1. Homes get wrinkles, too.  Yes, believe it or not, I’ve seen Charlotte homes for sale with sagging plaster, drooping windows and hanging doors.  Brand new “For Sale” signs sit out front, their clean, white sparkle starkly contrasting with the wrinkles.  It’s not attractive; the homes may be only ten years old (30 in house years!), but they look much older.  Be kind to your home – use a little cosmetic surgery when necessary.

2. There ARE cosmetic surgeons available for homes.  Only, in home-speak, they’re called “contractors.”   If you notice that your home has wrinkles and you want to sell it, see what replacements you can afford to have the contractor handle for you before putting your home on the market.  Windows?   They’re reasonably affordable on most budgets and can make a huge difference in how the house looks.  Hanging doors?  Not as affordable as windows, but still doable.  With $10,000 or less, you can give your home a major facelift.

3. Homes do get tired too. Have you looked around your house lately?  This is one of the first things you want to do before putting it on the Charlotte real estate market.  Is your home tired and worn out?  Even relatively young homes can show signs of energy-deficiency. Cabinets start sagging.   Doors groan and sigh when you open them.  Windows refuse to stay open all the way and slowly slide back down in the tracks.  Give your home an energy boost.  Even a little WD-40 can make a huge difference, especially on groaning doors.  If we’re talking about groaning garage doors, a $5. can of silicone spray can do wonders (and should be used about once a year to keep them youthful).

4. Homes can go bald and get age spots. It’s true, they can.  What used to be a bright red roof has faded and peeled in places, giving the home an “aged” look.  The real kicker is, to keep it bright and pretty, you have to maintain it, dye it or replace it.  Keep the overhanging oak trees trimmed back to avoid the age-spotting sap from necessitating early hair plugging!  Take care of your home’s head!

5. Homes need TLC too. To stay happy and healthy, homes need tender loving care too. With a steady diet of maintenance, touchups and cosmetic surgery, your house will be happy and you will be able to find a good buyer too!
If you’re selling your home, make sure it stands proud above the rest—youthful, despite its age!

For more information about your home or one you are interested please contact Debe @ 704-491-3310 or visit her website.

The oversized master suite features a large sitting area surrounded by large windows.  There is a large walk-in closet and a luxurious, beautifully renovated master bath.  The master bath includes tiled flooring and fully tiled double-sized shower with frameless glass enclosure.  A jetted Jacuzzi tub sits beneath a large block-glass window, double sinks and vanity area with lots of counter space.
Two additional bedrooms share a large full-bath on the main level.  There is also a second level nanny / in-law suite, 4th bedroom / bonus room with full bath.  (Click on collage for photos of secondary bedrooms)
The enormous great room has gas log fireplace that is flanked by floor to ceiling built-ins (cabinets and shelving) and features gleaming hardwoods.  The great room leads to the bricked, screened porch (which features two large skylights) and overlooks lush, private fenced backyard with simply breathtaking landscaping.  Stone walkway leads to second patio area and more mature landscaping with lots of trees for additional privacy.

The gourmet kitchen also features hardwoods, 42” cabinets and lots of Silestone counter space.   The large island houses the Jenn Air gas cooktop and the large, bright, breakfast area features large windows and can easily house a large farmhouse-style table.
Adjacent to the kitchen and also facing the foyer is the large formal dining room.  Hardwood floors and heavy millwork (also throughout the home) are the features in this brightly lit room.

The home also features a main level oversized laundry room, alarm system, large2-car garage with storage area, walk-in attic storage from 2nd level room, central vacuum,  updated secondary baths, full-yard irrigation and so much more.  Fantastic location, neighbors, neighborhood and school assignments too—this home is truly a gem and won’t last long!

Adjacent to the great room is a lovely powder room, convenient for guests.  The kitchen is spacious and offers lots of cabinet and counter space. Bar/window opening to dining room offer ease of serving and there is additional space in the kitchen for breakfast table and chairs.

Upstairs there are three bedrooms, two baths and the spacious laundry room with cabinets and hanging space.  The master suite is oversized with vaulted ceiling and large windows overlooking the wooded backyard.  The master bath has large garden tub and separate shower, dual vanities with lots of cabinet space, a vanity bench area and an enormous walk-in closet.

This townhome is located in prestigious Reavencrest in Blakeney and is convenient to Stonecrest, Blakeney Shopping Center, Ballantyne Village and I-485 which makes getting to Uptown Charlotte or Charlotte Douglas Airport a breeze!

Directions:  Take I-485 to Rea Road, south towards Stonecrest.  Cross over Ballantyne Commons Parkway, LEFT into Reavencrest (Reavencrest Park) to second RIGHT onto Huxley.  Then first LEFT onto Dunford and townhome is in cul-de-sac to the right on the end.  Check out the beautiful green space adjacent to this unit–what privacy!

For more information please contact Debe at 704-491-3310 or visit her website.

The Senate amended the bill last week, introducing language that would give homebuyers who were under contract by April 30 until Sept. 30 to close on their home purchase and qualify for the homebuyer tax credit.  NAR is looking forward to seeing another provision of HR 4213, retroactively extending the National Flood Insurance Program, signed into law. The expiration of the indebted program on May 31 has left many would-be homeowners unable to obtain insurance and derailed many home closings.
NAR estimates that as many as 180,000 homebuyers who are under contract and could qualify for the homebuyer tax credit may not be able to meet the June 30 closing deadline. There is little time to get the bill passed and the new bill to be effective would have to allow for retroactive closings back to June 30.

For more information about these open houses call Brandon Boyd @ 704-661-2195 or visit her website.

Many of the beautiful Victorian homes were either destroyed or became commercial buildings and by 1970, Fourth Ward had fallen into a state of neglect.  The late 20th century brought restoration to Fourth Ward which is now a thriving part of Charlotte’s Uptown.

The area, located between Trade Street to the south, 11th Street to the north, Graham Street to the west and Tryon Street to the east, is considered the residential district of Charlotte’s Uptown.  History abounds at every corner in Fourth Ward and even new construction just keeps going vertical in Charlotte NC’s Uptown Fourth Ward area!
Plan a visit to the Center City and see all of the sites, watch a professional basketball or football game, dine in style at any of Charlotte’s exquisite restaurants.  While visiting the city, stay in the luxurious Dunhill Hotel.

Conveniently located in Uptown Charlotte, the Dunhill Hotel is a historic landmark surrounded by the beauty and everyday activity of modern day Charlotte NC.  This hotel is an ideal choice for tourists and business visitors alike, mere steps from the new Bobcat’s Arena (Time Warner Cable Arena), NC Blumenthal Center for the Performing Arts, Spirit Square, Discovery Place, Reid’s Fine Foods, Overstreet Mall and many popular museums, theatres and restaurants.

The Dunhill Hotel offers over 60 impeccably appointed rooms with unique amenities including jacuzzi whirlpool bath tubs, four poster beds, and award winning dining at the in-house Monticello Restaurant, Doeskin robes in all rooms, same-day dry cleaning service and executive communication service. The communication service includes 2-line phones, data ports, voice mail and, of course, high speed internet access in both the guest rooms and the public areas.

Don’t forget about Fourth Ward Park while you’re visiting!  Settler’s Cemetary is also a history lesson in Charlotte Uptown Fourth Ward.  Just across the street from the historic cemetery stands the new 34-story AVE condo complex–the new meets the old in historic Fourth Ward.

And if you’re in the market for a cool condo complex in Charlotte NC’s Fourth Ward, you’ll love this rare find in The Avenue Condominiums.  One spectacular, like-new condo has just been listed and offers every upgrade you could desire.   Uptown Charlotte NC views of the city from the 34th floor terrace are simply spectacular!  Entertain friends after the Carolina Panther games in style with fellow residents on the 10th floor amenities level.  Then, just minutes away by foot, take your pick of some of Charlotte’s finest restaurants.  You simply can’t beat Uptown living in Charlotte NC!

For more information please contact Debe at 704-491-3310 or visit her website.

We have been trying to sell our house for the last year and recently got what we thought was a pretty good offer.  We had come to terms with the fact that we were not going to do much more than break even, but after the buyers had their inspection and gave us a list of everything they wanted fixed, we are actually going to be losing money on the sale.  Do sellers have no rights as far as inspections and repair requests are concerned?

Answer:

According to the North Carolina Offer to Purchase and Contract, “built in appliances, electrical system, plumbing system, heating and cooling systems, roof coverings   (including flashing and gutters), doors and windows, exterior building surfaces, structural components (including foundation, retaining walls, columns, chimneys, walls, floors, ceilings, and roofs),  porches and docks, fireplaces, crawl space, and attic ventilation systems (if any), water and sewer systems (public and private), shall be performing the function for which intended and shall not be in need of immediate repair.” 

The two key phrases here are “performing the function for which intended” and “not being in need of immediate repair”.

A twenty year old roof that has no leaks is performing the function for which intended and is not in need of immediate repair.  But what if the buyer insists that the seller replace the roof since it is nearing its maximum age?  Is the seller contractually obligated to replace the roof?  No, sellers do not have to make repairs on the basis of anticipated problems/issues.

Now, getting back to your question, you as the seller do have several options in accordance with the NC contract:

1. You can agree to complete the necessary (required) repairs.

2.  You can refuse to make the repairs, and if this is the case, then the buyer has the option of “accepting the property in its present condition”, or by “terminating the contract”.

3.  There’s also a third possible solution, and that is for the buyer and seller to come to terms and compromise over what repairs will or will not be made.

The home selling/home buying process should be an amicable process for all concerned without the seller (or the buyer) feeling used and abused.

The Charlotte market index fell 1.1% from March to April. As with the most of the market Case Schiller reports did show improvement on an annual basis.

The Case Schiller report states “While year-over-year results for the National Composite, 18 of the 20 markets and the two Composites
improved, the most recent monthly data are not as encouraging. It is especially disappointing that the
improvement we saw in sales and starts in March did not find its way to home prices. Now that the tax
incentive ended on April 30th, we don’t expect to see a boost in relative demand.”

To read the complete report visit the Case Schiller website.

Several villages make up this wonderful, master planned, mixed use community including:
•    The estate village of Sierra, with homes priced in the $425,000+/- range, features a fabulous amentiy center, including a Jr. Olympic pool as well as a children’s pool.
•    The Village of Sedona boasts lovely townhomes with master bedrooms up, down or both and up to over 2,100 square feet;  the townhome village includes an amenity center with pool and cabana and great open space/common areas for all to enjoy.
•    The Village of Cimarron includes two amenity areas, each of which includes a clubhouse, Jr. Olympic pool and a children’s pool.
•    Senora Village includes mid-sized homes that begin in the mid-$200K price range.
•    Saddlebrook Village includes single family homes with the emphasis on the outdoors–great covered porches and patios with landscape maintenance covered by the HOA.  Most homes in Saddlebrook are ranch style homes with bright, open floorplans.
•    The Village of Sundance completed in 2006, includes craftsman and Charleston style homes with full lawn maintenance provided by the HOA and are priced beginning in the mid- to high-$200K range.
•  Silverado Village includes homes ranging from 1,871 to 2,780 square feet with a median price of $274,000.  Shared amenities include 2 Jr. Olympic pools, fountains and clubhouses.
Charlotte Mecklenburg School assignments for Stone Creek Ranch are currently as follows:
•    Elemantary -  Polo Ridge
•    Middle -  J.M. Robinson
•    High – Ardrey Kell High School