Union County Real Estate Talk

Is Your Union County NC Home the Shiniest Apple in the Bowl?

Did you see that centerpiece of fruit at the buffet table?  Beautiful pears, strawberries and apples made you pause and look but one piece of fruit made your mouth water.  Instinctively, you reached for it.  Why?  Because it was the shiniest apple in the bowl.

The buffet table can teach a valuable lesson about selling your Union County NC home in a buyer’s market.  It must be so mouthwatering that buyers instinctively reach for it.  It must be the shiniest apple in the bowl.

What does that mean?

Being the shiniest apple in real estate means that the condition of your home is top-notch.  It also means that your price is compelling.  It means that your home will rise above the rest of the homes on the market and not drown in the sea of sameness.

You already know what to do to improve the condition of your home.  It’s relatively easy to rise above the many distressed properties on the market.  Fresh paint, new carpet, minor repairs and spotless bathrooms and kitchens will make buyers remember your home.  Hire a home stager to make it truly memorable.

Read the story of how one home buyer rated the many homes she visited during her home search.

Are the Three Ds Sabotaging Your Charlotte Home Sale?

Your Union County NC home can be in superb condition but it won’t be the shiniest apple until your price is compelling.  Note that I said compelling not competitive.  Competitive pricing is in line with the pricing of other similar properties.  It’s reasonable.  It also makes you a part of that sea of sameness.

A compelling price has a powerful and irresistible effect.  It commands attention and respect.  A compelling price grabs you and doesn’t let go just like the shiniest apple in the bowl.

Will your listing price be compelling or merely competitive?  Will buyers grab your apple from the fruit bowl?

Thinking of selling your Union County NC home?    Request a free comparative market analysis to learn how to make your home the shiniest apple in the bowl.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Company.  *Is Your Union County NC Home the Shiniest Apple in the Bowl?*

How to Sell Your Union County NC Home in Twenty Days

Location. Price. Condition.  The mantra of every good listing agent.  This is the story of how one Union County NC home seller, Melissa, worked on “Condition” and had her home under contract in twenty days.

Every Union County NC seller can learn lessons from Melissa’s home-selling odyssey.  Melissa started the process with a listing agent who did not stress the importance of the internet in marketing to today’s buyers.  Melissa didn’t understand that good photography of her home’s interior and having her home freshened and staged to enable good photography were the basic elements of a successful strategy to sell her home.  The result was that Melissa wasted six months and a lot of showings with potential buyers before the listing expired and she decided to make some changes.

What were the simple and relatively inexpensive things that Melissa did to improve her home’s appeal?

1. Melissa removed excessive furniture and packed up books and accessories to reduce visual clutter.   She reduced the furniture in her great room to a love seat, a coffee table, a small chair and area rug.  The room immediately felt spacious.
2. Melissa repainted her dreary white walls with an updated tan color.  She added chocolate accents in her hall bath and master bedroom ceiling.  She made the rooms pop with a few mirrors and several pieces of colorful artwork.
3. Melissa replaced outdated ceiling fans and light fixtures with new chandeliers and lights.
4. Melissa removed window treatments and blinds to brighten interior rooms and provide views of her pretty backyard.
5. Melissa created simple seating areas on her screen porch and on the backyard patio so that buyers could envision how they would use these areas.
6. Melissa cleaned her carpets and made the rest of the home sparkling clean.

When her home’s makeover was complete, Melissa relisted her home with an agent who knew how to market the home where home buyers are looking—the internet.  Photographs that showcased the best features of the interior and exterior were taken and uploaded to various websites.  Showings began and within twenty days the house was under contract.

Best of all.  Melissa did not have to reduce her price to get her home sold.

Have you been on your own home-selling odyssey?  Click here to request an evaluation of your home and a strategy for improving your chances of selling in today’s market.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *How to Sell Your Union County NC Home in Twenty Days*

Union County NC Home Sellers—Five Reasons to Get Off the Home Selling Sidelines

Has the thought of selling your Union County NC home crossed your mind? Have negative news stories about unemployment, foreclosures and falling prices kept you on the home selling sidelines?  If so, you should reconsider because the next six months may be the best time in a long time to sell your current home and buy another.

Hard to believe? Here are five reasons why it’s a great time to be in the Union County NC real estate market.

1. The federal government is willing to pay you to buy a home.  The newly revised and extended Federal Housing Tax Credit program covers not only first-time home buyers but also repeat home buyers.  You may qualify for a $6500 tax credit on your next home purchase if you have used your home as a principal residence for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase date.
2. You don’t have to sell your current home to qualify for the tax credit as long as you move into the new home and use it as your principal residence.  Second homes and investment property do not qualify for the tax credit.
3. You may have a greater pool of potential buyers for your home.  Is your current home in a moderate price range?  First-time home buyers can receive an $8000 tax credit for their purchase.  The previous tax credit encouraged many of them to purchase in spite of the negative news.  If your current home is in a higher price point, up to $800,000, there may be more move-up buyers in the market who want to take advantage of the repeat home buyer tax credit.  More buyers in the Union County NC marketplace should add up to an easier time for home selling.
4. Prices of Union County NC homes are more reasonable than in the past.  Yes, you may get less for your current home than you could have several years ago but you will also pay less for your next home.  If you are a move-up buyer, a ten percent lower price on your next home will be a greater discount than a ten percent reduction on your lower-priced current home.
5. The federal government is keeping interest rates low to stimulate the economy.  Mortgage borrowers with the best credit can get interest rates on thirty year mortgages below 5% today.  Once the government stops taking these measures, interest rates will rise.  Principal and interest on a $200,000 thirty year mortgage at 5% is $1074.  The PI payment rises to $1200 at 6% and to $1332 at 7%.  Lower interest rates plus lower home prices equal big savings.

Get off the sidelines if you are a Union County NC home seller.  Your next home must be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 to qualify for the Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit.  Learn more details about the Home Buyer Tax Credit.

Want to know more about the value of your current Union County NC home?  Click here to request a market evalution of your home.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Union County Home Sellers--Five Reasons to Get Off the Home Selling Sidelines*

Are you thinking about selling your Union County NC home in 2009?  Don't let negative reports in the news media keep you from pursuing your home sale.  You can sell your home this year if you adjust your strategies to sell in a buyers' market.  Most areas and price ranges of Union County are either in a buyers' market or trending toward a buyers' market as discussed in a recent post:  Buyers' Market or Sellers' Market in Charlotte NC Small Towns?

How do you sell your Union County NC home in a buyers' market?

The three key factors in selling a home remain the same as always: location, price and condition.  But today it's all about how your property stacks up against the competition.  You must combine an attractive price with superior condition to make your home stand out from its competition.  Your property must be memorable both in price and in condition because buyers have so many options.  This post will discuss pricing issues.  A future post will deal with condition.

Pricing Your Home for a Buyers' Market

The first step in the process is to have an experienced real estate agent prepare an opinion of value for your home.  Here are four questions that will help you evaluate whether the agent is pricing your home for a buyers' market.

1. How old are the comparable sales used to prepare the market analysis?  The Union County market changed dramatically during the last quarter of 2008.  The comparables should be no older than September 2008 and sales in 2009 will be the best.
2. Does the agent present a list of comparable properties that are currently under contract but not yet closed?  Although it is not yet possible to know final sales price and seller concessions of these listings, they do indicate trends in the current market.
3. Once the agent has recommended a price or price range, does she show you competing properties and discuss how your home measures up against your competition?  You and your real estate agent should devise a pricing strategy for your property so that buyers will put it on their short list of homes for consideration.
4. Does the agent discuss days on the market (DOM)?  Not only will DOM give you a good idea of how long your home will be on the market if priced correctly, but it will also indicate which comparable sales were chosen more quickly by buyers.  Remember that, in general, the more attractive your price relative to your competition, the more quickly your home will sell.

Ask yourself this question when thinking about selling your Union County home:  Do I want to list my house or do I want to SELL my house?  Correct pricing will be key for Union County home owners who want to SELL their homes in 2009.

Learn more about forecasting days on market:  How Long Will Your Home Stay on the Market?

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com for more information about selling your Union County home.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  "How to Sell Your Union County NC Home in a Buyers' Market"

Union County Property Owners, your 2008 property tax bill is in the mail!  You've reached the end of the long process of property revaluation and tax rate setting that began in the first quarter of this year.  Here's a recap of the process:

• Union County tax officials spent much of 2007 determining new assessed values of every property in the county.
• In early 2008, each property owner received a notice of the 2008 assessment and was given a period of time to petition for a different value.
• By mid-year, tax officials had worked through the petition process and finalized each property's new value.
• Each local government, armed with the total valuation of all properties within their boundaries, established budgets for next year and established new tax rates for 2008.  This process was finished by the end of June
• Union County tax officials used the new tax rate and the new assessed value to generate a 2008 tax bill.

What was the outcome for most Union County property owners? 

• New assessed values are higher ranging from a 13% increase in Monroe to 36% in Marvin.
• The county and the towns lowered their tax rates somewhat to accommodate the increase in assessed values but did not make the new rates "revenue-neutral".
• Most Union County taxpayers will pay higher taxes in 2008.

Property taxes must be paid by January 5, 2009.  The county tax bills will be sent directly to property owners if they pay their taxes or to their mortgage companies if taxes are paid from an escrow account.  The county tax office doesn't collect town taxes except for Wingate, Wesley Chapel, and Hemby Bridge.  Those of you who live in a town should expect a second bill from the town.

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com for more information about Union County and its small towns.

Copyright 2008.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  "Union County Property Taxes:  Last Step in the Revaluation Process".

About the author:  Carol Fox of Allen Tate Realtors is a veteran real estate agent who specializes in South Charlotte and Union County.  Carol will be one of the Union County property owners paying a higher tax bill this year.