Waxhaw, NC. New England Type Town In The South

Having moved to the Charlotte, NC. area with my family six years ago; I left the place I had called home for ovr 35+ years. That place was Connecticut. I lived in a quaint New England type town that still had that country feel amongst all the new development that had gone on around it. I thought I was going to miss that feeling.... Even though for me the trade off of NO snow far outweighed the fall setting.

Then I stumbled upon Waxhaw NC. A quaint little suburb in Union county. About ten to fifteen minutes from Charlotte and a half hour to the uptown business center. This town reminds me of New England. With it's rolling hills and quaint little coffee shops and family owned stores. Waxhaw still eptimozies the Amercian dream.

As more and more people look to get out of the city life and raise families in the suburbs; major chain stores are buying up land and building on them as are developers with subdivisons. Yet among all the building and growth; this town has kept it's country charm.

Recently, I was walking through the streets of downtwon waxhaw. An area filled with rich tradition (The train still goes through the center of town on a regular basis). The family owned coffee shop, bike store and local hardware store adorn one side of the street. There are no major name brand franchises. Just regular family owned businesses. People are friendly and willing to give you information if you are lost. I found it to be peaceful and serene.

Yet, after getting in my car and driving a half hour north I was in the hustle of uptown around the corporate center....It made me think what a great place yet so convient to everything anyone could need.

Looking to move to the Charlotte area and want the old fashioned country life but the proximity to a major city? Take a drive through Waxhaw, NC. You will not be disappointed.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Selling Your Home During the Holiday Season

Thursday is Thanksgiving and the start of the traditonal holiday season. For those who have their homes on the market or are thinking of selling their homes; it can feel like a difficult balance between selling their home and the holiday festivities. But you can do both and not miss out on either one.

One of the first things I tell my sellers is to not go overboard with the holiday decorations. This time of the year buyers are expecting the home to be decorated. They just do not want to walk into a national lampoons Christmas vacation home. You need to decorate in moderation.

Prospective buyers are not going ot be suprised to walk into a home and see holiday decorations hanging around and christms trees decorated and up this time of the year. But, be careful with placement. If you are adding in a Chrsitmas tree or other large decorations; make sure you are removing some items from the room as well. You do not want to lose the spacious feeling the room has or give the perception that the room is smaller.

I see it a lot this time of the year. Sellers reshuffle the couch or chair around to get the tree in the room. Then the room looks signifcantly smaller than it really is. This can be a deciding factor for soemone looking to buy your home. As the average family is buying homes slightly smaller; space in a room is a large consideration to a buyer's needs and motivation.

Another thing you can do to help your home sell during the holiday season is to make sure you have it availble for showings. This is the time for families to gather and is the busiest travel time of the year. However; this may be the time you do the traveling instead of them traveling to you. By not making your home availble for showings during the holiday season; you may be losing the potential buyer that will purchase your home.

A comon theme this time of the year is if they are out looking at homes; they are buying a home....So, why limit the availble time your home can be shown and not make it marketable to the buyers? you can have your cake and eat it to here. Just do it in moderation.

Dave dicecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Neighborhood Open Houses...Do they Work?

There are a lot of Realtors who do not beleive in open houses. Some do well with them and others do not have any luck at all. Personally, I find it a great way to advertise a home and get it additional exposure.

Recently, an idea came up to hold an open house with ALL the homes in a subdivison. We all marketed the open house and let everyone knwo that there were going to be a group open house. Maps were provided as well as listing sheets to the other homes open during that time. We all marketed it as an individual open house with mention to the other eight homes in the subdivsion.

The response was overwhelming. Our traffic to the homes was five times the amount I have had when I help the home open as the only one. The fanfare and banners and balloons with the multiple signage drew added attention to the neighborhood and brought in more people to view the homes.

Buyers today have numerous choices. The reality of it is, if they are going to look at one home in a subdivsion; they probably are going to look at the other ones that are comparable as well. So, why not give them the opportunity to do it all at the same time?

Open houses work if done properly...this is just another way to help our sellers get their home in front of as many possible buyers as we can. In this economy our goal as a listing agent is to get the home sold. The only way to get a house sold is to get it exposed to as many as possible home buyers......

Dave dicecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com