McKenzie Johnson (Johnson) Laurence

Tomorrow night is the 8th annual Robert Burns Dinner at the Country Squire Inn in Wallace, NC. YOu can find more information at the Inn's website: http://www.CountrySquireInn.com .

2009 is the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns birth.

The Following, and Menu are directly quoted from the Inn's site:

We think this is an evening you do not want to miss. Robert Burns was a Scottish poet who wrote for the common man and was not widely acclaimed until his death. Burns supper celebrations are held worldwide in January to honor Burns. The lowly dish of "Haggish" was immortalized by Burns and is always served on this occasion. It is presented with great ceremony and will be led in by Pipe Major Andrew Simpson. This is a fun occasion where you can experience a "wee bit of Scottish Culture" (or lack there of), an excuse to wear you kilt, if you have one hiding in the closet, and generally just have fun and fellowship with a group of people who enjoy getting together whether they have a good reason or not.

MENU

Haggis Neeps & Tatties
Followed by
Salad w/ Choice of Dressing
Choice of:
Spinach Stuffed Chicken w/ Cream Sauce
Or
8 oz. Ribeye
Or
Broiled Flounder
with Potato and Vegetable
Scottish Trifle
All dinners include glass of wine, tea, and coffee

January 24, 2008
6:00 p.m. - Cash Bar
7:00 p.m. - Dinner
$42.00 per person
call (910)-296-1727 ext. 155 for more info

748 NC HWY 24/50, WARSAW, NORTH CAROLINA
(910) 296-1727 or TOLL-FREE NC (877) 830-1602

A fun night, and something different to do if you are from the area and bored with your usual Saturday night. . .for more info on Robert Burns, check out the Wikipedia reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns where there's all sorts of great info to include that he was the author of Auld Lang Syne. . .happy reading and perhaps I'll see you there tomorrow night!

You HAVE to visit this site, I was laughing so hard I cried. . .I happen to <3 bacon. . .and every now and then stumble across a great site. . .

Visit: http://worshipbacon.com/wiki/Main_Page As discovered on yesbutnobutyes.com's site this morning, it's the Holy Church of Bacon. . .I haven't been this happy since I saw the bacon bra!!! I swear that's out there too and perhaps after my next meeting, I'll do some digging to find that too. . .trust me, it will turn that Tuesday frown upsideown!!!

I tend to snoop around and poke through fellow real estate bloggers and have a new real estate blog crush, http://toddlongcentury21.wordpress.com/ . . . inspiring me to take it to another level! I have more work to do, rolling up the sleeves and getting down to business!

As usual, if you have questions about the status of the market and what it means for you, give me a call, email or text. 910.554.0761 and mckenziesellshomes@gmail.com and check back often for more information!

I had to let you know about a beautiful new construction community in the Holly Ridge area, a hop, skip and a jump away from the beach. The Cottages at Holly Ridge hosted a lovely open house for us agents to preview their beautiful new homes built in sort of a crafstman-like manner. Attention to detail, fine appointments, great paint colors and cool floor plans await in this planned and peacefull community. Contact me today for additional information, priced, floor plans and to set up a preview for yourself, though, sadly I am sure the caterers will not be there:

Check out the amazing folks at:

Justbaked Bakery

205 South Topsail Drive

Surf City, NC 28445

(910)328.3150

http://www.justbakedbakery.com

Neighborhoods of Holly Ridge is a pretty neat development, I have sold several back there, thatmuch closer to Wilmington but just down the road from the beach!

I know you have been watching the news, with undoubtedly growing concern over not only the real estate market but also the banking industry as a whole.

The last few years, I saw the lending mess we are in now happening in slow motion. . .knowing that two pals of mine both with graduate degrees and high level white collar jobs had to obtain an interest only loan in the Northern Virginia area just to get into a small three bedroom two bath home in a safe neighborhood. . .something was seriously wrong, a hugely false real estate economy where the true supply and demand rates were hidden by the public's ability to qualify for significantly more loan in a short term investment. . .but a few years down the road when that balloon payment is due and that promotion didn't come, where does that land us? In markets other than ours, you can see the aftermath.

I know I have stood on my little blog soapbox before extolling the beauty of our simple market here in Eastern North Carolina. I refuse to say that our market is a "sure thing", those days are essentially gone, there are too many variables and I would be more than happy to do the market research for you on a case by case basis given your specific circumstances. . .there ARE ways to invest but, generally, think more buy and hold rather than flip and run.

Here in Eastern NC our major employer is the US Government. . .who garuntees employees a 3% or more pay raise a year. . .not to mention deployments of family separation pay, tax free zones, imminent danger pay and more. . .and don't even start me on the support staff and contractors who aren't counted as "military" in our area. . .we never had a "sexy" market here, no bubble, no 200% PLUS profits here. . .but like a mutual fun or bond. . .slowly and safely we have been plugging along.

Between January and this October, the average number of days a single family home sits on the market, 45 (not too shabby) and the percent sold was 58% with an average list price of 171,676 and average sales price of 167,853 with a price/list price ratio of 97.77%. In short, slower surely than in the last few years, however, still stable and a smart investment. I'll have more in the days to come but wanted to share the information snack with you.

Have a great Sunday, I am off to pretend to watch football, which, generally, I see the season as an excuse to not drink light beer and eat wings. . .I get told every Sunday who I am supposed to be rooting for because I generally spend my weekends working or writing things like this and not watching highlight reels or Madden talk about his turduckin.

(ORIGINALLY posted : 10/12/08 on http://realestatemckenzie.wordpress.com)