I am often reminded of why we moved to and love to live in Tega Cay South Carolina. The 4th of July is a good example of why we live here. The 4th was a busy day in Tega Cay SC this year. In fact the 4th of July is always full of fun activities in Tega Cay. I am not sure why you would travel somewhere else during the 4th if you live in Tega Cay especially with the high gas prices. Here is a short list of the planned events that went on for the 4th of July in Tega Cay.

The Land Parade began at 9AM. The Land Parade theme was "Tega Cay's 26th Anniversary"

There were floats with music, big trucks, several groups of the Shiners,

and Star Wars characters and the Fort Mill High Band was marching and playing!

The Windjammer Park Party started at 10:00 a.m. Loads of fun! Canoe Joust, Ski Show and Boat Parade! The Boat Parade started at 11:30am.

The Ski Show was performed by the award-winning Carolina Show Ski Team. The show included comedy, skills and amazing water ski stunts.

The Lions Fish Fry was at the Glennon Center around 4:30pm.

The day ended with the City's Birthday Party, Fireworks and Dance. The birthday party began around 8:00 p.m. which was followed by fireworks at 9:30 p.m. outside on the Tega Cay Golf Course. There was a dedication of the new Glennon Center building, the speaker was Congressman Spratt and Mayor Runde gave the State of the City. And the dance went on at the Glennon Center until Midnight!

The day was non stop fun. So, if you are considering relocating to the Charlotte Metro area , take a look at the Tega Cay area. It's just minutes south of Charlotte. The schools are great. The city is on a peninsula of Lake Wylie. And if you like a small town look and feel that is full of friendly, fun people come to Tega Cay South Carolina. If you are interested in reading more about our area here are some other similar posts and links:

• Top 10 Reasons to Live in Fort Mill.
• The Fort Mill Times has a nice recap of the 4th of July events click here
• Tega Cay History
• Fort Mill History

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-news/reasons-why-i-love-living-in-tega-cay-especially-on-the-4th-of-july/

Fort Mill SC keeps growing. The new Koll Development Company 150,000 square foot Intellicenter building in Fort Mill SC is finished and has been turned over to Daimler Trucks of North America. Freightliner LLC changed it corporate name last January to Daimler Trucks of North America.

Last October Daimler Trucks announced the move of its 340 job sales and marketing division from Portland OR to Fort Mill, SC. As of the company deadline for relocation decisions last January, 118 Portland Daimler employees are making the move to Fort Mill, SC. I took a look at Daimler's job opening website. Only 14 positions were listed as available. Daimler had a job fair in March so many of the non relocating positions may have been filled.

The Daimler Trucks sales and marketing new office is located on Deerfield Drive near the Gold Hill and I-77 interchange. Here is the last picture from the construction job site camera of new building taken on May 21st.

You can see the exterior of the building and landscaping is complete. Work left to do is focused on the interior office set up including furniture. Daimler Trucks expects operations to begin in the new offices the first part of August.

What is the latest about the Daimler Trucks HQ move from Portland to the York County area? I searched for press releases and articles. I found a couple May articles in the Charlotte Business Journal about the move. Daimler Trucks has an option on 400 acres on the west side of Lake Wylie near the Big Allison Creek area. The articles claim Daimler Trucks corporate office campus would be part of the Crescent Resources or Allison Creek Partners 2,300 acre master planned development project in York County on the Allison Creek. A Daimler Trucks spokesperson confirmed they were working with local landowners, developers and York County SC officials on the project but no final decisions have been made.

The Allison Creek master planned development plan is estimated to contain almost 4.4 million square feet of office space and a potential of 3,500 homes. If Daimler Trucks would be relocated to the development, the plan would allow for many support companies to relocate near the corporate campus. The over plan would almost triple the current York County multitenant space if and when finished.

See also

Will Freightliner Move To South Carolina

Crescent Keeps Planning New Home Communities Around Fort Mill and Lake Wylie

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/freightliner-daimler-trucks-fort-mill-sc-new-office-almost-ready/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

If you are shopping for a home in the Tega Cay or Fort Mill area right now you will notice lawns looking brown instead of green these days. With higher or I should say HOT summer temperatures and water restrictions that are in place, it is difficult to maintain a bright green lawn.

So you might ask what are the current water restrictions? Here is an update.

Tega Cay's city council did revise the current stage 3 water restrictions on May 31st. Stage 3 restriction have been in place since October of last year. We were blessed with much needed rain during the spring season so the council reduced the restrictions slightly from the April 21st, 2008 change. We are still in stage 3 water restriction with the following changes:

You are allowed to water lawns with sprinklers or irrigation systems one day a week.
Odd addresses are allowed to water any time on Saturdays
Even addresses are allowed to water anytime on Sundays.

The April 21st update only allowed you to water on the designated day from 12:01am to 9am. The May 31st change allows you to water anytime during your designated day.

Besides the change to the time of watering your lawns 1 day a week, you may now wash vehicles, watercraft, fill pools, and pressure wash structures/driveways on the same designated day of the week. But only one day a week on your designated day.

Residents are allowed to use hand held watering containers and hoses with spray nozzles to water plants, shrubs, flowers, containers, gardens, and lawns any time and any day of the week.

Tega Cay restrictions now match the current York County stage 3 restrictions. Fort Mill water restrictions are similar except the only day to water, wash, or fill is Saturday. Fort Mill did not break out different days for even or odd addresses.

In all jurisdictions, watering, washing, and filing on days other than your assigned day is strictly prohibited. And so is any water run off.

The use of irrigation systems that pump water directly from Lake Wylie are controlled by Duke Energy Lake Management and now are allowed to "pump" water only on Saturdays.

The information above is from the Tega Cay city website, Fort Mill city website, and the York County SC website. Click here for a PDF of the Tega Cay city May 31st amended water restriction.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-news/lawns-turn-brown-even-with-tega-cay-sc-revised-water-restrictions-may-31st-2008/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

York County Council approved on May 19 to re-zone 32 acres in Fort Mill on highway 160 west across from Baxter Village to mixed use.

ELA, a Rock Hill based developer, original planned to build apartments but sought to add retail and office developmemt to the project. The development after last months county approval will now consist of 288 apartments and 110,605 square foot of retail and office space.

The buildings in the front of the development facing highway 160 will be 4 to 5 story buildings with retail and restaurants on the first floor and offices in the upper floors. The apartments will be located in the rear of the development.

The county has tried to restricted further commercial development on this part of highway 160 to minimize the traffic impact on the highway. But after looking at the prosed mixed use plan, the council did not see much difference in the traffic impact when comparing the original approved multifamily plan versus the proposed mixed use plan.

Site grading has already started. If you have been watching the work in the last few months a couple of older homes were removed from the front of this property and the development entrance has been graded. ELA predicts the project will take approx 2 years to complete.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/fort-mill-news/60-million-mixed-use-development-approved-for-fort-mill/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

There is good news mixed with bad. The 12 month through March 2008 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index report released yesterday showed national home values are still in a decline. The national average decline is 14%.

The good news is Charlotte is one of the 20 urban metro market areas showing increases. The Charlotte metro market includes Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie and other outline areas or suburbs.

Our home values in the area have shown modest growth in the last few years which maybe the reason for positive home value growth instead of decreases in todays economy. Charlotte area home prices rose less than one percent but at least it is on the plus side.

More good new, home sales have increased slightly in the the northeast. So why is this good news for us southerners? Our area has seen significant migration of home owners from the the northeast to our humble area in the past years. So this is good news for For Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie home sellers.

Keep smiling and don’t listen to all of the bad news. Don’t forget to contact Carmen if you are thinking of buying or selling a home.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/fort-mill-home-values-still-strong/

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

For a second year in a row Charlotte North Carolina has been voted the number one place to live by RelocateAmerica.com.

RelocateAmerica.com is an online relocation information resource owned and operated by a real state broker firm called HomeRoute. RelocateAmerica.com has been ranking cities annually for 11 years. They accept city nominations that are considered by the nominees a great place to live. The nominations then are reviewed by their editorial team along with other city key data like education, employment, crime, housing, parks etc and then ranked.

Other North and South Carolina cities in the top ten are Ashville NC and Greenville SC. Rock Hill SC is in the top 100. Fort Mill and Tega Cay which are just minutes south of Charlotte are part of the Charlotte Metro area, although not specifically listed in their ranking , I would include in the number 1 ranking. Here is the top 10 list:

1. Charlotte, NC.
2. San Antonio, TX.
3. Chattanooga, TN.
4. Greenville, SC.
5. Tulsa, OK.
6. Stevens Point, WS.
7. Asheville, NC.
8. Albuquerque, NM.
9. Huntsville, AL.
10. Seattle, WA.

It is interesting Charlotte stayed at number 1 since Forbes recently voted Charlotte 9th most miserable city to live. I have consistently disagreed with Forbes ranking of Charlotte and share the opinion of RelocateAmericas.com's survey. Here is a link to their website for more information. How would you rank Charlotte?

See also Top 10 Reasons To Live In Fort Mill SC.

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Post Link http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/charlotte-nc-voted-best-place-to-live/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Fort Mill School District Superintendent Keith Callicut wrote an update recently in the Fort Mill Times. Here is a summary of his school growth update.

Besides the two new Fort Mill School District elementary schools planned to open in the fall of 2009, the district is busy working on a plan to spend the money raised by the March 4th bond referendum that was passed. The Fort Mill School District is looking at the following areas for 3 new schools (2 elementary, 1 middle);

Possible Elementary School Locations:

• Massey home development area which is south west of Fort Mill.
• Tega Cay
• Sutton and I-77 near the planned York County Museum

Possible Middle School Location:

• An area near the southern part of the Springfield Parkway.

The district plans to finalize the sites and acquire the land for the 3 new schools by this June. By November 2008 a new "attendance plan", I assume they mean redistricting, will be completed. The architectural firm has been identified to design the additional high school gym, new stadium, and the 3 new schools. The gym and stadium are planned for opening in the fall of 2009. The 3 new schools should open by 2011.

The State Education Department considers the Fort Mill School District to be the fastest growing school district in the state of South Carolina.

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Post Link http://homesfortmill.com/fort-mill-news/fort-mill-new-school-update/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Rates improved a little this week. I am still concerned about inflation and many analysts think that oil prices might reach $200. Let’s hope not. The continued rise of the oil prices will negatively effect mortgage bonds. Current 30 Year Fixed rates are hovering around 5.75% but can easily range between 5.625% and 6.25% depending on credit score and loan program. ARM pricing is still weak but has improved. The 7/1 ARM rates are about .50% better than the 30 Year fixed rates. It should get to about a 1% lower than the 30 Year Fixed before the value is the worth the risk.

100% Programs

GONE. The only way to buy right now without any down payment is with some time of down payment assistance. FHA loans are back in the spotlight!
STATED INCOME

Agency Stated programs are back!!! We can offer conforming pricing on
stated income programs again… the only drawback is 75% max financing.
NO DOC loans are no longer available in NC
INVESTMENT Programs

The Senate just passed a bill giving tax credits to buyers of
foreclosed home… but the House is probably going to alter it quite a
bit. You will need at least 10% down to purchase investment property,
and existing loans can be refinanced for cash-out up to 85%. Rates
range between 6.00% to 7.00% depending on credit, loan size and fees.

What’s HOT?

Jumbo ARMS - EXAMPLE = 600K loan at 5.875% with no points!!! 5/1 and
7/1 ARM loans available.
For more details contact…

Olan writes a weekly mortgage update as a guest blogger for HomesFortMill.com. Olan serves the Charlotte NC Metro area which includes Tega Cay, Fort Mill and the Lake Wylie area. I highly recommend Olan for all of your mortgage needs. Olan is also an active Activerainer.

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Post Link http://homesfortmill.com/fort-mill-news/fort-mill-schools-district-name-2-new-elementary-schools/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

I wrote a post recently about a rumor all Fort Mill Schools are in an enrollment freeze. Here is a link to the posts Fort Mill Schools Freeze Enrollment?

As I stated that was simply not true. In the post I mentioned therewill be 2 new elementray schools. Well the Fort Mill School District Board has approved names for the district’s newest elementary schools. The elementary located adjacent to Nation Ford High will be known as Sugar Creek Elementary.

Sugar Creek Elementary
Capacity - 900
Location - off Farm House Rd.
Adjacent to Nation Ford High

A second elementary now under
construction on Pleasant Road will be known as Pleasant Knoll
Elementary.

Pleasant Knoll Elementary
Capacity - 900
Location - Pleasant Road

Both schools will open in August of 2009.

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Post Link http://homesfortmill.com/fort-mill-news/fort-mill-schools-district-name-2-new-elementary-schools/

My website http://carmensmiller.com