Triangle Restaurant Week 2014It’s that time of year once again; starting tomorrow 1/20/2014 it’s the annual Triangle Restaurant Week 2014, time to check out the many great restaurants that have bought Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill and the Triangle national (and well deserved) recognition for our food scene. I love this year’s motto, “Keep Calm and Dine On”

Unless you either don’t eat or don’t like food, this coming week is your week. You’ve got the opportunity to try 3 course dinners for $30 at some of the top restaurants throughout the Triangle.

Special kudos for Durham’s own Guglehupf Bakery/Cafe which just a few days ago was awarded the Good Food Award in San Francisco (this is the Foodie equivalent of an Oscar) for their Smoked Hogs Head Cheese (trust me it tastes much…

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First time homebuyer mistakesBuying your first home should be exciting; just be careful not to make these common first time home buyer mistakes. As the picture indicates if you're unprepared it's easy for a home buyer to feel overwhelmed.

Mismanaging Their Credit

It's easy to for first time home buyers to become overwhelmed with advice; whether from well meaning friends, family and coworkers to “advice” they come across on social media sites or other sources of frequently well intentioned but often erroneous information. When it comes to your credit score (one of the most important factors in determining the mortgage terms a home buyer will be offered), it's easy to inadvertently make a wrong move that will harm a home buyer. While it might seem like a smart move to pay off…

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Beginning on January 10, 2014 new mortgage rules become effective for home buyers. For the majority of home buyers I work with in

Chapel Hill, Durham, and Cary NC in general I don't foresee any major impact, as the mortgage lenders I routinely work with have beenusing the lending criteria that will now be required for qualified mortgages. (Qualified mortgages are those that can be sold on the secondary market which accounts for 90%? of all mortgages.) These changes as well as others coming later in the year are part of the Dodd-Frank Act.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under the Ability-to-Repay rule, lenders are to consider eight factors. These include your current income or assets, current employment status, credit history,…

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In most parts of the country real estate sales having been strong and here in the Research Triangle (Chapel Hill- Durham- Raleigh North Carolina) this is certainly the case. Throughout 2013 active inventory on the market for sale has been low; hovering at about 2-3 months worth clearly indicating a market favoring Sellers. {Note: 6 months of inventory is considered a neutral or balanced market; less than this favors sellers; while more than this favors Buyers} Looking ahead into 2014, I see nothing that's likely to change, available inventory will likely remain low. Mortgage interest rates continue to be close to all time lows and while their likely to come up some from where they are now they will still be extremely affordable. It's true that getting a…

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Downtown Durham is constantly upgrading it's offering. This month the newest investment from the City of Durham, and local Entrepreneur's bring upgrades to the Award Winning DPAC facility and Downtown Durham's American Tobacco District.

DPAC announced plans to expand the President's Circle Lounge in partnership with Capitol Broadcasting Co. The expansion will more than triple the amount of space for the top supporters of DPAC and will expand other facilities as well.

In addition to the announced upgrades for the President's Lounge, work is almost finished for the four new restaurants in the space directly next to DPAC. For the last year, construction of Diamond View III (which is located just outside the left outfield wall of the Durham Bulls…

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Many Sellers leave signals for Buyers about the Urgency they have in Selling their home in Chapel Hill and Durham. These seemingly harmless "signals" are things I always discuss with my Sellers, because you do not want to give away thousands of dollars, or put yourself in an unsafe position as you are selling your home in Chapel Hill or Durham, NC.

Hide Medical Devices & Medication

Exposing Vulnerability is a very common mistake many Sellers make, especially if they are working with a Real Estate Agent who doesn't sell that many homes. I work with Home Buyers every week, and as we walk through homes, and negotiate contracts - we are looking for these very items I'm talking about.

Last week we looked at a home that was obviously owned by someone…

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Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh, NCThe Wide Open Bluegrass festival comes to Raleigh this weekend and I'm sure hoping to find some time to head over to Raleigh and enjoy what I know is going to be some great live music.

The “art scene” is certainly one of the things that helped my wife and I decide almost a decade ago to relocate here, and it continues to be one of the may things we love most about living here in Durham.

During the next few days besides a tremulous line up of acts preforming at the Red Hat Ampitheater starting on Friday there's various master workshops being offered throughout Raleigh.

This is the first year the festival comes to North Carolina and I'm guessing it won't be their last. Originally the festival started in Kentucky before moving to Nashville where it…

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Mortgage Interest rates quoted for my clients buying a home in Durham this week are back to the low 4% range - something we haven't seen since last Spring. The Durham Real Estate Market is continuing to be one where the homes in the low $300,000 and $200,000 range are getting lots of activity.

For home buyers in Durham who are using a FHA or VA mortgage loan, mortgage interest rates that were quoted this week are in the 3.75% range, again, something we haven't seen the last 3 or 4 months. This is all really good news for those who are buying a home in Durham AND home SELLERS in the Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary real estate market.

Why do Sellers care about mortgage interest rates? For homes in the "First Time Home Buyer" price range - mortgage interest…

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Hillandale, Durham NCLots of people are in love with the area near the NC School of Math and Science. The Watts Hospital / Hillandale neighborhood in Durham is a community of homes built from the early 1900's to the 1980's.

The homes are an interesting mix of traditional Cape Cods, Bungalow, and you will also find contemporary and colonial styles that have been nurtured into the wooded area that is Duke Forest. Home prices can range from under $200,000 to $600,000 some of the homes have been completely renovated with the latest energy efficient building codes, appliances and structural needs while others are sold as they were built.

The Watts Hospital / Hillandale neighborhood homes sit on lots that vary from .14 to over .50 acres. For the most part, they are heavily…

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Whether you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Durham, the current mortgage rates affect you. Why? Because a rise in interest rates will make it harder for buyers to afford your home!

With all of the talk about Ben Bernanke (Fed Chief) leaving the office, and the tapering of the Fed policy to buy mortgages by the end of the year - the Mortgage Bond Market is nervous.

Mortgage rates, previously at record lows, are consistently trending upwards. We've had over a 1.375% rise in mortgage rates since the beginning of June.

Don't get me wrong - mortgage interest rates are still remarkably low! Mortgage rates under 5%? That's a BARGAIN!

However, especially for homes in the "First Time Home Buyer" price range - mortgage interest rates are an…

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