AllAboutCary.com

The National Association of REALTORS released market data about home sales prices in the second quarter of 2007. Our median home price is Wake County is $225,100., which is up 8.4%. Strangely enough, Durham, which is just one county line away, has a median sale price of $180,100, which is up 1.2%. It is interesting to see the difference in growth and home prices between the various counties. Wake County has over 8,000 new students in its schools this year. Durham County was in the local media predicting only 400 new students.

The point is this: Wake County is successfully meeting the demands of change as they present themselves. Durham County is not. It is pretty easy to see why, if you drive through the downtowns of Durham, compared to the downtowns of Raleigh, Cary, or Apex. I am glad that I am not a Durham taxpayer when I see the brain trust that runs Durham spending 13 million dollars on brick sidewalks and similar improvements in downtown. Oh, yeah - THAT is why nobody wants to go to downtown Durham unless they work at an attorney’s office, or have to make a court appearance!

The difference is this: Wake works. Durham does not. Now, Wake County is NOT heaven on Earth, but even people from elsewhere do not have to look long to see the differences the county line makes in schools, crime, taxes, and attitudes. Is it any wonder that I use www.ILoveCary.com and www.WeLoveRaleigh.com as domains? It is true, I LOVE Wake County - and it would be false advertising to use “www.ILoveDurham.com.”

I have a client - a couple of them actually, a very nice newly married couple from New York. They thought that they may wish to move to this wonderful area, and did what many others do. They made a recon trip in January, and fell in love with the area. (I did, too - in 1983 - and the area has only gotten better since them - so I don’t blame them!) I showed them around, and they decided that they wanted to grab a piece of the wonderful lifestyle that we have here, and we found them a home.

My clients own a co-op, up in New York (right outside of New York City.) Now, for those who are not from New York, a co-op is a form of ownership where each member owns a share of the building. I learned about it in real estate school, and there might have been a question about it on the state exam, but we don’t have them around here. And I cannot describe just how glad I am of that! Once they got the co-op under contract, they came down and we got to the hard work of finding a home. We saw a bunch, and we selected a beautiful North Raleigh home on a hill, and put in an offer. After a few rounds of astute negotiation on my and their part, we got under contract. Since their co-op was under contract, then all it was is a matter of scheduling our end and leaving in an appropriate buffer in case the closing got postponed a day or two, right? After all, that is what we normally do.

Unfortunately, I have had to learn how wrong I was! Apparently, selling a co-op in New York involves coordination of manpower and resources to rival General George Patton’s efforts to relieve the 101st Airborne at Bastogne during World War Two. First, the co-op has to be listed and put under contract. Then, the hard part begins. Apparently, the co-ops have an almost absolute veto power over the prospective buyers, and must approve them before the sale can occur. And apparently, they can be cavalier about the procedures used to do this, and the timing of the interviews with the co-op board and all that. Their inaction and arbitrary delaying of this procedure has delayed the closing of my client’s co-op by over a month, and when I talked to the attorney representing him, she said that this is par for the course of selling a co-op up there.

Luckily, we FINALLY have a closing date for them, so that we could set a closing date down here. Apparently, the co-op boards in New York have created this crazy atmosphere where they do whatever they want to do, and have not been accountable to anyone. Luckily, there is prospective legislation to change this on the books, that the co-ops are fighting tooth and nail. The craziest part is that the closing up there will be attended by an attorney for the seller, and attorney for the buyer, an attorney for the co-op (who in this case is a jerk and has made the process even more trying than it normally would be) and an attorney for the bank who is providing the loan for the new purchase. Sounds like a goat rodeo to me.

All I can say is that I thank God that this is almost done, and I can get back to normal real estate deals! And I am also grateful to understanding sellers of the house down here, as well as their agent, who have tolerated these delays and the attendant uncertainty, mostly without blowing a gasket. And I think that I have ONE MORE good reason to love North Carolina: No co-ops!

It seems like something that is so easy to do: Buying a home. You have the money in hand, or the financing, all you have to do is call the number on the sign, and see the house, and set a closing date, right? Maybe not. For Sale By Owners (”FSBOs” - pronounced “Fizz-Bows” in the real estate industry) are a way that some people attempt to save money, either in buying or selling a home. While this works for some people, the truth is that you end up with all sorts of strange situations that are easily handled by an experienced agent, but are difficult at best with novices. So, an experienced home seller or buyer with a LOT of time on their hands can do OK in some situations, but even they are not going to know all the tricks. For an interesting story, take a look at FSBOGoneWrong.com. This site is subtitled, “A cautionary tale for home buyers considering a FSBO without a Realtor.” And no, this was not put up by a REALTOR®!

Here is a link to the 180 critical steps performed by a REALTOR in a home purchase and sale, brought to you by my buddies at the Orlando, Florida Regional Association of REALTORS®.

And don’t forget that, as a buyer, the seller of the home pays for my work on your behalf. For all of the convenience and protection, using me as your REALTOR® does not cost - it pays.

I just got back from the Raleigh fireworks display at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. It is always a treat to go, and they outdid themselves this year. The display was great, and the State Highway Patrol and the Raleigh Police Department did their usual great job of handling the traffic getting in and getting out. (And this part brings back some not-so-happy memories of my own former career as a policeman!) And I must say that one of the things I like about this area is the people (generally) drive friendly and the traffic at such an event is not the ordeal that it can be, and often is, in less civilized places. Of course, there WAS one exception to this rule near me, who was playing her music loud and flipping off people who were trying to get in the line of traffic, but her car sported the license plates of a certain northeastern state that is known for high taxes, bad weather, and worse attitudes. There is one in every crowd. But luckily, most of the time, there is only one! I wonder what ever happened to the Raleigh “drive friendly” campaign? I used to see these bumperstickers all the time around here, but not lately. As the commercial said, “enquiring minds want to know.” Maybe we need to hand them out, along with a driving handbook, at the NC / Virginia border…

On this important day, it is my deepest hope and prayer that we can, as a country, continue to honor the noble sacrifices that our veterans have made on our behalf. British writer George Orwell said it better than I can say it: “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” Let’s be honest - in this great country of ours, we have it good. Especially around Raleigh and Cary, we are able to live a very good life! But this good life does not come without a cost. Since Revolutionary War times all the way to THIS VERY MINUTE, our soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and coast guardsmen have put themselves in harm’s way to protect our country. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice, paying for OUR liberty with their very lives.

One man who has taken the debt that we owe these brave men seriously is Dave Milidonis. Through the North Carolina Veteran’s Freedom Park in Cary, he is attempting to build an interactive monument to honor these veterans and to educate future generations about these heroic men and the level of sacrifice that is required of any society such as ours that wants to remain free. Today would not be a bad day to make a donation to this most worthy cause!

In case you have not noticed, we are currently in the midst of combatting a most evil enemy, who most certainly wants to kill us and destroy our liberty, and replace it with a most cruel and evil system: A system, in fact, that would leave no room at all for the “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” that our forefathers pledged their “Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” to attain. This must not occur. This is why we must continue to fight.

Today is Memorial Day that we take time out from the activities of our normal lives in order to remember these men. (And, owing to the changes that have taken place in our modern age, a few women as well.) So, please, enjoy your liberty today. But, please fly the flag, and please do not forget to say a prayer in rememberance of our veterans and in love for our current service members! If you want to honor them in person, there is a service conducted by American Legion Post 67 today at 10 a.m. at Hillcrest Cemetery. For information contact the post at 481-4811.

It seems that someone else has their doubts about the new Bank of America no-closing-costs program. (See my earlier BLOG entry.) Kenneth R. Harney
wrote about it in Realty Times, and has the same take that I do. (Full Article Text) I really do not see that B of A is giving away free money out of the goodness of their hearts. (I am SURE that they have little goodness in their hearts. Read about Matthew’s Story on Clark Howard’s website and see why I say this on what I feel is good authority. See why people took 50 million dollars out of B of A over their despicable behavior in this case, and their refusal to make things right.)

In any case, I still maintain that there is no such thing as a free lunch anywhere, much less in the mortgage lending world. Closing real estate deals costs money. And you, as they buyer, or you, as the seller, are going to be paying these fees. The only question is who will do it and whether they pay for it at closing, or over the life of the loan with a higher rate.

I am not sure that any of y’all could be as big a cheapskate as I am. I am not quite Clark Howard, but I like to find the cheap way to get something done, if that is possible. Now, Bank of America has decided that it is going to offer No Closing Cost mortgage loans. (Full Article Text)

Now, I am not one to rain on anybody’s parade, but the phrase “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” comes to mind. There are still closing costs to pay. Somebody needs to pay them. That somebody is going to be YOU, the mortgage customer, and NOT Bank of America, I assure you. The difference is that the bank (who has already raised its rates in anticipation of this program - see Roger Schlesinger’s column about it) will pay for these costs (and then some) with a higher rate over the life of the loan.

So, is this a good deal? Yes. No. Maybe. It depends. It makes sense for some folks to get into a home with little or no money down, with the prospect of property appreciation and eventual higher pay leading to the ability to refinance the property later, to greater financial advantage than was possible at the initial purchase of the home. BUT MAKE SURE TO RUN THE NUMBERS and know what you are getting yourself into! Good, bad, or indifferent - YOU NEED TO KNOW!

And remember, There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch! Know what you are getting into!

I had one of my regular clients ask me why I took down the $10,000 Kitchen Makeover Sweepstakes ad from the website. Well, here is the deal: We started doing that promotion in January. Don’t fret: Everyone who signed up for it got entered into the sweepstakes! The deal with the sweepstakes company is that I would pay them for the contact information from everyone who signed up. I thought that this would be a good deal: I would get a lead who might want to buy or sell a home, and the person got a chance to win the cashola!

The trouble is that every time that I would put that up, there would be thousands (yes, thousands!) of people signing up who are part of some crazy group where people apparently spend their day signing up for every sweepstakes imaginable on the Internet. They apparently have some sort of bird dog who scours the web for things like this. So, in any case, I was deluged with people hailing from all corners of the globe: Dillweed, New Jersey, East Armpit, Idaho, and everywhere in between. The trouble is that all of them were happy RIGHT WHERE THEY WERE, sitting in the bingo parlor, smoking Pall Malls, and furiously working the laptop between number calls to sign up for that BIG SCORE. (Or whatever they were doing. That is just how I picture them.) I cannot sit still that long, and I believe in working for a living, so I could not take that lifestyle. I don’t think that it is the way we are meant to spend our lives: sitting around, waiting for something to happen.

While I do NOT care, and it is NONE of my business, what these people are doing, less than 1% ever had any interest at all in moving here, so I had to pull the plug on the sweepstakes. But it DID give me an idea - maybe I need to open a bingo parlor with free wi-fi service!

Those of you in Wake County who have been keeping up with our excellent school system know that there is no such thing as a perfect world. While Wake Schools are really great, there have been issues with our school board not being very creative with how they run things. Their two solutions are more money and year round schools. Speaking as a parent, I have no problem with year round schools IF THEY ARE VOLUNTARY. Western Wake County, especially Apex, was going to have a LOT of forced year round schools. As of today, Judge Howard Manning ruled that the the school board CANNOT force students into year round schools! (Full Article Text)

And I do NOT want to hear any more nonsense any time soon from the school board about the schools needing more money for construction, not after the $900+ million school bond we just passed! Spend it wisely, folks - we taxpayers are watching!

I am very glad about this turn of events - this had the ability to REALLY upset some folks!

I have a secret to share. Though my friends thing that the reason that I left police work for real estate is so that I can have a drink at lunch, that is not so. (Yes, I have been known to bend an elbow, but I really don’t do it very much. Really! But I probably do it more than I did when I was a cop!) The real reason is because I enjoy working with and for decent folks, instead of working with jerks. Yes, I mean jerks!

When I was a policeman, I may not have gotten the last word, but as my Verbal Judo suggests, I DID get the last action. (And many a jerk made his or her way down to the jailhouse while I listened to them act jerky. But I was always the one whistling a happy tune, when I went out of the jail, while they went to get their shower shoes and orange jumpsuits on. And no, Mr. jerk, I do NOT know if its true about that soap dropping thing. Why don’t you let me know what happened the next time I have to arrest you?)

The great thing about real estate as a profession is that I don’t work too hard. No, wait - that is not true! I actually work much harder than I did as an armed bureaucrat! Hmm, what is it? Oh, yes, I remember! The great thing is that I don’t have to deal with jerks. Well, after this week, this myth was sure busted!

I choose not to work with jerks whenever that is possible. I do not want a jerk for a client. I almost ended up with one today, who was referred by another agent in my office who had a schedule conflict. Luckily, he revealed his jerky nature by not showing up and not canceling his appointment. Luckily, this had no ill effects, as I spent the time getting caught up with some paperwork before my GOOD, NICE Broker in Charge and the GOOD, NICE accounting staff at the RE/MAX United office have to chastise me for turning in my closing paperwork right on the closing date. (Again! Sorry, Barbara and Emily!) I am blessed indeed to have a bunch of GOOD, NICE clients to work with, and who I can enjoy dealing with, without having to grovel to jerks to earn my living.

I had another jerk to deal with recently, who bought one of my clients’ homes. This was a really obnoxious lady and her poor meek husband. As part of the deal with the home they bought, they demanded a water filter of some strange specification be installed. My sellers agreed, and we ordered the filter at closing, with my contractor to install it within 30 days of close. It arrived a week or so later, and the buyer proceeded to call the contractor EVERY DAY at least once until he had it installed. (Mind you, we never came CLOSE to the 30 days we agreed on.) Because he would not drop everything else to put the filter in instantly, she emailed me with long, obnoxious emails, and ended it up with a loud, obnoxious phone call. She ended up wanting for us to repair some things in the home that were NOT part of the contract, and even had my contractor do a couple things that were not agreed upon, or part of the contract, and which I had to pay for. (It was NOT the contractor’s fault - he was doing his best!) In the end, she wanted more free work which was not part of the deal. It was so satisfying to just say no. And, by the way, ma’am, don’t call or email me any more.

The good thing is that, for every jerk I deal with, I deal with about 100 decent, nice, friendly people. That makes this worth doing. May they be fruitful and multiply! And the money we make from jerks is not worth it. We can’t help it some times, but when we can, it is our policy to JUST SAY NO.