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.

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.

For more information on this great property contact Carolinas Realty Partners.

However, almost every homeowner will tell you that these costs are definitely worth buying a NC house. Not only are you purchasing a place to call home, but you’re making a financial investment with potentially huge returns. That’s why you should always consider a home inspection before signing on that dotted line, even if the added expense isn’t one you’re looking forward to.

What is a Home Inspection?

Many people equate a home inspection with a home appraisal, and with good reason. At their core, the two processes are very similar: in both, a trained professional goes through the home and inspects it with the intent of informing all parties involved on making the smartest buying and selling decisions.

However, the similarities stop there. Home appraisals are done to give buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and financers a better idea of what the home is worth (based on “surface” things like square footage, number of rooms, and amenities like a fireplace or granite countertops). A home inspection, on the other hand, is all about informing buyers about the potential problems that lie underneath the surface.

For example, a home inspector will be able to answer the following questions:

• What is the condition of the plumbing and/or electrical system, and how easy is it to access in the event of a problem?

• What will be the realistic costs and challenges of heating or cooling the house?

• What is the state of the foundation, the roof, and other structural components?

• How many years of use will you be able to get out of the electrical/plumbing/heating systems?

• What are the potential safety hazards of the house (lead paint, radon, termites, asbestos, mold, etc.)?

What a Home Inspection Does for You

Although most home inspections cost the potential homebuyer hundreds of dollars up front, they typically end up saving homebuyers thousands of dollars in the end. When you get a home inspection, you can not only step away from a purchase that might not be right for you, but you can also require sellers to either “fix” the problems before you buy the home, or adjust the price in order to allow you to make the repairs.

Of course, there’s also the benefit of knowing that the home for sale in Charlotte that you purchased is safe and comfortable. It can be difficult to know just what a house has in store for you until you’ve lived in it for a few months. A home inspection is the best way to take the house for a “test drive” before you make the investment. And with so many choices currently on the North Carolina real estate market, you’re in a perfect position to make a smart, financially-sound choice for your entire family.

Location:   Waxhaw, North Carolina

Type:   Single Family Home

Bedrooms:   4

Bathrooms:   3 full, 1 half

Heated Living Area:  3501 Square Feet

Price: $410,000

Carolinas Realty Partners are pleased to present 2501 Winding Oaks Trail in the beautiful and exclusive Brantley Oaks community, located close to Matthews, Weddington, Waxhaw, and Ballantyne. Brantley Oaks features estate-sized, wooded lots and luxurious, custom homes in a park-like setting.

Situated on a beautifully landscaped, wooded, and private .94 acre lot, this custom-built, brick home with a 3-car, side-load garage features classic Southern architecture with a rocking chair front porch. The home has been impeccably maintained and features neutral, tasteful decor and highest quality finishes throughout. Truly luxury living at its best!

You’ll enjoy an easy lifestyle in this beautiful, move-in ready 4 bedroom/3.5 bath home with formal dining room; formal living room with glass French doors; dramatic 2-story foyer; gleaming hardwood and custom tile floors throughout the home as well as generous millwork. The open, flowing floor plan is perfect for casual living, as well as more formal entertaining.

The home’s gourmet kitchen with granite counters, tile backsplash, center island, custom cabinets, and stainless steel appliances will please any chef.

The spacious great room is open to the kitchen and breakfast area and features a gas-log fireplace, French-style windows, gorgeous hardwood floors.

The home’s second floor features a spacious and serene master suite with trey ceiling and luxurious master bathroom with deep garden tub, oversized shower, his & her vanities and large, walk-in closet. In addition, there are three, good-sized bedrooms and two full bathrooms.  An over-sized bonus room, which can be used as a recreation/media room, teen retreat, playroom, is the “perfect flex space.”

The large screened porch and open deck are a natural extension of the home’s living and entertaining areas.

All Charlotte metropolitan areas, great shopping, casual and fine dining, golf, business centers, primary local roads, and Charlotte’s airport are within easy reach.

Low Union County taxes and low community association fees are an added plus.

For a virtual tour of this home or a detailed on-line brochure for this beautiful home. Or contact Carolinas Realty Partners for more information or a private showing.