Chapel Hill NC Home Blog

According to federal statistics released last week, Raleigh and Cary make up the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. The combined population of Raleigh aka North Carolina’s capital city and Cary aka its family friendly suburb increased by 4.3 percent between July 2007 and July 2008. The Durham Chapel Hill area ranked 23rd with a 2.5 percent increase.

Growth in these areas is due to the area’s top hospitals, universities and nearby Research Triangle Park.  The RTP business complex have more than 50,000 employees and more than 170 research and development companies.

Out of the nation’s 100 fastest growing counties, 11 were in North Carolina.  Families are still attracted to the climate, the educational and economic opportunities that the Triangle area has to offer.

Although no area is immune to the current state of the economy, it’s nice to know that the Raleigh/Cary/Durham/Chapel Hill area is still growing.

If you would like more information about the area, feel free to call us toll free at 877-478-4669.

Until next time…

Staci

I wonder how many people are aware of the pollution problem at Jordan Lake.  Scientists first identified pollution problems around 1995 and they have only gotten worse since then.  Jordan Lake is not just for recreational use.  The lake provides clean drinking water to more than 120,000 Wake, Durham and Chatham County residents.  In addition, growth and development are taking their toll.

Environment North Carolina is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. They are working to win real results for Jordan Lake and to set the stage for how other lakes across the state will be restored.

When cities discharge treated sewage into the lake, it causes excessive algae, increases the cost of drinking water and threatens the lake’s ability to substain fish and swimming for years to come.  It’s also up to the boaters and other recreational users to clean up after themselves when leaving the Lake.

We can all be happy if we work together.  Development can still take place if the proper measures are in place to control runoff and sewage pollution.

I have been kayaking on Jordan Lake for several years.  I would much prefer kayaking in a clean body of water as opposed to a polluted one.  Wouldn’t you?

Looking forward to kayaking on Jordan Lake very soon.  How many more days until spring?

Staci

When surfing the web, I came across some information about mistakes home buyers make.  In this market, I thought it would be a good topic to discuss.

1. Waiting to Sell Your Home-It’s more important to sell your existing home before you commit to buying a new one.  It takes a lot longer to find a buyer than it would have a year ago.  With the current state of the economy, you don’t want to be stuck carrying two mortgages.

2. Your Credit Score-Every year you should obtain a copy of your credit report, especially if you plan on buying a home.  Most credit reports contain some type of error and it can take at least several weeks to have an error corrected.  Sometimes an error can disqualify you from a competitive interest rate or a mortgage altogether.

3, Skipping the Mortgage Preapproval Process-In a tight lending market, it’s important to shop around for a mortgage and get preapproved by a lender before you start looking for a home.  It’s not as easy to get a loan as it used to be.  Your mortgage rate will be based on how risky they feel you are.

4. Your Budget-It’s a buyers market.  Don’t be afraid to make an offer that’s below the asking price.  Also, don’t be foolish to walk away from a property you really like over a few thousand dollars.  I was involved in a situation like this in NY.  I was told as a buyer “You can’t make an offer like that, it’s too low”. I said “Yes I can, worse case scenario they will say no”.  I lived in that home for 7 years!!

5. Signing a Contract with Contingencies-Not only do you need to secure a mortgage, you also need to find a seller that is ready to move at the same pace as you are.  You don’t want to get yourself involved in a situation when the sale is dependent on the seller finding a new home first.

I hope these tips have helped you.  Good luck with finding the home that’s right for you!

Staci Green-Transaction Manager for                                                                      Masha Halpern & The Smart Move Team                                  www.TheSmartMoveTeam.com

There is a big debate as to whether we should lower the drinking age.  I’m not sure how I feel about this one.  When I was a teen, the drinking age was 18.  We also drank before we turned 18. As always, there are pros and cons.  I understand the debate if you are old enough to fight in a war, you should be old enough to drink but it goes beyond that.  I dont think the drinking age should be lowered for that reason alone.

High Schoolers and College students will find a way to drink regardless of what the legal drinking age is. A big factor is if the legal age were 18, will that make it easier for 16 and 17 year olds to obtain alcohol?  Unfortunately, yes.

A negative about the drinking age being 21 is that college kids are still drinking but they are more secretive about it; closed parties, binge drinking, etc…  If the drinking age were 18, would that make drinking at college safer? I’m not sure. 

How do we keep the teenage drinkers off the roads?  I know since the drinking age has been 21, traffic fatalilities have been reduced by 13% involving 18-20 year old drivers.  As a mom of 2 teenagers in high school, that is an important factor for me.

Age does not always measure someone’s maturity level.  As with raising the driving age, this will be an ongoing debate and I’m not sure what the outcome will be.

Stay tuned….

Staci

There are many opinions about whether to have a Real Estate Open House to sell your home; the agents perspective, the sellers perspective and the buyers perspective. 

Many sellers loves open houses.  They only see the upside. They think it’s the key to selling their home.  Other sellers are skeptical and see it as a security risk.  Do you want strangers that may only be lookers wandering around your home, especially if they are not represented by a Licensed Real Estate Broker?  Many sellers prefer to open their homes to serious buyers only.

Most buyers these days rely on the internet or their buyer’s agent for their home search.  There are large amounts of internet listings and online real estate information that buyers can obtain at their own convenience that will save them time.

The majority of home sales come from contacts with other real estate agents, from the local MLS (multiple listing service) and from the selling agents/listing agents website.

If an open house is held too often, it may send a signal that the house is a tough property to sell.

As you can see, there is no right or wrong, but it my opinion, an open house should be used as a last resort.

The Orange County Sheriff’s office has implemented SAFE-Net, an Autistic Family Emergency Network. The information in this article comes directly from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.  I have a friend with an autistic son so I thought posting this information would be useful to everyone that may read it.

SAFE-Net is a program designed to allow Orange County residents with Autistic family members to provide vital information about those family members to aid in locating them should they go missing.  Residents can access the application form via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Homepage.  The form can be completed online and electronically sent to their office or the applicant can print it and deliver it to the Sheriff’s Office either in person, by fax to 919-732-6403 or by mailing it to: The Sheriff of Orange County, 144 East Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278, ATTENTION: SAFE-Net.

Once this information is filed, the Sheriff’s Office will not release the information to anyone unless it has been verified that the person has been reported missing or endangered and a law enforcement agency is requesting the information.

Believe it or not, now is a good time to buy a home in North Carolina.  It’s true, the economy is not doing well, but prices of homes have dropped well below their value.  Lower prices means better affordability for those interested in buying.  If houses have been sitting on the market for a long period of time, sellers may be more eager to sell at a lower price.

If you are interested in selling and would like a free comparative market analysis of your home or you are interested in purchasing a home, contact our team and we will provide you will all the real estate information you need.  We serve the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, & Raleigh, North Carolina area.

Masha Halpern & The Smart Move Team                                                       “Make your move The Smart Move”                           www.TheSmartMoveTeam.com                                         www.chapelhillhomefind.com                                              www.mashahalpern.com                                                                                       toll-free (877) 478-4669