Southport NC Real Estate - Vicki Burton- Buyer's Agent

I think blogging is a lot like exercising. It's pretty easy when you're in the routine. But if that routine gets interrupted, as was the case over the Holidays, boy it sure is hard to get back in it! I haven't posted in a month and it's not like I don't have a gazillion things to write about. I'm swimming with thoughts and ideas for the New Year. I am battling with my firm commitment to get in shape in 08. I turn 50 in November and there's a lot of incentive to get into a serious exercise regime. I quit smoking a little over a year ago, not long after leaving my 25 year landscaping business to give real estate a try. My market timing was way off but it was the right time for me. My aching body was showing signs of wear and tear and I could never be happy supervising a job. I've always done physical labor. I cropped tobacco in the summers and planted thousands of pines for a paper company while in high school. I interned with a landscaping company while finishing up my Horticulture degree and worked with them a couple more years after graduation, before moving to Southport. I led a landscaping and maintenance crew for the early developer of Bald Head Island.

Seeking flexibility and independence, starting my own business seemed like a no brainer. I'd been able to stay home for a year with my first-born, but our finances demanded I get back at it. What started as a part time business, turned into a small but sustaining enterprise for me, and later my husband too. Our girls, eventually all four of them, contributed many days of contested labor, that is until they were old enough to get a real job. They all came to the conclusion very early on that they knew for sure what they didn't want to be when they grow up!

I have always had a fascination with real estate. Back in the days when directional signs weren't on every corner, I could never manage to pass one without a quick u-turn, just to see what was for sale. We were never in position to actually buy anything but I just loved looking. For years, without fail, I read every real estate ad in the Sunday paper. Finally there was an ad in the paper that Real Estate Licensing classes would be taught in Southport for the first time. Not having to drive to Wilmington was just enough motivation to get me to sign up. This was 1990 and I was thinking ahead for a possible second career, way off in the distant future somewhere. I became an inactive Broker in 1991 and kept it on the back burner until the summer of '06. The real estate market in Brunswick County was already showing serious signs of correction after two years of unprecedented growth, along with a huge surge in property values. My timing... well I admit it... sucks. In truth, though, I'm happy as a clam with my new career, although the side effects are obvious. A year and a half and 20 lbs. later, glued to a computer screen instead of a shovel, I find that I can now search out real estate deals in earnest...with a purpose....with potential positive results....and with all the FUN tools at the fingertips of todays' Realtor!

Working as a Buyer's Agent kind of brings to fruition all the elements of exploration, discovery, and fact-finding I think I was born to do. I'm optimistic for the start of a market recovery later this year. We have personally invested in this "buyer's market," and would go so far as to say, that anyone waiting for an illusive bottom signal may miss a great opportunity to buy at wholesale prices. Much has been written about the investment strategies of Warren Buffet and his unparalleled long-term success rate. The one that seems to apply the most to both the financial and real estate markets right now is the one about, "when fear is at it's highest level, the buying opportunity is the greatest." I think everyone is fearful right now, and in many cases for good reason. But even with our negative Media, that never seems to sleep, or get tired of its own dismal voice, spamming our consciousness with doubts and wariness about the future, I am hopeful and excited for what the New Year will bring. On a personal note, sure to bring the most excitement in '08, will be the highly anticipated arrival of our first grandchild! Our oldest was married last year and wasted no time in stepping up production. So once again we find ourselves in uncharted territory, and welcoming what it will bring.

I swear, I had no idea I was headed for this long-winded foray into a self-indulgent confessional when I started. I got up this morning, poured a cup of coffee, checked my email, and got inspired by my brother's new blog post. "Just stop procrastinating and sit down and write something, for Pete's sake. How hard can it be?" says me. So there you have it. I vow that my next blog will be more informative, useful, and on point ........ maybe. And Tuesday..... I'm saying it right here in public, I'm starting my gym membership.

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This is a case where the picture and not the event nudged me out of my recent writing slump. I admit I get pretty caught up in the Fall trying to capture the perfect sunset. There are just so darn many of them. I usually start sizing up the clouds for potential around 4ish when I'm headed home. Sometimes the perfect sky comes out of nowhere but normally the late afternoon sky offers a "heads up" you can count on. The tranquil scene above doesn't fall into the spectacular category but to me it speaks of that perfect stillness of fading light. As I stood there last night, listening to rare quiet, smelling the richness of the marsh, it reminded me of why this is my favorite time of year in Southport.

Christmas in Southport is full of traditions, some old and some relatively new. This past weekend was a busy one with the Southport Tour of Homes followed by the Holiday Boat Flotilla. The historic home tour, in it's nineteenth year, sold out its 1200 tickets before the event. It's hard to imagine a day in December any more pleasant than Saturday, sunny and bright with temperatures in the mid 70's. It's been like this for nearly a week but not to worry.....a blast of cold air is a-comin' and it'll feel more like Christmas by the weekend.

One new tradition in-the-making may just be the upcoming world premier of "Winter Nightsong: The Christmas Eve Wanderings of One E. Scrooge Esquire." It is Stage II Productions' Briton Cambell's ambitious musical adaptation of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" to be held at the old Amuzu theatre in Downtown Southport. With a fresh script and an original score, I for one, can't wait to see what our local talent has come up with. For more info call Briton at 910-540-2801.

I've been thinking of the possibility of a new family tradition. Last Christmas we had all the girls home and we celebrated Christmas Eve in the hidden nook of our back yard we call "Camp Burton" around a big fire. We roasted some sweet,salty oysters, ate clam chowder and cornbread muffins, and counted our many blessings. This year I'm hoping by some miracle, drawing on old Southern tradition, to garnish our Christmas day table with..........a Christmas Flounder! A stuffed whole flounder, that is. Since posting this with a recipe last night, my good AR friend Cynthia commented me about a family recipe of hers. She's given me permission to post it here. I only changed the name. Thanks Cynthia!

Cynthia's Christmas Flounder

1 large flounder -- 2 1/2 - 3 lb. (or your choice of fish) cleaned but left whole (yes, head removed) , make a vertical cut down the top of the fish, going under the meat to make a pocket on both sides of the fish

(I get the fish market to do this for me)

Stuffing

1 lb. of crab meat (I use lump, because it is the best)

1 lb. of shrimp, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces

1 large onion, chopped finely

1/4 t. Tabasco sauce

Dash of celery salt

1/2 bottle (my guess is about 6-8 oz.) Durkee sauce(it's usually with mustards, mayos, etc)

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

Mix all stuffing ingredients together. Stuff into flounder, pushing as far as you can to outside of fish--filling the pockets as full as you can. You may have some stuffing left over which can be baked in a baking dish.

Place in a baking pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your fish. Check for doneness by flaking fish and checking to make sure shrimp in stuffing are pink.

Lastly, I want to mention a really good cause that I'm sure many are familiar with, Heifer International, with its whole different kind of approach to world hunger. Individuals have the opportunity to donate various kinds of farm animals which are delivered to villages in need. Before any Heifer animal is brought to a project partner, the recipients are trained in very specific guidelines and must share their first offspring with a neighboring village and thus, the gift continues and self-reliance can grow. Heifer International also teaches them environmentally-sound agricultural techniques that help rejuvenate the land, water and other natural resources. My Mom was the first one to introduce me to Heifer at Christmas several years ago. She set up a jar on the mantle for all her grandchildren, great-nieces and nephews who were all together. She managed to get them all to give up a little of their Christmas money, and as I remember, she gave a flock of chickens and a goat in their behalf. We've been giving as a family at Christmas ever since. This year I decided to set up a Registry on Heifer's web site in Mom's name and I'm calling it Betty's Animal Gifts. I haven't told her about it just yet but I know she'll be tickled about it. I'm just now sending out a link to family and friends so if anyone wants to join in, please do. I'm hoping we'll pull together a whole barnyard!

"Merry Christmas to All

and to All a Good Night!"

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Not too much, really, but here goes:

Southport's 2007 election came and went and the "writing on the wall" turned in to an accurate prediction. Southport residents were indeed ready for a change and voted decisively in that direction. All of the incumbents up for re-election were handed their hats. Now we'll see if Southport's new Mayor and Board of Aldermen can buckle up and put some teeth in the UDO and work towards further protecting the historical integrity of Southport and the little bit of working and public waterfront we're clinging to.

I've gotten a little side-tracked lately, as I've been writing about the various goings-on around Southport NC. I guess I've never really written anything for public consumption and certainly have never considered writing a pleasure, at least until now. It must go back to school days and deadlines for book reports, term papers, and essays. I was always a procrastinator, so although I got some satisfaction when I was able to come up with a decent paper at the last minute, it was always a chore. The funny thing is that now I look forward to putting this Southport blog together. There are SO many things to write about. The technology to add pictures and manipulate text makes process more fun as well. And the kicker is that I've been able to express some of my personal opinions out loud, and nothing bad has come from it, at least that I know of. I come from a long line that has strong views on just about everything. My mom likes to say about herself, "Often wrong, but never undecided!" I'm not as outspoken as she is....not many are. I tend to keep a lot of my ideas and opinions to myself but believe me, they're in there! And I see them starting to come out here, and I'm getting a little braver as I go along. So what started out as a Southport real estate blog seems to be evolving into something I didn't expect.

So what is really going on with the Southport real estate market? When I say Southport, I'm really talking about the Brunswick County real estate market in general. Are we at the bottom? I don't think so but we're getting closer. Is this a good time to buy real estate in Brunswick County? Absolutely, if you're buying unique property that can't be readily duplicated. What if the market does go lower? Well it could and it might in the short term. But as a potential buyer, if you're waiting for somebody to blow the horn and say "here you go...here it is... the absolute bottom," you're gonna miss it. Warren Buffet and other successful "value investors" don't get caught with their pants down waiting for an exact bottom. They simply look for strong companies with good numbers that have disproportionately been beaten down in contrast to their relative strength and potential for growth. The exact same thing applies to real estate here in Southport, Brunswick County, North Carolina, and all across the US. There are so many great buys here in Southport right now, it makes my head swim. I know that market recovery will come, however slow it may be. There is a tremendous amount of inventory right now, in both land and housing. Buyer's are watching on the sidelines waiting for a sign. Certainly the woes of the mortgage industry, which stuck a knife in an already weak real estate market, will have to reach a level of stability before we can turn around. I had planned to insert a Brunswick County full Market Report here, and if anyone would like one, just email me, and I'll send you one. I look at them and have a hard time discerning a real trend. Yes, there is real estate selling in and around Southport...a little bit. Brunswick County is still ranked as the 16th fastest growing county in the US. The new road and second bridge to Oak Island is finally underway and will certainly help in getting their market jump-started and back on track. ALL of us who travel the "Beach Road intersection" will benefit when traffic to Oak Island can be split between two roads instead of just one.

On a lighter note, I've been doing a little fishing in the evenings when the tide is right. It is Fall here after all and it just gives me a chance to get out there and enjoy the exquisite afternoon light that blesses us here in Southport this time of year. I have a couple backwater areas I can get to, as we don't have a boat anymore. One is on a creek in a friend's backyard. I've probably been 5 or 6 times with no luck...getting bites so I know there's something out there, but no fish. Finally last week I hooked one with my first cast. It felt like it might just be too big for the light tackle I was using but I loosened my drag and let it run out a few times before finally pulling in my mystery fish. I'm not an expert by any means but I know most of the fish that are caught inshore. There's flounder, whiting, spots, grey trout, speckled trout, puppy drum, croakers, bluefish, pompano, spanish mackerel, and sheepshead. Well the latter is what I thought I had, as it kept surfacing as I was bringing it in. The black stripes looked like a sheepshead but as I looked more closely, the body shape wasn't quite right and it didn't have a forked tail. As I was studying it, it let out the deep tell-tale sound of the common croaker. Then my friend came out and I yelled, "I think I've just caught a world-class croaker!" He said, "that looks like a sheepshead. "But LISTEN," I said, and right on cue it let out a monstrous "CROOOAAKK!" We were both perplexed and I headed home and held it up for my husband and said, "Look at this HUGE croaker!" (they don't get very big) He looked at me like I must be dumb or something. "That's a sheepshead." he said. "But it CROAKS...just listen," I said. "And I know it's not I sheepshead cause the body and tail aren't right." Well THANK GOODNESS for the internet. It didn't take long searching Google images to make the proper identification. It was a BLACK DRUM. I'd never seen one. Once I figured it out, I should have looked at his little chin whiskers, and his little round fins underneath and seen it was a drum of some kind. Anyway, I'd brought her home, so I had to clean her. I got two nice fillets out of her. Then I put them in a bowl of milk with a little salt and hot sauce added. After letting it sit for about an hour, I took the filets and lightly breaded them with cornmeal and Old Bay Garlic and Herb. Then I just fried them (I know I should have broiled them) in my cast iron pot I use for just such occasions. Then I made a dipping sauce out of mayonnaise, lemon juice, horseradish, course black pepper, and one secret ingredient. Mmmmm....Mmmmm good is what it was! Drum are not everyone's favorite fish to eat but I'll tell you, when nearly any fish is that fresh, it's mighty tasty.

I was out of town earlier this week. It might be worthy of telling about in another blog if I get up enough nerve to talk about it. But now I'm playing catch-up with email, following up on a couple leads, working on one closing, and actually hoping to sell a little real estate in Southport, the Good Lord willing.

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