Stan Suther's Real Estate and Stuff » Mooresville

Fleeting Fall Foliage

Stan Suther — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:45:16 +0000

Recently I drove by one of my favorite trees (what, you don’t have favorite trees?) and had to stop long enough to take a few photos. I was happily coming home after meeting clients to write an offer to buy a house for them, but this tree stopped me in my tracks. The tree is in the yard of the Mooresville High School Magnolia Street campus, and every fall it just knocks my socks off with the depth of color it presents. I drive by there almost everyday, and I noticed less than a week later that after some wind and rain, it was almost totally empty of leaves. Big surprise? No. Just a confirmation of the fall version of being sure to stop and smell the roses while you can. There are a lot of special things- sights, experiences, etc. that last but a short while. Yet in that short while, you can collect some great memories that last a lifetime. I guess it’s a sign of advancing age when one starts to reflect on those things, but here I am, and I’m trying to take a few moments from time to time to enjoy the beautiful leaves, smell the roses, hug my wife, and all those other little things that make for great memories.

Seven Out of Eight

Stan Suther — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:53:43 +0000

Mooresville, NC and Statesville, NC, Iredell County’s two largest communities, are celebrating another year of being named by Site Selection Magazine as the Number 1 Micropolitan Area in the country for new and expanded corporate facilities and projects. They’ve received this recognition for seven out of the last eight years. See a Record & Landmark article on this announcement HERE.

Why does this matter? Is this some narrow little area of interest that the rest of us can ignore? Hardly. This recognition has to do with jobs and job growth in Iredell and surrounding counties. The recognition that our area has been successful in bringing jobs due to expansion of existing employers and bringing employers new to the area gives us hope that our economic fortunes will be more positive in the future. Every day we see in the headlines that the key to recharging our economy is job growth, and companies have to be convinced that expanding their employee base is a smart economic decision. Looks like our local governments and economic development professionals have been doing quite a good job in helping employers see our area as part of their future growth.

It may not yet be “Happy Days are Here Again” time, but this announcement sure gives me an uplift in thinking we may see some better times ahead.

Making Lemonade

Stan Suther — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:33:03 +0000

Lemons to lemonade. Black cloud with a silver lining. Silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

There are a number of expressions that we sometimes hear when someone finds something good in an othewise bad situation. For example, I work with the Citizens for a Troutman Library. When the new library was designed, the architect estimated the cost to be well over $1,000,000. Then the economy went south. When we put it out to bid, we were able to get a contract for under $800,000. That allowed us to move ahead with construction. In another example, the Town of Mooresville has lately been getting some needed re-paving of streets done, largely because paving prices are substantially lower than normal, and that’s the best use of our town funds now.

This same silver lining can help some people move ahead with their plans for buying a house or trading up (or down). Right now, 30 year mortgage interest rates can be had for under 5% with good credit. Right now, many first time buyers can get a tax credit of up to $8,000 and many repeat buyers a credit of up to $6,500. Right now, home prices are historically low. (Sellers, if you’re moving in the same market, you’ll enjoy the same discount on the house you buy that you may have to give to get yours sold- so that’s no reason to wait.)

Do you think this silver lining will last forever? Well, we know the home buyer tax credits will end by the middle of next year. We know that mortgage interest rates have been held artificially low due to government buying our own bonds, and that will likely go away next year. We see that in other parts of the country that are ahead of us in the downturn-upturn cycle, that prices are starting to edge back up. I’d say now is really a remarkably good time to make a move, if that’s part of your long-term plan.

Who’s ready for some lemonade? Oh, by the way. I help people buy and sell houses.

Shopping for a Community on the Internet

Stan Suther — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:50:04 +0000

I recently spent a pleasant fall afternoon showing homes to a couple from out-of-state who are looking to move now that they are empty nesters. They said that they are in the market for a home in or near a relatively small community that has easy access to the amenities of a larger city. They also are looking for an older home with some character- Victorian or early 20th century. Through their search on the internet, they’d found Statesville, NC as a good candidate. After talking with them about their preferences on the phone, they arrived after a long drive, and we went to visit a number of homes that fit their wishes and a few that looked good on paper (or internet screen) that didn’t pan out in reality. They are also looking at other communities on the east coast, but I’d say that either Statesville or Mooresville (or somewhere nearby) have a good shot at being their new home. Both have some attractive older homes (although Statesville has the lead in this) and both are an easy drive to larger communities with extensive amenities.

I’m not surprised that Statesville came up on their radar screen. Having grown up just south of there in Troutman, I’ve long known about the wonderful historic homes in several areas of Statesville. The town is the “County Seat” of Iredell County, and so over the years has attracted many people of means who operated various businesses in the area. They built some picture perfect homes that still retain their style and grace. Many have been owned by successive generations who’ve kept them up and improved them so that even today, they turn heads as visitors drive by. Our whole area also benefits from being not to far north or south, providing a nice mix of weather and seasons, and offer a convenient drive to our mountains to the west and our coast to the east. We also boast of Lake Norman, the largest lake in the state, with 560 miles of shoreline, that offers lots of recreational opportunities.

I’ve traveled around the country a good bit over the years, but I’ve never seen a place that suits me better than my own home of Iredell County. Talking to another Realtor today, he said that one of the reasons he’s encouraged about the future of our area is that we consistently attract people who, like my clients, can move anywhere, but choose our area over all the others. That’s good for our economy and quality of life, not to mention future property values.

Zinnias and Dad

Stan Suther — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:35:49 +0000

My Mooresville back yard garden looks really sad now. The weeds have largely taken over, and all that’s left of the vegetables are some decent looking bell peppers that I’ll pick before frost. Still, my garden has one feature that keeps my interest. I always grow a row or two of colorful Zinnias. There are several reasons why I do this. During the summer, they attract all the critters that help pollinate the vegetables (they also attract some rabbits that like them for dinner). They give us nice bright flowers to cut and put on the table. They keep blooming and brightening the yard until first frost. But one of the main reasons is that they are another tie to the ways of my father who’s been gone for quite a few years, now. He was a huge gardener and always planted Zinnias himself, maybe for those reasons I mention above. So, when I’m planting them in the spring, the process brings with it some very good memories of Dad. He was a very practical man, so I think that his reasons were more along the lines of getting bees to the garden. Whatever… they make me happy.

Mooresville Mills- Future Home of What?

Stan Suther — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:30:48 +0000

Yesterday’s meeting of the Iredell Developer’s Council included good updates on a number of local commercial and residential property issues. Mixed in was a pitch by the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation on behalf of Pappas Properties to try to help find a buyer for the Mooresville Mills property near downtown Mooresville. The property includes 700,000 sq. ft. of buildings on 38 acres (only $1.7 million- $2.43/sq. ft.- what a deal!). This property had a 100 year history as a major textile manufacturer and primary Mooresville employer. HERE’S a recent Mooresville Tribune article about this.

Back in 1998 I was working at Duke Power, and they loaned me to the local United Way to help with the fall campaign. I loved it since I lived in Mooresville and normally commuted to Charlotte. One of the things I did then was attend a luncheon at the Burlington Industries Mooresville Mills plant, a big local charitable contributor, where they made great gobs of denim material. They invited a variety of people from the Mooresville area to show off their products and tour the plant. They told us that what they did at the plant was quite unique, and therefore made the plant a stable employer. We even got T-shirts that read “Burlington Industries- 100 Years- We’ve Only Just Begun.” We thought they meant that for the Mooresville plant.

Turns out that the statement on the T-shirts was public relations bravado. Within 6 months of the luncheon, the company announced the closing of the plant and transfer of production to Mexico. I suspect that the management at the plant didn’t know this was coming and were as shocked and dismayed as the rest of the town. OK, they were probably more shocked and way more dismayed than the rest of us.

The huge Mooresville Mills property has been gussied up and marketed for some time by Cherokee Properties, hoping to get some commercial mojo working with a variety of innovative proposals. Unfortunately, the economy has prevented anyone from coming up with a formula that would be profitable so far. So, Cherokee is throwing in the towel and getting Pappas Properties of Birkdale Village and Phillips Place fame to work their magic and come up with something worthwhile and profitable. They don’t show this on their web site yet, so maybe they’re still working on eye-catching marketing concepts.

In any case, I wish them luck. If something cool actually took hold there, think what an impact it would have on Mooresville and the adjacent Mill Village.

Friday Night Football in Mooresville

Stan Suther — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:51:33 +0000

One of the pleasures of the fall season is high school football, especially in Mooresville. Since Mooresville’s school system is a rare city system, the students and parents are all from within our small community, kind of like when I was growing up in Troutman before school consolidation in Iredell County. This means that the whole community comes out to support the team which over the years has had some great seasons. We’ve got people who come to the games who never had children in the local schools, but they just like the community feel of the whole spectacle. It doesn’t hurt that Mooresville has a very nice stadium. It has been quite a few years since our daughters were in school here, but we keep buying season tickets because, 1) we like to participate in this community gathering among many friends, 2)we’ve got great seats which many would love to have, and 3)I love the hot dogs sold by the band booster club. Check out he view from our seats (click to make ‘em bigger):

We’ve moved to 4A football this year and have a new coach to boot, so this may be a “building year” as they say. Never-the-less, you’re not a true fan unless you’re a fan through thick and thin. Last week, we had a great first half against Bandys. Unfortunately, they made the team come back and play another half which didn’t go nearly as well. Bandys whacked our boys pretty hard. This week we played Alexander Central with the bright spot being a loss of only 5 points. Next week will be West Rowan, always a good team, at home. My brother, Steve, teaches history at West Rowan, so that will make the contest a little more interesting. He’s a good brother, but he does brag a bit about their team. I won’t hold it against him.

That will probably be a good game for me to concentrate on the hot dogs.

Racing Crash?

Stan Suther — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:00:01 +0000

One of Mooresville, NC’s largest employer groups is the large concentration of auto and truck racing teams that are based in our area. They have provided a very good client base for our real estate agents over the years, so we are always concerned when they face difficulties in their industry. A while back, we started hearing about the slowing economy causing race fans to cut back on their spending for their favorite hobby. Then, when gas prices shot up during the closing weekends of the race season, fans were affected more by the cost of attending races, especially when having to drive long distances to the tracks. Now, with the economy in a sustained downturn, sponsorships, both by the major manufacturers and all the other associated companies, are being sharply reduced or drying up altogether. The result is the annoucement of significant layoffs from most of the race teams. These are people who have homes and families in the Mooresville area who are going to be looking for new work. A local group has even created a web site to help them match up with new employers- DontCheckup.com.

Recently, Stan Thompson, a local resident who writes occasional columns in the Mooresville Tribune, wrote an interesting piece that questions whether NASCAR and other racing promoters will be able to follow along when the nature of cars we drive will change, moving toward greener, more fuel efficient cars. Of course, if they do, the cars and environment of racing will have to change substantially. The question is- will they understand the need to do this, then do it? If they resist it because they liked the way things have been and don’t want to change, then they may go the way of the manufacturers.

See the previous post about Tucker and the BIG 3.

Mooresville Music on Sunday

Stan Suther — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:20:01 +0000

From my friend, Stu Eaton, who produces the Mooresville Concert Series:

A Celtic Christmas Returns to Historic Downtown Mooresville

Mooresville Concerts presents they Boston-based Celtic band The Beggar Boys on Sunday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Charles Mack Citizens’ Center, performing traditional and new carols and foot-stomping dance tunes from Ireland, Scotland, and England. The Beggar Boys were founded in 2001 and have been performing with Baltimore native (and Davidson College alumna) Kate Minogue since 2005. The Boys were very well received last December at the first Mooresville Concerts show, and have played across the country, bringing their energetic mix of Celtic traditional music styles to audiences young and old. The band’s lineup includes Michael Albert on fiddle, whistles, and vocals, Larry Young on fiddle, baritone fiddle, and vocals, Kate Minogue on Irish flute, guitar, and lead vocals, and Henry Lebedinsky playing bouzouki and guitar. They will be joined by Irish step dancers from Charlotte’s Rince na h’Eireann school of Irish dance. A “Meet The Artists” reception will follow the concert. Admission is $10, $5 for children under 10; tickets can be purchased at the Mack Center or at the Mooresville Recreation Department office, or by calling (704) 662-3334.

Great Timing!

Stan Suther — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:46:52 +0000

I’ve been working with a young couple who are buying a home in Mooresville due to the husband’s moving here for a new job (thanks, Lowe’s!). Over several weeks we looked at many houses and finally found one that was a great fit. It is a foreclosure in a great neighborhood. Negotiation took about three weeks (not unusual for a bank owned property), but we finally this week agreed to a price and terms. Today I spent some time talking to the clients’ lender, and he commented on how busy he’d been recently. You may recall I’d earlier noted news about loan applications being up. This lender confirmed that. In talking about interest rates, he said that the best 30 year fixed rate briefly dropped below 5% this week and now is slightly above 5%- you may not have been aware that interest rates actually fluctuate hourly. Of course, my clients have found that this is a remarkably good time to buy a home. They are getting a great home at a great price with a great interest rate- perfect timing!