The Briar Chapel Clubhouse is finished!					Clubhouse great room
Briar Chapel Entry with it's distinctive sculpture					Street scene Vanaguard Homes
					View from the Briar Chapel Clubhouse across the commons
The whole family will love the pool. Look at the slide!

One of the most exciting new neighborhoods in the Triangle is Briar Chapel located in Chatham County just outside of Chapel Hill. As one of the first of the Triangles first certified EcoBrokers I've had a special interest in neighborhoods that provide a true green built and designed environment.
Briar Chapel is a green built mixed use neighborhood of 1589 acres with 900 of the acres dedicated to open space which will never be developed. Twenty four miles of interactive walking and biking trails wind through the rolling hills and woods of the neighborhood. There are parks, ponds, a winding creek and lots of opportunities to enjoy nature the way we live now-with a sensitivity to the environment and nature. Two green built schools will be included in the neighborhood. Woods Charter School opened in the fall and includes grades k-12. The groundbreaking for the new middle school was a couple of weeks ago. I've been watching the progress of Briar Chapel since it was approved in  February of 2005. My husband and I drove through several times during the development and were amazed at the scale. We thought it was interesting that rocks and boulders were recycled with an on site gravel quarry.
We were at Briar Chapel for the grand opening (actually we tried to take a look the week before but were chased away by a surly landscape contractor) and I have shown the neighborhood to several interested buyers.
The neighborhood is finally starting to look like a place to call home. On my last visit there were a group of boys riding bikes and people out and about on the trails. The clubhouse is finished and beautiful I took lots of pictures of the neighborhood and homes to post that will give you a better idea of what Briar Chapel looks like now.

I've been waiting for these numbers about the Chapel Hill, Orange, and Chatham Counties real estate market and I'm not surprised with the findings. I'm not sure why but things seemed to have picked up since the first of the year maybe because of the low rates. There is mortgage money available for those with good credit and a little money. FHA loans require 3.5% down now but that can be a gift and that's often how first time buyers buy.  A buyer with good credit and 20% down can pretty much write their own ticket and close in 30 days. There are some deals out there. I'll pass on the market conditions as they change hopefully for the better.   ORANGE COUNTY CHATHAM COUNTY

 Greater Chapel Hill Association of REALTORS MARKET STATISTIC REPORTS Fourth Quarter 2008

Wexford Entry

Wexford, located in Orange County, NC, is one of several Carrboro neighborhoods with a Chapel Hill address. Other neighborhoods with this same confusing address issue include established neighborhoods like Sunset Creek and Lake Hogan Farms, and new neighborhoods like Claremont and Winmore. Carrboro and Chapel Hill share a school system Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools but have separate governments. The tax rate for the Carrboro properties is about .10 per hundred higher than Chapel Hill because of the smaller commercial tax base. The address is really a function of the post office which happens to be in Chapel Hill. This has even been confusing for closing attorneys.

In the early 1990's there were lots of new home neighborhoods in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. What made Wexford special were the larger lot sizes, all big enough for a side entry garage. The developers sold lots to some of the best custom builders in town and because of the quality of construction and details the neighborhood has aged well.

Even though some of the homes in the first phase are now 20 years old the street scape doesn't looked dated but instead the well kept yards and homes have become better looking with time especially when contrasted with the more "cookie cutter" like neighborhoods built since.

In the late 90's a new phase was developed with about a dozen homes and in the last couple of years the last phase of eight homes were built by Hampton Homes. The neighbors share a beautiful pond with gazebo, a pool and club house and tennis courts. There are three homes on the market in Wexford today,
December 30, 2008.

140 West Franklin Street New Sales Gallery Opens in Chapel Hill

Have you noticed the number of condominium buildings under construction and pre-selling in Chapel Hill and Carrboro? Franklin Street is Chapel Hills Grand Strand and of all that's going up and planned, the development with the "best" address is 140 West Franklin Street. It has been years in planning and will be built on corner of Franklin and Church Streets. It's expensive real estate but if location is the key to success this development has it.

You might have heard about it as "lot 5".   There will be 140 homes, 26,000 sq. ft. of retail space and a 30,000 sq. ft. plaza. The developer and town have been working together to make the development an arts and community gathering place.

I stopped by the new sales gallery, located at 126 West Franklin Street, last week to find answers to some questions from an interested client. Phil Patterson, who many will remember from his days representing Meadowmont, showed me around.

Touring the gallery I saw a scale model of the buildings which really helped me visualize the project from different viewpoints. 

 Next we took a look at a seating area surrounding a gas fireplace similar to what  residents will have in their clubhouse which will be located on top floor of the building.

There is a bath vignette and also a full working kitchen showcasing appliances, counter tops,back-splash, cabinets and flooring.

There is something for every ones taste in the selection room where clients can work with the builders representative or bring their own designer.

Reservations are being taken for presales but make sure you take your buyers agent with you on your first visit. It won't affect the price you pay and representation is important especially with pre-construction purchases. Visit my website for more information about why you need an experienced in new construction buyers agent.

Lake Hogan Farms is in Orange County, NC, is in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City School District, has a Chapel Hill address (post office)but is in the Carrboro municipal district (planning and taxes). This can be confusing so send me an email or call and I'll explain.

My clients who have purchased in Lake Hogan Farms love the neighborhood. Sometimes it's hard to meet friends when moving to a new area and this neighborhood makes it easy. There are lots of activities for both children and adults. Holiday parties, progressive dinner parties, book clubs, basketball and tennis for both children and adults to name just a few. There are also volunteer opportunities with community service organizations. This year there was voting in the club house. The sidewalks and walking trails are a great way to meet and greet neighbors.

Development of Lake Hogan Farms began in the mid 90's on the site of a former dairy farm previously owned by the Hogan Family. There is a very old lake/pond on the property and I love  imaging  the past with cows cooling off and drinking from the lake. Thinking about the past is easy in this neighborhood of rolling hills Over 400 homes and town homes have been built on the site of a former dairy farm. The farm silo has been kept and is on the site of the amenities including a  pool, clubhouse, tennis and basketball courts and a playground.

Homes are built in neighborhoods within Lake Hogan Farms with prices ranging from the mid 300's for town homes to over $1 million for estate homes. David Weekly has a new section, The Legends, with homes from the upper 300's. The lots are small but the plans are open and bright.  All other homes for sale are resales. HOA dues are $60 and that includes the use of the pool and amenities. There is also a $300 one time capital improvement charge at closing.

Last year, 2007, there were approximately 28 closed real estate transactions in the Lake Hogan Farms. The average sales price was $173 sq, ft, list to sales price averaged 100% (some homes sold above asking price) and average days on the market was 64. This year to date (November 07, 2008) things are down a just bit with 13 active listings, 26 pending and closed, average sales price $166 sq. ft.,98% list to sales price and average days on the market 77. These numbers are really a generalization because it can vary so much within neighborhoods within Lake Hogan. Email me for more detailed stats.  

http://picasaweb.google.com/Marianne.howell/LakeHogan# Here is a link to more photos. Some of these are taken in the winter and really show the topography but aren't pretty. I'm going to add more today.

Let me know if there is a neighborhood in Chapel Hill that you want to know more about and I'll write about it! Best, Marianne

North Carolina Trivia Quiz

What I like most about living in NC is the great variety of things to do. From Chapel Hill it is an easy weekend get away to either the coast or mountains. When my husband and I go to the mountains we especially like Banner Elk because of the high elevation and great restaurants. We stay at Blueberry Inn and Banner Elk Winery when we go by ourselves but when it's the whole family we like the Burnsville area neat Mt. Mitchell. The children really like to tube in the Toe River. Last month we rented 3 houses close together, 2 on the river and one across the street, high on a hill with a great view. My husband took some photos and even though we were with family including 7 nieces and nephews he just took photos of scenery and the dog (his favorite family member) swimming.

I'm writing this from the coast right now. We came to make sure our cottage on Harkers Island was secure since tropical storm Hannah was scheduled to come through with two possible hurricanes right behind it. Hannah was no problem for us, just some wind. Harkers Island is on Core Sound near Cape Lookout. It's really just a fishing village. You have to like to cook to come here because there aren't many places to eat out.

A fun thing to do is to take the ferry (it's just a small boat, passengers only) to Cape Lookout. On the way to the cape the boat captain will point out the wild ponies grazing on marsh grass. Once there,young children love playing in the water and sand on the sound side but a short walk across the dunes is the ocean and a beautiful beach.

There is so much to do in NC from the mountains to the coast!

The buyers agent told me the client was a 'worrywart" but that's not unusual. After all, a home is the largest purchase most people make and that's one reason to have a buyers agent. Let the agent take care of details so the client doesn't have to worry. 

I have found  the longer it takes to negotiate a contract the less chance there is of working things out. This one took over two weeks. I guess with that and the buyers agents warning I should have expected trouble.

The inspections went fine but a couple of days later water and "some nasty looking black stuff" was discovered in the crawl space under some plastic containers.

The BA said it had rained since the inspection and that's why the inspector didn't notice it. She thought she should get a couple of quotes from waterproofers to find the extent of and cost to correct the problem.

I was shocked when she sent me the two quotes, one for $3000 and one for just under that amount. One quote called for a sump pump. The waterproofers said that they could tell that it was a long standing problem because of the black on the block and the change in consistency of the soil.

Now, I've been in the real estate business in Chapel Hill  for a long time including 12 years as a home builder. Only once did a crawl space require a sump pump and that was a situation with a spring under the house.

I called the seller and asked if he had ever noticed standing water under the house. He said no, The area in question was were he kept the containers of oil for the turkey fryer and he had always just walked around that area.

The buyer was sure that there was an underground river under the house and wanted to back out of the contract.

My contractor son- in- law took a look and realized that it wasn't water at all and that black stuff was turkey frying oil that had leaked from the containers. He said he could remove the oil and fill the low spot for $100. Much better than the $3000 bids the BA gave us. 

The buyer didn't believe it wasn't water. How could two waterproofers be wrong? (I think they were just hungry, we've had a drought) so we hired an engineer to inspect the crawl space and write a report. He found no sign of water intrusion and a properly graded crawl space.

The buyers still wanted out, forfeited their earnest money and terminated the contract. Because of cooking oil they were sure was water!!!

We put the house back on the market and after about 10 days the BA agent called me and said I know this is strange but the buyers thought things over want back in the contract. The sellers decided to wait for a couple of second showings and as it turned out we had two very good new offers on the home and it sold for over the asking price.

I can't help but wonder what those nervous buyers will do if they buy a house with a real and not imaginary problem.

Should I use a buyers agent for new construction and if so will the builder pay the commission?

A similar question was posted on a city data forum a couple of days ago and I thought it was a good question. What you don't know really can hurt you! 

You should use a buyers agent when buying new construction. In the Triangle Area of NC builders welcome agents who bring clients and generally pay a half % less commission than resale homes although in this slower market there are often incentives that help with the difference. It is important to have your buyers agent before visiting the property because the builder is paying for the agent to bring the customer, not because you want representation. Sometimes if you have already been to a site and registered without an agent  the builder will go ahead and pay a commission to your after the fact buyers agent because they value the agents relationship and want future business. I would have your agent ask about this because the builder rep will just tell you no. 

You do need to research your agent. You don't want someone who brings you to the site and then just shows up at closing to pick up a check.

Now for the reasons you really need representation. There are so many I'm not sure where to start. I could write a book about this but here are a few reasons to start.

The lot-

There are several pitfalls here. Usually in a new home development you pick your lot from a pretty site plan. It really doesn't tell you much . An agent who is familiar with new construction will want to see the development construction drawings. These show the areas of cut and fill, location of erosion control basins, drain pipes and stone (these can be ugly and dangerous), location of utilities (do you want a big green box in your front yard?), streetlights and landscaping. There is usually a topo map with the existing grade and the new grade after development. The flood maps have been recently been updated in our area and you need to make sure your new home won't be in a flood plain.

Your agent should be able to look at the lot and see if there are any potential drainage issues. Water problems can be on going and affect the resale potential of the home.

Sure, you can research and find out if busy roads or power lines are planned, both the kiss of death for resale, but you may not be able to find out the inside information about what's going on nearby that isn't public record yet. 

The builder-

Sometimes even a good buyers agent can't protect you from a builder who is having financial problems. Builders are pretty good at hiding this but an agent who has been around will know the signs and may have heard from suppliers who's not paying their bills. Your initial deposit can be huge, sometimes as much as 10% and you need to be sure sure the builder isn't borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

Get the best deal-

A good agent will know what builders will do with price and incentives. The on site agents job is to get the best deal for the builder but a buyers agent with a good relationship with the on-site agent and other agents who have sold in the neighborhood can usually find out the real story.

Financing-

There can be lots of options here for a pre-sale. Some builders want you to contract to purchase the lot from them then you go get the construction loan. Usually in this case you are responsible for the interest on the loan.

Others will want a large deposit with a contract, then they get the lot released from the bank and get the construction loan.

A production builder usually wants a deposit of 5% or so with a portion of upgrades pre paid and then the remainder at closing.

The plan-

I recently visited a site with a client. The on site agent showed us plans and  pricing for a home that hadn't been started yet. She offered to show us the same plan that was finished but sold. My client loved it. Looking around I noticed that the family room and kitchen looked  larger the floor plan we had seen in the office. The agent insisted that it was exactly the same.  I went back to the office, had her get the construction drawings of both houses and showed her the difference. My clients had not noticed this and if they hadn't had an agent they may have contracted for a different home than they expected. A good new construction buyers agent can read the plan and help you visualize what the final product will be.

  Options-

Your agent will know what options have the most perceived value for resale and will know what you can expect to pay for upgrades based on the builders standards. Your agent should help you with the selections.

 The contract-

 Builders contracts protect the builder not you. In my experience they won't change anything in the contract but you need to know hat you are agreeing to.It's usually a good idea to consult an attorney to go over the contract with you.

Construction-

Your agent should keep a close watch on the house during construction and inform you of anything that doesn't look right. Your agent should be a good sounding board and help you realize what it important and what isn't.

Inspections-

Just because the home is new doesn't mean you shouldn't have a private inspector.Your agent will know who is really good with new construction and should give you several names.

Closing-There are lots of details and your agent should make this worry free.

Then there are the unexpected things that always happen that your agent will know how to handle.