Team Jodi - Chapel Hill Real Estate, Durham Real Estate

On December 10, 2008, I posted information stating that Orange County, North Carolina was ready to release the 2009 property tax revaluations.  By now, everyone has received letters from Orange County with the new property tax values for their homes.  I have received many, many calls and emails from clients, friends and people who have found me online asking me to look at their property tax values and to see if I think they are correct.  I have seen the gambit from under valued, to spot on, to over valued.  In those cases where the property tax values are excessive, I strongly urge people to contest the value.  The County knows that this is a diffcult time to revalue properties and they know that they did not get it right in all cases.  If you do want to contest your tax value, you need to use the right paperwork and do so by March, 2009.  Click here to learn about the revaluation process, how to file an appeal and to access the necessary paperwork.

I do want to share that I live in Ironwoods in Chapel Hill and my tax value went up 31%.  As everyone else that had a significant increase, I was not thrilled about this but I know that the County has to revalue properties every 4 years and that over the last 4 years, our market has appreciated.

It is really important to understand -- and I have been discussing this at every opportunity -- the hope is that our actual tax bills will not increase significantly in 2009.  The next piece of this equation is the tax rate, which is determined by the County and the City (Chapel Hill and Carrboro).  Although our tax values have risen, the hope is that the tax rates will be reduced so that our total tax bill is close to the same as last year.

It's called the "revenue neutral" tax rate.

For the complete story ... http://www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/36402.html

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Entrepreneurship Fund Established in Chatham County NC

Entrepreneurs in Chatham County could get a financial boost in the midst of a struggling economy, thanks to a recently implemented loan fund. The Chatham County Economic Development Corporation and the Center for Community Self-Help have established the Chatham Loan Fund, which will help finance loans to residents who are starting or operating a business in the area. Dianne Reid, the president of the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation, said the fund will target businesses owned by local women and minorities, as well as residents as young as 18 years of age. "We want to increase credit availability," Reid said. "It's an issue -- the sources of loans are still few and the standards are really high." She added that now is a crucial time for such a fund, as a struggling economy causes people to search for ways to keep a steady flow of income. "One of the things that traditionally happens in a recession is that more people turn to entrepreneurship and self-employment," Reid said. "Sometimes they lose their job or they need to enhance their income by supplementing it." Roberta Boyd-Norfleet, the regional director of the Self-Help Central NC Branch, said the county approached the organization when it first began plans for the fund. "We've had a prior relationship with the CCEDC, so it was a very easy partnership," Boyd-Norfleet said. Many of the loan applicants will need only minimal financial assistance, such as a few thousand dollars for a piece of equipment, and Self-Help has experience with those smaller, non-commercial loans -- which is why the actual loan administration will be left up to The Center for Community Self-Help. "Our commissioners were not interested in doing that. We wanted to have an agent whose business is making loans," Reid said.

That's the main difference between Chatham County's loan fund and the one established in Carrboro in 1986, through which the town's Board of Aldermen helps with the application and administration process. Still, both loan funds have similar goals. James Harris, the director of economic and community development in Carrboro, said the town's loan fund has assisted many entrepreneurs and fostered economic growth in the area. "It's really helped build our small-business base. It's been a positive thing," Harris said. Carrboro's fund, which helped -- among other establishments -- Weaver Street Market get started, also aims to give the job market a boost: For every $10,000 the town gives to business owners, at least one job must be created. Harris said many entrepreneurs who can't get a traditional loan from banks often qualify for Carrboro's loan fund. As long as applicants have viable projects with a well-developed business plan and the loan is collateralized, high-risk ventures -- such as restaurants -- typically are not turned down. Reid said she's confident that Chatham County's loan fund, like Carrboro's, will be a long-term fixture in the local economy. As the fund grows in the coming years, she said the county expects other sources of capital to develop, including a pool of funds from individual investors. So far, there have been only inquiries into Chatham County's loan fund, but Boyd-Norfleet emphasized that's due to the newness of the fund and not a lack of need for it. "It's a hard time to lend and a hard time to borrow," she said. "This brings the playing field to a different level and keeps the doors open." By Keely Stockett, The Herald-Sun

Contact Jodi Bakst, Broker, CRS, GRI, ABR, Certified Distressed Property Expert, and Certified Luxury Home Specialist in Chapel Hill, NC at 1-88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Pittsboro or Orange, Durham or Chatham County North Carolina. Team Jodi is accepting referrals.

Click here to learn more about Team Jodi and our services.

Click here to view Team Jodi's listings;

Click here to Search listings throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and the surrounding Triangle NC area, click here.

If you are looking to list your home in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange or Durham County North Carolina, call Team Jodi toll free at 88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634), email us at Jodi@TeamJodi.com or visit us at www.TeamJodi.com.

Pittsboro NC on Biofuels Map

Pittsboro is joining the global race to create standards for biofuels. The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, has established an office in the Chatham County town to lead its effort in the Americas. Biofuels, used as substitutes for gasoline and diesel fuel, are struggling to gain acceptance as alternatives to imported oil. The Swiss effort is bringing together hundreds of growers, producers, users around the world and others in an attempt to create a seal of approval for biofuels produced using ecologically sound methods. The organization set up its Americas office here because it hired away a coordinator from Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative, a Pittsboro group that makes and sells biodiesel locally from used vegetable oil and chicken fat. After its early promise to shift cars away from oil, support for biofuels sputtered after critics charged that alternative fuels were too often wasteful and inefficient, and after the rush to ethanol was blamed for higher corn prices. The creation of the Pittsboro office is the latest effort by biofuels advocates to create standards for their industry and boost their credibility. The National Biodiesel Board in Missouri is working on its own industry standards, as is the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance in Texas. None of the standards would likely be binding, and it's not clear whether any of the rules would be accepted or followed by growers and producers. But the several simultaneous certification efforts speak to the urgency of the fledgling industry's problem. Biofuels defenders acknowledge that some production methods are wasteful and inefficient. "All biodiesel is not created equal," said Jeff Plowman, director of the biodiesel alliance in Texas. "We don't want to drive the fuel 4,000 miles to a production facility and then turn around and ship it 3,000 miles to market. That would completely negate any carbon benefit of the fuel." The Swiss group is sponsored by that country's Federal Institute of Technology, a science and technology university, and roundtable participants include the United Nations Environment Program, World Wildlife Fund and Inter-American Development Bank. It has proposed sustainability standards that would be used globally to certify biofuels that are produced using fair labor and ecologically sound land use practices, and don't generate more greenhouses gases than they offset, among a dozen goals. Matt Rudolf, who this month began running the group's Pittsboro office, will listen to comments and suggestions on the draft standards at meetings to be held in this country, Canada and Latin America. Rudolf expects to meet with several hundred growers, producers and industrial users in the coming months. The Swiss group expects to publish its standards in June and hopes the guidelines gain acceptance. "The biofuels producers are taking a lot of heat right now," Rudolf said. "So they want some cover." While Rudolf is working in the Americas, other organizers are working with growers and producers in Europe, Asia and Africa. Before he began working for the Roundtable this month, Rudolf directed the Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative, an organization that collects used oil from about 100 area restaurants and converts it into biodiesel. The co-op has helped raise the region's profile with its work in biofuels. It operates eight distribution centers in this state for B100 fuel, which is 100 percent biodiesel. Unlike biofuels centers that sell B20 and other biodiesel blends with standard diesel, Piedmont Biofuels specializes in pure B100 fuel. By John Murawski, News and Observer

Contact Jodi Bakst, Broker, CRS, GRI, ABR, Certified Distressed Property Expert, and Certified Luxury Home Specialist in Chapel Hill, NC at 1-88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Pittsboro or Orange, Durham or Chatham County North Carolina. Team Jodi is accepting referrals.

Click here to learn more about Team Jodi and our services.

Click here to view Team Jodi's listings click here;

Click here to Search listings throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and the surrounding Triangle NC area, click here.

If you are looking to list your home in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange or Durham County North Carolina, call Team Jodi toll free at 88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634), email us at Jodi@TeamJodi.com or visit us at www.TeamJodi.com.

Chapel Hill NC Transit Explores Pittsboro-Chapel Hill Route

A proposed express bus route between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill is drawing enthusiastic support from Chatham County residents who make the daily commute along U.S. 15-501. Brian Litchfield, assistant transit director for the Town of Chapel Hill, said Chapel Hill Transit has been working with the town of Pittsboro for several months to expand bus service to Chatham County. While many of the details -- including stop locations, hours and cost -- still have to be ironed out, the service could begin in early 2009. "We've developed a general idea of the service," Litchfield said. "The demand is mainly at peak hours early in the morning and late in the afternoon. We're asking the public what their needs and desires are to help us determine the hours and stops." Chapel Hill Transit has been able to secure a state grant that would cover up to 50 percent of the cost for the express route for 18 months. Pittsboro Town Manager Bill Terry said he has been told the grant could possibly be renewed once the 18 months are up, or elected officials could decide whether to continue the program through fares or tax dollars. Stop locations and park-and-ride lots are certainly an issue, Terry added. He said Chapel Hill Transit has been making inquiries about parking lots in town, but officials might have to work out agreements with privately owned lots, such as the one at Lowe's Home Improvement off U.S. 15-501, if there isn't a dedicated lot. Litchfield said that approximately 30 percent of UNC and UNC Hospitals employees live in Chatham and Alamance counties. Triangle Transit has tentatively scheduled regional express service to Chatham County by 2011, he added, but that's not soon enough for commuters as gas prices continue to fluctuate. "There appears to be a more immediate need for service [in Chatham County]," Litchfield said. We are working closely with UNC and UNC Hospitals because obviously they have an interest with a significant number of their employees coming from that area." By Lisa Young, The Herald-Sun

Contact Jodi Bakst, Broker, CRS, GRI, ABR, Certified Distressed Property Expert, and Certified Luxury Home Specialist in Chapel Hill, NC at 1-88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Pittsboro or Orange, Durham or Chatham County North Carolina. Team Jodi is accepting referrals.

Click here to learn more about Team Jodi and our services.

Click here to view Team Jodi's listings click here;

Click here to Search listings throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and the surrounding Triangle NC area, click here.

If you are looking to list your home in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange or Durham County North Carolina, call Team Jodi toll free at 88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634), email us at Jodi@TeamJodi.com or visit us at www.TeamJodi.com.

Discussion Over Carolina North Continues - Chapel Hill, NC

Representatives from UNC Chapel Hill and members of the Chapel Hill Town Council grappled for a balance between specifics and generalities during a recent Carolina North planning session. David Owens, the UNC School of Government professor consulting with trustees and council members during the months-long journey toward a development agreement for Carolina North, submitted a vision of the campus favored by staff members from both institutions that would separate building into four stages and varying scales of development. The so-called "principal options for areas and scales of development" outlined by the Town/University Joint Staff Work Group begin with an early stage that includes 1.5 million square feet within a 150- to 185-acre area. The next "mid stage" would essentially double the square footage on the same land area.
Full build-out of the 50-year plan for Carolina North would be achieved with completion of the third stage, bringing the total developed space to approximately 250 acres and eight to nine million square feet. No development is proposed for the remaining 390 acres of the Horace Williams Tract that is within the town's zoning jurisdiction. Councilman Bill Strom said he wants to be certain that however the campus is built it should "function from the outset" as mixed-use, transit-friendly development. Strom noted factors such the distance between buildings, the availability of bus stops and mix of uses that could influence whether Carolina North functions as planned. UNC Trustee Bob Winston assured Strom that the university is thinking about the same things. "We're right there with you and we're going to make it work," he said. Later, Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt reminded the group that UNC law students have long complained about feeling isolated from the rest of campus. The UNC law alumnus looked at an artist's rendering of early development at Carolina North -- home of a new law school -- and worried about repeating a similar mistake. Trustee Chair Roger Perry said specifics like the distance between buildings are a topic for another time. "I think this is a great discussion, but this is putting the cart in front of the horse," Perry said. Decisions by the UNC Trustees and Town Council about areas to be developed, density and staging are crucial in crafting the development agreement that is expected to be completed by June 2009. A memorandum written by Owens points out that the topics discussed Wednesday only provide a general description of those issues, with more detailed boundaries to come later in the process. North Carolina law states that a development agreement is valid for no more than 20 years, so the agreement being crafted will expire before the 50-year plan for Carolina North is completed. By Daniel Goldberg, Herald-Sun

Contact Jodi Bakst, Broker, CRS, GRI, ABR, Certified Distressed Property Expert, and Certified Luxury Home Specialist in Chapel Hill, NC at 1-88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Pittsboro or Orange, Durham or Chatham County North Carolina. Team Jodi is accepting referrals.

Click here to learn more about Team Jodi and our services.

Click here to view Team Jodi's listings click here;

Click here to Search listings throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and the surrounding Triangle NC area, click here.

If you are looking to list your home in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange or Durham County North Carolina, call Team Jodi toll free at 88-TeamJodi (888-326-5634), email us at Jodi@TeamJodi.com or visit us at www.TeamJodi.com.