My First Home: We Almost Lost It

October
29
2010

In 1978, we purchased our first new home in the Washington DC suburb of Centreville, VA for $76,000. I was a new home sales person working for a home builder, so I was able to buy a brand new single family home with the company discount and since I was a veteran was able to [...]

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Uncertainty vs. Swagger

October
28
2010

Ever heard the old adage, “Paralysis of the Analysis?” Well today, many individuals and businesses, both large and small, are centering their decision making process around this very idea. They are unsure whether or not they should invest time, energy and money into something they need, want or believe in.
In my opinion, America is either [...]

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What is Happening to Housing Prices?

October
27
2010

Worried about the value of your home? As we have discussed in previous blogs, the best future indicator of your home’s value is the Housing Inventory level in your market. Historically, housing inventory has predicted future pricing in the following manner:

Appreciating Market = <5 months inventory
Stable Market = 5 to 6 months inventory
Depreciating Market = [...]

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How to Engage A Community Using Social Media

October
26
2010

An individual or company’s success with social media is dependent on multiple factors. There is however only one factor, in my mind, which stands above the rest when it comes to failure. That is the inability to take online relationships offline.
So, when it came time to incorporate a social media component into our sponsorship with [...]

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What Does the Luxury Market Look Like?

October
25
2010

In June I posted about the upper end market and its rebound.  Since then, we’ve seen the market continue it’s up and down course. So what does the upper end market in our region look like today?
First, inventory of $750,000 and plus homes in the Triangle, Triad, and Greater Charlotte markets has decreased significantly in [...]

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How To Increase Leads on LinkedIn: Add Video

October
22
2010

A few weeks ago I touched on the importance of LinkedIn. That’s right LinkedIn. Now I know you’re probably thinking that LinkedIn isn’t as sexy or exciting as Twitter, Blogging or Facebook and I’m not here to say otherwise. It isn’t as sexy and it’s not as exciting, nor has it had the type of [...]

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Picking the Right Paint For Your Home

October
21
2010

I am a decision maker. My theory is that if something is wrong it can be fixed. Oddly though, the bigger the decision, the easier it is for me. Picking out paint colors is seemingly easy right? Not for me and my decision-making self! I can honestly say I have an easier time picking out [...]

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What Did the Housing Market Look Like in September?

October
20
2010

Every month, Carolina Multiple Listing Service releases the Charlotte region’s monthly statistics.
Though many articles like to quote month over month or year over year statistics, I believe that it is important to look at today’s statistics versus historical norms because our typical cyclical housing market has been skewed dramatically by government incentives. Below please find [...]

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Robo-Signing and the Foreclosure Scandal

October
19
2010

Robo-signing is a new word coming from the Foreclosure Scandal that has found its way into our everyday lives. So, what does robo-signing mean exactly?
Upon initial review of the information robo-signing looked to be a result of the huge number of foreclosure documents that needed to be approved and signed off on.  What I believe [...]

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My First Home: Blessed With Great Neighbors

October
18
2010

My husband was online recently and he decided to look up the first home we purchased.  The tax value was over $400,000 – certainly not any where near what we paid as a newly married couple.  It was a small 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch house in Laurel, MD, a suburb of Washington DC – [...]

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