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

Did you know that automobile traffic is expected to increase 17.1% this coming weekend for the 4th of July holidays? Did you know that the National Safety Council has named the 4th of July holiday the “deadliest” due to lots of travel, alcohol, and fireworks?

In North Carolina, state troopers will be on the lookout for the following this week right through the holidays:

• Speeders. so try to stay within speed limits. Troopers and police will be particularly vigilant for speeders who appear to have been drinking.
• Texters.  New laws in North Carolina prohibit texting while driving. For your safety and that of others don’t do it! Police will not be kind if they catch you!

There’s also a new traffic law in North Carolina that requires you to move over one lane if you see police, fire, ambulance lights on the side of the road. If you can’t move over one lane, you need to significantly slow down. This law has been in effect in many states, but is relatively new here and lots of drivers are not aware of it. Again, troopers and police have their orders to keep their eyes peeled for violations.

Here are a few tips to keep your travels safe this coming weekend and weekend:

• Allow extra time for your trip. With all the cars on the road, it makes sense to allow for delays on the roads, rather than driving recklessly and/or speeding to get somewhere on time.
• Be more vigilant and aware of traffic conditions around you when on the road. Drive responsibly. Use caution in work zones.
• Be well rested and alert. It can help to make stops to re-energize.
• Keep equipment in your car for “on-the-road” emergencies.
• Always buckle up.
• Don’t drink and drive.
• Don’t let your gas tak get too low.
• Clean your windshield and car lights. Don’t forget to turn those lights on if you after the sun sets and if you are driving in bad weather.

If you follow these simple tips, your holiday travel should be a safe and pleasant experience!

For more information about the Charlotte area from Carolinas Realty Partners, click here.

Wonderful, 5 bedroom home with elegant formal rooms and oversized deck shows like a model home. $20,000+ kitchen renovation in 2009 makes it a true gourmet kitchen. Open, flowing floor plan. Large private deck and beautifully landscaped, private back yard. Lots of curb appeal and great rocking chair front porch. Located in the heart of trendy Ballantyne in south Charlotte, home is minutes from excellent schools, shopping, fine dining, golf, medical facilities, Ballantyne Corporate Park, and primary local roads.

8939 Cambridge Green Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina Price: $410,000.00 Beds: 5.00 Baths: 2 Sq Ft: 3032 Description: It really is all about location, location, location! This preferred location in south Charlotte, is not only situated in the heart of prestigious Ballantyne, but also features fantastic school assignm …. View this property >>

We may not shower him with praise
Nor mention his name in song,
And sometimes it seems that we forget
The joy he spreads as he goes along,
But it doesn’t mean that we don’t know
The wonderful role that he has had.
And away down deep in every heart
There’s a place that is just for Dad…..

Author Unknown

16% of Charlotte’s employers expect to hire more workers during the third quarter according to a recent Manpower, Inc. survey–a 4% improvement over the same period last year. At the same time, we have also seen some great new job announcements in the Charlotte area in recent weeks:

• The American Red Cross plans to hire 450 new employees in their new call center.
• Citco Fund Services plans to create 258 jobs over the next five years at an average salary of $78,000.
• Morgan Stanley plans to hire 50 new people on top of the 35 already here in Charlotte for its private banking operation.
• Supermetal, a Canadian metal fabricator, plans to open a plant in York County, SC with up to 200 new jobs in the next five years. They will
• Jo-Mar Spinning plans to startup a spinning and twisting operation in Belmont which will generate some 100 new jobs.
• Advanced Textile Solutions plans to hire 127 people when it opens a manufacturing facility in Caldwell County to produce bullet-proof vests for the military and upholstery for airline seats.
• General Mills plans to establish a lab operation at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.
• Magna Composites  (a Canadian auto-parts company) plans to create 327 new jobs in the coming four years at three Charlotte-area plants with an average pay of over $33,000 + benefits.
• Clearwater Paper plans to build a new factory in Shelby that will create some 250 jobs over five years.
• Ally Bank, NACA, Zenta Mortgage Services and Citgo have announced a plan to create 2,400 new jobs in the next five years.
• Intelagrid, a smart-grid technology start-up copany in Virginia, has decided to put its software development division in Charlotte, beginning with a five person office and hoping to grow to a 12 person office within the next two years.

Chief Executive Magazine’s annual Best & Worst States survey, which measures business conditions in all 50 states ranked North Carolina as #2 in their list of top five states in which to do business. (North Carolina has improved its ranking from third and fourth place in 2008 and 2007 respectively.)

With Charlotte well-positioned for a strong comeback in terms of employment, housing in Charlotte’s metro area can’t but be positively impacted by all this great news!

FannieMae instituted new credit rules on June 1st that many home buyers are not yet aware of, but which will have some serious impact on their ability to close on a mortgage. Essentially, what Fannie Mae has done is require lenders to verify that borrowers haven’t taken on any new debt during the mortgage application and underwriting process. Even after your loan may have been approved and is ready for closing, underwriters will be looking for the following information about your credit:

• An updated credit report prior to closing to show current credit card bills and minimum monthly payments. This updated credit report will replace the original numbers used at the time you applied for your loan. If your debt levels have increased just before your mortgage loan is ready to close, your loan could be denied.
• An updated credit score. If your FICO score drops in the time between your mortgage application and closing below minimum lending standards, your loan will be denied. And if it’s not denied, you may be subject to a higher interest rate which will increase your monthly mortgage payments.
• An updated credit report inquiry history. Underwriters will be looking to see if you have been applying for credit elsewhere and verifying that you’ve not incurred new debt from the time you applied for your mortgage loan.

What does this mean to you? Basically, it means you need to be very careful with your credit from the time you make a formal application for a mortgage until you actually close on your home. Here’s a list of important “Dont’s:”

• Don’t make major purchases (cars, boats, leases, jewelry, appliances, furniture etc).
• Don’t open new credit card accounts.
• Don’t apply for new credit until after you close on your mortgage.
• Don’t transfer credit card balances from one account to another.
• Don’t close any credit card accounts.
• Don’t pay charge-offs, collections, loans, credit cards without first discussing the impact with your lender.
• Don’t max out or over-charge on your current credit card accounts.
• Don’t consolidate your debt into one or two credit card accounts.
• Don’t take out any new loans.
• Don’t finance any elective medical procedures.
• Don’t quit your job, change industries, or start a new company.
• Don’t switch from a salaried job to a commission-based job.
• Don’t change bank accounts.
• Don’t transfer large sums of money between bank accounts.
• Don’t forget to pay your bills (even if some are in dispute).
• Don’t accept cash gifts without filling the property “gift” paperwork.
• Don’t make random, undocumented deposits into your bank account(s).

If you’d like a handy list of these new rules, email us and provide us with your name and email address and we’ll get a list out to you immediately.

Today is Flag Day… you’ll be seeing lots of flags proudly flying at many Charlotte area homes. One of my fondest memories is marching in the Flag Day parades throughout the 1950′s  in New York City, first as a Brownie and then as a Girl Scout. When I got old enough, being selected to carry the flag was always a great honor!

Flag Day is a day when all Americans celebrate the flag by showing respect for the flag and its makers and its designers.

The original U.S. flag was authorized by Congress on Saturday, June 14, 1777. It had 13 stripes – 7 red and 6 white – that represent the original 13 colonies. There were 13 white stars in a blue field representing a new constellation. Since the birth of our country, the American national flag has changed some 27 times between 1777 to 1960. Click here for a great history of Flag Day and pictures of  how our flag has changed since 1977. If you are looking for great children’s activities for Flag Day, click here.

So even if your town doesn’t have a parade today for Flag Day… celebrate the occasion by flying your own flag!

Move-in ready 4 bedroom home with oversized bonus room plus study/office and formal dining room situated on a large, private, fenced cul-de-sac. Not to be overlooked is the screened porch, Bose surround sound wiring, hardwood floors. Community features pool, lake, tennis, recreation center. Located in Fort Mill, SC just minutes behind south Charlotte’s trendy Ballantyne area, the home enjoys low property taxes. Minutes from shopping, recreation, golf, tennis, medical facilities, and major local roads. Quick and easy commute to Ballantyne Corporate Park. Home is eligible for NO MONEY DOWN USDA financing for qualified buyers!

1548 Kingdom Way, Fort Mill, South Carolina Price: $210,000.00 Beds: 4.00 Baths: 2 Sq Ft: 2430 Description: Welcome to this move-in ready 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home with lots of curb appeal situated in the center of a private, wooded, and fenced .308 acre cul-de-sac lot. Both front and back yards are lushly la …. View this property >>

Turquoise is the hot, hot, hot color for 2010 if you are staging or decorating your home! It’s considerd the new “neutral;” a color that most people respond to positively and is universally flattering appealing to both men and women. When home buyers enter a room with turquoise, they instantly get a mood lift.  Color specialists claim that turquoise restores a sense of well-being. And most any color goes with turquoise, as well, including neutrals, browns, greens, etc. Plus, there are lots of different shades of turquoise, which can flatter any neutral and any room.

There’s a huge misconception that when you are staging your home for sale you need to make everyting beige or white and delete all color. In fact, a pop of color instantly brightens and updates any room. This year, the color to use is turquoise. And keep in mind, you don’t need to paint all your walls turquoise–you can just do an accent wall if you’re so inclined. But if you keep everything else neutral–carpet, wall color, upholstery–you can simply add turquoise accents to “pop the color” by adding turquoise lamps, pillows, accessories, candles, etc. Keep in mind that when you decide on a strong color like turquoise to enhance your decor, you should stay with the same color family throughout the home to provide visual continuity.

Anytime you are staging your home, keep the following “rules” in mind:

• De-personalize and de-clutter each room–many stagers suggest removing 65% of what’s in each room to open it up and make it look more spacious. (Think of it as advanced packing, which you’d have to do anyway once your home sells.)
• 60% of each room should be one color.
• 30% of each room should be another color.
• 10% of each room is your accent color–like turquoise.

The 2010 Taste of Charlotte Festival begins this Friday and runs through Sunday. This is the 12th year that this popular event is taking place in Uptown Charlotte.  Admission is free. You can purchase coins for food tasting at the festival or on-line.

Some of this year’s participating restaurants include some of Charlotte’s perennial favorites: Amelie’s French Bakery; RIRA Irish Pub; Village Bistro; Cafe Sienna; Dilworth Neighborhood Grill; Wild Wing Cafe; and more!

Entertainment will include live music, dancing, magic acts, as well as all sorts of special activities for kids. Click here for more information about each day’s events.

For the shopper, The MarketPlace by CircleK will provide eclectic, boutique style open-air shopping experience.

Festival times and location are:

Friday, June 11th from 11:00am – 11:00pm
Saturday, June 12th from 11:00am – 11:00pm
Sunday, June 13th from 11:00am – 6:00pm

Tryon Street from Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. to 6th Street

Festival Map

If you are coming down the south side of Charlotte, the Blue Lynx train is a perfect way to travel to the festival and there’s no parking worries.!

Staging your home is a great way to prepare your home to sale and to make it look alluring to buyers in the Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill North Carolina areas. Staging your home has become popular during the last decade. Read this article to find out some great ideas on how to get your home ready for potential buyers and get it sold sooner, rather than later.

Within the first minute, people decide if they could live in your home. The problem is that there are so many homes on the market right now, that if yours doesn’t catch their eye immediately, then they have other choices. The struggling housing market is forcing people to take more drastic measures to sell their homes. Many homeowners say they need all the help they can get. With the market not being so good, there are ways you can make your house stand out. Staging your home is the way to make your house stand out in the Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill North Carolina areas.

The idea of home staging is to highlight your home’s best attributes and positively affect potential buyers. Staging your home isn’t about your own tastes. It is about making the home appealing to the general population. Whether you go at it alone or use a stager, you need to have the attitude that your home is no longer your home.

Following are some tips to consider:

• Take down family pictures. Potential buyers need to picture themselves in your home, not you!
• Staging your rooms to show off their true potential. Clear out clutter or other personal items that will distract buyers.
• Painting the walls yourself is the cheapest upgrading option you have. This will really attract buyers. Try a neutral tone.

Staging your home is a great option to make your home stand out in the Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill North Carolina areas. Let myself, Nina Hollander, your agent offer you advice about how to make your house more attractive to buyers.