of the J. Hoyt Hayes Memorial Troutman Library.

Read Full Post »

Warren Buffett Upbeat on Housing

Posted in Finance, General Real Estate Market, tagged , , , on March 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Warren Buffett has always been an interesting man.  He’s been wildly successful in the business of investing, yet he seems to be someone with whom you’d feel comfortable having a leisurely chat over coffee.  He just not full of himself like many very successful people.  Bill Gates even pals around with him, the better to learn the ways of the business world and how best to manage great wealth.

So when Warren Buffett speaks, I tend to listen.  The blog, Everything Warren Buffett (who knew such a thing existed?), reports that Mr. Buffett recently published his annual letter to shareholders of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, in which he predicted the virtual end of most of our major housing problems in 2011.  Mr. Buffett said, “within a year or so residential housing problems should largely be behind us, the exceptions being only high-value houses and those in certain localities where overbuilding was particularly egregious. Prices will remain far below “bubble” levels, of course, but for every seller (or lender) hurt by this there will be a buyer who benefits. Indeed, many families that couldn’t afford to buy an appropriate home a few years ago now find it well within their means because the bubble burst.”

For those looking for hope of positive things in our future, this is pretty good stuff.  The health of the economy is dependent on jobs, but so many jobs are related to housing.  If the eventual reduction in the inventory of housing means the housing market will improve, that should in-turn bring better news on job creation which will then further feed the housing market.

This is complicated stuff, but I’ve got confidence that Mr. Buffett has a pretty good grasp on things.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 421 other followers