President Biden recently announced renewed funding to the Weatherization Assistance Program to make homes more energy-efficient in the new infrastructure package. This comes on the heels of many commitments made domestically and internationally to cut America's carbon footprint and lower Americans' power bills. Home weatherization plans are not new, but this administration is renewing its commitment to giving homeowners the opportunity to reduce power bills and increase value. Older homes that are poorly insulated, or homes that have features that rely heavily on unsustainable heating and cooling and energy, are getting makeovers, and the federal government is financing it.

How we got here

Inflation is surging and while we are not the biggest…

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March Madness, flowers blooming, Spring is in the air in The Triangle and we are fast approaching Easter. Easter has really turned into an event that everyone can enjoy, regardless of their religious affiliation. People in Triangle really go all out on Easter Sunday and put on their nicest clothes to have leisurely brunches following church services, mornings at home, or Easter egg hunts. Here are the best brunches and egg hunts in The Triangle for your family to enjoy.

Easter Brunch in The Triangle

Whether you are dining in or taking away, there are really decadent options for traditional Easter brunch fare. Most families have their traditions and these restaurants have taken the stress out of Easter brunch, so you can enjoy the morning and day…

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When you are looking for anything, you most likely grab your phone and look it up online first. We would like to make the case for not conducting a home search online, even though you are reading this online! I doubt anyone who has spent any amount of time on the Internet will be surprised to learn that it's filled with misinformation, some of it intentional some unintentional. The internet is really the last place you should be looking for a Realtor or a house. Listing information can be outdated. Zillow's "Zestimates" and every other automated valuations (including ours) provide rough valuations at best. While "Best Realtor" websites are deceptive, and more. This week we are going to discuss when the internet is and is not your friend in real…

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The Triangle offers such an amazing lifestyle, you may not find a need to leave, but another advantage of living in The Triangle is how central it is to the rest of North Carolina's attractions. Whether you have someone visiting for an extended period of time or you simply would like to get out and explore, here are some great day trips from The Triangle. If you are new to the area or are considering moving, see some of our great resources from dining to neighborhoods.

Wilmington, NC 2 hrs drive


In only two hours you are a world away in Wilmington. This port city offers a charming and historic downtown full of breweries, farm to table restaurants, museums, and stunning Victorian era homes and gardens. Take a horse drawn carriage around…

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Tools, refrigerators, outdoor toys, gardening equipment, and a LOT of dust are what many Realtors and the buyers see when they view garage. It is definitely not a really appealing selling point of a home for most, but it can be an asset if it is organized correctly. The good news is, that it is not that difficult! We combed the housekeeping blogs and home improvement hacks for the best tips for organizing your garage so it helps the sale of your home. Even if you are not considering selling your home, these hacks will definitely help you enjoy your garage more!

Pegboard Hacks

Lawnmowers, Shovels and Rakes, oh my! It is really scary to come into a garage with so many menacing tools and little organization. Pegboards are brilliant at making sense…

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Rents are skyrocketing, and while the labor market is strong, salaries are not keeping pace with inflationary pressures combined with ever increasing rents. Whether you're looking to buy for the first time and saving for a downpayment or those looking to sell and then rent, the challenge of renting is unstable housing  costs. Ideally you could budget a specific amount of money per month for housing however volatile rental costs are making this extremely challenging. Below we review the state of the market and offer some common sense ways to stabilize housing costs through homeownership.

State of the Market


According to the ATTOM Data 2022 Rental Affordability Report, owning a home is more affordable than renting in the majority of the…

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Are you part of the 19% of home buyers that are waiving inspections? We would like to speak directly to this audience in The Triangle. As a buyer of an existing home or a new construction property, a home inspection is critical to protecting your interests. We know buyers are burnt out and sellers are not going to likely consider any inspection related requests for consideration and that buyers are currently forced to accept this or lose many tens of thousands of dollars should they decide to terminate their offer due to what they've learned from a quality home inspection, we still believe there's never a good reason time to forgo home inspections, even if it's just for your informational purposes.

What is the risk of forgoing inspections on…

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We have been experiencing constricted inventory for nearly three years here in the Research Triangle area and buyers are becoming increasingly anxious as mortgage rate increases are on their minds. Doing everything they can to win multiple offer situations from making sight unseen offers, waiving appraisal contingencies, making their offer "As-Is", and granting seller possessions after closing for free. Simply being truly "Pre-Approved" or offering cash is standard practice and expected. However none of these accomplish much if you are outbid. The best strategic advice for buyers in looking in the Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh NC area, is to shop below budget. Here are the reasons why.

Bidding Up

It can be very deflating news to read that you…

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You can't watch TV or read the news without wondering with rising global temperatures what the impact of weather, storms and droughts can be expected and what the implications are for our homes.

Should I move?

According to a report by Realtor.com, 78% of buyers took incidences of natural disaster into account when choosing where to buy their home. Further, it reported that 34% of existing homeowners have considered selling their houses and moving to a new location because of the changing climate. While we do not need to go into the devastation of the fires in 2021, we know that many of our new transplants from Silicon Valley came here for a combination or reasons including the threat of fires and drought. You cannot completely remove your risk…

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The Lunar New Year is happening on February 1 this year as we enter the Year of the Tiger. We don't know about you, but we will take all the fresh starts, good luck, and cleaning out the house, we can get this year, to make it better than the past two! In the Research Triangle, we are fortunate to have much diversity and our Asian communities, in addition to many others who prefer the lunar calendar, will be celebrating the New Year. It is a time to feast, honor ancestors, and wish each other luck and prosperity. There are so many traditions around this that are worth participating in that we are sharing, including great places to order in a celebratory menu! May you have luck and happiness in the Year of the Tiger!

About the Year of the Tiger

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