I am pleased to announce that I have moved to a new Real Estate Brokerage, Choice Residential Real Estate, started by our KW Team leader, Brian Hourigan, we have brought the most experienced agents from the Triangle together to give our clients the best possible Real Estate team in the Raleigh area. We currently have about 25 agents and quickly growing. Our location is at 256 W Millbrook Rd, Raleigh NC, you’ll see the Choice Residential Realty on the cute townhouse door.
There are a number of steps to take to help you win that competitive bid for your new home. In the Triangle area, many homes priced under $300k will enjoy competitive offers. So, as a buyer, if you are getting a loan, it is important to show you have pre-qualification from a LOCAL LENDER. A seller will view a local lender as someone who has skin in the game and will do their best to get buyers correctly qualified for the loan. In addition, make sure you do not max out the amount of a loan your lender says you can afford. I like what Clark Howard (Consumer Advocate) has to say:Clark Howard
When buyers are ready to purchase a new home, their lender will require proof of insurance at closing. This is the perfect time to shop at least 3 different companies to compare policies and costs. Most of the time, customers will get the best rates when they bundle their auto and home insurance together. I also encourage my clients to look into “Umbrella” policies which provide additional coverage for very little money (usually $1,000,000 policies). Also, take time to review insurance company reviews, what good is a cheap policy if the company you work with refuses to pay or is very difficult to work with? Lastly, many insurance companies act like our cable providers and reward customer loyalty by jacking up their prices higher than new customers pay! So it makes sense to review your insurance company and costs annually.
Sellers in many of the Wake County areas have been enjoying multiple offers for their homes. It is a lot of fun for sellers to sift through the offers with their agent evaluating the best package, and because many of the offers are for over list price, they need to look closely to determine which ones will most likely pony up the difference between the appraised price and the Contract price. A nice position to be in!
1. Select an Agent who will advertise on multiple on-line platforms. Statistics tell us that 96% of all buyers begin their Wake County home search on-line. Your agent should be able to tell you all of the websites that your listing will syndicate to and how they reach out to attract these buyers.
2. Virtual Tour. The #2 reason buyers click-through through to your listing information is to view a virtual tour. Most agents use the typical slow-mo Ken Burns-like pan and zoom programs which use your home’s MLS photographs. BOOORING. Find an agent who can create an energetic commercial for your listing that will keep buyer’s attention. This is a great platform for showing buyers how great the area is! Photos of nearby playgrounds, parks, shopping (if it is attractive), etc. I recently took pics of an organic produce stand near my listing…the buyers loved the idea of fresh local food!
3. Comming Soon! Your agent should be able to create a nice buzz about your home before it goes on the market, then activate the listing on Friday morning. You will not believe the pent-up demand that will flock to your property! The buyer’s agents will know that your home is being shown multiple times, and will let your agent know if an offer is coming. Armed with a few of these “heads-up an offer is coming,” ask your agent to contact all who showed the property to let them know that there are multiple offers and provide them with a date/ time that all offers must be submitted by.
Here is the commercial that I created for a recent listing (the one that shows the produce stand). We had 8 showings, had 4 solid offers, and went under contract in 2 days significantly over list price. (Don’t think our list price was too low…the seller had just had it appraised!):
The News and Observer just published their list of the Triangle Area’s Best Restaurants. I have summarized the list for those people who live in Wake County. Until recently, people who lived in the Raleigh area had to suffer chain restaurants if they wanted to eat nearby; Chapel Hill and Durham could definitely boast having the best restaurants per capita.
Hal and I have eaten at most of the restaurants on their list and we whole heartedly agree with Greg Cox’s opinions. There are a few additional restaurants that we enjoy that are not on this list, so I’ll give an additional shout-out to Cary’s Maximillians, it is amazing and never disappoints.
What neighborhood is assigned to the best schools in Wake County NC? That is a common question that home buyers with children ask their Real Estate Broker. To learn the schools which are assigned to a particular address, buyers need to go to the Wake County Public School System’s website. A number of schools have “capped” enrollment which means that their assigned school is not accepting new students. Buyers should call the school to verify that there is not room for their student; sometimes there are still a few spots available.
To determine which schools are high performing, many parents also go to the Wake County Public School Website. School performance grades were recently published by the Dept of North Carolina Instruction. The ratings are based on student test results and the school’s academic growth. The scale is A- F; but as a parent of two High Schoolers, I have some humble opinions about what makes a good fit for your student.
Many buyers tell me that they want their children to go to schools with an “A” rating. I feel my children had better outcomes by attending a school with a “B” rating (Athens Drive High School) for the following reasons:
Link to the Wake County School Rankings
Home sales in the Triangle Area NC have bottomed out and we are enjoying a nice recovery. The average Triangle Area home sales price has risen 4.3% in 2014 and is expected to continue to rise in 2015. Days on the Market have dropped 6.6% to only 57 days! Take a look at sales data of Triangle NC neighborhoods…
Sometimes you come across a property that stands out above the rest. 5401 Mattwynd in Fuquay NC just came on the market and it has become one of my favorites. What makes it stand out? The house was built in 2000 and the sellers did all the right things:
The property has lush trees and is very private. But what makes it fun it the little pond in the back. As I walked towards the pond to take photos for the listing (Teresa Bowen Real Estate, Keller Williams), a large (10″ round) turtle watched me and slowly slid back into the water. The frogs all talked to each other, it seemed, and hop hop hop they also jumped into the water. I could picture the new lucky home owners enjoying wine on the stone patio and observing the other wildlife that the pond invites! Below is a link to the Youtube video I made of 5401 Mattwynd. I wish I could have caught “Myrtle the Turtle”!
Walter and Elise Nolan are moving to Apex North Carolina from New Jersey. They decided to move to Wake County based on the Triangle Area getting repeatedly mentioned on those “Best Places to Live ” lists. They found me as their agent by looking up agent reviews and on Zillow…who knew!! I usually forget to ask clients to review me, but now I see it really works. If you own your own business, remember to ask them for reviews!
If you have been thinking of selling your Wake County area home, now is the time to get off the fence! Take a look at similar homes on the market www.teresabowen.com and you will see that inventory is down for Cary / Raleigh area home sales and prices are definitely up from this time last year!
Wake Real Estate Tips 