Rick Waite

The value of of South Charlotte Homes added a new amenity this past month - a new Walmart. Walmart is an amenity? I would say yes, especially in today's economy! Walmart actually opened just across the South Carolina border on Johnston Rd. South Carolina and Indian Land approved the Walmart and after a lot of Politics and now have a HUGE source of revenue largely from North Carolina.

South Charlotte (south of I-485) has two Targets on Rea Rd, Walmart on Johnston Rd, 5 Harris Teeters from Providence to Johnston, 1 Bi Lo Grocery Store and one Lowes Food (also has Earth fare just north of I-485 and Johnson Rd. This does not count the numerous other shopping venues, banks, credit unions, fitness centers and so much more. The greater Ballantyne area continues to mature and this not even begin to discuss the Restaurants. Blakeney Shopping Center has Encore 131 Main and many more. At Ardrey Kell and Marvin there is the Bagel Bin, Lorenzos New York Style Pizza and Buffalo Wild Wings and now at Ardrey Kell and Johnston there is O'Shea's Pub and the Big View Diner to name a few.

If you travel north off of I-485 on Rea Rd one mile there is Trader Joes and the South Charlotte Green Way. South Charlotte Real Estatealso enjoys a Park on Ardrey Kell just behind the new Elon Elementary School.

South Charlotte and Ballantyne have great schools and everything within a short drive. You do no longer need to leave your immediate area to enjoy all of your necessities. Nice!

As the home financing markets continue to evolve, it seems like lease options are going to take a larger share of the greater Charlotte Real Estate market. In an expanding economy like Charlotte, families are relocating but are having a difficult time in financing their new Charlotte home until their previous home sells. This being the case, they are unable to purchase their new Charlotte home and actually make their "new city" feel like home.

The likely solution is going to be the lease option. This will allow them to move into their new home before their previous home sells. When their home sells, they can then continue with their lease option, purchasing the home when their lease option comes due or purchase it sooner as permitted in the contract. This will help the current Charlotte Home owner get ready to move on.

Lease options do not allow the current home owner to obtain a loan easily. Your home is now an "Investment Property" and new rules apply to obtain another mortgage. It remains more complicated but has potential to help the current owner of Charlotte Real Estate to move on or move up and allows the new family to begin establishing roots.

I suspect this will be the next opportunity for the savvy entrepreneur. Visit Charlotte Real Estate and start searching for your next home!

Many home buyers are still waiting out the economy before they make a new home purchase. In the greater Charlotte Real Estate market there are some amazing deals out there! Intelligent risk will have intelligent dividends. I have found several Charlotte Foreclosures lately and they are in great condition!

When is it a great deal? Ultimately, if you can purchase a home for less than it costs to build, you have a great deal! Yes, the setting and the neighborhood are of utmost importance. You must be in a neighborhood and school district that is suitable for your family! The beauty of America is we are all individuals and each have our own individual wants and desires. The area/school district must be your first and foremost concern. After you make this determination, then look for the best deals. Now is the discount likely to be less in a more desired area? Of course. Home prices are not set by banks or the Government. It is based on supply and demand. The higher the demand, the higher the prices. The lower the demand, the lower the prices. It is really that simple.

Are there any deals in areas with great demand? Yes, there are in fact great homes for sale at fantastic prices! Many strong buyers would be grabbing many of these homes if the economy was better. Strong buyers are often very conservative with their investments and this includes purchasing a Charlotte home. There is a time when you must let loose and recognize a great deal!

A home is a huge investment. So the market is minimized due to many people minimizing their risk and waiting for economic improvement. As the economy alienates a larger "producing" segment of the economy, the housing market will slow down. A wise investor realizes when a market was super-inflated and when it is time to buy.

Visit Charlotte Real Estate and discover opportunity!

Foreclosures "can" be a great deal but often are more trouble than they are worth. Many foreclosures (particularly in the greater Charlotte Real Estate market) tend to be in groups or concentrated in particular neighborhoods. Why are they concentrated? Charlotte is a great study of the ramifications of poor lending practices.

Why Charlotte? Charlotte has grown tremendously over the past decade. As the lending rules evolved, so did the neighborhoods. Keep in mind, there are delays before a "new demand" can be satiated but entrepreneurs will figure a way to fulfill the need. Did anyone notice that the bigger banks are the ones with the problems and most smaller local banks were exempt from the meltdown? Why was that? Smarter bankers? Better stewards with your money? Greedy bankers? Or was there another factor?

The Federal Government mandated high risk loans for large institutions. The Federal Government decided that they were "large enough" to absorb the high risk business practice. Elected officials/public servants determined the rules lending institutions should follow since they obviously had a better understanding than the actual people that operate and manage banks. These are the same Federal Employees that operate on deficits and jeopardize our entire nation. Unfortunately, the same Government did not comprehend that the same institutions sold mortgages on the secondary markets also. This brought the sub prime crisis to Wall Street and our 401k plans. Whoops!

As a group of "new home owners" became qualified, builders constructed homes for this market. The homes were typically smaller in areas where the land was less expensive. Cost is relative but in each area, albeit a city or a suburb, there is an area where land is cheaper. This is reality. Is is closer to the train tracks? Is it closer to a highway? Too many hills? Regardless, the land is less expensive and a builder can afford to build less expensive homes; it really is not rocket science.

In Charlotte, various neighborhoods were constructed. Each year or two another neighborhood began and was completed. You can note the correlation of completion and foreclosure rates to neighborhoods. People were getting financed that were really not ready to buy. No, this does not make them "bad people". They were simply not ready to buy.

Government suggestion: Why do we not require people to actually improve their credit. The Government can actually teach them to be fiscally responsible and how to manage money. They should not have a program that automatically qualifies buyers simply by attending a class but only when they actually qualify. When are we going to accept that instant gratification is not a right? When are we going to have society realize that things are earned and not just given away? We will not fix this foreclosure issue until we accept responsibility for our own actions. Stop the excuses. Stop blaming everyone else and deal with your own decisions albeit poor decision making or unforeseen realities. The lessons that I remember most are the ones I had to personally pay for. It is not all that complicated. Grow up and just say "no, not any more."

Well my Treo 750 series phone broke and I had to go through the phone search process once again. I had a local service provider with great coverage. The company, Alltel, was bought out by Verizon last year. Verizon has spotty coverage so it was a logical acquisition. Verizon converted all of the clients to their service in June or July of last year. The first flaw/reintroduction to Verizon is that the assets acquired via their purchase (the towers) were not converted over. I then had new service with Verizon with less coverage.

I went to Verizon for a new phone. Verizon does not carry the Treo product line and has no phones to operate the eKey! I understand technological advances but there are many Realtors that need that need eKey compatible phones and we typically purchase their top calling plans. My logic would say that would be a "desired market niche" and customers that you would like to service; I was mistaken.

I also visited AT&T but they also do not carry an eKey compatible product. The only provider I found with the eKey is SPRINT and I have switched my service to SPRINT. The service at Sprint was spectacular. The Windows version of the Treo (Treo Pro) had a couple of glitches but the new software updates have eliminated the problems.

I am back in business and Sprint has earned my business. It is always a relief when you find a service provider that is professional and actually provides a product line that is needed, not just the product line they want to sell.

I am writing this to hopefully save a fellow Realtor time. Yes, it is possible to still have a phone with the eKey capabilities.