Malone Bay - Lake Lots on W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir. 18 Lots – 14 are Lakefront and meet private dock requirements.

Gated community with Lots ranging from 2.3+- acres to 6.8+- acres on the Hwy 421 side of the lake just off South Minton Road, Wilkesboro, NC 28697 (more…)

search for : Malone Bay, Lake Lot, W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir, Lakefront, private dock, Gated community, acre, Hwy 421, South Minton Road, Wilkesboro, 28697

Linda Falcone, a Eugene-based RE/MAX Realtor who began her career in Phoenix 24 years ago, remembers when her life was ruled by a tyrannical pager. It would beep, and she would dash to the nearest phone - usually a phone booth where she would have to stand in stifling 100-degree heat. “It seems like the Stone Ages now,” she said Falcone said she was so relieved when mobile phones were introduced that she was the 11th person in Phoenix to buy one back in 1981. The bulky device was mounted on the floor of her car and cost $1,500, plus more than $1 a minute. These days Falcone routinely communicates with clients via cell phone and e-mail, and relies on a range of other gadgets, including a Palm Pilot and digital camera.

Buyers, too, are flocking to the Internet, to view listings and photos of houses for sale. Finding the right house, however, is only a small part of the overall buying process, said Bob Percy, principal broker at John L. Scott real estate, a Eugene realty. “There’s a lot that comes after you find a house that isn’t affected by technology,” he said, including making an offer, negotiating with the seller, overseeing inspections and closing the sale. Even though buyers are doing more of their own legwork online, most still hire a real estate agent, according to a recent survey by the California Association of Realtors. Nearly all (97 percent) of traditional buyers hired an agent; and 83 percent of Internet buyers hired an agent, the survey found. (more…)

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With the real estate market slower than anytime in the last three years, more realty agents and loan brokers are looking for customers in segments often forgotten by the mainstream real estate industry — minority communities. “For the longest time it wasn’t quite popular to be a minority,'’ said Hilda Ramirez, a director of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors and co-founder of the Hispanic Association of Realtors and Affiliates. “But suddenly corporate America has awakened and it’s the hottest ticket in town.”

Nationally, 58 percent of Asians, 48 percent of Hispanics and 46 percent of blacks own their homes, compared with 74 percent of whites, according to 2004 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But 60 percent of first-time U.S. home buyers in the next decade will come from these “underserved” communities, said Maria Valentin, diversity marketing director for First American Title Company, which hosted the conference. (more…)

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A Ginn Company representative gave local business leaders an update on the largest development in county history during the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Wake Up Watauga” Friday and heard some criticism from a few audience members. Doug Miller, regional president for the Ginn Company, said 5,400 acres of the 6,200-acre Laurelmor development were in Watauga County and predicted the development would boost the county property tax base while adding little impact on public services. Miller also fielded questions from those who were concerned about the development’s impact on the rest of the county’s property values.

About 1,500 single-family homes and up to 400 condominium units will be built on the site. He said he expected about half of the resort’s residents to be there at any given time during the year, and said the amenities were designed to be family-oriented since many of the residents would have grandchildren. Miller said trails left from logging in the 1920s through the 1940s would be used as hiking trails and that 64 miles of streams would have erosion protection and buffers. Miller said a 17-member crew had been hired to oversee stream protection and erosion control. He said the project would have central water and wastewater systems, with the wastewater used on the planned golf course and other common green areas. (more…)

search for : Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Ginn Company, Laurelmor development, Watauga County, property values, 1, 500 single-family homes, 400 condominium units

A faulty or even fake appraisal is said to be at the basis of every fraudulent mortgage transaction. But not every appraiser is at fault, or at least willingly so. James Blaydes of Blaydes & Associates, a Peru, Ill., appraisal firm says that in many cases, appraisers can’t stand up to pressure put on them by mortgage brokers. Either they “hit the numbers” as instructed, he said at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Fraud Issues Conference in Chicago recently, or they are blackballed.

Speaking for the Appraisal Institute, which has been calling on lawmakers to address mortgage fraud since 1981, when the problem was believed to be in its infancy, the Illinois appraiser said there are plenty of ways to fudge a valuation besides packing the final number. Among other things, appraisers can ignore the best comparables, or use properties in better neighborhoods as comps, he said. They also can mis-describe a property, such as labeling a commercial building as single-family. Or they can fail to mention physical problems. But appraisers aren’t the only ones who commit such flagrant fouls, Blaydes told the conference. Sometimes loan brokers do their own dirty work. (more…)

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Real estate agents would say that the more you tell them, the better they can negotiate on your behalf. However, the degree of trust you have with an agent may depend upon their legal obligation. Agents working for buyers have three possible choices: They can represent the buyer exclusively, called single agency, or represent the seller exclusively, called subagency, or represent both the buyer and seller in a dualagency situation.

In a traditional relationship, real estate agents and brokers have a fiduciary relationship to the seller. Be aware that the seller pays the commission of both brokers, not just the one who lists and shows the property, but also to the sub-broker, who brings the ready, willing and able buyer to the table. It most cases you will have 2 broker’s splitting the commission. Dual agency exists if two agents working for the same broker represent the buyer and seller in a transaction. A potential conflict of interest is created if the listing agent has advance knowledge of another buyer’s offer. Therefore, the law states that a dual agent shall not disclose to the buyer that the seller will accept less than the list price, or disclose to the seller that the buyer will pay more than the offer price, without express written permission. Many times it makes sense to “assign” someone in your office one side of the transaction, thus assures there is no conflict of interest. (more…)

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