This great news extends to the entire Charlotte metro area, as foreclosure filings for Mecklenburg and and neighboring counties of Gaston, Cabarrus, Anson, Union in North Carolina and York County in South Carolina also dropped to 1,104 from 1,312 as compared with one year earlier–a 16% drop!

In many parts of the country, foreclosure shadow inventory levels are decreasing–boding well for home prices in the coming year.

Shadow Inventory Levels

For more detailed information about foreclosures in the Charlotte metro area visit RealtyTrac. For more information about foreclosure homes for sale visit GreatHomesInCharlotte.com.

Depending on what you want out of your home, finding the right style for you can be a lot of work – fortunately, it can also be quite a bit of fun.

Costs of New vs. Older Homes

In the past, deciding which type of home you wanted was largely a matter of price, since most older homes came in at a considerably lower price tag than new developments. In today’s market, however, there are new and historic homes that fall into the entire spectrum of housing costs – as long as you know where to look.

Older homes with renovated interiors have the double advantage of supplying old world charm and the latest in kitchen and bathroom amenities. However, older homes that haven’t been updated with modern heating, cooling, pipes, or electricity can become a financial drain.  In this same way, newer homes with jetted tubs and a pool out back might provide everything you need to live comfortably, but there might be a trade-off when it comes to lot size and unique architectural features.

Of course, location matters, too. Charlotte and Waxhaw homes for sale that have a little bit of historic charm tend to be found within small, unique neighborhoods closer to the downtown center. New development homes and those in gated communities tend to be found further out, especially in more suburban regions where there is more room for growth. These differences in location can have an impact on housing prices, since you may have to pay more for proximity to the city.

Benefits of an Older Home

Although all older homes vary – especially when it comes to things like updates, renovations, and location – most of them provide great benefits from an aesthetic point-of-view, including:

• Craftsmanship and architectural details
• Unique layouts
• Larger lot sizes
• Centuries-old features
• Mature landscaping

Benefits of a Newer Home

New homes tend to come with a much lower level of hassle, which can be a great boon to those buying a house for the first time or for young families who may not want to put a lot of time into their residence. Some of the features of a new Charlotte home include:

• Less maintenance overall
• New pipes, roofs, appliances, electricity, etc.
• Larger storage spaces/More square footage
• Often closer to family-friendly features like schools and parks
• Energy efficient updates

Which Home is Right for You?

If you have been considering buying a Charlotte home for awhile, you might already have a good idea of what you want out of your house, and what types of architecture appeal to you the most. However, many of the benefits of old homes (or new homes) can’t really be appreciated until you see them first-hand.

Ask Nina Hollander with Carolinas Realty Partners in the Charlotte, Waxhaw, Fort Mill area to show you the best of both worlds, and you might be surprised by what really draws you in. Just remember that every house – even the new ones – will require a little bit of work before they really start to feel like home.

In the current Charlotte real estate market, many of the things that make a house unique – its paint color, flooring, the kitchen counters, and even the size or type of the windows – are being upgraded to entice buyers. But if your home has a restricting layout, which makes the house look smaller, darker, or inaccessible, you might have a difficult time making a “quick fix” to increase your chances of a fast sale.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to make your NC home for sale more appealing. If you do have a layout that might be sending out the wrong signals, you can try the following.

Remove the clutter. Staging your house is an important part of any home selling process, but never more so than when your layout might be confining or restrictive. Extra furniture, shelves, tables, and even the rack where you hang your coats all add to the inaccessibility of the house as a whole. By displaying your space as open and clearly as possible, you are allowing homebuyers to see the house through fresh eyes.

Add room dividers. A very long (or even a tiny) living room or a bathroom that is taken up almost entirely by a washer and dryer can be a difficult sell, because buyers might not see how the space is livable. Room dividers, or screens set up in strategic locations, are one of the tricks that decorators often rely on to maximize space, since they add clean lines and more storage opportunities.

Open up the entryway. Although this task might require a little bit of construction work on your part, opening up the home’s foyer to make it more appealing and inviting is often all you need to do to allow your home to shine. Most homebuyers make a decision about a house within the first 6 seconds, so you have to make those seconds really count.

Adjust your bedrooms. If your Waxhaw house has adjoining bedrooms, or if your Fort Mill condo has a bedroom right off the kitchen, you might want to re-market the space. Few people want to sleep in a room that offers reduced privacy, but if you stage it and/or list it as an office, a library, a playroom, or even an add-on, homebuyers might be more tempted.

The NC real estate market is on its way up, but selling a home can still be a challenge – especially if you own a challenging home. By taking a little extra time to adjust the way you see your house, as well as the way it is presented to others, it is possible sell that house faster and with a higher price point.

The personal attachment we all have to our homes is part of the reason it can be difficult to sell a North Carolina home.

• Homeowners who associate positive memories with a house are more likely to value it at higher than the market rate. This can make it difficult to find a balance between what you think your home is worth and what it will reasonably sell for.

• Staging a home you love (and still live in) can be more challenging than staging an empty space. Packing away your personal belongings (e.g., pictures, knick knacks, books) to give your home a more streamlined and sell-able look for up to months at a time can put a strain on your enjoyment of the home selling and buying process.

• It can also be hard to put all your trust in another person’s hands. Selling a home in Charlotte and the outlying areas often requires that you have open houses, walk-throughs, and open doors to everyone from real estate agents to nosy neighbors. Having others view your home – oftentimes while you are not there – requires that you put personal reservations about privacy aside.

Although this paints a rather bleak portrait of what selling a home entails, the truth is that people buy and sell homes every day. They upgrade to new family homes in Charlotte suburbs and move to downtown condos with chic views – and are usually more than happy with the outcome.

One way to get past issues of trust and privacy is to put your home in the hands of a real estate agent you trust. Your agent works as an advocate for you and your house, making sure that everything proceeds safely and with a minimal hassle. And because your agent knows the Waxhaw real estate landscape, it’s easier to settle on a price and a staging set up that will get you faster results.

Nina Hollander has been working in the North Carolina area for years, and knows exactly what it is that makes local homebuyers interested. To minimize your anxiety and sell a NC home quickly and easily, feel free to call our office today.

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.

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.

To search all Charlotte metro area listings and homes visit Great Homes In Charlotte. ]]> http://www.bestcharlottehomesforsale.com/featured-home-from-carolinas-realty-partners-move-in-ready-starter-home-in-matthews-north-carolina-147500/feed/ 0 http://www.bestcharlottehomesforsale.com/finding-and-purchasing-an-eco-friendly-home-in-north-carolina/ http://www.bestcharlottehomesforsale.com/finding-and-purchasing-an-eco-friendly-home-in-north-carolina/#comments Fri, 20 May 2011 21:02:59 +0000 Nina Hollander http://www.bestcharlottehomesforsale.com/?p=1498 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.

• Forbes Magazine included Charlotte in its list of best places to retire, based on its favorable housing and living costs, temperate climate, traffic, and access to excellent medical care.
• Charlotte was ranked #4 among the 100 largest US metropolitan areas in the small-business vitality index. This ranking of Charlotte as a city offering the best climate for small business creation and development,  is up from #31 just one year ago.
• A recent study by the Business Journals showed America’s 100 largest metropolitan markets wield more economic clout than any other nation in the workd and that the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill area ranked #25 with a GMP of over $110 billion.
• Charlotte area is home to nine corportations on Fortune Magazine’s annual list of the top 500 US companies. These companies include: Bank of America, Duke Energy Corp. Lowe’s Cos, Inc., Nucor Corp., Family Dollar Stores, Goodrich Corp., SPX Corp., Wells Fargo.  
• Charlotte added 5,100 jobs during 2010, placing the region in the top 50 best performing metro areas in the US.
• Charlotte is one of three North Carolina cities recently named among the top 50 “most socially networked” cities in the US, according to Men’s Health Magazine.
• Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor show that salaries in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord region rank the seventh highest in the South with an average annual pay of $43,890.
• Charlotte’s population (731,424) grew 35.2% since the 2000 Census based on data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, grew 32.2%  (919,628) during this time period. North Carolina (9.5 million) state population grew by 18.5% since 2000.
• Charlotte has been selected as the host city for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, beating out Cleveland, St Louis, and Minneapolis. It’s expected that this will bring huge visibility to Charlotte, along with new jobs, visitor spending, and business investment.
• Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte has been named one of the 50 Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for its pediatric nephrology program. Levine Children’s is the only hospital in the Charlotte area, and one of only 76 hospitals nationwide, to be recognized in the 2011-12 rankings. Read more: Levine Children’s Hospital honored | Charlotte Business Journal
• Kiplinger.com has named Charlotte among the 10 best cities for college graduates planning to enter the workforce!

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!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

The majority of home buyers in the NC region begin their search online. The Internet is becoming an increasingly viable way to present homes from both an interior and an exterior vantage point. Although Nina Hollander will help you to understand the best angles for presenting a photographic display of your house, you can help by pointing out what it is you love best about the home. A great backyard garden, a cozy front porch swing, a spacious kitchen, the tile on your bathroom floor – no matter what it is, use it as a way to entice buyers into contacting your agent for more information.

Virtual tours are becoming a very popular way to showcase your home online, as well. Allowing viewers to “walk through” your home gives them a stronger connection to it.

Signs and Advertisements

The more traditional North Carolina home selling options include putting up a sign or placing an ad in the newspaper, in your local real estate magazine, or even on direct mailing advertisements. These steps have long been a part of the buying and selling market, regardless of where you live.

The truth of the matter is, there’s a reason these actions are relied upon so heavily: no one will know you’re selling your Charlotte home unless you post it somewhere! While decisions related to where you place the signs and advertisements will most likely be made with the assistance of Nina Hollander, you can help by finding additional ways to spread the word of your sale. Online home selling postings for Fort Mill or Waxhaw are fairly common, and oftentimes, simply letting your friends and family know that your Charlotte home is on the market can go a long way in spreading the word.

Rely on Nina Hollander

Of course, the most important home marketing step you can take is trusting Nina Hollander to work hard to sell your home as quickly and efficiently as possible. Like any real business partnership, selling a North Carolina home is all about finding someone you can trust and working together to get the best possible results.