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Transfer Tax Down In Flames
2008-05-14 15:17:00
The residents of Orange County soundly defeated the County’s attempt to institute a transfer tax on the sale of homes in Orange County. Excellent! In a time of rising gas prices, rising food prices, rising prices for darn near everything, the last thing we need is local government sticking us for more taxes. In my opinion, they already have plenty of tax revenue for everything they really need to do, The transfer tax would have been passed along to buyers and sellers, thereby raising the price of buying a home. Well done voters of Orange County! Share This
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Stoneridge-Sedgefield Market Update
2008-05-07 16:23:00
Time for an update on the statistics in the Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. It is located along Whitfield Road about one mile east of 86. It is in the area that is in the Chapel Hill School District, but not in the city limits. So, great schools, but no city tax. (There is a special school tax, but it is worth it!) Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the early to mid eighties, with at least an acre of land. The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Stoneridge/Sedgefield as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. These figures are a pretty good indicator of the average price in this neighborhood. You occasionally get houses priced much higher, but those are BIG houses on BIG lots! So, if you want to be close to everything, but still have your “space�, check out Stoneridge/Sedgefield. Email me, or give me a call at 919-417-9753 if you want more info. Share This
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Do Gas Prices Impact Home Prices?
2008-04-29 16:30:00
OK. The price of gas is soaring with no end in sight. It is impacting food prices, delivery prices, you name it. It seems to negatively touch every part of your life. But does it impact the sale of your house? In a word, yes. Think about it. You have two houses similar in size, yard, schools, etc. The only difference is one of them is 15 miles from everything. The other is 1 mile. Which do you think will sell? At $1 or even $2 a gallon, maybe no big deal. But with gas in sight of $5 a gallon you better believe buyers will take it into account. So, what do you do? If you are the house close to everything, rejoice and play up that aspect! If you are out in the wilderness, don’t necessarily despair. There are buyers who will WANT to be far from everything. Play up the privacy, solitude, close-to-nature aspects of your home. It may take longer to find that particular buyer, but they are out there. Commute time has always been important to buyers.  Now add the CO...
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Why I Don’t Practice Dual Agency
2008-04-21 17:26:00
As a buyer or seller you may run into the concept of dual agency. That is basically where an agent “represents” both sides of a real estate transaction. Say my company has a listing. I also have a buyer under a Buyer Agency Agreement. My buyer likes the house I have listed. Uh oh. No problem.  Under Dual Agency I can say to my buyer and seller, “Don’t worry, I’ll represent both of you”. Riiiiight. In a nutshell, I do NOT practice dual agency because I believe in keeping my promises. When I get a listing I promise to represent that seller throughout the entire process, from listing to closing. It would be wrong of me to go back to my seller and tell him I can no longer represent just him because now I have a buyer and can get both sides of the deal. Same with a buyer. Now, dual agency can get pretty confusing with “designated agency, who is representing whom, who can and cannot be a designated agent. It just isn’t worth th...
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6012 Turkey Farm Road - Stoneridge - READY FOR SHOWING
2008-04-15 13:36:00
The beautiful home located at 6012 Turkey Farm Road in Stoneridge is now open for showing. Have your buyer agent set up a showing! The visual tour has been updated with interior pictures. The MLS # is 993245. CLICK HERE for a VisualTour of this listing. Share This
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6012 Turkey Farm Road - Stoneridge, Chapel Hill
2008-04-01 13:28:00
There is a new listing on the market! The home is located at 6012 Turkey Farm Road , Chapel Hill , NC. It is in the highly desirable Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. Situated on four acres, this home overlooks the Johnston Mill Nature Preserve. After wandering through your own four acres you can go across the street and spend hours in the preserve. Great privacy, yet you are close to everything! You also get the great Chapel Hill schools, without the city taxes. (There is a small school tax on top of the county tax, but it is well worth it!) The house has three bedrooms and three full baths. There are also two additional rooms that could be used as offices, media rooms, exercise rooms - you decide how to use them! Great attached garage workshop, as well as a large outside storage shed. Great kitchen, breakfast area, family room to spend a lot of quality hours. Or get away to the comfortable living room for some quiet. There is a large back deck to relax and enjoy nature...

Stoneridge-Sedgefield Market Update
2008-03-27 15:21:00
The next neighborhood I picked for some statistics is the Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. It is located along Whitfield Road about one mile east of 86. It is in the area that is in the Chapel Hill School District, but not in the city limits. So, great schools, but no city tax. (There is a special school tax, but it is worth it!) Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the early to mid eighties, with at least an acre of land. The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Stoneridge/Sedgefield as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. These figures are a pretty good indicator of the average price in this neighborhood. You occassionally get houses priced much higher, but those are BIG houses on BIG lots! So, if you want to be close to everything, but still have your “space”, check out Stoneridge/Sedgefield. Email me, or give me a call at 919-417-9753 if you want more info. Share This
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East Chapel Hill HS Market Update-Townhomes
2008-03-24 20:56:00
This month I figured I would give you a snapshot of the market for townhomes in the East Chapel Hill High School district. The market consists overall of a great selection of single family homes, townhomes and condos. This chart is a summary of the market conditions for townhomes in the district. It represents the townhouses which closed from 2/24/2008 to 3/24/2008, as well as those active on the market. As you can see there are 34 townhomes shown as active on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. There were only 4 homes which closed in that same period. This means an absorption rate of 4 homes per month for a 9 month supply. Of course, it would vary depending on the price of the house, but you get the idea. The averages are also impacted by some really expensive townhomes in Meadowmont. They increased the averages a LOT! So, don’t be scared off by some high looking numbers. There are actually many very affordable townhomes in the East Chapel Hill High School dist...
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Pre-Listing Inspection
2008-03-18 14:49:00
Something to think about when it comes time to sell your house is paying to have a professional home inspection done. For around $450, depending on the size of the house, you can have a home inspector come out and give you advance notice of anything wrong with your house. This will give you time to decide what you want to fix AND give you the time to get quotes without having the pressure of a deadline hanging over your head. This is much preferable to having only a few days to find a contractor and get them out to do the work after the buyer asks for an item to be fixed. You can also then market your house as a pre-inspected home. This will give potential buyers more confidence in the condition of your home. Face it. If there is something wrong with your house the buyer’s inspector will most likely find it. Of course, even if you fixed everything, the new inspector will find “something”. But wouldn’t you want it to be something really minor? The only ...
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Who Will Sell Your Home
2008-03-13 15:48:00
When the time comes to sell your home there is a lot you need to consider. The biggest decision is: who are you going to use to sell your house? Sell it yourself? You can try, but it is not nearly as easy as you might think. You cannot just post a sign in your yard, put an ad in the paper and hope people will flock to your castle. Doesn’t work that way. You simply must get your home in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is where virtually everyone gets their information. If you are not in the MLS, you are missing out on the vast majority of buyers. Not smart! To get in the MLS you can use a high-priced firm, a “discount” firm, or an entry-only firm. All have their plusses and minuses. You can go with a high-priced national firm. They will tell you they have hundreds of agents that will make your house a priority. Right. Or they have fancy relocation affiliations that will pull in so many buyers you will have to beat them off. Right. Don&r...
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Kirkwood Neighborhood
2008-03-10 16:24:00
The next in our list of neighborhoods is Kirkwood . This townhome community is located at the intersection of Erwin and Weaver Dairy, making it extremely convenient to everything. I know I say that about every community in the area, but it is still true. As you can see from the chart the homes sell in the low $200’s. Built in the 80’s, some of the homes have been nicely updated by their owners over the years. Some units, quite honestly, could use some renovation. But, given the size of the units, if you are at all handy with a hammer, you can do a lot of updating on your own. If you are in the market for a home where you don’t want the hassle of outdoor care, for either the house or the yard, give Kirkwood a look. Drive through and check out the neighborhood. You will be glad you did. As with any community I highlight, feel free to give me a call at 919-417-9753, or email me, for more information. Share This
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Ready, Aim, BUY!
2008-03-04 17:18:00
You’ve decided it is time to buy a house. It could be your first house, you could be downsizing, whatever. The important thing to remember is you have to get ready! You do not want to wait until you have found the house of your dreams and then scramble to get everything done. Your buyer agent can do most of the work for you, but some stuff is up to you. The first order of business is to get all your financial papers in order, or at least find them. Tax returns for the past few years, current paystubs , investments, etc. When you have all you can lay your hands on, get in touch with a mortgage person. (If you are paying all cash, great. Make sure it is available at a moments’ notice.) You can talk to your local credit union, bank, or get names from your agent. I do recommend you deal with someone local. Those internet loans have a habit of causing hassles at the most inopportune times! Plus, a local representative will usually attend the closing, which can b...
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Providence Glen Condos
2008-02-29 16:01:00
The next neighborhood I have picked is Providence Glen condos. These condominiums are located of Sage Road an Old Sterling. Therefore, as you can imagine, they are convenient to everywhere you might need to go. These are pretty new condos, the final phase just recently being completed. (The units on the market now are re-sales.) Each building has 12 condos, four to a floor. You usually have a choice of two and three bedroom units. Some come with a detached garage space. There is an elevator in each building so you don’t have to use the stairs if you don’t want the exercise. There is a great clubhouse and pool, as well as a tennis court. The chart shows the units on the market and those that have sold in the past six months. They are well priced for anyone who wants the ease of owning a condo. If you want additional information, give me a call at 919-417-9753. Share This

Where To For Home Prices?
2008-02-26 17:06:00
A big question right now is where do home prices go from here? The national news has story after story about falling home prices. An article on Yahoo Finance, “Existing Home Sales Decline“, isn’t very optimistic for the near future. Basically, sales of existing homes fell 12.7% in 2007. That’s a national average. Some fell more, some fell less. And there are pockets that went up, too! Prices , nationally, are expected to continue dropping until the end of 2008 or into 2009. There is a pretty good inventory of houses that need to be sold to end the downward pressure on prices. Locally, in Chapel Hill, we do have a lot of unsold homes at this time. For the East Chapel Hill School District there is a 12 month supply of existing single family homes. However, we are lucky to have a pretty good buyer base. The universities, medical centers and RTP all provide a pretty steady supply of buyers. Plus, more people are moving INTO North Carolina, so that helps...

Home Sales in East Chapel Hill HS district
2008-02-25 16:54:00
This chart is a summary of the market conditions in the East Chapel Hill High School district.  It represents the detached single family houses which closed from 1/25/2008 to 2/25/2008, as well as those active on the market.    As you can see there are 116 detached homes shown as active on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service, up from 109 a month ago.  There were only 10 homes which closed in that same period.  This means an absorption rate of 10 homes per month for a 12 month supply.  Of course, it would vary depending on the price of the house, but you get the idea. For a seller this means you absolutely HAVE TO be fully committed to getting your house in show condition.   You have LOTS of competition!  For a buyer, it means you can be in a great negotiating position, if you have done your homework.  I can help you whether you are buying or selling. You can also see we have a very wide range of homes in our market.  This sample does not include condos/townhouses.Â...
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Silver Creek Neighborhood
2008-02-19 16:14:00
The next neighborhood I picked for some statistics is Silver Creek .  It backs right up to East Chapel Hill High School.  The homes in this neighborhood are truly magnificent.  You need to take a ride through Silver Creek just to see the designs and landscaping of some of these homes.  And if you want to work those calf muscles take a walk through the community.  It is hilly!  It is convenient to pretty much everywhere you would want to go! The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Silver Creek as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months.  Like its neighbor to the east, Springcrest, at the moment there is not a lot of activity, so don’t take the statistics too seriously.  But, yes, they are high priced homes.  Activity should pick up as the Spring season starts. Share This
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Furnished Or Empty - Selling An Unoccupied House
2008-02-13 16:21:00
If you have to sell a home that is unoccupied, due to death of owners, divorce, a move, whatever, one of the big questions is should you sell it with the furniture still in the house or move the furniture out?  Long ago, before I got into real estate, I had agents tell me to get everything out so potential buyers could see themselves and their furniture in the house.  Bad idea.  After I got in the business I realized what a big mistake that was!  You want the house to be furnished.  If it is empty, people see an empty house.  If it is well furnished, they see a home.  Big difference.  It is also amazing how ALL the little scratches, chips and dirt are MUCH more evident in an empty house.  A big advantage of selling an empty house is that you have the opportunity to really stage the house.  A staged home can look beautiful, but it can be a pain to live in.  So grab the chance and get rid of all clutter, clean like a demon, and arrange the furniture to maximize space and v...
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The Springcrest Neighborhood
2008-02-09 15:05:00
A great aspect of living in Chapel Hill is the number and variety of neighborhoods you have the opportunity to live in.  In this blog I will be showcasing various neighborhoods to help the reader learn a little bit about our area.  The latest neighborhood is Springcrest.  Springcrest is located on the east side of Erwin Road just north of the Sage Rd. intersection.  It is convenient to everything, and is within walking distance of East Chapel Hill High School.  (OK, it is a long walk, but high school kids can use the exercise.)  It is just a short hop to 15-501, Duke, UNC, shopping and other area services. The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Springcrest, as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months.  At the moment not a lot of activity, but since it is February, that is not unusual.  So, if you are looking for a nice home, convenient to everything, and in the East Chapel Hill High School district, give Springcrest a look. Share This
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Range of Neighborhoods in East Chapel Hill High School District
2008-02-06 16:19:00
I’ve mentioned before how nice it is to live in a school district that is considered one of the best in the country.  It is also nice that we have a wide range of neighborhoods that allow parents in all income brackets to move into the district.  The chart shows just a small sample of the many neighborhoods in the district and their average selling prices over the past six months. Of course, there are homes well above the figures on the chart, but you get the idea.  There is a home for you in the district if you want to move here,  At the lower end of the price scale you will find mostly condos, then townhomes at higher prices, then single family homes, but there are some of each in every price range. For more information on ALL the areas in the East Chapel Hill High School district hit the search button on my blog and check out the results.  When you are ready to buy, give me a call. Share This
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Why Should You Buy in The East Chapel Hill School District?
2008-02-04 16:57:00
There are many decisions that go into deciding where to buy your next home.  Commute time, shopping, traffic, etc.  Well, at the top of the list should be public schools.  This is true even if you have no children or have your kids in private schools.  Why?  In a word, resale value.  Odds are you are going to be in your home about seven years.  When it comes time to sell, a huge percentage of buyers will be asking about the local schools.  You don’t want to be in the position of having to apologize for the schools.  In the East Chapel Hill district, we don’t have to apologize.  We can brag.  East Chapel Hill High School (ECHHS) is consistently among the top schools in the state for academics and sports.  It also consistently shows up in the top high schools in the country.  This is why housing values go up when you enter the ECHHS district.  As long as a school stays excellent, so will property values relative to other areas.  There is a great resource t...
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Real Estate Takes A Beating?
2008-01-29 22:38:00
You likely have seen it all over the news over the past few weeks.  How new home sales have fallen by a record amount, or existing homes are not appreciating in value, etc.  It is enough to depress anyone.  However, things are never as bad as they first seem.  Sure the housing market is taking a hit right now, but that doesn’t mean you give up.  Houses ARE still selling! People move for tons of reasons, so there is always a supply of buyers, particularly in the Chapel Hill area. We are lucky in that part of the local population is very “fluid”.  That is, they are only here for a few years and then move on.  Examples are grad students, interns, professors, that come and go.  Many of them want to buy a house for the years they are here, so we get a supply of ready and willing buyers.  Plus, there is a net influx of people to our area.  They realize what a great place Chapel Hill/Orange County is and move here.   This also helps keep our area from suffer...
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Home Sales in East Chapel Hill HS district
2008-01-25 19:57:00
  This chart is a summary of the market conditions in the East Chapel Hill High School district.  It represents the detached single family houses which closed from 12/25/2007 to 1/25/2008, as well as those active on the market.    As you can see there are 109 detached homes shown as active on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service.  There were only 8 homes which closed in that same period.  Not exactly a hot market for sellers at this time!   For a seller this means you absolutely HAVE TO be fully committed to getting your house in show condition.   You have LOTS of competition!  For a buyer, it means you can be in a great negotiating position, if you have done your homework.  I can help you whether you are buying or selling. You can also see we have a very wide range of homes in our market.  This sample does not include condos/townhouses.  If you want to know more about the living opportunities in the East Chapel Hill High School district, or any other local are...
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Stoneridge/Sedgefield Neighborhood
2008-01-24 19:52:00
If you are looking for a home that will give you the privacy you want, yet still be close to everything in Chapel Hill, as well as being in one of the best school districts in the state, look no further!  The neighborhood known as Stoneridge/Sedgefield is for you.  Located off of Whitfield Road about 1 mile east of 86 this community is in the Chapel Hill School district, but not in the tax district of the City of Chapel Hill. Most homes were built in the late 70’s early 80’s with lots of yard space.  Homes, when available, range in price from the mid $300K to over $1,000,000.  The community also has an outstanding clubhouse with pool and tennis courts.  And as I mentioned, the location is perfect!  Close to everything but with the feel, and privacy, of the countryside.  I know all this because it is also my neighborhood.  We moved here from northern Durham County a little over a year ago.  It was the best move we ever made.  Give me a call if your interest...
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Winter Delights & Home Care
2008-01-21 16:34:00
One of the joys of living in North Carolina is the occasional light snowfall.  Just enough to get your camera out and prove to your relatives in northern cimes that, yes, it does snow here!  It is a great time to get some wood and put that fireplace to work.  And even though those gas fireplaces look wonderful, there is nothing like a real wood fire to make those lazy Sunday afternoons drift by.  However, those dancing flames in the fireplace should remind you about fireplace maintenance.  When was the last time you had the chimney sweep out to clean out your chimney.  Personally, I have no idea on my own house.  We only moved in to it last year, so I don’t know the last time it was cleaned.  Maybe never!  Shame on me.  I plan on having it done soon.  This is also something I have no intention of “Doing-it-myself”.  Let the pro do it! If you are planning on marketing your house soon, that is all the more reason to have a thorough cleaning of the chimney...
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Clean Up Your Act
2008-01-18 16:03:00
When it comes time to put your house on the market you have to learn a new level of clean!  And I’m not talking just making sure everything is picked up and tidy.  I mean it has to be cleaner than you thought possible.  When serious buyers comes into your house they are not just browsing.  They are inspecting.  Floors, walls, closets, inside cabinets - everything is fair game.  Anything that is unpleasant or detracts from their experience lessens the chance they will pick your house.  If they are taking the time to actually visit your house, it means they are favorably inclined to it.  You DON’T want anything to turn them off from your house now that they are in it.  By the way, this also includes the outside of your house, and your yard.  From the moment they approach your house in their car you are “on stage”.  All sights, sounds and SMELLS are important. Whether you hire a cleaning service, or do it yourself, you must clean areas you probably h...
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Screwed Or Glued
2008-01-14 22:00:00
The title shows two words that should be in your mind when buying OR selling a house.  They refer to “fixtures“.  When you are the buyer, you want to keep in mind that not everything you see stays with the house.  On the other side of the sale, the seller needs to make CLEAR what is NOT staying.  I guarantee that if a buyer sees your favorite chandelier in the dining room they think it is staying, even if you put a yellow stickie on it that says “Does not convey”.  You want to make sure the contract shows what does not stay. Basically, if something is glued or screwed  onto the wall, ceiling, etc., it is probably required to stay.  So, if you plan on talking that chandelier with you, get it down before you put the house on the market.  Go to the store and get a decent replacement for it and put it up.  Another example is a mirror on the wall.  If the mirror is attached with screwed in brackets, it stays.  If you can lift it off the wall like a pi...
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Duke Forest Beauty
2008-01-07 19:59:00
OK.  This has nothing to do with real estate.  However, I just had to publish this picture I was able to take of the first albino deer I’ve ever seen in real life.  It was just off Erwin Rd. around Duke Forest .  I was much closer when I first saw it.  By the time I could race home and get my camera it had wandered deeper into the woods.  It was absolutely beautiful. Pure white with pink eyes and nose.  I emailed the Duke Forest people and they said they have been getting reports on this deer for about two years.  Wow!  Amazing it has been around for that long.  Let’s hope it has many more years ahead of it.  I’ll tell you, having a treasure like Duke Forest so close to Chapel Hill is a gift, and when you get to see a beauty like this deer, it is just icing on the cake.  Duke Forest is a great place to run, hike or just walk your dog for a few hours.  One of the perks of living in such a great place like Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Share This
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The Cheapest Way To Improve Your Chapel Hill Home For Sale
2008-01-03 20:01:00
In a word - paint.  At $20 a gallon it is an incredibly cheap way to spruce up your house and prepare it for market.  By all means, let your kids paint their room whatever color they want while you live there.  BUT, when it comes time to sell, buyers may not like the flat black or bright pink walls.  This is one project that is easy to do yourself.  Some very simple tools, prep work, and a few hours can add thousands of dollars to your selling price and reduce time on the market.  Even if you hire someone to paint, it is still worthwhile!  Just think back to when you were house hunting.  Dirty walls, chipped trim paint.  I’m sure that did not make you feel good about the house. So, invest some time and money in paint when it comes time to sell.  You will not regret it!     Share This
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The Number One Way To Protect Your Chapel Hill House
2008-01-03 19:45:00
Having been to my share of Chapel Hill home inspections, there is a common item that I have heard from just about every inspector.  The best way to protect your house is to clean your gutters!  No rocket science here.   A clogged gutter leads to water seeping up under your roof and causing a whole lot of trouble, possibly VERY expensive trouble.  The same for a clogged downspout.  Go on out and check your own gutters.  Would you pass inspection?  Now that all the leaves are down, it is a great time to clean those gutters.  Then you’ll be set for months!  If you live in a single level house, like I do, consider yourself lucky.  About 30 minutes on the ladder and you’re done.  It’s messy, but rewarding.  If you have a two or three level house, it might be worth the cost to have someone else do it.  The important thing is to not ignore it!  It won’t go away. For the taller houses, you may want to investigate the gutter covers.  Never had one, so ...
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