The sound advice has always been, why put all your eggs in one basket and because of that we have always diversified our nest egg, so why not add another egg, Real Estate.

True, in some markets purchasers got burned, but those are the ones that got caught up in the flipping of property and get rich quick schemes, while this works for some it is not for everyone. Adding real estate to your portfolio means investing in an area like Charlotte were property is found at great values, low taxes and can be turned into rental property. It is not hard to acquire this property and you don't even have to manage it yourself, there are plenty professional brokerages' that can handle the rental aspect for a small fee.

How often have we heard someone say "I wish I had bought that property when I had the opportunity"? Well, here is another chance. You can become a homeowner of this type of property if you are presently renting, or you can become an investor if you have a desire to acquire additional property. Due to some bad loan structuring there is property on the market that offers you both of these opportunities.

Either research the area yourself or find an agent that you can work well with and knows what you are searching for. Many properties are on the market these day's that are pre-foreclosure sales because of the bad loans, high interest loans etc. and since banks don't want to become landlords, they want to sell these homes and for a price that is a bonus to you called equity.

www.morrisrealestatecentral.com
barbarak@morrisrealestatecentral.com

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visit me also at: www.BarbaraKeefauver.com
barbara@barbarakeefauver.com

A recent article confirms what Charlottean's have known for quite some time that our area is a great place to settle down and own property. Despite the slow down we are still in the running of best places to live.

Where Home Prices Are Hot Now Despite the Housing Slowdown
By Dean Treftz
From The Wall Street Journal Online

The housing news isn't all grim. Even as prices sag nationwide, there are several cities in the country where home values are climbing smartly.

Portland, Ore., Boise, Idaho, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Houston, Austin, and Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., are among the cities bucking the national trend. Homes' appreciation there between the fourth quarters of 2005 and 2006 far exceeded the national average of 5.9%, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. In some markets, like Boise and Seattle, the appreciation jumped well into the double digits.
"All real estate is local, despite the headlines," says Lawrence Yun, the senior economist for the National Association of Realtors. Nationwide, the median existing-home price fell 1.3%, to $212,800 in February from $215,700 in February 2006, according to preliminary NAR statistics

Most of the cities also have one or more strong industries to drive their economies -- colleges and technology in Raleigh, banks in Charlotte, energy in Houston and aerospace in Seattle. And all have education levels above the national average.

There's no single secret of these cities' apparent success, but many of them missed the housing boom of the past five years. From 2001 to 2005, annual appreciation in these cities was between 2% and 5%, far slower than the 7% to 12% national average, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. (OFHEO calculates appreciation based on repeat sales or refinancings of the same single-family properties.) Now, prices are playing catch-up.

I am delighted that we do not have to resort to enticements to sell homes, i.e. a car, boat or big screen TV and remain focused on our effort to do sensible real estate. Some are worried that other towns can become targets of boom or bust, as is the case in Fort Lauderdale, Phoenix or Las Vegas. If you like the complete article then shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you a link to the aticle.

barbara@barbarakeefauver.com