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Archive for September, 2010

Better to Own or Rent a Home?

Posted in General Real Estate Market, Quality of Life, tagged , on September 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

I got a call last night from a prospective client who said that he’s renting an apartment and is tired of “throwing his money away.”  We are in the early stages of figuring out what his best course of action is and what it will take to follow it.  I’ve never been one who thinks that owning a place to live is the perfect solution for everyone regardless of their situation in life.  Many people are in circumstances that demand more flexibility in picking up and moving than owning a house will allow.  On the other hand, I’ve heard people say things like,”you don’t have to pay for maintenance in a rental- just call the landlord when something breaks.”  Fact is, if the landlord takes care of property maintenance, you can be assured that the cost is covered in the rental payment, along with some profit.  Otherwise, why would they choose to own rental property?  There are many sides to the argument, and often they are not obvious to most people.  For example, a renter must understand that they are dependent on the property owner to pay all the costs of the property like mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc..  If the property owner fails to pay these due to his or her own financial difficulties, the renter can be left without a place to live.  What???  Think about it.  Makes you want to get an annual financial statement from your landlord.

Coincidentally, I was at a social engagement recently where one my bride’s relative asked me (as a Realtor) if I had seen the  recent Time Magazine article questioning the traditional concepts of home ownership in America.  I told him that I had not, but also told him that renting vs. buying depends on the individual’s situation.  This week, our Realtor association newsletter came out with links to both the Time article, and a National Association of Realtors response, complete with follow-up comments.  See HERE and HERE for the articles. Reading them both along with the follow-up comments just proves my point.  One size (or solution) doesn’t fit all- there is no carefree solution to the housing question.

One of my dad’s favorite expressions was, “every chicken has some bones.”  It just depends on which bones you want to chew around.

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Housing Opportunity Foundation Provides Grants

Posted in General Real Estate Market, Iredell County, Mecklenburg County, Quality of Life, tagged , , on September 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

From our local Realtor Association charitable arm- Housing Opportunity Foundation:

Housing Opportunity Foundation awards $10,000 to area nonprofits

Realtors® make a difference through annual Community Grants Program

Charlotte, N.C. – The Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association Housing Opportunity Foundation announced the recipients of its annual Community Grants Program and awarded four local nonprofit agencies a total of $10,000. The foundation awarded grants to Changed Choices, Inc., Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, Residential and Support Services, Inc., and Samaritan House.Housing Opportunity Foundation

The foundation, which serves as the charitable arm of the association, is dedicated to making a difference in the community by creating housing opportunities, promoting homeownership and positioning and educating Realtors® as leaders.

The Community Grants Program seeks to support area organizations that address unmet housing needs in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties. Since 2009, the foundation has awarded $20,000 through the Realtor®-directed and funded program. “Realtors® are acutely aware of the tremendous financial responsibility these agencies shoulder to meet the diverse critical needs in our community,” said association/Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (CMLS) President Lyn Kessie. “This program gives our members – who are on the front lines as volunteers at many agencies across the region – a way to pool resources and share in the foundation’s vision of creating a better quality of life for our community.”

The following organizations submitted applications to a review panel and were recommended by Realtors®. All were approved by the foundation board of directors to receive community grants for the 2010 fiscal year:

• Changed Choices, Inc.: $2,500 to finance the living costs of five formerly incarcerated female clients. Clients are supported for one month as they work to attain employment and their first paychecks. Recommended by Doris Horton, Realtor®.

• Men’s Shelter of Charlotte: $2,500 to assist 10 of the community’s homeless citizens with rent and utility deposits to begin the process of moving out of the shelter. Recommended by Julie Wall-Burris, Realtor®.

• Residential and Support Services, Inc.: $2,500 to assist families who need help with mortgages and are in danger of losing their homes through the “First in Families” Project. All families with this organization have the additional challenge of caring for a developmentally disabled family member. Recommended by Donna Anderson, Realtor®.

• Samaritan House: $2,500 to provide a home-like environment for homeless men and women as they recuperate from a hospital or emergency room stay. Funds will also support the referral of these individuals to local social service agencies that assist in transitioning individuals to stable housing. Recommended by David Deal, Realtor®.

For more information about the Housing Opportunity Foundation, the association or CMLS, visit http://www.CarolinaHome.com.

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Who’s Looking Out for You?

Posted in General Real Estate Market, tagged , on September 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

I recently went through the exquisite torture of buying a car.  The old van was high in years and miles and was giving me problems that would translate into spending major bucks on it to keep it going.  I decided that now was the time to get another vehicle that would work well as a real estate car. SUV As it turns out, I settled on a Toyota Highlander for a variety of reasons not the least of which was that I could get a third row of seats for a reasonable amount of money so that I can take Mom, Dad and the kids all together when out looking at houses. 

However, my choice was not what stuck in my mind about the experience.  I buy cars on a very infrequent basis.  I don’t ever recall buying one where I didn’t feel the effects of attempted manipulation from the car sales “team.”  You know, where one guy shows you the car, then you’re handed off to another guy who does the on-floor price negotiation.  Then he has to go see another guy who decides if the deal will work for the dealership.  All the while, you know that everyone you talk with has the singular goal of getting you to buy only what they’re selling and pay the highest price possible so that the dealership will make the highest profit.  You’re on your own as far as looking out for your own interests.

What is striking about this arrangement is the difference between what individuals face when buying a car versus what they deal with in buying a house.  In the case of cars, the buyer’s only defence is to do as much research as possible on various aspects of possible car choices and prices, whether on the Internet or elsewhere, read up on negotiating skills, and hope that he can keep his wits about him while in the midst of negotiation.  In the case of houses, the buyer has the advantage of working with a Realtor who as the “buyer’s agent” is legally responsible to the buyer to help them find the best property and negotiate the best deal.  HouseEverything a buyer’s agent does is focused on helping the buyer pay as little as possible and get the most value possible.  The buyer can be confident that skillful negotiation is something the agent does on a regular basis, and the agent is comfortable, calm, and professional in the midst of the negotiation process rather than worried, emotional, sweaty-palmed and ineffective.  What’s more, the way our business is set up, the buyer basically hires an agent to work for him with the seller’s money to pay the agent’s fees.  The seller pays this commission as an inducement for agents to bring buyers to the seller in hopes of getting a contract on the property.

It makes all the difference in the world!

Here’s the document from the NC Real Estate Commission that explains how all this works- Working With Real Estate Agents

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Great Grove Music in Statesville on Friday

Posted in Entertainment, Iredell County, Quality of Life, Statesville, tagged , , on September 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

If you’re looking for a great way to spend a couple of hours on Friday night, I think I’ve got just the ticket.  Statesville’s Marie Speece recently gave me a flyer for an upcoming event at Mitchell Community College called Music from the Grove.  That relates to all the great music that Iredell County’s Union Grove is famous for.  This gathering of Grove-type musicians whose jam sessions at The Cook Shack are legendary are here to entertain the crowd and help raise funds for the Mitchell Community College Endowment for Excellence.  The fun starts at 7:00pm at Shearer Hall.  HERE’s a link to more details. 

I recommend you go, have some fun, and throw a wad of bills (or a big check) in the hat for the endowment!

Music from the Grove Flyer

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Mooresville Car Design Team Wins Big!

Posted in Mooresville, tagged , , on September 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »

It’s been announced that Li-ion Motors of Mooresville, NC has won its class (Alternative Side-by-Side) in the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition!  The prize was awarded yesterday in Washington, DC.  The company with shops in Lakeside Business Park, has spent many months designing, and building this car and competing against world-wide competition for the last several months. Li-ion Motors Wave II The competition began with 136 different designs.  Only three took home the top prize, one for each of the three categories.  For their efforts, they take home $2.5 million and lots of attention from the automotive and conservation worlds.  Hopefully this will lead to production of a version of the car that will give us some better alternatives to driving in a more economical and environmentally sustainable way.

See a CNBC clip on the Automotive X Prize featuring the Li-ion Motors Wave II car here: The Road To Fuel Efficiency – CNBC.com.  The commentator says the Li-ion Motors car is from Charlotte, but we know they’re from right here in Mooresville!  See my previous posts on this subject HERE.

Seems fitting that with all the automotive talent we have here in Race City USA, that we should be home to one of the winners of this important prize.

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Appraisals Often Don’t Value Energy Efficient Features

Posted in General Real Estate Market, Iredell County, tagged , , on September 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

A recent article on the website GreenBuildingAdvisor.com points out an unexpected consequence of our economic times.  It talks about their findings that many people applying for a construction loan or mortgage on a re-sale home like the idea of having substantial investment in “green” features that will save them money on utilities and scratch their itch to do something good for the environment.  Trouble is, when the lender sends their appraiser to determine a value for the property, the appraiser doesn’t note any extra value in those energy conservation features.  This often means that the buyer can’t get a loan that will allow them to buy the home they want.  On the surface of it, you might wonder why, since the buyer’s expenses will be lower, and thus help them make the higher payment for the larger loan.  The problem is that appraisers work on the basis of comparable properties that have sold recently and are similar to the property in question.  With a slower market, there are fewer sales, which make finding “comps” more difficult in any case, and when you add a unique quality like high energy efficiency features, there are even fewer of them.  Lenders are much more conservative now, too, so they don’t want to take a chance on a mortgage going bad, then find there’s no one out there who’ll buy the house for anywhere near it’s value based on dollars invested vs comps.

Our Multiple Listing Service now has a description field for properties that allows the agent to note a variety of energy efficiency certifications.  However looking today, there were only 37 residential properties on the market in Iredell County that showed one of those certifications.  For comparison, from January to end of August this year in Iredell County, 36 properties out of a total of 968 sold had some type of green certification.  That makes it tough on the appraisers.

So, if you’re thinking of building or buying a home that will cost substantially more than the average home because of investment in energy efficiency, keep this situation in mind.  The article says sometimes you can get local lenders to recognize the value in energy-efficient investment, but it would be best to have that conversation early in the process.

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Ups and Downs with Homebuilders

Posted in General Real Estate Market, Iredell County, Lake Norman, Mecklenburg County, tagged , , , on September 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

It’s interesting to watch what’s going on with homebuilders in our area.  Last week our office had a visit from the local DR Horton folks announcing that they have bought land in subdivisions that were left incomplete by prior homebuilders who have gone under.  DR Horton is now selling in a number of Lake Norman area subdivisions.  Just prior to that, a gent from Mattamy Homes came by to tell us that they have bought land in Waterlynn near Mooresville that was begun by KB Homes who still have a few along with Standard Pacific Homes.  These homes are clustered around the $200,000- $300,000 mark.  No doubt DR Horton and Mattamy got some very good deals on the land in these developments.  HERE”S and interesting Reuters article on the differing attitudes toward builders buying land now.

It’s encouraging that there are builders out there, at least some of the large ones, who are solvent and see enough positive signs in the market to offer new product to the public.  Of course, as one news article I read said, “this is what they do.”  When home building is your only business, you figure out how to make it work, if you can.  In this lower price range, looks like some of them can.

The luxury home market, though, has been especially hammered by the economic downturn.  McMansions just aren’t doing so well these days, as our MLS sales numbers show.  There have been sales of $1,000,000 plus homes this summer, but many had to reduce prices dramatically to make the sale happen.   Last week, Simonini  Builders, one of the Charlotte area’s most well-known luxury builders, decided that they just can’t stay afloat any longer.  They announced that they will sell off their remaining inventory and close their doors by the end of the year.  HERE”S a link to the story from the Charlotte Observer.

I guess this is what you call a “shake out.” of the industry.  It’s similar to what we’re seeing among Realtors in our area.  Over the last few years, we’ve had a significant drop in the number of agents in our local association.  I’m starting to introduce myself as one of the last surviving Realtors!

Like the surviving builders, those of us who remain think that there is reason enough to stick it out because we still see buyers and sellers out there whose individual stories make them real live clients who need professional help in their buying and selling.  The laws of supply and demand are in effect, for both suppliers of homes and suppliers of real estate services, but there is still demand for both, and don’t let the headlines convince you otherwise.

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Iredell County Fair Time

Posted in Entertainment, Iredell County, Lake Norman, Quality of Life, Statesville, Troutman, tagged on September 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »

This week the Iredell County Fair is in full swing.  The fairgrounds are between Troutman and Barium Springs.

Amusement rides

This is the “umpteenth” annual fair at this site.  I can’t say how many years it’s been running, but I can say that I’m 60 years old and remember walking up the railroad tracks with my friends from Troutman as a young kid to attend with free tickets the organizers gave to all the kids at Troutman schools.  Back then that was one of the absolutely biggest deals to come along every year.  At that time, live entertainment of any sort was pretty slim in Iredell County.  Charlotte was viewed as quite a distance away, and other than the occasional event at the old Coliseum or Ovens Auditorium, even Charlotte didn’t have that much going on.  Going to the fair meant getting to ride the rides, see the prized animals local folks brought to compete, and look at the biggest pumpkins you’ll see anywhere- it’s an agricultural fair, you know.  The smell of sawdust on the ground and cotton candy in the air equaled EXCITEMENT! An extra bonus was that we could see the fair’s nightly fireworks show from our front porch at home.

Many years later as an adult, my bride and I took our own young daughters to the fair one fall.  I was struck then with the realization that it didn’t feel anything like I remember it back then, looking through those older eyes.  We ended up offering the kids $5 each to leave peacefully.  They took it, and we were glad!

I still think you can have a pretty good time if you go with the right attitude.  This is a piece of Americana that is good for at least planting some fun memories in your own mind.

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Car Shopping

Posted in Quality of Life, Real Estate, tagged on September 3, 2010 | 2 Comments »

It looks like it may be a good time to retire my 10-year-old van.  My 2000 Pontiac Montana has served me well over the years and has made an excellent real estate vehicle.  Clients always are tickled when I hit the remote button to open the electric sliding door when returning to it after viewing a  property.  I’ve been able to pile Mom, Dad and all the kids in since it has 3 rows of seats when needed.  It has a built-in air compressor, so I’ve been able to rescue people when they come back to their cars to find a flat tire.  Alas, it’s giving me some signs that it wants some money spent on it, and I’m thinking I probably need to upgrade my image a bit.  Frugality is good, but in my business they say it’s good to show with your vehicle that you are successful enough to make a living with your real estate business and can afford decent wheels.

When the van does get traded, it’ll go with lots of fond memories.  I actually bought it before I was in the real estate business because my daughters were in college, and I got tired of renting vans to haul their stuff to and from dorm rooms and apartments.  The van made many trips to and from Raleigh and Chapel Hill for that purpose, with seats left in the garage so as to load it to the ceiling.  I remember many times getting back home late after a college trip, too exhausted to put the seats back in until the next day.  Later, after we closed up my homeplace and had to clean it out, I made many, many trips from Troutman to Mooresville bringing things to Christian Mission, Goodwill or to my attic, again because I could pull out the seats and use it as a heavy hauler.

Some of us use our vehicles like we do a toaster- it’s just an appliance used for practical purposes.  For me, I’m too much of a gearhead to think like that.  I notice every little odd noise that comes from my car and fret until I can get it running smoothly again- must be the engineer in me.  Also, when I use something for so long, I tend to become attached and focused on seeing how long I can make it keep running.  Just look around my house, and you’ll see the evidence of that tendency.  I got it honestly as an inheritance from my father.

So, now I’m going back for my infrequent trips to the car lots to see what I can find that will impress my clients but still scratch that practical side of me that requires utility along with beauty (eye of the beholder, and all that).

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