Charlotte Homes for Sale

A recent study from MIT and Harvard researchers indicates that a foreclosure reduces the value of a home by 27%! And if you own a home within only 250 yards of a foreclosed home, the value of your home drops by at least 1% on average as well (although, if you are in a neighborhood with lots of foreclosures, my experience shows that non-foreclosed home values drop by more than 1%). By comparison, if you file for bankruptcy, a home’s value drops only by about 3%. Currently, 1 in 12 homes valued at under $1 million, are in foreclosure.

In the Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill North Carolina real estate market, buying a home with the intent to fix it up is one of the best investments you can make. There’s no better way to take control over your home ownership than to customize the design, floorplan, and landscaping of everything from a single story rancher to a charming Victorian – especially if you’re looking to use the current North Carolina real estate economic climate as a way to get the home of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Most real estate agents will tell you that the best time to sell a home in the Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill North Carolina areas is during the late spring and early summer months. When the weather turns warm, the vibrant growing season commences, and children can be seen playing happily in the yard, potential homebuyers really begin to connect with a house – even before they set foot across the threshold.

In real estate lingo, this is known as curb appeal.

Just reduced by over $10,000 and at $82 per square foot, this move-in ready home on a private and fenced cul-de-sac is a fantastic buy! Owners have just installed granite counters in the kitchen and tile floors in all bathrooms and the laundry room, finished the hardwood floors, repainted, updated light fixtures. Plus there’s a new stainless under-mount sink in the kitchen to go with the gorgeous granite counters. Home has a great floor plan with large family room on the main floor plus an oversized bonus room on the second floor, a study, a formal dining room, and a large screened porch. Wonderful community amenities include: pool, tennis, recreation center, playground. Located just minutes from south Charlotte’s prestigious Ballantyne area, but with low South Carolina taxes. This home is eligible for NO-MONEY DOWN USDA financing for qualified buyers!

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.

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:

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!

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.

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:

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.