Real Estate Information

10861 Jim Sossoman Road, Midland, NC 28107

Looking for country living, but minutes away from Charlotte NC? This home for sale in Midland NC has everything you need! Gorgeous brick ranch on over 6 acres. This home even has an in-law suite and a floored attic! Only 30 minutes from downtown Charlotte NC in beautiful Cabarrus County.

For your private showing or for more information, please visit LeighBrownAndAssociates.com or call 866.440.7136. We're glad to help if you are looking to buy a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, or Midland NC-and if you're thinking of selling a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, Midland NC or surrounding areas-you know who to call!

Many of you who take the time to read my blog (thank you) are aware that I am a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity, in particular my local affiliate, Habitat Cabarrus.

I'm chairing the 2007 Women Build house, which is supposed to officially start this coming weekend.  This is a national project of Habitat for Humanity, which supports houses built by women.   Our recipient family for this home is a single mom and her two children. She's been living in Section 8 housing-and in particular, her unit was very substandard. She's put in more than her required sweat equity hours to get qualified for the home.  She's been through financial training to plan for budgets and for being a homeowner.  And she really wants to get her kids into a stable environment.

Problem is, we're $30,000 short on being able to build this house.  Purse strings are apparently tight here at tax time.

So I'm going to put my money where my mouth is.

For every dollar contributed to the Women Build project by April 30, 2007, I will match it-dollar for dollar.

(If you don't like my blog, you should be especially motivated to send money and bleed me dry!!!)

You can mail any contributions directly to the Habitat office at the address below:

Habitat For Humanity
Cabarrus County
P.O. Box 1502
8 Church Street
Concord, North Carolina 28026-1502
704-786-4001

Attn:   Tiffanie Lord, Women Build House

On the memo line of your check, please put  Leigh Brown Challenge, so I'll be able to track precisely how much money I'll be giving.

Please consider helping this family with a hand up instead of a handout!!!

6835 Farmingdale Drive, Unit D Charlotte, NC 28212

Move in ready, convenient location! Great brick townhome w/two spacious bedrooms up, each with large closet. Large family room on main level. Kitchen w/great cabinet and counter space. Private courtyard patio w/storage room and back gate. HVAC replaced '00, exterior painted '05. Pool community minutes from everything!

For your private showing or for more information, please visit www.leighbrownandassociates.com or call 866.440.7136.  We're glad to help if you are looking to buy a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, or Midland NC-and if you're thinking of selling a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, Midland NC  or surrounding areas-you know who to call!

For your private showing or for more information, please visit www.leighbrownandassociates.com or call 866.440.7136.  We're glad to help if you are looking to buy a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, or Midland NC-and if you're thinking of selling a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, Midland NC  or surrounding areas-you know who to call!

I suppose that every Southern girl has been told many times in her life:

                    "Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?"

Being a goody two-shoes for the lion's share of my years on this earth, this advice was absorbed and on I've moved with life. 

Last night, I realized how much this old saying has to do with real estate in today's marketplace of educated buyers and sellers.  Who have often been incorrectly educated.  Or incompletely educated.

I can get a little cocky at times, since I'm good at what I do.  I've learned from the best, dialogues for conversion, I preview like a fiend, etc.  Pretty well-versed at converting cold calls.  My presentation for relocating buyers is so strong that other agents in the office take notes and copy me.

But I've always been rather slack at forcing the buyer agency agreement before I share information.  I make them sign it before they get in the car in most instances, but I try to earn that level of trust before breaking out the paperwork by actually sharing real, pertinent information about real estate in greater Charlotte NC.

Can't be slack anymore. Found out that on Saturday, I gave away the milk for free.  Converted a cold call on Friday, agreed to meet them early on Saturday to do a buyer consultation (my day was already booked) and give them maps and such for their driving tour, etc.  Super nice people, glad for the information, got directions to go cruising.  Told me they wouldn't be moving for another year, so they were just looking at the overall area.  We talked about buyer agency but I didn't force the paperwork-heck, it's a year out before they move, right?

The buyer calls me on Monday after she got home to Pennsylvania. SOOO excited about one of the neighborhoods I recommended, fell in love with a builder, wants to build her house.  Great!  We talk about how having a buyer agent is important when you're building, how it doesn't cost any additional money, how I can be their eyes and ears while they're still up north.  Great!  I tell her I'll email her the official paperwork to set me up as her agent.

Then on Tuesday, I get an email from her.  Telling me that they no longer want a buyer agent based on advice from their in-laws (dadgum parents!), and they feel quite comfortable with the builder representation, so thank you so very much for helping us locate our dream home and area!

I talked to the onsite agent for the builder.  She stuttered a bit about how they didn't tell her I was the one who sent them there and that well, there IS a reason not to use me.  If you build with Ryland Homes, and do not have an agent, they'll hook you up with rebates.  Nice.  Glad to know which builders do NOT value Realtor relationships.  And no matter how many facts I threw at the buyer about why she wants someone working on her behalf, she couldn't see past the dollar signs.  Even though I sent them to the neighborhood and am obviously the procuring cause, I'm out because they didn't sign the paperwork. (FYI-North Carolina allows oral buyer agency until the time of contract.)  I could fight and I'd probably win, but I'll move on to the next. 

And I guess I won't be able to trust in the honor of people in the future.  I'll be forced to do paperwork from the get-go.  I hate that about today's society.  I know I'm worth it, my clients will tell you I'm worth it, but dollar signs can be blinding.

Great value, close to town! Located in the neighborhood of Fairstone. Neutral home, interior just painted. Open floorplan, great room w/fireplace. Lg kitchen, open to dining area. Three spacious bedrooms up. Master w/walk-in closet. Level lot w/huge oak tree! Minutes from 85/bus line/everything!

For your private showing or for more information, please visit www.leighbrownandassociates.com or call 866.440.7136.  We're glad to help if you are looking to buy a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, or Midland NC-and if you're thinking of selling a home in greater Charlotte NC, Concord NC, Midland NC  or surrounding areas-you know who to call!

You've gotta love a town that gets behind trees!  Cornelius NC (just north of Charlotte NC at Lake Norman) announced today that in honor of National Arbor Day, they'll be handing out free trees at town hall on April 27!  And we're talking good trees (albeit seedlings)-hardwood trees like the ever-popular oak tree.

So you might ask, why does the graphic show the money coming out of the tree?  Simple.  Houses with trees in the yard sell faster and for more money (at least in the greater Charlotte NC metro area, they do!)

It will certainly take time before these seedlings become the mighty oaks of legend, and even before they offer much in the way of shade.  But they offer a way to improve the environment, contribute to natural areas (I hate to tell ya, but those pretty green lawns?  Not the way nature intended.), reduce energy costs-and well, they're pretty!  (It's hard to hang a tire swing on a shrub.)

So if you're a resident of Cornelius, get out there and get your trees on the 27th-your neighbors will thank you, you will enjoy your personal scenery more, and you'll be a much happier seller when the day comes to stick a sign in the yard!

So you like to visit the park? Go for runs on an open track?  Play flag football with the boys?  Watch the kids on the swingset and slides?  Harrisburg NC has great facilities for you! 

For a town with less than 6000 people, you might be surprised to learn that we have this beautiful park, and two more under construction!  The new park on Stallings Road in Harrisburg NC will be adult-focused, with tennis courts and walking trails.  The new park on Pharr Mill Road in Harrisburg NC will be larger with ball fields, soccer fields, etc. 

Notice how well-kept our park is!  Our town maintenance staff is fantastic-never a worry about trash at the park or dirty or unsafe equipment.

Harrisburg NC is located about 20 minutes north of downtown Charlotte NC, with an average home price of $186,000.   Excellent public schools (you can visit www.ncreportcards.org for data) and property taxes that are lower than most of the region (currently $0.86 per $100 assessed value). 

For more information on houses for sale in Harrisburg NC or selling a home in Harrisburg NC, feel free to visit my website at www.leighbrownandassociates.com or call toll-free at 866.440.7136.

Highgate is a beautiful community of custom homes located at the northern edge of Weddington NC, just inside Union County (which lies just south of Charlotte NC).

Developed by one of the most prestigious and established real estate developers in North Carolina, Harrington-Dowd, Highgate is a jewel of a neighborhood.  Only highly qualified and strictly evaluated builders can build in the neighborhood.  These builders include some of the best custom names in the Charlotte NC custom and luxury home market: 

• Harrington
• The Dowd Company
• Regal Custom Homes
• Arcadia Homes
• Robinette Builders
• MacNeil Homes
• Grimmer-Kempf

There are currently 30 homes for sale in Highgate.  The lowest current asking price is $885,000 (for 3489 heated square feet).  The highest current asking price is $2,499,999 (for 8588 heated square feet).  Several lots are still available in Highgate if you prefer to build that ideal home in this already-established neighborhood!  Lot prices range from $225,000 to $425,000 (average lot size is one acre). 

This is the MacNeil Homes model-MacNeil's homes are available either to be built, or as completed inventory from $1.197mm to $1.375mm.

Nine homes are currently under contract in Highgate, at an average list price of $1,329,093.  Two homes have sold in the past 30 days, average sale price of $996,000 (on the market an average of 183 days).

For more information about homes for sale in Highgate or selling a home in Highgate, or more information on the luxury home market in Charlotte NC or Weddington NC, please visit www.leighbrownandassociates.com or call toll free at 866.440.7136.

Overview of the luxury home market (*defined as properties in excess of $1mm) in Charlotte NC and surrounding areas for March 2007: 

• Luxury homes currently on the active market:  173 (on the market an average of 45 days)
• Luxury homes currently under contract (pending):  44 (on the market an average of 141 days)
• Luxury homes sold between March 1 2007 and March 31 2007:  40  (on the market an average of 152 days)
• Lowest asking price in this tier:  $1,025,000
• Highest asking price in this tier:  $3,999,999

For more information on the luxury home market in Charlotte NC and in surrounding areas, visit my website at http://www.leighbrownandassociates.com/ or call toll-free to 866.440.7136.  We keep all client information confidential at all times.

This property is currently available in Concord NC (Arbor Oaks neighborhood, built by Simonini Custom Homes).  Asking price of $1,795,000 for 7864 heated square feet on 2 acres.