Matthews, NC. Among Best North Carolina Towns For Young Families

I read an article the other day that I found interesting and not so surprising. It looked at all the cities in the state of North Carolina and deciphered based on certain criteria which ones were the best cities and most suitable for young families to move to and raise a family. Choosing to live in Matthews, NC. I was curious on how my town stacked up against all the towns and cities in North Carolina. In fact only one other town in the immediate area placed higher than Matthews, NC. in terms of best places for young families to raise children. Indian Trail, NC. placed 5th and Matthews placed 7th according to the study. Now, I know the studies are subjective and open to interpretation. But I found that the questions they asked and data they used to get to their conclusions warranted a blog post on. Because, being a father of four school age children I asked and used most of the same criteria when I decided on where to live 8 years ago. They based their conclusions on how the schools were rated for a particular town. Not private but public schools that area accessible to all residents of the town. A fair criteria an one that has a lot of bearing on people moving in and around the Charlotte area with school age children. In fact this is the most common question I get with families with kids. Second, was the affordability of living in the town. A major factor; because let's face it we all cannot afford to live in Beverly Hills or a town or area like that. So, you have to factor in how feasible is it for an average family to live in that town. The lower the average cost of living the higher the score...Logically that makes send when comparing it to schools. In an ideal world we would like to have the least expensive cost of living with the best possible schools. Last criteria used was is the town growing and prosperous or is it desolate. They used average income in the town of it's residents and growth over the past 10 years. A good evaluation of the standards of the town. A town with higher growth of income and low cost to live in with great schools is an area that has found to be a very desirable location to live. Based on those criteria Matthews, NC. ranked seventh overall in the state of North Carolina. There analysis of the town of Matthews is that the schools are especially strong here, earning a rating of 9 out of 10 from GreatSchools. There is ample opportunity for the parents to thrive, too. A number of successful companies have set up shop in Matthews, including the headquarters of Harris Teeter. Looking to move or relocate to the Charlotte, NC. area. Consider Matthews, NC. A small town that offers a lot for young families... Here is the link to the article as well: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2013/best-north-carolina-towns-young-families/ Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com

When Do You Do A Final Walk Through On A Home Purchase?

When is the right time to do a final walk through on a home purchase? Today a Listing agent called me to ask when I was doing the final walk through on the home we are closing. I informed her that we would be doing it somewhere around an hour to two before the closing. She said that late? I said yes I always do them right before we close because once we sign we accept the house in the condition it is in. So, why would I do it earlier? Much to my amazement she said I was the first Realtor that waited to a few hours before closing to do a final walk through on a house... Wow I thought. I represent the buyer in the transaction. By no waiting to a few hours before the closing i am opening my client up to a can of potential issues. In my four years of selling Real Estate I have never done it earlier than the day we were closing unless I had an early closing then I did it the night before and still got up early and di one final walk through before heading to the attorney for the closing. Too many things can happen to a house. One, what if the seller damages something moving their stuff out? I would have no recourse once we closed on the house and find out there is damage. So, never do a walk through until right before closing and after all the seller items have been removed from the house. Second, what if there is vandalism to other damage done to the house prior to closing. I had an instance where the home was vacant and we found out the night before we were supposed to close. When we went to do the final walk through the A/C unit was missing. If we had not done it then we would have been out over $4000.00 for the A/C unit that the seller paid to have replaced. These are just two instances where something can go wrong and was avoided by waiting to a few hours prior to closing to do a final walk through...When I explain to the buyers why I do it this way they are appreciative for the fact I am looking out for their best interest. I do not know if buyers realize that once they sing the papers they accept the house in the condition it is in...And they cannot go back to the seller and ask for repairs after the fact or reimbursement for something missing. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com