I Was Framed

Good ol' Labor Day weekend. I took the opposite approach this year; stayed at home, relaxed and caught up on work. I've been on the run & out of town so much lately it was nice to stay settled and not worry about plans. I'm heading over to Umstead State Park this afternoon so I will feel like I'm out of town, at least every few minutes until a plane from RDU flies directly over.

Although I had a nice weekend, I did miss the home opener of my Alma mater ECU. I'm happy they won such and epic game but dog-gone-it I wish I had been there. I know another ECU alum that wasn't at the game yesterday, my sister Kelly. She is due this coming Friday and I'll be an Uncle for the fourth time and have a third niece, very excited about it. Here is a cool blog post my sister made recently.

With sellers scoffing at their projected sale prices lately, I've been contacted about renting their homes out for them more and more recently. I've taken on a few properties and it's been a difficult task to manage compared to selling homes. Finding tenants and showing rental homes can be time consuming with little reward.

I often kick myself for not taking on property management earlier in my career. I'll just try and forget all the rentals I've passed on over all these years and start fresh. The goal for me is to take on what I can manage and treat it as a learning experience as it grows. One thing about residential sales is you can never know it all, I'm sure the same applies to property management.

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So last week I had a fun debacle. I'll start with a warning, those licence plate frames like the dealer puts on your car: well they are now illegal in North Carolina. I was the lucky recipient of a ticket for this after being stopped in Jacksonville, NC. Not just a fine, but a court appearance was required. See here.

I drove down early Tuesday and get their about 8:45am, I get to see the DA at 11:15am. He dismissed the charge, probably because I had a suit on and may have been the only one in that courtroom who even showered that day. One guy approached the DA with his hat and sunglasses on, I'm sure that went well for him. Let this just be a heads up to everyone, $100 fine and $150 court costs can be your next headache too if you don't remove that frame tag.

That is a disheartening story about my ride home from the beach, but this is a much brighter one and a great idea to boot. When my family visits the beach we pack the fridge like the world is ending. Way too much food is a requirement of any vacation though. That is why this man's idea of collecting items for a local Food Kitchen is such a great idea. The cars are jammed up trying to get off the island and presents the perfect opportunity. Good for that guy, his story here.

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Well I'm off to get a long trail run in at Umstead Park. I hope everyone has a great short week. This Sunday, September 12, keep Chris Raynor's family and loved ones in your prayers as we celebrate his life one year after he passed.

Family Tides

Coming to you from Emerald Isle. I'm down with the family for our traditional summer beach week. There's twelve of us, including two nieces, a nephew, and I can't forget about a third niece on the way. Somehow I landed the bedroom directly underneath the playroom, I have just pretended sleeping in during vacation was overrated this week.

Here's Most Of The Family At The Waterpark For The Day

I brought an old box of home videos from storage that I'm excited about watching with everyone tonight. After some previews last week, it's so embarrassing to think my sisters & I would bring prom dates to the house and instantly have a film crew in our face. It was also alarming to see some of the foods my sister would feed me during the blind "taste testing game". Not sure how I ever got talked into playing that.

In real estate, The Wehmann Team had a great first half to 2010. Since the tax credit left the market, it would appear that buyers followed suit. In hindsight, a gradual reduction of the credit would of been a much more sensible approach for lawmakers to have taken. Alas, The Wehmann Team continues to list homes and anticipates the return of the buyer as summer progresses. With interest rates hovering around the low end of 4%, it shouldn't be long before they do.

My company Howard Perry & Walston is in the news again. We ranked as the #1 Real Estate Company in the Triangle and one of the top firms in the Nation. You can read more about it here on the HPW Blog.

So today is our last chance to catch a tan (or worse sunburn in my case), our time is up and it's back to reality tomorrow. We've been spending our days down at the beach. You can see from the picture, when there are kids around I have a hard time resting. These castles don't last too long before the tide comes in our my nephew Wyatt runs in to "smash it up".

With some good friends of mine living up in Morehead City for the summer, my girlfriend JoBeth and I took some time away from the family to go visit them yesterday. We had a great dinner up at the Chefs 105 Oyster Bar and enjoyed some drinks over at Jack's Waterside Bar. We also spent time at their home where we got to enjoy the company of their 140 pound bloodhound, Ori.

Well I'm going to grab the shovel and get to making big castles in the sand on my last day. I hope everyone has a great weekend, thanks for reading.

Crazy Critters

Well I experienced one of the wildest Mondays in recent history. Most of you know I am a bit accident prone and this week has done nothing to dispel those assumptions. While inspecting a narrow crawl space in a Durham home I came across some unsuspecting house guests. I had to glance twice when my flashlight came across what looked to be a group of squirrels. They didn't take my presence cordially and rushed at me pretty quickly; like some sort squirrel mafia.

I've never seen squirrels behave this way. Like most of you, I'm used to seeing them scatter away up a tree when you come within 10ft. Heck, I've almost wrecked my car on several occasions trying to avoid them in the road. Well after sustaining some minor bite and scratch wounds to my legs I was able to scuttle out of there & immediately called animal control. They discovered over 12 squirrels that had been nesting in there and what they estimated was over 25lbs of assorted nuts. I gathered them up and will likely give them to the buyers as a closing gift.

It was hard explaining my days' events to clients I was meeting later that day. They are working on a short timeline however and weren't letting my squirrel bites get in the way of seeing a few homes that evening. At our last stop of the tour, we venture out in the backyard to peer in this large rustic shed. As I peel the barn style doors open, I'm hit with a spray that had an indescribably awful smell. I catch a glimpse of a little skunk running off and the damage was done. My clients who were right behind me at the time were now almost to the car at full sprint.

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I was lucky that the spray hadn't gotten on my skin sparring me the ketchup bath, but it did lay some good coverage on the suit I was wearing. The only solution at that point was quite unfortunate for me. After a quick discussion with my clients from across the yard, I dumped the suit in the trash bin and made the awkward drive home in my boxer shorts and undershirt. If your looking for a Brooks Brothers suit with a slight odor, let me know & I'll get you the address.

I'm hoping my future showings are less adventurous and don't involve hostile little critters. I hope you have a great week and of course, don't let yourself get tricked today, it's April Fools.

Ho Ho Home for the Holidays

Happy Holidays everyone! I'll start you off with a little poem I wrote about the weather this week in the Triangle:

I feel like we got robbed this week in our State.

It's been raining for weeks. It's more than we can take.
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Then, the weatherman said "We'd see some snow-

an inch or twelve", he didn't quite know.
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The stores were soon packed - milk & bread quickly bought,

"I think I just saw a snowflake" or so they'd all thought.
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I soon located my sled and headed for the hills,

but with this "speckle" of snow, I couldn't catch any thrills.
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It snowed for a minute and then turned to rain.

Once more, I thought to myself - not more of this again.

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The Northeast was buried. They got a day off work,

Here "O'Fishel" can't leave his house for being called a "jerk".

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Winter is just starting, so I'll still make this wish,
Soon I'll be downhillin' on my neighbors satellite dish.

I will be spending the holidays here with my family in Chapel Hill. I've been in the office a lot for December, a typically slow month for real estate. I have been Triangle wide this month; a new listing in Raleigh, buyer under contract in Chapel Hill, and working with flippers to get a home ready for sale in Durham. That and getting all my New Years calendars ready to send out to you all.

2009 has been a roller coaster between work and life. The market went bust but it was another record year for my sales, my Dad and I joined up to form The Wehmann Team, and I got to see my nieces and nephews get one year older. I saw friends get married, have kids and start new lives, I had a best friend who's life was taken just as it was getting started. I hope that through all the madness of this past year you made it out the other side a brighter person.

In the spirit of old Saint Nick, I thought I would cover a home maintenance topic often overlooked until December: The Chimney. You don't want Santa shaking off all that soot in your living room, so think about getting it cleaned and inspected. It is recommended by the Chimney Safety Institute you have yours cleaned once a year, but that is a lot to ask of any homeowner.

When the soot starts to build up inside a chimney, there are more hazards than a smelly home. This soot can ignite up inside your fireplace, making it's way through any cracks that may exist causing a home fire. Build up in narrow pathways through fireplace, such as birds nests, may block the smoke then circulating carbon monoxide back into your home. This goes for gas fires too. So if it's been a while, have your chimney swept and inspected for your homes health.

Have a fun and safe New Years eve, and here's to a great 2010. Thanks to everyone who brought me business and referrals this year, and to all of those that read my blog I really appreciate it. I started this blog with a poem, might as well end it with a joke:

What did one snowman say to the other?

"Does it smell like carrots to you?"

Bright Side of the Road

I've been enjoying my new location downtown Raleigh lately. I fancy a nice bike ride or evening stroll, with lots to offer in the immediate area it's been quite dandy. A bike ride up to the Cameron Village Harris Teeter is much more enjoyable than fighting that cramped parking lot mess. A jog down to Five Points is the perfect run if you're like me and keep it under a mile. Or walk down to the new pizza place Sauced for a late night slice.

I work between Raleigh & Chapel Hill so the I-40 drive can be a bit tedious. As long as you don't get the mobile secretary driving 55 in the far left lane it goes by like a breeze though. That is one reason the Triangle keeps getting rave reviews and top rankings by so many publications. There is so much to offer in each town, from Raleigh to Durham & Chapel Hill; if you aren't enthused by one town you can skirt on down the road to the next.

I'd have trouble calculating the tax dollars going towards programs that so many people can't even access. $8,000 for each first time homebuyer, $4,000 for every clunker turned in. So here is a look at other programs that will help you get your piece of the pie while making your home more efficient.

Cash For Appliances

There is a federal program available this fall allowing consumers to get cash rebates when they buy new, energy efficient appliances. There will be $300 million in funding with rebates ranging from $50-$200. Lower your bills & spruce up your home at the same time. Remember, appliances are personal property & are not considered part of the sales price unless specified. You can always take these with you on your next move.

Efficiency Rebates

The government is rewarding homeowners that make their homes more efficient in other ways as well. From windows to roofs, insulation to water heaters. You can receive up to $1,500 in credit for installing eligible HVAC units right now. Make sure when purchasing any of these products you are educated in what qualifies for the credit. For those homeowners that will have to replace any of these in the near future, better act now before these credits expire.

It's no secret though there is talk about extending & increasing these credits, most importantly the home buyer credit. Tim Geithner acknowledged last week they would be looking into this. It's no gurantee though, so don't get caught looking if the put the brakes on the program. Maybe they'll do a clunker home trade in program. Matter a fact some builders in the Raleigh area are doing just that, allowing you to trade your existing home for one of theirs, plus the difference of course.

Well the football season is off to a fast start, just like ECU's loss column. That 1-2 record is good evidence how we appear to be playing though. Despite losing to UNC this weekend I had a great time at the game. You certainly get your money's worth of exercise tracking friends down at a UNC tailgate though, climbing parking deck stairs is a lot different than crossing the flat terrain of Greenville. An ECU football alum made headlines on theOnion.com last week in this article . Most of you ECU grads should get a kick out of it.

Chris Raynor Oct.20 1980-Sept.12 2009

Obituary

"If I had one gift that I could give you, my friend, it would be the ability to see yourself as others see you, because only then would you know how extremely special you are."~B.A. Billingsly

I'll always miss you Big Cat