Wake Area In For A Change In Magnet Schools

For many years magnet schools in the Wake area have had vacant seats needing to be filled, but now the Wake area is in for a change in magnet schools. As a result of the recent Schools Board’s decision to quit using relative wealth as a requirement, many area magnet schools will find those seats filled with students come fall. Parents who had had enough of the magnet schools selection process banned together, and pushed for the election of four new School Board members last fall who pledged to end the districts socioeconomic diversity policy, and they are doing just that.

For over twenty years, magnet schools have been a major part of Wake’s diversity efforts. The original goal was to draw affluent applicants from mainly lower income suburban areas. In the past the selection process was designed to give priority to those applicants who wanted to leave overcrowded schools in affluent areas. Those students with higher than average poverty levels were placed at the bottom of the selection process. Under this new guideline, priority will be given to those students desiring to leave crowded schools regardless of their poverty level. With the old policy in place, it made it more difficult for middle-class families to leave higher poverty schools.

Not everyone is pleased with this move including Board Member Kevin Hill, who says, “This may be the start of more high-poverty schools.” Those opposed feel that this will now allow more of a family choice issue instead of keeping poverty levels down as intended.

Are you interested in moving to the Wake area where your child can attend a magnet school? Look no further-Marti Hampton and Team Marti of RE/MAX One Realty are here to help you find your home.

470 New Jobs to Come to the Cary Area

Are you looking for a job in the Cary area or know someone who is? There are soon to be almost 470 new jobs to come to the Cary area. These jobs would come as the Wake County school system moves its main administrative offices from Raleigh to Cary. The administrative offices will be moving to Crossroads Corporate Park off of Dillard Drive and near the Crossroads Shopping Center by spring of 2011. The new home of the Administrative Offices will be bigger than their previous home with over 99,540 square feet of space. This location was chosen over another alternate location in Raleigh, because the district will not have to share the office with any other tenants and will be the only one in the building.

With the current budget crunch, it is reassuring that the move is expected to save the district $29 million dollars over the next twenty years. The big change for parents will be that this is the location where you will register your children for school and pick up records, along with attending Board meetings.

Wondering what the District will do with the empty buildings they are leaving behind? The plans are to sell the buildings on Wake Forest Road, and the properties on New Ben Avenue and Nobel Road. The sale of these buildings alone is expected to generate much of the savings of the move, which is expected to equal over $20 million during the next five years.

Are you looking to buy a home in the Cary area to take advantage of the new jobs that will be opening up there? Look no further Marti Hampton and Team Marti at RE/MAX One Realty are here to help you find your dream home, and help you sell your previous home.

Cary Continues With a Tight Budget

Cary continues with a tight budget with the 2011 budget expected to be the smallest of the last three years. Not only do families have to tighten their belts across the country, but so are towns everywhere. It is anticipated that Cary will enter next year with a $4 million surplus. In 2008 the recession started impacting the town when sales revenues and building permits began to drop. As a result of the dip in revenue it led the town to budget 52% less for building permits this current fiscal year. Not only did the town budget less for building permits, but also budgeted 24% less for sales tax returns.

With the holiday season being stronger than anyone would have expected, the town was able to beat sales tax revenue expectations by a whopping $1.6 million. Not only did Cary collect more than expected in sales tax they raked in another unexpected $1 million in property taxes. These savings have allowed the town to not have to raise taxes for another year. Towns have been advised to prepare budgets for 2011 similar to that of what they prepared this year, giving little increase to travel and training.

Want to make a difference in Cary? The town of Cary is now looking to fill 30 vacancies on the town’s 10 different Citizen Advisory Boards and Commissions. Applications are being accepted until June 30, 2010, and those appointed will be announced in September.

If you are interested in buying a home in the Cary area, now is the time to contact Marti Hampton and Team Marti at RE/MAX One Realty. Let our experience find you the perfect home.

Triangle Area Proves To Have A Strong Economy

The Triangle area proves to have a strong economy, especially the Raleigh-Cary and Durham areas whose economy ranked high recently in an annual report released by the Policom Corporation. Policom is a firm that specializes in providing economic research, while analyzing city and state economies. The Raleigh-Cary area was ranked the 15th strongest economy in the nation, with Durham increasing twenty-six spots this year to 59th. This is the highest the Raleigh-Cary area has ranked since coming in 9th in 2004.

Durham’s increase in rank is a positive sign of growth here in the Durham area. The report focuses on 366 metropolitan areas, and uses 23 different economic indicators including: employment figures, and salary rates over a several-year period. Policom is careful not to include economic hot spots or boom towns in their rankings, and instead focuses on those which have the best economic foundation. In a recent news release William Fruth, Policom’s president, stated “While most communities have slowed or declined during the recession, the strongest areas have been able to weather the storm.” The numbers show that the Durham area did not just weather the storm, they conquered it by showing a large increase in their ranking. Some of the top metropolitan areas of the report were: Seattle, Washington, DC, Denver and Houston.

Charlotte has claimed the number one spot on the report three times since 2004 and ranked number 11 this year coming in behind Queen City which claimed the number 10 spot. North Carolina as a whole has many strong economic metropolitan areas.

Are you interested in purchasing a new home in one of these strong economic areas including Raleigh-Cary and Durham? If so contact Marti Hampton and Team Marti at RE/MAX One realty and let our experience help find you the perfect home.

New Housing Development Planned For The Cary Area

Big things are happening here in Cary and the Triangle area. The Triangle area's largest home building company, Pulte Homes, has a new housing development planned for the Cary area called Davis Village, which will be built near the Prestonwood Country Club. This community will host an array of homes that are sure to fit everyone’s needs.

Davis Village will be a good size with plans to build 51 town homes and 20 single-family homes. Prospective home buyers will be able to choose from two townhome floor plans and four single-family floor plans. Homes will be offered with anywhere from three to five bedrooms, and square footage starting at 1,491 up to 2,898 square feet. The price of these townhomes and single-family homes will range from $169,900 to $269,000. Davis Village will offer convenience and style by allowing home buyers many options and ways to customize their homes. Homeowners will enjoy such luxuries as premier schools, convenient shopping and recreational venues in their own backyard. Some of the many amenities available in the Prestonwood Country Club area include Morrisville Community Park, golf courses, shopping, dining and movie theaters.

This development shows that builders have once again gained confidence in the Triangle area's economic status. Builders once again have faith in the area and many are in the process of planning new housing developments.

If you are interested in purchasing a new home in one of the housing developments in the Triangle area, contact Marti Hampton and Team Marti. Let our experience find you the perfect home.

Help For Those Facing Foreclosure In The Triangle Area:

In today’s economy, you more than likely know someone or have heard of someone in the Triangle area who fears home needs help to stop foreclosure. A new rule in North Carolina, set to go into place on June 1st, 2010, is designed to help those facing foreclosure. The rule will prevent mortgage services from foreclosing on a homeowner until all requests for assistance have been pursued.

At this time, even if homeowners are in the process of trying to modify delinquent loans, mortgage service companies are allowed to continue to advance foreclosure proceedings. Due to the large number of homeowners seeking assistance, it has been difficult for some servicers to offer help in a timely manner. This has resulted in many individuals losing their homes, which could potentially be avoided under this new ruling. The new rule will halt or slow down foreclsoures if the homeowner is trying to get help.

A second rule set to take effect will set a time line for communication between a delinquent homeowner and the mortgage lender. Services cannot take their time in processing foreclosure. These rules were proposed by the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB), and were given the go-ahead by the state’s Rules Review Commission on April 16th.

Since 2008, North Carolina’s efforts to stop foreclosures through the NCCOB has helped over 4,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure and provided counseling to over 10,000additional homeowners.

For a great selection of homes in the Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest area, check out my Triangle website and meet Team Marti. Let us guide you through the home buying process, and assist you in selling your previous home as well.

Building And Living In A Green Traingle Home

Arnold Zuco, an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle did the ultimate in taking his work home. In January 2008, he was was busy purchasing the land that would one day hold his new home. Today, Zuco is able to see his dream of living green complete in his new modernist contemporary home.

Going green is more popular than ever, and many new home builders are looking to do just that. The design of the home and the materials used can very much affect our future. Energy use is a big factor in building your perfect green home. Zuco’s home was designed by Randall Lanou and Nick Owings of Build Sense and Studio B architecture with energy savings in mind. The home boasts large windows covered by deep overhangs that allow for a vast amount of indirect light, which in return requires hardly any use of electrical lighting. Photo-voltaic panels were installed 100 feet from the home by Southern Energy Management, and are estimated to generate 30 to 40 percent of the homes power.

Some of the things Zuco used in his home can be used by you to make your home “greener.”

1. PEX Plumbing: Provides a better alternative to copper or PVC.

2. Blown In Cellulose Insulation: It is made of 80% recycled newsprint, and ensures every cavity is protected by being blown in.

3. Low/No Voc Paints: VOC are the toxic chemical you associate with painting. By decreasing the VOC you are improving air quality.

4. Energy Star Rated Appliances: The cost savings alone is a reduction up to 30% in utility bills.

5. Geothermal Heating: A geothermal heating system uses Earth's ability to store heat in the ground. Although these systems do cost 2-3 times more than conventional systems, homeowners will save money in the long run, seeing anywhere from 30-70% annual utility savings.

6. Tankless Water Heaters: Traditional water heaters continuously heat water they hold. Going tankless provides a better economical option than this.

There are many more things available to make your current home more green, or what to do when building your new home. If you are looking for the perfect place to make your green home contact Marti Hampton and Team Marti and purchase your new home in Raeligh, Cary, or Wake Forest today.

Raleigh Charter Narrows Down New Building Site To Three

As this school year draws to a close Raleigh Charter High School, one of the nation’s top public high schools in the country, has narrowed their choices to three possible building locations for their new school. At this time the only site that has been made public is a well a known office building in at 1307 Glenwood Ave. It has been nearly two years since the Charter school hired a local real estate broker to help them find their perfect location.

Currently Raleigh Charter has about 530 Students and has no plans to increase their student body size as part of their move. The move is to help the economics of the school by allowing them to focus less on the real estate cost and invest more into their programming. In order to enroll in this high school parents must contact the school to see if they have openings, and if there are more prospective students than openings a lottery is held to fill the spots. This past year there were more than 870 students who applied for the 140 openings.

Not sure what a charter school is?

A charter school is one that allows students and parents their choice in education. Charter schools are funded by public tax dollars. These schools must allow for open enrollment, and have no discrimination in regards to religious associations and ability to afford tuition. Raleigh Charter High School challenges college-bound students in a creative and supportive environment to become knowledgeable, thoughtful contributing citizens.

Are you interested in your child attending Raleigh Charter High School and want to buy a new home in the area? Look no further - Marti Hampton and Team Marti are here to help you find your Raleigh home.