St. Mark Catholic Church Christmas Bazaar
November 15, 2008 8:00-3:00  There will be raffles, bake sale, pictures with Santa, beautiful handmade crafts and vendor booths with gifts for all ages. So start your Christmas shopping!   

$1 Admission per adult and Goody Bags for the first 500 attendees.

Visit the Bazaar web site for directions - www.StMarkChristmasBazaar.com

Please come and see me at the bazaar and please pass this on to your family, friends, school and co-workers!

 I will be walking with the Lake Norman Jazzercise group September 20.  Please join me and/or contribute to this worthy cause.  Here is  my webpage for the Charlotte Heart Walk .

 See you there!  - Kate

Posted on Mon, Jul. 14, 2008

Greenway plan adds 26 miles of trails

Voters will decide in Nov. whether they’ll OK bonds to make expansion a reality

By Karen Sullivan

ksullivan@charlotteobserver.com

JONATHAN YOUNG – jyoung@charlotte.com

Chris (left) and Zack Smith take their dog Bonnie Blue for a walk Sunday afternoon on the greenway at Huntingtowne Farms Park. Funding to build or extend up to 20 greenways is on the ballot in November.

• Map | County’s next greenway?

Top 10 new greenway projects

The top-ranked projects in Park and Recreation’s 5-year trail development plan:1. Sugar Creek, Billy Graham Parkway to South Tryon Street, 2.3 miles, $6.6 million.2. Little Sugar Creek, Tyvola Road to Huntingtowne Farms Park, 2.2 miles, $3.7 million.

3. Little Sugar Creek, Huntingtowne Farms Park to Interstate 485, 2.2 miles, $3.3 million.

4. Long Creek, Interstate 77 to Primm Road, 3.3 miles, $6 million.

5. Irwin Creek, Old Statesville Road to Allen Hills Park, 2 miles, $2.6 million.

6. South Prong Rocky River, South Street Park to North Main Street, Cornelius/Davidson, 0.8 miles, $1 million.

7. West Branch Rocky River, Fisher Farm Park Trail, Davidson, 1.1 miles, $1.4 million.

8. McDowell Creek, Taybrook Drive to Baylis Drive, Huntersville, 2 miles, $3.1 million.

9. Irvins Creek, Idlewild Road to Lakeview Circle, Matthews, 2 miles, $2.5 million.

10. Briar/Little Hope Creek, Manning Drive to Marion Diehl Center, 1.2 miles, $2 million.

Runners and bikers, get ready. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation plans to build or extend 20 greenway trails in the next five years.

A top project on its wish list: the first leg of Sugar Creek trail in western Mecklenburg.

The 2.3-mile trail would offer access to the public Renaissance Golf Course, Charlotte Regional Farmers Market and a 3-mile looping trail at City Park, a proposed mixed-use development at the Charlotte Coliseum site.

If voters approve a proposed $43.5 million in bonds for greenways in November, up to 26 miles of trails could be moved from paper to pavement.

“Bottom line, people like greenways,” said Julie Clark, Park and Recreation’s greenway planning director.

According to a recent survey of 1,033 county residents, respondents most requested walking and biking trails. Park and Recreation’s 10-year plan calls for an additional 64.8 miles of new greenway trails, for a master plan total of 107.6 new trail miles.

Additional bond money would be needed to begin those projects.

County commissioners earlier this month agreed to ask voters for up to $250 million for parks and recreation projects, which include the $43.5 million for greenways. Commissioners could lower the amount in the coming weeks and plan to hold a public hearing in September before deciding on a final bond size.

If bonds are approved, Park and Recreation plans to hire a design team in January for the Sugar Creek trail, which would begin near Billy Graham Parkway and continue to South Tryon Street. It could be completed in as little as four years.

Pope & Land is a development partner and will share the cost of building the trail’s 3-mile centerpiece on the Coliseum site. The trail also would give pedestrians and cyclists access to Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, natural areas, mountain bike trails and a range of amenities at Renaissance Park.

The park has an 18-hole public golf course, five softball fields, 17 tennis courts, 10 sand volleyball courts, three soccer fields, a championship-level disc golf course and 6.5 miles of bike trails.

If connected to other trails, as the master plan calls for, the Sugar Creek project could then grow another 6 miles, stretching from West Boulevard to Arrowood Road.

In possibly 10 years, “it could rival anything out there,” Clark said.

While growth climbs, real estate dropsUpdated: 07/11/2008 07:37 AM

By: Brad Broders

http://news14.com/Video/video_pop.aspx?vids=66452&sid=1&rid=104

 CHARLOTTE — The latest census report declared the Queen City to be the ninth fastest growing large city on Wednesday, while another report showed Charlotte-area real estate dropped 20 percent in June compared to June of last year.  On paper Charlotte is booming, with construction all over Uptown and 17,000 more people moving to the city between 2006 and 2007. Pat Riley, president of Allen Tate Realtors, wasn’t surprised. “We have recreated ourselves to meet the new economy, so we bode well for diversification and meeting the new world,” he explained.However, the buzz of growth was tempered by a housing slowdown in June. The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reported that homes were on the market longer in June and homeowners got less in average sales prices.“I may not get what my neighbor got last year, but what does that matter if I go out and buy the next home at a much better value than I thought I had to pay a year ago?” asked Riley. “It’s a wash, but people don’t look at their homes as a market.”The report said that home prices dropped six percent in June compared to that time last year, Riley said that doesn’t necessarily mean lower-priced homes are suddenly watering down the market. “We over-built in many of our price points, and that’s what we are dealing with now: an over supply in our price points,” said Riley. “And we have to eat through that at a time when the consumer is being very conservative on major purchases.” Despite that, the realtor was confident that Charlotte’s recent housing price downturn won’t last long. “We didn’t feel what the rest of the country was feeling until last August,” said Riley. “Since that time, yes, it’s been a steady decline. We were the last ones in; we will be the first ones out.”According to the latest numbers from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, homes stayed on the market for an average of 126 days. That was a slight increase compared to May.

 REThink Real Estate  July 10, 2008 06:26 PMBy Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Inman News

Q: I’m in the middle of buying a house that is a bank-owned foreclosure. It seems like every step of this escrow has been problematic, and I’m wondering if this is a sign that I should not buy this house. For example, we were supposed to close escrow in 30 days, but it’s been more than 45 days since the listing agent told us that our offer was being accepted, and I’m just now signing documents. Now they’re saying the bank still could take weeks to sign their documents. Is this normal?

A: All across America, Realtors are hearing a low, anguished drone — like a really loud, really bad case of tinnitus. That sound is the wailing and gnashing of teeth of untold numbers of innocent home buyers in escrow, those brave (but smart) souls who have gotten past their “buyer’s block” and decided to take advantage of this buyer’s market. What is causing all this toil and trouble? The dramas and traumas of doing a deal with the bank: buying REO properties (foreclosed homes now owned by the bank).

Mindset Management

If you are buying anything but a luxury home, REO listings comprise a huge Click here to read the whole article.

The term ‘As is’ often creates confusion during Realtor and client discussions regarding repair issues.  For example:

The seller wants to list the property ‘as is’ with the understanding that he will not make any repairs.  This is fine, however, in NC he will still need to complete a Property Disclosure form because a prospective buyer may withdraw without penalty an Offer to Purchase if the buyer does not review and sign the form within three days after receipt of the Disclosure Statement. 

Also, given Paragraph 16 Alternative 1 section (b) , the Buyer has the right to inspect the property and withdraw the offer if the seller refuse to repair any of the systems described in section (b).

So - If you are the seller, you need to expect that the buyer will inspect your property even if you state that it is ‘As Is’.  The Repair Agreement is the part of the Contract where the seller may state that the house is ‘As Is’.

By the way, an ‘As Is’ clause does not relieve the Listing Agent from her obligation to reveal ‘material facts’.

Email me your questons,  - Kate 

 If your home is being shown, but producing no offers it means that buyers are finding nicer homes for their money…

A Moderate price adjustment is in order if your home is in the running, but the buyers buy something else

If the prospective buyers come for a second showing and buy something else a Minor price adjustment is necessary.

The National Association of Realtors tells us that in a Normal marketplace you should receive one offer for every ten showings and one to two showings per week.  In Today’s market those numbers need to be modified to lower expectations.  

But do not make any of these adjustments until after all the changes to improve the condition and staging of the house are implemented.  In addition sellers should offer a home warrenty.

FYI.  Do not plant a tree directly in front of your house!  Because when you want to sell it, the photograph of the front which is used as the primary photo for web and print advertising will not actually show your home.  It is better to frame your house with trees for future curb appeal.   -Kate

I’ve just sold a New - single family property at 705 Southland Rd in Huntersville. Come and visit my site to see other properties in that area. If you are interested in looking for or selling your home, please Contact Me.