Greensboro, NC

Greensboro, North Carolina's Urban Loop Mapping Tool is online to help those home buyers out there looking to buy in and around Greensboro and determine they are not too close to the new Urban loop. As with most larger metro areas Greensboro is building an Urban Loop. Now we all know that is a considerable material fact. If your home is close to where a major highway is coming through the value of that home is going to be affected. So as you are out looking for a new home use this online tool to check the address and see how close your prospective new home is to the new urban loop.

You simply enter the address you are questioning and the GIS viewer will take you to that location and show how close it is to the new Urban Loops route around Greensboro. Now half the loop is completed around mostly the southern end of Greensboro. For all of those prospective buyers looking in the northern areas of Greensboro, NC use this tool to search to see if your possible home is near the loop.

The Mapping Tool for the Greensboro, NC Urban Loop is very helpful.

So here is one more tool for you in your home search. Happy house hunting.

The Author:

Larry is a Greensboro Residential Broker, CARTUS Certified Relocation Specialist, Previews luxury homes trained, SRES & CHMS who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in the Piedmont Triad Area that include but, not limited to Greensboro, High Point, and Winston Salem, NC. If you're relocating to or from any other area of the country, Larry connects you with a member of our national team of relocation specialist in your destination or exit city of choice. The destination service is of no cost to you! As your Personal Concierge Realtor Larry provides customer service that is equal to none. Your complete happiness is our top priority! Larry Story - Coldwell Banker Triad Realtors - 336-327-1841 also at http://www.storybookhomes.ws

Copyright© 2009 By Larry Story, All Rights Reserved...

It's time for a change. Who knows what it will bring for me.

After three years as a sales and marketing manager for a custom builder, I'll be leaving the company this week. It's really a mutual decision, that we both regret, but know is necessary.

I don't care how much the President and those in power in Washington claim the recession is over, it just aint so! But, I truly believe the next year will be better for home sales.

I will likely get back into general brokerage and try to represent several builders. With so many leaving real estate over the last year, I think it's actually a good time to get back into it. I also believe all the people who have put off buying new homes over the last year or so, will feel more confident about the economy and decide it's time to make that big move.

So, I'm a little sad at leaving a company I enjoyed working for, but look forward to new opportunites and a brighter future for all of us.

Attention people who are selling their home or trying to rent a home in Greensboro, NC (and I'm sure in other areas across the United States). There is a new scam on Craig's List.

Here's how it works. We have an absolutely beautiful home currently listed for sale in Greensboro. So imagine my surprise when I started getting inquiries from people about renting it. Evidently, someone lifted our MLS photo, posted the home on Craig's List and offered to rent it for only $1,000/month! When people inquired about the home, they received a lengthy email of explanation. The email stated that the home was being offered at this incredibly low price because the homeowner was a pastor on a mission trip to Africa and needed someone to look after it while he was gone. In order to qualify for this once-in-a-lifetime offer, rental applicants needed only to complete an application with lots of personal and financial data and submit it along with a photo of themselves and anyone else who would be living in the house. In order to get a key to the home, they also needed to send a deposit.

These scammers went to great lengths to make the offer appear valid. They established a yahoo email using my name and found out the name of the homeowners so they could sign their emails "Pastor (Homeowner's last name)".

Fortunately, many people in Greensboro know me and called my office directly. Others found our number by conducting an Internet search. When people called me, I let them know that it was really a scam. However, I hope these scammers aren't able to take advantage of someone who didn't talk to me. We alerted Craig's List about the scam but it keeps popping back up on their website.

We also know that our listings aren't the only ones being targeted. Other homes for sale in Greensboro have been subjected to the same scam. So until the police can catch these unscrupulous people, be vigilant and warn home sellers and renters that you know.

Effective October 31, 2009, Fannie Mae will retire its current HomeSaver Forbearance Plan and replace it with the new Payment Reduction Plan (PRP) to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Under the terms of the new PRP, mortgage servicers will be allowed to reduce a borrower's Principal and Interest (P&I) payment by up to 30% for up to 6 months. The goal is to provide the borrower some temporary relief while working with the servicer to find a permanent foreclosure prevention solution.

To be eligible for this temporary payment reduction, the loan must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and meet the following minimum requirements:

• Must be a first lien conventional mortgage at least 6 months old

• In default or is at risk of imminent default

• Secured by a 1-4 unit property (owner-occupant, investment, and second homes qualify!)

• Borrower must show ability to make the reduced payment

• Property cannot be condemned

• If in active foreclosure, sale date must be at least 45 days after PRP effective date (no 11^th hour requests for PRP!)

Mortgage servicers will receive an incentive fee for a PRP, but under the new plan they will not receive the incentive until after permanent foreclosure prevention has been successfully completed.

Fannie Mae still instructs its mortgage servicers to evaluate each and every distressed borrower for the Home Affordable Modification Program (permanent payment reduction).

This announcement is just further proof that the banks are willing to work with homeowners to avoid foreclosure! In the Greensboro, NC area, our short sale specialist, Kelly Walters, is working with many homeowners to help them find alternatives to foreclosure. To find a Certified Distressed Property Expert in your area, check out www.cdpe.com.

There are some local builders in my area that have been building custom homes for years. When I moved here twenty years ago, they already had reputations as the best builders in town. Fast forward twenty years and they are still here and still have the reputations and high brand recognition.

Well, it's not always deserved. One of these builders still gets a big chunk of the local business, based mainly on reputation. That would be great if he deserved it. Now please don't go thinking I just have a case of sour grapes because I'm not getting that business. OK, maybe just a little :-) But, time after time, especially during the annual Parade of Homes, I have people going through our spec homes telling me how much better the quality of our construction is and how our attention to detail is so much better. Frequently the other builder's homes are priced several hundred thousand dollars higher than ours.

So, the general perception is that they are still the best builder in town, yet it just may not be the case any more. I would never bad mouth another builder when dealing with a potential client. But, how does one change those perceptions? I suppose that good marketing comes strongly into play here. How does any business get the word out that they are just as good , if not better at what they do. I welcome your comments and suggestions.