Jul. 29, 2009 - Chalotte Land for Sale

Many people relocating to Charlotte NC Real Estate do not understand the greater Charlotte market and base assumptions on their local market.  Real Estate is local.

Charlotte was a very small town 20 years ago.  Most of the land in the suburbs of Charlotte NC was owned by farmers.  They did not have a home in Charlotte on a couple of acres but on a hundred acres.   When they get ready to sell (as many already have) the Charlotte Land owner gets the most money from a developer.  The vast majority of the homes to buy are in subdivisions.  That is not "bad" but please do not be disappointed when you discover that an older home on three acres does not exist in the areas surrounding Charlotte Real Estate.  If the Charlotte property owner lived in the suburbs, there was a very good chance that he barely managed to get by.  The land owned was very small and the home was well used.  The suburbs was farmland.

There is also a lot of difficulty obtaining a mortgage for land.  Raw property loans are very high risk.  During difficult financial times, which would you let go?  Your primary home of investment land?  That is exactly why it is hard to get a loan on land.  Now if a lender does make the loan, the bank knows the next buyer will have a difficult time.

Buying Charlotte Property and Charlotte Land is always wise but you need to have your financing in order as you begin developing an actual plan.

Visit Charlotte NC Homes for Sale for more information  of the greater Charlotte Real Estate region.

Jul. 21, 2009 - Charlotte Real Estate - Stucco Homes

Are there any Stucco Homes within Charlotte Real Estate?  Is there problems in the Carolinas with Stucco homes?  What is hard stucco compared to Synthetic Stucco?

These are questions that many home buyers have.  North Carolina Stucco homes had a lot of bad press beginning in the 1990's.  The problem was with synthetic stucco.  Most buyers do not understand the difference between synthetic stucco and hard stucco so they just avoid stucco homes completely.  That is just another benefit of working with an experienced Charlotte Realtor.  I will simplify the conversation so that it is easy to remember.

Stucco is and was basically a layer of concrete spread over the brick exterior of a home.   A stucco finish adds a lot of character to your home.  This is and was very durable and will remain so.

In the 1980's, the US began using a technique called synthetic stucco that was in use in Europe for decades. Basically a three layer process was used.  First a layer of foam board is secured to the home, followed by a layer of concrete and finally a finish coat.  If it had been tried and tested in Europe for decades then there would be no problem, right?

The problem was that in Europe the buildings were stone and brick.  In the US the foam was attached to a wooden structure.  Big difference!  In time, cracks appeared around windows and doors.  Many were even just settling cracks.  This created the problem.  Moisture began seeping in behind the foam and being trapped behind your walls.  This was discovered in Wilmington NC with home inspections.  The vast majority of the homes tested positive for high moisture content is the wood framing.  Moisture within your walls promotes wood rot along with mold and mildew.

Bottom line: avoid synthetic stucco.  Regular or "hard" stucco is still safe.  But how do you determine which stucco is good or bad?  The easiest way is to "tap" on the stucco.  Synthetic stucco is hollow and hard stucco is solid.  If for some reason you find a synthetic stucco home that you love, visually inspect around the windows and doors.  You will frequently see the first evidence of moisture issues at these locations.

In conclusion there are some Charlotte Stucco homes but be very careful if considering Synthetic Stucco.  For additional information on Charlotte Real Estate - Charlotte NC Homes for Sale.

Jul. 7, 2009 - Charlotte Foreclosures and Charlotte Luxury Homes

It is incredible to experience this Real Estate market first hand!  Within Charlotte Real Estate we have great diversity and a wide range of price points.  First there are the homes under $100,000.

These homes are in the most economically challenged areas in the greater Charlotte Real Estate market.  Due to the continued popularity of Charlotte there is a huge demand for these homes.  Half of them will be under contract at all times.  This gives you an idea of the competition and the continues aggressiveness of our Real Estate market.

From the $150,000 to the $300,000 there is foreclosure activity but this group actually receives the smallest discount.  The homes may not be "dumped" like the group discussed above but there is still great demand.  Most Charlotte property owners can afford this price range so there will continue to be a lot of activity here.  Higher activity means banks have less of a need to deal.

There are great deals on higher end homes.  Many of these Charlotte NC Foreclosures are new homes!  Charlotte custom homes builders are an accumulation of builders from across the country.  They all swarmed here based on our market.  They abandoned Florida and New York for Charlotte.  Then based on the Charlotte Housing frenzy, they began building million dollar homes everywhere.  Some were very well positioned, some subdivisions just outpaced the growth and others were just not very well considered.

One example of great opportunity is in Providence Downs South.  This custom home community is spectacular.  It has all of the expectations for a million dollar community but it simply grew too fast. many custom home builders gobbled up lots and built spectacular homes.   The problem is that these buyers are now gone (or at least holding onto their funds for a rainy day).  The home buyers were going to be the New Yorkers looking for a better life, the Floridian escaping the hurricanes and entrepreneurs from across the country ready to begin their newest business adventure. 

New York and Florida lost much of their property values.  There went the cash for their next million dollar home.  Then there were the sales commissioned employee that purchased homes during the boom.  The final group are the builders that built based on speculation.  Many of these million dollar homes are vacant and there are fantastic deals to be had.  Success is not by those making money in good times but successful people are the ones that positioned themselves to seize opportunity during the struggling times.

If you are looking for a deal that is too good to pass up, give me a call today.  There are homes selling for less than they cost to construct. In a few years you will have enjoyed your home for a fraction of the cost and now have several hundred thousand dollars in equity!  You really can not lose if you buy now at the right price. 

Visit Charlotte Real Estate or call Rick Waite at 704.770.6559  today and together we will find you a great new home that you can not afford to pass up!