Charlotte Homes for Sale
Nina Hollander
(704)779-0813

WE CELEBRATE THE COURAGE OF THE HEROES WHO KEEP OUR NATION FREE!

Some great tips from the ASPCA about how to keep your pets safe this Memorial Day Weekend! Many of these tips are common sense, but as we celebrate the start of the summer season, they are certainly worth reviewing!

• Keep your pet indoors as much as possible during backyard parties and barbecue, which can be a minefield of potential problems for your pet–toxic food, alcoholic drinks, rowdy guests.
• Keep all alcoholic drinks out of reach for your pet.
• Don’t change your pet’s normal diet and keep in mind that onions, avocado, chocolate, grapes, raisins can be very toxic.
• Don’t use sunscreen and insect repellant intended for humans on your pet.
• Keep matches, candles, lighter fluid out of reach from your pet.
• Don’t leave pets unsupervised around water (pool, lake, river). Don’t allow your dog to drink chlorinated pool water.
• Keep your pet out of the sun and heat as much as possible and keep fresh water nearby and available to keep your pet hydrated when outside.

And if you suspect your pet has ingested something poisonous from the picnic table, please contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) at (888) 426-4435.

For more pet safety and care tips: click here.

Wonderful, move-in ready home on a large cul-de-sac offers all the advantages of low Fort Mill, South Carolina taxes, while situated on Charlotte’s prestigious Ballantyne-area border. Barely lived in, you’d think this was a model home! Fantastic features include: a first-floor master suite with separate sitting room/study; spa-like luxurious master bathroom with whirlpool tub; formal living and dining rooms; dramatic 2-story great room with gas fireplace; huge 540 square foot recreaction/bonus room. A cook’s kitchen, lots of hardwood floors, plantation shutters, oversized deck, 3-car garage round out the picture. Resort-style community amenities include pool with slide, clubhouse, fitness center, tennis courts, basketball court. Great shopping, fine dining, golf, schools, primary roads and business centers are all minutes away.

23004 Norwalk Lane, Fort Mill, South Carolina Price: $450,000.00 Beds: 4 Baths: 3.5 Sq Ft: 3944 Description: Situated in the center of a beautifully landscaped .61 acre cul-de-sac is this stately home with an elegant, columned entry and dramatic architecture inside. The home shows like a model with neutral, …. View this property >>

Charlotte’s Wilmore neighborhood was designated as a historic district this week. This community in west Charlotte joins five other historic neighborhoods in the city. (For those of you who don’t know about historic designations, it means that homesowners cannot make any significant changes or renovations to their homes without first getting city approval for the proposed changes.) The other five historic districts in Charlotte include:

• Dilworth: designated in 1983. This neighborhood was developed in the 1890′s as the City’s first suburb and  connected to uptown via Charlotte’s first electric streetcar. Today, Dilworth is considered one of Charlotte’s most distinctive neighborhoods and in 1987 Dilworth was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Map of Dilworth’s Historic District.
• Fourth Ward: designated in 1976. Fourth Ward dates back to the 1850′s as a prosperous residential area convenient to uptown, shopping, and business. As people began to migrate in the late 1890′s to the new suburb, Dilworth, the Ward began a slow, but steady decline and by the 1970′s many of the Victorian homes here had been demolished. In the 1970′s Fourth Ward underwent a revitalization process returning it to some of its original character and charm. Map of Fourth Ward’s Historic District.
• Plaza-Midwood: designated in 1992. Plaza-Midwood is a compilation of a series of small neighborhoods that were developed in the 1910′s and 1920′s. As a result this neighborhood now boasts some of the most eclectic of Charlotte’s historic districts in terms of architecture and styles of housing. Map of Plaza-Midwood’s Historic District.
• Wesley Heights: designated in 1994. This neighborhood was developed in the 1920′s and has managed to survive many changes while still retaining its basic appearance as when it was served by Charlotte’s streetcar system. Lots of bungalow homes and tree canopied streets give this neighborhood is special feel and until this week’s addition of Wilmore to the historic neighborhood list, Wesley Heights was the only west Charlotte neighborhood given this designation . Map of Wesley Height’s Historic District.
• Hermitage Court: designated in 2006. In 1911, the Myers Park development on Charlotte’s south side was announced (carved out of a cotton farm owned by the Myers family). Today, Myers Park, nestled between Charlotte’s uptown and south park areas, is considerd one of Charlotte’s most desirable residential areas.  The Hernitage Court homes were built from 1913 till 1925 and are an eclectic mix of Bungalows, revival styles, Colonials, and Tudor revival homes. Today, a majority of these homes retain their original architectural character. The home at 625 Hermitage Court is a grand Colonial Revival style home built in 1913 and is one of the oldest existing homes today in Myers Park.  In 1987, Myers Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Map of Hermitage Court’s Historic District.

And then there’s Charlotte’s Historic Arts District known as NoDa, which is now home to the City’s bet collection of galleries and performance venues, and funkiest restaurants. While it’s not been designated as an official historic neighborhood in Charlotte, it has become a popular place for residents and tourists alike.

Lots of good news on the jobs expansion front here in the Charlotte area these days and the types of companies/jobs expanding here will be providing a healthy dose of economic and employment diversification for our area. This type of economic diversification portends good news for our real estate market as well!

• American Red Cross will be undertaking a 240,000 sqaure foot expansion of its facility here, which will add some 267 new jobs in the near term and potentially 1,000 new jobs in the future.
• Siemens announced its second expansion in Charlotte in less than one year, which is expected to bring in 800+ jobs, $170 million in local investment over the next five years. These jobs are expected to pay $65,000 per year on average.
• Nutramax Laboratories and Nutramax Manufacturing in Maryland, which make health and nutrition products for both people and animals as announced plans to invest more than $12 million dollars in Lancaster County in South Carolina and expects to hire 200+ people over the next five years.

Charm, elegance, and luxury are all combined in one package in this move-in ready home in Ballantyne’s unique Ardrey community, featuring historic Southern architecture and attention to aesthetics. The home features a rocking chair front porch, screened porch, first-floor master suite with spa-like bathroom, cook’s kitchen with granite, island, stainless steel appliances. The open, flowing floor plan is perfect for casual living and more formal entertaining. There’s also a first floor office and a finished third floor studio perfect for use as an artist’s studio or  crafts room. Community amenities include pool, clubhouse, 53 acres of common space, dog park, 12 parks, fitness center, bocce court, and a 35 acre nature preserve.

8802 Cotton Press Road, Charlotte, North Carolina Price: $465,000.00 Beds: 4 Baths: 3.5 Sq Ft: 3419 Description: Move-in ready 4 bedroom/3.5 bath home built in 2006, situated in the heart of Ardrey, a unique neighborhood in the prestigious Ballantyne area of south Charlotte, featuring  historically authenti …. View this property >>

Even though most real estate purchase contracts include an inspection contigency to allow the home buyer to professionally inspect the house at their expense prior to purchase, it makes a lot of sense for home sellers to have their homes inspected before listing the home. Here’s why:

• If any significant problems are discovered in the home prior to a buyer’s inspection, you can have the repairs done in advance on your own terms and on your own schedule. For some reason, buyers always assume a repair will cost 2-3 times more than it actually does.
• You have time to “shop around” to get competitive bids to do the repair work rather than ending up paying more for a rush job to meet a contract deadline.
• You have flexibility in choosing the materials used in making repairs and can save money versus having a buyer dictate the quality of repairs to go through with the contract.
• You avoid “nasty” surprises subsequent to a buyer’s inspection and thus there’s less chance of a buyer walking away from the contract or negotiating a lower price because of unexpected repair needs.
• You avoid delays in closing due to unexpected repairs that take time.
• Don’t underestimate the value of being able to market your home as “pre-inspected and all repairs taken care of.” Buyers will take note and will reflect this fact in their offers. Many inspectors today will offer you a 90-120 day inspection warranty, as well.
• And with all the other issues involved in selling a home today, there’s something to be said about having peace of mind that your home is “sale and inspection ready!”

These days, home sellers should look for every advantage to position their home ahead of the competition and having a pre-sale inspection is one great tool to use.  To read more about how a pre-listing inspection benefits home sellers, home buyers, and their realtors, click here. In the end, think of it as “cheap” insurance to getting your home sold with the least amount of problems.

For those of you who didn’t know, Charlotte, North Carolina is NASCAR’s hometown!  You can’t think of NASCAR without thinking of Charlotte! And you can’t really think of Charlotte without thinking of NASCAR!

Today, NASCAR’s Hall of Fame officially opens in uptown Charlotte.  This opening has been eagerly awaited by NASCAR fans for four years, since Charlotte was selected as the “host” city for the Hall of Fame. With the opening ceremony scheduled for 9:00 am today and public admission at 10:00am, people have already been lining up this morning since 6:00am!

All expectations are that the new Hall of Fame will razzle-dazzle and attract lots of new tourism to Charlotte!  And if you’re not already a NASCAR fan, there couldn’t be a better place to learn more about it. Also eagerly awaited are the first five members, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this month (May 23rd): Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr.

The goal for this $195 million, 150,000 square foot facility was to make it the most interactive, technologically advanced hall of fame in sports–a 21st Century facility.  As you enter the building, you” be immediately whisked into a theater with a 64-foot wraparound high-definition screen showing a 12-minute history of the sport. You’ll be directed to use your “hard card” to enter information on touchscreens that will identify you later when you jack a car or try to stay off the wall at Darlington in a race simulator. After you’ve attempted to stay on your feet standing on a replica of the steep 33-degree banking at Talladega, you can walk through a race hauler, sit in a car and pick an on-demand video of your favorite close finish.

Admission is $19.95, with discounts for children 12 and younger, seniors 60 and older and military members. Yearly memberships are also available. For more information click here.

Ads for the Hall of Fame have been running continuously around the country for months now. If you’d like to see one, click here.

With last week’s $20,000 price reduction, this executive home in a prime south Charlotte/Ballantyne suburb is now priced at $40,000 below tax value and making it one of the best values in Bridgehampton subdivision. Situated on a wooded, fenced lot, the home offers five bedrooms and four bathrooms. In addition to a large master suite with a separate owner’s retreat, the home has two additional junior bedroom suites with en-suite baths–one on the main floor of the home and one on the second floor of the home. Wonderful, open floor plan, formals, large kitchen/breakfast area, three car garage. Low Lancaster County taxes. Country-club style amenities in the community include pool, clubhouse, tennis, basketball, playground, fitness center.

17015 Laurelmont Court, Fort Mill, South Carolina Price: $380,000.00 Beds: 5 Baths: 4 Sq Ft: 3791 Description: Situated on a wooded, fenced and beautifully landscaped .39 acre lot, is this stately, brick-front home 5 bedroom/4 bathroom home with an elegant, columned entry and dramatic architecture inside. The …. View this property >>

Happy Mother’s Day from Carolinas Realty Partners to all our clients, friends, and readers! We hope that all of you who are Mothers will spend your day with your loved ones and that you’ll be outrageously spoiled by them!

If you’d like to know a bit more about the history of Mother’s Day, click here. And if you’d like to read quotes about Mothers by some very famous people, click here. Now if you’re planning to spoil Mom today and cook her a great breakfast or brunch, click here for some great menus/recipes. For 33 ways to show how much you appreciate Mom, without dropping a ton of cash, be sure to click here.

And if you’re thinking of getting Mom flowers to celebrate her day, keep in mind that the red carnation is the official flower!

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