The weather has been getting stranger and stranger as we get closer to the end of the Mayan calender. Most people dont know about this, the Mayan calender is the most accurate calender ou scientists know of ends in 2012, what will happen net. Stranger things happen every day and the would gets crazier, has anyone else noticed?

If you need free real estate advice in North Carolina feel free to call or email me at anytime. If you need more information about the area, I'm a member of the Chamber of Commerce, just call me or email me for details. Check my Website out at .......  www.realtyasheville.com it's got lots of invaluable information at your fingertips! Enjoy and thank you! William McCrary.

After this week, I m conviced that the market is strong and back on track. Houses in Ashevilleare strting to sell as fast aas I remember them selling  a couple of years ago. This spring Im sure will be huge with the mass exedous of people moving to WNC. Thank you to all who are kind, humble and understanding. Much love and lets manifest friendship betwen all! William.

Hey there I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Years! I also wanted to let everyone know, that it is so very important to help your fellow humans out along this treacherous rocky road of life. This world would be a better place if we all could just look out for others. Happy New Years to all!!!

I just wanted to quickly say "thank you" if you are a positive person, and try to be understanding with others. We live in a pretty crazy world, and it's really important for us to take the time to be positive and help people out rather than getting upset immediately, and then being upset for the rest of the day if not days. I just wanted to say thank you for being positive! If you haven't seen the movie, "pay it forward" it's a good one to see. It shows how paying forward favors or being positive goes a long, long way. Being nice to everyone you meet will travel around the world pretty quickly. William

Are you ready to move on to another home? Check the advice in this blog out, and Good luck.

Get Your Home Ready To Sell

In preparing your house to sell, ask yourself over and over if your house looks like someone else's dream house. Houses in move-in condition tend to be inviting to buyers; houses that are like new typically sell the fastest and procure the best price.

With that in mind, here are a few things to consider when getting ready to sell:

Exterior
Remember the 60-second rule: that's all the time you have to create a good first impression! Mow the lawn, rake leaves, trim trees and shrubs that keep light out of the house and remove dead plants. Pick up tools, garbage cans, hoses, toys, and building materials and store them neatly in a storage area. Replace broken or missing roof shingles and straighten and clean the gutters and downspouts. Clean all windows and mend torn screens. Painting your house helps improve curb appeal more than any other fix-up! If you decide against painting the entire house, consider painting the front door, window frames and shutters. Seal or resurface the driveway and repair broken steps and walkways. Paint or replace your mailbox and post. Dress up the front yard with some simple landscaping.

Clean, Clean, Clean
Step back for a moment and look at your home as if you were seeing it for the first time. Every room should be spotlessly clean, dusted and uncluttered. Steam clean the carpets and wax the floors. Wash the walls, windows and light fixtures. Tighten loose stair railings and clean all woodwork. In the event that you feel a project of this magnitude is better left to a professional, ask your real estate agent to recommend a cleaning service.

Entryway
Use bright light bulbs in the foyer and throughout the house. Fill the house with a pleasant aroma, such as berries in the summer or cinnamon in the winter.

Living Room
Replace the carpet if it's worn. It costs money, but you may find that you will more than recoup that cost when the home sells. Patch cracks and nail holes in the walls, and repaint walls in neutral colors, such as white or ivory. Nail down creaking boards and stair treads. Lubricate any sticking or squeaking doors. Open all curtains, and replace them if they are getting old. Add lamps and lighting if the house is dark. Set out fresh flowers.

Furniture
Rearrange or remove furniture to make your rooms look more spacious. Too much furniture and too many knick-knacks make rooms look cluttered and small. One or two decorative items per surface are plenty, so pack the rest away.

Kitchen and Baths
These rooms should sparkle! Clear off counters, and clean all appliances and fixtures. Scrub the floors and walls. Re-caulk tubs and showers. Clean these rooms thoroughly, and be sure they smell fresh.

Closets
Take those things to Goodwill that you'll have to discard anyway when you move. Organize shelves and straighten shoes. Be sure that sliding doors operate smoothly and knobs on drawers are secure.

Utility Room
Dust and wash the washer, dryer and water heater.

Light and Bright
Do everything you can to brighten the interior. Replace wallpaper with white or off-white paint, and repaint shabby or dark walls. Open the blinds, and replace broken windows and window seals. Always maintain a comfortable temperature inside the house, even if you are away for an extended period of time. A cold house will make buyers feel the house is not homey! Good luck and call me if you need any free advice! William 828.713.6173

Most people know it's not surprising that most homebuyers hire a real estate agent or broker to help them find a home. Without one, in the time it takes you to find and buy a home, you'd have to learn and put into practice a special set of skills real estate professionals spend years honing. From finding a home and matching you with adequate financing, to negotiating the contract and closing the deal, the real estate agent's numerous duties and responsibilities reflect the often-esoteric nature of home buying. Ultimately, you can expect your agent to guide and assist you through this home-buying adventure. He or she will help you avoid potential pitfalls, and in the end, hand you the keys to your new home.

What agents do

• To help you buy a home, your agent must have a vast working knowledge of the real estate market, including price trends, neighborhood conditions and amenities, real estate law, zoning issues, financing, taxes, insurance and negotiating. The best agents are also "street smart" in the psychology of home buying and the stresses that accompany it.
• During your initial meeting, agents typically help you determine the viability of your wants and needs in both a neighborhood and a home. The agent will help you learn how much you can afford, help you find suitable financing, clue you in on current market conditions and tell you what to expect as you shop for a home. Your agent will also devise a strategy or shopping plan based on your needs, how much you can afford and current market conditions.
• As you shop for your home, you'll likely meet with your agent to tour available properties and discuss myriad details, including a home's pertinent selling points, floor plans, the neighborhood's crime rate and community proximity to schools, shopping centers, cultural activities and work centers.
• The agent is responsible for obtaining disclosures, making sure home inspections and repairs are completed and coordinating the activities of your lender, attorney, roof inspector and other professionals engaged in your purchase. If bargaining over the price is necessary, your agent will be your negotiator, and when it's time to sign the final closing documents, he or she will accompany you to make sure all the "I's" are dotted and the "T's" crossed.
• When you have a question, concern or idea as you shop, your agent should be able to respond either directly or by referring you to someone who can help.

How agents are paid

Once you find your home and the deal is sealed, your agent is most likely paid by commission. Typically, the seller pays the commission, making realty services "free" to the buyer. The listing broker, for whom the listing or seller's agent works, typically requires that sellers pay 5 percent to 7 percent of the sales price. Because most real estate transactions involve two brokers - the broker who finds the buyer and the broker who finds the seller -- the commission is usually split 50-50, between the two brokerage offices. Then, within each office, the agent who handled the transaction gets a share, usually half of the 50 percent or about 1.5 percent.

There are a few exceptions to the commission method of payment. If you use a buyer's agent, the contract you could be required to sign may or may not require a fee for services or a fee in addition to the commission. Most buyer's agents, however, simply split the commission 50-50 with the listing agent. In any event, the buyer's agent contract stipulates that the agent works exclusively for you and is more likely to work with your best interests at heart.

Avoiding dual agency

More and more, buyers hire a buyer's agent, especially in hot competitive seller's markets and to avoid what's called "dual agency" -- an agent, brokerage or company representing both the buyer and seller. It's only natural for an agent to attempt to sell you listings from her brokerage or company. Legal in many states, dual agency nevertheless comes with an inherent conflict of interest as the agent, broker or company attempts to fairly exercise fiduciary duty, represent two opposing clients and collect the full commission. Some buyer's agents, however, split their time acting as a listing agent. To completely remove the potential of any conflict of interest, exclusive buyer's agents work with buyers and do not list homes for sale.

Discount brokers

If you've gained sufficient buying knowledge, say from a previous purchase, or if you simply don't want to pay the full commission, hiring a discount broker is yet another option. Discount brokerage doesn't necessarily remove the conflict of interest possible in dual agency, unless the discount broker is also exclusively a buyer's agent. Discount brokers charge a reduced commission as small as 1 percent or offer a menu of services in a "pay-as-you-go" arrangement where you pay only for those services you use. Some offer a combination reduced commission and menu of services while still others work by the hour. While some franchise operations offer discounts and agents are often free to charge less as they see fit, most discount brokers are independents or discount chain operations.

The disadvantage is that you may have to pay for the hours or services you use whether or not you buy a house. Also, discount brokers often don't provide the one-stop set of ancillary services generally available from more traditional brokers. Ancillary services often include referrals to proven lenders, insurance agents, home inspectors and the like, who help speed up the home buying process. A service that doesn't satisfy customers isn't one a broker is likely to retain in his or her business circle.

The new "virtual" brokers on the Internet are often discount brokers offering reduced commissions, but the affiliate and partnering approach on the Web often allows them to offer many of the ancillary services you get from a traditional broker. Virtual brokers may or may not have brick and mortar facilities from which to hold your hand, should the need arise, but they are able to cut costs because of the automation and smaller overhead. The so-called "click and mortar" brokers typically offer their own listings and come with a dual agency potential, but they typically also align themselves with a larger online MLS or listing site.

Conclusion

With so many different types of agents to represent you, take great care in selecting an agent to meet your needs. Ask family, friends, co-workers, other professionals you've hired and others you trust for referrals to agents who have recently satisfied their needs. Happy home buying, and Good luck!

I ran across this and thought that it gives a a lot of good advice for buyers, as well as sellers. Enjoy! Willliam

I Work With A Buyer's Agent? A Seller's Agent? A Dual Agent?

In the past, real estate agents always represented the seller, whether the agent helped a seller to market and sell a home or helped a buyer find and purchase a home. In other words, agents were at one time legally bound to represent the seller in a residential real estate transaction. In that scenario, the seller paid both the listing agent and the agent who brought the buyer.

Today, agents either represent the buyer, the seller, or both. If you want to sell your home, you can work with a "seller's agent." If you want to buy a home, you can work with a "buyer's agent." Most states require real estate agents to disclose to consumers who they represent. Sometimes an agent will represent the buyer and the seller. A buyer who elects this situation should receive full disclosure on representation. In some states, dual agency affects the real estate professional's fiduciary responsibilities to the seller. The real estate agent you choose should fully disclose how they work with individuals and the options available to you.

Keep in mind that real estate laws differ from state to state and even from locale to locale. For more in-depth answers, talk with a knowledgeable real estate professional and ask about local practices. Be sure you understand and are comfortable with the services of the real estate agent you engage.

I was wondering if the real estate market has slowed down everywhere around the country. Around Asheville NC where I conduct real estate, the market has slowed down close to 10%. It seems like the buyers are still active, though it also seems like there are a bunch of houses are currently on the market. Asheville has turned into a hot destination spot, and when it rose from nothing to #4 on the top destination lists, prices have gone through the roof. I belive all of the out of towners come here expecting the prices to be low like were some kind of hillbilly communitiy, and then they are shocked to find the outrageous prices currently found in the real estate market here in Asheville. Asheville is more of a service based kind of town, the resturants and likewise businesses will flouris and survive if excellent service is made available. Back to real estate though, can anyone predict what will happen to prices in an area like Asheville? Will they just keep rising and rising. At some point the market will callapse on it self right? If anyone has any knowledge on this subject, please email me back with some thoughts to a community you might know of that has gone through the sae type of motions Asheville is goig through currently. If enough affuent money comes to Asheville will it wipe out the entire Artist/Musican bohemian type cuture that Asheville is known for? Keep smiling!

                                                                                      William V. McCrary III

There was a pro-in dealing with the last forclosure that I closed. It was a great deal cheaper than other like houses on the market. I had issues between the bank/and listing agent with getting documents quickly, and getting  them reviewed and signed as well. I thought that it was the bank for a while, and learned more that the documents were not being sent to the bank immediately. I actually got a chance to speak with the bank, and they were actually were helpful and concerned for my clients. I know that every deal is different, I just wish I had more control with sending the documents and so forth. The middle man is still in the miiddle, thats just the way  it is. If you are too busy to send documents or make phone calls, hire an assisstant. I'm getting to the point where I need one, and I def. will hire one before I get too swamped. Thanks to all of you that are responsible and on time, it really is not that hard to be that, it just takes being orginized and breeding great habits. Thanks and signing off for now, William!