homesfortmill

Warning Positive Home Sales News Maybe Dangerous To Your Health!

homesfortmill — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:05:00 GMT

Warning: The Sturgeon General advices you to be careful reading or listening to positive homes sales news which maybe dangerous to your health or at least a shock to your system compared to the normal news environment. Care should be taken when reading or listening to positive news.

I get up every morning with a positive attitude with the goal to make it a positive day. During my morning drive to work I listen to the news talk radio station. I don't know about you but I almost hate turning on the radio or any news these days. My positive attitude flies right out the window after listening to a few minutes of the morning economic news. Most of the news seems to be about the bad housing market, failing mortgage market, and of course the main headline these days the high gas prices. So here is my attempt to go against the news trend and share some good news for a change.

The National Association of Realtors® released this week their homes sales forecast based on April's pending home sales index data. April's index showed a national gain in homes sale contracts of 6.3% over March. NAR's economists forecast a continued moderate home sales increase in the next few months and it may get better in the second half of the year.

The West coast has shown the most improvement. Positive sales growth was also felt in the Midwest and the South. The Northeast was still showing a decline by 1.9%. Pending homes sales numbers have picked up significantly in areas seeing significant home value price drops like the West. But economists predict home values will stabilize in most areas in the second half of the year.

As for the Fort Mill, Tega Cay SC area, the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association reported steady increases each month from January through April which is consistent with the NAR report. The total homes under contract nationally and locally are below last years numbers but the positive news here is the sales are gaining each month.

I apologize if this news is shocking to you. I know this is not the normal news you hear now days. I hope this news may brighten your day or moment until the next negative news story hits. It's no problem, this positive info is free of charge. Maybe I should listen to those old 8 tracks in the car instead of the radio news. Ops, I am dating myself. Enjoy the positive news for moment at least.

This ends the postive news warning....

By Scott (Carmen's Husband)

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/warning-positive-home-sales-news-maybe-dangerous-to-your-health/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com

Who Inspects Their Home Before Purchase?

homesfortmill — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:53:00 GMT

What is one of the most important things to do when buying a home? Visualize were your furniture will go in each room. Well... yes that is part of the processes but more importantly hire a professional to do a home inspection.

So even if you manage to find the perfect home a good home inspection can help you understand exactly what's not so perfect about the home you're going to buy. That's a good thing. Because when you're buying a home you're also buying all of the home's problems too.

You're making a large investment in the property and it's nice to understand exactly what you're buying. A structural problem or a heating and air condition system that isn't functioning properly can be expensive to fix. So conducting a series of thorough inspections is a lot like buying an insurance policy against future expenses or knowing more about what you are buying into. Keep in mind, however, that home inspections are not a warranty or guarantee of the home.

What is a typical home inspection like? A home inspection typically includes an examination of the heating and central air conditioning systems, interior plumbing, electrical systems, the roof, attic, visible insulation, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, foundations, and basements.

A typical home inspection will take about 2 to 4 hours depending on the type of home; an unoccupied one story home on a concrete slab will take about 2 hours, where an occupied two story home on a crawlspace foundation will take about 4 hours to complete.

Although the home inspection report should include detailed descriptions and color digital pictures of any defects in the home, it is best if you are able to attend the inspection for a review and discussion of the findings. You, your agent, the owner/sellers, etc. should attend the entire inspection. Once the inspection is complete, you should walk through the home with the inspector to discuss any concerns or defects that may be present.

Some things that are not included in the general inspection are:

Appliances that are not installed
Building Code Compliance
Environmental issues such as Radon, Mold, Lead, etc. (unless specifically requested) I would recommend including a least a radon test for the Fort Mill/York County area.
Systems/components/areas that are not readily accessible or readily visible or shut down.
Cosmetic issues (Acceptability is subjective and should be determined by the client)
Exterior features such as retaining walls, storage buildings, pools, etc. (Unless their condition may affect the building)
Low voltage systems/components such as: intercom, security systems, antennas, etc.

You will most likely have to hire a separate professional to do a termite inspection.

If you are selling your home, have an inspection done before you put your home on the market and you may avoid any surprises when potential buyers have a home inspector check it out. You may choose to have any repairs made using a contractor of your choice without having to satisfy a potential buyer or you may choose to disclose the conditions you are not going to repair and protect yourself from liability of nondisclosure claims.

Should you hire a home inspector when buying a new home? Absolutely. Just because the home is new doesn't mean there aren't problems. The contractors building a new home are human and make mistakes. There is no better time to catch and fix mistakes or problems than before you close and move in.

Make sure the home inspector is at least a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors and other local associations and accreditations. Carmen can recommend local home inspectors. Contact Carmen for more information or questions about the home inspection process.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/who-inspects-their-home-before-purchase/

from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com

Fort Mill SC Rank 6 Out Of Ten Fastest Growing Metros

homesfortmill — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:11:32 GMT

The US Census Bureau released on March 27, 2008 charts showing the fastest growing metro areas as of July 1, 2007. Ok so I am stretching it a bit to just say Fort Mill. So I really mean the Charlotte metropolitan statistical area (MSA) which is ranked 6^th with the highest number of population growth and ranked 7^th in percent of growth.

I did online research on the Census Bureau’s website to find out what the N.C-S.C. part of the label means in the chart below. The York County South Carolina cities are included in the Charlotte (MSA).

Eight of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas between 2006 and 2007 were located in the South.

The largest cities include New York which was the most populous metro area on July 1, 2007, with 18.8 million people, followed by Los Angeles (12.9 million) and Chicago (9.5 million). The rest of the top ten in order:

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH

Those of us who live in the Fort Mill and Tega Cay can validate the recent growth in our area. But amazingly we have kept our small town southern feel. Contact Carmen Miller to find out why so many people want to relocate to the Fort Mill and Tega Cay SC. area.

Post Link: http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/fort-mill-sc-rank-6-out-of-ten-fastest-growing-metros/

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com

Features Home Buyers Really Want Even In Tega Cay

homesfortmill — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:04:25 GMT

What features help sell your home faster? What features are more desirable to a buyer and bring you more bang for the buck?

The National Association of Realtors® gathered information from over 2500 home buyers nationally that purchased a home in 2007. Repeat buyers placed more importance than first-time buyers on almost all home features.

Here are some of the highlights of the survey:

The most important feature was central air-conditioning. 74% of the respondents listed central air as very important. A very important feature surviving the summers in Tega Cay, SC.
Next in line was a garage with 2 or more spaces. This was the most significant change between the NAR's 2004 survey to the 2007.

Other important features were:

Walk-in closets in the master bedroom which was ranked higher by older buyers
Backyard or play area which was more important to younger buyers
Hardwood floors
Granite countertops.
Cable or satellite TV readiness.
High-speed Internet access.

Respondents said they would pay more for a home that has:

waterfront property, a no brainer for our area in my opinion.
Oversized garages.
Central Air.

90 percent of the respondents said energy efficiency was important in a buying decision. I bet energy efficiency will now rank higher in future surveys.

The typical home purchased during the survey period was 12 years old, 1,840

square feet in size, and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The national median price was $205,000.

Other changes between the 2004 survey and 2007 are:

The size of the typical home purchased increased by about 100 square feet.
Over four-fifths are detached, single-family homes
More than half are in the suburbs

And what did buyers do once they moved in? Nearly half of home buyers remodeled or made improvements to their kitchen, and close to half remodeled or improved a bathroom.

Source: NAR's Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences (2007)

Post link http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/features-home-buyers-really-want-even-in-tega-cay/

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com

TEGA CAY REAL ESTATE MARKET ANALYSIS JAN-APR 2008

homesfortmill — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:22:56 GMT

I have had many request to see the change in home sales data for Tega Cay from this year to last. So here is the latest info.

TEGA CAY REAL ESTATE MARKET ANALYSIS
2007 Vs. 2008
January through April

2007	TOTAL SALES	DAYS ON MARKET	LIST TO SALES RATIO
Single Family	56	114	97%
Townhomes	7	96	99%


2008	TOTAL SALES	DAYS ON MARKET	LIST TO SALES RATIO
Single Family	35	153	93%
Townhomes	2	234	94%

Source- Piedmont Regional MLS

Single Family homes had a 37.5 % drop in the number of home sold to last year. It is now taking on the average 153 days to sell a home which is approximately a 34% increase in days. The good news is the selling price to listing price ratio only changed 4% and is still in the 90’s.

I think the number of homes sold drop is higher than expected. There are more homes on the market compared to last year. There are definitely less buyers than last year. Be careful comparing the homes sold data with national reports. The national reports normally compare only a month. The analysis above included the period January through April. If you have any questions or would like to see more information please contact me.

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

The link to the post http://homesfortmill.com/tega-cay-fort-mill-real-estate/tega-cay-real-estate-market-analysis-jan-apr-2008/#more-571

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com

Fort Mill New School Update

homesfortmill — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:18:43 GMT

Fort Mill School District Superintendent Keith Callicut wrote an update recently in the Fort Mill Times. Here is a summary of his school growth update.

Besides the two new Fort Mill School District elementary schools planned to open in the fall of 2009, the district is busy working on a plan to spend the money raised by the March 4th bond referendum that was passed. The Fort Mill School District is looking at the following areas for 3 new schools (2 elementary, 1 middle);

Possible Elementary School Locations:

Massey home development area which is south west of Fort Mill.
Tega Cay
Sutton and I-77 near the planned York County Museum

Possible Middle School Location:

An area near the southern part of the Springfield Parkway.

The district plans to finalize the sites and acquire the land for the 3 new schools by this June. By November 2008 a new “attendance plan”, I assume they mean redistricting, will be completed. The architectural firm has been identified to design the additional high school gym, new stadium, and the 3 new schools. The gym and stadium are planned for opening in the fall of 2009. The 3 new schools should open by 2011.

The State Education Department considers the Fort Mill School District to be the fastest growing school district in the state of South Carolina.

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Post Link http://homesfortmill.com/fort-mill-news/fort-mill-new-school-update/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com

Charlotte NC Voted Best Place To Live

homesfortmill — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:12:57 GMT

For a second year in a row Charlotte North Carolina has been voted the number one place to live by RelocateAmerica.com.

RelocateAmerica.com is an online relocation information resource owned and operated by a real state broker firm called HomeRoute. RelocateAmerica.com has been ranking cities annually for 11 years. They accept city nominations that are considered by the nominees a great place to live. The nominations then are reviewed by their editorial team along with other city key data like education, employment, crime, housing, parks etc and then ranked.

Other North and South Carolina cities in the top ten are Ashville NC and Greenville SC. Rock Hill SC is in the top 100. Fort Mill and Tega Cay which are just minutes south of Charlotte are part of the Charlotte Metro area, although not specifically listed in their ranking , I would include in the number 1 ranking. Here is the top 10 list:

Charlotte, NC.
San Antonio, TX.
Chattanooga, TN.
Greenville, SC.
Tulsa, OK.
Stevens Point, WS.
Asheville, NC.
Albuquerque, NM.
Huntsville, AL.
Seattle, WA.

It is interesting Charlotte stayed at number 1 since Forbes recently voted Charlotte 9th most miserable city to live. I have consistently disagreed with Forbes ranking of Charlotte and share the opinion of RelocateAmericas.com’s survey. Here is a link to their website for more information. How would you rank Charlotte?

This post is from my blog http://homesfortmill.com/

Post Link http://homesfortmill.com/local-information-fort-mill-lake-wylie-carolinas/charlotte-nc-voted-best-place-to-live/

My website http://carmensmiller.com

Carmen S Miller

Century 21 First Choice

Fort Mill, SC

803.322.3479

carmen.miller@century21.com