You just have to love the name.  All my clients get a kick out of FUQUAY-VARINA.  Half of them say that can't even pronounce it.  It's kind of like our #1 grocery store in the area--Harris Teeter..Go figure.

On to the real estate business in Fuquay(for short): 

 The market in Fuquay-Varina is continuing to trend upward in price and activity as are most of the Raleigh area suburbs. General market indicators have been steadily climbing for the last 3 years with 3,616 properties closed through 12/31/2006.   

Homes priced below $200,000 are becoming difficult to find except in the Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, East Raleigh & Southern Wake areas.  There are significant opportunities to own a home throughout the area between $300’s & the low $400's.  In general we are experiencing a very robust market here with a 2006 average of about 13,000 homes on the market at any given time. Average supply of inventory in Fuquay Varina is a bit higher than the rest of Raleigh at five months of inventory.   

The highest appreciating subdivisions in Fuquay Varina include Windermere at over 6.7% above $400k and Windcrest at 7.8% below $200k. In short, it’s a great time to buy in Fuquay Varina.  It’s a great community with a lot of growth potential in the future.

 I recently worked with a couple on the purchase of a home in Crooked Creek in Fuquay Varina.  My clients wrote an initial offer on a home in September but lost the house because they had to sell their home in Phoenix.  My clients closed on their home November 17th so they are now ready to move to North Carolina. 

I'd like to preface that my clients were looking for a good investment opportunity.  When I showed my clients homes back in September we went into a house that seemed incredibly spooky.  We walked through the house and there were holes in the walls, stains on the carpet (blood perhaps?), and video cameras up in the bonus room.  This is where my story begins.

A murder perhaps? An argument gone wrong?  A child molester upstairs with hidden cameras?  As you are aware, we as Real Estate agents do not have to disclose information about people dying in the home. I can understand dying of natural causes, but murder should be disclosed.   On the other hand, if I am representing my clients, I feel I have a fiduciary duty to determine exactly what went on in this home before my clients purchase the property.  The sight of the home was incredibly disturbing.  What happened in that house?

I did a lot of investigating and found out there was a disturbed couple living in the home and they went through bankruptcy, but other than that, the house was good to go.  Most of the problems in the home were cosmetic.  The home had what I like to call "good bones", it was in a great golf course community, and the home sat on a cul-de-sac lot.  The basement was not included in the square footage measurements because the previous owner did most of the work on his home and not the best work I might add.  I'm attaching the before photos and will post the after photos in another blog. 

The bottom line from an investment standpoint.  My clients purchased the home(it's all in the Wake Gov County Records) for $262,000, a real steal since all of the homes in that section of Crooked Creek are going for $400k plus.  In fact, the previous owners purchased the home back in 2002 for $330,000 with an unfinished basement.  My clients replaced the carpet, made some minor changes with the fixtures(cosmetic), repainted, powerwashed the front of the home, and refinished the basement.  They've now added over 800 square feet to the home in a matter of 45 days.  The difference is DRAMTIC.  They did put some money in the property but in the end they added over $150k in equity in a matter of 45 Days.  I'm not saying I can produce these kind of results for everyone(I preface the RESULTS NOT TYPICAL statement) but I do have an eye for a good investment opportunity.

Pictures will be reposted.