Thursday, January 10, 2008

First Impressions

Your Home Doesn't Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression.

Home staging is becoming more and more popular as homeowners prepare their homes for the marketplace.

Of course, the goal when listing a home for sale is to sell it quickly at the highest price possible. To achieve this, marketing is important, as well as attracting the largest amount of potential buyers. The purpose of staging is to make the home a welcoming and appealing place to live. Staging includes depersonalizing such as removing personal photos, taking way clutter, cleaning, sprucing up the landscaping.

One of the most inexpensive ways to add value to a home is to paint, but please leave this to the professionals. Sometimes, only a few rooms need to be done for a home to feel warm and welcoming.

Here are some tried and true staging tricks from the professionals for the kitchen:

  • Apply orange oil to cabinets that appear dry to renew their original luster;
  • Display large bowls of fruit such as polished apples or bright oranges;
  • Arrange colorful and fun cookbooks on the counter.


Bathrooms should look bright and relaxing. Give it the spa treatment by:

  • Tying towels with ribbons;
  • Filling baskets with scented soaps and soft,thick towels;
  • Making sure the room smells like a spa with fruity or spiced lotions.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Market Report for MacAulay, Huntersville, NC

MacAulay is a premier Huntersville neighborhood of more than 650 beautiful homes. Trees, parks, pond, sidewalks, pool, clubhouse, and tennis courts highlight the amenities of this family friendly neighborhood.


Currently there are 27 Macaulay homes listed in the Multiple Listing Service. These homes average 3,251 square feet and a list price of $366,640. Homes that are on the market in Macaulay range in price from $249,000-$499,900.



In 2007, 43 homes have sold in Macaulay, with an average of 3,033 square feet and a sales price of $338,196. These homes sold in an average of 61 days on the market!!



Directions to Macaulay: I77North to Exit 25 (Sam Furr Road), turn left onto Sam Furr Road/Highway 73, turn left onto Northcross Drive, sharp left turn onto Stumptown, and right onto Bytham Castle.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Exciting news from the mortgage industry...New FHA loan limits!!

GREAT NEWS!!! FHA LOAN LIMITS HAVE INCREASED FOR THE CHARLOTTE METRO AREA CHARLOTTE METRO (CHARLOTTE, CONCORD, GASTON, YORK)
$230,470 LOAN LIMIT- $237,597 SALES PRICE.

IREDELL COUNTY $200,160- LOAN LIMIT=$206,350 SALES PRICE.

What does this mean for consumers?...

For buyers..

**FHA HAS NO CREDIT SCORE REQUIREMENT; DOES NOT REQUIRE COLLECTIONS TO BE PAID OFF AND ALLOWS FOR EXPANDED RATIOS. ONLY 3% DOWN PAYMENT REQUIRED; SELLER CAN PROVIDE GIFT FOR DOWN PAYMENT AND 6% TOWARD CLOSING COSTS!!! This is great news for buyers struggling to find a down payment.

For sellers..

This greatly increases the pool of buyers that are eligible to purchase their home that were not eligible before.