No, you’re not reading a headline out of The Onion and I haven’t turned my blog over to the positive-no-matter-what real estate crowd. However, when a trend begins to emerge, it’s important to point it out whether it’s positive or negative. Thankfully, this time it’s positive and its of all places: Uptown Charlotte and the [...]
Home Values Rise, Selling Faster in Union County – February 2011
March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In 2010, home buyers flooded the real estate market throughout the Charlotte area ("flooded" used loosely mind you) to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit that was set to expire at the end of June. As a result, sales in the first half of the year were setting records over 2009 and 2008 [...]
This Month in Real Estate – National Real Estate Market Review (video)
March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Specialty Mortgage Programs for Doctors
March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In 2006, there were thousands of mortgage programs available to consumers as a means selling more homes. In the following years, most of those programs were eliminated as the mortgage market tighened. One program that still remains with some major lenders is a Doctor Loan Program. While this mortgage product varies from lender to [...]
FHA 203k Loan Program – Perfect Choice for Foreclosed Home Purchases
March 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Most of the buyers that call our team start out looking for a foreclosed home but are turned off by the condition they find many of these homes in. Consider that if the former owner stopped making payments two years ago, a year or two before that they most likely stopped making improvement and general [...]
Is it Cheaper to Rent than Buy a Home in Charlotte 28269?
February 25, 2011 By 1 Comment
Last month, Trulia.com reported that Charlotte was one of the cities where it is actually cheaper to buy rather than rent a house. Since I am naturally skeptical, I have decided to take the challenge to explore if it actually cheaper than rent than purchase in Charlotte. For this, I will be considering sales and [...]
Who Should You Talk Real Estate To?
February 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Our Latest Testimonial from a Charlotte Homeowner
February 17, 2011 By 1 Comment
Buying Your First Home Is Getting More Expensive April 18, 2011
February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If your plans include purchasing a home this spring or summer and you are buying with a FHA mortgage, you would be wise to purchase before April 18, 2011. Hot off the presses, the FHA is increasing the annual mortgage insurance premium on their loans by another 1/4 point. According to the FHA, this [...]
Charlotte NC Ranked Top 10 Housing Recovery Best Bets By CNN Money
February 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
What is Earnest Money?
February 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Q. In your previous response to my question, you mentioned Earnest Money. What is Earnest Money? Is it required? Is it non-refundable like Due Diligence Money? LQ A. For residential real estate sales in North Carolina and South Carolina, Earnest money is a refundable deposit, typically collected at the time of Contract, that is credited [...]
Due Diligence Period and Due Diligence Money?
February 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mecklenburg County Real Estate Revaluation: How Will It Impact You
February 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This week, real estate tax revaluation notices started landing in the mailboxes of Mecklenburgcounty real estate owners. Condo owners will get their notices in March 2011. Some homeowners are angry by the value placed by the county while the vast majority of property owners are confused. Here's a quick Q&A of the most frequently asked questions [...]
Mecklenburg County Real Estate Revaluation: How Will It Impact You
February 13, 2011 By 1 Comment
This week, real estate tax revaluation notices started landing in the mailboxes of Mecklenburgcounty real estate owners. Condo owners will get their notices in March 2011. Some homeowners are angry by the value placed by the county while the vast majority of property owners are confused. Here's a quick Q&A of the most frequently asked questions [...]
Where Can I Find Homes For Sale in Charlotte?
February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Q. I am searching online to find a home and it is very confusing. Some websites contain more information than others. What's the deal? Where can I find homes for sale in the Charlotte area? A. This is a very common question for any home buyer. Searching for a home online can be confusing until [...]
Keller Williams Realty Leader in Online Real Estate Offers and Negotiation
January 31, 2011 By 1 Comment
I HATE fax machines. Standing and waiting for the pages to go through one by one only to look like a garbled mess on the other side. It only takes two passes through that wretched machine to make any document not legible. via www.whykellernow.com Keller Williams Realty is the first major real estate firm in [...]
What Is A FHA Mortgage?
January 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Utilized by the majority of first time home buyers, a FHA mortgage is a loan backed by HUD (Housing and Urban Development). Offered by most lenders, FHA loans allow first time home buyers the ability to purchase with a minimum down payment, modest credit scores, and with Mortgage Insurance that is still affordable. Borrowers with [...]
Buying a Home in North Carolina? What You Need to Know About the New Offer to Purchase
January 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
On January 1, 2011, a new Offer to Purchase and Contract debuts and will be the basis for nearly all residential resale purchases in the state of North Carolina. It is vastly different from it predecessor, which was written to benefit the buyer rather than the seller. Here are the highlights: via www.charlotterealestateupdate.com The standard [...]
Charlotte Mecklenburg Home Sales Hit 2 Year High in December 2010
January 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
No, that headline isn't a mistake. At the start of the recession and financial meltdown, only 695 condo, townhouses, and single family homes closed in Mecklenburg county in December 2008. Last year, with the aid of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit (having been extended for the final time weeks prior), 821 homes [...]
Real Estate Property Tax Revaluations Headed to Mecklenburg County. What You Need to Know
January 3, 2011 By 1 Comment
The Mecklenburg County Tax Assessor's office is set to release it's reassessed real estate tax value for every home in Mecklenburg County starting this month. Tax values were last set in 2003 in Mecklenburg and were delayed several times by the county commissioners "due to the economy." Now, with the county in financial crisis, there's [...]
Case-Shiller Index Shows Home Prices Fell Further than Expected in October
December 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Out today is the Case-Shiller Home Price index which shows that in some markets, home prices fell in October further than anticipated by some economists. According to the index. Charlotte saw a decline in home values year-over-year of 4.2% in October, leaving some to wonder if we're in for a double-dip real estate recession? Kendra [...]
Selling Your Home in North Carolina? New Contract Debuts 1/1/11. What You Need to Know
December 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Starting January 1, residential real estate sellers will have a new Offer to Purchase and Contract form that they need to understand and plan for. I recently posted a overview of the highlights in a post directed at home buyers, which is applicable to sellers as well. For those looking to sell their home [...]
Charlotte Mecklenburg Residential Sales Freefall in November…but not everywhere!
December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The National Association of Realtors today released a press release stating that sales of existing homes rose 5.6% in November nationally. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Charlotte area as sales single family, condos, and townhouses fell last month 37% compared to November 2009 and 13% from October 2010. Only 589 single [...]
Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver Lists Home For Sale
December 20, 2010 By 1 Comment
Carolina Panthers iconic wide receiver Steve Smith has put his home in Waxhaw up for sale. According to Rotoworld, Smith signed a 6 year contract with the Carolina Panthers in 2007, the majority of which will have been paid out by the end of this season. Considering that the home has been on the market [...]
Uptown Charlotte Condo Market Update – November 2010
November 29, 2010 By 6 Comments
Data taken from the CMLS for Sales 10/1/2010 – 10/31/2010 in Area 99. Sales of condos and townhomes fell 50% in October from the previous year as only 8 units closed and down 74% from the peak in 2006. The last time that fewer condos closed in an October in uptown: 2001…the October that followed [...]
How to List Bank Owned Properties (Video)
November 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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