Admin

Carrboro, NC Real Estate News

By Mari Trosclair, Urban and Rural Real Estate Consultant
(Fathom Realty)
The holiday season is fast approaching.  If fighting the crowds, the long lines and the parking lot at the Carrboro Post Office hold no appeal to you, drive on down 54 west to Harry's Market. The have a contract post office with friendly staff and rarely a wait.  In addition, you can shop for gifts, vitamins, grass fed beef, yummy baked goods and there is always a surprise. During fall (if we ever GET fall) there is music on Friday and Satruday evenings.  Wood fired baked pizza is available.  Bring your folding chairs and relax!  
Comments 0
By Stanton Homes, Design/Build Custom Home Builder in North Carolina
(Stanton Homes - New Home Builder)
Raleigh Relocation Information Carrboro New Homes Getting More Expensive Impact Fees Increasing in Orange County in 2011 There are a multitude of different permits and fees required to build any new home.  Orange County and Chapel Hill have long had some of the highest fees in the Triangle. And they're going up. These fee increases were approved in December 2008, with new increases taking affect each January. Carrboro New Homes - Orange County School District Changes School district impact fees in Orange County have been $3,000 per single family home since 2001. On January 1, 2010, school district impact fees increased to $3749 per home. On January 1 2011, these fees will be increasing again, as part of a yearly increase for each of three years. Orange County Schools District impact fee...
Comments 0
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
If you love nature and the outdoors, biking, trail running or simply strolling along listening to the birds singing, Chapel Hill and Carrboro have some easily accessible ways to get out and enjoy your passion! Part of a planned system of greenways throughout North Carolina's Triangle ( anchored by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill) are plenty of easily accessible trails running along the streams and through the forests that are part of the Triangle's treasure. Quite a number of the trails can be reached by local residents right in their own communities. A short stroll through my own neighborhood and I am exploring The Bolin Creek In Winter:   This map shows the area where I filmed this video:         Carrboro is probably the most walkable community in the Triangle and that is not an accid...
Comments 6
By Joe Rogers, CRP, GMS Chapel Hill Real Estate
(The Rogers Team @ RE/MAX Winning Edge)
Home Search: To set up an automated search for the home of your dreams, click Triangle Home Search and enter your dreams! Your Home’s Value: If you are planning on selling your home, it would be our pleasure to provide a no-obligation valuation of your home.  Click Your Home’s Value and enter the requested information.  Neighborhood Update: If you would like to receive email notification of real estate transactions in your neighborhood or other neighborhoods, click Neighborhood Updates and we will add you to the system.  You may select as many neighborhoods as you wish.  
Comments 0
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
This is an opportunity to help build The Mountains to Sea Trail, an ambitious 1000 mile trail across our beautiful state of North Carolina, which will someday stretch from the Tennessee state line to the Atlantic Ocean! The trail traverses Orange County through the northern community of Cedar Grove as it follows back roads and crosses NC86 and NC57 from Bryan Park in Alamance County on the way to Durham County where the trail is close to the Eno River State Park. From there the trail heads through Northern Durham County toward Shinleaf State Recreation Area at Falls Lake, crossing I85 and US15 on the way to Guilford County. Clicking the hot links in this paragraph will take you to the topo maps and trailheads in Google maps. You can follow along the entire trail using these maps. Today'...
Comments 4
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
My Carrboro neighborhood has always been friendlier than many. Most everyone knows who lives in each house and we usually wave to each other as we drive in and out every day. Our newest HOA president has taken us into the 21st century, well, at least the 20th century, by setting up an email contact list. Amazing how much easier it is to schedule neighborhood get-togethers. Just because technology is part of my daily life at work has nothing to do with how I think about communicating with my neighbors. After all, this is the south. We knock on the door, borrow a cup of sugar and then share the fresh baked goodies that result. I know which of my neighbors have children, which are retired and which ones have local businesses. I know who goes for a walk each evening but beyond that our live...
Comments 7
By Stanton Homes, Design/Build Custom Home Builder in North Carolina
(Stanton Homes - New Home Builder)
        Henry Anderson Community Park is located in the town of Carrboro, NC. It is 55 acres in size, and has several attractions for people of all ages.                 Directions to Henry Anderson Park: From Carrboro, take Highway 54 west approximately one mile from the end of Main Street. The park is on the right. Address: 302 Highway 54 West Carrboro, NC 27516  (919) 918-7364        Attractions in Henry Anderson Park include:   4 lighted baseball fields 2 lighted basketball courts 2 lighted tennis courts 8 horseshoe pits 2 trails (0.42 miles, 0.48 miles)         Further attractions include: Playground Fishing lake Fenced dog park Covered pavilion with picnic tables Volleyball court Restrooms Multi-purpose field         Henry Anderson Community Park is open from 7:00 am to dark, with...
Comments 3
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
Hurricane Bill just skirted our coastline and there will be more hurricanes to come. North Carolina residents know that this time of year means firing up the generator to make sure it works and laying in the list of supplies on the Hurricane Preparedness Checklist. As a professional Realtor I owe it to my clients to tick the extra boxes that my experience has put on my Closing Preparedness Checklist! Consider this scenario: Closing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday morning. The seller has moved out and the buyer has the moving truck ready to head to the new house as soon as he has the keys in hand. The seller informs his insurance company that he will no longer own the home as of Friday and cancels the homeowners’ policy as of that date. The buyer has his insurance in place, set to insu...
Comments 5
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
I love August! I get to hear from almost every one of my newest home owners! This is the month that North Carolina tax bills arrive. I should be getting mine soon judging from the emails in my inbox and the text messages on my blackberry. There are many reasons why first-timers are some of my favorite clients, not the least of which is that you are so excited about your newest venture in life – being a home owner. But I’m sure you know that enthusiasm sometimes overshadows the not so exciting information we ask you to absorb during the closing process. 'How to pay a tax bill' seems to be at the bottom of any list of to-dos for a newbie. I get that. But by August, tax bills are at the top of that list. Nothing better than a bill from the state for thousands of dollars to get your attent...
Comments 1
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
Say “leverage” these days and who doesn’t picture Wall Street, failed banks or greedy CEOs?  Seems like the folks who got all excited when they heard the definition of the word a few years back forgot to read the caveat in the brackets: FINANCIAL LEVERAGE - investing with borrowed money as a way to amplify potential gains (at the risk of greater losses) But should we remove the word from our vocabularies because a few bad apples have co-opted it? I’ve always like the word, personally. When I was a kid I learned that ‘leverage’ was the big advantage you had when trying to move something huge by simply being in position to use a lever. When I was in college I was pleased to realize that ‘leverage’ had intellectual value as well; how much more we could accomplish in a study group than tryi...
Comments 5
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
I recently bought a great book at the Hillsborough Visitors Center called "Orange County Trio" by Elizabeth Shreve Ryan. It's a great tour book and historical guide to the three main cities that make up Orange County, NC as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (my alma mater!) Well written and easy to follow, it has walking tours at the end of each chapter. I had a good time making up this Google Map Guide of the Carrboro Walking Tour! If you click on each stop you can see the street level picture of each spot, some of which had to be repositioned to be accurate. I was able to add information about each place and can even go back and add video if I want to! What a fun tool! I'll be adding the tours for the other areas as well! Enjoy!   View Carrboro, NC Historic Walki...
Comments 0
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
Remember the old days? Everybody you knew worked ALL the time and when a holiday like The Fourth of July rolled around you finally got a chance to let your hair down and hang out with some good friends and family for a few hours? That was back in the day... BEFORE we had tech stocks in our portfolios and investment property was something you 'flipped' for profit. Before we had money burning holes in our pockets just begging to be spent. Holidays were a one day respite in the month. OK, maybe a weekend. No airplanes. No packing the car. Just cooking out with the neighbors, maybe a movie. Everybody trooping down to the baseball stadium to see the fireworks with the rest of your community. Then the boom years came. We didn't take a day off when there was a holiday like the Fourth, we booke...
Comments 1
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
I am not a lead   This video says it ALL…about how our clients feel about us and what they value about our services. I cannot tell you how strongly this speaks to me. I am fortunate to have a business made up of about 99% referral business and I have yet to have a former client or friend (many of whom are one and the same) ask me if I would like a “lead.” They call and ask me if I can help a friend, family member or co-worker of theirs with a real estate question or purchase. The answer is always YES! Sometimes the transaction is easy – peezy and sometimes it is slow and requires hard, hard work (not because of the client but just because real estate can be that way.) Sometimes it’s a telephone conversation that results in nothing more than a heartfelt “thank you!” Other times it become...
Comments 7
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
They are BORED with us! Can you imagine! The US housing market is the acknowledged solution to the ENTIRE world’s economic crisis and they are BORED with us! How do I know this, you ask? They bought GM today. Or, more correctly WE bought GM today. Now, I am not here to talk about whether this is right or wrong. Franky, I don’t know and  I don’t care. All my energy goes to caring about one thing and one thing only…REAL ESTATE. Now I know that seems irresponsible to some of you but I’m only one person. I have friends, family and clients that I care about and for whom I MUST protect my time and my energy. I voted, like I HOPE everyone else did, and my expectation is that those who won election will do what we HIRED them to do and make the right decisions for our country. As for me, I can o...
Comments 12
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
My little sister called me the other day and in an excited voice declared, “I think I might need to look at houses…It’s a GREAT time to buy a house right now, you know!” After the pregnant pause ensued (the one where my condescending big sister brain struggled with my professional Realtor brain) I finally said, “No? Really? What makes you think that?” (You can tell which brain won out.) “Well. I have a friend who just got a fantastic deal on a house and I think it might be time for me to think about looking!” Ok, so which part of what I have been saying for months now did she miss? Apparently, the same part that ALOT of buyers are missing…that would be the part that sounds just like Charlie Brown’s teacher talking whenever somebody you aren’t listening to tells you something: Wah, wah, ...
Comments 56
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
When it comes to today’s challenging home purchase market, the objective for those of us who take pride in providing the best representation to buyers and sellers is to find common ground that is win-win for both. Buyers want the deal of a lifetime and Sellers want to get as much equity out of their home as possible so they can move forward and become Buyers!   I’m thrilled that Allen Tate Company, has taken the lead in offering two new programs for Carolina sellers to help make their homes attractive to more buyers!Announced today, Allen Tate Sellers can offer two new, optional programs, Rate Relief and Job Loss Protection, to Buyers in order to tip the balance toward making an offer on their Allen Tate listing!   What a great way to get more potential buyers through your Allen Tate l...
Comments 0
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
I'm about to share a link with you, my Twitter challenged friends, that just might change the way you talk about Twitter.  Yes, it's pretty funny to say stuff like  "If you use Twitter does that make you a twit?" Ha ha, we've never heard that before...it actually makes you a tweep but you don't really care , do you? Actually in sharing this link I will also be sharing another resource which I have used for several years to keep me up on happenings/tips/tricks in technology, social media and life in general. If you've never heard of Lifehacker.com you are missing a great resource for finding out about stuff you didn't know you needed to know about! I find cool links to cool stuff to post on my FB page here too. But I'll leave you to check out the rest of that site on your own...I have it...
Comments 3
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
Trust is vitally important with our clients. In fact I would make the argument that it is the ONLY thing that matters in any client relationship; but with first time homebuyers, real first time home buyers, it is an absolute imperative. It is never comfortable to take advice from someone you just met. Imagine how it feels when you don’t even know what to ask or how to evaluate the answer! The great majority of my business is referral. Yep, I’m lucky. I’m also very experienced. But there would be no referrals if my clients didn’t trust me. This is not about what to do to MAKE my clients trust me. It’s about earning their trust through my actions. It’s about understanding where my clients are coming from and giving them the information they need, as intelligent human beings, to be certain...
Comments 29
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
April is National Kite Flying Month! Carrboro will once again celebrate by hosting the Annual Community Kite Fly at Anderson Park on Highway 54 in Carrboro, today, Sunday April 19th,  between 1p.m. and 3 p.m.  Bring a kite and don't forget the kids...including the four-legged kind!  Ribbons will be awarded in various categories and age groups...as if you would only fly a kite to win an award. What are you waiting for? Go fly a kite!
Comments 0
By SarahGray Lamm, Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience
(Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 )
If you live in or near the proposed Carolina North campus the group Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth (NRG) is looking for your immediate input and has posted an online survey to collect the opinions of Chapel Hill and Carrboro neighbors who will be the most affected by the traffic patterns in and out of Carolina North. It is a short survey with questions specific to your neighborhood and ample space to make comments.  The Chapel Hill town council is expected to sign off on the final Development Agreement by the end of June so time is short to express your opinion. NRG will sponsor "Carolina North: Don't Get Stuck in Traffic", a public meeting on May 3rd, 2009 from 4 - 6 pm at the Homestead Community Center. The discussion will include only issues around traffic and transportation as...
Comments 0