Just in time for the holidays!  Concord City Council just approved a neighborhood matching grant program to help complete neighborhood projects.  This program is open to neighborhoods recognized through the City's formal neighborhood program.  Approved neighborhoods can be found at:

http://www.ci.concord.nc.us/Departments/BusinessNeighborhood/NeighborhoodProgram/Neighborhoods/tabid/224/Default.aspx

This is the text from the City:

Consider Neighborhood Matching Grant Program.
Council approved matching grants that allow recognized neighborhoods in the City of Concord Neighborhood Program to complete projects that will enhance their community or neighborhood association. Neighborhood organizations must match these funds with cash, in-kind services or goods, or contribute volunteer time. This program is available to active neighborhood organizations recognized through the City's formal neighborhood program.

I am looking to upgrade my on line contact database management software.  And I was looking for something GREEN.  Now I know what you're thinking.  There isn't anything GREEN about on line software.  GREEN Contact Databases are Day Runners with recycled paper and soy based ink.  Well that's not gonna cut it.  There is an email out there called EcoMail that runs there servers on 100% solar!  So I'm looking for an on line database management that runs their server off of solar, wind, a bunch of employees riding stationary bikes, whatever!  So anyone ever heard of such a thing?  Thanks! 

Humpy Wheeler, president of Lowes Motor Speedway for the past 33 years, will be honored during the Concord Christmas Parade.  WHAT!  Humpy isn't even from Concord.  It used to be local legends that made up the Grand Marshal.  Truly respected and active citizens from around town.  Ones you see eating breakfast with the boys at the same joint every Wednesday morning or eating church hot dogs on Fridays for lunch.  This feels like just another ass kiss from Concord to the Speedway.  We already added the Bruton Smith Blvd name to the already named Speedway Blvd. and Concord Mills Blvd.  3 names for one street just to please an ego, come on.  And now one of our towns most secretly treasured spots is being outsourced to a speedway big wig, no doubt because Concord and Bruton are at odds with their payment schedule to Bruton and the economy making payment terms that much hard to figure out.  So lets be sure and keep Brutons friends happy so he doesn't punish us right?  How about Donnie Whittington for grand marshal who is finishing up 50 years of coaching football at the Boys and Girls Club or Jeff Gordon for lending his name and money to build a Children's Hospital? 

With the move to a Green lifestyle a lot of people are trading in their cars for bikes.  It saves on gas, helps the environment and your health.  One of the barriers for a lot of bike riders is maintenance and complexity.  So Trek is introducing chainless bikes!  Surprise your best client this Christmas with a state of the art Eco-Gift!

Looks like A.L. BROWN, Kannapolis High School, is being showcased as a 21st Century Model of Innovation!  (I know a lot of Concord High School Spiders that would disagree!)


Its is being showcased due to some up and coming programs such as: Mandarin Chinese, Biotechnology, Cyber Campus, Smartboards, International Studies.

These are definetly step ups in the highschool arena.  And with the new North Carolina Research Campus and BioTechnology Center right in A.L. Browns backyard these programs are sure to be appreciated!

Below is a blurb from the wesbite:

Tuesday, November 18 is North Carolina School Innovation Day, and A.L. Brown High School is one of the sites being highlighted.  A.L. Brown will be open to all visitors November 18 from 10 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  No appointment is needed.  Just drop by to see the home of the North Carolina Principal of the Year and the school that won the NC Lighthouse Award for excellence and innovation.


http://ebiz1.exfoundry1.com/members/response.asp?ID=9115457643103195

A Battle Royal! 

ForSaleByOwner.com vs. REALTOR.com

The scoop:  ForSaleByOwner.com sent out a press release stating that they can now post unrepresented listings on REALTOR.com.  REALTOR.com says that they can't and have asked them to send out a retraction.  ForSaleByOwner.com says that everything they sent out is accurate and will not issue a retraction.

So can they or can't they?  Seems like this should be a black and white issue.  I hope that REALTOR.com wins.

I received an email update from NAR last week with a wrap up review of this  years conference.  I made it down for the first day and I could tell it was going to be a great show!  I have included a link to a retrospective video from NAR president Dick Gaylord.  It pretty much shows what NAR has been doing for its membership for the past year.  It is a well made and easily viewable video.  I think you should watch it, especially at the end when the lady is playing the ukulele! 

NAR Retrospective Video

I was driving into Kannapolis this morning and saw a billboard.  It was an ad for www.2shoplocal.com for Cabarrus County.  So I jotted it and just looked it up.  It looks to be a collaborative effort put up by 3 banks.  It has sites for Stanly, Anson and Cabarrrus Counties, which I assume are the counties in which these banks serve.  I would consider this a green movement.  And I am all for it!  I love to see companies embrace this concept and promote it!  www.shoplocal.com is a good idea and everyone should shop local this holiday season if you can.  It cuts down on so much waste:  packaging, transportation, supports the local economy, etc.  I just submitted an email for my company to be included on this site.  If you are in Cabarrus County, Anson or Stanley you should do this too!

I just read an update from REALTOR.org that listed a handful of cities that are poised for an economic rebound.  The article said that in October 2005, the height of the boom, that the median sales price for homes in the US reached 7.3 times per capita income.  Anbd that by this past May it was 5.7.  They stated this was a historical norm.  Now there is no doubt that this number has slowly headed south, towards a historicac low, since May 2008 which would seem to me that these locations are a lot more ready for a rebound then ever beofore.  So call a REALTOR in these ciites and get set up for some referral action!

• Seattle
• Raleigh
• Des Moines
• Philadelphia
• Denver
• Birmingham, Ala.
• Salt Lake City

One of the commonly cited reasons why homebuyers remain on the sidelines is that they think they need to have a 20 percent downpayment in order to get a mortgage. This is another mortgage myth that is easily busted when you stop to think about the facts.

Recent statistics from the National Association of Realtors show that the number of first-time buyers is increasing. It is common knowledge that most first-time buyers don't have large downpayments, so they couldn't possibly all be putting 20 percent down.

Low-downpayment loans are still readily available. Just the other day, I heard about a 25 year-old man who purchased his first home using a Weichert Sales Associate, and got a loan through Weichert Financial Services requiring only 3 percent down.

Help us bust this mortgage myth. Reach out to your book of business and let them know it remains a great time to buy and that good loans with low downpayments are still available, despite what they may have heard.

Remember, Weichert has the financing to provide a mortgage for the homes we sell.

Jim Weichert