Bill Martin, ABR, MBA

What a relief! News today is that the NC Offer to Purchase and Contract will change, effective January 1, 2011, into a more straight forward and simpler form. Here's the guts of the change:

Elimination of both Alternative 1 and Alternative 2, including the concepts of "Repair Notice Date", "Cost of Repair Contingency" and the phrase "shall be performing the function for which intended and shall not in need of immediate repair".

I use to READ that "...performing the function..." paragraph to each and every client for fear that I'd be held liable should anything not work. What a relief to be given a time period, in the new changed OTP&C, in which the buyer can perform their due diligence.

Although I always favored the Alternative 2 structure for it's negotiating strength, especially with multiple offers, I could seldom convince buyers that it was in their best interest. In the few cases I actually used it, we frequently had our offers accepted (thank you to the educated agents who could explain the benefits to their sellers even when we weren't the high bidders!).

Still, it'll be a relief to have something more straightforward and logical. I, for one, can't wait.

This new HGTV program "Holmes on Homes" puts ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to shame. While Extreme Makeover often seems to help deserving homeowners' with new, extravagant, mansions and makeovers, this often results in extravagant homes in poorer neighborhoods and leaves their owner's with increased property tax bills they can ill afford.

Like HGTV's program, "Homes on Homes" targets deserving homeowners. The tilt they use, however, is the Canadian general contractor, Mike Holmes. At first, Mike seems the arrogant construction worker gone wild, but he grows on you quickly. His work is informative and persuasive. He's a great aid to the Realtor/broker industry by reminding us how little we know and, to the home buyer, by helping them to realize that every professional on their side is an asset.

Of course, he's quick to remind us that there's no replacement for a good home inspection and that most of these homeowners issues could have been avoided by having an advocate who knows real estate and the laws that govern it.

If you haven't seen the program before, you'll want to watch it now. If you pride yourself on continuing education, this will be your next favorite place to stop. Granted, agents are not inspectors, but knowledge is power and having just a fraction of the expertise that Mike Holmes has will be an asset to those we serve.

Considering an application to one of Charlotte's outstanding Magnet programs? Only 3 days left to apply. For applications and school information, visit http://www.cms.k12.nc.us.

Schools that won Magnet School of America awards include:

• Idlewild Elementary
• Collinswood and Smith Language Academies
• Davidson, Piedmont, and Randolph International Baccalaureate Middle Schools
• Myers Park Traditional
• Oakhurst, Oaklawn Language and Tuckaseegee

Idlewild has earned it's fifth consequitive spot while Myers Park Traditional Elementary retained it's

According to Newsweek magazine 2000 rankings of 25,000 high schools, local honors included Providence at 58 and Harding at 30. More recent national rankings have placed Myers Park High School at 44 with Providence just shortly behind.

Regardless, the deadline looms. Review your neighborhood school next to the popular Magnet program of your dreams. Of course, like many college graduates, I believe school is what you make of it, but there are compelling reasons to grab a magnet.

Recognize that the world, as a whole, speaks a lot of Chinese. How can our kids benefit? Take them to one of the language academy schools to learn Mandarin Chinese. Morning classes begin in one language while the afternoon session is devoted to English - I can't imagine a better learning experience.

Need more information? Contact the author and receive a 20% rebate of the buyer agency commission in connection with your purchase using RLSTATE.com LLC as your buyer's representative. That's a huge benefit from one of the best Charlotte brokerage agencies in the Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Gaston, Cabarrus, and York County areas (greater Charlotte metro area).

Bill Martin, Realtor/Broker/MBA

Accredited Buyers Representative/Broker-in-Charge

RLSTATE.com LLC - http://www.CarolinaHouseHunter.com

704 554-1100 (office)

704 906-1902 (mobile)

I've mentioned Mountainbrook and it's wildlife before, but here are some great new photos of two hawks my daughter and I saw this morning. This is a beautiful, mature pair, that are hanging out where a nesting pair of owls raised their young in the hollow of a tree last year.

Ok, this week I came across an important loan funding issue that I believe needs correction.

One of my clients wants to purchase a condominium in a complex where his son lives. He wants to use the condo as his second residence when he comes to visit and he has a sizable down payment. My client also has a great retirement income from being in the military.

Unfortunately, homeowners in the complex are behind on their mandatory HOA dues and the lender uses a threshold of 15% above which they'll not lend. My client has contacted a number of lenders with the same result.

I live in a great neighborhood with a voluntary HOA that is unaffected by such lender prohibitions, but it made me think what the effect of their lending requirement has on neighborhoods with mandatory HOA's. Is it really a way for lenders to protect their assets or is it a way for them to discriminate against the poor?

In a tumultuous real estate market like we have, it is increasingly common to have homeowners in arrears on the dues. In addition, I understand that HOA dues are likely the first place where homeowners can - and do - postpone payment while they wait for their situation to improve. Delay long enough and the homeowner can and will be foreclosed upon by the HOA.

Unfortunately, prohibiting lending in these neighborhoods results in a cascading effect in both home/condo prices and HOA participation rates. Buyers can't purchase because of the lenders practices and HOA participation rates can't improve either. Prices continue to fall accordingly. While the practice can and does affect both low and high priced communities, entry level and poorer communities are hurt most because they constitute a higher fraction of the housing market.

My suggestion: lenders should NOT be allowed to use HOA participation as a criteria in their lending.

In a perfect world, I believe HOA's should be voluntary (or, at least that portion of the dues that supports administrative overhead should be). In my own neighborhood governed by unpaid homeowners, HOA dues pays to maintain common areas and cut grass. The amount of the dues is kept at 10% what mandatory HOA's charge because it goes directly to the bottom line - actual expenses (rather than administrative costs).