Interestingly enough, North Carolina’s Buyer Agency Agreements do not have a termination clause. I am not sure why not. In selecting a buyer agent to represent your interests, you want to make sure that you work with an agent that is a good fit and who does what she or he says they are going to do.
If a Buyer Agent is not meeting your expectations, I think it is very important to do two things. First, communication is the name of the game. Make sure you let your agent know what is not working for you. Second, give your agent a chance to correct the problem.
It is my policy to never twist someone’s arm into doing something they don’t want to do. I always let my clients know that either party can terminate an Agency agreement if it is not working. I never want this to happen so this is my way of keeping my feet to the fire.
My recommendation is to discuss with any agent you are interviewing or working with what their policy is on whether or not a Buyer Agency Agreement can be terminated. My answer is yes you can, it all comes down, however, to how you do it.
You probably know about Cash for Clunkers, the government’s stimulus program that spurred the auto industry while taking less fuel-efficient vehicles off the road. What you may not know about is a new stimulus program that affects your home and appliances.
What Is It?
It’s variously called Cash for Appliances or Cash for Refrigerators. What the program allows is for consumers, you and me, to receive rebates or economic incentives for purchasing energy star appliances—kind of like cash for old appliances. The government has funneled 300 million dollars into funding the program. Right now, North Carolina is shaping their plan to run Cash for Appliances, and will submit finalized plans to the U.S. Department of Energy on October 15. The state has $8.8 million available to fund the program, and may receive additional money from the Economic Recovery and Investment Act.
What’s the Point?
The Cash for Refrigerators program has several benefits. First, it gives the economy a boost. The hard-hit manufacturing and retail industries will get a jump-start from the sale of new appliances. At the same time, old energy-hogging appliances will go off the grid. Replacing the dinosaurs will be energy star appliances, which are far more energy-efficient and earth-friendly. Lastly, consumers will save cash. By purchasing a new heating system or washing machine, energy bills will take a nosedive. The extra cash may provide more impetus for spending—and greater economic uptick.
How Does It Work?
Rather than ditching your fridge and getting a check, the Cash for Appliances program will most likely be confined to actual cash-register purchases of state-selected appliances. Although cash for old appliances makes it sounds like a cash-reward for turning in old products, the cash reward comes in the form of a rebate. Included in the rebate program are energy star appliances like refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, furnaces, central air units, water heaters and other similar appliances. Since North Carolina wants to make cash for used appliances program as easy as possible for consumers, which means eliminating extra paperwork, and allowing it to be a simple one-step process. Details should be available sometime after the October 15 deadline for plan submittal and subsequent government approval.
When Will It Happen?
After mid-October, the government will begin reviewing state-led Cash for Appliances programs. If approved, they will receive the funding and be able to introduce the program to consumers. Some predict that the program will begin as early as December, in time for the Christmas shopping season. It is very likely that at the least, North Carolina will have the program underway by early 2010. At that time details will be available, meaning you can go to the store and start look for new appliances.
What Do You Think?
How will the program help you? What action will you take based on the program? Will this affect your decision to purchase new appliances?
The Durham real estate market is still going strong but, like the rest of the country, our market is experiencing a great deal of change. The table below compares Durham homes for sale and the associated statistics from 2008 to 2009.
| Durham | 2008 | 2009 | Change |
| New Listings | 3,346 | 3,346 | -21% |
| Closed Sales | 1,487 | 1,061 | -28.6% |
| Average Sales Price | $174,113 | $172,000 | -1.2% |
| List/Sales Ratio | 96.8% | 95.5% | -1.3% |
| Avg Days on Market | 87 | 94 | +8.2% |
Click here to learn more about Chapel Hill real estate and Team Jodi
Click here to view Team Jodi's Chapel Hill homes for sale
Click here to Search homes for sale in Chapel Hill
Data Source: Triangle MLS
The Chapel Hill real estate market is still going strong but, like the rest of the country, our market is experiencing a great deal of change. The table below compares Chapel Hill homes for sale and the associated statistics from 2008 to 2009.
| Chapel Hill | 2008 | 2009 | Change |
| New Listings | 1,337 | 1,061 | -20.6% |
| Closed Sales | 483 | 306 | -36.6% |
| Average Sales Price | $372,912 | $391409 | +5% |
| List/Sales Ratio | 97.6% | 96.5% | -1.1% |
| Avg Days on Market | 82 | 107 | +31.2% |
Click here to learn more about Chapel Hill real estate and Team Jodi
Click here to view Team Jodi's Chapel Hill homes for sale
Click here to Search homes for sale in Chapel Hill
Data Source: Triangle MLS
Team Jodi launches North Carolina Bank Owned Properties.com
Receive FREE email alerts of new bank-owned properties for sale in the greater Chapel Hill, Durham and greater Triangle Area.
Find bank owned properties in Chapel Hill, Durham, Hillsborough (Orange County), Pittsboro (Chatham County), Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest and the surrounding areas!
Click here to learn more about Team Jodi and our services
Click here to view Team Jodi's homes for sale
Click here to find homes for sale in Chapel Hill, Durham and
the surrounding Triangle NC area
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Whether you are buying or selling property in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Raleigh, Cary, or Apex NC, Team Jodi provides seamless customer service throughout the transaction.
Jodi Bakst, Broker, Realtor, CRS, GRI, ABR, CLHMS, CDPE
Jodi Bakst has lived in Chapel Hill since 1990 and been a Realtor since 1997. She is known in her market as a consistent top producer because she is focused on real estate as a true business. She has spent years building a very effective Team. She goes to great lenghts to effectively use technology in her business. She has two excellent buyer agents with incredible experience in design, real estate law, and negotiation. They all have exceptional experience with the relocation process and the local schools throughout Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties. Jodi is a Broker, and holds the following designations, Certified Residential Specialist, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Certified Distressed Property Experts, Graduate Realtor Institute and Accredited Buyer Representative. She is also on the North Carolina Association of Realtors Forms Committee and the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors Board of Directors. She is married with two children and is active volunteer in the Jewish community. She has an MA in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill and a BA in Economics from the University of California Santa Cruz.
You can contact Jodi Bakst at Jodi@TeamJodi.com.
"We want you to know how much we appreciate all that you did to make the sale of our house happen, and so quickly! We have never worked with a more dedicated Realtor - we felt that we were your priority and that you bent over backward to make everything go smoothly. Thank you so much for the time, resources, and care you put into us. We will certainly highly recommend you to anyone we can! Lisa & Mike Carboni Jodi and her team were professional from the moment we met them. When we saw the brochures she designed for our home, we were amazed at the color and the format. They were top notch. Jodi kept us posted Arnold & Fern Rothman
throughout every step of selling our home. Every phone call was returned immediately. If she was out
of the office with a client, her assistant Jeff would contact us. It was very apparent they had total
communication throughout the process; Jeff is extremeley in tune with everything that is going on.
Jodi sold our home in 5 weeks! Her exposure in the realty world seems far greater than any realtor.
Being extremely detailed oriented sellers, we realized Jodi was so competent that we left most of
the process to her; she was truly one step ahead of us. This was the most stress free sale of a home
we have ever been through. Jodi also got us more for our home than we were going to settle for. We highly
recommend Jodi and her team; using any other realtor in our opinion would be a big mistake!
“We interviewed five agents before choosing you. We were incredibly impressed with your presentation. We were not getting an agent...we were getting a team. You kept every promise you made. We were confident that through your extensive systems our home was well marketed to Realtors and buyers. Your brochure on our home was gorgeous. You helped put our house in the best light with the use of your interior design specialist. You had us under contract with a back up offer quickly and for more money than we imagined. Thank you for everything. Your teamwork, professionalism and knowledge of the business put you over the top.”
Richard and Cami Gilman Previous Owners of 125 Cedar Lane Farm, New Hill
“Sue and I were very pleased with the results achieved after listing our house for sale with you. The house sold within days at our asking price with a back-up offer on the table. We believe that these results in a large part were due to your advice for preparing our house for sale and the activities that you undertook to market the house to other realtors and potential buyers. We could not ask for better service before, during, and after the sale than that we received from you and your team Thank you for all that you did.
”Tom and Sue Covalla Previous Owners of 8400 Sterling Bridge, Chapel Hill
“We are very grateful to Jodi and her Team for helping us sell our house on the terms owe wanted after only one week. The marketing plan and preparation of our house for showing were done beautifully, and up until closing every time I asked “Please, take care of this,” they did. Great job!”
Ted and Nancy Salmon Previous Owners of 1706 Claymore Road, Chapel Hill
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