Brookhaven New Homes Amenities- a Flip Camera Adventure
January 2nd, 2010 Categories: Communities Under 750K, Communities Under500K, Terry's Top Ten New Home Communities
I began shooting homes and communities with my new Flip camera in September- I found these clips rummaging through my computer at the New Year… so I thought I’d share, they are better than I first thought.
Congratulations to Brookhaven home sellers with 12 home sales in the 4th quarter of 2009.
Brookhaven in Matthews, has been a long time favorite- a Terry’s Top Ten, for new homes and resales in the $400-$800K price range
the majority of homes are in the $550-$650K. Building by John Wieland began in the 2004, and became their most successful community of all time. The Amenity center is one of those reasons- short of country club, there isn’t any community in Charlotte with better amenities AND it’s better than many country clubs- have look from the outside.
HOA fee’s? Under $1000 per year. That is not a misprint!
Year End Brookhaven Market Report
John Wieland has all but completed sales here- they are down to their last 10-15 lots, some of which, surprisingly are very good. New prices are ranging from the middle 600’s- $659 to $699.
There are 27 homes for sale in Brookhaven from $334,000 (hardiplank) to $950,000, the median is $569,000.
Terry McDonald
704-351-1519
The McDonald Team, Wilkinson and Associates, Broker
Relocation, Distressed Properties, First Homes, Luxury Homes
Top Team 2006, Top 10 2007, Top Agent 2008
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terrymcdonald57
http://www.TerryMcDonaldRealEstate.com
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Congratulations Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
December 4th, 2009 Categories: About Charlotte, Charlotte Schools and Education
North Carolina, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Measure Up in Newsweek’s Top 1500 High Schools In America
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools placed two high schools in the top 200, and an additional 9 high schools in the survey of Top 1500 Public High Schools conducted annually by Newsweek Magazine Online. The Top 1500 represent the top 6% of US High Schools, and the CMS 11 pl;us 1 from Union- Weddington HS, represent 23% of North Carolina’s total of 53 high schools that made the Top 1500.
Jay Matthew’s at the Washington Post and Newsweek devised a simple formula, not without its critics, a few years back: Rank them by “the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 6 percent of public schools measured this way.”
So it is the number of AP or IB tests taken per graduating senior for each school, (not passed) with a minimum “score” of 1.0, so to get on the list- if you had 400 graduates then a minimum of 400 tests take (seniors and juniors) would equal a score of 1.0, likewise 600 tests taken for 400 students 1.5 etc. While not a perfect measure, it is a measure of how many of the schools’ children are actively engaged in college preperatory classes, it is relatively easy to calculate, allows small schools to compete with large schools, and I suspect most high school Principals would be glad to see their school on the list. It is also a modest measure- yet only 6% of the nations’ high schools make the list.
The List does not include many terrific magnet and charter schools- those schools are purposeful in their attraction of elite students, and so, they’d need to be evaluated using a different standard, paraphrasing Matthew’s. Do you have a question on why or how he did the work? Here is his FAQ page for details.
Myers Park led Mecklenburg County at #44 on the list with each graduating senior taking an average of 5 AP/IB tests. Providence was # 189 on the list, with each senior taking an average of 3 AP Tests… but do not forget the other 10! These can be seen at the bottom of the post.
If you’re school is on the list, it means they believe in the power of AP and IB, and the administration is encouraging the course work and test taking– a very imortant indicator of future success in college.
So 1500 schools represent the top 6% of public high schools in America, according to this formula. Mecklenburg County has by my count, 12 schools on the list. Interestingly, many of these CMS schools (5) had 40% or more of their students n Free and Reduced lunches, that is good work at those tough schools, promoting a culture of excellence. Check out the vide in the Newsweek link below, and hear about inner city children being offered plane tickets to interview at MIT and Standford.
Here is the Newsweek link, indexed by State, but a handful of results are below:
Wake County- someone from that region should check me but I’m counting 4.
Lets compare Charlotte area’s 12 High Schools, NC’s 53 high Schools to a few… states.
North Carolina had 53 high schools make the list- so CMS had 23% of those.
New Jersey has 53 High Schools make the list.
Tennesee had 12 high schools make the list
Conneticut had 17 high schools on the list.
Delaware had 6 high schools on the list.
South Carolina had 20 High Schools make the list, somewhat surprisingly none in the Upstate region near Charlotte, 3 each in Greenville, Columbia and Charleston.
The South in general, outside of NC, SC and Georgia, didn’t fare too well.
Alabama-9
Arkansaw- 10
Missisippi-2
Louisiana-2
So- 11 of CMS’s 31 High Schools fall into this top 6% national category, the same system that recently announced it has 51% of its student’s living in poverty. Obviously this fact doesn’t mean all is well in CMS- it just means CMS is doing better than a lot of people think, a message often lost if all the “clutter” we call conversation about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Ane for all that talk about great nearby South Carolina Schools and Union County Schools? One school made the list between them- one school emphasizes AP on the high school level. Wow.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Union County on Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools
| RANK | SCHOOL | LOCATION | STATE | INDEX | SUBS. LUNCH | E&E |
| 1517 | Weddington | Matthews | N.C. | 1.04 | 5 | 50 |
| 189 | Providence | Charlotte | N.C. | 3.08 | 7 | 64 |
| 269 | Ardrey Kell | Charlotte | N.C. | 2.73 | 11 | 46 |
| 338 | North Mecklenburg | Huntersville | N.C. | 2.5 | 21 | 30 |
| 441 | Butler | Matthews | N.C. | 2.26 | 21 | 51 |
| 544 | Hopewell | Huntersville | N.C. | 2.08 | 24 | n/a |
| 44 | Myers Park** | Charlotte | N.C. | 5.01 | 26 | 60 |
| 664 | Renaissance at Olympic | Charlotte | N.C. | 1.93 | 40 | n/a |
| 1092 | School of International Studies and Global Economics at Olympic | Charlotte | N.C. | 1.45 | 42 | n/a |
| 605 | Math, Engineering and Science at Olympic | Charlotte | N.C. | 2 | 47 | 31 |
| 516 | Harding University High School of Mathematics, Science and Technology ** | Charlotte | N.C. | 2.14 | 47 | 33 |
| 351 | East Mecklenburg** | Charlotte | N.C. | 2.45 | 49 | 37 |
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As most readers know I make my living in real estate, but I have a passion for education, and a passion for educating every child in the US. It is the promise of America, and it is in our national interest to educate every child to compete in this inter-connected world. For those of you who don’t know, I’m also a father of 4, my grown children were educated in private primary schools, and graduated from a public high school on this list here in Charlotte. I’m married to a longtime teacher who is now a Professor of Education at a local college. I’ll be writing more on schools that “Get it” in the Charlotte area in the coming months.
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Charlotte Tax Rates
November 23rd, 2009 Categories: Buy A Charlotte Home
Here’s how to figure NC taxes, below are the most current rates
| 2008-09 Combined Property Tax Rates (Jurisdictions where Mecklenburg County collects all ad valorem taxes) | |||||||||||
| Location | Rate | ||||||||||
| Unincorporated County | 1.0175 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside City Of Charlotte | 1.2973 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside Town of Cornelius | 1.1137 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside Town of Davidson | 1.2037 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside Town of Huntersville | 1.1287 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside Town of Matthews | 1.1712 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside Town of Mint Hill | 1.1137 per $100 | ||||||||||
| If Inside Town of Pineville | 1.1587 per $100 | ||||||||||
| 2008-09 Property Tax Rates | |||||||||||
| Location | Rate | ||||||||||
| Charlotte | 0.4586* per $100 | ||||||||||
| Cornelius | 0.275* per $100 | ||||||||||
| Davidson | 0.365* per $100 | ||||||||||
| Huntersville | 0.29* per $100 | ||||||||||
| Iredell County | 0.445 per $100 | ||||||||||
| Matthews | 0.3325* per $100 | ||||||||||
| Mecklenburg County | 0.8387 per $100 | ||||||||||
| Mint Hill | 0.275* per $100 | ||||||||||
| Pineville | 0.32 per $100 | ||||||||||
| Police Service District | 0.1788 per $100 | ||||||||||
| Stallings | 0.219 per $100 | ||||||||||
| Union County | 0.665 per $100 | ||||||||||
| Real Estate/Personal Property Interest date is 1/6/09. Taxes must be paid prior to this date to avoid interest. | |||||||||||
We can of course check the actual taxes paid on any given home. But this should help get you started.
South Carolina uses a completely different formula, but is quite low, running .55 to .7% overall.
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Charlotte Week End Update 9-25-2009
September 25th, 2009 Categories: About Charlotte, Things To Do Charlotte
Explore Charlotte!
Free Admission to Most Charlotte Museums Saturday
In celebration of Smithsonian Day, area Charlotte museums will be free Saturday, including the Levine Museum of the New South, both Mint Musuems, the Charlotte Museum of History…get your family’s free admission card here.. I grew up in Washington DC, where all the great museums,all the Smithsonian’s are free every day… take your family out, discover more of Charlotte.
Art in the Park- Art Festival at Freedom Park- 45th year!
One of our favorites, visit Freedom park this weekend, and enjoy the company of hundreds of Artists, Dancers, and craftsman from all over the south eastern US.
The Novello Festival
If books are your thing, if you love books, then check the author schedule, and
beginning THIS weekend, come on out to the 19th annual Novello Festival- it begins Saturday the 26 and goes to October 31 at the Main Library Uptown Admission? Free of course.
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Charlotte NC- Fighting Crime and Perceptions
September 22nd, 2009 Categories: About Charlotte
Most of what you hear of Charlotte NC around the country is good things, words like clean, modern, Low Cost of Living, Great Weather, good place to raise a family…
But there are also lies about Charlotte Online, High Crime is the worst lie… I’ve lived in the south Charlotte-Matthews area for 17 years and never felt unsafe. For many years we didn’t lock our doors. My wife and I run in the parks, together and alone, and never worry. A look at the violent crime map below, produced by the Charlotte Observer from CMPD data, tells you why we never felt unsafe. 
Violent crime, in almost every category is down in 2009, contrary to conventional wisdom of increasing crime in recessions.
Are Perceptions of Crime Subjective?
You bet. When I was living in the Washington DC area in the late 1980’s, our city had the dubious distinction of being named “Murder Capital of the World.” If you are over 45 you may remember the magazine covers and all the news… CNN ran with the story. A friend of mine was visiting the Holy Land at this time, Jerusalem, at the height of the Infitada, the daily riots against the occupation, and this Jerusalamite asked my friend, “Is it as bad as they say in DC?”
Well no, it wasn’t then in Washington DC or today in Charlotte. The vast majority of crime occurs in particular areas, in DC it happened to be a bitterly fought drug war that left many in that area dead…. it was an awful time if you lived in that part of DC.
A few stats through July:
CMPD reported the number of serious crimes down 21 percent from the first 6 months of 2008. Property crime? Down 21 percent. Violent crime decreased 23 percent. Murder? 28 homicides are under investigation in 2009, compared to 46 over the same period last year – a 39 percent decrease. Our police are moving mountains and dramatically reducing crime in our higher crime areas. Kudos to Chief Monroe.
Recently a client told me he was considering moving to South Charlotte but changed his mind because he read online how bad crime is here. That is too bad.
You can check the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area for violent crime, theft, vandalism, and car-theft at this excellent Charlotte Observer link.
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Relocating to Charlotte? Buying your First Home? As always, call me direct for your most immediate questions, 704-351-1519
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Friday Charlotte Update
September 18th, 2009 Categories: Things To Do Charlotte
Things to Do This Weekend in Charlotte, the Queen City
Take your significant Other to dinner this week Uptown and enjoy 3 course dinners for $35.00 from some of your favorite restaurants including Mez, Lavecchia’s, McCormick and Schmick’s, Black Finn, Room 12 and more. For the complete list and details, see Eat In Uptown. September 18-27
Freedom Park and The Greenway System-
If the weather’s nice, walk, ride, or skate at Freedom Park. The Art Festival begins next weekend. Take the family out on a Greenway, the new McMullen Creek Greenway at Trader Joe’s on Rea Road is a good starting point. My favorite is McAlpine in Matthews.
Sunset Jazz Festival at Southpark Mall Saturday September 18th, from 1pm to 10pm.
Matt Marshak,BRYAN ANDERSON, and 5th and York, Intertwyned, Unique Blend, The Queen’s Collective Details at Sunset Jazz Festival
What is the New South? Find out at the excellent Levine Museum of the New South, which is free on Sundays 12-5:00pm…drive or take the train in, and get off at the last stop.
NODA Gallery Crawl, starts at North Davidson and 36th at 6, gets under way in earnest by 8-9pm.
Panthers play Away At Atlanta this weekend so Uptown will be quiet on Sunday. Lets hope for the return of “Good Jake”
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Make it a great week and if you are a First Time Home Buyer, Time is Running Out. The ultimate Charlotte First Home Buyer Search is here.
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Charlotte Weekend-Labor Day- Update September 4
September 4th, 2009 Categories: About Charlotte, Things To Do Charlotte
Charlotte will be partying hard this Labor Day weekend!!
Things To Do!
Matthews Alive- Preparations are Under way, begins tonight!
The India Festival begins Saturday at noon at the Belk Theater on Tryon Street-come on down, the event is free, some a ala carte items, including great Indian food.
Revolutionary War Re-enactment. Come out to Historic Latta Plantation Park in Huntersville and see the battles of Charlotte and McIntyre Farm re-enacted. Also see soldier demos, tour the plantation, and more. Admission is just $6, kids 5 and under are free. 10AM to 4PM
Charlotte Labor Day Parade, Monday 11:00am begins at 700 N Tryon Street
Charlotte in September, means lots of free cultural activities- local events by the dozen, here’s the link from the Arts and Science Council.
The Charlotte community responds: More than 2,800 children in some of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s highest-poverty schools are getting supply-stuffed book bags, courtesy of local businesses. from the Charlotte Observer
next weekend, Blues, Brews and BBQ, free museum day Saturday, at the Museum of the New South, Charlotte Museum of History and more..check back next weed. ed.
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