During my time off from working as an agent, I've been doing a lot of freelance work.

One thing that has confused me has been the numbers of real estate agents hiring writers and bloggers from across the country, and sometimes across the globe, to write content for them. I have done articles for agents in states I've only visitied a few times, and in a couple I've never been to.

This wasn't that hard when writing content based on services offered, copy for home websites, and things like that, but it felt lacking when I was writing about their local area. Sure, there is all sorts of information online about any town or neighborhood you can imagine, but it still seems to me like the agent would have had a better chance to add new information by posting themself or finding somebody local to post for them.

Now, I see that there is a national company offering "hyperlocal" websites for agent. You fill in your neighborhood, tick a few boxes, and it generates a site with local content. The compnay promotes it as local information with "no writing required", but again it seems like relying on only aggregated data defeats the whole purpose of a hyperlocal site.

What do you think?

Can an article or site produced by someody outside the are be considered truly local, or is the whole point of a hyperlocal site the added value that comes from having a person who knows the area giving there input on specific things? 

A friend of mine posted the following quote on Facebook after the news of Steve Job's death became public:

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
– Steve Jobs

It reminded me of how lucky I truly am to have found not just one, but two jobs in my lifetime that I love and find truly satisfying. One of these is real estate & the other is being a stay-at-home mom and homemaker.

I look forward to the time when I go back to work in real estate full-time, but I am also enjoying every day I have here at home with my precious son who is growing up so fast.

With low interest rates and lots of foreclosures on the markets, there are many sellers out there looking for fixer-uppers in the $50,000 range, and finding such homes.

On the other side of the scale, there are families paying up to $50,000 for a playhouse for their children.

Here are a few photos of a few of of the more extravagent playhouses on the market, with options including media rooms, sunrooms, built-in bookcases, kitchens with running water, indoor & outdoor lighting, and optional wireless communication systems to call back to the main house:

The playhouses above are available from La Petit Maison.

For families who really want to go all-out, there are swingsets, tree houses, and play forts that are just as impressive, with costs also being in the thousands. Some homeowners have turned to play structure designers like Barbara Butler to design fanciful playhouses, treehouses and forts.

A few of her designs are below:

While these are pretty extravagant, I think they are awesome. One caveat for homebuyers though - they are considered personal property in many places, so make sure you have it included in the contract if you are buying a home with a play structure that your child just has to have.

One question I ask potential home sellers in Lenoir, Morganton, and Hickory, NC is if I can be honest with them during the listing presentation. This is a nicer way of saying "do you want me to tell you the truth, or just what I think you want to hear?".

There are some people who have homes on the market with major problems, and I have to wonder if anybody has even let them know what is wrong or why it may be a problem. There is a thin line, and nobody wants to insult any homeowner, but it is important for any seller to know about potential problems and to know what they may be able to do to address those problems.

Sometimes, the homeowner may be so used to the way things are, they don't see an issue. Or they may be really enamored with their lime green shag carpeting, wicker ceiling, purple and gold foil wallpaper, or Precious Moments™ wall mural and not understand how much of a turn-off things like these can be to potential buyers. (Yes, these are rather extreme examples, but all are ones I've either seen in homes for sale or in MLS photos from other areas).

None of us like to hear negative comments about our homes but, as your agent, part of my responsibility is to alert you to any potential problems with the sale, and to suggest ways to fix them or lessen the impact. The good thing is that most of these are easy to solve. The most common problems with a home itself are datedness or extreme decor, clutter and dirt, and smells. All of these are easy to address, but you must know there is a problem first.

Most buyers do not care for wallpaper, unusual colors, borders, or fixtures that are linked to homes from previous decades, but this can be fixed by repainting and sometimes changing a few fixtures. Removing clutter helps open up a space and gives the impression that is is well-maintained. You're moving anyway, so look at sorting and storing belongings as a head-start on that. Cleaning should be self-explanatory, but it is easy to overlook exterior cleaning, faucets and trim, baseboards, etc if you are used to letting them go.

Smells can vary - sometimes they can be solved by having the carpets cleaned, painting, and keeping the pets outside more often, or by cleaning a disposal unit or other problem area, while others may require help from a professional cleaner. Musty or moldy smells can be solved by cleaning the affected area well with bleach or an agent made for such a job, installing a dehumidifier to stop further growth, and painting over the affected areas with a mold and mildew resistant paint.

There are so many small things that can be really off-putting to buyers, yet fixed with a few days', or a few hours' worth of work. This can make your home sell faster and for more money or, in a buyer's market like today, make the difference between your home selling or just sitting there. However, you must have an agent who is willing to tell you the hard truths and not just the good stuff, and you should be prepared to listen and implement their advice, rather than get offended by their suggestions.

With catastrophic flooding along the Mississippi River, a few homeowners have taken things into their own hands and build some amazing levees to protect their homes, farms, and businesses.

I wish I could share the images here, but they are copyrighted, so I will direct you to the Daily Mail article which seems to be the source of the photos, which show several homes and farm along the Yazoo River near Vicksburg, MS.

These pictures show the impact that one person can have with a little determination and a lot of dirt, and the lengths that some people will go to to protect their homes and land.

Of couse, they also show the massive destruction the area has suffered, and is still suffering as flood waters continue to rise in rural areas in hopes of diverting flood waters away from major cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

To donate or volunteer to help, please visit the

Mississippi Disaster Recovery Fund 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1388660/Mississippi-River-flooding-Residents-build-homemade-dams-saves-houses.html#ixzz1MsSetHpW

While the well-publicized First Time Homebuyer's Tax Credit of 2010 has long expired, many home buyers in North Carolina are still eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,000 per year.

This is possible because of the Mortgage Credit Certificate, a program offered through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA), that allows eligible buyers to deduct up to 30% of their mortgage interest from federal income taxes.

• Be a First Time Home Buyer
  

       You must not have owned a home in the last 3 years, usually defined as not having claimed any mortgage interest on your tax return during this time.

• Purchase A Primary Residence

       You must be buying the home for you to live in, not as an investment property or as a secondary or vacation home.

• Earn at or Below the Maximum Qualifying Income

       Income limits are defined by area and county. In North Carolin, they range from $66,000 in most rural areas up to $88,000 for a 3-person household in certain Metro areas. Household income is defined as the “gross income of the mortgagor and any other person expected to live in the residence who is 18 years of age or older.”

• Purchase a Home at or Below the Sales Price Limit

       The sales price of the home is capped at $210,000 for existing homes and $220,000 for new construction.

The terms of the mortgage for qualified loans are determined by the lender, not by the NCHFA.

The loan may be FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional and requires lender approval. Once it is approved, the mortgage underwriter will submit your loan to the NCHFA in order to obtain the Mortgage Credit Certificate.

To protect againt fraud, the home buyer's W-2 must match their income tax return and income disclosure and the seller is required to sign an affidavit about the sale and to acknowledge and confirm the sale price of the home.

This program is subject to local approval and availability of funds, and may not be approved if all of the monies for your area have been used.

To learn more about the Mortgage Credit Ceritificate, contact your preferred mortgage lender or see the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) website for details on the program and a list of cooperating lenders.

(This is a continuation of "Why Should I Care About Building Permits?", so please read that first if you have found your way here through another link.)

Building permit requirements vary by state and even by city and county, so please keep in mind that this post is geared toward homeowners in North Carolina, and laws will differ for those living in other states.

You need a building permit to:

◘ Build, re-construct, alter, move, remove or demolish any building (with some exceptions for small storage sheds, according to their size), including constructing, adding onto, or altering any external or load-bearing structures on an existing building.

This includes adding onto, changing, or repairing any exterior wall or other load bearing wall, floor joists and footings, replacing any wood in a roof (including plywood, beams, and rafters), replacing one type of shingles or roof covering with another (asbestos shingles to fiberglass shingles or metal roofing), adding new shingles over existing roofing material, and building a deck or porch.

◘ Install, expand, extend, or repair any plumbing system (there are certain exceptions to plumbing permits for replacing a hot water heater, but both require a licensed contractor to install them, because of requirements for inspection and a leak test on the piping for gas heaters and for the electrical work on electric water heaters).

◘ Install, replace, add to, or change the design and components of a heating and cooling system (swapping an electric furnace for gas, , re-routing duct work, or adding duct work to heat and cool an additional room, for example), and for any repair costing more than $5,000.

◘ Install, extend, alter, or repair any electrical wiring, device, appliance, or equipment. The few exceptions to this (repairing or replacing an outlet or light switch) still require that the work be performed by a licensed electrician, in the same location, and operate on the same or less power than the previous fixture. This includes installing light fixtures, hard-wired outdoor or carport lighting, ceiling fans, and attic fans.

◘ Have any construction, alterations, repairs, or additions done on a commercial or rental property. Also, if you are a landlord or property owner, you must have the work done by a licensed professional, not yourself.

You do not need a building permit to :

◘ Do any project in a single-family residence or farm building costing less than $5000, unless the work adds to, replaces, or changes load-bearing structures, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, or electrical wiring, devices, appliances, or equipment; uses materials not allowed by the NC Uniform Residential Building Code, repairs a load-bearing structure, or adds roofing materials.

◘ Add interior walls or add an opening or doorway to a non load-bearing interior wall.

◘ Install, replace, or repair siding on a home.

◘ To replace existing pluming piping or fixtures with like fixtures (replacing a sink, toilet, or appliance), so long as the water supply lines and the trap in the drain line are not altered.

◘ Repair or replace most heating and air conditioning equipment and components, so long as the design or type of system is not changed.

◘ Replace an existing light switch or receptacle with one of the same voltage and the same or lower amperage, so long as the work is done by a licensed electrician and in compliance with State Building Code and State Electrical Code.

◘ Add an outdoor storage shed or other "accessory building", in some jurisdictions, so long as it is not wired for electricity, and does not exceed maximum size limits (12 ft in any dimension for many NC counties).

If you are not sure whether or not you may need a building permit, the best thing to do is to find out from the source. Call your city or county inspection department, or the inspections division of your local planning department, and they will tell you which permits you may need, if any. It is much better to check in advance than to have to pay a fine for a retroactive permit, or tear down the work you have done because it is out of compliance.

Some jurisdictions are very strict, and may even have additional requirements to be met, while others are lax and may allow certain repairs without a permit, but it is always better to find out what your local inspector requires rather than to get caught partway through a project and find out you needed a permit, or need to change something in order to keep it.

It is surprising how many homes in the Lenoir, Morganton, and Hickory area have had electrical and plumbing work done, and whole rooms added, without a building permit.

In fact, there is one home which has been sitting abandoned, uninhabitable, and unable to be sold as a residence for decades, on a main road near Catawba Valley Medical Center. The reason it's unlivable - the owner neglected to obtain a building permit, so he cannot recieve a certificate of occupancy, and cannot have power and utilities connected to the house.

Many times, the owners may not have known one was needed, or considered them a waste of money, so I hope this will help people to understand when they are needed and why they are important.

Two common misbeliefs are that building permits are only for new construction, and only for contractors and builders. In fact, they are necessary for many projects on existing homes, and are still required even if the homeowner is doing the work themself.

Building permits are important for many reasons:

◘ They protect the homeowner's safety by insuring that the work is safe and up to code.

◘ They protect the value of the home by recording any additional square footage, and by preventing problems that can occur with sales where work has been performed out of code.

◘ They protect the homeowner in case of a fire or other problem in the addition. If a home is damaged or destroyed and problem occurs as a result of electrical or plumbing work without a permit, or in an un-permitted addition to the home, then the insurance company can refuse coverage for the claim.

◘ They are the law. Violating North Carolina law by not obtaining a building permit when one is needed is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

So, when might a building permit be necessary? :

In North Carolina, building permits are regulated by NCGS (North Carolina General Statutes) 153Aa-357 (for Counties) and 160a-417 (for cities). You can read either of these laws by clicking on the numbers in the previous sentence, but many people are still confused by them, so I will try to list some of the most common times when a permit will be needed and some of the most common exceptions.

In general, a building permit is necessary for any work affecting a load-bearing structure (exterior, and load-bearing walls, joist and flooring supports, roof and roof supports, and decking), plumbing, electrical work, heating and air conditioning, and anything else with costs exceeding $5,000.

(For more specific information on when a building permit is required in North Carolina, please see the second part of this article, "When Do I Need A Building Permit?").

The Housing Downturn: the Result of a Generation Gap?

A recent report by the NAR has been used to blame part of the housing crisis on age demographics.  According to this theory the housing market slowed down all of a sudden because the drop in the birth rate after 1973 created a sudden shortage of first-time buyers around 2006, when the housing began slowing rapidly in many areas.

According to this theory, the problem is just that there are not enough buyers coming of age to purchase the existing housing inventory. The supposed good news is that, during the downturn, the average age of first--time home buyers has dropped back down to 30, and the next generation is coming of now in time to buy. “Generation Y”’ is larger than the previous generation, due to birth rates starting and continuing to rise after 1980, so there will be more buyers coming of age as they  are just beginning to reach their 30s.

So, Isn't It Time for Them To Start Buying and Fix the Market?

The problem is that this hope for Generation Y to jump in and start buying its way through the housing inventory may be unfounded. Even though numbers of first-time buyers were up in 2009 and 2010, many of these buyers were buying vacant foreclosure properties. This foreclosure buying does not really stimulate the market, because there are no owners to move up the “property ladder” into a new home (I am assuming that the vast majority of homeowners who were foreclosed upon were not able to secure a new mortgage, and are now renting or living with family or friends).

Another problem is that this generation is starting out strapped for cash. There have been many news reports and “exposés” on college student students and credit card debt, and laws have even been passed which are supposed to protect students from themselves. One thing that the media remains silent on, however, is student loan debt. In June 2010, student loan debt surpassed credit card debt for the first time in history. As of this writing, US student loan debt is approximately $905.5 billion, while credit card debt is $800.5 billion.

Even while reports were all over the media about the US's rising economic troubles, the government, financial advisers, and school counselors were encouraging students to take out higher and higher loans. The cost of a college education rose 400% from 1982 to the present day, but most people still view borrowing to finance and education as "good debt" and the easily availability of loans, coupled with promises of a higher paying job at graduation, led many students to view them as "easy money"'.

How Bad Is Student Loan Debt Among Generation Y?

Consumers seem to be wizening up about credit cards and reducing or eliminating those debts, but student loan debt continues to grow, and will likely be a bigger issue for this rising generation than for “Generation X” and those who proceeded it. The reason for this is that more students are going to college than ever before, and are relying heavily on loans, with no real plans for repaying them other than “graduate and get a job”.  What many are finding now is that, if they can get a job, the student loan payments may eat up 30% or more of their salary; many students have to move back in with their parents just to make ends meet.

One study found that 75% of college graduates with student loan debt said that the loan payments have prevented them from buying a home or a car. Approximately 20% of all student loans are in default, which destroys a credit rating, and an additional 23% of borrowers are keeping default and delinquency at bay by using deferment or forbearance to postpone loan payments, at the cost of higher interest and longer loan terms. With student loans taking up to 25 years to repay, being almost impossible to discharge in a bankruptcy, and even able to keep a graduate from renewing their professional license, this seems to indicate a potentially long-lasting problem.

So, What Does This Have To Do With the Housing Market?

Any increase in the numbers of potential buyers in this generation may be offset by the student loan debt which has damaged many of their credit histories and drastically reduced their ability to buy. I have seen it happen with both friends and clients already – they are in their 20s or 30s, ready and willing to buy a home, but unable to get approved for a mortgage because their student loan debt takes up too much of their income or because they have already missed payments on the loan and damaged their credit.

I may be proven wrong over the next 5-10 years, but my prediction is that many of the generation that some are hoping will buy us out of the housing slump are simply unable to buy.

At least for the foreseeable future, it seems more likely that this generation will be more for moving back home with their parents and then becoming long-term renters than for creating a boom of young homeowners.

All images used by permission: renjith krishnan, Ambro, scottchan, & graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Home inspections are so important before buying, but some people assume, or are told, that they are unnecessary for new homes.

Actually, inspections are very important for new construction, and there are 3 inspections that should be done:

1) a foundation inspection to be sure it will be strong, level, and dry

2) a framing or pre-drywall inspection to check the framing itself as well as the HVAC ductwork, electrical, plumbing, other other systems hidden behing the walls

3) a final inspection of the completed home, to make sure everything is up to code, installed properly, and that there are no issues with drainage, air leakage, etc

This post from home inspector Jay Markanich shows just one problem that would have been missed were it not for an inspection before the dryall was installed.