I was asked recently from a buyer moving here from New York City to the Charlotte area about the mass transit system in Charlotte and surrounding towns. He mentioned that living in New York City he has not needed a car for the past ten years. It made me think. Coming here from Connecticut I remember taking a lot for granted when it came to public transportation. it was nothing to hope on the metro north and be in the city. Then between the subway and taxi cabs getting around the city was easy... You also took your life in your hands driving in New York City....but that si another story.
Charlotte, North Carolina is a large and growing area. Home to the second largest banking centers in the United States only to New York. With the cost of living in Charlotte signifcantly lower than that in New York and the affordability substantially higher a lot of people have considered the move to Charlotte. But how do you get around Charlotte?
Charlotte is home to the CATS system. CATS stands for Charlotte Area Transit System. Between Atlanta and Washington DC; this is the largest transit system in place. Home to over 70 different routes extending from Rock Hill, SC to Gastonia and up through Lake Norman area. One thing that has impressed me with the CATS system is there ever changing to stay up with the current influx of people. As the Charlotte area has grown in population CATS has grown with them. In my daily travels I am consistently seeing buses going up and down major thorough ways and through some side areas picking up and dropping off people daily.
Charlotte also about two years ago opened up the LYNX service. A commuter light rail system that runs from the I485 corridor at South Boulevard all the way to uptown. There are numerous discussions of expanding it to other areas and branching it out. Right now though, it offers an inexpensive alternative to getting to uptown. With free parking at their parking decks the light rail has made going to uptown very convient. It has over 15 stops along the way and has timed it to run with bus departures at the stops. So, no matter where you need to go in uptown the LYNX and bus line will connect you there.
That gives you a little bit of history of the what the mass transit system in Charlotte Area is like. Is it up to par with the population growth? In comparison to other large cities probably ..however; it is getting better each and every day as i get the impression that they are never satisfied. There are constantly adding and changing to adapt to the influx of people and trying to make it more convient for people to take Mass transit thus clogging up less of the roadways... With action plans in place the Transit system is ever changing and growing to meet the demands of the people commuting in and out of Charlotte on a daily basis.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ready to Write an offer....How Much do I Offer?
I decided to write about this after a first time home buyer and I were out looking at homes and they wanted to put an offer in on a home. I was amazed to find out he did not know that I provide this information to him. Family memebers who had given him advice (mostly good) failed to inform him that the Real Estate agent should provide you with this information. In fact, his brother purchased a home a little while ago and said he never got this information from his Realtor whne he put an offer in on his house.
You are out looking at homes. it may be the first day out or the tenth day out...no matter. You have found the home you want to place an offer on and make your first home.... How do you know what to ask for the home? Is is over priced? is it under priced?
AS a Realtor, we have an obligation to you our clients, to provide you with the information you need to make a smart, educated offer on the home. I hear a lot of times from home buyers; "it is a buyer's market, I should be able to offer them significantly less." Not always the case. Everyone, be it the seller, the bank on a short sale, or the bank in a foreclosure will have a bottom line they will accept for the home.
Whenever a client of mine wants to make an offer on a home...I give them the homes in the neighborhood or close proximity that haved closed in style and square footage in the last six months. I try to give them at least 3 homes. I also tell them what is active and what the price is and how long it has been on the market. A home that is over priced may be sitting on the market for a year or longer...... With this information, I go over with them the average sale prices and and average asking prices. From there we come up with a number that is acceptable for them to purchase the home.
Now do not get me wrong, just becasue you are willing to pay X amount for the home does not mean you start there. From that number we devise an offer price less giving us room to move up. You need to make sure you are comfortable with the price you feel you will pay for the home if you have to come up and happy if they accept your offer initially.
So, make sure you have this information before you place an offer in on a home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
You are out looking at homes. it may be the first day out or the tenth day out...no matter. You have found the home you want to place an offer on and make your first home.... How do you know what to ask for the home? Is is over priced? is it under priced?
AS a Realtor, we have an obligation to you our clients, to provide you with the information you need to make a smart, educated offer on the home. I hear a lot of times from home buyers; "it is a buyer's market, I should be able to offer them significantly less." Not always the case. Everyone, be it the seller, the bank on a short sale, or the bank in a foreclosure will have a bottom line they will accept for the home.
Whenever a client of mine wants to make an offer on a home...I give them the homes in the neighborhood or close proximity that haved closed in style and square footage in the last six months. I try to give them at least 3 homes. I also tell them what is active and what the price is and how long it has been on the market. A home that is over priced may be sitting on the market for a year or longer...... With this information, I go over with them the average sale prices and and average asking prices. From there we come up with a number that is acceptable for them to purchase the home.
Now do not get me wrong, just becasue you are willing to pay X amount for the home does not mean you start there. From that number we devise an offer price less giving us room to move up. You need to make sure you are comfortable with the price you feel you will pay for the home if you have to come up and happy if they accept your offer initially.
So, make sure you have this information before you place an offer in on a home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Home buying Mistakes after my offer has been Accepted
I wrote a blog yesterday outlining some of the common mistakes first time home buyers make when looking for a home and how to try and avoid them. Well yesterday I came across a first time buyer who had put an offer on my listings and now cannot close. The buyer's agent never fully explained the whole process to the buyer and now the buyer is backing out of the transaction. No real big deal accept we have had the house off the market for four weeks right now.
So, you have an offer that has been accepted by the seller, now what? Well, your agent should have informed you that you need to do a home inspection on the property. A good Real Estate agent will not say call Joe I use him all the time. I give each of my clients brochures on three home inspectors that I or fellow colleagues have used. And only ones that I feel are completely competent in what they do. This is a huge part of the home buying experience. When you and your Realtor are looking at a home you may know cosmetic items wrong or things you can see with the naked eye. However; a good home inspector will tell you what is wrong in the hidden spots not easily seen or sometimes overlooked by a buyer. Once the home inspection is done and you get a copy of it go over it with you Real Estate agent. You should have a contingency clause in the contract that allows for "necessary repairs" to the home. Make sure you are either completely comfortable with the home after the inspection, or ask for the seller to do the repairs to the home. If you can not come to agreeable terms walk away....trust me it is best for both parties at that point.
Okay you have cleared the home inspection process, what is next. I ask the listing agent to get me up front after the offer has been accepted a breakdown of the average costs of utilities to run that home. I want to know what there average electric bill is, gas bill, water bill, and any other abnormal fluctuating charges they may have on a monthly basis. A lot of times when you are buying your first home you are upgrading in size from where you are living now. With that upgrade comes increase in your utilities. Every single one of my buyers has told me I never thought of that. make sure you are 100% comfortable not only with the mortgage payment but the increase in your utilities. No one wants to be eating Ramen noodles so they can pay the utilities because you did not know.
Last thing I tell each and every one of my buyers is to order a survey of the property. You do not want to move into the new home to find out your neighbor has been encroaching on your property lines. These are issues that can usually be cleared up before closing. Besides if you want to do any improvements to the yard; better makes sure you know where you can go before you start.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
So, you have an offer that has been accepted by the seller, now what? Well, your agent should have informed you that you need to do a home inspection on the property. A good Real Estate agent will not say call Joe I use him all the time. I give each of my clients brochures on three home inspectors that I or fellow colleagues have used. And only ones that I feel are completely competent in what they do. This is a huge part of the home buying experience. When you and your Realtor are looking at a home you may know cosmetic items wrong or things you can see with the naked eye. However; a good home inspector will tell you what is wrong in the hidden spots not easily seen or sometimes overlooked by a buyer. Once the home inspection is done and you get a copy of it go over it with you Real Estate agent. You should have a contingency clause in the contract that allows for "necessary repairs" to the home. Make sure you are either completely comfortable with the home after the inspection, or ask for the seller to do the repairs to the home. If you can not come to agreeable terms walk away....trust me it is best for both parties at that point.
Okay you have cleared the home inspection process, what is next. I ask the listing agent to get me up front after the offer has been accepted a breakdown of the average costs of utilities to run that home. I want to know what there average electric bill is, gas bill, water bill, and any other abnormal fluctuating charges they may have on a monthly basis. A lot of times when you are buying your first home you are upgrading in size from where you are living now. With that upgrade comes increase in your utilities. Every single one of my buyers has told me I never thought of that. make sure you are 100% comfortable not only with the mortgage payment but the increase in your utilities. No one wants to be eating Ramen noodles so they can pay the utilities because you did not know.
Last thing I tell each and every one of my buyers is to order a survey of the property. You do not want to move into the new home to find out your neighbor has been encroaching on your property lines. These are issues that can usually be cleared up before closing. Besides if you want to do any improvements to the yard; better makes sure you know where you can go before you start.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
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