De-Personalize Your House

The reason you want to “de-personalize” your home is because you want buyers to view it as their potential home. When a potential homebuyer sees your family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about owning the house. Therefore, put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Put them in a box. Rent a storage area for a few months and put the box in the storage unit.

Do not just put the box in the attic, basement, garage or a closet. Part of preparing a house for sale is to remove “clutter,” and that is the next step in preparing your house for sale. Get rid of all BABY STUFF it is a real estate killer.

Sign Documents on the IPAD

Close Anywhere, Anytime

iPad applications can streamline your business and help you get to closing quicker.

Since Apple Inc.’s iPad hit the market last spring, more than 3.5 million units have sold, beating the market’s expectations for the product demand by 162 percent, according to the manufacturer. The 1.5-pound device has also beaten the expectations of many real estate pros, allowing them to show listings, schedule appointments, sign documents, and ultimately get to closing more easily.

Users say you have to be realistic about the iPad’s capabilities. “You need to think of it as a consumption device, and not necessarily for writing documents,” says early adopter Bill Lublin, CRB, CRS, CEO of Century 21 Gold Advantage and a partner with the Social Media Marketing Institute, both in Philadelphia. So while it may not replace your laptop or smartphone, the iPad can help improve your relationship with clients. Here’s how.

Schedule on the spot. ”I survive in down markets because I never let a client leave without booking another appointment,” says Lublin. These days, after buyers have looked at three properties and come up empty-handed, he brings out the iPad. “I have a large visual way to show them my free times, and we pick a slot.” A built-in application called iCal syncs the device with an iPhone or Mac. For those looking to connect with Google Calendar or Outlook, there’s an app called SaiSuke ($9.99), which works with all three of those scheduling systems and also connects with social networking calendars such as those on Facebook.

Have listings at your fingertips. Although MLS capabilities vary, many are now accessible through an iPad. “I was able to get information on the road for my last two buyer clients without too much trouble. I know they appreciated that I had the data on hand,” says Atlanta-based Tim Maitski, a sales associate with RE/MAX Greater Atlanta. Maitski accesses his MLS through an application called LogMeIn. “A couple of taps, and I’m showing clients what they wanted to see.” Some MLSs have their own application; expect others to debut in 2011.

Don’t just tell, but show. Loreena Yeo, SFR, a broker with 3:16 Team Realty in Frisco, Texas, bought an iPad last spring with the primary intention of using it for listing presentations. “Before, I think my clients somewhat grasped my marketing plan, and I always followed up with an e-mail with links.” Now, while she’s making the presentation, she can search for terms on Google to show her SEO power and demonstrate her neighborhood and property videos. “The key is for them to understand that I do what most agents haven’t even begun to realize yet,” she says.

Get their autograph. DocuSign and other electronic signature applications have helped to streamline the closing process, but an iPad can take it one step further by allowing clients to sign on location. Although the device is designed to be a touch screen, clients can use an electronic stylus pen (around $10 at electronics stores) to put their John Hancock on documents. “It’s saving me lots of paper and time,” says Michael LaPeter, a sales associate with Resonant Properties in San Francisco, who has used this method about 12 times with clients. “They appreciate the ease.”

Download more to do more. As iPhone and now Android smartphone users have learned, an app exists, or is in development, for just about any function you can think of. Real estate practitioners, for example, may enjoy photo editing apps such as Amopic and Crop Suey (each under $10) for making quick crops to photos before sending them buyers. Even the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has gotten into the act with NAR Express, an app that provides quick access to the latest headlines and market statistics. And NAR’s newest offering, MIDCalc, helps users quickly calculate the value of the mortgage interest deduction.

Article by Katherine Tarbox http://www.realtor.org/rmotechnology/articles/2011/1101_technology_ipad

The History of Eastover Neighborhood in Charlotte

The Eastover neighborhood was begun in 1927 by Charlotte’s E. C. Griffith Company.  Its earliest curving drives were the work of Earle Sumner Draper, perhaps the premier urban planner in the Southeastern United States in the early twentieth century. From its founding to the present day, Eastover has been the home of many of the financiers, cotton brokers, lawyers, and other leaders who have directed the growth of Charlotte and the surrounding Piedmont industrial area.

Eastover is located southeast of the center city, across Providence Road from the earlier prestigious neighborhood of Myers Park. Eastover occupies a very gently rolling hillside which slopes down to Briar Creek. Except for the city’s Mint Museum of Art, the Eastover Elementary School, a pair of multi-family buildings, and a single church, the neighborhood consists almost entirely of large single-family residences, some 550 in number. Though the fine dwellings that once lined Providence Road itself have given way to commercial development since World War II, the rest of the neighborhood retains its well-kept residential character.

Cherokee Road forms the neighborhood’s backbone, a gently undulating curve that sweeps out from Laurel Avenue near Providence Road and eventually curves back to Providence several blocks south. Cherokee Road, parallel Colville Road, and intersecting Eastover Road are the sites of the neighborhood’s largest early residences. Secondary streets — Biltmore, Scotland, and the first block of Hempstead, among others — are lined with two-story upper-middle income dwellings on slightly smaller lots.

The early architecture of the Eastover neighborhood is overwhelmingly red-brick Georgian revival, with scattered examples of Tudor Revival. Unbuilt sites remained in the neighborhood into the 1980s, slowly filling with houses similar to the earlier residences, though a few examples of modern architecture can be found. Newer blocks of the development, including Twiford Place and parts of Museum Drive and Hempstead Place, are lined with substantial one-story Ranch style houses and one-and-a-half and two-story traditional dwellings.

The development of Eastover can be traced to four separate yet interrelated phases of growth. Beginning in 1927, the E. C. Griffith Company developed land to the north of present-day Eastover Drive, which included portions of Cherokee and Colville roads and Fenton and Hempstead places. This was the original Eastover subdivision. In the 1940s and steadily continuing into the 1950s and 1960s, the area to the south of Eastover Drive, including the remaining blocks of Cherokee and Colville roads and Hempstead Place, and the newly platted Cherokee Place and Lewellyn Place, was developed by the Griffith Company as an extension of the Eastover subdivision. ²

Contemporary with the earliest Griffith development in Eastover was the growth of Pharrsdale. ³ Identified on a 1929 map as the “subdivision of property of Miss Sarah Pharr,” Pharrsdale was developed by Lex Marsh, Jr. The design, by Earle Sumner Draper, continued Colville and Cherokee roads to Providence Road, and added Scotland Avenue and Biltmore Drive.

Between Cherokee and Providence roads is a series of straight streets lined with smaller bungalows and cottages for middle-income buyers. Each of these streets — Avondale Avenue, Cottage Place, Middleton Drive, Perrin Place, Huntley Place and Bolling Road — occupies a long, narrow strip of land that was originally a tenant farm. Each one of these streets was developed individually; Cottage Place, the oldest, predates Griffith’s Eastover and was platted in 1921.

(Courtesy of http://www.cmhpf.org/kids/neighborhoods/Eastover.html)

Check out all the Homes that are currently for sale in the Eastover neighborhood below.

http://www.allentate.com/scottbrowder/DesktopDefault.aspx?pageid=109&pagealias=ATWAgentSearch&AgentSavedSearchCriteriaID=17866&NewSearch=true

Homes for Sale in Barclay Downs

Barclay Downs is a thriving community of over 300 homes near South Park Mall, one of the best malls in the United States. Within walking distance of the neighborhood are some of the best public schools in the nation and a great swim and racquet club, a library and tons of shopping opportunities. Visit www.southpark.com to see all the available stores. Pops in the park is all summer long providing live music within walking distance from Barclay downs. Visit www.barclaydownshoa.org  to check out what the homeowners association is up to. See all homes that are for sale in Barclay Downs below.

http://www.allentate.com/scottbrowder/DesktopDefault.aspx?pageid=109&pagealias=ATWAgentSearch&AgentSavedSearchCriteriaID=17506&NewSearch=true

2011 Changes to the North Carolina Offer to Purchase and Contract

The biggest change facing Buyers, Sellers, and REALTORS® in North Carolina is the form’s introduction of the Buyer’s “Due Diligence” process. During a negotiated due diligence period, the Buyer must complete all of the inspections, surveys, and appraisals typically performed by a diligent Buyer. In addition, the Buyer needs to be satisfied with the documents governing the home, the availability and affordability of insurance for the home, and their own ability to be approved for a mortgage. Should the Buyer not be happy with the investigations…or if they simply change their mind about completing the purchase…the Buyer will be able to unilaterally terminate the contract and be entitled to a return of their earnest money deposit, assuming notice of termination is delivered to the Seller prior to the expiration of the due diligence period. After that expiration date, the Buyer loses their ability to terminate the contract and receive a refund of the earnest money deposit (except in the case of a Seller’s breach) and the power of the contract shifts to the Seller.

The new Offer to Purchase and Contract allows for a negotiated, non-refundable fee to be paid by the Buyer directly to the Seller in exchange for the amount of time associated with the due diligence period. While the “due diligence fee” is not a requirement of the Offer to Purchase and Contract, it will serve as further evidence of the Buyer’s sincerity in pursuing the property. The “due diligence fee” is not refundable to the Buyer except in the case of the Seller’s breach. The fee will serve as a credit to the Buyer should they complete the purchase.

Please click on the link below to see the changes to the 2011 offer to purchase and contract.

OTPC – New vs Old

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION – Just listed Myers Park Lot with YouTube Video

Check out this fabulous lot with mountain views right off of Sharon Road. Build your dream home minutes from downtown and Southpark. 2820 Briarcliff Place is a hidden gem in Myers Park that not many people think to drive down. See this amazing lot on my website and on YouTube. SHOW, SHOW, SHOW this awesome opportunity to your family coming into town for the holidays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRgUH1zay0

http://www.scottbrowder.com/

4327 Castlewood Road Under Contract in Madison Park, Myers Park Schools

Beautiful Updated Ranch Style Home in Madison Park. New Roof, New Refinished Hardwood floors, All New Kitchen Cabinets, Counter tops, Sink & Appliances. New tile floor in kitchen and sunroom.  Bathrooms Updated. Fenced yard, New Concrete Driveway and Sidewalk, New Gutters. Freshly Painted Interior of the home. Excellent School District. Check out this home below on my website.

http://www.allentate.com/scottbrowder/DesktopDefault.aspx?pageid=108&pagealias=ATWAgentListingDetail&ListingID=1884189&ListingPosition=5

Purchasing a Home in Charlotte vs. Renting in Charlotte

	Savings: Buying In many cases, the amount of money a renter spends on rent can be about the same as or less than the amount a homeowner spends on a mortgage. With the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant.Buy vs. Rent Comparison The chart below shows a cost comparison for a renter and a homeowner over a seven year period. The renter starts out paying $800 per month with annual increases of 5% The homeowner purchases a home for $110,000 and pays a monthly mortgage of $1,000 After 6 years, the homeowner’s payment is lower than the renter’s monthly payment With the tax savings of homeownership, the homeowner’s payment is less than the rental payment after 3 years   Years Rent Payment Mortgage Payment Monthly Difference After Tax Savings Yearly Difference After Tax Savings 1 800 1000 -200 -50 -2400 -600 2 840 1000 -160 -10 -1920 -120 3 882 1000 -118 +32 -1416 +384 4 926 1000 -74 +76 -888 +912 5 972 1000 -28 +122 -336 +1464 6 1021 1000 +21 +171 +252 +2052 7 1072 1000 +72 +222 +864 +2664 8-30     Savings increase every year

 

Plaza Midwood, Charlotte Homes for Sale

Developed in the early 1920s as a streetcar suburb, “Chatham Estates,” Plaza Midwood’s development coincided with that of Myers Park neighborhood. Two prominant local families provided the impetus for the initial development of the neighborhood: the Van Landinghams (2010 The Plaza) and the Victors (1800 The Plaza). Plaza Midwood’s trolley line ran along Central Avenue to The Plaza and down Mecklenburg Avenue to the Mecklenburg Country Club (now the Charlotte Country Club). The Oakland Land Company laid out much of the street design.  

During the Depression, Plaza Midwood underwent many phases, resulting in a diverse architectural heritage. The urban flight of the 1950s and 1960s left parts of the neighborhood on the brink of decline.  By the mid-1970s Plaza Midwood residents began to group together to preserve their neighborhood, and in August 1975, the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association (PMNA) was organized.

http://www.allentate.com/scottbrowder/DesktopDefault.aspx?pageid=109&pagealias=ATWAgentSearch&AgentSavedSearchCriteriaID=17713&NewSearch=true

http://www.plazamidwood.org/history.html

“Charlotte Housing Report” – What my Clients are saying…

Are you curious what homes are selling for in your area? If so, please don’t hesitate to sign up for my “Charlotte Housing Report.” This report gives you an update every 30 days on what homes are on the market and what homes have sold in the past six months. This is a great way to keep updated at the click of the mouse without having to search the web and come up with your own results.

What are my clients saying about “Charlotte Housing Report,”

“What an outstanding tool, my wife calls my cell phone to ask me if I have checked my inbox for Scott’s Charlotte Housing Report as soon as she gets the report. We are close to putting our house on the Market and we know that the conversation about pricing will be much easier with our agent.”

“Market Report gets me excited about real estate, I love to see what my neighbors homes are selling for and also what they are listing their homes for.”