LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
Jay in Virginia really know his profession well! I owned a new home when I moved to Charlotte, NC, and I can attest to the shoddy work, and that was when the Charlotte home builders were making money! I can only imagine the short cuts happening now!
Let the LovingCharlotte Team, put our resources to work for you and hook you up with a home inspector that knows his stuff!
Over the years I have noticed tricks builders play with their clients when it comes time to get inspections. For example, they will call at 4:55pm and say they forgot that the schedule had changed and are sorry for the mix up but if the client wants that inspection they were considering they need to have it the next day between 9 and 11am. Or they will apologetically call and say there was a snafu and the inspection needs to be postponed one day after having been scheduled for a week. There are many such tricks. When people call me to order new construction inspections I warn them about some of the games and they never believe me!
A recent thing I have noticed regards the various requirements they are placing on the home inspectors themselves. And each builder has their own criteria. Certain affiliations, certain licenses, certain insurances and so forth. One builder wants this combination, the other wants that combination.
I ran into a new one the other day.
This was new construction and the final inspection. It had been quickly arranged. I have already done two inspections this year on this builder's homes and had sent them my license and E&O insurance policy.
Virginia requires me to carry $500K in E&O. I carry $1mil. I carry that much because it isn't much more expensive and, I have found over the years, that builders require that much.
There was a new twist this time - the builder wanted to be stipulated on the policy as a "Certificate Holder." Why I don't know - it's my policy. But I had it done.
Getting to the property I was required to stop in at the sales office for the key. When I went in the lady there apologized because they "forgot" to have me send them a copy of my "General Liability Insurance, for $2million." This is the "new corporate requirement of home inspectors." It had "slipped her mind" to ask in advance. I asked and they don't require this of appraisers or termite guys.
WHAT BOTHERED ME WAS THE LOOK I HER EYES. IT WAS A GOTCHA MOMENT. I READ PEOPLE VERY WELL, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON.
Called an "umbrella policy," I don't know if most home inspectors carry this. It is not required by my state. BUT I HAVE ONE, AND FOR $2MIL BECAUSE MY AGENT TOLD ME TO GET IT. It costs just under $400/year and covers me no matter what I do.
Years ago I was burned by a builder who demanded to see my insurances before he would allow me on site. I asked why they didn't ask for it in advance of the inspection and they claimed they "forgot." The inspection never happened. Who carries their insurance with them? Well, I only get burned once. For that reason I carry a copy of all my insurance policies in my car.
I smoothly said, "No problem! I have a copy of it in my car!" and pleasantly walked out to get it. Bond, Jay Bond... not shaken OR stirred.
SHE WAS CLEARLY TAKEN ABACK. IT WAS PRICELESS. I GOTCHA!
The inspection did not go as smoothly. I went back twice!
I contacted Lenn, who has been around the block once or twice, about this new trend I am sensing. The trend - to make it so difficult for home inspectors by having them carry so many different "umbrellas" that they can't get on site. I think she agrees with me. She said the obvious, that this needs to be handled up front and in the contract by the real estate agents - exactly what the builder requires of the home inspector and when. No games, no gimmicks.
But, she pointed out, many people do not have agents! This might be the wake up call. Before you buy, get an agent AND a home inspector.
My recommendation: builders can require anything of anybody they allow on site. I think they will begin piling on more and more requirements. It could be this or that combination of licenses and insurances, amounts of insurances, you name it. But once those requirements are known up front and written into the contract, you can't get burned.
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC
Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia
LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
It has been awhile since I last posted, so I figure it is time to start again. Today I am showing you a graphic of Marvin NC Homes and what their valuations have changed from Jan 1., 2010 to June 1, 2010 compared to that same time period in 2011.
What I find intersting is that several have actually gone up in value. Those include Barrington, Providence Downs, Providence Downs South and "The Reserve". By the way, some of these communities are technically in Waxhaw, only because they have not been Annexed into Marvin township. Bear in mind though, all these are in the Marvin Ridge School system, which is highly rated school system in North Carolina!
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LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
I can not agree more with Tish on this. Would you want your doctor to just give you some pills without analizing just how sick you are, of course not. As professionals we need to make sure our clients qualify for the home. I also like to follow the Dave Ramsey principals where you should only spend about 25% of your income on your mortgage!
What do you mean, you need a letter from my Lender?
Fair question. In days of old, Real Estate Agents would show homes to anyone who wanted to look. We'd put prospective Buyers in our cars, grab our trusty MLS book and drive all over town for days, just looking at homes. Often a prospective Buyer would fall in love with a home and we'd write an offer, only to find out, AFTER they had applied for the loan, they didn't qualify for that amount.
So, we Loan Officers and Real Estate Agents got smart. We started suggesting Buyers get pre-approved or pre-qualified (in my opinion they are different, though many agents use the terms interchangeably). Like most anything new, it took awhile for everyone to see the benefit of doing this. Once it was realized how much more productive that information made everyone's lives, it became an industry norm.
You may very well have $500,000. cash just sitting in the bank for you to use in the purchase of a home. You may have a credit score in the 800's and the ability to get any loan for which you apply.
The Sellers have no way of knowing that. I have no way of knowing that. Frankly, I don't need all of your financial information. I simply need a letter from your Lender or Bank, stating that you have the ablility, the qualifications and funds to purchase a home. If you are only able to secure a loan for $300,000, there's no reason to look at homes in the $500,000 range. Even if they are over-priced, chances are good they're not THAT over-priced and it's a waste of everyone's time and energy to look at homes which are out of your price range. Did I mention the cost of gas?
You would be surprised at the number of people who think they have more buying power than they actually do. Regulations are tight, banks are making it more difficult to obtain loans. Even people with excellent credit and cash on-hand are finding they are unable to obtain loans, as in days-gone-by. It's just so much better when we know up-front, how much home you can comfortably afford.
Now when it comes time to submit an offer, we'll want a letter from your Lender or Bank which is tailored to the property on which you have chosen to make an offer. No generic," Mr. & Mrs. Buyer can buy up to $XXX,XXX". That's the type of letter which is going to hurt your negotiating power. We'll want one that says you are ready, willling and ABLE to purchase XYZ Maple Street for $XXX,XXX.
When I ask for a letter from your Lender or Bank, I'm not trying to be difficult or nosy; I'm trying to keep all of us from wasting time and energy.Did I mention the cost of gas? Buying a new home should be fun and exciting -- it quickly stops being that when a Buyer falls in love with a home, only to discover it's out of their reach . . .
LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
I just had to re post this from Lola. The words and thoughts are so true and needed today. I can't think of a better way to celebrate where we are as a country, and know that even as Congress fights, it is our People who bring us together!
I initially read the words inscribed on the Lincoln Memorial almost three decades ago. As a young foreign student, staring upwards at the enormous edifice, I was startled by the frankness with which President Lincoln addressed the nation on March 4, 1865 about the Civil War and the consequences of the gruesome legacy of slavery.
A portion of the second Inaugural Address inscribed on the walls of the memorial reads thus:
“Fondly do we hope-fervently do we pray-that this mighty scourge of war, may speedily pass away.Yet, if God will that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
Almost one hundred years later, the backdrop of these words scripted within the context of the brutal horror of war makes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King who stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 to deliver, the “I Have a Dream” speech particularly compelling as he reminded us that:
"But one hundred years later, we just face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination"
April marks the traditional observance of Fair Housing month. Words like 'steering, block busting, and redlining' are the painful reminders of the reality segregation and separation have played in the struggle for housing equality. In the real estate community, the issue of Fair Housing is not a 30 day period which we pay respect to once a year.As our country becomes increasingly diverse, Fair Housing is an everyday issue which must govern the way in which we facilitate the transitions which occur as people move in our society.
But advocacy and education will only take us so far. Education can determine the correct answer to pass a Fair Housing test, but it will not change prejudice in the human heart. I've attended classes about Fair Housing where the discomfort is often palpable. This is still a very real and painful part of our American landscape on an emotional level...both past and present. Transforming this legacy is still a work in progress.
True freedom requires the ability to love oneself appropriately and completely enough to recognize the magnificence of God's creation in every single human being regardless of color, creed, national origin, sex, familial status, physical handicap, marital status or religion. True freedom gives us the strength and ability to examine a painful mistake and to choose a better path.
Dr. Martin Luther King spoke about the intricate web that binds us together when he said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
As REALTORS, we have the unique privilege of serving people in a manner which honors the dignity of the human spirit. Undermining justice and dignity for one impacts all of us.Today’s digital culture reminds us of how intricately woven together we are.Fair Housing is not about ‘someone else’, it’s about recognizing that what we do to another, we have really done to ourselves.That’s the essential core of the Golden Rule.
Photo of Lincoln Memorial courtesy of NCinDC on flickr.com
Lola Audu, is the Designated Broker & Owner of Audu Real Estate. Our company specializes in helping people buy and sell homes in the greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan area. We've had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients succeed in their goals of purchasing and selling property including demonstrated success in the negotiation of Short Sale Transactions. You can contact us via e-mail @ info@auduhomes.com or by phone at 616-791-0511.
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LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
Once again the media got to another seller who shot himself in the foot by taking the media's advice !!
I ran into an agent today, whose listing I had shown over a month ago.
My buyers liked the house, but felt that it was drastically overpriced.
It was listed at $599,000.
My clients would have been willing to pay $500,000 for it based on the COMPS that we had seen.
... but because that number was so far off, they didnt want to waste their time, and chalked it up to another unrealistic seller with an overpriced listing.
Trying to be diligent, I made a call to the agent, to ask if he felt there was any way that this would sell for $500k? He said he didnt think there was any way the seller would take $500k, and that the seller was difficult to work with, and insisted on a list price of $599,000, even when the listing agent told him the comps dictated a much less listing price. I told my buyers we could still put an offer in but they felt it 'would never happen'.
So not wanting to get their hopes up, my buyers moved on - and we are now under contract with another property.
Jump to my meeting today with the same listing agent.
It turns out the listing had since expired and the seller decided to 'rent' it, instead of renewing the listing for sale.
It rented in a week.
Here's the kicker !!
After the lease was signed, the seller told the agent I was talking to, that he would have gladly accepted $500,000 for the sale !!! ... but because of something he read about "pricing a listing high so you have Negotiating Room", he felt that if he wanted $500k he needed to price it at $599k BECAUSE HE WAS READING THAT MOST BUYERS WERE LOOKING FOR $100K OFF DEALS THESE DAYS !!!!!
... now I dont just fault the seller here, because it sounds like the listing agent probably didnt do a good enough job showing comps to prove that $599k was WAAY too high.
I even asked the agent if he had the conversation about 'bottom lines' with the seller, and he said that the guy 'didnt want to go there' and told him 'I want you to sell this for the maximum you can get and not worry about what my bottom line is !!!!!"
Well the 'bottom line' is, that because the seller wasnt REALISTIC with his pricing, he is now a Landlord, instead of someone making plans to spend his profit in the sale of his home !!!!
>> Dont miss other upcoming blog entries from "ThatBritishAgent" !
Sheldon Neal is a Realtor® with RE/MAX, specializing in Homes For Sale in Bergen County, NJ.
If you are looking for Bergen County Realtors, call local expert Sheldon Neal for all your Bergen County Buying & Selling needs ! Sheldon Neal ~ RE/MAX REAL ESTATE LTD. cell: 201-481-2891 email: SheldonNeal@remax.net website: www.SheldonNeal.com
LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
Yes I am reblogging it, so that I always know where the wonder wheel is. I need 25 words, so I can get this re-blogged to where I will always easily find it.
...is a keyword research utility that was created by Google Labs and allows users to discover keyword searches that are popular and built around certain specific keyword terms.
Google's wonder wheel could be a great tool for helping writers to find new topics. The wheel can also help you dominate specific keywords and phrases in the search engines because it helps you write about the things that are the most searched for on the web using the most popular keywords or terms.
Here's How It Works:
Create your search in the Google Search Engine, then click on the "Google Search" button:
The results displayed will include sponsored and organic links:
To Access "Google's Wonder Wheel" Click on the "+Show options" Link at the top of page:
Scroll down the left hand side of the page untill you come to the "Standard View" options and click on the link for "Google's Wonder Wheel" Wait for just a moment and the Wonder Wheel will appear on the page. The links coming off the Wonder Wheel are popular and similair keywords, terms, and phrases that you can now use as "Titles" and "Topics" to write or Blog about.
Each time you click on one of the spokes "Terms or Phrases" a new Wonder Wheel will load on the screen displaying even more "keywords" and popular "search terms" These can be used for creating great content and getting you closer to dominating your Blog with those specific keywords or phrases. Go deeper and further into the possible options and opportunities to make your Blog's content the most likely to be searched and found.
This is like having a road map or blue print for your Blog. If you use Google's Wonder Wheel for a variety of search terms and keywords that you want to be found with, this should save you time and headaches "Wondering" what those "Words" and "Phrases" are. There's always going to be great tools out there, and promises to help get you the best SEO results, but in my opinion, this is one of the best and most powerful I have seen yet. Thanks to Google and Google Labs for making the "Wonder Wheel" available, and for hiding it so well, it gave me a reason to write this post.
LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
If you are looking for some Foreclosures in Charlotte area then click "Charlotte Foreclosures"
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LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
The month of October is BREASTCANCER AWARENESS MONTH.Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is challenging the world, "What will you promise?" to help breast cancer research. Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been committed to immediate patient assistanceand is in its 26th year in the race for a cure.
The Foundation has committed over $550 million to research scientists alone, to establish a cure! This is the largest commitment to breast cancer research funding by a single nonprofit organization, targeting 81 universities and hospitals in 27 states and five countries, EVER! These grants represent research with the highest likelihood of producing positive results for breast cancer patients.
Even the NFL is pitching in this month to help with the race for the cure. Games throughout October have been designated Breast Cancer Awareness games. Coaches, players, referrees and game staff are wearing apparel and pins with the pink ribbon/NFL shield during October games. Wear your THINK PINK ribbon to the October 24, Carolina Panthers game against the San Francisco 49'ers. (GO PANTHERS!) Thanks to the NFL and the Panthers organization, for participating in SUCH a worthwhile cause!
What can YOU do to help?
Every 2.5 minutes, a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed. Digital mammography is one of the best tools available for use to help in early detection. This is a painless procedure--regardless what you've heard, and worth the time it takes for an appointment. The American Cancer Society says that women should have mammograms starting at age 40 and every year afterwards. Most insurance companies pay the full fee but, there are many women who do not have insurance. We can help by donating a mammogram for these women.
Go ahead--Click the link below--it won't cost you a PENNY!
Please pass this information along to YOUR friends and family.Chances are we've all been touched somehow by this horrific diseaseand with our help, a cure is on the way. Please read this, donate a mammogram (thank you) and pass the message on...
LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
October 22, 23, 2010 (7pm, 8pm, 9pm) Ghost Tales in the Dark Participate in a candlelit tour of the plantation at night, as you hear real ghost stories from staff and volunteers. Admission is $12 per person, and pre-registration is required. Call 704-875-2312 to register. This event is for ages 12 and up only!
October 29-30, 2010 (7-10pm)Civil War Ghost Walk A spooktacular historic event as you are led by a guide through a haunted Civil War site! Venture through an explosive Civil War battlefield, escape the trenches, witness family mourning their lost loves in the house, make your way through a battlefield hospital, and much more! Admission is $8 per person.
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LovingCharlotte is a team of experienced REALTORs based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thinking of purchasing a home in the Charlotte, NC Real Estate market? The LovingCharlotte Team specializes in North and South Charlotte, along with Fort Mill, SC!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
I smoothly said, "No problem! I have a copy of it in my car!" and pleasantly walked out to get it. 
Fair question. In days of old, Real Estate Agents would show homes to anyone who wanted to look. We'd put prospective Buyers in our cars, grab our trusty MLS book and drive all over town for days, just looking at homes. Often a prospective Buyer would fall in love with a home and we'd write an offer, only to find out, AFTER they had applied for the loan, they didn't qualify for that amount.
better when we know up-front, how much home you can comfortably afford.
I initially read the words inscribed on the Lincoln Memorial almost three decades ago. As a young foreign student, staring upwards at the enormous edifice, I was startled by the frankness with which President Lincoln addressed the nation on March 4, 1865 about the Civil War and the consequences of the gruesome legacy of slavery.
True freedom requires the ability to love oneself appropriately and completely enough to recognize the magnificence of God's creation in every single human being regardless of color, creed, national origin, sex, familial status, physical handicap, marital status or religion. True freedom gives us the strength and ability to examine a painful mistake and to choose a better path.
;)
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