Sherry Mills

Local radio stations, like WSICweb.com, are a great way to find out what is going on in the area and a great way to get to know the locals. Before you complete your move to an area like Statesville, NC you may want to google the local radio stations around and tune in for a few days to find out what is going on in town.

For instance, every morning Monday - Friday, from 9am - 11 am they have the Home Ad show where residents call in with items they have for sale, etc. You can find some real bargains here and actually hear who some of the residents are, who knows you may hear someone you already know.

Every Wednesday morning at 8 am, the local pharmacists, Fred Lowry, Jr. with Lowry Drug Company airs with Billy Buck to bring you up to date information about current medications, illnesses, homeopathy,etc.

Local business men and women will also air throughout the week to bring you up-to-date information on their products and services: City of Statesville, the Sherriffs's report, Capital Management, Piedmont Healthcare, The Computer Shop, Statesville Chiropractic, Morrow Insurance just to name a few from this week of Jan. 26 - 30, 2009.

And then, of course, there will be the typical talks shows like Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and others. Put WSICweb.com on your calendar daily for important information about Statesville, NC when you are planning your move to Statesville, NC or looking for homes for sale.

www.sherrymills.net

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Until Race Season Starts.....I believe March 27 is the first race to get your engines revved and ready for another wonderful season. The Circle K Colossal 100 IV will start out the season with a $50,000 take home prize money for the nation's top dirt late model superstar! www.lowesmotorspeedway.com will get you all the information you need to prepare you for more excitement than you can stand.

Now that you have decided to purchase your tickets and make your plans, you will need to stake out your piece of real estate for your visit, assuming you aren't bringing your motorhome. Come to Statesville and be just a short trip away. There are plenty of places to stay, www.discoverourtown.com , lots of things to do, http://statesvillechamber.org/To_See_To_Do.aspx many restaurants to choose from and best of all, you will be out of the traffic!

Don't want to get stuck in traffic? Be sure to google your destination and learn the back roads to reduce your risk of sitting in Interstate traffic. Here are some helpful tips: Exit 42 off I77 will take you straight to downtown Mooresville where you will connect with Highway 3 which will take you straight to Highway 29. Or stay on Highway 152 in Mooresville and end up on Highway 29.

For more information email Sherry@SherryMills.net,

BATTLE OF THE BANDS "CRANKIN" IT UP FOR THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE PIEDMONT

A battle of the bands featuring student musicians from across the state. All proceeds benefit a scholarship fund for a deserving Boys and Girls Club of the Piedmont member. Please join us for a night of great music and fun.

Contact:

www.bgca.org

The Boys and Girls Club of the Piedmont will be opening here in April. Please join us in an evening of fun and support on Feb. 28 and to find out more about how you can help the boys and girls in Statesville.

Wonderful changes are coming for downtown Statesville, North Carolina and we the citizens have an excellent opportunity to have our input in this process.

On January 20, 2009, Tuesday from 4 - 7 at the Statesville Civic Center, there will be an open house drop-in for people to walk around and visit 3 topic stations depicting plans and changes shown by maps and visuals. This is being hosted by LandDesign, and urban design firm hired by the Downtown Master Plan Committe. They have been working closely with the City of Statesville and the Downtown Statesville Development Corporation to prepare a Streetscape/Land Use Master Plan for downtown and the Highway 115 corridor district. Anyone attending can ask questions and give input on the three different stations, including aesthetics, parking and circulation, land use and economic development. The Streetscape/Land Use Master Plan will include design improvements for aesthetic appeal, access and impact of the Historic areas and planning for the redevelopment of the 115 Corridor District. So, come one, come all and see for yourself how the Downtown Master Plan Committe will be working to improve the development of Downtown Statesville. I for one, am excited to know that our city is working diligently to make needed improvements that will vastly impact the growth of Statesville.

www.SherryMills.net

Moving to any new town can be confusing and a little scary, especially if you are still unsure of the area. If you have family there and have had the opportunity to get to know your area, then your fears are automatcially decreased. Statesville, North Carolina is still small enough to not be that scary for people relocating to our area. The roads are easy to figure out and we have two major interstates that run through the area. Reading the local newspaper, Statesville Record and Landmark, can help you discover many interesting things, yet many still have questions. I receive a lot of these questions and thought I would share the answers with you.

The Top 5 Questions I usually get from people are:

1) What is the industry like here?
2) What are the schools like here?
3) What are the tax rates?
4) What is the housing market like?
5) What lender do I use?

Let me start with the schools, because I get this question most often. www.iss.schoolwires.com, is the website for the Iredell Statesville Schools and http://www.localschooldirectory.com/city-schools/Statesville/NC gives you information on the public and private schools in Iredell County. We currently have 19 elementary public schools, 7 middle public schools and 9 public high schools (some of which house middle schools also). However, new construction is going on to combine some schools, like Cloverleaf that I blogged on earlier. To find out more on each school you can research this site. http://iss.schoolwires.com/15311081994243493/site/default.asp

The tax rates are still very good and comparable I think to Davie County and Alexander County. Below is the schedule right from the county site.

Iredell County Tax Rates

Tax rates are per $100.00 of assessed value.
* Revaluation Year - Next revaluation will be effective for January 1, 2011.
** Persons receiving the Elderly/Disabled Exemption receive a 50% fee reduction in the Solid Waste Fee.
*** For Town of Davidson Residents Only - Fee applied to all registered motor vehicles

The industry here is still very good. Contacting the Statesville Chamber of Commerce @ StatesvilleChamber.org is about the best way I know of finding out about new industry. Every Tuesday morning the Chamber has their business networking group, Business Alliance Network meet at the Fun Station 2000 at 8:00 am for breakfast and to introduce new members and businesses in town. Doosan took over the old Dana buidling last year behind the Super Wal-Mart of I40. We had Second Fret open up and Dawgs Hot wings, plus many other local businesses. Things are moving right along and it would take up much more space to list them all.

What lenders to use to buy a home. Oh boy, where do I start? As you know Wells Fargo took over Wachovia, so they will be a major source to check out. Bank of America is still here as well as BB&T, RBC Centura. But you definitely want to shop around for competitive rates. Piedmont Bank and Cunningham Bank are two more that I have heard good results about. A bank that holds its mortgages rather than sells them is going to get you approved quicker. But the important thing is to shop, shop, shop those rates. Here is another website that might help in that search:
http://north-carolina.brokeroutpost.com/loans/mortgage_broker_directory.asp

Now last but not least: The housing market. Hmmm, how do I put this. Buy now, if you have the money. The market can't get much better than now with interest rates down and a flood of houses on the market. Builders have great deals for new construction and resales are still very competitive and realistic on their prices. There are some very, very good opportunities out there. An excellent source of information on this is www.carolinahome.com and click on resources to use the drop down menu to find market activity for the area or county. Right now the average sales price for Iredell County is $237,962.

I hope this has answered some questions and give you valuable information that you can use. For more information, please feel free to contact me at Sherry@SherryMills.net or visit www.SherryMills.net