Here Comes The Sun

The first real signs of Spring have arrived this week and my favorite time of year is almost upon us. Good ol' daylight savings starts Sunday. That means the light doesn't start peering through my blinds for another hour in the morning and when I run in the evenings I can lose the 5lbs of reflective gear my Mom bought for me to wear.

Speaking of running, I am on the Board of Realtors committee that has put together a 5k Run/Walk on March 27th. It will be hosted in the Winmore neighborhood of Chapel Hill, first 100 to sign up receive free t-shirts. It's only $15 and you can sign up through this link. We'll have face painters and bounce houses for this kids, plus the full size Re Max hot air balloon will be on site taking passengers on short rides into the air. If you think I'm full of hot air, come see for yourself.

.

I've been in real estate over 5 years now, and one thing I've found is buying a home isn't the best thing for everyone. It can be smarter to rent sometimes, if you're unsure of job status, family plans, or just happy as could be with the place your in. But most people don't know I help with rentals too. I have a lot of experience working with some great rental companies, and some of the worst. I know ways of getting deposits back, finding the deals and negotiating some cheap rents.

.

Now I can't spend an entire weekend showing out of towners rentals, but I am more than happy to get these folks some local information, set them up with a good rental company, and point them to all the good rental searches online. Most of the hidden gems are on local sites, don't fight the mass at craigslist. So what do I get from all this? When that renter sees how hard I work for them and gets a taste of my local knowledge, they will no doubt come back to me when they are ready to buy or know someone else looking for a great Realtor.

Work has consumed me these past few weeks, all my first time buyers are scrambling to get that tax credit before the April 30 deadline. I have had some time for things of my own, for one I starting doing is reffing for Rainbow soccer, a Chapel Hill league I grew up playing in. I had my first game on Saturday and avoided being yelled out for any bad calls. I hope to find the time in coming years to coach a team but it's too much time commitment, for the time being I'll spend Saturdays blowing the whistle.

For all of you reading, enjoy all the extra sunlight we'll be seeing from now on. I know I'll be out & about, maybe I'll even dust off my old rollerblades. OK maybe not.

The Running Realtor

Right now I am sitting at the front desk of the Coldwell Banker office and the phones are ringing again! I've been getting referrals left and right these past couple weeks and can feel this real estate market coming back from the depths. I'll have less competition this year too, many agents couldn't survive the crash and moved on to new careers. Not the Wehmann Team, we set records for 2009 and plan on dominating in 2010.

Outside the office I am making big changes for myself in 2010 too. There are several things I'm set out to do in 2010 I've never done before. Here is a look at just a few, I'll let you decide which ones I'll be taking seriously:

So I couldn't of chosen a worse time of year to train for a marathon, I'm convinced of that much. This cold has been relentless, I've been looking forward to the forecast of it getting up to the 50's this weekend. I survived my longest run of the training so far, a twelve miler this past Sunday. The nice thing about the cold is I focus more on my frost bitten limbs than the fact my knees are giving out with each stride.

In the glamourous world of real estate, I have sat down with too many sellers latelty who want to move, but they bought in 2007 and their values have dropped or stayed the same. "I can't afford to lose $10,000 on the sale, I'll wait until next year once the market has recovered." This has been the reality and many listings I have to walk away from. But not before I give these home owners a realistic option.

.

Take a look at how low interest rates are now and how soft the market it. Say you are moving up, selling your $200,000 home to buy a $300,000 home. You don't want to take a price cut of $10k so you'll wait until next year. But let's say next year the market's recovered, buyers aren't getting the same kind of deals and interest rates are back up. So much for that $10k you "thought" you were saving. Here's a look at the math:

Loan $300,000

Today's Rate: 4.875% 30 year

Monthly Payment $1,589

But you wait until next year and the interest rates are up-

Loan $300,000

Possible Rate: 6.0% 30 year

Monthly Payment $1,798

With these comparisons, you are paying $75,969 more in interest over the life of the loan. That isn't factoring the deal you can get in todays market, or the $8,000 or $6,500 tax credits available. You don't need to see much more to know that NOW is the time to buy, even if it means selling for less than you want. Thank you to Susan Trimmer for these #'s.

If you have read this far, you might be in luck. The first person to answer this question correctly and post the answer in the comment section below gets a $10 Starbucks gift card sent to you, by me.

Q: What James Taylor song reminds first-time buyers to obtain hazard and flood insurance?

Going The Distance

Gobble Gobble y'all, it's that time of year again. Work potlucks, tacky sweaters and road trips back home. I personally enjoy all of those things, and everything else that goes with the holidays. Many of you will be out hitting the stores this Black Friday, I personally avoid it. Although I do like the competition aspect of it. Storming to the back of a Home Depot at 5:45am to get my hands on one of ten graphite broom handles for only $4.99!

Running has never been a thing I've enjoyed, so no telling why I started training for a marathon. Maybe because I'm not a big fan of the gym, I seem to spend more time getting ready than I do in there. I've picked out a novice training program although it doesn't feel that way. The longest run I've had to endure so far is 6 miles, I ran 3 today in just under 24 minutes. Getting onto the sofa even feels like a strain afterwards, but I'm sticking with it. 16 more weeks to go!

Another part of the holidays is the real estate market slows down. This year is a little different than last however, October sales Triangle wide were up 26% from last year. These increases are good news for the market, but it should also be considered October 2008 was just about the complete bottom of the market. We also have the tax credit working to our advantage, helping existing and new home buyers now.

Many people don't want their home being showed over the holidays for good reason. Let's take a look at the other side of that, some advantages to listing this time of year:

1. The buyers looking this time of year tend to be more serious.

2. There are fewer homes on the market, less competition means more money for sellers.

3. Many people will buy before the end of the year for tax purposes.

4. Sell your home now so you have time to buy and take advantage of the $6,500 tax credit!

Since we are on the topic of Thanksgiving and delicious food, I'm glad to see a Trader Joe's has opened up near me. It would have been safer running through traffic than making your way through there on Opening Day, I tried. But when it settles down, get your hands on some of those appetizers. Most I've tried are delicious, and the Two Buck Chuck isn't too shabby either. I'm sure quite a few of you will be having a glass over the holidays.

.

I'm looking forward to my high school 10 year class reunion this Friday. Geez how time flies. It's being held over at The Station in Carrboro, I hope there's enough room. It's a combo reunion of both high schools since many of us from East Chapel Hill High once attended Chapel Hill High. I'm sure people will still be arguing over which one is better.

.

I'll be pulling for East Carolina to win their division this Saturday and host the C-USA title game, either way a solid season from Skip Holtz and the Pirates. It's also important to note this is the most dangerous holidays for driving and there are a high rate of accidents. Drive safe, take it slow and enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend.