Charlotte NC|For Those of You Considering Renting, Consider This…
May 14th, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
What if you are renting and your landlord goes bust? What happens to you?
from Forbes.com
“It’s not just single-family-homeowners who can’t make their mortgage payments these days–landlords are busting out, too. Approximately 38% of all U.S. properties foreclosed between October 2007 and January 2008 were non-owner-occupied buildings (likely implying that the owner was an off-site landlord), estimates RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure-tracking service.”
Here for the rest of the When Landlords are Foreclosed from Forbes.com
Here are 7 slimy landlord schemes to watch out for, also from Forbes.com
In Pictures: Seven Slimy Landlord Schemes
Kudos to Forbes on this important topic… As always if you are planning or considering a move to Charlotte, please don’t hesitate to call me direct at 704-351-1519 TerryMcDonald
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Is it Safe To Buy A Home in Charlotte? You Bet…
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Charlotte, NC Real Estate Insurance and Taxes| The Cost of Living in Charlotte, NC
April 2nd, 2008 Categories: Charlotte News and Politics, FAQs About Charlotte
The Cost of Living in Charlotte- “Objectively Affordable”
Why have so many people been moving from the north-east down to Charlotte, NC? Is it because they get tired of the long winters? Well that’s part of it but another major reason for moving to Charlotte is the low cost of living index. Looking at the Chamber of Commerce’s website the average new house in Charlotte cost $243,773 in 2007, had 2,400 sq ft of living space and was on a 8,000 sq ft lot. But how does Charlotte compare to other large cities? Using CNN’s cost of living calculator I’ve compared several cities to Charlotte’s cost of living. There are many reasons folks move here- the favorable cost of living is a big one.
Cost of living in Charlotte as compared to Boston
A person living in Charlotte, NC making $60,000 per year would have to be earning approximately $82,065 per year to sustain the same quality of life. Groceries would cost almost 30% more as compared to Charlotte. Transportation would cost about 10% more and utilities would cost 44% more than in Charlotte. To live in a similar sized house would cost you 90% more than in Charlotte.
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Charlotte, NC|Adjustable Rate Mortgages are NOT EVIL! Ask-The-Broker
February 22nd, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
Adjustable Loans Are Scary! Not! Fixed or Adjustable? You Decide
by Olan Carder
Have you ever overreacted? I mean really thrown the baby out with the bath water?? I have many times. My business partner Gary and I laugh sometimes about some of the ridiculous ideas we have come up with in the past to solve horrifying problems that didn’t even exist.
The mortgage industry has been turned upside down over the past year, and there has been plenty of overreacting! The news media has been like a pit bull locked onto a juicy new bone. Negative stories are the norm, and they have thrown
several babies out with the proverbial bath water. One of these babies is the Adjustable Rate Mortgage product. These loans have been demonized as a slick gimmick used by unscrupulous lenders to trick people into high priced homes they could not afford. NOT TRUE! (That is not Gary on the right.:))
Although ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) loans can be misused, they are absolutely NOT evil loans. ARM loans were created as a temporary alternative to help make home ownership more affordable in a high interest rate environment, but gained popularity again when people began to realize the truth about home ownership patterns. The truth is that the VAST MAJORITY of homeowners do not keep their first home for 30 years!!!
Today ARM loans save homeowners thousands of dollars when used properly.
Many people only plan on being in a particular 
home for a short period of time…
EXAMPLE: For a mortgage of $200,000, if you took a 5/1 ARM vs a 30 Year Fixed, assuming rates of 5% and 6% respectively, you would save over $6,000 in a 3 year period if you used your monthly savings to pay down the principal. That means when you sold the home after year 3, you would walk away with over $6,000 MORE CASH without spending an extra dime on monthly payments vs the fixed rate option. If you planned on being in this house for only 3 years and your loan officer didn’t mention this option to you, he could have potentially cost you over $6,000!
If you planned on keeping the house over 5 years then this option might be totally inappropriate for you, but the problem would not be the loan itself… the problem would be the bad advice from your loan officer. There are ARM loans that are fixed for periods of 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years , 7 years, etc… There are caps on these loans that can protect you in case you go past the initial fixed period. The most important aspect of selecting the right loan is to get ALL the information about what options you have. A trustworthy loan officer will take the time to explore and understand your situation before suggesting a certain loan… if you talk to a loan officer that pushes one loan over another without knowing the details of your situation… RUN!! Remember, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice!!!
Olan Carder, Myers Park Mortgage
Thanks Olan. I’ve always used a 5/1 or 7/1 ARM. Interested in homes in Charlotte? Try this Search For Charlotte Homes Page or give me a call direct at 704-351-1519. An interesting post South Charlotte Homes For Sale and Appreciation Report.
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Charlotte NC|Mortgages, Rates And Terms: Best Rate? or Best Value? Ask The Broker- Mortgage FAQ’s
February 14th, 2008 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
The Best Deal?? What everyone wants right? So that means the Best Rate, doesn’t it? Does it? Is it the best rate or best value I am looking for?
by Olan Carder, Loan Officer, Myers Park Mortgage
I have been helping people finance the “American Dream” for over 10 years. Over the years, something has started to stand out as being very odd to me. When home buyers are shopping for a home or mortgage, they typically get very focussed on one or two key issues. They get what I would describe as tunnel-vision.
Everyone wants to feel like they found the best deal. I am sure you feel that way too, but sometimes the way we go about finding the “best deal” might actually hurt our chances of finding the “best value”. Say What? That’s right, read on! Have a look at this:
VALUE = Benefits – costs
For example, a $200,000 home in an appreciating area might be a much better value than a similar $180,000 home in an area that is seeing home prices stay flat. A mortgage loan at 6% might be a better value than a mortgage at 5.5%, given other factors. I see many potential homeowners get hung up on cost, or area, or PMI, etc… but they lose track of the big picture- which in mortgages is the total cost, before and after taxes. 
This has a great application to your mortgage! I prepare a Total Cost Analysis for my clients that details several loan options compared over time. Notice the word “TOTAL” comes before the word cost. I am sure many of you reading this blog have heard of “No Closing Cost” loans, but I assure you, like the fabled snipe hunt, that animal does not exist. Every loan has costs… either in the interest rate you pay each month or in the form of up front fees. The key to achieving the best value is comparing the total cost of the options you have over time.
Where do you see total costs? On a Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs. Demand one. And how do you compare a 6.25% with “no closing costs” loan to a 5.5% loan with a 1 point origination fee? You compare APR’s, Annual Percentage Rates of the loans side by side- these factor in all closing costs and rates to yield the true cost of the loan.
Then, consider whether you need more tax breaks now or later, talk to your accountant, and go get that loan and home.
Olan Carder 
LIFE Changing Advice!
Myers Park Mortgage
Office: 704-971-6193
Thinking about moving to Charlotte?Like to see more pictures of Charlotte Homes? Charlotte neighborhoods? New Home Subdivisons? Read on…
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Buyer Agency Illustrated, A True Life Story|Do’s and Don’ts of Home Buying, Part 1
December 29th, 2007 Categories: About Charlotte, FAQs About Charlotte
Often, home buyers ask themselves, “Why do I need a Buyer Agent?” Here in Charlotte NC,
my answer is, “Because you need someone to represent your interests, and if you don’t have that, it will show itself at the worst possible time-like when you are talking money.” Many don’t know that I speak from first hand experience. This happened to me when I was not quite 30, my agent was a little younger, and is a great illustration of why Buyers ALWAYS need a Buyer Agent.
Back in the late-80’s, long before I was in real estate and knew anything about buyers agency or sub-agency, my family was looking for a house. I was in business for myself, had a home office, but needed more room, a separate building was the first choice. I’d been getting listings, and doing what all buyers do, driving by them and marking them off my list. After a few weeks of unsatisfying searches, I decided we needed to look at this one house dismissed earlier in the week, even though it had a less than impressive front and seemed over-priced, the listing said it had some features we were interested in. (Long before photos or the Internet!)
That Saturday our agent took us to see it. We went immediately to the home’s rear (what was of most interest had to be there) where we found what the listing called a “barn” but actually was quite different: it had about 2500 square feet, 1000 sf finished with 6 telephone lines underground, fully plumbed etc. It had its own driveway, separate entrance, and to top it off a wonderful inground gunnite pool 100′ from the office (barn) front door. It was truly a diamond in the rough. It sat on 1.75 acres and as we walked to look at the main house, I said to my wife, that since a) we had just looked at $100K of improvements, b)I was in business (remodelling/design) for myself, and this back area met my needs exactly,and c) even if the house was a wreck, I’d fix it, so without seeing the main house I bravely told her we should make an offer. Surprisingly, she still wanted to see the main house. 
So we did. It had new carpet, a surprisingly open floor plan, new paint and remodeled baths… it wasn’t bad at all, in fact the interior was much more than we expected from the over-grown front we had seen upon entering.
While we were there, two other couples were viewing the property- and they, like us, were staying a long time.
As we were leaving but before reaching the car, I said to my agent quietly, “I want that house… lets not screw around, write up a full price offer and get it off the market tonight.” I knew it was one of a kind- knew it fit our needs better than anything we would find, it seemed just what we had wanted. He was happy.
After writing the full price non-contingent offer, our agent submitted it and found the Listing Agent was out of town until Monday, so he couldn’t present our offer before Monday, so there wasn’t going to be any “getting it off the market tonight.” On Monday, he spoke to the Agent and she said she would be presenting “All the offers- all three, to the seller” later in the day. My Agent called me, told me the news and added he thought if we really wanted the house, our offer might be in trouble and we might need to do more. “How much more?” I asked an he said he didn’t know. I hung up and told him I’d call him back.
In those days, offers were registered with the broker office– so the other two offers knew of our offer, but of course we hadn’t known about them. I paced in my office a few minutes, then called him back and gave him the go ahead to raise our offer $10K. He called me back about 7 pm and told me we got the house, that all 3 offers were over asking, and that one was $2000 over and the other was $8,000 over asking.
The events above are what I was told happened, and believe happened, but let me present an alternative scenario, based on what I now know about Agency and real estate.
Alternative Agency Scenario- All Agents represent sellers
Remember, this was in the late-80’s, we were all young, and this was a few years before buyer agency started to become common. Imagine an older more experienced Listing Agent inviting my 20-something Agent over to the Sellers (who were in their 50’s) house… introductions are made all around, and then the Listing Agent turn quickly to my agent and says something like this: “Now David (my agent) remember who you are working for, you represent this man and woman, Mr. and Mrs. Seller… and then the sharp angle question, “Will your couple pay more for this house?” and a silence follows– and if my agent so much as pauses, they know the answer… Following the law, he is obligated to share that I might, and also that “this house meets their needs exactly, they love it, and yes I think they would pay more for it…he (me) said “Don’t screw around, get it off the market tonight.”
That is what I meant when I said above, “Each buyer needs their own representation, and if they don’t have it, it will show itself at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME.”
That is the conundrum of real estate agency laws without buyer agency. That is why more than 30 states now have Buyer
Agency laws. This is what we face in North Carolina in the absence of a Buyers Agency agreement, the default setting in North Carolina is: All Agents represent the Seller. In the absence of a Buyers Agency agreement, I am legally obligated to represent the Seller, and if you have shared personal confidential information too bad for you. Luckily, this will NEVER happen with me as your Buyer Agent. Let me explain.
Now lets replay the above Alternative Scenario, but this time I am represented by a Buyer Agent, here in North Carolina. When the Seller’s Listing Agent asks, “Would your Buyer pay more?” My only response would be, “Would you like to make a counter- offer?”
Buyer Agency removes the obligation to represent the seller, now we only are required to tell the truth, and now the expectation is that I represent the Buyers and negotiations can continue on a fair field. And that is as it should be, and how it is if you hire me, to help you buy a North or South Carolina home.
I learned lots of lessons over the years from this one personal real estate transaction… We stayed only a few short years, sold the house myself (FSBO) at a terrific profit (I’ll share how in a future post) and moved on. And David, if you read this, know I still believe you did the right thing by us so many years ago!
I will continue Buyers Do’s and Don’ts in part II next week. Search for Charlotte Real Estate?
Are you considering a move to Charlotte? Like to see more Charlotte Homes and Communities?
Then I hope you will visit my Charlotte photo galleries, more than 1500 pictures
divided into 45 galleries, divided by area and fun things to do, have a look at: Uptown Dilworth, SouthPark, Ballantyne Country Club, High Gate and more.
Here are couple of recent articles about the strong Charlotte real estate market by Forbes.com and ABC News To learn more about me, and my business in Charlotte, visit TerryMcDonaldRealEsate.com, my easy to use search for houses, condos, land or multifamily~
Please don’t hesitate to call me direct with your Charlotte real estate needs and questions, 704-351-1519
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Charlotte NC|It’s Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas…NOT|Ask the Broker
December 10th, 2007 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
Weather Nice Enough To Move To Charlotte!
That is what I tell folks moving to Charlotte, or considering a move… about days like today.
Welcome to Sunny southern Calif…. no it’s Charlotte, North Carolina where today’s high will be a balmy 75 degrees… tomorrow it is supposed to be near 80! And temperatures are to stay in the 70’s all week. I saw several neighbors raking leaves in shorts yesterday, one without a shirt!
I am frequently asked,
“What are the winters like in Charlotte?”
I spent the first 30 plus years of my life in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC- I tell my northern clients that we have four seasons, but, for them, they would consider our winter to be around 3 weeks long… it doesn’t come all at once, but we get around 20 days per year that would qualify as a “winter day” up north- say highs in the 30’s/low 40’s and lows in the teens at night. And they don’t all come together- for example last year we had a week or so in December, (by memory only ) a few winter like days in January, and about 10 cold days in February and early March. Something like that.
I know this, the first three years here I did not wear a winter coat. So our winters our mild and short, and our spring and fall are wonderful. Summers are longer and hot.
Sounds like you need to be living in Charlotte, doesn’t it?
Like to see more of Charlotte?
I have more great pictures at my Charlotte photo galleries: Uptown Dilworth, SouthPark, Ballantyne Country Club, High GateThere are more than 35 Charlotte galleries in total, I try and add new ones every week.
Here are couple of recent articles about the strong Charlotte real estate market by Forbes.com and ABC News
You may want to visit my Charlotte Home Search site, TerryMcDonaldRealEsate.com, there is a neat video introduction to Charlotte there… starring yours truly. 
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Charlotte NC Ranks LOWEST in Cost of Living in Southern Cities
December 1st, 2007 Categories: FAQs About Charlotte
“What is the Cost of Living Like in Charlotte?”
is a frequent question I get from families considering a move to Charlotte. We’ve been called the third most “affordable city” in the country, here are some more details and comparisons, I point out Portland and Seattle because those are the 2nd and 3rd fastest appreciating cities in the country behind Charlotte.
Charlotte cost of living is 26% less than Portland
Charlotte cost of living is 27% less than Seattle
Charlotte cost of living is 36% less than in Washington DC , 48% less than San Francisco!
Check out the chart of southern cities (thanks Charlotte Chamber)
Cities of 400,000 to 1,000,000 Population
Second Quarter 2007
|
Rank |
City |
All Items Index |
|
1 |
Charlotte, NC | 88.2 |
|
3 |
Memphis, TN
|
89.7 |
|
5 |
El Paso, TX
|
93.2 |
|
7 |
95.1 | |
|
9 |
|
96.3 |
|
11 |
Detroit, MI | 98.2 |
|
13 |
Jacksonville, FL
|
99.4 |
|
15 |
Albuquerque, NM | 100.2 |
|
17 |
Denver, CO
|
103.7 |
|
19 |
Las Vegas, NV
|
110.8 |
|
21 |
Portland, OR
|
120.3 |
|
23 |
|
120.6 |
|
25 |
Washington, DC | 137.0 |
|
27 |
San Francisco, CA |
169.2 |
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce – Bureau of Census, 2000; ACCRA – Cost of Living, 2007 Note: Five cities within this population range did not report Cost of Living data to ACCRA.
If you are moving from New York or the Northeast, you will like our property tax rates,and how we compute them. If you are from Florida, you will love our property insurance rates… but as the chart above shows, if you want to live in a larger modern city in the south, there isn’t a better city for cost of living!
And of course Charlotte’s lower cost of living means much more money for the fun things in life!
Come on down, check us out, an save more money for fun!
A couple of other recent articles about the terrific Charlotte real estate market by Forbes.com and ABC News
You can learn more about me at Terry McDonald Real Estate.com or visit my Online Relocation Guide with Terry’s video Intro to Charlotte
People interested in moving to Charlotte, investing in Charlotte, or buying in Charlotte, you deserve expert representation. Give me a call, a try out, and I’ll work every day to make you a raving fan. Terry McDonald
Call me direct at 704-351-1519, and I’ll see you in Charlotte!
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