Mike Carpino Realtor from Lake Norman to Uptown Charlotte, NC

The other day I blogged about a development called Langtree at the Lake in the Lake Norman area of North Carolina. It was just a short informative piece, but to my amazement when I searched Langtree on Google I came up number one.

When you feel an urgent need in your business's web presence, a website is the first thing that crosses your mind. Let's skip the period of active search and painful doubts related to future websites' designs and assume you already have a perfect concept of your site and facilities to implement it. Now it's time to get down to copywriting, and one thing you clearly understand is that the site must express your business in the best possible way.

"Oh, I spent a small fortune (or ages) on advertising materials. Now I can just carry over the content of my nice brochures and booklets to the web pages!" Is that a good idea? No, it is not. However brilliant your ads are when you look at or read them, they might lack focus on specific word combinations.

You can take your ads as a starting point but, as a rule, good-for-all web content requires a lot of rewriting. The end goal of web copywriting is to use your target words in such proportions that they please (or at least don't displease) the human eye, and, at the same time, be what search engines consider enough for keyword relevance to the query. Moreover, you should understand which parts of a webpage are most important in terms of keyword populating.

You can think of many ways to write favorably about your business. But these phrases must not only describe your business well, they must be very popular; people should think of them first when searching for your type of a product, service, or whatever your site is offering. After all, you want your site to be a magnet for visitors, don't you? And the most efficient way to attract targeted visitors is to put your site at the top of search results for your target words. If you choose correctly the keywords your target visitors will use to reach your site, your first battle is won.

Langtree at the Lake on Lake Norman is well on its way. The new exit 32 on route 77 in Mooresville has been under construction since the spring of ‘07 and will serve as the main entrance and main artery for the Langtree at the Lake project.

Phase 1 named "The Landing" will consist of five condominium towers and include 270 units. Loft units will be located over retail space and will range from $350k to $550k. Luxury units will include the highest quality of features and range from $600k to $2.5 million in price. Luxury units will also include rooftop outdoor kitchens and hot tubs.

The Landing will also include a hotel, retail, essentials and office space. Langtree at the Lake is designed to be the total living experience. The essentials of everyday living and great entertainment all surrounding low maintenance luxury living. It will truly be a classy and unique living experience.

Waterfront Homes for Sale

Golf Community Homes for Sale

I moved into the Stephens Grove neighborhood in Huntersville NC over 3 years ago with my wife Suzanne and 3 year old triplet boys. After living in Ft Lauderdale, FL for 15 years I was looking to find a home in the country. However, my wife is more of a city girl. So my dilemma was to find that happy median.

After searching for a couple of weeks we stumbled across this neighborhood tucked away off this country road. (Stephens Road in Huntersville, NC) We wanted to be close to Lake Norman, NC, as well as, Uptown Charlotte (to keep the wife happy).

It is a Shea Home community, which makes it even more attractive. Shea homes have always been a respected builder throughout the Carolina's and we loved their floor plans.

The amenties include a pool, tennis courts, basketball court, playground and clubhouse. The common areas are very well kept and seasonal flowers are planted regularly to make the entrance always look beautiful.

The Lake Norman area of Charlotte NC and the town of Huntersville NC offers a great balance of sprawling farm area as well as quaint shopping villages nearby.

I have been selling real estate now for over 5 years and believe that the Stephens Grove neighborhood is an excellent place to live. From the local schools to the youth sports it provides you and your family with an outstanding quality of life.

Please feel free to call or email me with any questions you have.

Mike Carpino
Mike@LakeAndTown.com
704 301-9264

I have always been one that believes a picture is worth a thousand words. Recently, I have been searching for waterfront property in the Lake Norman area of Charlotte. After looking at numerous properties listed in the millions I am amazed at the quality of photos taken. Remember these are the same pictures your clients will be receiving in their emails.

If you do not want to take the time to make sure the lighting and angles are just right than maybe a call to a professional photographer may be your best choice.

However, if you like to take your own photos and are wondering what type of camera is best check out this article from Realtor magazine:

Looking for a new digital camera to capture your listings from their very best angles? Consider these key features.

1. Compact or digital SLR? Compacts have a self-contained lens and can slip into a pocket or purse. They offer point and shoot simplicity for $300 or less. With bigger digital single-lens reflex cameras, you can use your choice of lenses. They're for serious shooters who want more options and creative control and who are willing to pay $500 or more to start building a system.

2. How many megapixels? A camera with an image sensor of 3 megapixels or more is plenty for photos destined for the Web or brochures. You don't need a larger sensor unless you plan to produce poster-sized prints.

3. Does it have a wide-angle lens? This should be a key consideration. For real estate, a wide-angle lens—28mm or less—is what you need to capture a whole room or the exterior of a home in a single image. Look for a lens that minimizes distortion.

4. What's the zoom? The more powerful the better. Optical zoom is what the camera can actually see and capture; digital zoom is a software function and isn't quite as sharp. For compact cameras, look for 4X or better. For DSLRs, you can find lenses that give you both wide angles and closeups as you zoom in and out.

5. Do I need extra flash? If you plan on shooting a lot of interiors, you'll want more than the built-in flash. Look for a camera with a hot shoe, which connects and synchronizes an auxiliary flash unit with the camera.

6. How big is the screen? Using a compact camera, you'll rely on the LCD screen to frame some shots, review pictures, and perform basic image editing. Consider both the size—ideally 2.5 inches or larger—and the brightness of the screen.

7. Can I shoot video? Look for the ability to record video at 30 frames per second. Optics are also important; some lenses' zoom doesn't work when you use movie mode.

I am sure most of you have heard real estate sales happen in cycles. Here is a short article that just reinforces what most of you believe but have not seen yet.

A History Lesson on Real Estate Cycles

About every ten to twelve years, as an average, real estate values tend to double in most major metropolitan areas. For example, in the 1920's, the original colonial homes sold for just under $2,500 in Long Island, New York. Since then, real estate prices have doubled almost eight times over the last 80 years. That averages out to a 100% increase approximately every ten years. An interesting note to this is that about every ten to twelve years, real estate values must correct before they enter their next "doubling cycle".

It's Not a Matter of If, It's a Matter of When

The evolutionary process is three steps forward and one step backwards. For example, imagine a 100% increase occurring in three steps of one-third parts each. The last market cycle of the 1980's was one in which real estate values doubled, followed by a correction of the early 1990's, which equated to a 20-30% decrease over a three to five year period. This cycle was then followed by the post-millennium cycle boom of 100% from the last high point of the previous cycle. We are now in the naturally-occurring phase of a correction in the cycle. This essential and beneficial adjustment gives the market pause to reflect and re-gather momentum and strength for the next doubling cycle. This has occurred time and time again because the long-term demand for housing is growing an exponential rate based on population growth to almost double in the United States by 2050. This will continue to drive prices higher as it has for the last 100 years.

Since we now know based on history that nearly all real estate prices will double again, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when your existing houses will sell. Sharing these facts with your prospective buyers will put them in the right frame of mind to buy now versus next year if they plan on staying in the home more than five years. If a buyer is apprehensive about being the right time to invest, ask him if he'd like to buy his parent's home for the price they paid for it - the answer will be obviously "yes".

Charlotte and the Lake Norman area area already beginning to see a lot more activity. I believe this spring and summer we will start to get back on tract and ease people minds about our economic recovery.