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

Here’s your link to our May 2011 Housing Trends eNewsletter, as well as updates on trends in 150 metropolitan housing markets. This newsletter provides you with up-to-date articles, tips, and advice for current and future homeowners. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, have recently moved, are staying put, or you simply want to stay current with real estate trends, there’s something for everyone in our Housing Trends eNewsletter. Enjoy!

Have questions about Charlotte housing? Need answers about buying or selling a home in the Charlotte metropolitan area? Contact Carolinas Realty Partners serving Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill, Matthews, North Carolina!

Finding the right home in Charlotte isn’t always as easy as relying on a checklist of square footage, number of bathrooms, and the upkeep of the yard. Although these types of features are important when determining where you want to live and raise a family, another important consideration is the neighborhood where your dream house is situated.

Charlotte and Waxhaw homes for sale are noted for their family-friendly communities and idyllic backdrop, but that doesn’t mean that every home is ideally placed. Before you purchase a home in any North Carolina city, it’s important to research what the rest of the neighborhood has to offer.

Schools

Schools are the number one consideration when it comes to choosing a good neighborhood in NC. If you have kids, the reasons are easy to spot: you want your children to have access to a good, safe education. However, even homeowners without kids need to keep this issue in mind, especially if you plan on selling the house some day. Top-rated schools will not only keep your property value high, but they’ll also serve as an appeal to potential homebuyers in the future.

Crime and Sex Offenders

Few people want to live where they feel unsafe or fear for their families. That’s why you should always check the crime rate and search for registered sex offenders in the area. Never take a neighborhood at face value; a place that looks charming during the day might have a high rate of break-ins, while a neighborhood that looks less savory might actually have a strict neighborhood watch program in place and several policeman living nearby.

Walkability/Livability

Suburbs in the region of Charlotte are generally good places for a slower pace of life, but the ability to walk to the market, the park, or to run simple errands might not be as high as what you can find in a more urban center. At the same time, Charlotte suburbs might be better for taking a scenic evening stroll. When determining where you want to live in North Carolina, keep in mind what is more important for your lifestyle: being near amenities, or being near other families with similar goals as you.

The same is true for things like construction zones, local garbage plants, train tracks, playgrounds, dogs, or industrial zones nearby. Make sure you take a walk through your potential neighborhood during the day and in the evening to see what types of noises, smells, and sights you will have to get used to.

The Neighbors

Nothing tells you more about a neighborhood in Waxhaw than the neighbors. Does everyone keep their homes and yards in good order? If a visually-appealing community is important to you, you might want to look around to make sure everyone else feels the same way. You might also want to investigate why. Is upkeep important to the neighbors, or is it held in place by strict homeowners’ association rules? Are you ready to make the same level of commitment?

Also, you’ll want to determine the types of people who live nearby. Is there a large percentage of young families? Teenagers? Professionals who are rarely at home? Although these things can and will change, they will tell you a lot about the overall neighborhood culture.

Neighbors also matter when it comes to the type and sizes of homes they have. Are there a large number of foreclosures? That could indicate a lowering neighborhood value. Are the other houses very different than yours in terms of value? (Note: Being surrounded in houses much higher in value than yours means that you may pay more in property taxes. Houses with a lower value means that you may end up having a difficult time selling in the future.)

Buying Your New Charlotte Home

Buying a home, whether it’s in the center of Charlotte or on the outskirts of Fort Mill, is a big undertaking. It’s important to look beyond the physical structure of your dream house to notice all that’s going on around you. After all, the place you call home is about more than four bedrooms and three baths; it’s about your way of life.

If you’re ready to learn more about purchasing a home in NC, contact Nina Hollander today. We’ll match you with the perfect home—including neighborhood amenities.

If you’re getting ready to sell a home in Charlotte, you probably have a checklist of ideas for making your home more marketable. NC homes tend to sell better when they have more immediate appeal; for example, well-tended yards, impeccable siding, and a welcoming kitchen can go a long way in enticing homebuyers in the area. There are a number of ways you and your real estate agent can work together to make these things happen, and one of the best ideas is to ensure that you’re engaging all of the senses.

Sight

When selling a Waxhaw home or preparing your Charlotte home for viewing, you should pay attention to both the big picture and the details of your house.

For a bigger picture viewpoint, try to see everything with fresh eyes. When you pull into the driveway, what overall impression does the house give you? Is it clean and well-cared for? Does it look like the sort of place a family would want to live?

Then, as you walk up to the front door, pay closer attention to the little things: the state of the flowerbeds, a cracked panel of siding, or an unsightly satellite dish at one corner of the house. These little things are often the easiest to fix in terms of time and money.

Do the same thing as you walk through each room of your house. Take a quick survey from the doorway, and then walk through to make note of smaller defects. Different homebuyers look at different things, so it’s best to ensure that even the littlest problems are attended to.

Sound

The sounds of an ideal North Carolina home are pleasing to the ear, and you should do your best to keep them that way. Avoid running any noisy appliances when you’re expecting potential homebuyers to stop by. Televisions, radios, and even kids playing outside can all contribute negatively to the experience. When possible, you should either opt for silence (to demonstrate the peacefulness of your home) or use light background music that won’t be offensive to anyone. If you live near the water or wilderness, you might also open a few key windows to let in the most natural sounds.

Smell

It’s long been held as a “rule” of real estate that you should bake cookies or light a vanilla-scented candle when you show your home. These traditional smells are ones that most people associate with happy memories, which can trigger better feelings about your NC home for sale.

While you don’t have to stick to traditional baking smells, the idea is a good one. However, if you use scents, choose ones that are inoffensive, are hypo-allergenic, and aren’t too obvious. You can also choose smells suited to particular rooms. Light and airy scents are well-suited to bathrooms, while the baking smells tend to do better in living rooms and kitchens.

Touch

In most cases, you don’t want people walking through your home to touch your personal possessions. However, the sense of touch can be important. Plush carpeting is welcoming in bedrooms and living spaces, while cool hardwood or tile makes a kitchen feel cleaner and more efficient. Crisp, clean appliances promise a treat for the fingertips even if the potential homebuyers don’t make actual physical contact.

For the sense of touch, it’s best to promise a great tactile experience, rather than actually provide one. Place soft furnishings next to clean architectural lines. Throw a cozy blanket over some leather furniture. Choose draperies that are either light and airy or heavy and warm, depending on the mood you want to set.

Taste

When you have an open house in Charlotte, keeping appetizer trays on hand can go a long way in making a good impression. Elegant sandwiches, tasty tarts, and other bite-sized treats cause people to linger and take a better stock of their surroundings. Food at a open house, while potentially messy, is also more likely to draw other real estate agents. At the end of the day, greater exposure – whether it’s potential buyers or real estate professionals other than your own Nina Hollander – means a greater likelihood that your home will sell quickly and easily.

Selling a NC Home

A house is more likely to sell if it seems like a home. When you engage all the senses, you’re doing more than showcasing the physical features of your house – you’re demonstrating how comfortable and welcoming it is. And in today’s market, taking those few extra steps can make a huge difference in how quickly your Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill home sells.

Charlotte continues to make the news (see our post of May 17th). Most recently we saw the following good news:

• Charlotte was ranked 10th for economic growth in the past 50 years according to the US Burea of Economic Analysis! And our “next door” neighbor, South Carolina, ranked 11th! For a complete report on economic growth rankings.
• Kiplinger.com named Charlotte among the 10 best cities for college graduates preparing to enter the work force.

If you’ve been thinking about moving to Charlotte contact Carolinas Realty Partners–we can help smooth the transition as well as help you find your dream home!

These days, buying a home in Charlotte is about more than finding the right square footage, number of bedrooms, and price range. While these factors almost always make up the primary concerns for any home buyer in NC, the truth is that there is so much more to a home than the numbers and figures you see on an advertisement. In fact, Charlotte and Waxhaw are part of a growing trend of buying homes that are not only an investment in your future, but an investment in the future of the planet, as well.

What is an Eco-Friendly Home?

An eco-friendly home is any house that strives to reduce energy usage either during the building process or for average, everyday use. Green Home Building Standards have been established by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), which strives to ensure that ecologically sound building practices meet structurally sound ones no matter where you live.

Some of the components of a “green” home include:

• Energy-efficient features, including appliances and windows with the Energy Star rating. This can also be accomplished by doing simple things like using more efficient lighting fixtures and light bulbs.

• Water-efficient features, including Energy Star ratings on toilets, showers, faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines. At a more advanced level, this can include water recirculation systems and on-site wastewater treatment systems.

• Resource-efficient features, which generally come from structural changes that have to do with house size and layout, window placement, heat conservation efforts, and even using fast-renewing resources (like bamboo) for the floor or other building materials.

• Quality air features, which provide good ventilation without introducing toxins into the air either inside or outside the home.

• Outdoor features, including landscaping that contributes to the local vegetation, and the use of permeable materials for driveways and walkway. Water waste should also be reduced wherever possible.

Purchasing a Green Home

One of the greatest things about eco-friendly homes in the Charlotte region is that most of the costs are figured in during the building process. This means that if you’re in the market to purchase a green home, you will only have to help maintain the work that’s already been done. While this can increase the initial price tag of your new NC home, chances are that it will save you large amounts of money as the years progress.

In an age where it’s becoming increasingly more important to give back to the environment, more and more homeowners in the Charlotte area are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. It doesn’t matter whether you purchase a new home in Fort Mil or an older building with recent renovations in Waxhaw, Nina Hollander can help you find a way to combine your love of the environment with the home of your dreams.

 Stunning, richly appointed and move-in ready 4 bedroom/3 bath Charleston-style home with double verandas. Built in 2006 by Cunnane Builders and extensively updated since (including in-ground irrigation, sunroom, new carpet, professional landscaping, fence, custom paint).

Situated in the heart of Ardrey, a unique neighborhood in the prestigious Ballantyne area of south Charlotte, featuring historically authentic architecture. Ardrey has been named North Carolina “Community of the Year”  in recognition of its singular charm and timeless appeal.

The home’s open, flowing floor plan with 3,600+ square feet features a gourmet kitchen with granite and island, sunroom, first floor master, extensive hardwood floors and millwork, plantation shutters and much more! At $450,000 this home is priced to sell!

 To learn more about: 17205 Hedgerow Park Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. To see a virtual tour: www.tourfactory.com/677557.  Contact Carolinas Realty Partners if you’d like to make an appointment to see this wonderful home.