Real Estate Information

Shhh....I'm about to let you in on a BIG secret!

You want to know why I have a lot of points, eh?  You stare at your point total daily and simmer because your numbers aren't huge?

Well-here's how to get a high point total (and in the interest of full disclosure, my number's not as high as many others!).

WORK AT IT.

Write blog posts.  Rant, rave, share opinions, talk about communities, advertise your listings.

Comment on the posts of others.  Folks you know, folks you don't know.

Do it consistently.  Folks, I've been on here since September of 2006 when we were a community of about 6,000 members.  I've been paying my dues for quite some time.  And i'm not even as faithful to AR as I used to be-too busy, too caught up in other activities, etc.  And honestly, points don't mean a whole lot to me-there are other residual benefits of AR that are much more powerful.

But I swannee, if I get ONE MORE PHONE CALL OR EMAIL from someone wanting to know how I've done it, i might just go through the phone! 

It's actually a pretty fair analogy for the current real estate market in general.  I'm busy.  I have a lot of buyers and sellers and contracts.  And i didn't get them by magic or by wishing or by hoping.  I am busy because I work at it every day and I have been for the past 8 years.  I don't rely on gimmicks or paid leads or any of that stuff-I work my sphere and my past clients and anything i can think of to generate additional leads for the buyer agents who have chosen to join me.  Still, it seems that every other day, I have an agent making comments, wondering why I am busy and they are not.  Whine away, I'll get right back to work.

No cookie-cutter here!  AND no HOA restrictions or dues!  Great home on a very private, beautifully landscaped lot.  This Charlotte NC home for sale is conveniently located just inside Cabarrus County (north and east of Charlotte NC)-so you get some of the best public school assignments going PLUS county-only property taxes!  You also get the bonus of a Charlotte mailing address since you are right beside the county line and I-485.

The main level features an updated kitchen, large dining room, spacious family room with fireplace, and two sets of doors to your outdoor entertaining area (deck plus large patio!).  Just off the garage you will find an amazing flex space-room for a mother-in-law suite or office or teen suite or media room or whatever you need!  There's even a separate entrance in place.

Upstais are three spacious bedrooms, each with a large closet, and two full bathrooms.

This home is immaculate, neutral and move-in ready.  The oversized two-car garage completes the picture.

$162,500 asking price.

For your private showing, visit our website or call Leigh Brown at 704.979.7034.  We're glad to help!

I can't believe I'm writing this.  I'm an advocate of wearing your nametag just about everywhere you go, never can tell when someone will need to talk real estate.

But I just got back from a funeral.  I'm sitting there waiting for the service to begin, and up the aisle comes a local Realtor (and I love her, she's a total sweetie, but she's newer in the business) WEARING HER NAMETAG.  Are you serious?  This is a funeral. 

There's a time and a place for everything.  Put the darn thing away-it's tacky and doesn't do very much for your professional image!  (I am trying very hard to convince myself that she just forgot she was wearing it, but considering that it was on her suit jacket and not her overcoat, it's a hard sell).

Ick.

It's apparent that the folks in this picture weren't afraid to let the world know they were hungry-shoot,why else would you raise watermelons that large?

But if you're a professional in real estate or a real estate-related industry, you might want to rethink your attitude and carriage.

Let me preface this by saying that I have been there.   I have been hungry.  I have been starving for leads and transactions and buyers and sellers.  In the words of my father, I put my head down and worked and managed to survive.  That was several years ago, I'm very blessed right now to be established in real estate and I keep learning and keep working every single day to make sure that the clients who have chosen me feel good in their choice.

But for those of you that are hungry-and I direct this mostly to the folks out there in money world-you've got to find a way to hide it.  Buyers and sellers can smell it when you're hungry.  I can smell it.  And like a dog sniffing out fear and exploiting it, clients will exploit it when they know you NEED them.  For they don't NEED you unless you're doing a bang-up job demonstrating your value. 

If you remain focused on the value that you bring to the table, keep in contact with folks, and just go learn something new, you will most likely survive.  If you get focused on your bank account and commission checks, you may not make it.

And if your focus changes, I have no choice but to quit sending prospects to you.  You are damaging my reputation when my clients smell your money fear.  They want to work with successful people who can HELP them, not be the last bandaid on the gaping hole in the side of the ship.

For me, it's business as usual.  I am working for buyers, working for sellers, doing everything I can in the way of marketing to get houses out there and to hunt down just the right place for my buyers.  I don't have the time to take 14 calls from a lender who wants to tell me how badly he needs a closing, and how he still really wants to do business with me.   Before the mortgage world blew up-you took applications, followed up, and folks were happy. 

Get your focus back.  Demonstrate your value.  Talk about money and numbers and programs and news and NOT about how many closings you do or don't have.  I'd really appreciate it.

Or even let the kids stay up late for a fabulous benefit gala in Davidson NC (just north of Charlotte NC).   Many folks who relocate to Charlotte ask what kind of cultural events are available-this is a prime example of the exciting opportunities in Charlotte-for both giving and receiving. 

(If you didn't already know, VOX is the professional choral ensemble that I perform with-so if you show up, you can catch me after the show!) 

Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 8:00pm:

The Firebird Arts Alliance, in collaboration with Central Piedmont Community College, present:

VOX

PRESENTS LIVE RECORDING / BENEFIT CONCERT:

"Vox & Friends"  

Charlotte's newest professional choral ensemble, VOX, will present "VOX & Friends," a live recording / benefit concert at 8:00pm, on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Davidson, in support of Inspire the Fire, Inc., an inner-city, youth arts-training program.

Firebird Arts Alliance Artistic Director David Tang and Associate Artistic Director Peppie Calvar lead VOX in a program of spectacular contemporary choral music by composers like Edwin Fissinger, Duke Ellington, Astor Piazzolla, Stephen Leek, and more, to be included in VOX's debut CD - "Out of this World;" the program will also include spirituals, jazz and gospel music in celebration of Black History Month, performed in collaboration with some of Charlotte's best African-American musical artists.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Inspire the Fire, Inc.

Guest artist/collaborators include Ethel Beatty Barnes, Dennis Reed & G.A.P., Henry Lebedinsky and Catrina Pegues.

Ethel Beatty Barnes  (http://fundraisingthruthearts.com/biography.html), star of Broadway stage and film, joins VOX in Duke Ellington's Come Sunday and other jazz/gospel favorites.  Ms. Barnes performed leading roles on Broadway, opposite artists like Gregory Hines, and appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Cotton Club.

Dennis Reed & G.A.P., Charlotte's hottest new Gospel sensations (http://www.dennisreed.com/ or read about Dennis: http://www.nuthinbutgospel.com/spotlight_dennisreed.htm), recently performed with VOX and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in the CSO's Daybreak of Freedom performance, celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., to thunderous ovations.  Seriously, they're going to be on Oprah one day, so you should take advantage of seeing them now!

Catrina Pegues (http://catrinapeguesministries.net/) won the 2004 Charlotte Gimme the Mike-Charlotte competition and sings gospel and inspirational music throughout the region.

Henry Lebedinsky, Music Director of Music at St. Alban's (http://www.saintalbans-davidson.org/musicatstalbans.htm), appears as guest conductor of VOX, conducting an original work by Mr. Lebedinsky.

The performance will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 8:00 pm at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Davidson, NC (301 Caldwell Lane, Davidson, NC  28036 - http://www.stalbans-davidson.org/

Ticket reservations can be made by calling (704) 365-1661.  Limited seats are still available, call today if you want to come tomorrow.

$20 - general admission / $12 - students and seniors

ABOUT THE FIREBIRD ARTS ALLIANCE:  The Firebird Arts Alliance brings artists and artistic institutions together from all disciplines, to collaborate in innovative, commercially successful, and socially beneficial ways.Firebird will facilitate collaborations between artists of all disciplines as well as people of all races, religions, cultures and backgrounds, in order to inspire a community of respect, equality and creativity.

And to tell the truth, this photo doesn't even begin to do justice to the beauty of the Coddle Creek Reservoir, situated on the west side of Concord and Kannapolis NC, in the Charlotte NC metro area.

If you are seeking a unique property on which to build your custom home, this might just be the ticket.  You see, the reservoir is a completely protected natural area.  No boats or watercraft of any kind are allowed on the water (except for the county folks who take a johnboat out to make sure all is well).  When the reservoir was built in 1993, several layers of protection were placed on the surrounding land to keep development away from our drinking water. 

Are you considering a 'green' house?  What better place to built it than on a natural area such as this?  This 3.82 acre parcel is both waterfront and waterview.  There are many mature trees on the property-you will truly be able to carve out your homesite to your satisfaction.

The property has already been tested by the Cabarrus County health department, and we have the perc tests on file. 

$350,000 asking price.  If you are interested in this property, please call Leigh Brown directly  at 866.440.7136 and we can go out and walk the acreage so you can get a feel for how unique a property this is.

Did I mention that there are no developments or subdivisions bordering the water?  Yep, just a few single family homes here and there.  You just never guessed that such a pristine parcel still existed-and that it would be only 25 minutes from uptown Charlotte, 10 minutes from the new North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis NC, and 10 minutes from the new retail center anchored by Super Target.

Fabulous opportunity for a smart custom builder who is seeking available land in HOT Union County, NC, or for the discriminating buyer who wants a custom home to be built in a lovely established neighborhood.

Thirteen lots are currently available in Chatsworth.  This small community sits in one of North Carolina's best school districts (also an area with low property taxes), just south of Charlotte NC and the well-developed Ballantyne area.

The constant growth and development in this entire sector of Charlotte NC has really overburdened the infrastructure.  Roads have widening projects underway (yes, Providence Road's widening project is finally here!!!), new schools are being built, shopping and retail are cropping up quickly.   And the elected county officials have been very wise in placing a moratorium on new projects until they can get a handle on the overall direction of the area.

This is a rare opportunity.  There are no time restrictions on building, you can select a builder (pending their approval by the developer), select your own plan (subject to architectural review), and make your own estate home here in the Charlotte NC area (specifically, this is a Waxhaw/Weddington address).

Priced from $149,900 to $159,900.  Please email Leigh Brown or call us today at 866.440.7136.  We're glad to help!

Unbelievable opportunity, whether you are a custom home builder in the Charlotte NC real estate market or an individual dreaming of that perfect floorplan or an investor who knows that this is an unheard-of opportunity.

30 lots are available in the Cureton community, in Waxhaw NC.  Situated in Union County, NC-one of the nation's fastest growing counties-this neighborhood features a full amenity center (with full pool and slide, pond, water features, clubhouse).

Each lot has water and sewer already tapped in, and even better-is already approved by Union County.  If you've missed the news, there is a moratorium on new lot and plat approval in Union County, as the area struggles to get the infrastructure to a place that can accomodate the booming growth.

The lots can be purchased individually or as a package.  Most lots are around one/third of an acre and are level, perfect for getting started quickly.  Prices range from $107,000-$128,000 per lot.  Please visit our website for more information, or feel free to call Leigh Brown at 704.979.7034.  Interest is very high on these lots and they won't last long.

It's worse than the age old 'chicken or the egg' argument...since it affects how people perceive their biggest financial investment-their homes.

Which is correct-market value or tax value? 

Doesn't sound like a difficult question when I write it down, but it's an ongoing discussion with homeowners in Charlotte NC (and especially in Cabarrus County-Concord, Kannapolis, Harrisburg, in light of the recent property tax revaluation).  Seems that in some parts of the country, tax values have some semblance of relation to market values.

Not so around here. And that's hard to accept for relocating families who see listing prices which are far off from tax values, and for homeowners who get new property tax assessments every few years (North Carolina requires a revaluation every 8 years so houses don't get too far out of whack). 

There's just not a lot of science involved in determining your property's tax value.  The lovely folks in the tax office aren't stupid-they're just overworked and understaffed to properly assign values in an area that's growing as quickly as Charlotte NC is.

The tax cards are notorious for having incorrect numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms, incorrect heated area, missing finished basements, missing screen porches, etc.  The assessors also don't have their fingers on the pulse of neighborhood values, and may not be making adjustments for areas that aren't doing so hot.

Long story short, your tax value has NOTHING to do with your market value.

I received a call from a concerned gentleman last week, a lovely man who owns a home in Concord NC.  He felt that his valuation was high.  I spent a few minutes with him, establishing a reasonable market value range for him-which was far below his tax value.  I explained that he could contact the county tax office and dispute his value (you have 30 days from the notice to protest the assessment). 

He proceeded to tell me that if they would NOT reduce his tax value to meet my estimates, then he would go ahead and list the house and sell it for the tax value.  Ahem.  Kinda missed the point there, didn't he?  I know it's hard pill to swallow when you see this lovely assessment and you've already started counting the money.  But the market is fluid and buyers determine what your house is ultimately worth.   I'm not saying that they're always wrong-far from it.  But if the market range of your house is far below tax value-the fact that your tax value is higher is NOT going to make a buyer pay that much for it.

If this is confusing (as are most things dealing with county government and taxes), leave me a comment and I'll try again to explain.  I'm always glad to help my neighbors here in the Charlotte area-and I will only provide the unvarnished truth!