Spring 2011 Newsletter
Contents:
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Where’s the Heart of Your Home?
(originally published on the Breeze Blog, March 28, 2011)
Where do you have your best conversations, your best meals, your heartiest laughs as a family? A Spring 2011 Triangle Style magazine article by Audrey D. Mark, “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” interviewed seven women in the Triangle area and asked them five questions:
- What do you love most about your neighborhood?
- Was it love at first sight?
- When did you know it was truly “home sweet home”?
- Home is where the heart is, but where is the heart of your home?
- Any quirks in your home that make you smile?
These are all great questions to ask yourself before launching a new home search. → READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE
Navigating the New NC Real Estate Contract
The North Carolina real estate contract has changed dramatically for 2011. It’s called the “Offer To Purchase and Contract,” and it requires a completely different approach to the home buying process. Depending on what role you play in the real estate transaction—buyer, seller, or lender—there’s a lot of new information to digest. To get started, let’s look at the main points.
Buyers need to know that there is a due diligence fee, which is variable and negotiable. All buyers will have a timeframe to complete all inspections AND get their financing.
Sellers need to know that buyers can back out for any reason within their due diligence timeframe, and then the seller will keep the due diligence fee. The seller’s home may be listed as “contingent” for a negotiable period of time, in some cases 45 days or more.
The role of earnest money has changed. It may be offered later in the process or in some cases not at all.
The role of the real estate consultant is even more important in guiding buyers and sellers through the process and keeping a close eye on all the parties and deadlines. (Think of me as a conductor!)
Low Costs Help Make Raleigh-Cary the Nation’s “Healthiest Housing Market”
(from the North Carolina Dept. of Commerce)
Affordable real estate and low construction costs helped put Raleigh-Cary at the top of Builder Magazine’s recent “Healthiest Housing Markets” list. The magazine ranked nationwide markets according to appreciation or depreciation of home prices, building permit activity, income and household growth, job growth, and unemployment rates. Durham-Chapel Hill came in at No. 3.
“Clearly our market has been able to weather the storm better than most,” Tim Minton, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, told the News & Observer. “Part of it is our prices never accelerated like other markets did so we’ve not had to recover from that part of it.”
According to the News & Observer, single-family building permits increased 16 percent in the Raleigh-Cary market and 14 percent in Durham-Chapel Hill last year. Homes are now more affordable all across the Triangle.
“Before, if you wanted to buy a house that was under $250,000, you weren’t going to look at Cary as an option,” Minton explained. “Now Cary is an option.”
For more details, check out the News & Observer article.
Where to Start With a Fixer-Upper
Mary Dionne (left) and kitchen designer Ruth Ann Taylor in Mary's new kitchen
(originally published on the Breeze Blog, April 5, 2011)
Breeze Realty client Mary Dionne was looking for her perfect home, but what she found was a great mid-century house that needed a few changes to fully suit her needs. While some might find a home renovation project daunting, especially when it involves hiring contractors, Mary was inspired to build her dream kitchen. The results are beautiful and functional, plus they add value to her home. Here’s Mary, in her own words.
Breeze Realty (BR): Why did you decide to renovate your kitchen?
Mary: I bought a 1957 ranch in a lovely inside-the-Beltline neighborhood. I am the same age as the house, and we both needed a renovation. The kitchen was tiny, positioned incorrectly in the space, and tired-looking.
BR: How did the kitchen designer aid in the process, and would you recommend using one?
Mary: I had a talented, reasonably priced, well-credentialed, and PATIENT kitchen designer. Ruth Ann Taylor, CKD, CBD, is with Cassedy and Fahrbach Design Partners. Ruth Ann helped me with creating better placement for the kitchen by relocating it to an adjacent room. This unified the kitchen with the living and casual dining space to create a great open area for entertaining. The kitchen itself is also beautiful and functional. There is appropriate and plentiful storage in all the right places.
BR: What was the biggest lesson you learned about choosing a contractor?
Mary: Ask a lot of questions, and use all the resources available to you… → READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE
BR Postscript: Look for a follow-up conversation with Mary soon… One of her dinner parties was featured in a News & Observer article!
We Love Referrals
Know someone who’s getting ready to buy or sell a house? Want to know how to refer that friend to Breeze Realty? Worried that we’re too busy for your referrals?
No worries… In fact, referrals are the highest priority for us! Your friend does not have to be completely “ready” to buy or sell—in fact, it’s part of our job to help your friend discover and analyze all the different choices. So, just give your friend a heads-up that you’re going to make that connection with an experienced REALTOR® like Louise, then pass along that friend’s name and phone number and/or email address to louise@breezewithlouise.com.
“Thanks in advance for your referrals!”—Louise
EVENTS CALENDAR
April 9, World Beer Festival in Moore Square
April 16, Planet Earth Celebration at the NC Science Museum
April 30, Contemporary Art Museum Opening
May 6, First Friday at Breeze Realty, with Denise Whitley of Interior Concepts (creator of my office’s mid-century-modern meets Glenwood-south style)
→ Find more fun stuff on the Events page.
FUN LOCAL BLOGS
Trying to eat healthy on the cheap? Check out CookForGood.com. (“I have to try to get used to the idea of beans as food!”—Louise)
Get spring home maintenance tips from my lending partner Jean Hedges. Check out her blog at TeamHedges.blogspot.com.
RECOMMEND BREEZE REALTY
Feel free to post a recommendation on our Facebook page. Other ways to spread the word: tweet about us, write a review on Yelp, or make a comment on our blog.
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Open House 4/3/11
Join me this Sunday, 4/3, 2-5 pm
4000 Ebenezer Church Road, Raleigh
Check out this beautiful estate for sale!
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Headlines for 12/19/10
Congratulations to our Breeze Blog manager, Vicki Moulton, on the birth of her son Leo Maxwell Cazier on November 18! Mom, Dad, big sister, and baby brother are all doing fine!
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Fall 2010 Newsletter
Contents:
- Breeze Realty Celebrates Fantastic First Year
- Spotlight: Satisfied Buyers
- Happenings
- Fun Facts
- How to Avoid Drive-Bys
- Pioneering Builders of Hope
- What Makes a Builder Green?
- Hillsborough Street Trivia
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Breeze Realty Celebrates Fantastic First Year
Louise Griffin, Broker/Realtor, October 2010
It’s been just over a year since Breeze Realty opened for business, and what a great year it was!
How’s the housing market in Raleigh right now? Booming, if this past summer’s flurry of activity is any indication. After the first-time buyer tax credit ended in June, I worked with nine clients (both buyers and sellers) for a total of $3.75 million in transactions. Despite what you might be hearing from the national media, homes are indeed being bought and sold in the Raleigh area!
The homes that were bought and sold this past summer were diverse–from a downtown fixer-upper to a lush home with a swimming pool in a gated community–but they all had features that enhance the lifestyle of their new owner. Selling a home follows the same principle: find what the seller most loved about the home when they bought it and match that to a buyer’s wishlist.
For example, the sellers of a Cameron Park home appreciated the walkability of the neighborhood, the beautiful view of the park, and the home’s proximity to downtown. The home’s buyers wanted to walk their children to school, and that home in Cameron Park met that need perfectly. It’s my job to help both home buyers and sellers identify what is important to them in their home and lifestyle, and then guide them to housing choices that make them happy.
Speaking of happiness at home, I’m proud to be featured in Simple Living expert Wanda Urbanska’s book, “The Heart of Simple Living: 7 Paths to a Better Life,” with my lifestyle questionnaire in the chapter “The Path to Housing Happiness.” This is just one example of how I try to make the Breeze Realty experience more fun and fulfilling for my clients.
Coming soon on the Breeze Blog: information on how to choose a contractor–either for building or renovating a home–and tips on getting through the process successfully. Here’s to another great year!
Happenings
- October 30-31: “The Ghosts of Fayetteville Street” at The Burning Coal Theatre
- November 20: Raleigh 2010 Christmas Parade
- December 4-January 30: AT&T Raleigh Winterfest
- December 11-12: Oakwood Candlelight Tour
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Spotlight: Satisfied Buyers
It was a pleasure for me to help one young couple, Katie and Derek Tugwell, buy their first single family home, just in time for their first baby. This was the third time that I’ve assisted them with finding a home, but their first time buying a single family property.
Another couple, Jill and Dave Sawatzky, moved to Raleigh to be closer to the restaurants and downtown they enjoy. They rose to the challenge of partnering with a builder and helped to design their stunning new family home (in the Oaks at Fallon Park), while I guided them through the ins and outs of that process. 
They told me after closing that I “became more than just our Realtor” during the process–very high praise that I truly appreciate. (Full disclosure: It’s easy to become personally invested in a business transaction, as choosing or selling a home is a very personal experience.)
Marge and Lee Carter might not fit the mold of typical first-time home buyers. Having raised two sons in Connecticut, the Carters told me that it was always cheaper to rent where they used to live. But now that they are in the Raleigh area, where their sons and grandchildren live, they were happy to find that they could buy a property for less than the cost of renting.
The Carters are actively involved in the raising of their grandchildren, so they wanted a home that would allow the growing kids to run around, both indoors and out. Both Marge and Lee operate home-based businesses, so a home office was important as well. Since moving in, the Carters have had the floors refinished, painted the walls, and are ready to work on the yard. The house is glowing with new energy. As I was welcomed into their new home for a tour, the pride of ownership was evident!
Fun Facts
- Raleigh-Cary is #1 on the top 10 list of metro areas that are expected to have their homes appreciate in value. (Source: Forbes magazine, Sept. 2010)
- Mortgages are at an all-time historic low. You can get a 30-year loan for just over 4%. (Source: Wall Street Journal, Sept. 2010)
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How to Avoid Drive-Bys
(originally published Dec 31, 2009)
It’s something every home seller dreads: prospective buyers being so turned off by the exterior appearance that they don’t even stop the car to take a decent look.
If you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, how can you avoid the dreaded drive-by? Add to your home’s curb appeal with some (relatively) inexpensive upgrades.
Remodeling magazine’s 2009-2010 Cost vs. Value Report totaled up the best bang for your remodeling buck in the coming year, and 7 of the top 10 on the list are on the outside of your house–think roof, deck, siding, front door, and windows.
So even in this market, you can count on getting back more of your remodeling investment by focusing on the exterior. The main reasons? It costs less than expanding the living space, makes a great first impression, and improves energy efficiency. (Ding ding ding: green is king!)
But before you put that house up for sale, don’t forget about landscaping. Without a well-kept walkway, yard, or steps leading up to it, that pretty front door will only get you so much curb appeal.
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Pioneering Builders of Hope
(edited from article originally published Dec 16, 2009)
Builders of Hope, Inc. (BOH), is an incredible organization that helps to rebuild lives and homes–providing safe, affordable housing to working families by essentially saving and recycling homes that would otherwise end up in landfills. These houses are either moved to planned neighborhoods for rehabilitation or rebuilt onsite, using green building standards. All are sold at cost to working families who earn below the median income.
BOH’s Building Green Communities model includes its “Extreme Green Rehabilitation” process and “Work Mentor” program. BOH gives “the chronically unemployed, the homeless and at-risk youth the opportunity to learn job skills and other life skills through its work-mentor program. Participants work side-by-side on the job site with mentors and construction personnel. While building these homes for others, they rebuild their own lives – and learn the value of teamwork, resourcefulness and commitment.” Learn more at buildersofhope.org.
There has never been a better time to combine social/environmental consciousness, green jobs, and affordable housing. I am thrilled to join the growing chorus of voices praising the work of this great organization!
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What Makes a Builder Green?
(edited from article originally published May 5, 2010)
How do you know when a newly built home is “green”? It’s trendy to claim green features in a new home. You might see an ad that talks about a home constructed with sustainably harvested bamboo flooring and some water-saving low-flow showerheads—both considered green—but how do you know that the entire home is truly built to environmentally sustainable standards?
You could drive over to the house and look at it from the street. Better yet, you could go inside to get a closeup view of any green features. Then you’d know for sure, right?
Not really. From the outside, most sustainably built homes look just like any traditionally built home. And there are dozens of green features built into a home’s walls that you will never see just by walking through an open house.
The best way to know for sure is to ask the builder whether the home is certified from a credible green building program that requires third-party verification. All of these programs, according to the Green Home Builders of the Triangle, require the builder to treat the home as a system and to achieve goals in each aspect of green building, including:
- Site development
- Resource use
- Water efficiency
- Energy efficiency
- Indoor environmental quality
- Homeowner education
The homes that receive either green or ENERGY STAR® certification can be identified in searches of the Triangle MLS. As your real estate agent, I’d be happy to run a list of the certified homes and help you make an offer for the one you want.
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Hillsborough Street Trivia
(excerpted from article originally published Sept 22, 2010)
DID YOU KNOW…
- Hillsborough Street was named for the North Carolina city that used to serve as the state capital before its move to Raleigh?
- The land surrounding Hillsborough Street was originally part of a plantation owned by David Cameron, founder of St. Mary’s College?
- A streetcar used to run along Hillsborough Street to connect the west side of town with downtown Raleigh?
- Hillsborough Street has been the site of several famous gatherings in the past half century, including North Carolina’s biggest antiwar protest and N.C. State’s victory party after the 1983 NCAA basketball championships?
- Several scenes in the movie Bull Durham were filmed at Mitch’s Tavern on Hillsborough Street?
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