My Dad would have been 98 on September 11, 2010.  He was a visionary, a risk taker, and a loving father. He lived every minute of his 91 years.  And he was a great teacher.  I am confident that I quote my Dad at least once a week and I wanted to share some of [...]

Full Article

In elementary school, I remember being shown a video of horrific car crashes; I can remember with eerie detail the traumatizing scenes that were displayed for us. All of this, so we would wear our seatbelts. I was the kid who walked out of that assembly committed to wearing my seatbelt every single time I [...]

Full Article

The concept of renting vs. buying is becoming an increasingly common theme in our Relocation business.  With major group moves to the area as well as corporate transfers, clients are often finding themselves weighing the advantages and disadvantages of renting or purchasing first when they arrive to the Carolinas. What appears to be a simple [...]

Full Article

Being in the residential business, I am often asked, “Do you remember your first real estate purchase?” I remember it clearly, just like it was yesterday.
It wasn’t a home; however, it was a three-unit investment property on Rudy Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1971.  I was in college working my way through school as a framing [...]

Full Article

Today, when someone asks you to look something up on the internet, more often than not, he or she won’t say, “hey, would you mind looking up that restaurant on the internet?” Instead, the question posed to you will be, “hey, would you Google that restaurant?”
Just like Band-Aid and Kleenex, Google has become a household [...]

Full Article

I always cringe when I hear the word “Lease Purchase”. Though it sounds like a good idea, the risks greatly outweigh the rewards. While successful lease purchases can be successful, I have seen several lease purchases that haven’t closed as well as many buyers and sellers that are unhappy with the outcome. Therefore, I want everyone to be [...]

Full Article

Listen up buyers! The FHA has an underutilized program that could be a good option for many of you.  I am sure that when you are looking at houses to purchase you find some that would be perfect if only the outdated kitchen was updated or maybe it would be great if only it had [...]

Full Article

The Wall Street Journal recently published a list of the Best and Worst markets for investing in real estate. Not surprisingly, three cities in the Carolinas topped the “Best” list…Greenville, SC #9, Winston-Salem, NC #7, and Durham, NC #1. Markets that ranked highly have a low likelihood of a significant continued downward spiral in home [...]

Full Article

In our first 3 segments of this series we discussed selecting your builder, lot and architect. In this one we will discuss coming up with the elusive “final price”! You thought all the hard work was behind you? Well think again because this process starts from the time the ink dries on the blue prints [...]

Full Article

Talbots.com has posted a fun, online game called “Tales of Denim”. It is based on the Earnest Hemingway challenge to write a complete short story in six words. Talbots has invited its customers to submit their 6-word story about their favorite jeans to win the ultimate prize…a four person trip to Paris. (entries are due [...]

Full Article