July 21, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Here come the Americans…
I believe in the spirit of this country and have read so much about all the sub-prime mess…looking for the rays of hope. What I seek is the pathways that led us here and then the ideas and the pathways, even though we may have to blaze them, out and to better ideas of what we can and might do.Applause to Neal Peirce of the Washington Post Writers Group for his ideas.
I am selecting his very good ideas for path out of and not the path into this mess.
He first calls for Assistance for low-income renters through the national affordable housing trust fund… and then the restoration of HUD.
He writes: With a will, we could have top-notch leadership and a rejuvenated agency staff focused on a full spectrum of housing for all Americans. Though maybe with a caveat-to rename HUD the Department of Housing and Metropolitan Development. Why? To think more expansively, to make connections. No Other developed country lacks a national policy on cities, recognizing the vital importance of urban regions. We need such a policy-and department.He continues: Build in anti-sprawl incentives. Incentives for coordinated development could be built not just into housing but also highway or transit bills, requiring our nationwide set of metropolitan planning organizations to take on land use, working with city and suburban governments to limit wasteful outward sprawl of regions.But a HUD focused especially on cities and housing could be a special steward of the new relationships, providing incentives for core cities and suburbs which increasingly need housing supports, to work together.Plus a new HUD could watch to see that housing has meaningful income mixes and that it works hand-in-glove with transportation-making sure, for example, that when federal housing dollars are used, there will be upgraded zoning around highway interchanges or transit stops, providing higher density, more energy efficient and socially inclusive housing together with job-providing commercial development. That way, isolated housing projects for the poor and federally financed roads to developers Greenfield projects would be history.We could do all these exciting things. But first, we’ll have to make some smart choices-candidates with vision, and some tough political hides-in the November elections.
We have problems. We have solutions. Here come the Americans!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Monday, July 21, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
City Decision-Makers Deaf Ear to Area Plans
July 19, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
City treats its plans as if they're on Kleenex
An Opinion from the Charlotte Observer
What's the point of plans if they get dumped to suit developers?
It was oddly appropriate that the article about a proposed apartment-hotel-office tower project in South End was positioned on the Observer's front-page right next to one about scams and counterfeit Panthers' tickets. You might view the City Council's 2005 approval of a 120-foot height limit for that part of South End as a similar scam, a sort of counterfeit assurance to neighbors.
The proposal, from Harris Development Group, has won a positive recommendation from the development-loving zoning committee of the city's Planning Commission and is due for a July 21 yes-or-no vote from the City Council.
The city planning staff also smiles upon it, because it's near a station on the light rail line. “That site can support that density,” planner Tim Manes told the Observer's Dan Tierney. “Sometimes when you have density you have to have height.”
So what's the problem? Simply this. The 120-foot height limit – which allows 10- to 11-story buildings – is common throughout many city plans adopted for older parts of town. It's the height limit in the city's MUDD, or mixed-use development, and TOD, or transit-oriented district, zonings. It's the limit in the Transit Station Area Principles. In reality, allowing buildings that tall is too lenient to be of any protection to the bungalow-filled neighborhoods such as Dilworth's historic district, that tend to border the light rail line, planned future rail lines and corridors where MUDD zoning is most likely.
City plans aren't legally binding. They're merely merely suggestions to developers. Even MUDD and TOD zoning, binding once applied to a property, offer generous wiggle room for developers who want taller buildings.
Some neighbors of the proposed 230-foot-tall South End tower complain that they bought condos in the 300-foot-tall Arlington (built before the 2005 plan adoption) because of views of uptown, which the new development would mostly block. You can always ask, of course, what else should they have expected in an area of booming development. However, the looming issue of tall buildings blocking light, air and views from existing buildings is one the city should study, and so far it has shown no appetite to do so. Already, uptown is becoming a canyon of shadow and wind tunnels, because of the city's unmitigated glee at over tall buildings. Further, the South End neighbors took part in good faith in meetings that produced the 2005 plan with its 120-foot height limit. Their dismay is understandable and, sadly, not unique to this plan. Why even bother with a plan if it only serves to let developers do what they'd do anyway, without the plan?
If the city approves this violation of the South End Transit Station Area Plan, it will be yet another in a lengthy litany of city decision-makers treating plans as if they're written on Kleenex. Residents all over town should take it as confirmation that even when the council approves an area plan, it might well be as counterfeit as a fake Panthers ticket. You might say it's the city's planning scam.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
City treats its plans as if they're on Kleenex
An Opinion from the Charlotte Observer
What's the point of plans if they get dumped to suit developers?
It was oddly appropriate that the article about a proposed apartment-hotel-office tower project in South End was positioned on the Observer's front-page right next to one about scams and counterfeit Panthers' tickets. You might view the City Council's 2005 approval of a 120-foot height limit for that part of South End as a similar scam, a sort of counterfeit assurance to neighbors.
The proposal, from Harris Development Group, has won a positive recommendation from the development-loving zoning committee of the city's Planning Commission and is due for a July 21 yes-or-no vote from the City Council.
The city planning staff also smiles upon it, because it's near a station on the light rail line. “That site can support that density,” planner Tim Manes told the Observer's Dan Tierney. “Sometimes when you have density you have to have height.”
So what's the problem? Simply this. The 120-foot height limit – which allows 10- to 11-story buildings – is common throughout many city plans adopted for older parts of town. It's the height limit in the city's MUDD, or mixed-use development, and TOD, or transit-oriented district, zonings. It's the limit in the Transit Station Area Principles. In reality, allowing buildings that tall is too lenient to be of any protection to the bungalow-filled neighborhoods such as Dilworth's historic district, that tend to border the light rail line, planned future rail lines and corridors where MUDD zoning is most likely.
City plans aren't legally binding. They're merely merely suggestions to developers. Even MUDD and TOD zoning, binding once applied to a property, offer generous wiggle room for developers who want taller buildings.
Some neighbors of the proposed 230-foot-tall South End tower complain that they bought condos in the 300-foot-tall Arlington (built before the 2005 plan adoption) because of views of uptown, which the new development would mostly block. You can always ask, of course, what else should they have expected in an area of booming development. However, the looming issue of tall buildings blocking light, air and views from existing buildings is one the city should study, and so far it has shown no appetite to do so. Already, uptown is becoming a canyon of shadow and wind tunnels, because of the city's unmitigated glee at over tall buildings. Further, the South End neighbors took part in good faith in meetings that produced the 2005 plan with its 120-foot height limit. Their dismay is understandable and, sadly, not unique to this plan. Why even bother with a plan if it only serves to let developers do what they'd do anyway, without the plan?
If the city approves this violation of the South End Transit Station Area Plan, it will be yet another in a lengthy litany of city decision-makers treating plans as if they're written on Kleenex. Residents all over town should take it as confirmation that even when the council approves an area plan, it might well be as counterfeit as a fake Panthers ticket. You might say it's the city's planning scam.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Friday, July 18, 2008
Doing The Right Thing...
July 18, 2008
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Doing the right thing…
North Carolina lawmakers have approved a bill that would give the state commissioner of banks the power to step in when homes with subprime mortgages are facing foreclosure.
The bill requires mortgage servicers to give at least 45 days notice before they start foreclosure proceedings on subprime loans.
Notice also must be filed with the state commissioner of banks, who will review individual loans to determine whether they can somehow avoid foreclosure. If that’s the case, the commissioner will have the right to extend by 30 days the date on which lenders can start foreclosure proceedings. The state banking office then will work with borrowers and servicers to work out a deal.
Problems with housing are much worse in most other areas of the country than they are in North Carolina. But the state isn’t immune to the crisis: Foreclosures across the state are expected to hit 60,000 this year, up from about 50,000 last year.
The bill passed the state House on Thursday. The Senate has already approved the measure. Gov. Mike Easley is expected to sign the bill.
And here’s applause for Spectrum…
Times are tough for developers seeking to build uptown, but acting in good faith now will surely lead to success when the market turns around. At least that’s the philosophy Charlotte-based Spectrum Properties is following by giving back the earnest money it collected from buyers.The company cited an uncertain economy when it shelved plans for a mixed-use tower at 300 S.Tryon Street, a 200 million, 32 story office and condo building.In February, Spectrum Chief Executive Darryl Dewberry said the project had been suspended. Not only does the delay pull 150 residential units out of the development pipeline but it also removes about 316,000 square feet of office space from future inventory.The company recently decided to return deposits to condo buyers, a move that spurred many real estate watchers in the community to assume the deal was dead. That’s not the case, says Steve McClure, Spectrum vice president.Our plans have not changed-it’s still on hold. We want to make sure the market circumstances are right, so we felt that the right thing to do was to give buyers their earnest money back.The company had more than 50 per cent of the condos under contract he says. Everyone in this town is waiting to see how the financial markets are going to turn out. We plan on trying to do a lot more deals in this town, and we want buyers to come to us.
Good for Spectrum. Atta guys!
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Doing the right thing…
North Carolina lawmakers have approved a bill that would give the state commissioner of banks the power to step in when homes with subprime mortgages are facing foreclosure.
The bill requires mortgage servicers to give at least 45 days notice before they start foreclosure proceedings on subprime loans.
Notice also must be filed with the state commissioner of banks, who will review individual loans to determine whether they can somehow avoid foreclosure. If that’s the case, the commissioner will have the right to extend by 30 days the date on which lenders can start foreclosure proceedings. The state banking office then will work with borrowers and servicers to work out a deal.
Problems with housing are much worse in most other areas of the country than they are in North Carolina. But the state isn’t immune to the crisis: Foreclosures across the state are expected to hit 60,000 this year, up from about 50,000 last year.
The bill passed the state House on Thursday. The Senate has already approved the measure. Gov. Mike Easley is expected to sign the bill.
And here’s applause for Spectrum…
Times are tough for developers seeking to build uptown, but acting in good faith now will surely lead to success when the market turns around. At least that’s the philosophy Charlotte-based Spectrum Properties is following by giving back the earnest money it collected from buyers.The company cited an uncertain economy when it shelved plans for a mixed-use tower at 300 S.Tryon Street, a 200 million, 32 story office and condo building.In February, Spectrum Chief Executive Darryl Dewberry said the project had been suspended. Not only does the delay pull 150 residential units out of the development pipeline but it also removes about 316,000 square feet of office space from future inventory.The company recently decided to return deposits to condo buyers, a move that spurred many real estate watchers in the community to assume the deal was dead. That’s not the case, says Steve McClure, Spectrum vice president.Our plans have not changed-it’s still on hold. We want to make sure the market circumstances are right, so we felt that the right thing to do was to give buyers their earnest money back.The company had more than 50 per cent of the condos under contract he says. Everyone in this town is waiting to see how the financial markets are going to turn out. We plan on trying to do a lot more deals in this town, and we want buyers to come to us.
Good for Spectrum. Atta guys!
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Buying a New Condo?
July 17, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Buying a New Condo…
With almost all new construction, the contract originates with the builder. There is language specific to new construction that outlines the process, the steps, somewhat of a time line, substitution of like materials, delays, deposits…well, you get my drift.To my way of interpreting these documents, there is very little, if any, room for the buyer. Sure, there are the disclosures about having an attorney review them. I have never had anyone change them, alter them in any way. I think it is time.I am hoping that good will come of this mess we are all in…and that buyers will realize that they can be in the driver’s seat…or at least perhaps the playing field can be leveled.To this extent:I read this morning and I knew it…about the failure of The Park and how the buyers could probably kiss their good faith money goodbye because of the following: a clause in the contract which says the developer can spend owners' deposits once construction begins means the buyer’s deposit is gone. Maybe that should read that the good faith money is just that…and that it is held in a Trust account as in most real estate transactions.And another situation: a buyer gives 10,000 good faith money/deposit on a 200,000 condo that has yet to be started but was slated to start in less than 6 months. The market slowed, the sub-prime hit and the project was stopped. But it took incessant hounding to get that money back for the buyer. So maybe there should be a time-line for starting and one for finishing…because the buyer in this instance lost valuable time…interest deductions, etc. Who gambled here?And I think all buyers should hire an inspector as construction starts and goes along. And I would very definitely include radon testing because we are seeing more and more evidence even in the multiple stories. Maybe having an inspector routinely check the progress would call attention to poor building materials and shoddy construction. Maybe.And I also think in the offer to purchase there should be a clause about the rebate that would mandatory should the builder sell out the last small per cent of the units at a discounted price…a practice we have seen repeatedly.And I also firmly believe that there should be language that states the buyer will not close, does not have to close until all the repairs are made to his/her satisfaction. And that if this is not met, the builder is responsible for the buyer’s costs, movers, and lease, whatever.I am sure there will be other issues…and I will also address resales and steps you might want to consider.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Buying a New Condo…
With almost all new construction, the contract originates with the builder. There is language specific to new construction that outlines the process, the steps, somewhat of a time line, substitution of like materials, delays, deposits…well, you get my drift.To my way of interpreting these documents, there is very little, if any, room for the buyer. Sure, there are the disclosures about having an attorney review them. I have never had anyone change them, alter them in any way. I think it is time.I am hoping that good will come of this mess we are all in…and that buyers will realize that they can be in the driver’s seat…or at least perhaps the playing field can be leveled.To this extent:I read this morning and I knew it…about the failure of The Park and how the buyers could probably kiss their good faith money goodbye because of the following: a clause in the contract which says the developer can spend owners' deposits once construction begins means the buyer’s deposit is gone. Maybe that should read that the good faith money is just that…and that it is held in a Trust account as in most real estate transactions.And another situation: a buyer gives 10,000 good faith money/deposit on a 200,000 condo that has yet to be started but was slated to start in less than 6 months. The market slowed, the sub-prime hit and the project was stopped. But it took incessant hounding to get that money back for the buyer. So maybe there should be a time-line for starting and one for finishing…because the buyer in this instance lost valuable time…interest deductions, etc. Who gambled here?And I think all buyers should hire an inspector as construction starts and goes along. And I would very definitely include radon testing because we are seeing more and more evidence even in the multiple stories. Maybe having an inspector routinely check the progress would call attention to poor building materials and shoddy construction. Maybe.And I also think in the offer to purchase there should be a clause about the rebate that would mandatory should the builder sell out the last small per cent of the units at a discounted price…a practice we have seen repeatedly.And I also firmly believe that there should be language that states the buyer will not close, does not have to close until all the repairs are made to his/her satisfaction. And that if this is not met, the builder is responsible for the buyer’s costs, movers, and lease, whatever.I am sure there will be other issues…and I will also address resales and steps you might want to consider.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Real Estate Prices Are Rising! Hello! Out There...
July 16, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte NC
Real Estate Prices Rise for Four Straight Months - Is Anyone Noticing?
RISMEDIA, July 14, 2008-Amidst the gloom on Wall Street about housing someone forgot to check the stats. The National Association of Realtors® has now reported four straight months of rising housing prices, but it seems no one is listening.
According to NAR statistics, the median home price has fallen from a high of $230,200 in July 2006 to a low in February 2008 at $195,600, a drop of 15%. Since February, however, it has risen steadily every month. By May the index (which will be revised on July 24) had risen to $208,600, up $13,000 and a full 6.6%. Another indicator, the mean home price (otherwise known as the average home price), has also shown strength and has risen from a low of $242,000 also in February of this year to $253,100, a rise of $11,100 or 4.5%. It, too, has risen every month since February of this year.
“I just don’t know where Wall Street’s brains are today,” said David Michonski, CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York City. “Everyone on the Street is wringing their hands over housing when in fact the average American has been out this spring buying homes and pushing the median price higher. This has got to go down as one of Wall Street and Main Street’s biggest disconnects in history.”
In addition, on an annualized basis the volume of home sales has also risen somewhat from a low of 4,890,000 homes in January to 4,990,000 in May.
“Rising prices on expanding volume should not a crisis make on Wall Street,” says Michonski.
So why the crisis?
“They say that there are bulls and bears on Wall Street but there are also pigs. Pigs try not just to profit from a crisis but create one to profit from. Today there are just so many people who have positioned themselves to profit from a crisis that they refuse to admit the reality of what is happening on Main Street. It might hurt their positions.”
Is this the bottom?
“No one can know for sure, but the hard data is clear. The median price has risen four straight months. The average American is out there taking advantage of bargains in their local real estate market. They are not listening to Wall Street but following their own belief that the best time to buy is when no one else is, and they are out there buying. If this keeps up, February may prove to have been the low in prices.”
“It is possible that it will not be Hank Paulson or Ben Bernanke who will pull this country out of a housing recession, but the good common sense of the average American whose affordability to buy a home is at a five year high and is acting on it.”
The Americans Are Coming. The Americans Are Coming!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte NC
Real Estate Prices Rise for Four Straight Months - Is Anyone Noticing?
RISMEDIA, July 14, 2008-Amidst the gloom on Wall Street about housing someone forgot to check the stats. The National Association of Realtors® has now reported four straight months of rising housing prices, but it seems no one is listening.
According to NAR statistics, the median home price has fallen from a high of $230,200 in July 2006 to a low in February 2008 at $195,600, a drop of 15%. Since February, however, it has risen steadily every month. By May the index (which will be revised on July 24) had risen to $208,600, up $13,000 and a full 6.6%. Another indicator, the mean home price (otherwise known as the average home price), has also shown strength and has risen from a low of $242,000 also in February of this year to $253,100, a rise of $11,100 or 4.5%. It, too, has risen every month since February of this year.
“I just don’t know where Wall Street’s brains are today,” said David Michonski, CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York City. “Everyone on the Street is wringing their hands over housing when in fact the average American has been out this spring buying homes and pushing the median price higher. This has got to go down as one of Wall Street and Main Street’s biggest disconnects in history.”
In addition, on an annualized basis the volume of home sales has also risen somewhat from a low of 4,890,000 homes in January to 4,990,000 in May.
“Rising prices on expanding volume should not a crisis make on Wall Street,” says Michonski.
So why the crisis?
“They say that there are bulls and bears on Wall Street but there are also pigs. Pigs try not just to profit from a crisis but create one to profit from. Today there are just so many people who have positioned themselves to profit from a crisis that they refuse to admit the reality of what is happening on Main Street. It might hurt their positions.”
Is this the bottom?
“No one can know for sure, but the hard data is clear. The median price has risen four straight months. The average American is out there taking advantage of bargains in their local real estate market. They are not listening to Wall Street but following their own belief that the best time to buy is when no one else is, and they are out there buying. If this keeps up, February may prove to have been the low in prices.”
“It is possible that it will not be Hank Paulson or Ben Bernanke who will pull this country out of a housing recession, but the good common sense of the average American whose affordability to buy a home is at a five year high and is acting on it.”
The Americans Are Coming. The Americans Are Coming!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte NC
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Charlotte's Rainwater Harvesting System
July 15, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte’s Rainwater Harvesting System…Grant helps ministry reap the rainfall
Organic Gardening magazine helps Charlotte group use runoff to grow produce.
By Catherine Carlock/The Charlotte Observer
To serve the needy with fresh produce from their garden, the Urban Ministry Center in uptown Charlotte used a $9,000 grant from Organic Gardening magazine to install a 1,600-gallon cistern. Rainwater from the center's roof will irrigate the garden.
Fried green tomatoes aren't just the stuff of summertime chick flicks. They're one of the staple foods of the Urban Ministry Center's soup kitchen. And with the help of a new grant, the kitchen can serve the goodies all summer long.
The center received a $9,000 grant from Organic Gardening magazine to install a rainwater harvesting system. The 1,600-gallon cistern collects runoff water from the Urban Ministry Center's roof and cleanses it of debris, to water the center's garden.
The roof is the perfect rain collector, garden program director Don Boekelheide said.
Urban Ministry Center, located on College Street close to uptown, provides a daytime home and a daily meal for many of Charlotte's homeless. Its on-site organic garden was recognized by Organic Gardening's WaterWorks program, an effort to provide community gardens across the country with money to store and harvest rainwater.
The Urban Ministry Center's 3,000 square foot garden produces what Boekelheide called some of the freshest and best organic food in the whole county.
Instead of using only donated food, which is often close to expiration, the center can grow much of its own food for its soup kitchen.
We grow things that people like to eat, said Boekelheide. That includes okra, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and a summer mainstay – tomatoes.
Last summer's water restrictions forced the garden's food production to a bare minimum. And Mecklenburg County is currently under extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“That's where the cistern comes in,” said Boekelheide.
This summer, instead of battling short periods of heavy rain followed by weeks of no rain at all, the cistern provides a consistent source of irrigation for the center's garden.
This week's thunderstorms have provided enough water to fill the entire tank.
“The cistern gives us the water to carry us between rainstorms,” Boekelheide said.
Boekelheide knows it's a small solution. But it's saving Charlotte thousands of gallons of treated water and providing food along the way.
“We're feeding people who are hungry here,” he said.
A great story on a day when we are just plain hungry for some good news.
Back to the grind tomorrow.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte’s Rainwater Harvesting System…Grant helps ministry reap the rainfall
Organic Gardening magazine helps Charlotte group use runoff to grow produce.
By Catherine Carlock/The Charlotte Observer
To serve the needy with fresh produce from their garden, the Urban Ministry Center in uptown Charlotte used a $9,000 grant from Organic Gardening magazine to install a 1,600-gallon cistern. Rainwater from the center's roof will irrigate the garden.
Fried green tomatoes aren't just the stuff of summertime chick flicks. They're one of the staple foods of the Urban Ministry Center's soup kitchen. And with the help of a new grant, the kitchen can serve the goodies all summer long.
The center received a $9,000 grant from Organic Gardening magazine to install a rainwater harvesting system. The 1,600-gallon cistern collects runoff water from the Urban Ministry Center's roof and cleanses it of debris, to water the center's garden.
The roof is the perfect rain collector, garden program director Don Boekelheide said.
Urban Ministry Center, located on College Street close to uptown, provides a daytime home and a daily meal for many of Charlotte's homeless. Its on-site organic garden was recognized by Organic Gardening's WaterWorks program, an effort to provide community gardens across the country with money to store and harvest rainwater.
The Urban Ministry Center's 3,000 square foot garden produces what Boekelheide called some of the freshest and best organic food in the whole county.
Instead of using only donated food, which is often close to expiration, the center can grow much of its own food for its soup kitchen.
We grow things that people like to eat, said Boekelheide. That includes okra, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and a summer mainstay – tomatoes.
Last summer's water restrictions forced the garden's food production to a bare minimum. And Mecklenburg County is currently under extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“That's where the cistern comes in,” said Boekelheide.
This summer, instead of battling short periods of heavy rain followed by weeks of no rain at all, the cistern provides a consistent source of irrigation for the center's garden.
This week's thunderstorms have provided enough water to fill the entire tank.
“The cistern gives us the water to carry us between rainstorms,” Boekelheide said.
Boekelheide knows it's a small solution. But it's saving Charlotte thousands of gallons of treated water and providing food along the way.
“We're feeding people who are hungry here,” he said.
A great story on a day when we are just plain hungry for some good news.
Back to the grind tomorrow.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Monday, July 14, 2008
Charlotte's Light Rail, the Dough and Discussion...
Monday, July 14, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte, NC
Senate earmarks $18M for Charlotte light rail extension
The U.S. Senate’s proposed transportation budget for 2009 contains $18 million for expanding Charlotte’s light-rail system. That’s $8 million more than the Charlotte Area Transit System requested. The proposed 11-mile rail line extension would run from Ninth Street in uptown Charlotte to Interstate 485 on the northeast side of town. The federal money would be used for preliminary engineering and assessing the environmental impact of construction and operation of the transit line.
This is great news for the Lynx Blue Line extension and residents of the Charlotte region as we continue to provide them with more transportation choices, says Keith Parker, chief executive of CATS. While we do not expect the transportation appropriations legislation to be enacted until after the presidential election in November, and there is no guarantee that the funding level will hold, this is a step in the right direction.
If the $18 million is approved, CATS will have received capital funding commitments of $40 million since March for bus, rail and rapid-transit projects. The funding has come from a range of sources, including the N.C. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Transit Administration.
The light rail extension would be a continuation of the 9-mile track that parallels South Boulevard from I-485 near Pineville to uptown Charlotte.
But Wait, Wait…Monday, July 14, 2008
Transit's threat to NoDa
This excerpt from Mary Newsome, Charlotte Observer
How to route the to-be-built northeast light rail line? CATS officials are pondering that question. I was hoping CATS would route the northeast corridor up North Tryon Street instead of the railroad corridor that parallels North Davidson Street. Apparently that's not to be, at least between uptown and NoDa. CATS is still considering whether to put a section of the line along North Tryon between Sugar Creek Road and Eastway Drive. North of Eastway, the route follows North Tryon Street.I'm very worried about the NoDa business district being beset by the same forces that are hitting South End and threatening the Dilworth historic district and its bungalows. Except the NoDa retail area is closer to the rail line than much of Dilworth, and NoDa's business district has a better preserved Main Street-type feel to it than anything that was in Dilworth. That's all at huge risk, because the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zoning that applies to transit station areas allows high-rise buildings of up to 120 feet -- or higher if your developer asks for an exemption.
And it will happen. We don't yet know how to curb the developer's voracious appetites.
Still…the growth and discussion is with us. It’s a good thing.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte, NC
Senate earmarks $18M for Charlotte light rail extension
The U.S. Senate’s proposed transportation budget for 2009 contains $18 million for expanding Charlotte’s light-rail system. That’s $8 million more than the Charlotte Area Transit System requested. The proposed 11-mile rail line extension would run from Ninth Street in uptown Charlotte to Interstate 485 on the northeast side of town. The federal money would be used for preliminary engineering and assessing the environmental impact of construction and operation of the transit line.
This is great news for the Lynx Blue Line extension and residents of the Charlotte region as we continue to provide them with more transportation choices, says Keith Parker, chief executive of CATS. While we do not expect the transportation appropriations legislation to be enacted until after the presidential election in November, and there is no guarantee that the funding level will hold, this is a step in the right direction.
If the $18 million is approved, CATS will have received capital funding commitments of $40 million since March for bus, rail and rapid-transit projects. The funding has come from a range of sources, including the N.C. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Transit Administration.
The light rail extension would be a continuation of the 9-mile track that parallels South Boulevard from I-485 near Pineville to uptown Charlotte.
But Wait, Wait…Monday, July 14, 2008
Transit's threat to NoDa
This excerpt from Mary Newsome, Charlotte Observer
How to route the to-be-built northeast light rail line? CATS officials are pondering that question. I was hoping CATS would route the northeast corridor up North Tryon Street instead of the railroad corridor that parallels North Davidson Street. Apparently that's not to be, at least between uptown and NoDa. CATS is still considering whether to put a section of the line along North Tryon between Sugar Creek Road and Eastway Drive. North of Eastway, the route follows North Tryon Street.I'm very worried about the NoDa business district being beset by the same forces that are hitting South End and threatening the Dilworth historic district and its bungalows. Except the NoDa retail area is closer to the rail line than much of Dilworth, and NoDa's business district has a better preserved Main Street-type feel to it than anything that was in Dilworth. That's all at huge risk, because the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zoning that applies to transit station areas allows high-rise buildings of up to 120 feet -- or higher if your developer asks for an exemption.
And it will happen. We don't yet know how to curb the developer's voracious appetites.
Still…the growth and discussion is with us. It’s a good thing.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, Charlotte, NC
Saturday, July 12, 2008
What's Next for Charlotte?
July 12, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
As city's dazzle turns to dread, what's next?
The Charlotte Observer/DOUG SMITH
A lot of people are holding their breath in Banktown these days.
Troubled Wachovia Corp. has selected a new chief executive officer with impressive credentials, but he doesn't walk on water. Even as the announcement of former U.S. Treasury Department official Bob Steel's hiring came Wednesday, bank officials predicted second-quarter losses could reach $2.8 billion.
Wachovia's uptown neighbor, Bank of America, hasn't been immune either from the nation's sub-prime lending and financial markets turmoil. In Charlotte, I think we're starting to see bravado – “We're the nation's second-largest banking center” – give way to doubt and anxiety.
Wachovia and Bank of America are builders of the center city skyline, patrons of the arts, pillars of the economy.
If they falter, what happens to Charlotte?
Many worry that a weakened Wachovia could be acquired, losing its independence and hometown allegiance to Charlotte.
Real estate brokers say potential homebuyers who perceive their financial center jobs in doubt already are pulling back, wary of what might happen.
The uptown condo market in particular has thrived on a supply of young professionals, many of whom are employees of banks or in financial businesses tied to the growth of banks.
If hiring for those jobs wanes or if more layoffs come – and some say they already are under way – what happens?
Real estate developers believe there's little chance that a half a dozen or so residential towers proposed uptown – but not yet started – will get under way this year. Lenders will be skittish about financing them, they say, until the housing market shows solid signs of recovery.
Landlords in the office-leasing market are concerned, too.
One major office-condo-retail development – 300 South Tryon – was postponed earlier this year over worries that a bank slowdown could squelch office demand.
The city's big towers have filled with tenants in large part because the bank anchors pulled in law firms and other related vendors around them.
If the banks aren't growing, who leases the estimated 1 million-plus square feet of speculative office space expected to come on the market over the next two years?
Maybe the financial bleeding will stop, and everything will work out for Charlotte and the banks over the next year.
Some economists can see a turnaround coming possibly by mid-2009.
But in the meantime, nail biting has become the norm in Banktown.
The city's Hugh McColl Jr. swagger has faded.
Remember how the former Bank of America chairman used to dazzle stock market analysts in New York with the bank's next bold move?
Today, Charlotte's two big banks aren't dazzling.
They're too busy defending their actions to Wall Street analysts and fending off angry shareholders.
How quickly fortunes can be reversed. In Banktown, this is something we never thought we would see when our banking giants were flying high just over a year ago.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
As city's dazzle turns to dread, what's next?
The Charlotte Observer/DOUG SMITH
A lot of people are holding their breath in Banktown these days.
Troubled Wachovia Corp. has selected a new chief executive officer with impressive credentials, but he doesn't walk on water. Even as the announcement of former U.S. Treasury Department official Bob Steel's hiring came Wednesday, bank officials predicted second-quarter losses could reach $2.8 billion.
Wachovia's uptown neighbor, Bank of America, hasn't been immune either from the nation's sub-prime lending and financial markets turmoil. In Charlotte, I think we're starting to see bravado – “We're the nation's second-largest banking center” – give way to doubt and anxiety.
Wachovia and Bank of America are builders of the center city skyline, patrons of the arts, pillars of the economy.
If they falter, what happens to Charlotte?
Many worry that a weakened Wachovia could be acquired, losing its independence and hometown allegiance to Charlotte.
Real estate brokers say potential homebuyers who perceive their financial center jobs in doubt already are pulling back, wary of what might happen.
The uptown condo market in particular has thrived on a supply of young professionals, many of whom are employees of banks or in financial businesses tied to the growth of banks.
If hiring for those jobs wanes or if more layoffs come – and some say they already are under way – what happens?
Real estate developers believe there's little chance that a half a dozen or so residential towers proposed uptown – but not yet started – will get under way this year. Lenders will be skittish about financing them, they say, until the housing market shows solid signs of recovery.
Landlords in the office-leasing market are concerned, too.
One major office-condo-retail development – 300 South Tryon – was postponed earlier this year over worries that a bank slowdown could squelch office demand.
The city's big towers have filled with tenants in large part because the bank anchors pulled in law firms and other related vendors around them.
If the banks aren't growing, who leases the estimated 1 million-plus square feet of speculative office space expected to come on the market over the next two years?
Maybe the financial bleeding will stop, and everything will work out for Charlotte and the banks over the next year.
Some economists can see a turnaround coming possibly by mid-2009.
But in the meantime, nail biting has become the norm in Banktown.
The city's Hugh McColl Jr. swagger has faded.
Remember how the former Bank of America chairman used to dazzle stock market analysts in New York with the bank's next bold move?
Today, Charlotte's two big banks aren't dazzling.
They're too busy defending their actions to Wall Street analysts and fending off angry shareholders.
How quickly fortunes can be reversed. In Banktown, this is something we never thought we would see when our banking giants were flying high just over a year ago.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Friday, July 11, 2008
In Charlotte,Looking for a Sign...
July 11, 2008
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Looking for a sign…
Today on the way to the inspections, I misplaced keys to a house I listed and sold in one day. Today, my computer guru came to install better safeguards for my main PC…and confessed he had sold all of his stock in October and that he is worried.Today I read the news that our man in the white house will take no steps toward global warning because it might adversely affect the economy. Today the news was changing minute by minute getting worse and worse. The last thing I read was the ice breaking up in Antarctica. And the last voice I heard before I walked out of my office was a client calling…worried about what is ahead.And it is still Friday. There is still a podcast to write.
What do I write about when so much seems to be melting away? What do I say when even I wonder if there is a light at the end of the tunnel?And opening MSNBC before I start to gather my thoughts, there is a headline about the religions of the world. The one featured is about the Whirling Dervishes. I laugh. My Mother used to say that when everything around us was highly energetic. And the laughter brought me back to myself. Grounded me on this struggling planet with its many selfish, narrow sighted people. Centered me in the moments of this week…children at a party, a little girl five who is already a spiritual woman, a little boy of eight who is enlightened, well read and engaging as he coaxed me out into his world.Best of all was the Charlotte Business Journal. I sat on my huge medicine ball that I use as my computer seat and flipped through this latest issue.
Get these story lines:
1. A new plan in play for Crosland Site. Green contest winners pitch range of options for development of 33 acre site on transit corridor and
2.Morehead Building under contract. High profile corner may be next in line for office development on rapidly changing corridor.
3. Business Groups Pitch In For Team. Knights gain business support in effort to sell tickets, sponsors for new uptown stadium
4. Jim Donnelly moving right along with luxury condo tower that will incorporate a renovated Carolina Theatre and set to break ground within 60 days…8 of the 20 are under contract priced from 1.7 million to 5.5 million dollars
5. Office market holding steady in turbulent economy
6. Research Campus Close to Key Hire for Core Lab Leader
7. Tough Time for Retailers but Family Dollar gains
8. Group Seeks Gay Friendly Climate at Nations’ Colleges
9. Solar Start Up to Invest 37 Million
All going on in Charlotte. Here was my report for this week. And I remembered on The RealEstateLady.Com website, on every page in small print, I have written, I am a part of Charlotte and Charlotte is a part of me. Through thick and thin…we move forward knowing the best is yet to come.
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Looking for a sign…
Today on the way to the inspections, I misplaced keys to a house I listed and sold in one day. Today, my computer guru came to install better safeguards for my main PC…and confessed he had sold all of his stock in October and that he is worried.Today I read the news that our man in the white house will take no steps toward global warning because it might adversely affect the economy. Today the news was changing minute by minute getting worse and worse. The last thing I read was the ice breaking up in Antarctica. And the last voice I heard before I walked out of my office was a client calling…worried about what is ahead.And it is still Friday. There is still a podcast to write.
What do I write about when so much seems to be melting away? What do I say when even I wonder if there is a light at the end of the tunnel?And opening MSNBC before I start to gather my thoughts, there is a headline about the religions of the world. The one featured is about the Whirling Dervishes. I laugh. My Mother used to say that when everything around us was highly energetic. And the laughter brought me back to myself. Grounded me on this struggling planet with its many selfish, narrow sighted people. Centered me in the moments of this week…children at a party, a little girl five who is already a spiritual woman, a little boy of eight who is enlightened, well read and engaging as he coaxed me out into his world.Best of all was the Charlotte Business Journal. I sat on my huge medicine ball that I use as my computer seat and flipped through this latest issue.
Get these story lines:
1. A new plan in play for Crosland Site. Green contest winners pitch range of options for development of 33 acre site on transit corridor and
2.Morehead Building under contract. High profile corner may be next in line for office development on rapidly changing corridor.
3. Business Groups Pitch In For Team. Knights gain business support in effort to sell tickets, sponsors for new uptown stadium
4. Jim Donnelly moving right along with luxury condo tower that will incorporate a renovated Carolina Theatre and set to break ground within 60 days…8 of the 20 are under contract priced from 1.7 million to 5.5 million dollars
5. Office market holding steady in turbulent economy
6. Research Campus Close to Key Hire for Core Lab Leader
7. Tough Time for Retailers but Family Dollar gains
8. Group Seeks Gay Friendly Climate at Nations’ Colleges
9. Solar Start Up to Invest 37 Million
All going on in Charlotte. Here was my report for this week. And I remembered on The RealEstateLady.Com website, on every page in small print, I have written, I am a part of Charlotte and Charlotte is a part of me. Through thick and thin…we move forward knowing the best is yet to come.
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Thursday, July 10, 2008
More Specifics on South End Condos
July 10, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
More specifics on Condos in South End…Lynx spurs housing boom in South End
The Charlotte Observer, Nicole Bell
South End projects
Several residential projects are under way in South End along the light rail line. They include:
Silos at South End:
The first phase of the project at South Boulevard and Remount Road, is a $45 million investment including 113 residential units and 70,000 square feet of commercial space. The first phase is expected to open sometime in summer 2009.
SouthHaus:
This project located at South Boulevard and Ideal Way will feature 89 two-and three-level lofts. A revised plan also includes 56 condos with a skyline view. Developers hope the project will be completed by 2011.
Circle at South End: This 360-apartment building on South Boulevard at Bland Street is expected to be done in October 2009.
Ashton South End: Located at Camden Road and Tremont, Ashton South End will feature an 11-story residential building featuring about 300 upscale apartments. It's expected to open in February.
The number of people living in Historic South End is expected to triple in the next two years, reaching a population of about 7,000 residents, according to Charlotte Center City Partners.
The rush of residents comes as developers begin to complete several housing projects in the area.
Much of the growth, they say, is because of the light rail.
“It's very rare that you see an entire residential neighborhood established overnight,” said James Mathis III, director of Historic South End. “It'll be exciting to see all those people walking around in the area at 11 o'clock at night.”
Historic South End spans from Morehead Street on the north to Remount Road on the south. It's bordered by South Boulevard on the east and South Tryon Street on the west.
The area was a thriving manufacturing community in the 1850s. It declined when the textile industry faded in the '70s and '80s. Revitalization efforts in the '90s brought a crop of restaurants, shops and design-related industries. Many were interested in reusing the old mill buildings and warehouses.
The launch of light rail in November has also helped South End.
The projected growth would push South End close to Uptown's existing population of 10,800.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
More specifics on Condos in South End…Lynx spurs housing boom in South End
The Charlotte Observer, Nicole Bell
South End projects
Several residential projects are under way in South End along the light rail line. They include:
Silos at South End:
The first phase of the project at South Boulevard and Remount Road, is a $45 million investment including 113 residential units and 70,000 square feet of commercial space. The first phase is expected to open sometime in summer 2009.
SouthHaus:
This project located at South Boulevard and Ideal Way will feature 89 two-and three-level lofts. A revised plan also includes 56 condos with a skyline view. Developers hope the project will be completed by 2011.
Circle at South End: This 360-apartment building on South Boulevard at Bland Street is expected to be done in October 2009.
Ashton South End: Located at Camden Road and Tremont, Ashton South End will feature an 11-story residential building featuring about 300 upscale apartments. It's expected to open in February.
The number of people living in Historic South End is expected to triple in the next two years, reaching a population of about 7,000 residents, according to Charlotte Center City Partners.
The rush of residents comes as developers begin to complete several housing projects in the area.
Much of the growth, they say, is because of the light rail.
“It's very rare that you see an entire residential neighborhood established overnight,” said James Mathis III, director of Historic South End. “It'll be exciting to see all those people walking around in the area at 11 o'clock at night.”
Historic South End spans from Morehead Street on the north to Remount Road on the south. It's bordered by South Boulevard on the east and South Tryon Street on the west.
The area was a thriving manufacturing community in the 1850s. It declined when the textile industry faded in the '70s and '80s. Revitalization efforts in the '90s brought a crop of restaurants, shops and design-related industries. Many were interested in reusing the old mill buildings and warehouses.
The launch of light rail in November has also helped South End.
The projected growth would push South End close to Uptown's existing population of 10,800.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Out of this mess, perhaps something good...
July 9, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Out of this mess, perhaps something good, perhaps…
I liken the sub-prime mess to cleaning out my worst closet. Every single thing must come out…off all the shelves, out of boxes, pulled from racks, removed from hooks,to he very top where I find mittens and caps to the floor and the extra bag of batteries, an extension cord, a dog brush.All on the foyer floor, down the hall and some things stacked on the kitchen table…it is a magic closet because there is much more in it than I remembered, items forgotten some of them mine, some from guests, some…who left this anyway?
But the resemblance to the sub-prime ends there. I read an article today, I’ll quote, sometimes the rating agencies deviated from their own models and their own procedures.
The problems were serious enough to cause concern among employees of the agencies themselves as cited by internal e-mails uncovered in the SEC review.Among the conflicts of interest cited in the SEC report were the practice of companies that issue the securities paying the rating agencies for their work.The rating agencies have had to downgrade thousands of securities backed by mortgages as home-loan delinquencies have soared and the value of those investments has plummeted. The downgrades have contributed to hundred of billions in losses and write downs at major banks and investment firms.And then this, speaking Tuesday to a mortgage lending forum Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that many of today’s unusually high number of foreclosures are not preventable. There is little public policymakers can, or should, do to compensate for untenable financial decisions. And those very words signal that our problems are not mere closets. There are many layers…some were players, some are innocent bystanders.The players who invested lost money. Others lost their money and their homes.Some things never go back in the closet. For now. Many of us are weighing the details, looking at footprints, asking ourselves and others how can we do better, be better as real estate professionals. And some don’t care. They never did. It is just hard sometimes to tell us apart.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Out of this mess, perhaps something good, perhaps…
I liken the sub-prime mess to cleaning out my worst closet. Every single thing must come out…off all the shelves, out of boxes, pulled from racks, removed from hooks,to he very top where I find mittens and caps to the floor and the extra bag of batteries, an extension cord, a dog brush.All on the foyer floor, down the hall and some things stacked on the kitchen table…it is a magic closet because there is much more in it than I remembered, items forgotten some of them mine, some from guests, some…who left this anyway?
But the resemblance to the sub-prime ends there. I read an article today, I’ll quote, sometimes the rating agencies deviated from their own models and their own procedures.
The problems were serious enough to cause concern among employees of the agencies themselves as cited by internal e-mails uncovered in the SEC review.Among the conflicts of interest cited in the SEC report were the practice of companies that issue the securities paying the rating agencies for their work.The rating agencies have had to downgrade thousands of securities backed by mortgages as home-loan delinquencies have soared and the value of those investments has plummeted. The downgrades have contributed to hundred of billions in losses and write downs at major banks and investment firms.And then this, speaking Tuesday to a mortgage lending forum Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that many of today’s unusually high number of foreclosures are not preventable. There is little public policymakers can, or should, do to compensate for untenable financial decisions. And those very words signal that our problems are not mere closets. There are many layers…some were players, some are innocent bystanders.The players who invested lost money. Others lost their money and their homes.Some things never go back in the closet. For now. Many of us are weighing the details, looking at footprints, asking ourselves and others how can we do better, be better as real estate professionals. And some don’t care. They never did. It is just hard sometimes to tell us apart.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The 74/26 Vantage Point
July 8, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
The 74/26 Vantage Point…
For as long as I have lived in this place, almost 55 years now, the magic is palpable…even though some uptown projects may be stalled or stopped, in spite of our neighboring counties being over whelmed with the energetic growth and lack of infrastructure…and the growling complaints of traffic and the on-going grumpiness about the school system…take a look from my vantage point:
South End
I read with delight how the number of residents in Historic South End is expected to triple in the next two years. Two years! In two years it will reach a population of about 7,000 according to Charlotte Center City Partners.The growth comes as developers complete several housing projects in the area. Observers say the communities will create a residential district where none existed, triggering a second wave of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.
Much of the growth, they say, is because of the light rail.
Historic South End spans from Morehead Street on the north to Remount Road on the south. Its east side is bordered by South Boulevard; its west side bordered by South Tryon Street.
Breath of Fresh Forest Air
That is the caption under the photo of Naturalist Laura Domingo leading visitors on a morning hike at Ribbonwalk Urban Forest in Northern Charlotte . The forest includes 192 acres of woodlands and wetlands with several miles of nature trails and a variety of native flora and fauna.
Northeast Light Rail
The public will get a chance this week and next to offer more input on the proposed Northeast Corridor light-rail line, which could be running between the uptown area and northeast Mecklenburg County by late 2015.
On the West Side
Just west of uptown, Wesley Heights is somewhat of a secret despite a dramatic revitalization in recent years. Developed around 1920, the neighborhood is a designated historic district that offers a great view of the city’s skyline. In addition to the historic district, Wesley Heights also is home to newer developments such as Lela Court and Walnut Hill which have drawn young professionals. Other developments such as Skybridge Terrace, Wesley View and Celadon are also being built.
Some say the market is down 26%...the above is a view from the 74%...we keep rowing.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
The 74/26 Vantage Point…
For as long as I have lived in this place, almost 55 years now, the magic is palpable…even though some uptown projects may be stalled or stopped, in spite of our neighboring counties being over whelmed with the energetic growth and lack of infrastructure…and the growling complaints of traffic and the on-going grumpiness about the school system…take a look from my vantage point:
South End
I read with delight how the number of residents in Historic South End is expected to triple in the next two years. Two years! In two years it will reach a population of about 7,000 according to Charlotte Center City Partners.The growth comes as developers complete several housing projects in the area. Observers say the communities will create a residential district where none existed, triggering a second wave of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.
Much of the growth, they say, is because of the light rail.
Historic South End spans from Morehead Street on the north to Remount Road on the south. Its east side is bordered by South Boulevard; its west side bordered by South Tryon Street.
Breath of Fresh Forest Air
That is the caption under the photo of Naturalist Laura Domingo leading visitors on a morning hike at Ribbonwalk Urban Forest in Northern Charlotte . The forest includes 192 acres of woodlands and wetlands with several miles of nature trails and a variety of native flora and fauna.
Northeast Light Rail
The public will get a chance this week and next to offer more input on the proposed Northeast Corridor light-rail line, which could be running between the uptown area and northeast Mecklenburg County by late 2015.
On the West Side
Just west of uptown, Wesley Heights is somewhat of a secret despite a dramatic revitalization in recent years. Developed around 1920, the neighborhood is a designated historic district that offers a great view of the city’s skyline. In addition to the historic district, Wesley Heights also is home to newer developments such as Lela Court and Walnut Hill which have drawn young professionals. Other developments such as Skybridge Terrace, Wesley View and Celadon are also being built.
Some say the market is down 26%...the above is a view from the 74%...we keep rowing.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Monday, July 7, 2008
Our Neighbors in Union County Are Making Lemonade
July 7, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Our Neighbors in Union County Are Making Lemonade…
MONROE -Developers looking to build in Union County have been running
into a serious roadblock: permits for sewer and water are not easy to come by.
Due to the rapid growth and the inability for infrastructure to keep up, many
developers are having trouble securing sewer permits. Drought conditions have
also forced a moratorium on water permits. Officials have some ideas for ad-
dressing the county's sewer and water needs, but some of the required projects
could take up to 15 years.
The problem has already slowed development in what has recently been among
the nation's fastest-growing counties. Union County experienced immense growth and most public officials agree there was too much growth without enough infrastructure to support it. Today county's sewer system is operating is at capacity, meaning it cannot safely handle any extra Wastewater. Water could be at capacity, but in dry times they areon restriction.
Allan Baucom, chairman of the Union County Board of Commissioners, explained that the reason behind this was "pretty straightforward." He said that, "there have been previous boards and previous paid officials that have allowed the capacity to be utilized without creating additional capacity."
Baucom explained that when he took office in 2006, "I knew there were sewer
challenges ...I just didn't know we were absolutely out."
The county's primary wastewater facility, 12 Mile Creek, near Waxhaw , was
built in the 1980s, for what was a much-less-populated Union County.
Last year, the state rejected 30 sewer permits for various construction projects
around the county, including residential developments, two hospitals and other
commercial developments. Sewer space was then allocated to those projects based on a tiered priority plan and so construction on many of those projects has moved forward.
,
The Downturn buys time...
The slow economy might actually be a good thing in this instance. Union County Manager Al Greene noted that due to the economy, he's not sure they would have as much development as they'd had in the recent past, even if the sewer and water permits weren't an issue. He said the slowing market gives them time to negotiate and work on building their infrastructure, and perhaps by the time the market picks up they'll be in a position to move forward. Greene said that while this is not a good situation to be in, this is probably the best time to have this problem - while the economy is slowing and demand is down. He said there is "never a good time to have these capacity challenges that we have," but with the current market conditions, now is "probably as good a time as any ."
This report from The Mecklenburg Times/Carolyn Steeves
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Our Neighbors in Union County Are Making Lemonade…
MONROE -Developers looking to build in Union County have been running
into a serious roadblock: permits for sewer and water are not easy to come by.
Due to the rapid growth and the inability for infrastructure to keep up, many
developers are having trouble securing sewer permits. Drought conditions have
also forced a moratorium on water permits. Officials have some ideas for ad-
dressing the county's sewer and water needs, but some of the required projects
could take up to 15 years.
The problem has already slowed development in what has recently been among
the nation's fastest-growing counties. Union County experienced immense growth and most public officials agree there was too much growth without enough infrastructure to support it. Today county's sewer system is operating is at capacity, meaning it cannot safely handle any extra Wastewater. Water could be at capacity, but in dry times they areon restriction.
Allan Baucom, chairman of the Union County Board of Commissioners, explained that the reason behind this was "pretty straightforward." He said that, "there have been previous boards and previous paid officials that have allowed the capacity to be utilized without creating additional capacity."
Baucom explained that when he took office in 2006, "I knew there were sewer
challenges ...I just didn't know we were absolutely out."
The county's primary wastewater facility, 12 Mile Creek, near Waxhaw , was
built in the 1980s, for what was a much-less-populated Union County.
Last year, the state rejected 30 sewer permits for various construction projects
around the county, including residential developments, two hospitals and other
commercial developments. Sewer space was then allocated to those projects based on a tiered priority plan and so construction on many of those projects has moved forward.
,
The Downturn buys time...
The slow economy might actually be a good thing in this instance. Union County Manager Al Greene noted that due to the economy, he's not sure they would have as much development as they'd had in the recent past, even if the sewer and water permits weren't an issue. He said the slowing market gives them time to negotiate and work on building their infrastructure, and perhaps by the time the market picks up they'll be in a position to move forward. Greene said that while this is not a good situation to be in, this is probably the best time to have this problem - while the economy is slowing and demand is down. He said there is "never a good time to have these capacity challenges that we have," but with the current market conditions, now is "probably as good a time as any ."
This report from The Mecklenburg Times/Carolyn Steeves
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Stucco, Water and HOA...
July 5, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Stucco, Water, and HOA…
Question:
I own a condominium that I have been trying to sell as I have been relocated for a new job. I have lowered the price on the condo incrementally over time and finally received an offer to purchase.
I received, however, a letter from our homeowners association stating that severe water penetration issues have been discovered in several of the condominiums in our complex, but not in our unit, and the exterior stucco had to be removed and the outer structure in these Units needed to be rebuilt. The letter also speculates that the
water issues may be much worse than expected and further investigations have begun.
In signing the purchase agreement, I had to disclose this information by forwarding this letter to the buyers, and the buyers obviously backed out of the purchase agreement. I offered the buyers a $10,000 escrow account that they could use toward future special
assessments levied within the next year. The buyers signed the purchase agreement again and everyone is following through with the sale process.
My question is do I have any legal recourse against the association, or anyone else? The association has essentially made our property value worthless and unsalable in this market. We lost our purchase agreement because of their actions -or inaction. ,
The complex was built in 1984, so action against the builder is outside the 10-year window. The condo association has claimed they have been inspecting the stucco every two years for the last decade or so. The only confirmed time I know about was in 2006, and they didn't report any problems then. They have apparently been inspecting using a moisture probe.
Right now, I'm stuck with this property. I can't turn it over to the bank; they obviously
won't take it. I can't even short-sell it, because no one else will buy it. I just have to continue making double housing payments and hope another buyer comes along who doesn't notice the problems if the buyer I have fails to get to closing.
Answer
You do not have any legal claims against your homeowner's association. The homeowner’s association is simply disclosing a potential problem. I could not tell from your letter when the homeowner's association will act to correct the stucco and moisture problem. You should contact the homeowner's association and the property manager to determine when they will obtain bids to make the repairs and how much each unit will be assessed. This information will possibly help in selling the unit or entering into a short sale with the lender. The events have placed you in a difficult position with no clear or immediate solutions.
In Charlotte, a condo complex was not maintained, the siding rotted, a vinyl siding was installed on top of the rotting wood and the vinyl siding was not done properly and worse, the wooden windows also rotted out…both wood and vinyl had to removed down to the studs and a new siding, new windows and new decks were installed. But guess what, Condo CanDo asked the contractor if anyone checked for mold. Do you think they did conduct a mold assessment?
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Stucco, Water, and HOA…
Question:
I own a condominium that I have been trying to sell as I have been relocated for a new job. I have lowered the price on the condo incrementally over time and finally received an offer to purchase.
I received, however, a letter from our homeowners association stating that severe water penetration issues have been discovered in several of the condominiums in our complex, but not in our unit, and the exterior stucco had to be removed and the outer structure in these Units needed to be rebuilt. The letter also speculates that the
water issues may be much worse than expected and further investigations have begun.
In signing the purchase agreement, I had to disclose this information by forwarding this letter to the buyers, and the buyers obviously backed out of the purchase agreement. I offered the buyers a $10,000 escrow account that they could use toward future special
assessments levied within the next year. The buyers signed the purchase agreement again and everyone is following through with the sale process.
My question is do I have any legal recourse against the association, or anyone else? The association has essentially made our property value worthless and unsalable in this market. We lost our purchase agreement because of their actions -or inaction. ,
The complex was built in 1984, so action against the builder is outside the 10-year window. The condo association has claimed they have been inspecting the stucco every two years for the last decade or so. The only confirmed time I know about was in 2006, and they didn't report any problems then. They have apparently been inspecting using a moisture probe.
Right now, I'm stuck with this property. I can't turn it over to the bank; they obviously
won't take it. I can't even short-sell it, because no one else will buy it. I just have to continue making double housing payments and hope another buyer comes along who doesn't notice the problems if the buyer I have fails to get to closing.
Answer
You do not have any legal claims against your homeowner's association. The homeowner’s association is simply disclosing a potential problem. I could not tell from your letter when the homeowner's association will act to correct the stucco and moisture problem. You should contact the homeowner's association and the property manager to determine when they will obtain bids to make the repairs and how much each unit will be assessed. This information will possibly help in selling the unit or entering into a short sale with the lender. The events have placed you in a difficult position with no clear or immediate solutions.
In Charlotte, a condo complex was not maintained, the siding rotted, a vinyl siding was installed on top of the rotting wood and the vinyl siding was not done properly and worse, the wooden windows also rotted out…both wood and vinyl had to removed down to the studs and a new siding, new windows and new decks were installed. But guess what, Condo CanDo asked the contractor if anyone checked for mold. Do you think they did conduct a mold assessment?
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Friday, July 4, 2008
Home Is Where The Heart Is...
July 4, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Sometimes Homes Come With History…
In my role as a real estate broker, my days are spent on the phone, in front of a computer, driving in and around our market place looking at new construction, visiting different sites around the county…and like yesterday, previewing over a dozen properties for buyers I worked with this holiday. Last last night I culled the ones we wouldn’t see and made appointments for those I thought fit the bill.
Today we met and set about to look at various homes. The first had been a rental in a nice complex and the owners had spent some money painting, putting in a new heating and air unit…the place was vacant…even of voices or smells or signs of anyone who had lived there.
The second condo in the same complex was occupied and we were met at the door. There was history of a remodeled kitchen, a closet door off the track, boxes in the closets making preparation for the next move…to an even smaller space…as we all begin to know the value and the necessity of scaling down.
The townhouse we next visited was also vacant only had been “staged”, the newest jargon in our business…someone had planted red flowers around the patio many years ago and left the cast iron angel hanging on the brick wall…I could only hear whispers here.
The next was an historic building…feeling very much like a edifice out of Gramercy Park in New York. The homes were each different but carried a similar air…that of fine design and décor and an appreciation of art…and a keen eye for space. The personalities carried through the hallways for decades…musicians, artists, architects, doctors, conductors, actors…still there…vibrant.
Next we visited a new condominium unit in Dilworth. There was good light and arched windows…but for my ears silence. I thought about how we shop for a nest and what we bring to it and what we leave. In the new, we will add our own colors, our own flowers, our own footprint. Surely in the older units, we also make changes, tearing out or building in…someone has been there before. Someone has lived there, been happy or sad there, celebrated or wept…I can feel much of that energy even though I try to just pass through.And what I come away with much of the time is that home, home is indeed where the heart is.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Sometimes Homes Come With History…
In my role as a real estate broker, my days are spent on the phone, in front of a computer, driving in and around our market place looking at new construction, visiting different sites around the county…and like yesterday, previewing over a dozen properties for buyers I worked with this holiday. Last last night I culled the ones we wouldn’t see and made appointments for those I thought fit the bill.
Today we met and set about to look at various homes. The first had been a rental in a nice complex and the owners had spent some money painting, putting in a new heating and air unit…the place was vacant…even of voices or smells or signs of anyone who had lived there.
The second condo in the same complex was occupied and we were met at the door. There was history of a remodeled kitchen, a closet door off the track, boxes in the closets making preparation for the next move…to an even smaller space…as we all begin to know the value and the necessity of scaling down.
The townhouse we next visited was also vacant only had been “staged”, the newest jargon in our business…someone had planted red flowers around the patio many years ago and left the cast iron angel hanging on the brick wall…I could only hear whispers here.
The next was an historic building…feeling very much like a edifice out of Gramercy Park in New York. The homes were each different but carried a similar air…that of fine design and décor and an appreciation of art…and a keen eye for space. The personalities carried through the hallways for decades…musicians, artists, architects, doctors, conductors, actors…still there…vibrant.
Next we visited a new condominium unit in Dilworth. There was good light and arched windows…but for my ears silence. I thought about how we shop for a nest and what we bring to it and what we leave. In the new, we will add our own colors, our own flowers, our own footprint. Surely in the older units, we also make changes, tearing out or building in…someone has been there before. Someone has lived there, been happy or sad there, celebrated or wept…I can feel much of that energy even though I try to just pass through.And what I come away with much of the time is that home, home is indeed where the heart is.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Being in the trenches is pretty heady stuff...
July 3, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Being in the trenches is pretty heady stuff…
Time was we would search through big, thick books that held all the listings in our Multiple Listing Service looking for the perfect fit for a client or researching the market for what was active or sold to get a handle on the market. Then along came Texas Instrument Terminal that could be leased and line by line on thermal paper, a search was printed out…it was fabulous!Technology went foot loose after that and now…it is all very quick…in seconds. Now it is all complete with many pictures, maps, disclosures in .pdf format, access to tax bills and deeds and pictures of the front lawn. Quick.And when I start working with a client, I go through all those steps and then I hit the streets. Like today. I completed research for property for an out-of-town buyer who has very specific wants/needs…and sent this couple my final data sheets late last night. I made all my appointments to preview property, planned my route and timing and set off…electronic key, camera, recorder, cell…you know, the regular cadre of tools.Previewing property is one of my most favorite segments…Researching the property is fun because we do get most if not all of the information we need…and can send off an email to the listing agent if more is needed…making the selections is interesting because comparing all the property in a complex is enlightening, the options, the views, the amenities, the dues…and actually going in and out of every property…Today I was looking for charm and light. Charm is sometimes in the construction, most often in the floor plan…and light is in both elements as well. A superbly built condominium that has a dark interior is quickly crossed off the list for these folks. And the glistening, sparkling new concrete and steel structures are as well. Especially when I heard the words “Synthetic stucco”…And out in the trenches, I meet other agents. Sometimes see old friends and engage in a little shop-talk. Out on the streets, I can see up close, the construction efforts especially in Uptown Charlotte…and out there, walking through the city, I can see how the older condominiums blend with the new and newer ones…it is charming. It is evolution. I like seeing the progression from converted hospital, and converted apartments and converted churches to towers that shoot straight up like steel arrows.My ears perk up as I listen to building materials and run my fingers across the finishes and open cabinet doors and inspect the bathroom showers.Sometimes I pick up the Public Offering Statement and the hard copy of the marketing piece. Actually I try to get them for every condo I visit. It is amazing what some people like to look at before sleep.And maybe even more amazing…after twenty two years of being The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, I love being in the trenches!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Being in the trenches is pretty heady stuff…
Time was we would search through big, thick books that held all the listings in our Multiple Listing Service looking for the perfect fit for a client or researching the market for what was active or sold to get a handle on the market. Then along came Texas Instrument Terminal that could be leased and line by line on thermal paper, a search was printed out…it was fabulous!Technology went foot loose after that and now…it is all very quick…in seconds. Now it is all complete with many pictures, maps, disclosures in .pdf format, access to tax bills and deeds and pictures of the front lawn. Quick.And when I start working with a client, I go through all those steps and then I hit the streets. Like today. I completed research for property for an out-of-town buyer who has very specific wants/needs…and sent this couple my final data sheets late last night. I made all my appointments to preview property, planned my route and timing and set off…electronic key, camera, recorder, cell…you know, the regular cadre of tools.Previewing property is one of my most favorite segments…Researching the property is fun because we do get most if not all of the information we need…and can send off an email to the listing agent if more is needed…making the selections is interesting because comparing all the property in a complex is enlightening, the options, the views, the amenities, the dues…and actually going in and out of every property…Today I was looking for charm and light. Charm is sometimes in the construction, most often in the floor plan…and light is in both elements as well. A superbly built condominium that has a dark interior is quickly crossed off the list for these folks. And the glistening, sparkling new concrete and steel structures are as well. Especially when I heard the words “Synthetic stucco”…And out in the trenches, I meet other agents. Sometimes see old friends and engage in a little shop-talk. Out on the streets, I can see up close, the construction efforts especially in Uptown Charlotte…and out there, walking through the city, I can see how the older condominiums blend with the new and newer ones…it is charming. It is evolution. I like seeing the progression from converted hospital, and converted apartments and converted churches to towers that shoot straight up like steel arrows.My ears perk up as I listen to building materials and run my fingers across the finishes and open cabinet doors and inspect the bathroom showers.Sometimes I pick up the Public Offering Statement and the hard copy of the marketing piece. Actually I try to get them for every condo I visit. It is amazing what some people like to look at before sleep.And maybe even more amazing…after twenty two years of being The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo, I love being in the trenches!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Green Rooftops in Charlotte, too!
July 2, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Suddenly, green roofs are sprouting across North America. Designed to curb air pollution, decrease energy expenses and reduce storm runoff, the environmentally friendly assemblies are adding a decidedly earthy element to urban skylines — a sign that the green roof industry is rapidly coming into its own.
Particularly in cities, the rise of roof-topping grasses, succulents and other vegetation is fueling a boom for landscape architects, growers, builders and consultants in the know. As the roofs bloom in size and number, cities are weighing new incentives to developers and owners to install the admittedly costly growing medium and plant life as a long-term investment that could benefit both businesses and surrounding communities. And with a strengthening infrastructure to support them, designers are branching out in new directions.
Steven Peck, founder and president of the Toronto-based industry association Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, said the industry’s “mother ship” hails from Europe, particularly Germany. Research there in the 1970s on lightweight, low-maintenance green roof systems dominated by hardy sedum grasses, he said, “opened up thousands of miles of roofscapes that had been unavailable to any sort of greenery.”
German policymakers quickly took notice of the advantages, including the potential to reduce both stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effect associated with asphalt, concrete and metal surfaces. In response, they created dozens of incentives and regulations encouraging more green roof construction. In the mid-‘90s, a European industry mostly dominated by French and German firms began expanding into North America and introducing the basic concepts to a new generation of specialists.
Peck, himself introduced to the idea in 1997, was tasked with leading a federal study on its benefits and barriers in Canada, only to find that there was little scientific information available for North America. “There was no proof, it was all in German academic studies,” he said.
One of his committee member spent hours translating many of the studies into English. And even those reports sidestepped analysis of big-picture benefits that had been largely taken for granted.
A decade later, the industry has been buttressed by research and case studies detailing both individual benefits like savings on cooling costs and enhanced commercial values, and bigger-picture pluses like reduced air pollution and storm water overflows.
Another essential element has been building expertise across a talent pool that remains unevenly distributed. Peck’s group has been working for five years on an accreditation program modeled in part on LEED certification (Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design). The new Green Roof Professional, or GRP system, should roll out sometime next year, he said. In the meantime, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has grown to include more than 80 corporate members and has trained more than 4,500 individuals. “You can’t have an industry unless you can have people who can design and deliver,” he said.
And here in Charlotte, the new roof for the Federal Reserve? Going to Green!!!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo are registered servicemarks 1989.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Suddenly, green roofs are sprouting across North America. Designed to curb air pollution, decrease energy expenses and reduce storm runoff, the environmentally friendly assemblies are adding a decidedly earthy element to urban skylines — a sign that the green roof industry is rapidly coming into its own.
Particularly in cities, the rise of roof-topping grasses, succulents and other vegetation is fueling a boom for landscape architects, growers, builders and consultants in the know. As the roofs bloom in size and number, cities are weighing new incentives to developers and owners to install the admittedly costly growing medium and plant life as a long-term investment that could benefit both businesses and surrounding communities. And with a strengthening infrastructure to support them, designers are branching out in new directions.
Steven Peck, founder and president of the Toronto-based industry association Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, said the industry’s “mother ship” hails from Europe, particularly Germany. Research there in the 1970s on lightweight, low-maintenance green roof systems dominated by hardy sedum grasses, he said, “opened up thousands of miles of roofscapes that had been unavailable to any sort of greenery.”
German policymakers quickly took notice of the advantages, including the potential to reduce both stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effect associated with asphalt, concrete and metal surfaces. In response, they created dozens of incentives and regulations encouraging more green roof construction. In the mid-‘90s, a European industry mostly dominated by French and German firms began expanding into North America and introducing the basic concepts to a new generation of specialists.
Peck, himself introduced to the idea in 1997, was tasked with leading a federal study on its benefits and barriers in Canada, only to find that there was little scientific information available for North America. “There was no proof, it was all in German academic studies,” he said.
One of his committee member spent hours translating many of the studies into English. And even those reports sidestepped analysis of big-picture benefits that had been largely taken for granted.
A decade later, the industry has been buttressed by research and case studies detailing both individual benefits like savings on cooling costs and enhanced commercial values, and bigger-picture pluses like reduced air pollution and storm water overflows.
Another essential element has been building expertise across a talent pool that remains unevenly distributed. Peck’s group has been working for five years on an accreditation program modeled in part on LEED certification (Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design). The new Green Roof Professional, or GRP system, should roll out sometime next year, he said. In the meantime, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has grown to include more than 80 corporate members and has trained more than 4,500 individuals. “You can’t have an industry unless you can have people who can design and deliver,” he said.
And here in Charlotte, the new roof for the Federal Reserve? Going to Green!!!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo are registered servicemarks 1989.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Signs Suggest Regional Influx Slowing
July 1, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo®, Charlotte, NC
Signs suggest regional influx slowing
Wavering real estate sales, power hookups and CMS enrollment growth are among the indicators cited.
By Christopher D. Kirkpatrickand Amy Baldwin/Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte region's march of newcomers appears to be slowing.
Some indicators, including school enrollment, new electrical service hookups and reports from businesses that cater to new residents, point to a migratory slip.
Economists and others say the change, though just a hiccup and no threat to long-term prosperity, illustrates how Charlotte's economy is feeling pressure from a flagging national economy.
It could also ease traffic, pollution and a classroom space crunch, among other growing pains, said Douglas Shoemaker, a research analyst with UNC Charlotte's Center for Applied Geographic Information Science.
“A lot of towns have been overwhelmed by quality of life issues and providing services such as water and sewer,” Shoemaker said. “A lull would allow planners to get the upper hand again.”
The latest Census Bureau population data on newcomers isn't available until the fall. But institutions such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Duke Energy have noticed a recent decline.
CMS officials expected to add 5,200 students this school year, but only about 2,900 new enrollees turned up. It marked the first time in four years that CMS forecasts overestimated enrollment.
Duke says new electric power hookups in the Carolinas fell to 38,391 for 2007 after increasing to a high 40,828 in 2006.
Gentle Giant, a Boston-area-based mover with a Charlotte office, has seen its once-strong flow of New Englanders into the region pull back, said Jon Vogel, regional branch manager. It started about six months ago, he said.
The company also specializes in out-of-state corporate moves. “We've had a lot of really big jobs get canceled. There isn't the drive to invest as much.”
Vogel said real estate prices have fallen so far in the Northeast that homeowners can't afford to sell at a loss: “So they're putting off moves.” Side business from relocations is also affected – fewer newcomers move their parents down after them, for example, he said. “All that stuff used to trickle down.”
The region has benefited this decade from transplants who spend money, buy houses and work available jobs, said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia.
About 88,000 newcomers moved to Charlotte in 2006-2007, and about 14,000 moved away, for a net population increase of 74,000. That's up from 80,000 newcomers in 2005-2006, with 30,000 moving away for a net 50,000 increase, according to an annual Observer analysis of census data released each fall.
Federal Reserve economist Matt Martin said he expects this fall's census data that counts newcomers to confirm a decline. He said he's been hearing a collective buzz since the fall about the slowdown of newcomers.
He said a tightening local job market is adding to the falloff. “There are not as many opportunities at the moment,” said Martin, who works at the Federal Reserve branch in Charlotte.
Jobless rates for the Charlotte area and the Carolinas have been higher than the U.S. rate, which was up to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent in April. The region's jobless rate was 5.1 percent in April. The latest Carolinas unemployment figures are due later this month.
Vitner said he's expecting the newcomer slowdown to extend into next year, sapping tax revenues and local economic sectors that offer services “directly tied to population growth.”
Savvy + Co., a residential real estate company in Charlotte, is seeing out-of-state clients take a lot longer to relocate. A year ago, it took only a month or two for them to sell their homes and be ready to buy here, said owner Lexie Longstreet. Now it's more like seven or eight months or longer, she said.
“Sometimes they just say, ‘We can't sell our house, so we are going to stay here,'” she said.
Suzanne Meyer, owner of The Welcome Service, which dispatches welcome baskets in the Lake Norman area, also blames slower housing markets in other regions
Business “has slowed down a bit for us,” she said. Meyer's company targets affluent homeowners, those who buy homes with price tags upwards of $300,000.
Gina DeCarlo recently decided to leave Las Vegas for Charlotte. But it wasn't meant to be.
After more than 30 years in Nevada, she and husband Bill wanted a change. She visited Charlotte in late April and loved the area as much as her sister in Matthews predicted she would.
But DeCarlo, 50, doesn't want to sell her home in Las Vegas' sinking real estate market, one of the nation's hardest hit.
“I can't get what I want for my house,” she said. “The house has taken probably a $50,000 dump.”
She'd like to get $300,000 for the house she bought in 1982 for $100,000.
Martin and Vitner predict the slowdown of transplants won't create lasting economic woes.
“It's nothing to panic about,” Vitner said, noting that housing prices in hard-hit states should bottom out by the end of next year and those markets should loosen up. The flow of newcomers should pick up as those homes start to move, he said.
And Charlotte is already faring much better than most large regions, Martin said.
“I think this is all short-term,” he said. “I don't think the conditions that have driven Charlotte's growth over the last decade are all of a sudden gone.”THE MORE THE MERRIER
Population for nine-county Charlotte region. This is the same region the Observer uses to calculate its newcomer statistics every fall when the American Community Survey data is released by the Census Bureau.
2007: 2,143,946
2006: 2,065,520
2005: 1,991,060
2004: 1,934,195
2003: 1,893,429
2002: 1,858,327
2001: 1,820,030
2000: 1,775,860
Note: For this story, the Observer defined the region as the retail trade zone counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Rowan, Union counties and York County, S.C.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo®, Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo®, Charlotte, NC
Signs suggest regional influx slowing
Wavering real estate sales, power hookups and CMS enrollment growth are among the indicators cited.
By Christopher D. Kirkpatrickand Amy Baldwin/Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte region's march of newcomers appears to be slowing.
Some indicators, including school enrollment, new electrical service hookups and reports from businesses that cater to new residents, point to a migratory slip.
Economists and others say the change, though just a hiccup and no threat to long-term prosperity, illustrates how Charlotte's economy is feeling pressure from a flagging national economy.
It could also ease traffic, pollution and a classroom space crunch, among other growing pains, said Douglas Shoemaker, a research analyst with UNC Charlotte's Center for Applied Geographic Information Science.
“A lot of towns have been overwhelmed by quality of life issues and providing services such as water and sewer,” Shoemaker said. “A lull would allow planners to get the upper hand again.”
The latest Census Bureau population data on newcomers isn't available until the fall. But institutions such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Duke Energy have noticed a recent decline.
CMS officials expected to add 5,200 students this school year, but only about 2,900 new enrollees turned up. It marked the first time in four years that CMS forecasts overestimated enrollment.
Duke says new electric power hookups in the Carolinas fell to 38,391 for 2007 after increasing to a high 40,828 in 2006.
Gentle Giant, a Boston-area-based mover with a Charlotte office, has seen its once-strong flow of New Englanders into the region pull back, said Jon Vogel, regional branch manager. It started about six months ago, he said.
The company also specializes in out-of-state corporate moves. “We've had a lot of really big jobs get canceled. There isn't the drive to invest as much.”
Vogel said real estate prices have fallen so far in the Northeast that homeowners can't afford to sell at a loss: “So they're putting off moves.” Side business from relocations is also affected – fewer newcomers move their parents down after them, for example, he said. “All that stuff used to trickle down.”
The region has benefited this decade from transplants who spend money, buy houses and work available jobs, said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia.
About 88,000 newcomers moved to Charlotte in 2006-2007, and about 14,000 moved away, for a net population increase of 74,000. That's up from 80,000 newcomers in 2005-2006, with 30,000 moving away for a net 50,000 increase, according to an annual Observer analysis of census data released each fall.
Federal Reserve economist Matt Martin said he expects this fall's census data that counts newcomers to confirm a decline. He said he's been hearing a collective buzz since the fall about the slowdown of newcomers.
He said a tightening local job market is adding to the falloff. “There are not as many opportunities at the moment,” said Martin, who works at the Federal Reserve branch in Charlotte.
Jobless rates for the Charlotte area and the Carolinas have been higher than the U.S. rate, which was up to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent in April. The region's jobless rate was 5.1 percent in April. The latest Carolinas unemployment figures are due later this month.
Vitner said he's expecting the newcomer slowdown to extend into next year, sapping tax revenues and local economic sectors that offer services “directly tied to population growth.”
Savvy + Co., a residential real estate company in Charlotte, is seeing out-of-state clients take a lot longer to relocate. A year ago, it took only a month or two for them to sell their homes and be ready to buy here, said owner Lexie Longstreet. Now it's more like seven or eight months or longer, she said.
“Sometimes they just say, ‘We can't sell our house, so we are going to stay here,'” she said.
Suzanne Meyer, owner of The Welcome Service, which dispatches welcome baskets in the Lake Norman area, also blames slower housing markets in other regions
Business “has slowed down a bit for us,” she said. Meyer's company targets affluent homeowners, those who buy homes with price tags upwards of $300,000.
Gina DeCarlo recently decided to leave Las Vegas for Charlotte. But it wasn't meant to be.
After more than 30 years in Nevada, she and husband Bill wanted a change. She visited Charlotte in late April and loved the area as much as her sister in Matthews predicted she would.
But DeCarlo, 50, doesn't want to sell her home in Las Vegas' sinking real estate market, one of the nation's hardest hit.
“I can't get what I want for my house,” she said. “The house has taken probably a $50,000 dump.”
She'd like to get $300,000 for the house she bought in 1982 for $100,000.
Martin and Vitner predict the slowdown of transplants won't create lasting economic woes.
“It's nothing to panic about,” Vitner said, noting that housing prices in hard-hit states should bottom out by the end of next year and those markets should loosen up. The flow of newcomers should pick up as those homes start to move, he said.
And Charlotte is already faring much better than most large regions, Martin said.
“I think this is all short-term,” he said. “I don't think the conditions that have driven Charlotte's growth over the last decade are all of a sudden gone.”THE MORE THE MERRIER
Population for nine-county Charlotte region. This is the same region the Observer uses to calculate its newcomer statistics every fall when the American Community Survey data is released by the Census Bureau.
2007: 2,143,946
2006: 2,065,520
2005: 1,991,060
2004: 1,934,195
2003: 1,893,429
2002: 1,858,327
2001: 1,820,030
2000: 1,775,860
Note: For this story, the Observer defined the region as the retail trade zone counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Rowan, Union counties and York County, S.C.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo®, Charlotte, NC
Monday, June 30, 2008
Green Building Booms in Western North Carolina
June 30, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Green building booms in WNC
by Paul Clark of the Citizen Times, Asheville, NC
The N.C. HealthyBuilt Homes program is a voluntary, statewide green building certification program. The number of certified and finished HealthyBuilt homes in Western North Carolina more than doubled between June 2007 and January 2008 — from 51 to 125, according to the Western North Carolina Green Building Council.
Green homes in progress increased nearly fivefold — from 100 to 482. Currently, there are 668 in development, the council reports.
The number of HealthyBuilt homes for sale in the county jumped from 11 in the year preceding June 19, 2007, to 113 in the year preceding June 19, 2008, according to the WNC Regional Multiple Listing Service, a tool that real estate professionals use to list and sell homes.
“This is not a fad. This is the future,” said Pat “Tree” Spaulding, a certified environmental consultant for Keller Williams Professionals real estate company in Asheville. She provided the MLS numbers above. “These homes are more durable, healthier and far more energy-efficient. Why would anyone want to buy anything else in the world as we are now experiencing it?”
“Everything (green) is going through the roof and shows no sign of stopping,” said Stephens Farrell of Stephens Smith Farrell Architecture in Asheville. “The thought of owning a 4,500-square-foot, poorly conceived and insulated house 45 minutes from work send shivers down people’s spines when they think about $4.50 gas.”
Farrell is the architect on a house on Cantrell Mountain south of Brevard that should be ready for its owners this month. They wanted a house that produces more electricity than it consumes. Farrell suggested a photovoltaic system — a typical residential system costs about $40,000 — that feeds excess energy into the electrical grid. Every three months, the owners should get a check from Duke Energy, Farrell said.
Their super-insulated house reduces its energy needs by using a geothermal heat pump, which uses the consistency of the earth’s temperature — about 55 degrees five feet below the surface — to heat and cool. The house, with solar hot water, stays cool in summer and warm in winter because of its living roof — a mat of live sedum that needs watering the first year but none later, barring a searing drought.
Bigger than it was
In its Enka Hills subdivision, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity built 16 HealthyBuilt homes in 2007 and plans to build the same number this year, communications manager Ariane Kjellquist said. All have non-toxic water-based paints and high-efficiency appliances. Its largest four-bedroom house won’t cost more than $34 a month to heat or cool, Kjellquist said.
There are more than a dozen LEED-registered buildings in WNC, said Matt Siegel, director of Western North Carolina Green Building Council. LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Siegel is working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the largest LEED-certified project in WNC — a 470,000-square-foot, three-building school complex under construction.
“For years, we have been having Realtors saying, ‘We have a customer (for green housing), but there’s nothing out there,’ ” Seigel said. “They didn’t have 50 different options as far as size and price.”
“I’ve got clients who moved to Seattle just to buy a green-certified home,” real estate agent Michael Figura said. “And they came here, and (green homes) are all over the place.”
Energy prices are one reason green building is so popular, Seigel said. As a result “a lot of our green builders haven’t seen the downturn in real estate that others have,” he said. Developers of large communities are coming to the council for its advice on how to build green. In two and half years, the council’s membership has grown from 150 to 520.
Eco Concepts Realty completed Hudson Street Cottages, a green development off State Street in West Asheville. Now it’s working on Gaia, another green development of clustered homes on Shelbourne Road. Gaia has solar heating and hot water, water-saving toilets, bamboo and stained concrete floors.
Ed and Kate Daigle are moving into a condo at Gaia this fall. They live in a 1930s house in Brevard that other than the grass, isn’t green at all, Ed Daigle said. The move is philosophically based — he believes that global warming is the world’s most pressing matter.
Michael Figura owns Eco Concepts Realty. He’s also a planner at GreenPlan, an Asheville company that promotes sustainable development. And he’s chairman of the Eco Consultants Association, a division of Asheville Board of Realtors.
“It’s the best way we can impact the sustainability of our culture,” Figura said. “We only have one earth. We’ve got kids and want to try to leave it a better place than we found it.”
Green with envy
Got a green home you’re dying to show off? ECO (the Environmental and Conservation Organization) is organizing its first green home tour in August in conjunction with the Southern Energy and Environment Expo on Aug. 23. It is looking for homes in Transylvania, Henderson or south Buncombe counties. Call 692-0385 or visit www.eco-wnc.org.
Eco-friendly home features
The N.C. HealthyBuilt Homes program has an extensive checklist that calculates eco-friendly aspects of a dwelling before designating it as a HealthyBuilt home. Green features at Stan and Colette Corwin’s Chunns Cove home include:
• Recycled gray water system.
• Salvaged building materials.
• Sealed crawlspace.
• Locally milled/fabricated cabinets with FSC-certified zero-formaldehyde hardwood plywood.
• Decking and hardwood floors made of sunken river wood.
• Natural cork bathroom floors.
• Zero-VOC Earthpaint in interior and on decking.
• Icynene insulation throughout.
• Rain harvesting.
• Wood-burning stove.
• Tankless water heaters.
• Looped on-demand hot-water delivery system.
More green in the Carolinas from the mountains to the coast!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Green building booms in WNC
by Paul Clark of the Citizen Times, Asheville, NC
The N.C. HealthyBuilt Homes program is a voluntary, statewide green building certification program. The number of certified and finished HealthyBuilt homes in Western North Carolina more than doubled between June 2007 and January 2008 — from 51 to 125, according to the Western North Carolina Green Building Council.
Green homes in progress increased nearly fivefold — from 100 to 482. Currently, there are 668 in development, the council reports.
The number of HealthyBuilt homes for sale in the county jumped from 11 in the year preceding June 19, 2007, to 113 in the year preceding June 19, 2008, according to the WNC Regional Multiple Listing Service, a tool that real estate professionals use to list and sell homes.
“This is not a fad. This is the future,” said Pat “Tree” Spaulding, a certified environmental consultant for Keller Williams Professionals real estate company in Asheville. She provided the MLS numbers above. “These homes are more durable, healthier and far more energy-efficient. Why would anyone want to buy anything else in the world as we are now experiencing it?”
“Everything (green) is going through the roof and shows no sign of stopping,” said Stephens Farrell of Stephens Smith Farrell Architecture in Asheville. “The thought of owning a 4,500-square-foot, poorly conceived and insulated house 45 minutes from work send shivers down people’s spines when they think about $4.50 gas.”
Farrell is the architect on a house on Cantrell Mountain south of Brevard that should be ready for its owners this month. They wanted a house that produces more electricity than it consumes. Farrell suggested a photovoltaic system — a typical residential system costs about $40,000 — that feeds excess energy into the electrical grid. Every three months, the owners should get a check from Duke Energy, Farrell said.
Their super-insulated house reduces its energy needs by using a geothermal heat pump, which uses the consistency of the earth’s temperature — about 55 degrees five feet below the surface — to heat and cool. The house, with solar hot water, stays cool in summer and warm in winter because of its living roof — a mat of live sedum that needs watering the first year but none later, barring a searing drought.
Bigger than it was
In its Enka Hills subdivision, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity built 16 HealthyBuilt homes in 2007 and plans to build the same number this year, communications manager Ariane Kjellquist said. All have non-toxic water-based paints and high-efficiency appliances. Its largest four-bedroom house won’t cost more than $34 a month to heat or cool, Kjellquist said.
There are more than a dozen LEED-registered buildings in WNC, said Matt Siegel, director of Western North Carolina Green Building Council. LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Siegel is working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the largest LEED-certified project in WNC — a 470,000-square-foot, three-building school complex under construction.
“For years, we have been having Realtors saying, ‘We have a customer (for green housing), but there’s nothing out there,’ ” Seigel said. “They didn’t have 50 different options as far as size and price.”
“I’ve got clients who moved to Seattle just to buy a green-certified home,” real estate agent Michael Figura said. “And they came here, and (green homes) are all over the place.”
Energy prices are one reason green building is so popular, Seigel said. As a result “a lot of our green builders haven’t seen the downturn in real estate that others have,” he said. Developers of large communities are coming to the council for its advice on how to build green. In two and half years, the council’s membership has grown from 150 to 520.
Eco Concepts Realty completed Hudson Street Cottages, a green development off State Street in West Asheville. Now it’s working on Gaia, another green development of clustered homes on Shelbourne Road. Gaia has solar heating and hot water, water-saving toilets, bamboo and stained concrete floors.
Ed and Kate Daigle are moving into a condo at Gaia this fall. They live in a 1930s house in Brevard that other than the grass, isn’t green at all, Ed Daigle said. The move is philosophically based — he believes that global warming is the world’s most pressing matter.
Michael Figura owns Eco Concepts Realty. He’s also a planner at GreenPlan, an Asheville company that promotes sustainable development. And he’s chairman of the Eco Consultants Association, a division of Asheville Board of Realtors.
“It’s the best way we can impact the sustainability of our culture,” Figura said. “We only have one earth. We’ve got kids and want to try to leave it a better place than we found it.”
Green with envy
Got a green home you’re dying to show off? ECO (the Environmental and Conservation Organization) is organizing its first green home tour in August in conjunction with the Southern Energy and Environment Expo on Aug. 23. It is looking for homes in Transylvania, Henderson or south Buncombe counties. Call 692-0385 or visit www.eco-wnc.org.
Eco-friendly home features
The N.C. HealthyBuilt Homes program has an extensive checklist that calculates eco-friendly aspects of a dwelling before designating it as a HealthyBuilt home. Green features at Stan and Colette Corwin’s Chunns Cove home include:
• Recycled gray water system.
• Salvaged building materials.
• Sealed crawlspace.
• Locally milled/fabricated cabinets with FSC-certified zero-formaldehyde hardwood plywood.
• Decking and hardwood floors made of sunken river wood.
• Natural cork bathroom floors.
• Zero-VOC Earthpaint in interior and on decking.
• Icynene insulation throughout.
• Rain harvesting.
• Wood-burning stove.
• Tankless water heaters.
• Looped on-demand hot-water delivery system.
More green in the Carolinas from the mountains to the coast!
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Bringing Green to The Mainstream
June 28, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Homeowners and builders find going green is a balance of cost and concerns for the environment.
In 1970, Kermit the Frog sang "It's not easy bein' green," and today's homeowners are feeling his plight as they try to balance costs and concerns for the environment. While the initial cost of "going green" is still a significant deciding factor, there are several benefits. Homeowners are doing something positive for the environment, their families and the future by saving
energy and resources. There are also sometimes rebates and credits to encourage people to incorporate green building practices. Many lenders now offer energy efficient mortgages. To learn more, visit http:/f.Nww.dsireusa.org/, the Web site for the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. The database is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (lREC) funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy.
What actually is green building or remodeling?
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), a home can be considered green when energy efficiency, water and resource conservation, sustainable or recycled products, and indoor air quality considerations are incorporated into the home building process. Key components of a green home include:
Energy- Efficient Features
Many energy-efficient qualities of a green home are easy to spot. Appliances, windows, and water heating systems will likely have ENERGY STAR@ ratings. The home should also include efficient lighting fixtures and bulbs. Renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic electricity and water heating systems, further decrease the overall energy consumption
within the home.
Water-Efficient Features
Fixtures and appliances such as low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets -along with ENERGY
STAR@ dishwashers and washing machines -all conserve water. Programmed, low-volume irrigation systems, rainwater collection systems, wastewater treatment systems, and hot water recirculation systems also save water.
Resource-Efficient Features
These decisions -from home size, to orientation of the lot, to floor plan layout -are made in the design of your home and development of the lot. The house orientation and design should take advantage of natural daylight to reduce lighting needs, and should use strategies to reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. The home should contain renewable materials (including rapidly-renewable wood species such as bamboo) and recycled-content materials in carpets, tiles, and concrete formulations.
Indoor Air Quality Features
The heating, air conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC) must be appropriately sized for an efficient and properly ventilated home. Fans in the kitchen and bathrooms should cycle fresh air inside, and release stale air. Low-VOC paints and finishes and wall papers should be used as well. NAHB has developed the NAHB National Green Building Program, a comprehensive resource on green building and remodeling at www.nahbgreen.org. .
Source National Association of Home Buiiders (NAHB) www.nahb.org
As a disclaimer: I am not a proponent of bamboo flooring and would personally do more research. Wall papers trap moisture. Light bulbs with mercury are on my watch list and hopefully, another option will appear.
I have included links where you may find other good articles on the National Home Builders site:
www.nahb.org our source for this article on going green.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Homeowners and builders find going green is a balance of cost and concerns for the environment.
In 1970, Kermit the Frog sang "It's not easy bein' green," and today's homeowners are feeling his plight as they try to balance costs and concerns for the environment. While the initial cost of "going green" is still a significant deciding factor, there are several benefits. Homeowners are doing something positive for the environment, their families and the future by saving
energy and resources. There are also sometimes rebates and credits to encourage people to incorporate green building practices. Many lenders now offer energy efficient mortgages. To learn more, visit http:/f.Nww.dsireusa.org/, the Web site for the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. The database is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (lREC) funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy.
What actually is green building or remodeling?
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), a home can be considered green when energy efficiency, water and resource conservation, sustainable or recycled products, and indoor air quality considerations are incorporated into the home building process. Key components of a green home include:
Energy- Efficient Features
Many energy-efficient qualities of a green home are easy to spot. Appliances, windows, and water heating systems will likely have ENERGY STAR@ ratings. The home should also include efficient lighting fixtures and bulbs. Renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic electricity and water heating systems, further decrease the overall energy consumption
within the home.
Water-Efficient Features
Fixtures and appliances such as low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets -along with ENERGY
STAR@ dishwashers and washing machines -all conserve water. Programmed, low-volume irrigation systems, rainwater collection systems, wastewater treatment systems, and hot water recirculation systems also save water.
Resource-Efficient Features
These decisions -from home size, to orientation of the lot, to floor plan layout -are made in the design of your home and development of the lot. The house orientation and design should take advantage of natural daylight to reduce lighting needs, and should use strategies to reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. The home should contain renewable materials (including rapidly-renewable wood species such as bamboo) and recycled-content materials in carpets, tiles, and concrete formulations.
Indoor Air Quality Features
The heating, air conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC) must be appropriately sized for an efficient and properly ventilated home. Fans in the kitchen and bathrooms should cycle fresh air inside, and release stale air. Low-VOC paints and finishes and wall papers should be used as well. NAHB has developed the NAHB National Green Building Program, a comprehensive resource on green building and remodeling at www.nahbgreen.org. .
Source National Association of Home Buiiders (NAHB) www.nahb.org
As a disclaimer: I am not a proponent of bamboo flooring and would personally do more research. Wall papers trap moisture. Light bulbs with mercury are on my watch list and hopefully, another option will appear.
I have included links where you may find other good articles on the National Home Builders site:
www.nahb.org our source for this article on going green.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Friday, June 27, 2008
Chalk Up Another "Best" for Charlotte
June 27, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte named best place to live
Relocate-America.com ranks top 100 cities in its annual list
By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.
This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.
"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."
HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.
Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.
But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.
Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.
Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point.
Second on this year's list was San Antonio, Texas, which people praised for its cost of living, recreational opportunities and diversity, he said. Chattanooga, Tenn., came in third place, noted for its vibrant downtown and affordable home prices in the nominations.
Below are the top 10 cities in Relocate-America.com's 2008 list:
Charlotte, N.C.
San Antonio, Texas
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Greenville, S.C.
Tulsa, Okla.
Stevens Point, Wis.
Asheville, N.C.
Albuquerque, N.M.
Huntsville, Ala.
Seattle, Wash.
Read the full list at Relocate-America.com.
The firm also plans on releasing a coffee table book on the top 100 in the near future, Nickerson said. Proceeds will benefit American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, he added.
The view from the top
Certainly, being ranked as the top city to live in has its benefits, mainly as a marketing tool for the area to use, said Tony Crumbley, vice president of research for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. An email blast sent news of this list to thousands of residents, and the chamber actively keeps track of where Charlotte falls in many of the lists that are published.
"They are important," Crumbley said of the good rankings the city receives. But he also knows that these rankings come and go and that they're somewhat subjective; the city's appeal can change from one day to the next, depending on who is writing the list.
There weren't any significant changes in Charlotte during the past year that would account for boosting the city to the top of this particular list, he said. But the city definitely gets recognized a lot more today than it did 25 years ago, he added.
Bank of America and Wachovia have their headquarters in Charlotte, and it's also a hub for US Airways -- all of which seem to have increased the visibility of the city outside its boundaries, Crumbley said. The addition of professional sports teams since the 1980s has also helped.
In recent years, Charlotte has been successful in attracting young, educated workers to relocate there, he said. Asheville, on the other hand, has become a popular choice with retirees, he added.
But cities can easily make it to the top of one list and rank poorly on another, he said. Case in point: One recent Forbes.com list ranked Charlotte as one of the country's most miserable cities, a ranking, not surprisingly, that Crumbley and others disagree with. Forbes also ranked it as one of the best places to invest in foreclosures, in part because the real estate market there is relatively stable.
"If they're good, you use them. If they're bad, I won't tell you you should ignore them -- you look at them," he said of the lists on which Charlotte appears. But negative rankings aren't likely to end up getting used as a marketing piece for the city.
Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago. The Best was printed in May 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte named best place to live
Relocate-America.com ranks top 100 cities in its annual list
By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.
This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.
"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."
HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.
Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.
But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.
Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.
Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point.
Second on this year's list was San Antonio, Texas, which people praised for its cost of living, recreational opportunities and diversity, he said. Chattanooga, Tenn., came in third place, noted for its vibrant downtown and affordable home prices in the nominations.
Below are the top 10 cities in Relocate-America.com's 2008 list:
Charlotte, N.C.
San Antonio, Texas
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Greenville, S.C.
Tulsa, Okla.
Stevens Point, Wis.
Asheville, N.C.
Albuquerque, N.M.
Huntsville, Ala.
Seattle, Wash.
Read the full list at Relocate-America.com.
The firm also plans on releasing a coffee table book on the top 100 in the near future, Nickerson said. Proceeds will benefit American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, he added.
The view from the top
Certainly, being ranked as the top city to live in has its benefits, mainly as a marketing tool for the area to use, said Tony Crumbley, vice president of research for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. An email blast sent news of this list to thousands of residents, and the chamber actively keeps track of where Charlotte falls in many of the lists that are published.
"They are important," Crumbley said of the good rankings the city receives. But he also knows that these rankings come and go and that they're somewhat subjective; the city's appeal can change from one day to the next, depending on who is writing the list.
There weren't any significant changes in Charlotte during the past year that would account for boosting the city to the top of this particular list, he said. But the city definitely gets recognized a lot more today than it did 25 years ago, he added.
Bank of America and Wachovia have their headquarters in Charlotte, and it's also a hub for US Airways -- all of which seem to have increased the visibility of the city outside its boundaries, Crumbley said. The addition of professional sports teams since the 1980s has also helped.
In recent years, Charlotte has been successful in attracting young, educated workers to relocate there, he said. Asheville, on the other hand, has become a popular choice with retirees, he added.
But cities can easily make it to the top of one list and rank poorly on another, he said. Case in point: One recent Forbes.com list ranked Charlotte as one of the country's most miserable cities, a ranking, not surprisingly, that Crumbley and others disagree with. Forbes also ranked it as one of the best places to invest in foreclosures, in part because the real estate market there is relatively stable.
"If they're good, you use them. If they're bad, I won't tell you you should ignore them -- you look at them," he said of the lists on which Charlotte appears. But negative rankings aren't likely to end up getting used as a marketing piece for the city.
Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago. The Best was printed in May 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Coincidence? Maybe so. Maybe not.
June 26, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
After all, We are Americans…Coincidence? Maybe so, maybe not.
I spend a lot of time reading and thinking and verifying and being the diplomat or trying to be. I spend a lot of time listening and asking questions and evaluating. It’s really my job. As a real estate broker, I feel that my obligation is to be true to myself, to be honest with others and to consider their options, the buyers and sellers I work with, my clients.
And during my day, I think about what I would like to write about for my podcast or blog. Because of my long history in Charlotte and my two decades in Charlotte as a real estate broker, there is much to write about. I have a friend who says my blog and podcast should be more personal, like a journal. What I do, read, hear, think and write about seem to go hand in hand. If I reprint an article or report statistics, to me, that is personal because I am always looking, evaluating.
And then, when I started these communiqués, I told myself I would try to refrain from being yet another opinionated voice. Another critic, another Monday Morning Quarterback. After all, we are pretty bright as a people. We are going-forward kinds of folks. We are independent. We tend to be courageous, we Americans.
And I remembered being an American in Russia before the wall came down. I travelled with 90 other Americans to Moscow in the middle of the winter. What stuck with me is how we, the Americans were different from the Russians. The Russian people were square and stockier, pale, sad or without expression, or maybe that was fear. There were soldiers with guns everywhere. Everywhere.We, the Americans, had a sense of humor. Could subsist on cabbage and warm champagne. We couldn’t drink the water. And we knew how to lag behind the tourist groups and go to more places than we should…ask more questions than we should. We were after all, Americans.
And now as we approach this Fourth of July, I wonder what happened to the jovial, thin, courageous Americans. We were then Captains of our own ships and now we seem to be floating, waiting for someone else to throw us the life preserver…when we are capable of rescuing ourselves. We are Americans, we are the Can Do people, we are the pioneers, the inventors, the creators, the American dream…Now we seem to be held captive in a sea of negativity. And this sea carefully masks those who hold tight reins, relish the power and control they have or they covet.
Each of us has the power to be positive, to be helpful, to be pensive, to listen, to give, to receive, to exercise, to say no to the negative forces…each of us can adapt, adjust, focus, put our best foot forward. Try. Try again. Try again and again…until the Americans become Americans again. And claim our own freedoms.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
After all, We are Americans…Coincidence? Maybe so, maybe not.
I spend a lot of time reading and thinking and verifying and being the diplomat or trying to be. I spend a lot of time listening and asking questions and evaluating. It’s really my job. As a real estate broker, I feel that my obligation is to be true to myself, to be honest with others and to consider their options, the buyers and sellers I work with, my clients.
And during my day, I think about what I would like to write about for my podcast or blog. Because of my long history in Charlotte and my two decades in Charlotte as a real estate broker, there is much to write about. I have a friend who says my blog and podcast should be more personal, like a journal. What I do, read, hear, think and write about seem to go hand in hand. If I reprint an article or report statistics, to me, that is personal because I am always looking, evaluating.
And then, when I started these communiqués, I told myself I would try to refrain from being yet another opinionated voice. Another critic, another Monday Morning Quarterback. After all, we are pretty bright as a people. We are going-forward kinds of folks. We are independent. We tend to be courageous, we Americans.
And I remembered being an American in Russia before the wall came down. I travelled with 90 other Americans to Moscow in the middle of the winter. What stuck with me is how we, the Americans were different from the Russians. The Russian people were square and stockier, pale, sad or without expression, or maybe that was fear. There were soldiers with guns everywhere. Everywhere.We, the Americans, had a sense of humor. Could subsist on cabbage and warm champagne. We couldn’t drink the water. And we knew how to lag behind the tourist groups and go to more places than we should…ask more questions than we should. We were after all, Americans.
And now as we approach this Fourth of July, I wonder what happened to the jovial, thin, courageous Americans. We were then Captains of our own ships and now we seem to be floating, waiting for someone else to throw us the life preserver…when we are capable of rescuing ourselves. We are Americans, we are the Can Do people, we are the pioneers, the inventors, the creators, the American dream…Now we seem to be held captive in a sea of negativity. And this sea carefully masks those who hold tight reins, relish the power and control they have or they covet.
Each of us has the power to be positive, to be helpful, to be pensive, to listen, to give, to receive, to exercise, to say no to the negative forces…each of us can adapt, adjust, focus, put our best foot forward. Try. Try again. Try again and again…until the Americans become Americans again. And claim our own freedoms.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Charlotte's Underbelly
June 25, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte’s Underbelly…
By now you know all too well that I love this city. I have lived here for almost 55 years and have driven up and down most of the roads and streets and now loops and Interstates many, many times. I used to motorcycle into uptown on Sunday mornings and go up and down the alleyways and through and around new construction…and then out to Unionville and down to Lancaster, S.C. because it was beautiful farmland. And part of what I want to do with both podcast and blog is give folks an accurate picture of our hometown.
Charlotte is a beautiful city, the people are friendly and welcoming and folks are coming here from all over the world…with or without jobs…with or without families, coming because they hear or know it is really a good place to call home, find a job, raise a family.
But we have our underbelly and I thought I might just mention a few issues. The morning paper helped me decide this. The headlines read “Dozens Held In Gang Sweep” with the caption under the faces of young men reading,” The faces of defendants charged in a scheme that spanned two countries, three states, and several North Carolina cities.” The caption on another front page picture, “ Eastland Mall was once a shining jewel of Charlotte’s eastside, but a quarter of its tenants have left.” An article earlier in the week spoke about the owners of the mall having a 42 million dollar loan coming due and responding that the mall was not valued at that today and they might just walk away.On the other hand the city takes an option on a part of the mall… pushing forward an effort to tear the mall down and replace it with homes and businesses. There is the Ying and the Yang of Charlotte.
Another headline reads Charlotte-Area Home Price Drop is First Since 1991.Our drop was one tenth of one percent and another report showed increase in sales by 4% in our South region. Prices are down, closings are up…incrementally. I tried to figure a way to compare realistically last year with this. I went back and read last years real estate reports, and on line to see if I could find anything to hang my hat on…last year and this year here in Charlotte is like comparing tires with oranges. So the numbers are just some kind of benchmark.
And then there was the report that Charlotte ranks 90th out of a hundred cities for the nation’s worst gas hogs. Followed by an article about how some of our council members are heading to Chicago to study the transit system. Our new lite rail…much fought over between our citizenry…is quite the darling. Ying and Yang.
And of course there is the weekly harangue with and within the school system. The daily journal of what is going on with our banks…the schools are always in the spotlight, they should be, it’s our kids. The banks…they’ll figure it out with us watching daily.
Charlotte is still great…with broken water mains and I-77 traffic…we are growing, sometimes it’s not so pretty…but mostly it is. Ying, Yang.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte’s Underbelly…
By now you know all too well that I love this city. I have lived here for almost 55 years and have driven up and down most of the roads and streets and now loops and Interstates many, many times. I used to motorcycle into uptown on Sunday mornings and go up and down the alleyways and through and around new construction…and then out to Unionville and down to Lancaster, S.C. because it was beautiful farmland. And part of what I want to do with both podcast and blog is give folks an accurate picture of our hometown.
Charlotte is a beautiful city, the people are friendly and welcoming and folks are coming here from all over the world…with or without jobs…with or without families, coming because they hear or know it is really a good place to call home, find a job, raise a family.
But we have our underbelly and I thought I might just mention a few issues. The morning paper helped me decide this. The headlines read “Dozens Held In Gang Sweep” with the caption under the faces of young men reading,” The faces of defendants charged in a scheme that spanned two countries, three states, and several North Carolina cities.” The caption on another front page picture, “ Eastland Mall was once a shining jewel of Charlotte’s eastside, but a quarter of its tenants have left.” An article earlier in the week spoke about the owners of the mall having a 42 million dollar loan coming due and responding that the mall was not valued at that today and they might just walk away.On the other hand the city takes an option on a part of the mall… pushing forward an effort to tear the mall down and replace it with homes and businesses. There is the Ying and the Yang of Charlotte.
Another headline reads Charlotte-Area Home Price Drop is First Since 1991.Our drop was one tenth of one percent and another report showed increase in sales by 4% in our South region. Prices are down, closings are up…incrementally. I tried to figure a way to compare realistically last year with this. I went back and read last years real estate reports, and on line to see if I could find anything to hang my hat on…last year and this year here in Charlotte is like comparing tires with oranges. So the numbers are just some kind of benchmark.
And then there was the report that Charlotte ranks 90th out of a hundred cities for the nation’s worst gas hogs. Followed by an article about how some of our council members are heading to Chicago to study the transit system. Our new lite rail…much fought over between our citizenry…is quite the darling. Ying and Yang.
And of course there is the weekly harangue with and within the school system. The daily journal of what is going on with our banks…the schools are always in the spotlight, they should be, it’s our kids. The banks…they’ll figure it out with us watching daily.
Charlotte is still great…with broken water mains and I-77 traffic…we are growing, sometimes it’s not so pretty…but mostly it is. Ying, Yang.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Good News While Side Stepping The Meanies
June 23, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
It would be easy for me to get my feathers ruffled when the media speaks about housing prices falling in Charlotte. We’ll take the one tenth of one percent anyday. And I’ll also walk away from the fighting developer/contractor battling lawsuits and attorney’s lingo at 210 East Trade because it has web like charactertistics…
Let’s see what we are doing in Charlotte to help folks, to rebuild neighborhoods…oh, and here’s my chance, forgive the real estate investors who argued against this proposal. They are in the minority. Here comes the good news:
Peachtree Hills to get help from city
Charlotte will spend $449,000. The goal: Save a neighborhood hit by foreclosures.
By Julia Oliver of The Charlotte Observer
The City Council on Monday took its boldest step yet to address Charlotte's foreclosure problem: It agreed to spend almost half a million dollars to help rehabilitate a subdivision blighted by vacant, boarded-up homes.
The vote was unanimous, but it came after questions about the city's role. A real estate investor argued officials should let the market settle out rather than use tax dollars to intervene. And a council member wondered whether focusing on one neighborhood would shortchange others.
The city will spend $449,000 as part of an $3.4 million effort to encourage homeownership in Peachtree Hills, a northwest neighborhood where a glut of foreclosures has left remaining residents vulnerable to vandalism and other crime.
Self-Help, a Durham-based nonprofit organization, will pay for most of the project. It plans to buy as many as 25 properties in Peachtree Hills and start a lease-purchase program for new homeowners.
The idea is unusual, housing experts say, and seems tailored to Charlotte's specific type of foreclosure problem – relatively new subdivisions where foreclosures have snowballed. Of Peachtree Hills' 147 homes, at least 42 have gone through foreclosure or been owned by a bank since 2003, according to county property records.
The 5-year-old community is one in a swath of northwest Charlotte starter-home neighborhoods that have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis. Self-Help found Peachtree Hills suitable for its program, however, because the neighborhood is not too far gone – it still has enough homeowners to form a strong foundation.
The organization and city officials hope the program will be a model.
“We're looking at this as a pilot program,” said Stanley Watkins, Charlotte's neighborhood development director. “If it works, maybe we can replicate it.”
The city's contribution will include lighting, sidewalks and landscaping – standard public services. But the city also has agreed to spend as much as $10,000 per home rehabilitating the houses purchased by Self-Help.
Kevin Pfannes, a local real estate investor who spoke at the meeting Monday, argued against the city's participation in buying and rehabilitating homes. He said the city would be spending taxpayer money to compete in the private market.
“We've already got a private pool of people that are willing to do that,” he said, urging the city to focus on code enforcement and other more traditional roles. “It takes a little time.”
But Richard Payne, a project manager at Self-Help, said investors didn't seem interested in Peachtree Hills.
City Council member John Lassiter said private investors were not likely to increase homeownership in Peachtree Hills. He said they would only bring more renters, and could make the problems worse.
Watkins said the money that will go to Peachtree Hills is taken from other programs citywide, but wouldn't have a dramatic impact on neighborhood services.
On the other hand, he said, the surge of investment into Peachtree Hills could save it.
“Our intent is to get that neighborhood back to stabilization as quickly as possible,” he said.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
It would be easy for me to get my feathers ruffled when the media speaks about housing prices falling in Charlotte. We’ll take the one tenth of one percent anyday. And I’ll also walk away from the fighting developer/contractor battling lawsuits and attorney’s lingo at 210 East Trade because it has web like charactertistics…
Let’s see what we are doing in Charlotte to help folks, to rebuild neighborhoods…oh, and here’s my chance, forgive the real estate investors who argued against this proposal. They are in the minority. Here comes the good news:
Peachtree Hills to get help from city
Charlotte will spend $449,000. The goal: Save a neighborhood hit by foreclosures.
By Julia Oliver of The Charlotte Observer
The City Council on Monday took its boldest step yet to address Charlotte's foreclosure problem: It agreed to spend almost half a million dollars to help rehabilitate a subdivision blighted by vacant, boarded-up homes.
The vote was unanimous, but it came after questions about the city's role. A real estate investor argued officials should let the market settle out rather than use tax dollars to intervene. And a council member wondered whether focusing on one neighborhood would shortchange others.
The city will spend $449,000 as part of an $3.4 million effort to encourage homeownership in Peachtree Hills, a northwest neighborhood where a glut of foreclosures has left remaining residents vulnerable to vandalism and other crime.
Self-Help, a Durham-based nonprofit organization, will pay for most of the project. It plans to buy as many as 25 properties in Peachtree Hills and start a lease-purchase program for new homeowners.
The idea is unusual, housing experts say, and seems tailored to Charlotte's specific type of foreclosure problem – relatively new subdivisions where foreclosures have snowballed. Of Peachtree Hills' 147 homes, at least 42 have gone through foreclosure or been owned by a bank since 2003, according to county property records.
The 5-year-old community is one in a swath of northwest Charlotte starter-home neighborhoods that have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis. Self-Help found Peachtree Hills suitable for its program, however, because the neighborhood is not too far gone – it still has enough homeowners to form a strong foundation.
The organization and city officials hope the program will be a model.
“We're looking at this as a pilot program,” said Stanley Watkins, Charlotte's neighborhood development director. “If it works, maybe we can replicate it.”
The city's contribution will include lighting, sidewalks and landscaping – standard public services. But the city also has agreed to spend as much as $10,000 per home rehabilitating the houses purchased by Self-Help.
Kevin Pfannes, a local real estate investor who spoke at the meeting Monday, argued against the city's participation in buying and rehabilitating homes. He said the city would be spending taxpayer money to compete in the private market.
“We've already got a private pool of people that are willing to do that,” he said, urging the city to focus on code enforcement and other more traditional roles. “It takes a little time.”
But Richard Payne, a project manager at Self-Help, said investors didn't seem interested in Peachtree Hills.
City Council member John Lassiter said private investors were not likely to increase homeownership in Peachtree Hills. He said they would only bring more renters, and could make the problems worse.
Watkins said the money that will go to Peachtree Hills is taken from other programs citywide, but wouldn't have a dramatic impact on neighborhood services.
On the other hand, he said, the surge of investment into Peachtree Hills could save it.
“Our intent is to get that neighborhood back to stabilization as quickly as possible,” he said.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Monday, June 23, 2008
Harvard's 2008 Housing Report
June 23, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
The Sharp Housing Downturn Continues to Pressure the Economy
Harvard Releases the 2008 State of the Nation’s Housing Report
If you are interested in an excellent overview, I have included a link to this report. Harvard also makes it available in a .pdf format. I will quote a snippet...
"Until the number of vacant for-sale units on the market ... falls enough to bring vacancy rates back down, house prices will remain under pressure," the report said. "Working off the oversupply will require some combination of the following: housing starts fall even further, prices decline enough to bring out new bargain-seeking buyers, interest rates drop enough to improve affordability, job growth improves, consumer confidence returns, and mortgage credit again becomes more widely available."
Single-family home prices in the first quarter of 2008 were down 12 percent from their October 2005 peak -- 18 percent in real terms, after adjusting for inflation. A "dispiriting picture" of housing affordability issues nevertheless remains.
The report, "The State of the Nation's Housing 2008," is more optimistic about medium- to long-term prospects, estimating that unless there's a serious, prolonged economic decline or a marked cutback in immigration, the nation will gain 14.4 million new households between 2010 and 2020, compared with 12.6 million between 1995 and 2005.
http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/media/son_release_2008.html
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
The Sharp Housing Downturn Continues to Pressure the Economy
Harvard Releases the 2008 State of the Nation’s Housing Report
If you are interested in an excellent overview, I have included a link to this report. Harvard also makes it available in a .pdf format. I will quote a snippet...
"Until the number of vacant for-sale units on the market ... falls enough to bring vacancy rates back down, house prices will remain under pressure," the report said. "Working off the oversupply will require some combination of the following: housing starts fall even further, prices decline enough to bring out new bargain-seeking buyers, interest rates drop enough to improve affordability, job growth improves, consumer confidence returns, and mortgage credit again becomes more widely available."
Single-family home prices in the first quarter of 2008 were down 12 percent from their October 2005 peak -- 18 percent in real terms, after adjusting for inflation. A "dispiriting picture" of housing affordability issues nevertheless remains.
The report, "The State of the Nation's Housing 2008," is more optimistic about medium- to long-term prospects, estimating that unless there's a serious, prolonged economic decline or a marked cutback in immigration, the nation will gain 14.4 million new households between 2010 and 2020, compared with 12.6 million between 1995 and 2005.
http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/media/son_release_2008.html
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Holding Steady in Charlotte, NC
June 21, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Holding Steady in Charlotte…
Our city is much like a teenager, or at least that is my definition. There is rapid growth here. Some projects going well. Some not so well. I think that is pretty normal. You know, the old saying, “take things with a grain of salt’? Well, I think that might apply here at the moment.For example, two of our condo towers are facing rocky roads. One is The Park where the bank is foreclosing on the stalled condominium project as the developer defaults on 30.7 million loan. A receiver has been assigned to secure the building until its future is settled in court.The other, with the description of condo/hotel, is 210 Trade . The battle is heading to court and the contractors are stuck with unpaid bills.The details on these two projects are layered and deep. And the causes perhaps myriad. I think perhaps the problems are unrelated to our current credit crunch.On the other side of growth, there are many good projects moving ahead. And here is a thumbnail of each:
New Uptown Office Tower Signs First Tenant
The developers of a 15-story office tower planned on South Church Street in uptown Charlotte have signed their first major tenant.
In Kannapolis, home could be 1.5 million
The old Kannapolis Country Club and a course designed by Davis Love III are part of David Murdock's Irish Creek project.
There's no doubt the $1.5 billion North Carolina Research Campus that Castle & Cooke is building in Kannapolis will be a Next Big Thing for the city and the region.
Uptown condo tower begins sales this week
The developer hopes buzz about the tower will pay off
The Catalyst condo tower – which last week reached its ultimate height of 27 stories – seems to have sprung up almost overnight on South Church Street.
More upscale homes to rise on Park South
Ardsley Court condo project has dual lure of SouthPark and convenient commute.
Over the past five years, half a dozen residential infill projects have sprung up on Park South Drive, a roughly mile-long street connecting Fairview Road with Park Road in south Charlotte
Microsoft buys offices off Arrowood
Microsoft has purchased two buildings it has leased for more than seven years in ArrowPoint Office Park off Arrowood Road in southwest Charlotte.
Pricey penthouses will cater to pricey passions
This unusual uptown development targets residents eager to showcase their enthusiasm for art, cooking, wine, technology and entertaining.
The developer of uptown's 20-story Encore condo tower wants to create five of the most unusual and most expensive penthouses Charlotte has seen.
Development tied to town vision
The town of Cramerton expects its population of 3,200 to double in about 10 years if the proposed 143-acre Village at South Fork is developed along the South Fork River as planned.
Wachovia doesn't plan to slow condo tower
The company will open a sales center in the fall. Waiting gives the bank flexibility, experts say.
Wachovia Corp.'s $880 million, 48-story office tower is still climbing skyward in uptown Charlotte.
Fat City facade will live again in NoDa
Neighbors invited to help decide on graffiti for wall of new lofts
A NoDa landmark disappeared a year ago when high winds blew down the graffiti-splashed facade of Fat City Deli.
All in all,We will both suffer and celebrate these times and ultimately be the wiser for them.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Holding Steady in Charlotte…
Our city is much like a teenager, or at least that is my definition. There is rapid growth here. Some projects going well. Some not so well. I think that is pretty normal. You know, the old saying, “take things with a grain of salt’? Well, I think that might apply here at the moment.For example, two of our condo towers are facing rocky roads. One is The Park where the bank is foreclosing on the stalled condominium project as the developer defaults on 30.7 million loan. A receiver has been assigned to secure the building until its future is settled in court.The other, with the description of condo/hotel, is 210 Trade . The battle is heading to court and the contractors are stuck with unpaid bills.The details on these two projects are layered and deep. And the causes perhaps myriad. I think perhaps the problems are unrelated to our current credit crunch.On the other side of growth, there are many good projects moving ahead. And here is a thumbnail of each:
New Uptown Office Tower Signs First Tenant
The developers of a 15-story office tower planned on South Church Street in uptown Charlotte have signed their first major tenant.
In Kannapolis, home could be 1.5 million
The old Kannapolis Country Club and a course designed by Davis Love III are part of David Murdock's Irish Creek project.
There's no doubt the $1.5 billion North Carolina Research Campus that Castle & Cooke is building in Kannapolis will be a Next Big Thing for the city and the region.
Uptown condo tower begins sales this week
The developer hopes buzz about the tower will pay off
The Catalyst condo tower – which last week reached its ultimate height of 27 stories – seems to have sprung up almost overnight on South Church Street.
More upscale homes to rise on Park South
Ardsley Court condo project has dual lure of SouthPark and convenient commute.
Over the past five years, half a dozen residential infill projects have sprung up on Park South Drive, a roughly mile-long street connecting Fairview Road with Park Road in south Charlotte
Microsoft buys offices off Arrowood
Microsoft has purchased two buildings it has leased for more than seven years in ArrowPoint Office Park off Arrowood Road in southwest Charlotte.
Pricey penthouses will cater to pricey passions
This unusual uptown development targets residents eager to showcase their enthusiasm for art, cooking, wine, technology and entertaining.
The developer of uptown's 20-story Encore condo tower wants to create five of the most unusual and most expensive penthouses Charlotte has seen.
Development tied to town vision
The town of Cramerton expects its population of 3,200 to double in about 10 years if the proposed 143-acre Village at South Fork is developed along the South Fork River as planned.
Wachovia doesn't plan to slow condo tower
The company will open a sales center in the fall. Waiting gives the bank flexibility, experts say.
Wachovia Corp.'s $880 million, 48-story office tower is still climbing skyward in uptown Charlotte.
Fat City facade will live again in NoDa
Neighbors invited to help decide on graffiti for wall of new lofts
A NoDa landmark disappeared a year ago when high winds blew down the graffiti-splashed facade of Fat City Deli.
All in all,We will both suffer and celebrate these times and ultimately be the wiser for them.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Friday, June 20, 2008
Condo CanDo-Friday's Q/A
June 20, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Condo CanDo, Friday Q/A…
Let’s Start:
1Q.I live in Matthews and own what I thought was a condo. Now I am told it is a townhome. How should I be able to discern that myself?
A. In our tax records under property description you will see a Unit File Number. Shortened that is U/F and then a number or numbers. If it has this as part of the description, then it is a condo. Townhome descriptions have a Book and Map because the land beneath the townhome is owned.
2Q. I live in a condo that was built 5 years ago. I am the original owner. I recently looked up our restrictive covenants to see what our Master Policy covers. I thought it was everything from the paint out, including the electrical and the plumbing. Apparently one set of Board of Directors changed what the policy covered to reduce the costs and it does not now include plumbing and electrical. How can this happen?
A. First, pat yourself on the back for discovering it now…and secondly, ask for a special board meeting to discuss this…after notifying neighbors of the change.
3Q. We are looking at an Active Adult Community. They are ranch type duplexes which suits us just fine. They are located within a busy shopping center where one large box store is open 24/7 and has a large parking area that is always jammed. I am concerned about high traffic and frankly, crime, with that easy access. My husband thinks being close to shopping is great.
A. Yes, being close to shopping is sometimes good when you can walk to pick up groceries or visit the drug store. Have you explored other areas that might have more of a buffer. I think your instincts are right on. Check the police reports in the area and listen to your gut.
4Q. We were thinking about selling our house, scaling down and buying a condominium or perhaps into one of those retirement communities. But we also have heard many boomers are adapting their homes to fit their needs better so they can stay in their homes longer. This has great appeal…and financially, it makes sense as well. What do you hear?
A. I hear and read more and more that folks are doing just that. Of course, it depends on your home and how adaptable it is. I have a friend who lives in a mobile home and has even prepared the 2nd bedroom in the event that she needs a caregiver. Of course, for her 80th birthday she gave herself a gift of a couple of sky diving expeditions…and she prepared for that adventure as well. For some folks, staying in the home is a good option, for others, scaling way down, travelling and having a smaller abode woks well. Listen to yourself. You have more than one option.
Got Questions? Send them in and we’ll see if we can answer them for you.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Condo CanDo, Friday Q/A…
Let’s Start:
1Q.I live in Matthews and own what I thought was a condo. Now I am told it is a townhome. How should I be able to discern that myself?
A. In our tax records under property description you will see a Unit File Number. Shortened that is U/F and then a number or numbers. If it has this as part of the description, then it is a condo. Townhome descriptions have a Book and Map because the land beneath the townhome is owned.
2Q. I live in a condo that was built 5 years ago. I am the original owner. I recently looked up our restrictive covenants to see what our Master Policy covers. I thought it was everything from the paint out, including the electrical and the plumbing. Apparently one set of Board of Directors changed what the policy covered to reduce the costs and it does not now include plumbing and electrical. How can this happen?
A. First, pat yourself on the back for discovering it now…and secondly, ask for a special board meeting to discuss this…after notifying neighbors of the change.
3Q. We are looking at an Active Adult Community. They are ranch type duplexes which suits us just fine. They are located within a busy shopping center where one large box store is open 24/7 and has a large parking area that is always jammed. I am concerned about high traffic and frankly, crime, with that easy access. My husband thinks being close to shopping is great.
A. Yes, being close to shopping is sometimes good when you can walk to pick up groceries or visit the drug store. Have you explored other areas that might have more of a buffer. I think your instincts are right on. Check the police reports in the area and listen to your gut.
4Q. We were thinking about selling our house, scaling down and buying a condominium or perhaps into one of those retirement communities. But we also have heard many boomers are adapting their homes to fit their needs better so they can stay in their homes longer. This has great appeal…and financially, it makes sense as well. What do you hear?
A. I hear and read more and more that folks are doing just that. Of course, it depends on your home and how adaptable it is. I have a friend who lives in a mobile home and has even prepared the 2nd bedroom in the event that she needs a caregiver. Of course, for her 80th birthday she gave herself a gift of a couple of sky diving expeditions…and she prepared for that adventure as well. For some folks, staying in the home is a good option, for others, scaling way down, travelling and having a smaller abode woks well. Listen to yourself. You have more than one option.
Got Questions? Send them in and we’ll see if we can answer them for you.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Charlotte Residential Sales For May 2008
June 19, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Looking at Charlotte Residential Sales For May 2008…
From The Charlotte Observer,Stella M. Hopkins
The number of Charlotte-area houses, townhouses and condos sold last month through the Carolina Multiple Listing Services dropped 26 percent compared with May 2007, marking a full year of double-digit declines.
Mecklenburg County new home construction also remained stalled.
The 2,778 houses sold was the lowest count for May since 2003, according to the MLS, which accounts for nearly all existing home sales within about a 50-mile radius and roughly one-fourth of new home sales.
The average MLS sales price fell nearly 4 percent, to $223,946, the sixth consecutive month of declines.
Builders took out permits for 614 new residences in Mecklenburg last month, down 36 percent from a year ago and the lowest number of any May since before 1998.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Looking at Charlotte Residential Sales For May 2008…
From The Charlotte Observer,Stella M. Hopkins
The number of Charlotte-area houses, townhouses and condos sold last month through the Carolina Multiple Listing Services dropped 26 percent compared with May 2007, marking a full year of double-digit declines.
Mecklenburg County new home construction also remained stalled.
The 2,778 houses sold was the lowest count for May since 2003, according to the MLS, which accounts for nearly all existing home sales within about a 50-mile radius and roughly one-fourth of new home sales.
The average MLS sales price fell nearly 4 percent, to $223,946, the sixth consecutive month of declines.
Builders took out permits for 614 new residences in Mecklenburg last month, down 36 percent from a year ago and the lowest number of any May since before 1998.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Condo-Tel Concept:SEC Consideration
June 18, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Condo-Tel Concept: SEC Consideration:
From an article published by the Associated Press, June 2005 Mike Schneider
"The hybrid concept of a luxury hotel that sells some of it units as condominiums has become one of the most popular trends in the industry in recent years. Condo-hotels in the past two or three years have expanded beyond traditional markets in ski resorts or Hawaii and into other tourist destinations such as Orlando and Las Vegas. Projects also are under construction in urban centers like Atlanta, Chicago and New York, where the Plaza Hotel is being converted.The concept has risks for both the developer and the condo buyer.
Financial risks
The Securities and Exchange Commission considers the condo offeringa security if income and expenses from the rental units are pooled and if a condo unit is sold with the explicit expectation the buyer will earn money or derive tax benefits from it. If the development is structured as a security, it can only be sold by a securities broker and it is easier for an investor to sue the developer under the SEC's anti-fraud rules, according to Los Angeles attorney Jim Butler.
Most developers choose not to sell their projects as securities to avoid the SEC complications, so they are prohibited from discussing the economic or tax benefits from a rental arrangement or project on how much a condo unit can earn in rental income. Many buyers make decisions without all the facts.A developer typically has to come up with around 40 percent of the equity for a traditional hotel; a condo-hotel development requires much less investment.
"If you're not allowed to communicate revenue expectation, often times buyers are making a decision based on incorrect information or overly optimistic information," a quote from Mark Lunt, Ernst & Young in Miami.
And for further information, please take a look at this questionnaire used by a mortgage company when looking to lend funds for a condominium purchase:http://www.condocando.com/wHOA.htm which we also have made available in a .pdf format.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Condo-Tel Concept: SEC Consideration:
From an article published by the Associated Press, June 2005 Mike Schneider
"The hybrid concept of a luxury hotel that sells some of it units as condominiums has become one of the most popular trends in the industry in recent years. Condo-hotels in the past two or three years have expanded beyond traditional markets in ski resorts or Hawaii and into other tourist destinations such as Orlando and Las Vegas. Projects also are under construction in urban centers like Atlanta, Chicago and New York, where the Plaza Hotel is being converted.The concept has risks for both the developer and the condo buyer.
Financial risks
The Securities and Exchange Commission considers the condo offeringa security if income and expenses from the rental units are pooled and if a condo unit is sold with the explicit expectation the buyer will earn money or derive tax benefits from it. If the development is structured as a security, it can only be sold by a securities broker and it is easier for an investor to sue the developer under the SEC's anti-fraud rules, according to Los Angeles attorney Jim Butler.
Most developers choose not to sell their projects as securities to avoid the SEC complications, so they are prohibited from discussing the economic or tax benefits from a rental arrangement or project on how much a condo unit can earn in rental income. Many buyers make decisions without all the facts.A developer typically has to come up with around 40 percent of the equity for a traditional hotel; a condo-hotel development requires much less investment.
"If you're not allowed to communicate revenue expectation, often times buyers are making a decision based on incorrect information or overly optimistic information," a quote from Mark Lunt, Ernst & Young in Miami.
And for further information, please take a look at this questionnaire used by a mortgage company when looking to lend funds for a condominium purchase:http://www.condocando.com/wHOA.htm which we also have made available in a .pdf format.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Looking Back at The City of The Future
Jun. 16, 2008
Looking Back at The City of The Future
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Though Charlotte has different kinds of challenges than most of the country, we do have them.
The many condo tower announcements that came week after week...the drawings of how the city would look in 3 to 5 years...the condominiums' amenities...the sparkle, the dazzle, the excitement...and now the scuffle, the lawsuits, the claims. We have our challenges.
Here's the latest news:
Dispute plagues EpiCentre tower
Work on 50-story tower has stopped; $70 million lawsuit
From The Charlotte Observer By Kirsten Valle
A dispute between the developers of the EpiCentre and a luxury condo tower on the site has brought the tower's construction to a standstill, its developer alleges in a $70 million lawsuit filed this month.
Work on the 50-story 210 Trade building stopped in February, with two floors built, because of a disagreement over technical building-code issues. Until the problem is resolved, lenders will not finance the rest of the project, and county officials will not issue certificates of occupancy, the lawsuit says.
The suit was filed in federal court June 6 by a subsidiary of the tower's developer, Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins Properties. It alleges that the Charlotte-based Ghazi Co., which is developing the EpiCentre uptown, has failed to live up to contractual agreements and refused to cooperate with local and state requirements that would allow the condo construction to move forward.
At stake is the future of the EpiCentre, a high-profile mixed-use complex on the corner of Trade and College streets uptown. The project was conceived with a luxury residential building – as well as offices, retail, entertainment and a hotel. But the condo tower won't move forward until the suit is resolved, developers say.
The rest of the EpiCentre development is progressing. Its first tenants, including the Suite nightclub and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Whisky River bar, opened in recent months.
If the tangle is resolved in coming months and work on the tower resumes, its first residents could move in by summer 2010 – more than a year later than originally planned, Flaherty & Collins' attorney, Lee Spinks, said Monday.
“If we do not get the issues resolved, we are intent on getting every dollar back that we've spent or paid them, and lost profit,” he said.
The condo developer is seeking $70 million if the issues are not resolved and the project scrapped. If construction can continue, the company is asking for $28 million in damages, it said in the suit.
Ghazi Co. officials did not return phone calls Monday.
Construction on 210 Trade, which is being built atop part of the EpiCentre, started in October 2007 – and tension between the project's developer and The Ghazi Co. arose even before that.
In the lawsuit, Flaherty & Collins investors allege various physical and structural problems, including getting fewer parking spaces than they paid for. The company also says it's owed more than $2 million because of a provision in the contract that said the company would be paid if The Ghazi Co. erected a second tower on the site that would obstruct some condos' skyline views.
Despite the issues, construction moved forward, and developers sold 265 of the tower's 420 units.
In February, the condo tower's lenders, U.S. Bancorp and Corus Bankshares, ordered construction stopped after being informed of the developer's building code issues. The problem arose with the county's code enforcement department after it discovered the project had been filed as a single-owner building on the EpiCentre site, when ownership is actually being shared by the owners of the condo tower, the office-entertainment complex and a hotel that's going up on the site.
According to the lawsuit, The Ghazi Co. has refused to enter into an agreement that would place the development under a condo form of ownership, satisfying the code requirements. That has stalled the project and turned off lenders, the suit said.
“We have 265 buyers who are counting on our company to deliver their homes, but we have been thwarted by the (Ghazi investors),” Flaherty & Collins spokesman Mark Conover said in a statement. “They have refused to cooperate in providing reasonable and necessary agreements that are routinely required by lenders. … It is their refusal of lender requests that have delayed construction.”
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Looking Back at The City of The Future
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Though Charlotte has different kinds of challenges than most of the country, we do have them.
The many condo tower announcements that came week after week...the drawings of how the city would look in 3 to 5 years...the condominiums' amenities...the sparkle, the dazzle, the excitement...and now the scuffle, the lawsuits, the claims. We have our challenges.
Here's the latest news:
Dispute plagues EpiCentre tower
Work on 50-story tower has stopped; $70 million lawsuit
From The Charlotte Observer By Kirsten Valle
A dispute between the developers of the EpiCentre and a luxury condo tower on the site has brought the tower's construction to a standstill, its developer alleges in a $70 million lawsuit filed this month.
Work on the 50-story 210 Trade building stopped in February, with two floors built, because of a disagreement over technical building-code issues. Until the problem is resolved, lenders will not finance the rest of the project, and county officials will not issue certificates of occupancy, the lawsuit says.
The suit was filed in federal court June 6 by a subsidiary of the tower's developer, Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins Properties. It alleges that the Charlotte-based Ghazi Co., which is developing the EpiCentre uptown, has failed to live up to contractual agreements and refused to cooperate with local and state requirements that would allow the condo construction to move forward.
At stake is the future of the EpiCentre, a high-profile mixed-use complex on the corner of Trade and College streets uptown. The project was conceived with a luxury residential building – as well as offices, retail, entertainment and a hotel. But the condo tower won't move forward until the suit is resolved, developers say.
The rest of the EpiCentre development is progressing. Its first tenants, including the Suite nightclub and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Whisky River bar, opened in recent months.
If the tangle is resolved in coming months and work on the tower resumes, its first residents could move in by summer 2010 – more than a year later than originally planned, Flaherty & Collins' attorney, Lee Spinks, said Monday.
“If we do not get the issues resolved, we are intent on getting every dollar back that we've spent or paid them, and lost profit,” he said.
The condo developer is seeking $70 million if the issues are not resolved and the project scrapped. If construction can continue, the company is asking for $28 million in damages, it said in the suit.
Ghazi Co. officials did not return phone calls Monday.
Construction on 210 Trade, which is being built atop part of the EpiCentre, started in October 2007 – and tension between the project's developer and The Ghazi Co. arose even before that.
In the lawsuit, Flaherty & Collins investors allege various physical and structural problems, including getting fewer parking spaces than they paid for. The company also says it's owed more than $2 million because of a provision in the contract that said the company would be paid if The Ghazi Co. erected a second tower on the site that would obstruct some condos' skyline views.
Despite the issues, construction moved forward, and developers sold 265 of the tower's 420 units.
In February, the condo tower's lenders, U.S. Bancorp and Corus Bankshares, ordered construction stopped after being informed of the developer's building code issues. The problem arose with the county's code enforcement department after it discovered the project had been filed as a single-owner building on the EpiCentre site, when ownership is actually being shared by the owners of the condo tower, the office-entertainment complex and a hotel that's going up on the site.
According to the lawsuit, The Ghazi Co. has refused to enter into an agreement that would place the development under a condo form of ownership, satisfying the code requirements. That has stalled the project and turned off lenders, the suit said.
“We have 265 buyers who are counting on our company to deliver their homes, but we have been thwarted by the (Ghazi investors),” Flaherty & Collins spokesman Mark Conover said in a statement. “They have refused to cooperate in providing reasonable and necessary agreements that are routinely required by lenders. … It is their refusal of lender requests that have delayed construction.”
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo Cando® in Charlotte, NC
Monday, June 16, 2008
Flipping Rules Suspended, FHA Loans Popular
June 16, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Market Updates:
Daily Real Estate News June 11, 2008
Property-flipping rule suspended
The White House temporarily suspends a rule that imposes a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed homes can be sold to receive government loans.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is temporarily suspending a 5-year-old rule intended to deter property flippers, as part of an effort to help speed the sale of foreclosed properties.
For one year, the Federal Housing Administration will no longer impose a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed properties can be sold to receive government-backed loans.
The policy was put in place in 2003 to deter property "flipping" schemes, in which buyers are overcharged for foreclosures or other distressed properties. But the surge in vacant properties resulting from borrowers who were unable to afford their mortgages has become a far more pressing concern.
"A glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods, frustrates homebuyers and delays a community's recovery," FHA commissioner Brian Montgomery said in a prepared statement.
The new policy "will allow homebuyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes," Montgomery said.
Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48% from the same month last year, and up 7% from April, foreclosure listing company RealtyTrac Inc. said Friday.
FHA Loans Gaining Popularity Source: The Washington Post, Dina ElBoghdady (06/10/08)
As lenders toughen their standards, loans by backed the Federal Housing Administration are increasingly popular.The number of FHA loans issued rose 126 percent in the first quarter of 2008, compared with the same period a year ago. Most of FHA's business now comes from refinancing.The volume of FHA loans at Wells Fargo has increased 342 percent this year from the same time in 2007, says Greg Gwizdz, the company's national retail service manager. Helping increase business were live simulcasts for real estate professionals that the lender recently held in movie theaters nationwide touting the benefits of FHA loans.Only borrowers who can make at least a 3 percent down payment or have at least 3 percent equity in their homes and who can document their income can qualify for FHA loans.Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, says FHA paperwork remains daunting and the rates aren’t always the lowest. “But if your choice is vanilla ice cream or no ice cream, vanilla starts looking good," he says.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Market Updates:
Daily Real Estate News June 11, 2008
Property-flipping rule suspended
The White House temporarily suspends a rule that imposes a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed homes can be sold to receive government loans.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is temporarily suspending a 5-year-old rule intended to deter property flippers, as part of an effort to help speed the sale of foreclosed properties.
For one year, the Federal Housing Administration will no longer impose a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed properties can be sold to receive government-backed loans.
The policy was put in place in 2003 to deter property "flipping" schemes, in which buyers are overcharged for foreclosures or other distressed properties. But the surge in vacant properties resulting from borrowers who were unable to afford their mortgages has become a far more pressing concern.
"A glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods, frustrates homebuyers and delays a community's recovery," FHA commissioner Brian Montgomery said in a prepared statement.
The new policy "will allow homebuyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes," Montgomery said.
Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48% from the same month last year, and up 7% from April, foreclosure listing company RealtyTrac Inc. said Friday.
FHA Loans Gaining Popularity Source: The Washington Post, Dina ElBoghdady (06/10/08)
As lenders toughen their standards, loans by backed the Federal Housing Administration are increasingly popular.The number of FHA loans issued rose 126 percent in the first quarter of 2008, compared with the same period a year ago. Most of FHA's business now comes from refinancing.The volume of FHA loans at Wells Fargo has increased 342 percent this year from the same time in 2007, says Greg Gwizdz, the company's national retail service manager. Helping increase business were live simulcasts for real estate professionals that the lender recently held in movie theaters nationwide touting the benefits of FHA loans.Only borrowers who can make at least a 3 percent down payment or have at least 3 percent equity in their homes and who can document their income can qualify for FHA loans.Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, says FHA paperwork remains daunting and the rates aren’t always the lowest. “But if your choice is vanilla ice cream or no ice cream, vanilla starts looking good," he says.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
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