Cary, North Carolina
Welcome to my blog on Raleigh-Cary and the Triangle area of NC Real Estate. Here you can read current information on the Triangle area including neighborhood profiles, school information, taxes, market conditions, and even find things to do in the Triangle.
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Sep. 3, 2008
I was out last week with some friends of mine that want to build a Lake House near Jordan lake(the Army Corps of Engineers won't allow anyone to actually build on the Lake) and I stumbled upon an event that is coming up that I thought I'd share with you.
If you're looking for inexpensive entertainment the Jordan Lake Music Festival, on October 4th and 5th in Apex, may just fit the bill. The event is being held to raise funds to clean up Jordan Lake and costs only $20 for a one day pass and $40 for a 2 day pass.
There will be 5 stages and 18 performers, not to mention an art show, children's activities, and plenty of food and dance. The music will be varied including Bluegrass, Ragae, Folk, Jazz, Latin, and more.
For directions to Jordan Lake Farm in Apex click here
Jul. 10, 2008
Carolina Preserve by Del Webb at Amberly, a new Active Adult Community is located in presitigous Cary, North Carolina. Why live in Cary, NC?
- Cary has earned numerous awards for its high quality of life and has been rated the #1 place to live on the East Coast by Money Magazine
- It's ranked as the safest city in the South and the 6th safest out of 327 large cities in the nation
- Location, Location, Location that's why!! It is located in th heart of the Triangle, adjacent to Research Triangle Park, and only minutes away from RDU International Airport, the state's capitial, and the burgeoning theatre and arts community in Chapel Hill.
Carolina Preserve is located a short distance from some of the best healthcare in the nation including:
- Duke University Hospital in Durham ("The City of Medicine")
- UNC in Chapel Hill
- Wake Med in Cary, Raleigh, and coming soon to Apex.
- The University of North Carolina Wellness system has also agreed to partner with Carolina Preserve to provide their residents with fitness and wellness programs!
Carolina Preserve's grand opening celebration occurred July 15, 2006. At the opening, Del Webb unveiled nine model homes. The total number of lots will be rolled out in five phases with a total of 1,260 homesites.
Amenities & A Sense of Strong Community dominate Carolina Preserve
The hub of this active adult community will be its clubhouse and residents will have access to numerous activities. Planned for this premier community are an indoor year round pool, state of the art fitness center, billiard room, multi-purpose room and lounge area. There will be a second outdoor pool, tennis courts, bocce ball courts and picnic pavilion. Carolina Preserve is one of 7 neighborhoods in Amberly. Residents of Carolina Preserve will also have access to Amberly's clubhouse, pools and walking trails!
Arts, Culture, Sports & More are located near Carolina Preserve
The greater Raleigh area offers an abundance of educational, cultural and recreational opportunities. Enjoy a performance at the BTI Center for the Performing Arts featuring theater, ballet, the symphony and opera. Delight in outdoor performances at the Alltel Pavilion in Raleigh or the Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary. Raleigh provides numerous sports teams: The Carolina Hurricanes (NHL Hockey), Carolina Mud Cats and Durham Bulls (AA Baseball); and the great college sports including ACC NC State, UNC & Duke! Our area also features several major universities and community colleges to choose from including Duke University, UNC/Chapel Hill & NC State University that can offer you accredited courses for continuing your education or just for fun!!
What about golf? Is there are golf course too?
Located near the Carolina Preserve are several world-renowned championship golf courses that offer daily golf and Private memberships:
Community Details:
Age Restriction: 55+
Type of Home: Single Family, Villa/Town homes
Home Sizes: There are Four Collection of Homes:
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Cardinal Collection: 1103-1414 square feet
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Dogwood Collection: 1590-1919 square feet
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Emerald Collection: 2050-2597 square feet
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Villas: Duplex units
Price Range: Base Pricing $210,000-$401,000
As your trusted real estate professional, I am committed to offering you specialized services that focus on your needs. I understand that the sale or purchase of a home is one of the biggest events in your life and potentially one of the most stressful events in your life. My goal is to use my skill and expertise to guide you step by step through the process making the transaction easier and more pleasant. I strive to provide patient, caring, professional support and excellent service that exceeds your expectations.
Update: The next delivery for homes in Amberly is scheduled for August 2008 except for a few homes in the Emerald Collection!! This neighborhood has sold quickly, so be patient if you want to buy in this area.
Click on the map to the left for driving directions or call me for additional information on the community.
Dec. 4, 2007
I absolutely love Sunday brunch - it may be my favorite part of the weekend. It's certainly my favorite weekend meal. At home or in restaurants, brunch memories are important to me.
What is it about brunch that arouses such warm feelings? Maybe it's the idea of the late morning meal itself; almost time for lunch so I'm good and hungry, but still legitimately morning, enough, to crack open some eggs and get some bacon sizzling. Ahhh, and the aroma of the freshly poured cup of coffee.
There's something almost primordially comforting about brunch. The savory smells of cheese melting into an omelette, with smokey ham or bacon layered in, can arouse my lumbering husband out of deep hibernation. And happily helping mix fresh berries into pancake batter clearly gets my family feeling that they're contributing to their contribution to the food pyramid.
I'd like to share that comfort with my family this Christmas. My parents are coming to visit for the holidays and they just love to dine. With that in mind, we've decided to treat them to brunch while they are here. We have several choices for brunch in the Triangle - some casual, some not. It's your choice to experience the different flavors of the Triangle so I've broken them into three categories:
1. Easy Living- Casual Dining
Elmo's Diner
776 Ninth St , Durham , NC , 27705-4803
2. Mid Tier- More upscale but still casual
Courtney's Restaurant
407 E Six Forks Rd , Raleigh , NC , 27609-7829
Fearrington Market Cafe
1 Fearrington Post, Pittsboro, NC
More casual than the fancy Fearrington Restaurant, this quaint cafe doesn't skimp on style or flavor
Brigs Great Beginnings
8111 Creedmoor Rd Ste 169, Raleigh, NC
Specializing in gourmet omelets and golden hot cakes, this eatery raises the bar on breakfast food.
High End- This is best of the best
Herons
What a wonderful addition to the Triangle. Finally, a restaurant in the same class as restaurants in New York, Boston, and other top dining cities. The setting is spectacular and the location is convenient to all areas of the Triangle. I forgot to mention that the service and meal is in a different category than all other restaurants in this area.
Washington Duke
Jazz Brunch is served on Sundays from 10:30am until 2:00pm. The setting is quite elegant, the decorations during the holidays are outstanding, the service impeccable, and the meal delectable.
And if you want to bring home breads for Sunday's breakfast my friends Missy & Lionel at La Farm Bakery (4248 Cary Parkway, Cary, 657-0657) will offer the best hot cross buns, yeast rolls, linzer challah, and a huge selection of tarts and breakfast stratas that are to die for. PS. They also provide bread to Herons at the Umstead too!!
Dec. 4, 2007
You've bitten the bullet -there's no way around it-you're selling your home during the holidays. This time of year is unlike any other time of the year when I'm showing homes. Although my activity has slowed down from the summer season, the buyers that I've shown during the holidays are much more serious. 
I noticed a recurring theme with the houses my clients liked this week - they were all warm, cozy, inviting, smelled nice, and, yes, they were decorated for the holidays. Based on my observation I'd like to give you a few pointers that are selling during the holidays:
- Create an attractive environment that will allow buyers to view your home during this most hospitable of seasons.
- Spruce up your home by cleaning and decorating to give your home that "picture postcard" look.
- Make sure that your decorations are elegant and inviting and not intimidating or "over the top".
These are the types of things you need to check off for the holidays in your home:
- A fresh coating of paint and a spotlight on the exterior door works wonders to create a cheery mood upon entering.
- Keep in clean - clean daily, especially in high traffic areas.
- Make your home beautiful and inviting by setting the stage with the correct lighting - High-watt bulbs
 show off a home better than low-watt bulbs.
- Leave the radio on a station that plays Christmas music during the holidays. In my area 93.9 and mix 101.5 are two.
- Make sure your home "smells" like Christmas - Insert plug-ins with a mild Christmas/apple/cinnamon scent.
- Make sure that Christmas decorations don't interfere with the floor plan or spacing in the home.
- For example, I showed a home last year where they tried to stuff their wall mounted fish next to the Christmas tree in a small dining room.
- Keep Christmas decorations simple and elegant.
- Keep the personal photos to a minimum so that buyers can see themselves living cozily in the home.
I know this isn't the silver bullet to selling a home. If I had one I certainly know I'd use it. However, keeping these simple tips in mind will be one more reason to keep your home in contention and to land a buyer.
Nov. 17, 2007
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If you like North Carolina Pottery you are in for a treat - The 26th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival is taking place tomorrow and Sunday in Seagrove, North Carolina. Since I live in Cary I wrote about taking a daytrip to Randolph County to visit the potteries, the Zoo, and the Richard Petty Museum in Seagrove Pottery and the Ashboro Zoo - A Raleigh Daytrip and Exploring North Carolina in the Fall with the Kids. This year I recommend a visit to The 26th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival.
 I've always wanted to visit the potters in ACTION!! Seagrove is home to over 100 potters and each year they  are kind enough to display their skills at the pottery fest. One thing that most North Carolina residents don't realize is that the best potters from the Carolinas have learned their trade through many generations of pottery making. I am also intrigued by the "folk" pottery tradition that has deep roots tracing back to the mid-18th century. The tradition grew up in Seagrove where folk potters still use local clays; ash, salt and alkaline glazes; and wood-fired kilns. It's really a throw back to another generation. Folk pottery designs include face jugs to butter churns to vases.
So what are face jugs anyway? Potters in Colonial America made moonshine jugs with ugly faces. The ugly faces were used to ward off evil spirits. I just love them.
 Click here for more information on the potters and participants. Click here for details on the event. Seagrove is just an hour and fifteen minutes from Cary and an hour and a half from Raleigh.
Don't miss this fun event!!
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Sep. 26, 2007
City: Cary, North Carolina
Address: Kildaire Farm Road & Lochmere
Drive
Neighborhood Facts:
- Age range is 1980's-1990's
- Price range is $250,000-1 million
- Prime Location in East Cary!
Lochmere was the first PUD in Cary. What
is a PUD? A PUD is defined as a
planned urban development. One of the
features of a PUD is the community is designed with the intent to
have plenty of amenities and common areas. Lochmere is just
that-its has a tennis club, jogging trails, community pool, lakes,
and that feeling of a comfortably established neigbhorhood with
lots of trees. There is even a semi-private golf
club onsite. If you like activity, you
should call Lochmere
home.
Lochmere is such a large community three area a wide
variety of choices from Townhomes high $100's to an awesome
lakefront home hitting the seven-figure mark! For the most part,
you'll find the prices in the $300's and $400's for homes built in
the mid 1980's to early 1990's.
One of the other great features is Lochmere's prime
location in east Cary. Three premium grocery stores, includingthe
new Trader Joes, a Whole Foods Market, Western
Wake Hospital. There area also lots
of restraunt choices like 42nd Street
and others are just a few of the close amenities!
Sep. 22, 2007
I just found out today that Apex is adding a new art festival to
its lineup. Apex is really trying to beef up the cultural
activities. This is an event you won't want to miss!!
What? Salem Street Arts
Festival
When: Saturday October 6, 2007
Time: 9am-4pm
Where: Downtown Apex
Free to the Public
The Salem Street Arts Festival is an
exciting addition to the yearly activities in Apex. The arts
festival will feature local artists from around Apex and the
Triangle. The Firehouse Gallery will feature
displays of local professional artwork as well as children's
art. There will be lots of hands on art related activities -
Fun for the whole family. Let's not stop there - the festival
will also feature educational informatioin on the arts and caareer
in the arts, performances, and food too!!
This is a creative twist: In addition to
the hundreds of local professional artists they will also present
the Kids Market where children ages 16 and under can rent a booth
space to sell items they have made.
This event is sponsored by the Apex Arts Council.
Aug. 31, 2007
City: Cary
Location: Between Davis Drive and HWY 55 off of
Morrisville Carpenter.
Carpenter Village is located
in Cary, North Carolina on Morrisville Carpenter Road just west of
the intersection of Davis Drive and Morrisville Carpenter Road.
Carpenter Village is one of the closest Cary neighborhoods to
RTP.
Neighborhood Facts:
Estate Homes suited to grand entertaining and
comfortable family living, situated on large homesites, offering 3
car garages and many with lake views.
Executive Homes These custom homes feature
solid surface counter tops, spacious living and entertaining areas
and 2-car garages, many with ally-way access.
Neighborhood homes are classical single family
homes with grand gables, copper roofs protecting bay windows,
classical pediments enhanced with dentils, elliptical fan lights
and square mullioned transoms.
Charleston Homes are historically inspired,
southern styled row homes, with verandahs, balconies, piazzas, and
garages discretely tucked away and entered from the rear of the
home. Several of the Charleston Homes have wrap around
porches.
Carpenter Village
Townhomes
- Executive Townhomes have were built 2000 and later, have brick
front elevations, and have lots of light, open, flowing, floor
plans and generous storage space.
- Custom built townhomes by Impact Design-Build priced from the
$170s with 2-Car Garages.
Legacy at Carpenter Village. Newest
section of Carpenter Village North of Morrisville Carpenter
Road. Legacy at Carpenter Village offers a nostalgic
streetscape of innovative townhomes and single-family
homes.
Builder Team in Carpenter Village:
Amward Homes
Cattano Construction, Inc.
Impact Design-Build
JamesTowne Homes
Richard Gaylord Homes
Upright Builders
Upton Construction
Wardson Construction
Key Neighborhood Highlights:
The Village Market Place
The Village MarketPlace as a variety of merchants and services,
all available within walking distance of the homes. Some of
the merchants include a dry cleaners, day care, salon, and music
school. In 2007 another building will be built with
additional merchants to come.
Lake & Walking Trails
Carpenter Lake is a beautiful 22 acre lake with mature trees
lining much of the shore. A canoe or small sailboat would be a
perfect way to spend a mid summers day on the lake. Carpenter Lake
offers walking trails that meander through the trees, along the
shore line. The path is wide and paved and very inviting for an
after dinner stroll.
Playgrounds
The children's playgrounds are conveniently just a stroll away.
Parents and children walk to the playground and enjoy the swings,
slide and ladders.
Tennis and Volleyball
Tennis and Volleyball are part of the recreation area and can be
utilized by all Carpenter Village residents.
Carpenter Elementary
School
This is the neighborhood Elementary School which opened its
doors in the fall of 2006. Carpenter Elementary School was recently
recognized by the state as a School
of Excellence for exceeding all educational
goals for the year.
Western Wake Regional Library
Cary's newest library, which opened in the Fall of 2006, is
located within walking distance of Carpenter Village. The new
library features 70 public computers, WiFi Internet access,
conference room, six service desks, a drive-up book drop, study
rooms, and a multipurpose room for kids' and adults' events. The
library is situated with a view to a community lake. There are also
many nearby walking and biking trails.
This community was developed by the same award-winning team that
is now building in Falls River in N Raleigh, Westin Oaks in Cary,
and soon to be building in 12 Oaks in Holly Springs.
For more information go to the Carpenter Village website
or contact me directly for this neighborhood.
Aug. 20, 2007
Categorized in: Market Trends
Durham has always been a mulit-cultural town. It's time to get the word out about all of the neat things to do in Durham. I thought I'd write today about some of the cool things to do annually in Durham. We've missed most of these events this year but you can mark your calender for next year!
1. Duke Children's Classic - This is an annual celebrity golf tournament held at the end of May. 2007 marked the 34th year. The festival is renowned and attracts some top celebrities including Gerald Ford, Arnold Palmer, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Jay Leno, Michael Jordan, Dinah Shore, and Jeff Foxwothy.
2. Bimbé Festival - In West Africa, Bimbe is a harvest festival, during which villagers gather to give thanks and praise. In Durham, Bimbe is a celebration of the diaspora and its cultural underpinnings from the Mother Continent. The three-day festivities in June each year feature gospel, reggae and rap music, storytelling, dance performances, arts and crafts, and street-side fun.
3. American Dance Festival presents the most cutting-edge modern dance companies in the nation, and the world, in concert, as well as a full palette of special events and classes for dance students, dance educators, dance historians, and just plain fans. The festival lasts for 6 weeks from early June to mid-July. The 2008 season will run for six weeks from June 5–July 19, 2008.
4. Festival for the Eno - Largest fourth of July get together in the State. This event features over one hundred performers on five stages, Tours, Demonstrations, Storytelling, Workshops, Exhibits, and Readings on the banks of the Eno River.
5. Bull Durham Blues Festival - Largest blues gathering in the state for over a decade. This one takes place September 6th, 7th, and 8th (you haven't missed it yet) at the Durham Athletic Park. The festival features some of the best and most well-known contemporary blues artists today.
6. Centerfest – Hosted by the Durham Arts Council is one of North Carolina's largest street festivals with two-days of visual and performing arts on the streets of historic downtown Durham. This year’s festival takes place September 15th and 16th, 2007.
7. World Beer Festival features more than 300 Beers and 130 World-Class Breweries in one place at one time! It is held at the Historic Durham Athletic Park in early October. This year’s festival will take place October 6th. There will be ocal restaurants on hand and different bands playing throughout the day.
8. Taste of Durham Food Festival will be held at a new location in 2008 on May 24th at the Imperial Center in downtown Durham. The annual food festival features samples from the best restaurants in Durham and great live music. Here is a link to the map of the venue.
9. Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is one of the United States’ premier documentary film festivals. The event takes place over the course of four days each spring at the Carolina Theatre. It opened in 1998 and has grown tremendously since then. The festival is renowned for its presentation new documentaries as well as panel discussions, seminars, question and answer sessions and the overwhelming support it has garnered from movie makers as well as the general public.
Next year I'll post pictures of all of these wonderful events.
Sep. 21, 2006
I wanted to share with you the latest community coming to the newly redesigned North Hills area with a Midtown address. Kane Residential is pleased to announce that, on October 10th, pre-sales will begin for Ramblewood at North Hills, a community of brick townhomes, brick condominiums, and single-family Garden Homes. This project, introduced by Kane Residential, has been anticipated by the Triangle community and I wanted you to be the first to know. Appointments will begin to scheduled on October 2nd with a start date of October 10th. Completion date for the first homes is scheduled in the summer of 2007. The community will have three types of homes:
- The Townhomes will have Brick exteriors featuring a traditional architecture. Siteplans range from 2,300 to 4,500 square feet. The townhomes will include 9 and 10-foot finished ceilings, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. In addition, first-floor master suites and finished attics will be available. There will be X units and the base pricing starts in the high $400k’s going up to the $700k range. There will be only 40 Townhomes in Ramblewood.
- The Stacked Flats will be Single level floor plans offering 2 and 3 bedroom options at 1,150-2,000 square feet. The raised ceilings will include 9-foot finished ceilings, Hardwood floors, Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and gracious terraces. They will also have reserved, covered parking with elevator access and storage located in the parking level. The stacked flats will start just under $300k and go into the $400k range with 80 units available.
Garden Homes With only 18 sites available they will go fast. The architecture will be influenced by classical English, French and American architecture and begin at 3000 square feet. The floor plans will be either open or formal with first-floor master suites. These Modern amenities, including state-of-the-art kitchens, delivered with timeless style will include Double-car, carriage style garages. In addition, outdoor spaces offer a variety of landscape design options, including cutting gardens and water features. These luxurious high-end homes will start in the $900k range.
If you would like more information please feel free to call me at (919)656-5310 or email me at Tracy@TracySantrock.com
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