John and Gaye Vickers

North Carolina Foreclosure Prevention Project
North Carolina Governor Mike Easley recently signed into law legislation aimed at reducing home foreclosure filings over the next two years. The governor's "Emergency Foreclosure Reduction Program" could keep more than 25,000 working families in their homes and paying their mortgages.

The governor's Emergency Foreclosure Reduction Program requires lenders to provide to the homeowner and the State Banking Commission 45 days advance notice before the filing of any foreclosure action. During that time, banking commission staff will work with the homeowner and lenders to come up with an acceptable interest rate that the borrower can afford and the bank can accept.

"This program is the first of its kind in the nation that makes sure homeowners and lenders avoid foreclosures, where everyone ends up a loser," Easley said. "Our goal is to help bring borrowers and lenders together so that the family gets to keep their home and the bank does not lose money on the loan."

The three bills aimed at reducing home foreclosure that were recently signed into law include:

• House Bill 2188, which makes changes and clarifications to bills passed in 2007, and eliminates rate-spread premiums. The law becomes effective October 1, 2008.
• House Bill 2623, which establishes the North Carolina Foreclosure Prevention Project. The bill will require that notice be sent to homeowners and the Commissioner of Banks at least 45 days before a foreclosure is filed. The law become effective November 1, 2008.
• House Bill 2463, which requires individuals and companies serving loans in North Carolina to register and make reports to the Commissioner of Banks. The law become effective January 1, 2009.

Please contact us if you would like more information! We can be reached at 704-458-0608 or through our email at gayev@kwcharlotte.com or jv@kwcharlotte.com. Please visit our website at www.TheVickersGroup.com

Mountainbrook Real Estate

We here at the Vickers Group continuously monitor local real estate statistics to keep our clients informed and ahead of the real estate trends. Below you will find Mountaibrook real estate statistics for the last month.

New homes on the market: 1

Number of homes entering escrow:3

Number of homes closing escrow (sold): 1

Number of homes expiring: 0

Avg Days on Market: 55.4

To find the value of your home with a free, over-the-net home eval, please visit: www.FindYourCharlotteHome.com

If you would like a free list of homes for sale in this area/neighborhood, would like more information about Mountainbrook or would like to be the first to know about hot new listings before other buyers do}, then give me a call at:

John and Gaye Vickers
704-458-06087

www.FindYourCharlotteHome.com

jv@kwcharlotte.com

As real estate professionals, we often meet people who are moving to Charlotte from other cities, states, and in some cases, a different country. Being natives of Charlotte and absolutely loving it here, we have absolutely no problem boosting our Queen City up in the eyes of a newcomer! We often tell people, "Charlotte's environment is one that is attractive to families, businesses, employers, and visitors, and we are proud to call it home."

Although we feel very strongly about Charlotte, NC being one of the best places to live in the United States, we decided to do some research and offer anyone who is interested some cold, hard facts about:

WHY CHARLOTTE, NC IS THE PLACE TO BE!

• Charlotte is home to Bank of America and Wachovia
• Wachovia and Bank of America combined employ over 35,000 people
• UNC Charlotte boasts a graduate school with 18 doctoral degrees and 62 master's degree programs
• The new North Carolina Research Campus is rising in Kannapolis as a biotechnology center and promises thousands of jobs
• 282 new business came to Charlotte or expanded in the first quarter of 2008
• If the Carolinas were a country, they would rank 17th largest in the WORLD!
• Charlotte's weather is hard to beat. We have 4 distinct seasons and mild winters
• Charlotte is the 5th largest urban region of the United States following New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport's 600+ departures per day are more per capita than any other region
• At least 9 FORTUNE 500 are headquartered here in Charlotte and nearly 300 have a presence here
• Charlotte was voted by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2006 as being 2nd best city to start and grow a company
• Due to Duke Energy's presence here, our region's electricity rates are 15 percent lower than the national average
• Charlotte takes 1st place as the city with the Most Educated Workforce according to Business Facilities
• Forbes ranks Charlotte among its Top 10 Recession Proof cities

For more information about Charlotte, please visit our website at www.FindYourCharlotteHome.com or give us a call! (704) 458-0608

* Information for this post was gathered using information published in the Charlotte Regional Economic Development Guide 2008