About Mecklenburg County, NC

In most of the U.S. the real estate market is a buyer's market. A few years ago, home owners did not have to do much to sell their home. Sometimes a few repairs of upgrades would be negotiated, but overall you could pretty much sell your home "as is". That has changed drastically. More and more sellers are finding they need to do some home improvements BEFORE they can sell their home. Appraisers have given a few tips to help home owners make their home stand out from the rest.

The biggest thing you can do is paint the walls and replace the carpets! Give your home a mini facelift so to speak. The new flooring and fresh paint will give your home more of a new feel. The old adage remains true when it comes to the color palette; go neutral. If you aren't sure how neutral to go, you can always fall back on white with the paint. Not only does it brighten a room, but it can make it feel clean and fresh too!

Speaking of clean, don't even think of putting your home on the market without making it spic and span. If your home is dirty, there are 3 others down the block your potential buyer is more than willing to go see. Wipe down walls, mop the floor and yes clean the baseboards. If you have a lot of stuff, then your best friend could be a storage unit. The more of the floors you can see, the bigger your home will feel! Don't forget the curb appeal! Keep the yard clean and neat! Make any repairs needed to the sidewalk or driveway. Again, remove as much clutter from the yard as you can. This will make your home inviting from the moment they pull into the driveway!

Real Estate still remains one of the best investments you can make. If you are not ready to sell your home, but may be in the next few years, start planning now. Keeping an eye towards the resale value of your home you can't go wrong! Capitalize on this by slowly upgrading your home. There are some things you should avoid though. These things may limit the buyers you attract. One good example of that is a pool. You may love the idea of a swimming pool, but it is definitely one of those things you may want to wait on if you may be selling your home. Not everyone wants one in their backyard so you may lose some potential buyers.

Just because it is a buyer's market doesn't mean it is a bad time to sell. Interest rates are still historically low. There are many first time and repeat buyers taking advantage of the Home Buyers Tax Credit. Now could be the best time to sell your home! If you want to know if it may be the right time to sell your Greater Charlotte home, call Lars Hedenborg! He can answer your questions on getting sold in Charlotte!

“Building a Family Tradition since 1960”

Pride of Ownership – As a homeowner, that is very important to you. You want your home to fulfill your ideals and represent the values your family holds dear.  You want it to embrace qualities of comfort and beauty but, also serve your practical needs so that you can get on with the business of life.

Hobart Smith Homes understands what Pride of Ownership means. 

When its founder, Hobart Smith, Sr., began building homes in 1960, he applied years of experience in the banking and building supply industries to what is now one of the most highly respected home building companies in the Charlotte area.  He knew that listening to the customer was the best way to learn what homeowners wanted and needed.  Whether they desired smooth-flowing floor plans, expansive bonus rooms, modern work stations or front porches, Smith made sure that he accommodated the request right down to the last detail.  Over 4,000 homes in the Charlotte, Statesville and Raleigh areas are proof of this prestigious company’s popularity and reliability.

Philosophy – Today, sons Hobart, Jr. (Skip) and Tony, along with grandson, Chet, continue to strive to meet those cherished standards.  They believe that bringing old fashioned values to a high-tech business is a winning formula.  “We can afford to take a personal interest in every property we build,” says Skip Smith.  “Management-wise, we’re totally hands-on.”  Their combined over-100 years of experience have proven to the Smiths that standing behind the quality of each and every home they build is a principle that works.

Furthermore, Hobart Smith Homes are custom-designed on site, by the most skilled craftsmen, of the finest quality materials and techniques.  “Our employees are dedicated to the company name,” says Skip.

Because families want their homes to reflect their personalities, Hobart Smith offers a wide variety of unique floor plans that accommodate every lifestyle.  Whether they’re traditional, with formal living and dining rooms, or have free-flowing great rooms and media centers, the heart of the homes are kitchens that make cooking and entertaining a joy.

Quality craftsmanship, distinctive architecture and the personal attention of the builder—who said they don’t make homes like they used to? 

When it comes to all-around excellence, Hobart Smith Homes is simply unsurpassed in the building industry.  Satisfied customers of Hobart Smith Homes abound in the Charlotte area!  Their customer-service-beyond-the-standard-warranty is their trademark.  Not only do they provide the coveted 2-10 Warranty, they  provide the personal service that other builders only 'claim' to provide.

View Hobart Smith homes available in South Charlotte (Providence Plantation area).

These gorgeous full-brick homes are in a lush landscaped setting in prime South Charlotte.  The first 3 of ten are now complete and ready for a happy new home buyer!

View Hobart Smith Homes' last available home for sale in the SouthPark / Sardis Road area (Sardis Place).

The final home built in Sardis Place is now available for move-in!  Position yourself in beautiful SouthPark with the convenience of all of Charlotte's prestigious private schools (mere minutes away)!

It's my ANNIVERSARY!!! Well not my first year, but my second year of selling real estate! I am doggone PROUD!!!! I signed on with Coldwell Banker United, Realtors in Charlotte, NC in November of 2007. The first year seems like a blur as I was baptized by fire, and realized that hardly anything I learned in my pre-licensing course would help me list a house for sale or represent a buyer, or prepare a decent CMA, or FIND business! I could write a book called "All I Ever Really Need to Know About Selling Real Estate, I learned on Active Rain!" Oh wait, Fulghum already came up with that idea!

My second year was the year the market tanked, Charlotte real estate property values declined, buyers had a hard time qualifying for mortgages, homes didn't appraise, sellers still thought their home was worth more than the comps said they were. But you know what? I persevered...and since I didn't know any better, I plugged away at becoming a master of my market area, and doing the very best job for any client I was privileged to help. If someone needs a realtor in Charlotte, NC, I am more than ready to help!

Some agents won't put a buyer in their car unless they've been pre-approved by a lender and they've signed a buyer agency agreement. Not me! If they wanted to see a house and I was free, I showed it. If they weren't ready to buy but wanted to "see what's out there," I showed them. You see, I didn't see it as wasting my time because I was developing relationships and learning my market. What else was I going to do, sit around and wait for the phone to ring? Start cold calling? Call on FSBOs and expireds? Those methods don't work for me, because I don't like it when people solicit me. So I can't bring myself to do it. More power to all of you who can, but I just can't.

Slowly but surely, I've developed a loyal following. I've already had repeat business from a prior client. I've had several referrals from past clients and from my sphere. I just keep it simple, I follow the Golden Rule and treat everyone the way i'd like to be treated myself! I've made mistakes and have been mortified, but I'm still here and doing great!

About 8 months ago, I "met" Jennifer Allan on AR and on her website, www.SellWithSoul.com. I had read an article in one of the realtor magazines about Jennifer's book called Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect. I felt an immediate connection to Jennifer and her philosophy of selling real estate successfully. I've been a devotee ever since, and have bought practically everything she's written. You should really check out her website - there's so much info there, and lot's of it is FREE!

Jennifer puts on lots of webinars on all sorts of important topics, and guess what? She's doing a series of Rookie-to-Rookie shows. I'm proud and excited to announce that I am going to be one of her guest speakers on her Second Real Estate Rookie-to-Rookie Show - First Year Survivors Share their Secrets! where "soulful" 2nd & 3rd year agents survived to tell about it!

Calling all ROOKIES (and even veterans)! Join us for some fun and informative "story sharing." No holds barred - I'm ready to share my most embarrassing moments and what I learned from them. As you've learned here on AR, real estate is such a collaborative effort - we can all learn so much from each other.

So if you want to join us on this FREE Rookie webinar, click here for details. I hope to meet you there!

I suppose this is true in most industries.

There is a pulse. It is either in activity or inactivity, and the first ones to feel it, are on the ground level.

The phones stop ringing (or start ringing).

A small shuffle starts taking place (or not).

The Internet requests are up, down or non-existant.

I am on the ground level of Charlotte real estate. I sell it, I help people buy it.

In May of 2007, our 800 capture numbers dropped by 60%.

I gasped, we all did.

Charlotte finally was joining the rest of the U.S. housing market and got nailed. Sales spiraled. Again, we gasped; we warned our sellers, sell now, drop the price....mmmm....too few listened.

And then they sat, and sat, and sat.

And now they have reduced, and reduced and reduced. Some have sold at great losses.

SOOO......about six months after our dire warnings...in the fall of 2007... the news reports, starting coming in about the Charlotte housing market...we may be in trouble. (We were in trouble-who were they reporting to?)

Slow forward two and a half years later. November of 2009.

My phones are ringing again, my Internet requests are up, the shuffle has begun anew.

I am ready to dance...you see...I can shuffle with the best of them.

Surprisingly, or not at all surprisingly...today's news gave me these three headlines...today, Nov. 20, 2009.

"New Wave of Foreclosures lurks as defaults pile up" (as a Realtor, didn't we all hear this six months ago? I know I did.)

"Expert says prognosis is iffy for area real estate in 2010"....(strange, my business is on an upswing, phones are ringing, we're in!)

"Official: Charlotte faces slow recovery" ....Okay...well, don't we all.

All of you new agents, hurry up and throw in the towel, I will wipe up for you. I have been doing this long enough, to know, those are dated late breaking stories according to folks like me...

Now, if we could get the general public to understand, we are Realtors, we are on the ground floor, and we hear the pulse of our industry.

Moral of the story: You will have more success working with your Realtors advice, than you will with the headline news of the day. Sometimes, it just pays, to listen to your Realtor.

While you may think it's crazy to tackle the huge task of home buying during the schedule-jammed holiday season; Lake and Town Realty feels the holidays are actually a great time to find real estate deals in today's new economy.

Here are some Top reasons the 2009 holiday season promises to be filled with better-than-usual home bargains:

Economy has boosted many sellers' motivation to sell.
With unemployment rates still high and looming holiday expenses, many home sellers are extremely motivated to sell immediately and are more willing to negotiate a lower home price. Properties that are on the market over the holiday season usually have very serious sellers.

Interest rates are at an all-time low
Interest rates and home prices are at all-time lows. If we look historically at interest rates, cyclically we've seen drops every December through January

Housing market appears to have reached a floor through the June to September
fewer transactions mean faster closings. November and December are historically slower months in the mortgage business, so things get done faster!!!

Prices are greatly depressed and inventory is plentiful.
With many people busy gift shopping, traveling and entertaining, November and December are traditionally slow for real estate. On-the-ball buyers can take advantage of that fact and find less competition for the most desirable homes.

The holiday season is a particularly good time for first-time homebuyers to find a home.

First Time Home Buyer Tax credit.

Now Great Tax Benefits For Existing Home Buyers

$6,500 for qualified move-up/repeat home buyers (existing home owners)

Tax Deduction
Most settlement costs paid to the mortgage company, lender or broker are tax-deductible in the year in which you pay them. If you close on or before Dec. 31, you may be able to deduct the interest on your first monthly mortgage payment from your taxable income. You may be able to deduct points paid to reduce your interest rate as well

Share your success story with others during this Holiday Season...so someone else can help their client have a special Holiday Season too!!!