Triangle Area Real Estate News & Information

3 Cups In Chapel Hill - Great Food, Great People, & A Great Place To Call Home

3 Cups Buys From Local Farmers In Chapel Hill

My wife and I met with one of our friends on Friday evening at 3 Cups in Chapel Hill. 3 Cups is a small retail store specializing primarily in wine, coffee, tea and chocolate from small farms and producers. Their focus is on taste, quality, intimate knowledge of the source of everything on their shelves and in treating everyone involved in the transaction (the consumer, producer and their staff) fairly. Additionally twice a month they invite local farmers in to offer tasting dinners featuring locally grown foods often prepared by the farmers themselves and with our friend Alessandra's urging we decided to meet there for dinner on Friday.

The main purpose of our getting together with Alessandra was to…

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Enjoying This Summers Bounty | Growing Food In North Carolina

I can't help but be excited when I look at my garden every day. If you follow my blog you know besides being passionate about real estate, I'm also passionate about food, cooking and gardening and this is my time of year.

I've been exceptionally busy with work, averaging over a sale a week since the year started and this requires a tremendous amount of work on my part; often 7 days a week and typically 12 hours a day. I can's swear I love the pace, but as any good salesperson (or farmer) will tell you, “You make hay while the sun's shining.”

When I do finally get home and switch off I will say I it's incredibly satisfying to take some time to both work in and simply admire our landscaping and vegetable gardens. Whether from the front porch or…

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North Carolina Discount Brokerages: Why You Should Avoid Them At All Costs

As a realtor actively engaged on the Internet I regularly see Sellers and Buyers asking questions about getting rebates from their agent, looking for someone who will simply post their home in their local MLS, and in general seeking Realtors who will discount their services.There's no doubt in my mind that they have no trouble finding an agent willing to do this for them, what surprises me is that anyone would actively seek such a person/service. I wonder for example; if they would seek a discount doctor or surgeon, or perhaps actively choose to use a discount lawyer if they were in need of legal advice/defense. I can't help but hear in my head the old sayings, “There's no free lunch” and “You get what you pay for”

Why You Should Never Choose A…

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D.R. Horton Returning Some (But Not All) Mineral Rights to Home Owners

The Durham Herald Sun reported yesterday that builder D.R. Horton has notified the NC Attorney Generals office that they are going to return the mineral rights to some (but not all) homeowners who purchased a home from them for failing to properly disclose that they had retained and sold these rights to their own energy exploration company. D.R. Horton Returns Mineral Rights to Some Homeowners.

While this is a step in the right direction in my opinion it's not nearly enough. Regardless of the fact that they feel they did properly disclose this to most home buyers the simple fact is that they simply should never have even done this to begin with.

This is simply another example of business run amok. D.R. Horton is a home builder. Over the years they…

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You Own Your Home, North Carolina Developer Owns What's Below It

Imagine my surprise when I learned today that one of the Triangle's major developers DR Horton has been very quietly selling the mineral rights under the homes their building in Chatham, Durham, Wake and Orange counties to their own energy company DRH Energy since 2010. For more information on this, check out this article from Indy Week.

I have always considered DR Horton to be an average quality production builder, that offered reasonably good value for the dollar and have not hesitated in the past to show their homes to buyers interested in new construction but with a limited budget. As a Realtor who has always been in it for the long haul, I will now have to reconsider my willingness to do so and if a buyer client is interested in a Horton home, I…

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Why North Carolina Property Owners Will Be Hurt If “Fracking” Is Permitted.

North Carolina like many states is currently considering permitting fracking and this should be of major concern to all property owners state-wide.

Regardless of where you might stand on this issue, speaking from the perspective of a Realtor, I can guarantee you that if North Carolina permits fracking property owners can expect to see their properties drop in value regardless if they are immediately impacted or not. The reason I believe this to be true is two-fold. For those in the immediate vicinity of fracking sites, this may be easier to understand as the gas industry will ruin the visible landscape and regardless of what they might wish for you to believe the evidence is extremely convincing that nearby aquifers will become polluted ruining wells,…

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Automated Real Estate Valuation – What's behind Zillow, Trulia and Their “Estimates”

Let's start by stating the obvious: Zillow, Trulia and similar sites are not Realtor sites per se. They are Internet sites and have no Realtors working for them. They don't need to; it's not what they do. They have Marketing, IT, Sales and other professionals working for them and use proprietary algorithms that sift through county tax records, compile statistics and then propose “estimates of value” which, in my opinion, are the least valuable of the service they offer consumers. Interesting tidbits of information but little more. These sits offer AVM's, or Automated Real Estate Valuations, that let you input a number of factors about your home

Studying tax records or the average price per square foot of homes you may consider comparable is possibly…

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Pick A Side: Chapel Hill Basketball & Sports Teams

It's that time of year. Forget the Superbowl, it UNC versus Duke for the annual version of the ACC/Triangle Superbowl of Basketball. Here in Chapel Hill this evening it's akin to hosting the Superbowl, the Indy 500 and world Championship Heavyweight fight. I can already hear, Dick Vitale offering his version of, “Let's Get Ready to Rumble”

If there's one thing I've learned living here it's that besides knowing where the best Barbecue is; you need to pick a team and be proud of it. (Sorry NC State Fans, I know it's got to be difficult for you.)

Now myself I'm a Duke fan plain and simple. Sure UNC has a good program, but for me when it comes to excitement you just can't beat Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Cameron Crazies. As a Durham resident I also…

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5 Space-Saving Tips To Declutter Your Home

This blog was written by a friend and one of the local resources I turn to when clients need some help either organizing their lives or more commonly getting their homes ready for sale. Deanne Morgan is a professional organizer and owner of Durham, NC-based Central Carolina Organizing LLC. You’ll find more organizing information and tips at Central Carolina Organizing. I asked her to prepare a piece specifically designed to help you maximize your own home's space so you can enjoy it even more.

No matter your home’s age or size, chances are you want and/or need more storage space. You can create that space yourself without spending a fortune or waiting for months and months on a contractor. Here are five tips to get started on making a home for…

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What's The Difference Between Buying Condos and Townhomes In North Carolina?

Working with as many home-buyers as I do, I wanted to explain the difference between condominiums and townhomes and why it matters in terms of financing as well as specific legal issues here in North Carolina.

Kensignton Trace is a popular condominium with UNC graduate students and young familes development in Chapel Hill NC If you’re reading this and looking to buy in any other state you should really check with a local Realtor regarding how your specific state views these two forms of real estate. While much of the information I’m sharing below is likely to apply, I know it’s different in every state and these differences could be quite significant.

Understanding The Difference Between Condos & Townhomes

What's the difference between the two —…

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