Do you have an Appraiser Larry?

I love my appraisers. See that little fella there to my right? He is an Appraiser. Let’s call him Appraiser Larry. I love Appraiser Larry. Do you know why? He keeps me out of trouble! And how!!!

When I take a listing in North Carolina, my board of Realtors tells me that it is my responsibility to give accurate information on the home from the moment I list it. This is due to buyers needing accurate information so they can put forth an offer with confidence. So, one of my first phone calls when I get a listing is to call Appraiser Larry so he can carry the liability on the measurement of this home. Let’s face it. Appraiser Larry measures and appraises A LOT of homes every day. I sell A LOT of homes. It just isn’t the same thing.

Of course, there is a small charge associated with this phone call My appraiser charges $50.00. He measures the property, he gives me a darling drawing that I can stuff into my brochures for the home. All that for $50.00!! My appraiser is a bargain. Now I can list the home for my sellers and have the piece of mind that our buyers can bring an offer with confidence.

If you need to sell a home in North Carolina, call me! I will take care of all the details!

technorati tags: Cabarrus+County+Real+estate, Appraisers, Virgini+Halter

Things that Blow my Mind!

So, I have this client who is looking for the “needle in a haystack” house. You know the house, everything included plus a bunch of land for a penance. We don’t have many of those on the market anywhere.

Well, we found THE house. It is all that and a biscuit!

So, my mind is blown because the agent is MIA. I have left two voice mail messages and two email messages in the past 21 hours. “I hate to be a pest. I have an offer for your house at …” And, get this, the agent is related to the seller. Truly, his family must be more forgiving than my family!

Each and every one of our businesses depend on each other. Have I been spinning my wheels showing this home? We have visited three times.

What about the extended time on market? It has been on the market for a while. Could this be why? Are other agents desperately trying to buy this home too?

Does the agent not feel the same sense of urgency that I feel for my client’s properties? I suppose I am unaware that there is EVER a market so good that you can just ignore the buyers.

Dear Every Other Professional REALTOR,

I look forward to selling your homes and I can hardly wait for you to sell one of mine!

I am so excited about a transaction with you that I can promise that I will do all I can to get the needed information where it needs to be and keep the transaction moving.

Neither you nor my clients will ever have to wonder where I am or why I disappeared. The only thing that will blow your mind is how well I represent my client and how smoothly the transaction goes!

I look forward to it! Thank you, Virginia Halter

technorati tags: seller+advice, listing+representation, realtor+MIA

Are you serious about buying a home?

So, this is how the phone call went…ring, ring…

“Virginia Halter“

“Yes, I want to see this house at _________”

“Terrific, and who am I speaking to?”

“Ummm, Tammy.” (I changed this name for blogging purposes)

“Well, Tammy, I would love to meet with you to discuss the home buying process … Let’s schedule a time to meet at my office for about an hour to discuss things.”

“An hour. I don’t have that kind of time.”

“Well Tammy, why don’t we meet at my office and we can talk in the car on the way to the home.”

“I don’t drive that far. I just live right around the corner from this house and I want to see it.”

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Buying a home is one of the most expensive things you may ever do. Let’s take this one step at a time.

First, let’s meet and discuss my role in helping you find a home. Because my role is much bigger than opening the door of the home for you.

• Why are you moving? Who is moving with you? What are you looking for in a neighborhood? in a home?
• Are you paying cash? Obtaining financing? Have you spoken with a reputable lender? Reputable is the key word there. Do you know the correct price point you should be shopping in?
• Do you know the price points of our region?
• Do you know the area you wish to live in? Are you aware of your options in the area? Or other areas that may be better suited to your lifestyle?
• Are you aware of your rights to inspection? Do you know which inspections to have?
• What time frame are you working on? Do you have a home to sell first? When is your lease up? Do you have to be moved in two weeks?
• This is just the tip of the iceberg.

This is all important information I need to better serve you. You should take advantage of our time together as well. Find out my market knowledge. As a native to the area, I can help you find just about anything. Share your concerns with me so you can know that I will be honest with you throughout the transaction.

Now we both have a decision to make. As Bill Gallagher would say, “Do I like you? And do you like me?” (This has to be said with a strong Southern accent to have the desired affect) We get that pesky paperwork out of the way so we both can fully commit to finding the right home for you and your family.

I don’t work with strangers; my clients become friends. That is how I like to do business and I take my business very seriously. As always, if you or someone you know needs a real estate professional, give me a call, send me an email, or look me up on the web! I would love the opportunity to earn your business!

technorati tags: Buyer+advice, Buyer+representation, First+time+home+buying

Cabarrus County Car Seat Check

Did you know that 98% of all child car seats in Cabarrus County are incorrectly installed?

Make sure your children are safe!

Join Top Notch Gymnastics

on Saturday, November 17th between 10am and

2pm for a car seat safety day.

Free hot dogs, soda, and water!

Bake sale to support Top Notch Gymnastics

purchasing new gymnastic equipment!

4380 Triple Crown Drive

Concord, NC 28027

704-721-0727

From Hwy 49, turn onto Stough Road, take a left on Triple Crown Drive, Top Notch Gymnastics will be on the left.

From Hwy 29 North, take a left on Roberta Church Rd, take a right on Roberta Rd, take the next left on Stough Rd, then a a right on Triple Crown Drive and Top Notch Gymnastics will be on the left.

Tell them Virginia Halter sent you! Enjoy and be safe!

 

technorati tags: Cabarrus+County+Car+seat+check, Concord+NC

Are we working FOR our clients when we accept bonuses?

My, oh my, it is getting entertaining to open the newspapers these days!!

A quick synopsis for those not familiar with the Charlotte, NC market:

The Good News: We have a good market. We have had a good market and it continues. Sales have slowed a bit but our values continue to creep upwards.

The Bad News: We have pockets in our area where foreclosure rates have gone through the roof. The newspapers have hammered Beazer Homes and now they are after Realty Place, a now defunct real estate company.

Now the newspaper is turning all of this against agents. The reason? BONUSES!

The newspaper, God love them, is basically saying that all agents who accept bonuses are in cahoots with the builder. They mention that in their investigations of the Realty company they were investigating, they interviewed 50 clients , none of whom were aware of their agents receiving a bonus.

Yet another scare tactic to frighten home buyers! Did some of those agents do wrong? I do not personally know. What I do know is that if a bonus is received, it MUST show up on the HUD or settlement statement. That is the law. Any money that changes hands with regards to a real estate closing must be recorded on the settlement statement.

The charge in the paper seems to say, if your Realtor accepts a bonus for selling you a home then that Realtor could not possibly have your best interests at heart.

My comment to that is HORSE HOCKEY!! I advise, (and I advise other Realtors out there to do the same), my clients that some homes offer more commission, some offer less commission, some offer bonuses. This tells us that some sellers are more motivated than other sellers. Sometimes this tells us that the builder wants more properties sold. I look at my commission money as my bread and butter. Bonus money is different!

In my book, everyone should enjoy bonus money! I like to split my bonuses with my clients, 50/50.

I had a couple that I showed homes to last year. We saw everything (you know the client I mean) and they were looking for that “right” house. They asked me about a neighborhood I didn’t think they would like. Of course, I showed it to them and they fell in love (it blows my mind to this day). The next week when we wrote the contract we all learned of a $10,000 bonus. Hot dang! Yihhhhaaaa!I turned to them without skipping a beat and said, “We will split it. You can take $5000 off the home or use it in the design center or whatever you like.” They were thrilled. It was the right home. I could not NOT sell it to them because there was a bonus on it. I still represented them through the builder process. We are still on speaking terms and everything!

Is the newspaper article correct that we have a conflict of interest if we are paid a bonus by a seller or a builder? I don’t think so. But I DO represent my buyer client in their best interest. My clients are aware of any agent bonuses whether from a builder or a re-sale seller.

technorati tags: agent+bonuses, buyer+advice

We really should have everything written down and signed. This goes under the heading “perception equals reality.” As agents we have to do better at educating our clients through the buying/building processes. We have to do better as a community of truly working with our client’s best interest at heart.

 

Do you really NEED a survey? YES!!!!

This is NOT what you want to wake up and see at the end of your driveway.

I know you may not be able to read it. I took the picture from the road at the other end of the driveway .

This is a “Private Property, Do not trespass” sign. It is literally at the end of a driveway. Right there in the center of the driveway. Not on the outside edge. There is a car parked to the left of the sign and one parked to the right of the sign. Both cars are in the driveway.

The sign does NOT belong to the home owner. It belongs to the gentleman who has purchased the land next door and behind the homeowner.

He intends on building a home on his property. He has to build further back off the road (behind this home-ish) due to the high tension line that is to the right of the property.

Indeed, the structure built must be at least 75 feet from the high tension line. I believe that is correct, 75 feet.

At any rate, his driveway will, in all probability go right where this driveway exists. I haven’t met these folks in person but I imagine he doesn’t WANT to be a stickler with regard to the driveway but he”NEEDS a driveway to his property and he is on limited space.

Mr. & Mrs. Buyer,

A survey may seem like an “added, unnecessary expense.” I know that you are spending a lot of hard earned money on your new home. I know that you already have a list of things that you can do with that $500 (some surveys are much less. Some are much more. It depends on the property). But you do not want someone to come take up your fence or tear up your driveway. You don’t want someone else to own the well you dig or lay claim to your outbuilding. CNN Money featured a wonderful article on who needs a survey and how often you should have one done. They site several ‘real life’ cases just like the one above.

The particulars are NOT important. What is important is that you are aware of your rights to a property survey when you purchase a home or land. AND that you know why you should give great consideration to the advice to, bite-the-bullet and get the survey. I want to help you protect your investment.

For more information regarding purchasing a home or land in the Charlotte region of North Carolina, please call Virginia Halter at 704-605-4285 or find me on the web.

technorati tags: property+survey, Buyer+advice,

It’s THAT time of year again…

don’t know about the rest of you out there but this morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, we woke up to 50 degree weather.It was fantastic. I grabbed my cup of coffee and slipped out the the deck to enjoy a nice morning in my shorts and tank top (just like every other morning). It was frigid! I had to go back in for a sweatshirt.

This may not sound magical to most people but we have been HOT!!! Oh Lord, what can we do to save ourselves, HOT!!!!

Anyway, school is back in session and the kids are playing tennis, baseball, and gymnastics everyday. We got the application for the extracurricular activities today so we can sign them up for a club.

Cub scouts and Girl scouts are meeting each week, again.

Church is back to being a lllooonnnggg Sunday every Sunday with committees (we are good Presbyterian folk so we have to meet with our committees), youth club, and teen fellowship.

Sometimes I wonder if it just too much. I wonder if the kids are going to be maladjusted to life because they don’t get to stop and relax. I should know better than to worry. As you can tell by the picture below; kids know how to take care of themselves.

I may follow up myself with a good nap. This is how I found my son when I walked down from my home office just a few minutes ago.

It must have been a great day at school! Have a wonderful day you guys!!! Goodnight Micah!

technorati tags: family+time, NC+weather, Harrisburg+NC, Harrisburg+weather,

Standarized Home Inspections…FINALLY!!!

I saw the local news this morning and had to lay my head in my hands. The Inspector Licensing Board is proposing some changes to home inspection reports. An inspector may not add his or her rhetoric into the summary pages of the report.That report is a factual document only. PRAISE BE!!!

The news anchors seemed to want the public to panic! They said that this is going to add to the hard time buyers have because they will have to read the inspection report in full–not just the summary report.

WHAT??????????? Mr and Mrs Buyer, you paid at least $300 for this report. READ IT!!! THE ENTIRE THING!!! It is worth it’s weight in GOLD!!! I promise, you do not need the licensing board to tell you that you should read the whole report.

THEN, go over it with your Realtor. I will have you on the phone when I get the report in hand. If there is anything that you have questions about, have a contractor or handyman meet you at the property to give you estimates and discuss repairs. I know a good handyman or contractor to contact if you do not. It is my business.

My list of “Dos and Don’ts” of a home inspection:

Do:

Expect things to come up. It is not a new home. You can repair every item on the inspection report and it is still not a new home. Even in new construction, these inspection reports are invaluable. Issues always come up. Minor ones, major ones, always something. Homes are built by imperfect people, with imperfect materials.

Go over your report thoroughly with your Realtor and a contractor if necessary. We help you work through it.

Don’t panic! Again, it is not a new home. And chances are really good that it is a good home.

Don’t expect the inspector to give you longevity of anything, roof or HVAC, nothing! The job of an inspector is to tell you what is or isn’t functioning properly as intended. Stick to the facts.

Don’t expect a replacement of whatever is the issue. If the HVAC is not cooling properly, I don’t care if it is 18 years old. The responsibility of the home owner is to repair it to a properly functioning state.

Don’t require a “professional.” In NC, you may not tell the seller ‘who or how’ with any repair. If ol’ uncle Joe was a plumber “back in the day” then ol’ uncle Joe can fix it. Your right, is to verify the repairs have been properly done by having your inspector come back to verify repairs.

Don’t expect or accept estimates for repairs. They are inspectors, not contractors!!! It is my hope that we have an inspector who’s full-time job of inspecting keeps them busy enough that they aren’t looking for a side gig of repair work.

The truth is, in this litigation driven society, the inspectors need the protection of a standardized reporting system as well as the consumer. This will benefit you as a home buyer.

As a Realtor, my job is to educate you and guide you as seamlessly as possible through the home buying/building process. I have the resources for you not to get bogged down in all the details, but learn, understand, deal with, and move on.

 

technorati tags: Home+Inspections, Inspection+Reports, Buyer+Advice, Home+Inspectors

Harrisburg Market Update – Sept 2007

I am sure you all have seen the headlines. We can’t even hide from them can we! The real estate market around the country is faltering. The good news is that the Charlotte area market is not, I repeat, NOT losing value. Our properties are continuing to work for us. In Harrisburg this is especially true.

Our average homes sale in 2006 was $272,607.

Thus far in 2007 our home sale is $296,654. This is great news folks!

We have had 192 homes sell in Harrisburg in 2007. 131 Resale homes averaged sales price were $260,569 for an average of 2402 square feet; while new construction slowed a bit with only 61 sales averaging $374,149 for 3246 square feet.

We do have a lot of active inventory right now. We have 145 active listings in Harrisburg with an average list price of $341,540 (99 resale with avg list price $307.625 and 46 new construction at an avg of $414.529). Our days on market are creeping up a little bit but our property values are standing firm.

If you have a home to list call Virginia Halter with RE/MAX Signature Properties for a free comparative market analysis, 704-605-4285!

technorati tags: Harrisburg+Market+Report, Harrisburg+Property+Values,

Looking for Land in Concord, NC??

Are you looking for privacy?

Do you want enough land for horses?

Do you enjoy listening to the birds when you get up in the mornings?

If you answered, “Yes,” to any of these questions then Rocky Creek Farms is PERFECT for you!

Rocky Creek Farms is a 6 lot, 20 acre private subdivision located in the heart of Cabarrus County. 6 wooded lots ranging from 1-6 acres. There are 3 homes already built and 3 lots waiting for your vision!

Entering Rocky Creek Feels like you are entering a mountain retreat. Lush trees and ferns offer a serene and private setting.

As you enter, Lot 1, on the right, has already been sold.

Lot 2, on the right, offers 2.83 acres of wooded wonderment. The rear of the property follows a creek called the Jones Branch. This lot offers a wonderful opportunity for a horse pasture or a pool. I walked the lot this morning. It is gorgeous and you can’t see the neighbor’s house! While these lots do slope toward the creek, there is plenty of flat ground for a backyard.

Lot 3 is beautiful again! Wooded and backing to the creek, this 1.14 acre lot offers a calming retreat from the hustle and bustle. Purchase the lot for $79,000 or purchase the lot/home package for $385,000 and let Dan Sullivan and Dragonfly Properties build your dream home. Of course, the builder always picks a favorite home for a certain lot. The Builder’s Choice on this lot is “The Cottage.” A 3 bedroom/2.5 bath country cottage with full, rocking chair, front porch.

If you prefer, you may purchase a lot and bring the builder of your choice. Neighborhood covenants are available for your review. Also, builder plans may be modified to match your specifications. These are true custom built homes.

Lot 4 is currently the builder’s personal home (5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3 fireplaces, 3 car garage, 4 stall barn, pool). It is for sale. For buyer representation and more information please call Virginia Halter, 704-605-4285.

Lot 5 is currently owned.

That brings me to Lot 6. 3 acres of happiness. This lot already has a 4 stall barn in place. All you need to do is fence in the paddock. Perfect for 1 or 2 horses, or 1 teenager with an ATV! ou won’t believe the views from this lot.

Did I mention the taxes are Cabarrus County taxes only? That is currently .64/$100! Cabarrus County schools as well. CC Griffin Middle and Central Cabarrus High! It just keeps getting better!

For more information on Rocky Creek Farms and professional buyer representation, contact Virginia Halter with RE/MAX Signature Properties, 704-605-4285. Feel free to look me up on the web www.virginiahalter.com.

technorati tags: Cabarrus+County+Acreage, Concord+Land, NC+Land, Real+Estate+Investment