Real Estate Rentals

Archive for the ‘Real Estate Career’ Category

July 4th weekend is coming up and there is no shortage of things to do in Charlotte, NC to celebrate the holiday!  Here is a rundown of some of the events happening for the 4th of July weekend:

• Presbyterian Hospital July 4th Spectacular Fireworks and family fun activities at the Memorial Stadium in Charlotte City Center.  Activities from 4-9 and fireworks at 9:30 (weather permitting)
• Charlotte Symphony Summer Pops Sunday, July 3rd in South Park.  The CSO performs Celebrate America, a performance including America, the Beautiful, God Bless America, Battle Hymn of the Republic, and the Liberty Bell March.  Admission is $10 for adults and children are free (See also: Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Summer Pops Season 2011)
• Charlotte Motor Speedway Summer Shootout - The July 4th edition of this weekly summer event will include a huge fireworks display in addition to the Legends Car and Bandolero racing.
• WBT SkyShow - On July 4th, watch the Charlotte Knights baseball team take on the Norfolk Tides at Knights Stadium and enjoy a fireworks display set to patriotic music following the game (rain or shine).
• U.S. Nat

Full Story…

WASHINGTON — The number of contracts to buy previously owned US homes rose almost three times as much as forecast as falling prices made properties more affordable.

The surprising 8.2 percent increase in the index of pending home resales from April followed a revised 11 percent drop the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington. Economists forecast a 3 percent gain, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

While the measure of contract signings has been volatile this year, last month’s index level is 0.1 point lower than the January figure, indicating residential real estate has made little headway. For

Full Story…

.

Previously we talked about 8 things you should consider when you are looking at luxury homes.  These things include mortgage costs such as life insurance, broker’s fees, insurance, and application fees, among other things.  There are 6 more things that you should keep in mind though.

1.     Cost of moving. You will likely need to hire professional movers if you are moving a substantial amount of home items.  Keep in mind that as the demand for professional movers increases (like at the end of the month or in the summer) costs may increase as well.

2.     Liability and fire insurance. You should speak to your insurance agent about this kind of insurance.  Many lenders will expect you to have liability and fire insurance to cover the outstanding balance of the value of the house that is not covered by other insurance.

3.     Inspection fees. Your lender may request that you get a professional home inspection before the final papers are signed.  Even if they do not request it this is something you should consider anyway, so that you are aware of any major repairs that need to be done on the home in the first few years after you purchase the property.  You may want to include part of the cost in the conditions of purchase or if the home inspector finds some major issues you may want to ask that the price of the home be reduced.

4.     Property taxes. Every home purchase will come with property taxes but your lender may require that the property taxes be added to your monthly payments.  This often happens when you borrow more than 75% of the cost of the house.  You should remember that luxury condos are subject to the same tax rate as luxury homes.

5.     Legal fees. No matter what, you are going to need a lawyer when you purchase a home.  Your lawyer will do things like searching the title, drawing up the mortgage documents, reviewing the offer, and overseeing closing.  You will be required to pay all fees involved plus the legal fees.  There is a wide variety in the fees that are charged by lawyers so get recommendations from friends or shop around before you choose your lawyer.

6.     Maintenance, utility and other costs. When you are considering what you want to pay monthly for mortgage and property tax payment, keep in mind that you will also have to pay to heat the house, supply electricity, and have a telephone and Internet connection.  Also, the vendor may have already paid for some of the costs like property taxes or utility bills and if this is the case they might ask you to reimburse them or it.  Finally, there may be repairs on your home in the future.

You may not have seen much action taking place in Dallas’ Uptown district. In fact, over the last few years, thanks to the effects of the recession, all has been fairly quiet on the construction front, not only in the Uptown District, but throughout most of Dallas. However, things may be starting to get a little noisy soon.

Word has it that several developers have their sight set on Uptown Dallas to begin new construction, and that is surely welcomed news to everyone. S

Full Story…

CHICAGO — The home next door is in foreclosure. The neighbors down the street just put their house up for sale at a ridiculous discount. And “For Sale’’ signs litter lawns all over town.

Welcome to the toughest selling conditions in years.

The bright side of selling a home in a down market is you get to seek your own bargain if you’re going to buy after you’re done. Closing a sale, however, can be slow if you don’t do everything right — and maybe even if you do.

The best tips for selling underscore how the market has changed:

■ Price aggressively. Even if you’re fully aware that prices have plummeted, it can come as a shock when a real estate agent advises you to slap a low-low price on your home.

The reality is that only 4 percent to 10 percent of homes on the market nationwide sell in a given month right now, according to Keim. A typical selling t

Full Story…

Buying a condo is an exciting and dizzying time, especially if it’s your first experience purchasing a home. To reduce the stress and confusion of everything that you need to think of and prepare before you buy the condo, it helps to sit down and have a really good talk with several different types of people:

.

A friend or family member who has your best interest at heart, and who has experience at condo-buying, is a very important person to speak with. T

Full Story…

Weve had another review come in for our own Betsy Mayer, a Charlotte NC Real Estate Agent with the Talk Charlotte Team.  Read on to see what one of Betsys clients has to say about her real estate buying experience.

Our experience with Betsy Mayer as our REALTOR was fantastic!  She was there every step of the way, making sure that all of our needs were met.  She showed us several homes within our price range and made sure that we were fully aware of all our options.

Once we decided upon the home of our choice, Betsy made sure to stay on top of the process and walked us through to the end.  She ensured that everything was taken care of, from the construction of our home to taking important notes for us during the overwhelming process of closing. She was r

Full Story…

There are so many reasons to Love Plano. This rapidly growing city boasts a thriving, dynamic economy, thanks to the many corporation headquarters located here, including JCPenney, Dr. Pepper, Frito-Lay and Alcatel. It also features an award-winning school system, plenty of parks and open spaces, and easy access a number of major roadways and regional airports.

In fact, Plano has been recognized on a national level by a number of sources for being an exceptional city, including CNN Money, who ranked Plano as a top place to live in the United States in 2004.

Full Story…

Real estate in NoDa, Charlotte NCs trendy and hip historic arts district, can be hard to come by.  Today were announcing a recent price reduction on a house for sale in NoDa.

Be sure to contact the Talk Charlotte Real Estate Agents to schedule a showing for this NoDa Charlotte house: 800-297-6100.

WASHINGTON — Sour reports yesterday on the number of people who sought unemployment benefits and buyers of new homes illustrate what Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged Wednesday: Many factors weighing on the economy are proving to be more chronic than first imagined.

The number of applications for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 last week, the Labor Department said. It was the biggest jump in a month and marked the 11th straight week applications have been above 400,000.

New-home sales fell in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319,000, the Commerce Department said, far below the 700,000 homes per year economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy market. S

Full Story…