Real Estate Information

In August 2008, the Governor and Legislature of North Carolina signed as law a new bill dealing with the growing number of foreclosures. House Bill 2623 establishes the North Carolina Foreclosure Prevention Project, which requires lenders to give both homeowners and the state's commissioner of banks at least 45 days notice before a foreclosure action is filed. During that time, the banking commissioner's office will work with the homeowner and lender to establish an acceptable interest rate that the borrower can afford and the bank can accept. The law also gives the bank commissioner authority to extend any foreclosure filing notice by 30 days, while the state works with the homeowner and mortgage holder to come to agreement on a new loan interest rate and payments.

Nationally, the number of homeowners caught in the wave of foreclosures in October, grew 25 percent over the same month in 2007.  Interestingly enough,  in North Carolina, where the law requiring lenders to give borrowers an extra 45 days before filing a default notice, the total number of foreclosures actually fell 20 percent in October from last year, according to RealtyTrac, a California research firm. Locally, the Raleigh-Cary metro area saw a 26 percent decline.  North Carolina, the nation’s 10th-largest state in terms of population, ranked 35th in foreclosure actions for September with 2,477.  That breaks down to one in every 1,627 households. For the third quarter, the Raleigh-Cary metro market area foreclosure activity was up 18.9 percent over a year ago, but 16.7 percent lower than the second quarter this year.  So basically, summarizing, in North Carolina foreclosures are up over last year but throughout 2008 the percentage has somewhat declined.

Obviously, North Carolina has not had the same experience with foreclosures as Nevada, California, Florida or Colorado. Yet North Carolina's predatory-lending laws are shaping the national debate.  North Carolina’s progressive stance dates back long before subprime had negative connotations.  North Carolina passed its first comprehensive predatory lending law in 1999 and has revisited the issue several times since.  The new law, signed in August, is the toughest law yet.  North Carolina's latest regulation is a model for proposals now making their way through Congress. For more information about short sales or foreclosures visit TeamJodi.com and ShortSalesInNC.com.

The Triangle area of North Carolina has long awaited progress on a commuter train service and the following article from The Daily Tarheel details positive steps toward that end for the Triangle and the State.

State and local officials are preparing to expand North Carolina’s commuter railroad service to support a growing population and boost economic development.  “Rail is a tool. It’s not the panacea, its not the do-all end-all, but it’s crucial to our sustained economic development,” said Patrick Simmons, director of the N.C. Department of Transportation Rail Division.  The N.C. Railroad Company released an 11-month study in early October that proposes a $650 million expansion of the current freight system. The money will be used to transform the current system into a commauter rail system.
The total expansion could cover 141 miles and offer commuter rail service to two to three million North Carolinians.  The project could cost as much as $2 million to $9 million per mile, including a possible $23.6 million expansion that will extend to Chapel Hill, said Scott Saylor, president of the N.C. Railroad Company.  “It takes a lot of public support, which has not been measured,” he said.   “Three things need to be there: one, the ridership, two, the funding and three, the railroads.”  Saylor said the next step is a ridership survey to determine the demand for the expansion.  Simmons said North Carolina’s population is poised for immense growth in the next 20 years, and rail is crucial to supporting that growth.  “We have over 150 resolutions of support on file from towns, counties, cities and chambers of commerce across North Carolina asking for improved and expanded rail service,” Simmons said.  “For North Carolina to compete economically with adjoining states in the international economy, we have to invest in ourselves.”  David Bonk, Chapel Hill long range and transportation coordinator, said Durham, Wake and Orange counties are currently discussing the possibility of incorporating rail into their transportation systems in the next 25 years.  Bonk said that the bill outlining the transportation plan and its associated costs will be presented to the N.C. General Assembly when the body convenes in January.  The railroad expansion plan will be paid for by a half-cent sales tax increase, which Bonk said voters could decide on by next November.  Federal legislation improving rail safety and reauthorizing rail expansion at the state and federal level was passed Oct. 16. It couldn’t come at a better time, Simmons said.  “As people lose money, lose homes, lose jobs, the government will invest in infrastructure. Historically this is how you rebuild,” Simmons said.  “It’s sort of back to the future for North Carolina.”  By Nicholas Philippou, Staff Writer, The Daily Tarheel

The following article which appeared in the Chapel Hill News, details the new Technology Pilot Program that was recently approved by the CHCCS Board.

Two local schools, Culbreth Middle and Scroggs Elementary, are moving forward with a pilot program that will bring new educational technologies -- including the iPod Touch -- into the classroom. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education approved an agreement in mid-October with N.C. Virtual Public Schools, a state government organization that will test cutting-edge educational techniques at both schools later this school year before possibly using them statewide. The agreement gives each school $30,000 to buy audio/video equipment and mobile technology devices such as the iPod Touch.
From the Chapel Hill News

The new elementary school in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools system has been in the early planning stages. According to the following article, published in The Herald-Sun, school officials now have a better idea of what the school is going to be like.

CHAPEL HILL -- A new elementary school scheduled to open in 2011 is still in the early planning stages, but Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools officials now have a better idea of what it's going to be like.  The CHCCS Board of Education in June selected a site in the Northside neighborhood for Elementary No. 11, and county commissioners approved the site on Sept. 2.  Since then, a committee comprising about 25 people has been working with the architect to choose a design that will be presented to the school board Thursday for review and comment before it is submitted to the town of Chapel Hill for approval.   "We're excited that the committee has been working on this and hopeful that it will be a really good community school," said Pam Hemminger, outgoing chairwoman of the CHCCS Board of Education. "It's exciting to have it right in the middle of this neighborhood."

Elementary No. 11 will be built on an eight-acre site between Caldwell and McMasters streets, where the former Orange County Training School is located. The size of the new elementary school hasn't been determined yet, but Todd LoFrese, support services superintendent for CHCCS, said other school buildings in the county have typically been around 92,000 square feet.  According to preliminary plans released by the district, one section of Elementary No. 11 would have three levels. Grades 3-5 would be on the upper level, grades 1-2 on the main level, and kindergarten and pre-kindergarten on the lower level. LoFrese explained that the plans call for the lower level to be built into the northwest portion of the site because of the way the land slopes.  Northside residents have responded positively so far to having a school in their neighborhood, but the site does come with a few unique challenges. A wetlands buffer created by a stream that runs on the west side of the property restricts use to only six of the eight acres, LoFrese said, adding that a smaller site also makes it harder to find room for play areas, bus drop-offs and parent/visitor access.  The architect for the project, Moseley Architects, designed the new Carrboro High School as well. Like that building, Elementary No. 11 will adhere to the district's policies for energy conservation, water reduction, high-efficiency lighting and improved indoor air quality.  LoFrese said that one of the things the committee looked at was how the building will be oriented on the site to maximize daylighting.

School board Vice Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey said the district has created better schools because of collaboration with residents, and she hopes that will also be the case with Elementary No. 11.

BY LISA A. YOUNG : The Herald-Sun

Woodmont will move forward.  That is the news coming out of the Chapel Hill Town Council.  The following article from The Daily Tar Heel details the plans.

The Chapel Hill Town Council voted  to approve several measures that will allow the Woodmont development project off of N.C. Highway 54 to continue.
Representatives from Capital Associates in Cary, who are in charge of the development, presented materials and plans for the proposed 33-acre site that will house office space, condominiums and retail.  Most surrounding neighborhoods seem to be in favor of the redevelopment, said Harry Bowles, project manager for Capital Associates.
“We believe that most of the neighborhoods are now on board in favor of the proposal,” Bowles said. “There is some vocal opposition still, though.”  Sally Trauco, who lives on the border of the proposed site, said she is in favor of the plan.  “I think it is a nice amendment to the Meadowmont area,” Trauco said. “There are lots of residential areas around there. It would be nice for all of us to be able to walk to one place.”  Trauco spoke at the meeting and submitted a letter to the council that included 10 signatures in favor, two opposed and eight neutral neighbors. She filed the letter so the council would know exactly who was in favor and who was opposed, she said.  Henry Lister said he has been fighting the Woodmont development for years. He said the development will not fit the town’s comprehensive plan like developers said it will.  “Despite all the changes and promises made by the developers, there are some issues that have not changed,” Lister said. “Woodmont lacks ... pedestrian connectivity. It brings over 5,000 car trips per day onto the over-burdened (N.C. Highway) 54.”  In May, the Chapel Hill Planning Board recommended that the council deny the request to rezone the area.  But town staff, in a memo to Town Manager Roger Stancil for Monday’s meeting, recommended that the rezoning be approved despite citizen objections to traffic impact and public transportation opportunities.  And the developers said they have worked out the main differences with the surrounding citizens.  “We are almost fully aligned with the neighbors who have taken a stand,” Bowles said to the council.  Bowles said his company has taken all of the necessary steps to not only protect surrounding areas, but enhance them, including a pedestrian walkway all around the site.  “It will be a stark contrast to the warehouses and storage sheds that are currently sitting there,” Bowles said.  The council approved a rezoning application, a master land use plan application and a special use permit that the development needs to proceed.   “We still have to go through with the zoning compliance. It could take another five to six months to start with phase one,” Bowles said.  The council also approved a motion to draft a letter of intent granting Kidzu Children’s Museum a space on the plaza level of the Wallace parking deck.

Written by: Andrew Cummings, Staff Writer, The Daily Tar Heel

It has taken some time but the 300 E. Main project in Carrboro has been approved. The following article appeared in The Daily Tar Heel.      

After almost five years, 300 E. Main St. in Carrboro can break ground.
The development, which spans from Cat’s Cradle to the ArtsCenter, unanimously was approved Tuesday after several impassioned speeches from members of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and years of back and forth about the project’s potential impact.
“I am not very happy with this project,” Alderman Jacquie Gist said. “In my heart of hearts I want to vote against it. I strongly believe it’s not good for the town I love.”
But Gist went on to vote for the project.  “It meets the letter of the ordinance. My job is to enforce the law and the ordinance as it stands, not as I would like it to be,” she said.  The development, by Main Street Properties, will include a five-story hotel, office buildings and a parking deck.  At Weaver Street Market, across the street from the site of the proposed development, community opinion was mixed.  “I think Carrboro wants to grow for growth’s sake. It’s not going to be Carrboro anymore,” resident Christian Bonanno said before the meeting.  He said that in his eight years in Carrboro, he has seen the town change and the people that drew him there move away.  “Its the growth you see everywhere,” Carrboro resident Luke Roberts said, adding that Carrboro has been labeled an authentic or cool place to live.  And with this label comes new development as more people want to move into the area.  “Carrboro will no longer be that authentic little pocket,” Roberts said.   The first section to be built is the hotel, run by Atma Hotel Group Inc.  Though developers originally planned to construct a Hilton Garden Hotel, they said Tuesday that they may instead build a Hampton Inn.  Gist expressed concern about how this could change the design and the skyline.  “I can see a Hampton Inn sign in my mind,” she said. “I don’t want that dominating the Carrboro skyline.”  The developers have often stressed their local roots and commitment to Carrboro.  Atma Hotel President Manish Atma stressed in an interview that the hotel group has taken community input.
“We are local folks. We are not going to put up something unappealing to Carrboro there,” he said, adding that the hotel is a $20 million project.  And not all of the town officials are opposed to the hotel.  Mayor Mark Chilton noted that the developers must care deeply about Carrboro, because they still wanted to build there even after this drawn out process.  “I think it’s an attractive building,” he said of the hotel. “It’s going to be a project that holds a lot of promise for our community.”  Supporters of the project point to the benefits of the increased tax base it is expected to provide.  “We need now more than ever a stronger financial base,” Mayor Pro Tem John Herrera said. “My heart will not be broken when I see that beautiful hotel paying taxes. Change is painful but it’s necessary.”

Written By: Katy Doll, Senior Writer, The Daily Tar Heel

On Wednesday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. the Town will host a public educational session on Carolina North. In late October, the University submitted a request for zoning changes and creation of a Development Agreement.

The session will provide information about the process to negotiate a Development Agreement and a base zoning district for Carolina North as well as the timeframe for these discussions. The application materials will also be presented.

The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

The University’s application and background information are available on the town’s website at www.townofchapelhill.org/carolinanorth.

The day before, on Tuesday, November 18, the third in a series of discussions between the Chapel Hill Town Council and the University Board of Trustees on Carolina North will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Chapel Hill library.

In hard times, homeownership can sometimes become more of a burden than a joy. Over 6 million homeowners are either more than a month late on their mortgage payments or are in the foreclosure process. Sometimes the answer to this problem can be a "short sale"-- when the lender agrees to accept less than owed and the homeowner gets out of debt. Owners in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, should seek out the services of a Distressed Property Expert. Click here to learn whether short sales and pre-foreclosures work in Chapel Hill and Durham and if you qualify for a short sale.

 North Carolina's Jodi Bakst is one of 850 agents nationally (out of 1.4 million Realtors in the U.S.) that is designated as a CDPE.  Jodi is ready to help families in need of her services. "I will help homeowners find the best solution to whatever financial crisis they are facing," she says. "I am fully informed of the issues and know the detailed processes and procedures for working with and through the banks. Experts who understand this can close a short sale in a much quicker time frame (weeks or a few months rather than 6 or more months)." Bakst's real estate market includes Chapel Hill and Durham and Orange, Durham and Chatham counties.

Residential real estate has many specialized areas, and good Realtors take specific courses to deepen their understanding of issues and build upon the foundations they learned when acquiring their real estate license. By improving their skills, agents can better serve their clients. The Distressed Property certification is one of the most important qualifications in today's market; it gives agents a full understanding of the complexities of short sales, pre-foreclosure and foreclosures. 

The recent flood of mortgage defaults across the country shows the importance of having a Realtor well-versed in the details short sales involve.  For example, while the term "Notice of Default (NOD)" is touched on when training to become a Realtor, a Certified Distressed Property Expert has a much deeper understanding of the nuances involved in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and pursue a short sale. While the uncertified agent may know that the NOD refers to the document which officially starts the foreclosure process, a Distressed Property Expert knows that the best time for action is before a homeowner misses their first payment.  They also know that even if a payment has been missed and an NOD has been received, homeowners can still pursue a short sale and avoid foreclosure.

Contact me at Jodi@TeamJodi.com or call 888-326-5634. A Team Jodi Specialist will contact you to discuss your situation.

Kate Betterton's new novel, Where the Lake Becomes the River, is now available in bookstores.  I helped Kate and family find their home in Colony Woods East several years back. Kate's novel --about "growing up southern, secrets and ghosts, and The Truth About Life After Death," won the 2008 Novello Literary Award, underwritten by Charles and Katherine Frazier's Cold Mountain Foundation.

Please join Kate as she reads from and signs her novel at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham on Thursday, November 6th, at 7 p.m.

For more about the book and author, with blurbs, reviews and an interview with Pam Kelley of the Charlotte Observer, please see Kate's website at www.katebetterton.com.

The Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh real estate market has begun to track with the rest of the country but we have a number of indicators where we are holding our own.  For example, although our inventory is up and our closings are down, our average prices are steady to decreasing.  There are a number of other markets that not only have signifcantly more supply, they are seeing a sizeable decrease in average prices as well.

• Our overall inventory has grown by 7%.  We have actually seen 29 months of consecutive inventory growth.
• We have also seen 20 consecutive months of lower pending sales.
• 63% of every price point has an over supply of inventory on the market.
• In September 2008, expired listings were 227% higher than the same time last year.

• Third quarter showings and pending sales are down 22% over the same time last year.

• Third quarter clsoings are down 27%.  Although this is a significant decline, this is the 6th best quarter since 2002.  It may be that the number of closings we are seeing now is closer to the normal average number of closings at this time of the year.

• The current supply of inventory is 8 months.  This is up from 5 months at the same point last year.  The Triangle Area is doing fairly well with regard to supply as compared with other areas such as South Florida (28%), Las Vegas (17%), Chicago (15%) and Nationally where the supply is at 11%.

• Average Days on Market are 88 which is up from 73 at the same time last year.  On a very interesting note, for those houses where the list price equaled the sales price, the days on market are excellent at 55.  This is compared with those houses where the original list price was greater than the sales price.  In this case, the average days on market is closer to 108.  This underscores the need to price your home right when you initially put it on the market; otherwise you could be looking at significant carrying costs.

• Average price appreciation for re-sale homes  in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area has been 4% and the average overall has been closer to 8%.

• Over the last year, North Carolina has seen an average appreciation of 3.59%, Wake County has seen 4.8% as compared with -4.8% appreciation nationally.