Davidson – Staggered Terms?

Join us June 24. See details in the Lake Norman Chamber’s press release below:

Lake Norman Chamber to examine Davidson’s Four Year Terms for Town Board proposal

(Davidson, NC, June 6, 2011) – The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce will examine a proposal being considered for the Town of Davidson which would extend two year terms for the Town Board to four in a referendum which will be put before voters this fall. The Chamber’s monthly Focus Friday will examine the topic on Friday, June 24th at 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. at the Brick House Tavern 209 Delburg Street in Davidson. The event is sponsored by DavidsonNews.net / CorneliusNews.net.. The breakfast sponsor is The Brick House Tavern.
Under the proposal, Davidson Commissioners would serve staggered four-year terms, meaning the highest two vote-getters in the first election would serve four years and the next three highest vote-getters two-year terms. All future terms would be four years. The City of Charlotte and all other towns in Mecklenburg County have two-year terms for mayor and commissioner. However, more small N.C. municipalities have moved to four-year terms, according to research by Davidson Town Manager Leamon Brice. The Town of Mooresville elects its commissioners on staggered four-year terms and its mayor every two years.
Assistant Town Manager Dawn Blobaum will be on hand at the Focus Friday to share how the proposal will work as well as statistics the town has on other municipalities currently exercising the four year option. Speaking against the proposal is Prosser D. “Sandy” Carnegie, an attorney with the McIntosh Law Firm. Carnegie served many years as a commissioner with the Town of Davidson, and he has served on various Town of Davidson committees
While the Chamber’s Focus Friday is a program for Chamber business members, the public is invited to attend. The event is designed to show multiple views on a regional issue. Participation by those who attend is encouraged.
The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, with approximately 1,100 business members in the Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, and greater Lake Norman region is a non-partisan organization. Hilary Broadway, the Chairman of the Lake Norman Chamber’s Business Education and Advocacy Division stated the chamber has taken no position on the issue. “The Focus Friday will provide an opportunity for our business members, and the public at large, an opportunity to examine the merits of the issue in an unbiased and fair presentation.”

Roads, Roads, Roads!

I attended the Regional Roads Committee meeting yesterday. This is a consortium of seventeen Chambers of Commerce which meets quarterly. Yesterday we heard from the North Carolina Department of Transportation District 10 representative, Richard Hancock, and District 12 representative, Daniel Grissom. These two districts represent the Charlotte region, Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus, and surrounding areas. I thought I would share a few updates on roads in our area.

I-77 improvements from Brookshire to Catawba Avenue (exit 28): The conversion of the HOV lanes to HOT lanes (toll lanes for single person occupied cars) and adding a lane in each direction from I-485 to Catawba is expected to begin in 2015. This is approximately at $65 million project.

Brawley School Road: There is good news in store for residents on, what one member called, Lake Norman’s longest cul-de-sac road. Brawley School Road widening to Williamson Road should be complete next month. A few improvements here and there will be ongoing, but all four lanes should be running smoothly. The Williamson to Talbert leg, including the interchange at I-77 will be complete in November 2013. The contractor is actually ahead of that schedule now. The Talbert to Highway 21 leg is not funded, so don’t hold your breath for that to happen soon. The Brawley School Road and I-77 interchange will be what they call a “SPUI”. For those of you who are not road geeks, that means it will look much like the I-77 and Tyvola interchange.

Completion of I-485: The final leg of I-485 should be completed in 2014. You will start to see construction on that next month. In the south, two more lanes to I-485 will be added and completed in 2014 as well. As a side note, the I-85 and I-485 interchange is unreal! It will have seventeen bridges! It is called a turbine interchange. Here is a link to what it will look like: http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/CharlotteOuterLoop/

Catawba bridge: This is the first of four Diverging Diamond Interchanges (DDI) planned in the state. If you have not seen what it looks like, check out this video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF9Cx0pMsbI. Ours will be a little smaller than what you see in the link, but the idea is the same. The interchange redesign is scheduled to begin next year. Sadly, the “bookends” at Highway 21/Catawba and Torrence Chapel/Catawba will not be part of the project. Adding those intersection improvements to the bridge project would delay the bridge redesign. The DOT is well aware that those intersections must be redesigned for the DDI to work properly. There is some discussion of tying those improvements into the I-77 widening project, but no decisions have been made yet.

Between the two districts represented, there are somewhere in the range of over $1.2 billion worth of road improvements scheduled through 2013. So much is needed, but these are some pretty good starts!

If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call 704-996-6000. And remember, while transportation is important to me, helping people with their real estate needs is my passion and my career! If you know anyone thinking of buying or selling real estate, please let me know.

Nuclear Safety and Lake Norman

This article was taken in its entirity from the Charlotte Chamber website. It contains a note from Tim Gause, Duke Energy Carolinas Director of Government & Community Relations. With Japan’s reactors all over the news, I thought this was worth sharing. I hope you find it informative. Here is the link to the Charlotte Chamber website and this article http://charlottechamber.com/index.php?submenu=ChamberBlog&src=blog&category=Chamber%20Blog

Nuclear Meltdown – Could it happen here? Duke Energy Responds
Posted by: Natalie Dick, director of media relations on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 @ 2:11:12 pm

With so much in the news over the last week about a possible nuclear catastrophe in Japan, Charlotte Chamber President Bob Morgan wanted to share with you an

email he received on Tuesday from Duke Energy Carolinas Director of Government & Community Relations, Tim Gause:

“I’m sure you are getting questions or will have opportunities to alleviate concerns as our customers and residents compare nuclear operations here in the Carolinas with the incident that is unfolding in Japan.

Seismic history and water supply are critical considerations in locating a building site for a plant. Our nuclear plants are not located in the same proximity to the ocean as Japan’s, so we can eliminate the tsunami effect, but here is operational information that may help with concerns about earthquakes / tremors in our service area.

Nuclear plants in the United States are built to withstand an earthquake equivalent to or greater than the largest known earthquake in the region they are located. For Duke Energy plants, this is based on the Charleston, S.C., earthquake that occurred about 200 years ago. Steel reinforced concrete containment structures, coupled with multiple, redundant safety and plant shutdown systems, are designed to withstand the effects from earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.

All three Duke Energy nuclear stations have seismic instrumentation to record earthquake-induced ground motions at the site. The instruments in the control room are very sensitive and detect extremely low levels of ground motion. Plant operators use the recordings to evaluate the level of earthquake motion at the site and determine if it must shut down. Our procedures require us to shutdown at when low levels of ground motion are detected.

Duke’s nuclear plants can shut down safely even if outside power sources are disrupted. An independent backup power supply is available to cool the fuel in an emergency situation.

Step-by-step procedures are used by operators to respond to any type of natural disaster. While Duke Energy operators routinely train on these procedures, they have never had to implement these procedures for earthquake events.

If a plant shuts down due to an earthquake, a detailed physical inspection is done to evaluate the impact of an earthquake at the site and the condition of the plant structures, systems and equipment. In the event of an earthquake, Duke Energy staff would analyze the recordings and the inspection results before restarting the reactor.

Operators then perform extensive inspections prior to restarting the plant. If an earthquake exceeds the maximum operating basis and has to shutdown, the plant cannot restart without U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, following extensive inspections to determine if it is safe to resume power production.”

LKN Chamber Hosts Meeting on 2011 Mecklenburg Tax Values

The new Mecklenburg County residential tax values have been released, the first revaluation since 2003.  As a result, Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce’s Randy Marion Board Room  was overflowing with approximately 70 people Friday morning.   On hand was District 1 County Commissioner, Karen Bentley and Directory of Property Assessment and Land Records at Mecklenburg County, Garrett Alexander.   Mr. Alexander reviewed how values are determined, and how to appeal if you feel the value assigned to your property was inaccurate.  He also entertained questions following his presentation.

Since the last valuation in 2003, technology has changed and has allowed 6 people to revaluate all 355,000 homes in our area when it took 24 assessors to do the same job in 2003.  Three of those assessors were also at the meeting Friday.

These 6 certified appraisers used a computer assisted mass appraisal system called the GIS (geospacial information system) camaviewer to determine the value of our homes. You can see an example of the revaluation system by visiting: http://maps.co.mecklenburg.nc.us/reval/

With this software, the appraisers can view every parcel in that neighborhood and the values of recent comparable sales in that area. Instead of a typical home sale appraisal in which an appraiser looks at 3 good comparables to determine the value, these assessors look at 500 sale prices in a certain area to determine fair market value of all of the homes in that cell.  Then, mathematical models are formulated to determine the correct value of the home. The appraisers still consider proximity to schools, shopping centers and major roads in their valuation and use tools like aerial and oblique photography to examine easements, floodplains and structural issues that might affect the value of a home. 

One issue specifically important to Friday’s group was how waterfront property is valued.  The assessors stated they do consider view, water frontage, piers, and depth of water in determining value.

Mr. Alexander stated that he feels his office has accurately identified values.  However he understands that there will be many people who disagree with the assessment for many reasons:  number of foreclosures in their neighborhood, the number of homes that have been on the market and haven’t sold, vacant homes, waterfront differences, and confusion on home improvements.  Mr. Alexander acknowledge some public records may need to be updated to reflect improvements.  For all these reasons,there is a fairly simple appeals process.

How do I appeal the value?

The first step is understanding how your value was determined.  To look at the values that the assessor used to make his determination, visit http://Maps.co.mecklenburg.nc.us/reval.  One mistake homeowners make in their appeal is choosing the wrong information to present the assessor’s office.  Your property’s value is based on the January 1, 2011 value.  Any information from 2011 will be discounted.  Instead, focus on the last six months of 2010.  This can be a complicated process, one that I do on a daily basis.  If you need some help pulling together the appropriate sales information, just give me a call at 704-996-6000 or e-mail me at Hilary.Broadway@AllenTate.com.  I would be happy to help.

Next, you will need to make an informal appeal.  What did we do before YouTube?  Check out this great video explaining the appeals process: http://bit.ly/appealprocess

When you received your “Notice of Real Property Assessed Value”, the bottom portion of the page was the “Request for Informal Review”.  You must send in your informal appeal of your assessed value within 30 days. Your request will be reviewed and a new notice will be sent to you and it will state if your appeal was accepted or denied.  Don’t worry if you do not hear back from them right away.  It may be as long as 60 days before you hear a response. 

If your appeal is denied, you will receive instructions for taking your appeal to the next level, the Mecklenburg County Board of Equalization and Review.   Commissioner Bentley shared that legislation is pending to increase the Board of Equalization and Review from nine to fifteen members.  Hopefully that will make for a speedier process.

You will be able to download forms for this process on the assessors’ website and send in those forms. When they have received your request for appeal, you will receive a notice of when your case will be heard. Typically, you will have about 10 days notice before your case comes to the board.

If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome of that appeal, there is a third level of appeals. You may appeal to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission. When you are at the local appeal hearing with The Mecklenburg County Board of Equalization and Review, they will brief you on how to start this final appeal process.

Mr. Alexander said that last Thursday his office crossed the 8,000 mark for the number of appeals filed.  That is without the 27,500 residential condominium values being mailed yet.  Commercial values should be mailed between March 7 and March 14.  Mr. Alexander’s office expects approximately 40,000 appeals this year.

If your community as a whole feels everyone’s value in it was assessed incorrectly, have a representative of the community submit an appeal with a note that the entire community is in agreement.  Mr. Alexander pledge to take a special look at those appeal requests.  He further stated that if it is determined in one appeal that inaccurate information was used to value several propertes, all properties affected will be adjusted, regardless of whether those other property owners appeal.

The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce is grateful for the time Commissioner Bentley and Mr. Alexander gave to its members.  Everyone left more informed about the process.  Again, if you have any questions, please let me know.  You can also use a pretty cool mapping feature on my website that will highlight sold properties around any home for sale.  Check it out at www.HilaryBroadway.com.

Looking Forward to 2011

The real estate year of 2010 will likely be remembered in two halves.  The first half of the year exceeded all expectations.  The benefits of the federal tax credits and unprecented low interest rates contributed greatly to an increase in sales and closings in the first and second quarters.  Unfortunately, but as expected, that activity proved unsustainable in the second half of the year when activity fell significantly.  I would argue many of those who would have been third and fourth quarter home buyers, just accellerated their purchase into the first and second quarter to capture the tax credits.  The first quarter numbers were artificially stimulated.  In its entirity, 2010 will look much like 2009 in terms of real estate sales activity. 

Moving forward, I still see continued pressure on pricing as supply outweighs demand in many areas and price points.  Most experts are indicating our pricing has returned to 2004 – 2005 levels.  I remain optimistic that values will stabilize in 2011 as demand begins to return to the market.  One thing I am noticing is that while supply levels are still high, much of that inventory is left-over, less attractive inventory.  Much like a sale rack the day after Christmas, the merchandise has been picked over.  That is great news for the homes entering today’s market in true market ready condition.  Those homes are selling quickly and very close to asking prices.  I am even seeing more and more multiple offers on those properties.  Foreclosure sales are down significantly.  In North Carolina, the 2010 third quarter numbers show foreclosures to make up only 12% of real estate sales. That is down from 27% in the second quarter and from 28% in the third quarter of 2009.  On another positive note, it appears that the new congress has been met with consumer and business support, and employment figures are responding with strong gains in November and December.  In fact, it has already begun.  The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book reported that the Charlotte economy is gaining ground.  As the jobs sector improves, consumer confidence will improve ,and with it, the housing market.

New construction is showing strong growth already.  As widely anticipated, new homes will emerge first.  We are beginning to see that affect in the market now. 

I believe we will see modest growth in 2011.  We will see an increase in sales and more stability in values.  This might be your best opportunity if you are considering a move up to a larger home.  It is widely believed that we are at the bottom of the value cycle.  The experts also indicate interest rates will not fall lower than they are currently.  The perfect blend of low prices and low rates with the anticipation both will rise might present the best opportunity to “time the market”. 

If you or anyone you know is interested in discussing a move or an investment in real estate, let me know.  If you want to do a little research on your own, please visit my website at www.HilaryBroadway.com where you will find active AND SOLD homes in your neighborhood.  It’s a great way to get started.  While you are there, sign up for your complimentary market report, sent your inbox monthly.

I wish you a happy and safe holiday season.  And here’s to a prosperous 2011!

Hilary

Who Actually Works On Your Mortgage File?

This is a pretty good overview of the mortgage process.  What is does not say, and should, is the underwriter may send the file back to the processor several times depending upon the information received originally or upon subsequent requests for additional information.  This can be frustrating for borrowers who already feel they have given everything short of their blood type.  Do not take it personally.  The process may not be all that fun, but it is a necessary means to a very good end – having the home you want!

via Who Actually Works On Your Mortgage File?.

Looking for a home?  Search them, map them, find nearby sales, and more at www.HilaryBroadway.com

Charlotte: A Great Place To Be

I guess I am biased.  I have lived in the Charlotte region since I was two weeks old.  The native Charlotteans tell me that counts as being a native.  We moved to Charlotte’s historic Country Club neighborhood, rich with culture and close to the heart of the city.  Several years later, after lugging the boat to and from Lake Norman on weekends, my parents decided they were ready to make Lake Norman their home.  Thank you Mom and Dad!  While back then the winters were long with precious little to do, the summers were spectacular!  When I became old enough to take the boat out on my own, long before I had a driver’s license, the lake was my freedom.  My days consisted of meeting friends and waterskiing until we parted for dinner, usually when it was getting to dark to see the ski rope in the water. 

After attending the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I returned home.  I thought about spending some time in various parts of the country:  New York, Phoenix, anyplace was open.  When it came down to making a decision, my heart brought me back to Charlotte and Lake Norman.  Now my husband Greg and I live in Cornelius with our daughter Sydney.  We cannot imagine living elsewhere.  We love all the lake has to offer, as well as the greenways, parks, shopping (a lot has happened since I was a little girl), and the easy drive to the mountains and beaches.

But we are not the only ones!  Newcomers are always impressed with the quality of life, the cost of living, and the opportunities that are available here.  

Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons people love it here, can be found in a recent article published in USA Today which stated that North Carolina, Idaho and several other states are those that are leading the nation out of “the worst recession since the 1930s.” The National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009 and since then, North Carolina is ranked #5 amongst states whose personal income has increased.

Even when the recession was at its worst, I continued to work with individuals, families and companies who have chosen the Charlotte region as their home. Why? Because, we’ve built a reputation based around economic opportunity, and it is just a nice place to live.

To begin your home search, visit my website at www.HilaryBroadway.com.

Dr. Gorman’s Requests

I had the great honor of sponsoring a luncheon for the Lake Norman Chamber today at which Dr. Peter Gorman, Superintendent of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools spoke.  Dr. Gorman shared many interesting facts with us, such as:

• CMS saw an 1,800 growth in students this year.
• There are 178 schools in the CMS system
• There are 9,000 teachers in the CMS system
• CMS led the state by 12 points in SAT scoring, with 66% of students taking the test

Dr. Gorman stressed the importance of good leadership and good teachers.  CMS is working on ways to properly evaluate teachers, not solely on scoring, but on many other less tangible qualities.

In the end, Dr. Gorman asked those of us in the room for the following five things:

1. Pay attention to school issues.  That includes decisions made by elected officials such as zoning and development approvals which might impact school attendance.
2. Pay attention to the School Board and vote.
3. Hold staff accountable, from the teacher to the Superintendent.
4. Help your child at home.
5. Treat every child like he or she is your own

It was a great meeting.  We were fortunate Dr. Gorman was willing and able to address the group.

Look at Cost, Not Just Price

An interesting thing happened last week. For the first time since April, the interest rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage increased two weeks in a row. It didn’t increase much (.05%) but it was news because it had been so long since rates have ticked up. It will be interesting to see what the Fed reports today. We are not announcing that rates are headed higher. It is way too early to make that argument. However, the increase did make us look at the bargain rates are today.

Home values have fallen to October 2003 levels as measured by the Case Shiller 20 City Index. You can buy a home today for the same PRICE you would have prior to the housing bubble. That’s amazing!

The more amazing part is that it would COST you much less. You can purchase a home with a mortgage at a much lower rate than you would have in 2003. We did some research and found out that the mortgage rate at that time was 5.95%. Today rates are at 4.5%. We calculated what that would mean to a buyer’s monthly mortgage payment.

How much would you save?

Let’s assume for the sake of this example that you purchased a home and borrowed $200,000 via a mortgage. In 2003, your monthly mortgage payment (principle and interest) would have been $1,192.68. If you borrowed the same $200,000 today your monthly payment would be $1,013.37. Same house, same price but the COST is $179.31 less a month. That’s a savings of over $2,000 a year! Over the life of a 30 year mortgage, you would save over $64,000.

Bottom Line

If you are considering the purchase of a home but believe that waiting is the prudent thing to do because of price may continue to soften, make sure you keep an eye on interest rates.

We have a tendency to look at just the PRICE of the house instead of the COST. The cost is actually more important.

To obtain a market report, delivered to your Inbox on your neigborhood, or to search for homes, visit www.HilaryBroadway.com today.

Where’s the Silver Lining?

Never has it been so apparent that the overall US economy and the real estate market are closely tied.  As we hear the news and the forecasts of a slowdown in the economic recovery, I am here to report the same news for the residential real estate market.  However, there is a silver lining!

The first half of 2010 exceeded my expectations for activity.  The extension of the federal tax credits provided the catalyst that pushed many buyers off the fence and we saw activity in sales and closings not seen for several years.  Once June came, the activity has returned to levels of 2008 and 2009.  In many price points, the third quarter activity has been as low as 2003 units.  So where is the silver lining?

 The opportunity of a lifetime exists for a large group of potential buyers.  Interest rates are once again at historic low levels – hovering near 4.5% for a 30-year conforming loan.  Inventory levels have risen again, providing plentiful choices in what is clearly a buyers market.  If you have job security, good credit and a little cash to put down, don’t miss this chance to take advantage of the best buying opportunity our generation will likely experience!

 If you are curious about the real estate market activity in your neighborhood, I have an awesome tool I have developed for you called my “Market Report”.  This tool provides you with a summary of every home active on the market plus a summary of the recent sales.  The e-mail you receive features links to each property details page on my website as well as a statistical analysis of the neighborhood market and the market in your local town.  The feedback I have received is incredible.  If you are interested in receiving this report from me, please call me, e-mail me at Hilary.Broadway@AllenTate.com or visit my website at www.HilaryBroadway.com.

 Best wishes for a fantastic (and cooler) fall season!