Charlotte's Southern Spring Home and Garden Show is Feb. 27 - March 2, 2008 - 02/27/08 03:41 PM

The 48th annual Southern Spring Home and Garden Show's theme "Shades of Green" couldn't have been timed better for our drought-stricken Mooresville Lake Norman area.  I was thrilled to read that every section of the Home and Garden show is focused on going green!
Highlights include:
Home and interior designer showcase rooms emphasizing the use of nature and natural light, and the focus of "bringing the outside in"; a concept embraced by such renowned architects as Frank Lloyd WrightThe introduction of new, drought resistant plantsPrograms that will emphasize conservation, how to use natural elements and how we can live green and save money … (2 comments)

Relocating to Lake Norman: What you should consider BEFORE buying real estate: Part 4 - 02/23/08 05:17 PM
 
When buying real estate in the Lake Norman area for the first time it is very important that you are educated about not just the sales process but what to look for during the inspection process.  Coming from California, despite 15 years in real estate, my husband and I knew nothing about moisture issues, siding, radon gas, well water, septic tanks and other physical aspects of homes here in Lake Norman and unfortunately, our Realtor who was a native of Lake Norman, had no idea we didn't know and therefore did not explain anything at all to us.  Hence this series of articles!
In … (3 comments)

Does Lake Norman NC have affordable housing? - 02/22/08 04:37 PM
Would you be surprised if I told you that there are 43 single family homes for sale in the towns surrounding Lake Norman that are listed UNDER $100,000?  What you don't see on most websites about Lake Norman is any information about the modest older homes that are dotted about our more rural areas and clustered around our downtowns.
All of the communties of Mooresville, Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville and Troutman on the east side of Lake Norman truly have two distinct cultures that stem from their historic roots as railroad stopping points for our cotton farmers and the spectacular housing and retail growth along the lake in the past two decades.  
The … (6 comments)

Lake Norman has gone to the dogs....and cats! - 02/20/08 05:48 PM

 
I have written quite a bit about Lake Norman real estate and how wonderful life is here, but what I have yet shared is that the Lake Norman area is extremely pet-friendly!  Thanks to the availability of homes with large lots, an abundance of parks and open space and our huge Lake Norman, I can't think of a better place to have pets, particularly dogs.
If you drive around looking at homes, you won't see a lot of fenced yards unlike other areas of the country.  As a matter of fact, when I take a walk I see a large Doberman … (12 comments)

Lake Norman's Town Of Cornelius: From Small Village to Posh Suburb - 02/18/08 05:31 PM
I have always thought of Cornelius as the older sister to Mooresville since it was targeted by Crescent Homes for its first luxury lake front residential community, The Peninsula (with 11 miles of shoreline on Lake Norman), about ten years before The Point in Mooresville. 
Both towns have a significant number of miles of newly developed waterfront property on jagged peninsulas of land jutting out into the middle of  the main channel of Lake Norman.  And both towns have their historic downtowns on the east side of I-77 along the old Main street/ Highway 115.
Because Cornelius experienced its most significant waterfront housing … (15 comments)

Learn all about Lake Norman from THE expert: Gus Gustafson! - 02/16/08 10:42 AM
If you truly want to learn anything and everything about Lake Norman, there is only one man to turn to:  Gus Gustafson!  Although I have seen his fishing articles in The Charlotte Observer I had never met him until I had the pleasure of hearing him speak to our Mooresville/Lake Norman Exchange Club this past Thursday.
For some reason I had always expected him to be a crusty old fisherman and I couldn't have been more wrong!  It turns out Gus Gustafson is the Cotton Ketchie of Lake Norman.  Yes, he is exceptionally knowledgeable about all aspect of Lake Norman, but his sense … (10 comments)

What every Realtor must know about this market - 02/16/08 08:54 AM
 
 
 While reading my email update from REAL TRENDS I came upon this insightful article.  Now, I never cut and paste but I will be completely honest that I truly cut and pasted it because I didn't want to change a thing!
 "After listening to economists and experts conjecture about the direction of the economy, a humorous summary is as follows:
What we have here is a continuing, but slowing, upward drive on the downside - which is better than a downward thrust on the upside, or even a sideways move on a U-shaped trough.
But, as the downside bottoms out, the resulting flat side … (11 comments)

Charlotte #4 in Best Cities For Bargan House-Hunters! - 02/13/08 04:32 PM
I don't often take too much stock in real estate news sources top ten lists because they tend to make gross generalities that sometimes contradict reality for our Lake Norman real estate market.  However, this recent article in Forbes:  Best Cities For Bargain House-Hunters , caught my attention because Raleigh NC was #2 and Charlotte #4.
Well, what did they consider when ranking for "bargain house-hunters"? 
They were looking for markets with:
Strong job growthRelatively low foreclosuresHigh inventory of active listings both new construction and resale 
So, a buyers market, healthy job growth and more inventory than buyers...that sure sounds like Lake Norman AND Charlotte!  … (10 comments)

Lake Norman Real Estate Hot Sheet: Where are we right now? - 02/12/08 08:06 AM

Lake Norman Real Estate Hot Sheet  Summary
I have been doing regular real estate sales analysis on this blogsite since last June but I have never actually provided a map of the exact area I am analyzing.  If you look at the map above, Lake Norman is Area 13.  I always include all of Area 13 in my sales analysis with the exception of the northern most part referred to as The Catawba River since it is where the lake turns in to a river heading north to I-40.  For those of you with access to MLS numbers I am using Areas … (5 comments)

Relocating? Learn about gardens and gardening in Lake Norman: Part 1 - 02/10/08 05:39 PM
  
 I admit it, I love my gardens. Relocating to Lake Norman from Pasadena, California, I knew nothing about how to design or what plants are appropriate for a Lake Norman garden.    Looking around the lake neighborhoods, especially at new construction landscaping because there are so many new homes, I found several prominent themes of gardens:
The "forest" look: These properties were cleared only enough for the house to be built and the rest of the lot remains forest-like with lots of tall pines and hardwoods and perhaps a row of Japanese holly bushes along the front of the home.  (Almost a mountain feel).
What I call … (8 comments)

Davidson NC; Lake Norman's Historic College Town - 02/08/08 02:52 PM

Tucked in between Cornelius to the south and Mooresville to the north along the shores of Lake Norman is the small town of Davidson. Home to Davidson College, one the nation's top liberal arts colleges, Davidson is truly the epitome of a small, historic college town.  Unlike the other towns on Lake Norman, Davidson has sustained moderate growth in part because of careful town planning and by incorporating strict preservation rules. 
  
A Brief Overview of Davidson NC:
Davidson College was Founded by Presbyterians in 1837 and is the centerpiece of the town that grew around it.The 450-acre campus has an enrollment of about 1700 studentsThe school and town … (12 comments)

ActiveRain's Hidden Gem: My turn to Pay it Forward - 02/06/08 04:17 PM

 
In the true spirit of ActiveRainers at their best, Melissa Grant recently started "Hidden Gems in the Rain" in order to create a way for us all to acknowledge and get to know an ActiveRain member who may be traveling underneath the AR radar screen.   Wow, it happens that just since I started to write this post our number of members topped 70,000! 
Thank you to Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman for asking me to pay it forward and choose my favorite Hidden Gem, WooHoo!
 
 
My choice, Racquel "Rocky" Turner, is not just any gem, she is a sparkling diamond! 
Founder of Mothers Fighting for Others, The Clean Water Project, Muthahood.com all … (13 comments)

Why barbecue in Lake Norman and North Carolina is like no other! - 02/05/08 02:01 PM

The other day one of my dear friends, a native of Mooresville NC, and I decided to take time out from our crazy schedules and have lunch together.  We hadn't planned on where to go until I met her at which point she asked if I liked barbecue.  It turned out the Coddle Creek ARP Church on Coddle Creek Rd. was having their annual barbecue.  Boy, was I in for a treat!  It was some of the best barbeque, coleslaw and homemade cakes (I had a red devil cake) I have ever had!.   There was quite a line when we arrived but we were able … (19 comments)

Lake Norman NC Reaches Out to Newcomers of All Ages! - 02/04/08 05:06 PM
 
So, you are finally here.  You've moved to Lake Norman, whether for work or like me and my family because you fell in love with it, and now that you are here you turn around and realize you are complete strangers!  How do you go about meeting new friends here in Lake Norman?
Trust me, I have moved many, many times in my life and I have never found a community more welcoming to newcomers.  When we moved here the sellers of our new home had neighbors over to meet us even before our sale was final. 
Perhaps it is because Lake Norman and the greater … (8 comments)

Relocating to Lake Norman: What you should consider before buying; Part 2 - 02/02/08 03:29 PM

Part 2:  Types of Siding
Thanks to having several years of experience selling real estate in the greater Lake Norman area after 15 years selling in California, I can not only tell you exactly what to look for regarding earthquake safety (okay, not terribly useful here)  but now I can also explain the benefits and shortcomings of different types of siding, how to mediate moisture in your crawlspace, what levels of radon are considered acceptable, how to test septic systems, private well-water and what to do if your double paned window seals break. 
Part 2 of this series will focus on the types of siding commonly … (2 comments)

Lake Norman Growth and Development: How to predict the next hot spots! - 02/02/08 03:13 PM

There are three pretty obvious indicators as to where the next real estate housing boom is going to be around Lake Norman:
Follow Crescent Communities as they evolve around the lakeKeep up with news about traffic, road widening and improvements (both town and state)Know where the latest Lowes, WalMart or Harris Teeter have been or are being built. 
  
As you may know, Crescent Communities, a division of Duke Energy, originally owned most of the land around Lake Norman when it was created in the early 1960's.  If you follow the planning and creation of their highly touted residential communities you will notice they started first … (1 comments)

Sherrills Ford and Terrell: The future of Lake Norman's western shore is looking bright! - 02/01/08 04:53 PM
 
                        Sailing near NorthView Harbour
With my past article How to Predict the next Lake Norman hot-spots I started a series about three up and coming communities along the shores of Lake Norman:  Denver, Troutman and now Sherrills Ford and Terrell.
Just north of Denver, located in southeastern Catawba County with wonderful street names like Molly's Backbone and Slanting Bridge, are the two small but growing towns of Sherrills Ford and Terrell.  Once considered one of Lake Norman's best kept secrets, these two quaint towns are committed to holding on to their agricultural traditions and to preserving their rural beauty despite being targeted for significant growth in the next five … (6 comments)