Is Now the Time to Invest in Charlotte Real Estate?

April
27
2011

I recently had coffee with a past client. She was thrilled because, though she lost money in one real estate investment during the boom, she just bought a home for $860k that had previously been purchased for $1.3M in 2008.
At the end of the conversation, she quipped “I can’t believe the deals that are available. [...]

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Why Realtors Can’t Talk About Schools

March
02
2011

When I ask “What are you looking for in a home”, many buyers’ first response is “I want to live in a safe neighborhood with good schools.”
Though I desperately want to give my clients the answers that they are looking for, the federal fair housing laws prohibit me from being able to give my opinion [...]

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New Property Assessment in Mecklenburg County

February
11
2011

How Do I Appeal My New Property Assessment in Mecklenburg County – Your Realtor Can Help
Since February 8th, when many people began to get their “Notice of Real Property Assessed Value”, our phones have been ringing off the hook with questions. Therefore, I wanted to address your concerns in this blog post.
First, please note that [...]

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Top 5 Tips for the “Accidental Landlord”

January
18
2011

Have you become an “accidental landlord”? If so, you are not alone. Here’s my story:
My husband and I got married in July of 2008. Like any good Realtor, I decided to stage his house and make the necessary renovations to get the house sold. It took 3 months instead of 2 weeks…but FINALLY!  I changed [...]

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Finding My Passion in Real Estate

December
01
2010

When I graduated as a Vanderbilt economics major, I accepted a “good” job in corporate banking with Wachovia. It was not my “passion” but it was a career. My main focus after college was surviving on my own and moving to a fun city. As long as those two basic needs were satisfied, I didn’t [...]

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Million Dollar Thanksgiving Dinner

November
22
2010

I love my family. My parents, sibling, and step-siblings are extremely successful in their respective businesses, knowledgeable about current events and always looking for ways to improve their lives and those of others.
With these creative and business-minded people at our Thanksgiving dinner table, it is not a surprise that one of our Thanksgiving traditions is [...]

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Holiday Safety Tips

November
05
2010

The holiday season is busy for everyone, including criminals. Dan Starks, our local self defense expert, gave our office a list of “must dos” to protect ourselves from criminals, and, each November, we review them as a reminder of easy, quick ways to stay safe (for more tips, visit his website www.danstarks.com):
Home Safety Tips:

Keep valuables [...]

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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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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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Lessons from My First Home

September
27
2010

They say hindsight is 20/20 – I couldn’t agree more when reflecting on my first home purchase and sale. Luckily, I had a good Realtor to watch out for me…because I certainly learned a few lessons.
First: An investor was selling the house as a flip, and, though the renovations were well-done, the layout wasn’t perfect [...]

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