Retiring in the Raleigh, NC area?

Did you know that more and more people are choosing to retire in the Raleigh, NC Area? Are you looking for a Maintenance Free Homes in the Raleigh area?

Yes, Money Magazine ranks Durham, North Carolina as the number 1 place to retire on their listing of their 25 Best Places to Retire. Benefits cited by Money Magazine include the weather where there are four seasons and yet none are usually too extreme (contrary to this year). There are an abundance of parks, golf courses, cultural activities, and home prices are affordable. Then there is the world renowned Duke Medical Center. Durham has a new 2,800 seat performing arts center (DPAC) and it is home to the Durham Bulls baseball team.

Duke University has a senior learning program that has been around for over 30 years. It is one of the biggest in the country and there are more than 100 courses offered every term which cover a wide variety of topics.

Many of the same features that might draw retirees to Durham are found all over the Raleigh, NC area as well. Top notch medical treatment and care can be found at the Duke Medicine Plaza on Duke Raleigh Hospital’s campus which has specialties from Neurosurgery, Cardiovascular Care to the Duke Raleigh Cancer Center that have won local and national awards.

Healthcare in the Raleigh area also includes two other nationally known healthcare systems, Rex Healthcare and WakeMed Hospital systems. All three of these major healthcare providers have urgent care and campus locations in many of the surrounding areas of Raleigh.

The Raleigh, NC senior housing market offers a wide variety of choices that range from maintenance free homes, senior friendly apartments, independent living, assisted living, and continuing care retirement living.

Maintenance Free Homes in the Raleigh area include detached homes, condominiums, and townhomes. They can be found from Apex, to Cary, Raleigh, Midtown (North Hills) Wake Forest and even Knightdale.

Here are just two examples:

Renaissance at Regency – “These easy living one and two story homes provide a carefree lifestyle along with exceptional features and amenities. English styled exteriors and state-of-the-art interiors exhibit stone, decorative iron work and hardwoods including quality features such as 10’ ceilings and extensive moldings.”

Carolina Preserve at Amberly – this is a Del Webb community. “Whether they’re part of a smaller, more intimate setting or a large resort-style community, amenities are one way that Del Webb encourages residents to realize their full potential as individuals and as members of a community. Amenities are more than buildings and pools and fitness centers; they are invitations to meet your neighbors and explore new interests.”

There are many more options and the Marti Hampton team would consider it a privilege to be able to help you with your home search.

Considering buying a short sale home in Raleigh, NC?

What is a short sale? What are the advantages, if any, for a home buyer? First of all, let’s consider how a short sale is defined here in Raleigh, NC.

A short sale indicates a real estate sale where there is more debt owed on the property than the property is worth. The home seller thus needs the lender(s) to accept a payment that is less than the amount that is owed. There may be other parties that have to approve the home sale as well. These include other lien holders, those who insured the loans (like PMI), bankruptcy trustees, and taxing authorities.

It appears that we will have these types of transactions for some time to come. Here’s but one prediction: Travis Waller, a certified residential specialist at RE/MAX Advantage Plus in Teaneck, N.J., expects negative equity to trigger a second wave of foreclosures "that no one is even speaking about." (Short-sale market has legs, Inman News Thursday, January 13, 2011)

According to the North Carolina Association of REALTORS® standard form 104 that is used along with the offer to purchase a short sale is where:

· The purchase price is or may be insufficient to enable Seller to pay the costs of sale, which include but are not limited to the Seller’s closing costs and payment in full of all loans or debts secured by deeds of trust on the property due and owing to one or more lender(s) and/or other lienholders

· Seller does not have sufficient liquid assets to pay any deficiencies and

· The Lienholders agree to release or discharge their liens upon payment of an amount less than the amount owed, with or without the Seller being released from any further liability.

The obvious advantage to a home buyer in regards to the purchase of a short sale is the possibility of getting a significantly reduced price and this does happen. However, a short sale is anything but short when it comes to the amount of time it takes – sometimes as much as a year to close one of these types of home sales. There is a larger amount of paperwork and the response times for many lenders can be long.

So, if you are considering a short sale purchase, you will want to have a professional real estate agent assist you in the transaction. Contact the Marti Hampton team if you would like more information.

Important questions to consider when buying your next Raleigh, NC home

What are some questions a buyer should ask when deciding upon the home search criteria for purchasing a home in the Raleigh, North Carolina area? Here is a list that will help you define and narrow your home search for your ideal home:

What is your ideal location? In that regard, what is your ideal commute time?

Are schools important? Which schools do you prefer? Do you need the Marti Hampton team to assist with providing information regarding schools?

What are you looking for in a neighborhood?

What is the approximate size lot you would like to have?

What style of home are you interested in?

What types of siding will you consider?

Are there any restrictions for steps?

Do you want a porch? Do you want a deck?

Do you want a fenced yard?

Do you have a style of home that you would like? (i.e., Colonial, Ranch, Traditional, Bungalow, Cape Cod, Charleston, Contemporary, etc.)

How big is your ideal home? Approximate square footage?

What type of flooring do you prefer?

In general, how should the interior look? (e.g. open, cozy, new age, etc.)

How should your home make you feel when you are in it?

When others visit your home, what do you want your home to portray?

What are your likes and dislikes as far as the general interior of your home?

Seems like a lot of questions to ask, doesn’t it? All these and more will help to define the ideal home for you and make the home search process easier.

Questions such as these will allow the serious home buyer to restrict the home search process and make it easier to not feel you have to look on the internet for every Raleigh, NC home that is actively being marketed. Currently there are over 16,000 active or contingent listings in the Triangle Multiple Listing Service, so it is important to narrow down your search criteria. After you’ve thought about the questions above, visit the new Advanced MLS Search on MartiHampton.com so you can search and find the home that fits your needs.

Speaking of searching for Raleigh area homes, did you know that you can find homes before they go on MLS? Here is our team's 'Coming Soon' listings for the week:

Marti Hampton’s Coming Soon Homes

Selling or buying? What stays, what goes.

Thinking of selling your Raleigh, NC home? Do you want to purchase Raleigh residential real estate? Do you know what a fixture is? It’s important in marketing your home.

It doesn’t matter which side of a real estate transaction you are on (home buyer or seller), you will want to understand how a fixture is defined in the home sale. For home sellers, we understand that there are items in your home you may not want to part with; however, there are several items in every home that are considered “fixtures” according to the Offer to Purchase and Contract. If you wish to remove any fixture and take it with you to your new home, you will want to exclude it in the listing agreement you have with your real estate agent and have it noted in the MLS. Another approach that we recommend is to remove the fixture prior to any showings of the home and replace it if necessary. The seller is responsible to repair any damage caused by removal of any items.

If you are considering buying a home in Raleigh, NC and you are relocating, this is important because what is considered a fixture here may be different than your present state. As an example, in North Carolina, the refrigerator typically is not considered a fixture.

So what is a fixture?

According to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, a fixture is “an item of personal property, a chattel, affixed to a building or structure, or real estate to which it is affixed and annexed.” Because it is affixed or attached to real estate (it’s also called an appurtenance), it passes with the sales of the real estate to the buyer unless something is stated to the contrary in the Offer to Purchase and contract.

According to the new contract that just became effective January 11, 2011, the following items, if any, are deemed fixtures and are included in the Purchase Price. These must be free of liens:

In addition to what is listed above any other items that are attached or affixed to the Property, would be included.

Thinking of buying a home in Raleigh, NC?

Are you looking for a fixer upper? Are there any good foreclosures to purchase?

As you have probably heard, foreclosures are abound in the real estate marketplace across the United States. According to Realtytrac, California had the highest rate of foreclosure in November 2010 – 57,378 foreclosure properties or one in every 233. North Carolina has far less foreclosures, but in November there were 4,083 foreclosed properties or one in every 1,029 units.

Once a home goes to the foreclosure auction, if a home buyer or real estate investor does not purchase the home, it usually becomes bank owned or real estate owned (REO) property. Often REO property is sold below normal “market value” and it can be a good investment for those willing to take the extra time and make the additional effort that is required in this type of home purchase.

How many listings fall into this and other “discounted” real estate categories in the greater Raleigh, NC area?

As of this week there are a total of 16,062 residential listings in TMLS – this includes all the surrounding counties including Durham, Johnson, Orange and Wake. Of the total,
1405 (8.7 % of the total real estate inventory) that fall into the categories of Bankruptcy, HUD/VA owned, REO – real estate owned (by bank or lender), sales subject to court approval, and Short sales which require lender approval.

Specifically in Wake County there are a total of 7,642 residential listings. Of these, 733 (9.6 % of the Wake County real estate inventory) are in Bankruptcy, HUD/VA owned, REO – real estate owned (by bank or lender), sales subject to court approval, or Short sales requiring lender approval.

Want to see what is available? You can search for active foreclosure properties on the Marti Hampton website. Raleigh NC Foreclosure Search

Click the foreclosure tab at the top of the map.

Want help finding the best deal? Contact Marti or her team today.

Interested in what a neighbor's home sold for in Raleigh, NC?

Did you know you can search for Sold Homes on the Marti Hampton website? Want to know the sales price on your neighbor's home? Want to buy Raleigh real estate and know what the sale prices have been in a neighborhood? If so, we have the tool for you. We have a "SOLD History" feature on the Marti Hampton website that allows you to search for sold homes on a map. This powerful tool is simple to use. Just click on the Search for Homes tab on the home page and then click the search by map option on the drop down menu. Then navigate to your subdivision or the location you want to search. Click on the Sold History tab and you will see something similar to the graphic below:

When you mouse over a balloon you will get a picture of the home and when you click on the home the details on the home sale will be displayed as shown in the example below:


As you can see this view gives valuable information regarding the sale of the home: Original listing price, days on market (DOM) – how long the home took to go under contract, the list price to sale price ratio, the type of financing or loan terms and it provides the calculation of sales price per square foot. This powerful tool allows you to compare and contrast the prices of all the surrounding home sales recorded in the Triangle Multiple Listing Service (TMLS) with this same level of detail.

Try out this powerful tool for yourself: Search for Homes

Feel free to contact us with any questions or if we can help with your Raleigh, NC real estate needs.