Today's Market; It Ain't Pretty

Durham Area Trends

Price Activity
Current Median Q3 201, for Durham 184,900 for the U.S as a whole $177,100
1 year appreciation for Durham .3% and for the U.S.-.6%
3 year appreciation for Durham -1.1% and for the U.S. -19.9%
3 year equity gain/loss, Durham -$2,000, and for the U.S.-$44,000

These figures come from NAR, the National Association of Realtors. Although median prices in the Durham, NC market are up slightly and are ahead of national median prices, it is important to understand that no market exists in a bubble. The Durham market is reliant on the U.S. market and the entire global economy. So, without equity as shown by the three year gain, or more accurately loss, home sales will remain sluggish simply because consumers don’t have the money to purchase homes. Consumer home equity is lost and will take years to recover.
Home owners can build faster equity in their homes if they make additional payments to principal, avoid borrowing against their properties and if they make cautious investments in enhancing their homes. Owners contemplating a home sale should gird themselves too; there should not be a presumption of appreciation but rather a presumption of a loss.
Similarly, owners considering a home sale should engage a real estate professional sooner rather than later to discuss merchandising their property, staging their property and enhancing their property so that it stands out among the competition.
Interested in doing so? Call me, Michael Sullivan, I’m always happy to walk through a property with an owner. I can also offer rental and leasing solutions to owners in a position to move in that direction.

Customer Service first, last and always.

The USPS
Mail use is down, the USPS isn’t even breaking even, more and more folks are using e-mail, electronic bill pay and the beat goes on and on.
I rencently sold a townhouse with a mail stanchon. You know the common mailbox grouping with individual locking boxes. Unfortunatley the sale was a foreclosure and the lisitng agent didn’t have a key for the mailbox.
Looking out for my clients interest, I diligently went to the stanchon, left a note explaining the what fors and how too’s and asked the letter carrier for the neighborhood to leave the box unlocked so that we could switch out the lock. I asked this because this is what we do in my neighborhood. Then just to be safe, I left my phone number too.
Today I drove down to Davis Park to follow up, by the way that is zip code 27703 and the street name is Finsbury, [Just in case the letter carrier, aka the guilty party is reading this.}
The scribbled and rude response to my note, from the letter carrier, “NO, I have nothing to do with box keys.”
Now mind you I was going to purchase and install the new lock, I just needed access to the back of the lock, all made clear in my note.
Humm, ok, well Mr. or Ms. Letter Carrier, USPS, Federal Worker who makes a whole lot of civil service money for an all but bankrupt organization… what a great way to build relationships and business . Perhaps you would have picked up the phone, once back at the post office and told me what to do.
The saving grace in all of this, I phoned the post office 27703 on Miami Blvd. in Durham and the young lady, Tameka, I think, was so sweet, so nice and let me put the change order in for my client. Now someone with the mail service will install a new lock and call my client/friend when the key is ready the day after tomorrow, the cost $15.00 and no aggrivation for me. Perhaps the letter carrier could learn a lesson or two from Tameka, she rocks and was so sweet and helpful. Tameka redeemed the organization.

Maelstrom in Real Estate

Maybe the maelstrom in real estate is starting to wear itself out and wind down. I sure hope so and I’ll bet many of my seller clients feel the same way. In an article dated today, Monica Chen with the “Durham Herald Sun,” writes on Durham County North Carolina foreclosures.

According to the NC Administrate Office of the courts; Durham County had 446 foreclosure starts from June through August 2010. This is down from 508 for the summer of 2009. Still the news is not rosy, 446 is a lot of foreclosed home and a lot of people moving from ownership into leasehold. Although Durham’s unemployment rate of 7.6 percent is below the sate wide level of 9.7 percent, there are still a lot of unemployed and underemployed people in our market.

The Herald Sun article further asserts from sources with the Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Project for Legal Aid of North Carolina that current sub-prime lending practices are affecting current foreclosure rates. HUH???? The Herald Sun article points to statistics that are four years old and two years old, kind of destroying the article’s credibility….these are not current lending practices; let’s call them…dated. The Herald does state that there has been a drop in sub-prime lending practices, this is true; there has been a drop in ALL lending practices from all banks.

So, with foreclosure rates starting to decline perhaps we’ll see a market return to stable real estate market.

A Passion For Real Estate and More

Passion Is Important

Day to day I have the joy of meeting and working with so many wonderful people. I have countless clients and agents who have become some of my closest friends. I am amazed that folks can go from making a call to me expressing interest in a particular home, to actively seeking and buying a home to becoming dear friends. The experience is so very personal for me as a REALTOR. You see, I see it this way; I am helping people find their place and we all need a place.

My commission is to help people find a place to call their own. A place where they will be safe from whatever the world might be throwing at them. A place where they can lay their head at night, raise their children, love, eat, grieve for their losses, celebrate victories and milestones or just be. I innately understand all of those feelings wrapped up in finding a place called…home. I understand the importance of those feelings involved with identifying that warm soft snug harbor and the fact that home, means many different things to different people.

I’ve often said, “Every fanny has a seat,” and I meant it.

Sure mansions are terrific but so are subdivision homes, condos, townhomes and trailers. As varied as we are as human beings, as diverse as our tastes in clothing, so are our desires for housing. No matter what a client is seeking I’m there to help ensure that their home is the best possible choice for them. I love guiding people through the process and sharing with them what I know after 17 years of doing this. Sometimes, I surprise myself with what I know and more importantly what I DON’T know. The key with not knowing is having the strength to say, “I don’t know but I will find out.”

How awful it would be to tell a client something not true or unfounded when it involves that person trying to find a place called home, what a sour taste that would set in a mouth. You see I believe that many in my industry don’t think about the implications of what they are doing for their clients. It’s summed up in that last statement; what they are doing FOR…their clients. Being a REALTOR is not about commission, it is about service, it is about taking care of people first and then the money, the livelihood will take care of itself and will come in countless and unexpected joy.

The Ten Commandments of Town Home Living

The Ten Commandments of Town Home Living

Understanding that townhouse or condominium living is as close to communal ownership as one can get, perhaps it is a good idea to go into the process with some simple ground rules that will make coping with this type of living easier on you and your new neighbors.

1. Thou shall ALWAYS clean up after one’s pets no matter how cold, damp, wet and messy the weather is or how late at night it is.
a. Sub rule, thou shall always walk one’s pets as far away as possible from thy neighbor’s walkways, patios, decks and motor vehicles.
b. Sub rule, thou shall always walk one’s pets on greenway if at all possible.
c. Sub rule, thou shall always have extra clean up bags on one’s person when walking pets.
d. Sub rule, thou shall be aware that perhaps a townhome or condo isn’t an ideal environment for three, four, five, six or more dogs, cats, gerbils or ferrets.

2. Thou shall always park in one’s designated parking spots.
a. Sub rule, thou shall ask permission to park in thy neighbor’s parking spots.
b. Sub rule, guest parking isn’t for you.

3. Thou shall inform thy guests to park only in designated guest parking spots.
a. Sub rule, if thy guests park in thy neighbor’s parking spots thy will quickly and without haste ask thine guests to move their vehicles.

4. Thou shall adhere to architectural and landscaping rules and requirements without prejudice.
a. Sub rule, thou will become fully aware of such rules prior to moving into thy new neighborhood and will abide by the rules without whining and sulking.

5. Thou shall bring one’s trash receptacles in from the curb in a most timely manner as prescribed by neighborhood rules and regulations.

6. Thou shall keep deck and porch spaces neat and tidy.
a. Sub rule, this includes underneath decks and porches and one’s parking spots too.

7. Thou shall not use one’s barbeque grill on wooden decks and porches, for it is common sense, the law and just plain safe.

8. Thou shall not use sheets, towels or garments as drapery.
a. Sub rule, if thine neighbors have bare windows, thou shall not peer through those windows whilst walking in common areas.

9. Thou shall be aware of normal sleeping hours and adjust thine noise, music and car stereo accordingly.

10. Thou shall participate in one’s association
a. Sub rule, this includes attending meetings.
b. Sub rule, this includes volunteering for committees.
c. Sub rule, this includes paying dues and assessments in an on-time and timely manner.

So, that’s a start and of course I could write a book about good communal living. I recognize that many folks bristle at the notion of a home owner association but let me tell you; after having lived in a townhouse community myself for the past six years; I totally get the rules and regulations. I have also found that those who typically complain the most with respect to the rules and regulations are those who will most quickly disregard them if it serves their purpose.

Interested in finding a house, townhouse, condominium or any other place to call home in the Research Triangle Region? Put my 17 years market experience to work for you. Michael Sullivan, REALTOR, 919-608-2372 mobile/text.

The Beach and a resolution

So, I thought that I’d do another installment on the beach saga. After my initial go round with the agent in Carteret County, I did call and leave a message stating that I thought I should handle the lease on my place down there myself. That I’d be happy to pay the agency on Harker’s Island a finder’s fee for bringing a tenant to me. I think that's fair. No one should work for free.

A day went by and silence from area code 252; I did hear from my mom and dad, but nothing, nil, nada from the agent. By yesterday afternoon I was becoming somewhat antsy. I typically don’t leave messages hanging around on my voice mail or email and I really don’t care for it when others do so. Finally mid-afternoon at 2:05 pm an email came. The email tendered the tenant's name and phone number. The agent demurred on a finder’s fee stating that since he didn’t have a management agreement in place when he started down the representation path that he felt he wasn’t due compensation.

I do agree and disagree with that and I do understand this fellow’s soft peddle on compensation. I imagine the North Carolina Real Estate Commission would have a fit over all of this if it were reported; it won’t be. So here’s my advice to all of you out in the blogesphere; if you engage an agent for buying, selling, renting or leasing make sure that you have an agreement in writing outlining who, why, where, how, how much and when. This situation turned out well but it just as easily couldn’t have. What I would have done in the beach agent shoes is emailed an agreement to Durham outlining terms and we would have hammered all of this out before a tenant even entered the picture. The lesson I’ve learned, insist that others do things right each and every time.

Coming soon…my on-going discussion with an agent who won’t disclose to me whether or not he has an exclusive right to sell listing agreement on a listing in which he states in Multiple Listing that the home is “EO” or “Entry Only.” The Real Estate Commission views this designation “EO” as simply advertising and not offering advice or counsel as in an agency relationship.

Interested in buying, selling, renting or leasing property in Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill, North Carolina; call or text me to 919-608-2372 or email MSullivan@fmrealty.com

Fundamental changes at Fannie and Freddie

Fundamental changes at Fannie and Freddie, well I hope so and I hope for the better. Recently FHA underwriting has become a little loonie. Underwriters now must background check all parties in the transaction, this is REALTORS, buyers and sellers. I'm sure there is some mechanism for loan officers too, I'm just not aware of those. Anyway read what may be coming down the line for Fannie and Freddie.

http://www.ncrealtors.org/news_display.cfm?nid=1395

Estate planning probate vs. no probate

Estate planning probate vs. no probate

Ok children, draw near and listen. First, I am not an attorney and I am not giving legal advice. I am speaking friend to friend.

Ten years ago I lost my partner. We “planned” for both of our inevitables…or so we thought. We went halfway I learned this week. We had Wills drawn we had Durable Powers of Attorney drawn; we had Advance Directives aka Living Wills drawn, we had Health Care Powers of Attorney drawn and all of those legal documents worked as they should have.

Oh, if we had known to take it just a step further. This week I attended a conference given by www.estateplanningforpartners.com">Jeffrey Marsocci Esq. This conference was so enlightening whether you are married, partnered or whatever. Get with it, contact this guy and start protecting yourself today. Here’s a little low down on some of the myths that WE operate under:
• Wills provide for the management of our estates, NO! Wills tell the courts how to handle our estates. Even with a Will, in North Carolina and presumably elsewhere our estates travel through probate…THE COURT SYSTEM.
o There is a terrible loss of privacy
o There is a terrible waste of time and money…it took the estate of Elvis Presley nearly 12 years to work through probate.
• Probate takes the assets of the deceased and distributes those assets to beneficiaries.
• If nothing remains titled (owned) in the name of the deceased, then there is NO need for probate.

Here’s what most of us don’t know, PROBATE IS EXPENSIVE.

So, here is how Jeffrey Marsocci Esq. can help. This smart lawyer has built part of his career helping folks avoid probate. He helps married and unmarried folks, partnered or not to create revocable trusts. So please whether you’re are single, married, partnered or not, call this man, set an appointment and protect yourselves.

The information here comes from “Estate Planning,” by Jeffrey Marsocci Esq.
Mr. Marsocci’s telephone number is 919-844-7993

Michael L. Sullivan is a full service real estate professional and REALTOR serving central North Carolina. For all of your real estate needs visit Michael's web sites,
RentDurhamNC.com or TeamMichaelSullivan.com

Old Chapel Hill Road/Old Durham Road Improvements

Old Chapel Hill Road/Old Durham Road Improvements

Finally! I hope my neighbors agree but it looks like we’re in the right place at the right time. Ok, yeah for sure it will be a bit of a mess for awhile but in the end it looks like a great plan.

We’re getting sidewalks and a bike lane on Old Chapel Hill Road. The improvements run from 15-501 in Chapel Hill to Garrett Road in Durham.
Learn all about the plan on Tuesday August 24th between 5-7pm at Resurrection United Methodist Church right across from Githens Middle School.