For REALTORS, 2008 is going to be an incredible year regardless of the economy - 12/30/07 02:02 PM

 
 
 
 
Dick Gaylord is the kind of friend that you can email and no matter how busy he might be, he will always respond.  And, once he gets a sense of who you are, he will make it his business to make things happen; for you and through you. 
No matter how busy he is he always makes time for his friends, his clients, his community and his fellow REALTORS.  He will support you until you have achieved your goals and even when you no longer share the same goals.  All I can say is that NAR is darn lucky to have him as their … (16 comments)

Newbie Again: Starting over in a new state; my story: Part 3 - 12/29/07 09:08 AM
   Now came the hard part.  I had my license (Part1), chose my firm and set up my desk (Part 2) but now I had to sit down at my new desk, in my new office, and start selling real estate. I had no back burner let alone front burner prospects.  I had absolutely nothing other than years of experience!
For the first time in probably 12 years I signed up for phone duty and agreed to do open houses all the while trying to learn everything I could about selling real estate in North Carolina.
Phone Duty: I remember my first month … (38 comments)

2 Modest Milestones, One Giant Impact and a Life Changed Forever - 12/23/07 03:13 PM

Several weeks ago I reached two ActiveRain milestones:  50,000 points and 100 posts.  I have been struggling about what to say to the now 62,615 members about my time here on AR. 
Do I write about how much I learned about blogging and the fact that when I wrote my first post on 3/7/07 I didn't know how to upload pictures or embed links or videos or that there were groups, contests, features or points? 
Or, that I did not have a clue what Carnac was talking about or who TLW...ROAR was and why people were writing about high school and an … (43 comments)

Relocating to Mooresville NC - 12/22/07 06:07 PM

Once you have narrowed your destination to the Lake Norman area, it can be difficult to choose in which town or community to look for your new home.  The land around Lake Norman comprises 4 counties and 10 towns; each with it's own character.  "Relocating to Mooresville NC" is the first in my series about each of the 10 towns. 
MOORESVILLE AT A GLANCE:
Established: 1873
Population:  23,100 (2006)
Median Home Price: $208,274 (2006)
Average Property Taxes: $1,406
Location:  30 miles north of Charlotte in Iredell County on the east bank of Lake Norman straddling the I-77 highway.  2 hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains and 4.5 hours to … (11 comments)

Are you ready to go paperless and help the environment? - 12/15/07 04:22 PM
 
 
Okay, so I admit it.  I get so many catalogues from the likes of Victorias Secret, Smith Hawkins, William Sonoma that my poor mail person can hardly fit our mail in our box every day.
I guess one of the "benefits" of shopping online is that you begin to receive myriad magazine and catalogues.  Well, there is help!  I just found out about a company called Catalog Choice. 
Catalog Choice is a FREE service that lets you "Decline paper catalogs you no longer wish to receive.   Reduce the amount of unsolicited mail in your mailbox, while helping preserve the environment." 
I'm just … (33 comments)

The Lake Norman Real Estate Market Versus The Big Picture - 12/13/07 03:52 PM

Everywhere you turn, there is yet another perspective, debate or article on housing, mortgages and the economy.
Just look at our local news.  The headline in today's Charlotte Observer: Banks warn of more mortgage pain ahead; BofA, Wachovia brace for mounting loan defaults, losses tied to bad debt.  A small article to the left: A push to disclose agents' bonuses is a follow-up to an article I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.  Several days ago The Charlotte Observer had a story entitled "New suburbs in fast decay...Foreclosures in starter neighborhoods lead to vacancies and crime"  which was a part of a series on … (5 comments)

The Lake Norman Drought; where do we stand today, December 10, 2007? - 12/10/07 05:15 PM

 
It was 79 degrees today but I'm not celebrating or truly even enjoying the recording breaking warm weather.   I think our cold weather had eased my concerns about our drought since we didn't have to think about watering our garden.  Talk of the drought was all but gone from the news until a small article in The Charlotte Observer "Charlotte area unlikely to see new water limits for months"  yesterday.
Despite "a worsening drought and dry forecast", Duke Energy doesn't expect to declare a Stage 4 drought in mid-December as it had earlier predicted because one out of three of their key indicators, … (14 comments)

Mooresville's Stocks for Tots Event: It's all about the Children - 12/06/07 10:44 AM

It started 19 years ago as an effort by Penske's President Don Miller and several race car drivers to collect toys for children.  Today it is one of the most incredible racing events of the year but it has not lost its focus on the children. 
On December 11th, NASCAR, NHRA, ARCA  and Legend drivers and celebrities past and present will join County Music stars like Brooke Morton to help raise money for the Exchange/Iredell SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) Centers in Statesville and Mooresville. 
Downtown Mooresville's Main Street will be transformed into a showcase of race cars, pit-crew demonstrations and live music while inside the Charles Mack … (7 comments)

Wearing the sellers hat - 12/03/07 05:28 PM
  
Back in 2005 while in the early stages of planning our move to North Carolina and part of a research project for my real estate firm I posed as a potential seller.  At the time, I did not live in the community in which I sold so I had already planned not to list my own property if and when we did move.  The experience was such an eye-opener that I wrote a summary for my office.  I think this is still very relevant to today but do consider this was May of 2005:
Background:
Prompted first by a desire to test the … (18 comments)

Relocating to Lake Norman: What you should consider before buying a home - 12/03/07 04:34 PM

I recently read an article by Bernice Ross in Inman News entitled:  Avoiding a relocation nightmare.  It brought a smile to my face because I could tell that, like me, she was also used to housing issues common in California and seemed truly alarmed by all of the unexpected things she encountered while building a new home in what I'm guessing was the Southeastern part of the country.  
It's amazing to me how truly different the home-buying experience is throughout our country.  When my husband and I moved to Mooresville our Realtor didn't even begin to educate us about all of the differences and things we needed to consider; probably because … (3 comments)