Reasons Why I Love Living in Tega Cay Especially On The 4th of July

I am often reminded of why we moved to and love to live in Tega Cay South Carolina. The 4th of July is a good example of why we live here. The 4th was a busy day in Tega Cay SC this year. In fact the 4th of July is always full of fun activities in Tega Cay. I am not sure why you would travel somewhere else during the 4th if you live in Tega Cay especially with the high gas prices. Here is a short list of the planned events that went on for the 4th of July in Tega Cay.

The Land Parade began at 9AM. The Land Parade theme was "Tega Cay's 26th Anniversary"

There were floats with music, big trucks, several groups of the Shiners,

and Star Wars characters and the Fort Mill High Band was marching and playing!

The Windjammer Park Party started at 10:00 a.m. Loads of fun! Canoe Joust, Ski Show and Boat Parade! The Boat Parade started at 11:30am.

The Ski Show was performed by the award-winning Carolina Show Ski Team. The show included comedy, skills and amazing water ski stunts.

The Lions Fish Fry was at the Glennon Center around 4:30pm.

The day ended with the City's Birthday Party, Fireworks and Dance. The birthday party began around 8:00 p.m. which was followed by fireworks at 9:30 p.m. outside on the Tega Cay Golf Course. There was a dedication of the new Glennon Center building, the speaker was Congressman Spratt and Mayor Runde gave the State of the City. And the dance went on at the Glennon Center until Midnight!

The day was non stop fun. So, if you are considering relocating to the Charlotte Metro area , take a look at the Tega Cay area. It's just minutes south of Charlotte. The schools are great. The city is on a peninsula of Lake Wylie. And if you like a small town look and feel that is full of friendly, fun people come to Tega Cay South Carolina. If you are interested in reading more about our area here are some other similar posts and links:

• Top 10 Reasons to Live in Fort Mill.
• The Fort Mill Times has a nice recap of the 4th of July events click here
• Tega Cay History
• Fort Mill History

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-news/reasons-why-i-love-living-in-tega-cay-especially-on-the-4th-of-july/

Blogging Makes You Fat

Here is a post from husband I thought the Activerain community would get a kick on reading.

Want a sure way to gain weight? Start a new blog. Starting a new blog, writing weekly posts, learning SEO, and then optimizing for good search engine placement has occupied so much of my time for the past several months. I have gained 10 plus pounds!

My wife hired me (that means free!) instead of a web design and marketing company to throw something out on the web about her real estate agents business. I had a little experience creating websites a few yeas ago for friends and organizations so I was excited about giving it a try again. I read blogs and articles to find out what is hot in the industry and decided to make the leap into blogging. I read blogging is a much better way to get noticed compared to the older static website approach. What I didn't realize is I have to write posts weekly to keep the blog alive.

I should say to be fair to fellow bloggers a huge amount of time spent in my project isn't just writing posts. I have spent more time reading and learning about current search engine optimization to make your head spin and of course working on building back links. My early morning exercise program was put on the back burner while I blogged and learned and did SEO (search engine optimization) stuff.

Wait! The SEO stuff now includes joining social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Active Rain to name a very small few. Now I had to spend more time learning about social networking sites and building new profiles. And you mean I need to post and re-post on other blogs, article submission sites like Ezine, and bookmarking sites? Ops there went my evenings. I knew I was in trouble when my kids thought I was spending more time on the computer than they do.

After a couple months I noticed my pants were feeling snug. My wife bought me new shorts for the summer and I had to go up a pant size. I just hated to even think about getting on the scale. Boy, adding 10 pounds was easy. So I ignored the weight gain warning signs and decided to work on my next 10 added pounds.

Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed the learning process so far. I am still a novice in the world of blogging and SEO. But I have come along way after making several startup mistakes and I am sure I am still making many today. Next I need to learn how to write!

For those of you concerned, I did start exercising again. I am leaning how to balance my time.

So if someone sued McDonald's for making them gain too much weight, who do you sue because blogging makes you gain weight? Look in the mirror!

Here is a link to my wife's real estate blog http://homesfortmill.com. Send me your comments so I can sit down and spend more time on the blog!

Scott

Sdmiller10@gmail.com

I hope you enjoyed his satire on blogging. I pay him well for his time!

Warning Positive Home Sales News Maybe Dangerous To Your Health!

 Warning: The Sturgeon General advices you to be careful reading or listening to positive homes sales news which maybe dangerous to your health or at least a shock to your system compared to the normal news environment. Care should be taken when reading or listening to positive news.

I get up every morning with a positive attitude with the goal to make it a positive day. During my morning drive to work I listen to the news talk radio station. I don't know about you but I almost hate turning on the radio or any news these days. My positive attitude flies right out the window after listening to a few minutes of the morning economic news. Most of the news seems to be about the bad housing market, failing mortgage market, and of course the main headline these days the high gas prices. So here is my attempt to go against the news trend and share some good news for a change.

The National Association of Realtors® released this week their homes sales forecast based on April's pending home sales index data. April's index showed a national gain in homes sale contracts of 6.3% over March.  NAR's economists forecast a continued moderate home sales increase in the next few months and it may get better in the second half of the year.  

The West coast has shown the most improvement. Positive sales growth was also felt in the Midwest and the South. The Northeast was still showing a decline by 1.9%. Pending homes sales numbers have picked up significantly in areas seeing significant home value price drops like the West. But economists predict home values will stabilize in most areas in the second half of the year.

 As for the Fort Mill, Tega Cay SC area, the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association reported steady increases each month from January through April which is consistent with the NAR report. The total homes under contract nationally and locally are below last years numbers but the positive news here is the sales are gaining each month. 

I apologize if this news is shocking to you. I know this is not the normal news you hear now days. I hope this news may brighten your day or moment until the next negative news story hits. It's no problem, this positive info is free of charge. Maybe I should listen to those old 8 tracks in the car instead of the radio news. Ops, I am dating myself. Enjoy the positive news for moment at least.

This ends the postive news warning....

By Scott (Carmen's Husband)

Post Link:  http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/warning-positive-home-sales-news-maybe-dangerous-to-your-health/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Freightliner-Daimler Trucks Fort Mill SC New Office Almost Ready

Fort Mill SC keeps growing. The new Koll Development Company 150,000 square foot Intellicenter building in Fort Mill SC is finished and has been turned over to Daimler Trucks of North America. Freightliner LLC changed it corporate name last January to Daimler Trucks of North America.

Last October Daimler Trucks announced the move of its 340 job sales and marketing division from Portland OR to Fort Mill, SC. As of the company deadline for relocation decisions last January, 118 Portland Daimler employees are making the move to Fort Mill, SC. I took a look at Daimler's job opening website. Only 14 positions were listed as available. Daimler had a job fair in March so many of the non relocating positions may have been filled.

The Daimler Trucks sales and marketing new office is located on Deerfield Drive near the Gold Hill and I-77 interchange. Here is the last picture from the construction job site camera of new building taken on May 21st.

You can see the exterior of the building and landscaping is complete. Work left to do is focused on the interior office set up including furniture. Daimler Trucks expects operations to begin in the new offices the first part of August.

What is the latest about the Daimler Trucks HQ move from Portland to the York County area? I searched for press releases and articles. I found a couple May articles in the Charlotte Business Journal about the move. Daimler Trucks has an option on 400 acres on the west side of Lake Wylie near the Big Allison Creek area. The articles claim Daimler Trucks corporate office campus would be part of the Crescent Resources or Allison Creek Partners 2,300 acre master planned development project in York County on the Allison Creek. A Daimler Trucks spokesperson confirmed they were working with local landowners, developers and York County SC officials on the project but no final decisions have been made.

The Allison Creek master planned development plan is estimated to contain almost 4.4 million square feet of office space and a potential of 3,500 homes. If Daimler Trucks would be relocated to the development, the plan would allow for many support companies to relocate near the corporate campus. The over plan would almost triple the current York County multitenant space if and when finished.

See also

Will Freightliner Move To South Carolina  

Crescent Keeps Planning New Home Communities Around Fort Mill and Lake Wylie

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/freightliner-daimler-trucks-fort-mill-sc-new-office-almost-ready/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Lawns Turn Brown Even With Tega Cay SC Revised Water Restrictions May 31st 2008

If you are shopping for a home in the Tega Cay or Fort Mill area right now you will notice lawns looking brown instead of green these days. With higher or I should say HOT summer temperatures and water restrictions that are in place, it is difficult to maintain a bright green lawn.

So you might ask what are the current water restrictions? Here is an update.

Tega Cay's city council did revise the current stage 3 water restrictions on May 31st. Stage 3 restriction have been in place since October of last year. We were blessed with much needed rain during the spring season so the council reduced the restrictions slightly from the April 21st, 2008 change. We are still in stage 3 water restriction with the following changes:

You are allowed to water lawns with sprinklers or irrigation systems one day a week.
Odd addresses are allowed to water any time on Saturdays
Even addresses are allowed to water anytime on Sundays.

The April 21st update only allowed you to water on the designated day from 12:01am to 9am. The May 31st change allows you to water anytime during your designated day.

Besides the change to the time of watering your lawns 1 day a week, you may now wash vehicles, watercraft, fill pools, and pressure wash structures/driveways on the same designated day of the week. But only one day a week on your designated day.

Residents are allowed to use hand held watering containers and hoses with spray nozzles to water plants, shrubs, flowers, containers, gardens, and lawns any time and any day of the week.

Tega Cay restrictions now match the current York County stage 3 restrictions. Fort Mill water restrictions are similar except the only day to water, wash, or fill is Saturday. Fort Mill did not break out different days for even or odd addresses.

In all jurisdictions, watering, washing, and filing on days other than your assigned day is strictly prohibited. And so is any water run off.

The use of irrigation systems that pump water directly from Lake Wylie are controlled by Duke Energy Lake Management and now are allowed to "pump" water only on Saturdays.

The information above is from the Tega Cay city website, Fort Mill city website, and the York County SC website. Click here for a PDF of the Tega Cay city May 31st amended water restriction.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-news/lawns-turn-brown-even-with-tega-cay-sc-revised-water-restrictions-may-31st-2008/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

60 Million Mixed Use Development Approved For Fort Mill

York County Council approved on May 19 to re-zone 32 acres in Fort Mill on highway 160 west across from Baxter Village to mixed use.

ELA, a Rock Hill based developer, original planned to build apartments but sought to add retail and office developmemt to the project. The development after last months county approval will now consist of 288 apartments and 110,605 square foot of retail and office space.

The buildings in the front of the development facing highway 160 will be 4 to 5 story buildings with retail and restaurants on the first floor and offices in the upper floors. The apartments will be located in the rear of the development.

The county has tried to restricted further commercial development on this part of highway 160 to minimize the traffic impact on the highway. But after looking at the prosed mixed use plan, the council did not see much difference in the traffic impact when comparing the original approved multifamily plan versus the proposed mixed use plan.

Site grading has already started. If you have been watching the work in the last few months a couple of older homes were removed from the front of this property and the development entrance has been graded. ELA predicts the project will take approx 2 years to complete.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/fort-mill-news/60-million-mixed-use-development-approved-for-fort-mill/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Who Inspects Their Home Before Purchase?

What is one of the most important things to do when buying a home? Visualize were your furniture will go in each room. Well... yes that is part of the processes but more importantly hire a professional to do a home inspection.

So even if you manage to find the perfect home a good home inspection can help you understand exactly what's not so perfect about the home you're going to buy. That's a good thing. Because when you're buying a home you're also buying all of the home's problems too.

You're making a large investment in the property and it's nice to understand exactly what you're buying. A structural problem or a heating and air condition system that isn't functioning properly can be expensive to fix. So conducting a series of thorough inspections is a lot like buying an insurance policy against future expenses or knowing more about what you are buying into. Keep in mind, however, that home inspections are not a warranty or guarantee of the home.

What is a typical home inspection like? A home inspection typically includes an examination of the heating and central air conditioning systems, interior plumbing, electrical systems, the roof, attic, visible insulation, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, foundations, and basements.

A typical home inspection will take about 2 to 4 hours depending on the type of home; an unoccupied one story home on a concrete slab will take about 2 hours, where an occupied two story home on a crawlspace foundation will take about 4 hours to complete.

Although the home inspection report should include detailed descriptions and color digital pictures of any defects in the home, it is best if you are able to attend the inspection for a review and discussion of the findings. You, your agent, the owner/sellers, etc. should attend the entire inspection. Once the inspection is complete, you should walk through the home with the inspector to discuss any concerns or defects that may be present.

Some things that are not included in the general inspection are:

• Appliances that are not installed
• Building Code Compliance
• Environmental issues such as Radon, Mold, Lead, etc. (unless specifically requested) I would recommend including a least a radon test for the Fort Mill/York County area.
• Systems/components/areas that are not readily accessible or readily visible or shut down.
• Cosmetic issues (Acceptability is subjective and should be determined by the client)
• Exterior features such as retaining walls, storage buildings, pools, etc. (Unless their condition may affect the building)
• Low voltage systems/components such as: intercom, security systems, antennas, etc.

You will most likely have to hire a separate professional to do a termite inspection.

If you are selling your home, have an inspection done before you put your home on the market and you may avoid any surprises when potential buyers have a home inspector check it out. You may choose to have any repairs made using a contractor of your choice without having to satisfy a potential buyer or you may choose to disclose the conditions you are not going to repair and protect yourself from liability of nondisclosure claims.

Should you hire a home inspector when buying a new home? Absolutely. Just because the home is new doesn't mean there aren't problems. The contractors building a new home are human and make mistakes. There is no better time to catch and fix mistakes or problems than before you close and move in.

Make sure the home inspector is at least a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors and other local associations and accreditations. Carmen can recommend local home inspectors. Contact Carmen for more information or questions about the home inspection process.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/who-inspects-their-home-before-purchase/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

MOMS Club® of Tega Cay Basket Raffle 2008

Fort Mill Home Values Still Strong

There is good news mixed with bad. The 12 month through March 2008 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index report released yesterday showed national home values are still in a decline. The national average decline is 14%.

The good news is Charlotte is one of the 20 urban metro market areas showing increases. The Charlotte metro market includes Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie and other outline areas or suburbs.

Our home values in the area have shown modest growth in the last few years which maybe the reason for positive home value growth instead of decreases in todays economy. Charlotte area home prices rose less than one percent but at least it is on the plus side.

More good new, home sales have increased slightly in the the northeast. So why is this good news for us southerners? Our area has seen significant migration of home owners from the the northeast to our humble area in the past years. So this is good news for For Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie home sellers.

Keep smiling and don’t listen to all of the bad news. Don’t forget to contact Carmen if you are thinking of buying or selling a home.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/fort-mill-home-values-still-strong/

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Features Home Buyers Really Want Even In Tega Cay

What features help sell your home faster? What features are more desirable to a buyer and bring you more bang for the buck?

The National Association of Realtors® gathered information from over 2500 home buyers nationally that purchased a home in 2007. Repeat buyers placed more importance than first-time buyers on almost all home features.

 Here are some of the highlights of the survey:

• The most important feature was central air-conditioning. 74% of the respondents listed central air as very important.  A very important feature surviving the summers in Tega Cay, SC.    
• Next in line was a garage with 2 or more spaces.  This was the most significant change between the NAR's 2004 survey to the 2007.

Other important features were:

• Walk-in closets in the master bedroom which was ranked higher by older buyers
• Backyard or play area which was more important to younger buyers
• Hardwood floors
• Granite countertops.
• Cable or satellite TV readiness.
• High-speed Internet access.

Respondents said they would pay more for a home that has:

• waterfront property, a no brainer for our area in my opinion.
• Oversized garages.
• Central Air.

 90 percent of the respondents said energy efficiency was important in a buying decision. I bet energy efficiency will now rank higher in future surveys.  

The typical home purchased during the survey period was 12 years old, 1,840

square feet in size, and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The national median price was $205,000.

Other changes between the 2004 survey and 2007 are:

• The size of the typical home purchased increased by about 100 square feet.
• Over four-fifths are detached, single-family homes
• More than half are in the suburbs

 And what did buyers do once they moved in? Nearly half of home buyers remodeled or made improvements to their kitchen, and close to half remodeled or improved a bathroom.

Source: NAR's Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences (2007)

Post link http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/features-home-buyers-really-want-even-in-tega-cay/

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com