Fuquay Varina: A Great Place to Live
Posted by RealEstate_Guru
Fuquay Varina is a rapidly growing town located just 30 miles from Raleigh, North Carolina. In recent years, the population has doubled, making this community the 26th fastest growing in the state. Fuquay Varina is just a short commute to most of the significant employment centers in the region, including Research Triangle Park. Unlike the city of Raleigh and its sprawling first-ring suburbs, Fuquay Varina still has plenty of open space for young families, professionals and retirees alike. All these factors converge to make Fuquay Varina real estate highly desirable.
The town is located in Wake County and has plenty of educational opportunities for families with children. From pre-school to nearby colleges and universities like Duke and UNC at Chapel Hill, education in the region is top-rate. The public education system is well-regarded and well-funded, making it very attractive. Fuquay Varina has maintained its small-town character while not neglecting to provide amenities, many of which are associated with larger metropolitan areas.
The population of Fuquay Varina is divided equally between males and females. Since the year 2000, the population has increased about 75% but is still under 20,000 residents. The median age is about 33 years and the median income is about $50,000, substantially higher than the North Carolina average. Median home value for real estate in Fuquay Varina is about $160,000, about $5,000 higher than the state as a whole. The median price of a single family home is somewhat higher at about $191,000.
Fuquay Varina hasn’t forgotten its roots, though. Many of the irreplaceable older homes have been lovingly preserved. The town has an attractive melange of structures from the Victorian, Craftsman and Colonial Revival periods. There are also 2 historic districts that are on the national registers of historic homes and commercial structures. There’s even a historic park that contains the town’s historic springs.
Short Sales – What Mortgage Companies don’t what you to know
Posted by Cary_Agent
If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property-and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing-the sale is considered a short sale.
A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller’s lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure.
Short sales are becomming an increasingly common sight in our struggling economy and, if handled correctly, can be a win-win-win situation.
Short Sale Sellers, what you need to know:
The Mortgage Investor can avoid the costly foreclosure process; the seller’s credit rating takes a much smaller hit, if any, and the patient buyer can come away with a great deal on a home.
What most people consider thier mortgage company may actually be just the Mortgage Servicer. Commonly they bundle and sell most of thier loans to mortgage inverstors (i.e. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) so they can originate more loans.
These mortgage servicers may need to be difficult to deal with as they have little no financial incentive route people though their loss mitigation department to process short sales. They simply want the loan paid off or off thier books and sent to foreclosure.
So sellers may need to call their mortgage servicer and before giving thier account number, ask to be transferred to the “loss mitigation dept.” If this doesnt work, contact the mortgage investor directly. they will gladly work with you. Also if you have a mortgage insurance premium on your loan, call this company directly. They’ll also gladly work with you and can give you some leverage with your mortgage servicer.
Short Sale Buyers, arm yourself with the following:
- Patience. Even after you come to agreement with the seller to buy a short-sale property, the seller’s lender (or lenders, if there is more than one mortgage) has to approve the sale before you can close. When there is only one mortgage, short-sale experts say lender approval typically takes about two months. If there is more than one mortgage with different lenders, it can take four months or longer for the lenders to approve the sale, and could possibly not close at all.
- Financing. Lenders like cash offers. But even if you can’t pay all cash for a short-sale property, it’s important to show you are well qualified and your financing is set. If you’re preapproved, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, your offer will be viewed more favorably than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.
- “Pounceability”. If you have a home to sell before you can close on the purchase of the short-sale property-or you need to be in your new home by a certain time-a short sale may not be for you. Lenders like no-contingency offers and flexible closing terms.
- A Kick Butt Realtor. Uncle Fred who keeps a real estate license may not be your best choice to handle a short sale. An experienced Realtor, specifically trained in short sales, (*cough* like myself ) can guide you through the short sale jungle, knowing the key people to contact and how to work the mortgage lenders to bring
Great Opportunities Exist in Morrisville, North Carolina Real Estate
Posted by RealEstate_Guru
If you’re looking for a home in North Carolina, be sure to consider the charming town of Morrisville. The Morrisville real estate market is vibrant and varied, so there’s sure to be a perfect home for your preferences and budget.
Morrisville is centrally located and convenient to population centers like Raleigh (about 12 miles away), Durham (about 9 miles away), Apex (about 8 miles away) and Cary (about 6 miles away). The town has a population of about 13,000 residents. Since 2000, the population has grown by about 140%. The median age is about 30 years, which gives Morrisville an active, dynamic and youthful character. The estimated median income of about $65,000 has increased by about $10,000 in recent years.
Real estate in Morrisville is value-priced. The market is active and robust. The median house or condo value is about $220,000. For that price you can expect to find a 3 to 4 bedroom single family home with 2 to 2.5 baths and about 2000 to 2300 square feet.
In addition to being just a short commute from Research Triangle Park, a major employer in the region, Morrisville has a number of unique attractions. Chatham Hill Winery produces well-crafted wines made only from grapes grown in North Carolina. Lake Crabtree County Park occupies 215 acres. Lake Crabtree’s 520 scenic acres offer plenty of opportunities for boating, fishing and swimming.
The North Carolina Museum of Art, is a repository for European, American, African, Oceanic and Judaic art and exhibits. Finally, the JC Raulston Arboretum is a nationally acclaimed garden that houses an extensive collection of temperate zone plants.
For Buyers: Advice for Successful Real Estate Transaction – Part 2
Posted by RealEstate_Guru
Once you’ve established a good working relationship with a real estate agent, it’s time to let him use his skills and expertise to find a home in the Cary NC real estate market that suits your requirements and budget. Most realtors will use the MLS (Multiple Listing System) to locate suitable properties for you. Some realtors can also set up a private website exclusively for you so you can view matching homes online and provide feedback to your agent about the Cary, North Carolina real estate he finds for you. Communication is very important at this stage of the process. Be sure to give your realtor honest opinions of the homes he’s selected for you to view. If one particular home seems especially attractive, it’s time to move the process to the next step: visiting the property in person.
Your realtor will schedule appointments to view one or more of the homes you’re interested in. Then, as you tour the homes, he’ll point out the positive and negative features of each property, again drawing from his experience to give you a realistic picture of the home. He’ll also know how popular or desirable the neighborhood is, since this has a direct effect on the home’s price. And as far as price is concerned, a good real estate agent will also be able to determine whether the asking price of the property has room for negotiation or not. As the process evolves, both you and the agent will work as a close-knit team to find just the perfect home.
For Buyers: Advice for a Successful Real Estate Transaction – Part 1
Posted by RealEstate_Guru
Buying a home is often the single largest financial transaction most people will make in their lives. Doesn’t it make sense, then, to be proactive and informed so that your home purchase transaction goes as smoothly as possible? Here are a few tips to help you get started buying real estate in Cary NC.
First, make a firm, well-informed decision to buy. While this decision may seem self-evident, there are a number of important factors to consider, not the least of which is financing. Put another way, decide how much house you can comfortably afford. A good general rule is that your monthly mortgage payment shouldn’t exceed 1/3 of your monthly income. Another critical part of the decision to buy is to establish some requirements, such as number of bedrooms, number of baths, lot size, etc. Never forget, though, that your requirements should never exceed what you can afford.
Next, contact a professional realtor. With your requirements in hand, talk to a realtor. Realtors are in close touch with both the market for real estate in Cary, North Carolina and mortgage market. One of the most valuable services a realtor can perform is to help you pre-qualify for a mortgage. This enables you to know exactly how much house you can afford and signals sellers that you’re a serious buyer. Realtors are also a wealth of information about neighborhoods, school systems, shopping districts, taxes, cost of living and a host of other factors that may effect your buying decision. Finally, a realtor can advise you on how market trends will effect the value of your home in the future.
10 Tips to for a stress free home purchase
Posted by Cary_Agent
Buying a home can be nerve-wracking and scary, but there are things you can do to lessen the stress and make it more of an enjoyable process. Here are 10 tips to take the anxiety out of buying a home.
- Find a real estate agent that suits you. Home buying is an emotional commitment, not just a financial one.
- Browse nieghborood profiles to quickly get a feel for what commuities suit your needs. Visit Raleigh Neighborhoods, North Raleigh neighborhoods, Cary Neighborhoods, Apex Neighborhoods, Holly Springs Nieighborhoods or Morrisville Neighborhoods for more information.
- Don’t plan to sell or buy your home according to the market. There is actually no right to buy or sell, so if you find a home now that you love jump on it. Changes in the market don’t occur fast enough to make much of a difference in price or interest rates.
- It is natural that you want second or even third opinions on the house you like, but asking for too many will make it harder to make a decision that can only be right for you.
- No house is perfect, so don’t expect it to be. Focus on what is most important for you and let the minor imperfections be secondary.
- Negotiation is all part of the real estate game, but don’t try to bid so low that you will lose the house. Stay realistic about how much you can actually lower the selling price.
- Don’t get so caught up in the inside of the house that you forget about the outside. Noise, location, and amenities are just as important as how big the rooms are.
- Do all the necessary paperwork before trying to find a home. Having your mortgage approved, investigating insurance, and having a time schedule to move should be done before the first house is seen.
- Don’t buy a house directly at the top of your budget. You need to leave room for maintenance and repair costs, even if it is a new home.
- Buying a house, especially for the first time, is a big commitment and there might be some buyer’s remorse but you need to overlook it. Everyone at some time second guesses their decisions so you need to concentrate on the positives and why you loved the house so much.
- Love the house first, and then think of appreciation. Most houses right now are appreciating but the most important thing is to love and feel comfortable in your home.
Real Estate Search tools
Posted by Cary_Agent
If you haven’t ever visited Zillow.com or haven’t been buy recently, you should take another look. This site has evolved into a very usefull home search tool.
This is a must have in your arsenal of house hunting tools. On first perusal of the site, you’ll appreciated the satellite images of the neighborhood you direct it to. The home value estimates on top of each roof top are quick handy as well.
But this is just half of the impressive features of this site, so don’t surf away before getting the detail on a particular home. In the screen shot below, you will see the close up satellite image of the home you are interested in.
You can rotate the image, thus seeing all four sides of a partucular property.
Tips for Buying Homes in a Tight Market
Posted by Cary_Agent
Cary , NC has some markets that are fairly tight, especially in the 180k to 300k price range. Following a few easy tips will help to ensure that you will get your dream home, even in the tight market of today. These tips include:
• Before you starting looking for homes, get pre-qualified for a mortgage. This way you will be able to make a firm commitment to buy the home making your offer more desirable. 
• Find out first about new listings that come on the market by staying in close contact with your Cary real estate agent. Be ready to go see the house on the first day that it is being shown.
• Look on the Internet, in newspapers, and drive by the neighborhood of your choice to keep on top of new listings yourself.
• Spend time in advance deciding what you do and do not want so that when you find the home of your dreams you will be ready to make an offer.
• Make your bid realistic and competitive. Just as you wouldn’t want to bid at the top of your budget, you don’t want to go too low either and lose out on a prospective home.
• Keep your bid as desirable as possible by keeping contingencies to a minimum. Restrictions such as selling your home before the closing or delaying closing until a certain date will make your offer unappealing to the seller. If your house does not sell on time then talk to your lender about getting a bridge loan to cover both mortgages until it sells.
• Don’t get caught up in the competition of buying your new home. You shouldn’t buy just anything just because it is a good deal. Don’t neglect important aspects of home buying such as inspections to make your offer more attractive.
Buyer tips10 Questions to Ask a Home Inspector
Posted by Cary_Agent
When looking for a home inspector it is best to be prepared with questions that you want to ask them. You want to make sure that they are qualified to do the job right. Home inspections are necessary for the purchase of the house, as well as deciding the price so you want to make sure you have a reputable professional that you are dealing with.
Here are 10 questions to help you get started:
1. What kind of qualifications do you have? Are you a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors or the National Association of Home Inspectors?
2. Are you currently licensed in the state of North Carolina? Are you required to be licensed in this state?
3. How many inspections do you do each year, and are they similar to this house?
4. Can you provide references?
5. Do you have professional errors and omission insurance that I can have a copy of?
6. Do you provide a guarantee of any kind?
7. What will the inspection cover?
8. What type of report is produced after the inspection and how long will it take?
9. How long will the inspection take?
10. What are the costs involved in the inspection?
Buyer tips Home Inspection Real Estate5 Reasons You Need a REALTOR®
Posted by Cary_Agent
1. Real estate transactions can be very complicated. There is a lot of paperwork involved that you may not have knowledge of such as disclosure forms, inspection reports, insurance policies, deeds, mortgage documents, and multi-page government mandated settlement statements. A realtor can be a very knowledgeable guide to avoid the complexity of all these transactions. 
2. Even in this strong market, selling or buying a home can be very time consuming. Many homes stay on the market for many days or even months. It also takes an additional 60 days or so for the transaction to close after an offer is accepted.
3. The language of real estate is complex and difficult to understand if you have no experience. If you don’t know what a CMA or a PUD is then you can understand why it is important to work with someone who does.
4. REALTORS® have done it all before whereas you may have just bought and sold a house just a few times in your life. Also, because there are a few years in between each you may not be aware of new laws and regulations. Having an expert on your side to update you on these laws is crucial when you are making the biggest purchase of your life.
5. REALTORS® provide objectivity when you might not have any. A home purchase is often more than just four walls and the roof to you. It symbolizes family and security. It is more emotional for you whereas a third party such as a realtor can look at everything objectively and keep you focused on the business side of the deal.
Buyer tips