Keith Lutz's Blog: All Categories

I once tried to take out my toilet and replace it with a new one.  Needless to say, I got the job done!  But it was not fun, time consuming, disgusting and all in all, it is something I would not do it again.  Lesson Learned the hard way!

 

 

Some people say a "FSBO" - For Sale By Owner.  We in the real estate industry like to call them "Unrepresented Sellers".  A few years ago alot of websites started popping up that would take your money and put your home on there website. I even jumped on the bandwagon, and started offering a place for FSBO's to go on my website. Now when a market is hot, like it was, this could work out for you. Heck, I even tried it for three weeks when I moved to Charlotte from Long Island, without success, I might add.  Luckily…

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Let me start by giving you a brief history as to why "buyers agency" was started.  It was in 1983, that the Federal Trade Commission, did a survey to see how many home buyers thought they were being represented by the agent showing them the home they bought.  It was not soon after this that all states started to adopt a statute law of agency.

Here are two scenarios, that a home buyer can run across:

1.) You call an advertisement off a newspaper ad, internet or open house sign.  You proceed to view the property, talk to the agent about the home, maybe about your situation, and agree to make an offer.

2.) You are recommended by a friend to a "great" agent, and he/she proceeds to show you many homes over the course of a few days.  They buy you lunch and…

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The overall Rule is not to be known by the agents who sell your home as, "the bird house", "the barking dog house" or worse "the smelly house"!  So here are some obvious or not so obvious suggestions to not turn off a buyer to your home!

1.) If you are having an Open house, do not hang around.  Go to the movies or shopping or something.  We need to let the buyers feel like they own the home.  As a realtor, I want to hear feedback like I don't like this or that.  But if the owners are there, then you can expect most people to just say, this and that are nice!

2.) Barking Dogs... yours or your nieghboors.  If you are friends with the niegboors, kindly ask if they can put fido in for a few hours.

3.) Outdated wallpaper or un-neutral wall colors.  For a few…

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Update:: As of Wed. Oct. 10th, we have moved back to stage 2 water restrictions!

I was always taught to offer a solution, when I feel like complaining about a problem.  Well I can't take credit for this solution, but I want to help spread the word!

I saw this on City-data.com...     "And with that said I read a letter to the editor the other day in our local paper (Fort Mill Times) and thought it was a rather igenious idea on how to recycle/conserve water."

"What started out as a way to run a water game at his granddaughter's block party turned out to be a solution on how to take care of other things as well. Since water restrictions were in place...he started collecting the runoff water from his own air conditioner, his neighbors, and…

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Good news for Union County!  The division of Water Quality lifted the ban on the Twelve Mile Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant that has been going on since February 7 2007.  Now it looks like the residential sewer requests will NOT be accepted for NEW developments.  Which IMHO, is a good thing at this point. We need to slow down the building and sell out some of the areas we have!  Not to mention all the inventory of resales. 

The permits will be handed out first to the county approved requests before the state stepped in, back in February.  Union County Public works will now be submitting these requests to the state for the Twelve Mile Creek service area.

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As land in and aroung Charlotte NC, dwindles, the builders must get smarter about how they build.  Usually that means going up as opposed to out.  Now builders are getting even wiser and building residential and commerical sites together.

We are going to see some beautiful architecture that resembles the brownstones of Boston or Georgetown, in this new community called Tranquil Court, at the corners of Sequel Ave. and Tranquil Ave.  The prices will start at $175,000 for 562 sq ft for a condo, there will be four stories with some units facing the tree lined streets of Myers Park and others facing a private courtyard. 

Now to make this a mixed use development there will be a 62,000 sq ft. office/retail space.  There will be a fine restaurant to anchor this…

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Union county has not gone to the lengths that Mecklenberg county has, but we are waiting for the hammer (or should I say sprinkler) to drop!  Duke energy is monitoring the water level in the Catawaba River, and if those officials recommend then we will go to no watering at all and join Mecklenberg county.  As it stands now we can water:

Tuesdays and Saturdays - Odd-numbered addresses -  Sprinklers can operate from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. and again from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Thursdays and Sundays - Even and unnumbered addresses - Sprinklers can operate from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Union County has imposed fines that range from:

 

First violation: warning

Second violation: $100 fine

Third violation: $500 fine

Fourth violation:…

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Foreclosures are going up in North Carolina, just like they have all over the country. It is a a cycle we will have to work thru. As a Realtor we need to be educate ourselves on the "short sale" now more than ever! Here is a Video report from the Triangle Business Journal! Read Full Post