JBOR Election and Affiliates night.

 

A brief explanation.  The last few years have had progressively more fun themes for our annual Jacksonville (NC) Board of Realtor’s election and affiliate night. This year was more or less a night at the Emmy’s/Hollywood evening.  So, folks were encouraged to dress as characters. . .I was thrilled to manage to squeeze into something non-maternity for a night but I think had I done a youtube video of me trying to get into some spanx (spoiler, I wasn’t successful) whilst getting ready would have easily scored more views than that cat riding the roomba.  ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLt5rBfNucc)  Safe to say, especially if you have European heritage and have assisted your Grandmother making sausage, a nine month pregnant woman trying to get into “smooth wear” basically looks like fifty pounds of sausage trying to get into ten pounds of casing, alternate image, a python who ate a deer.

Adapt and overcome!  😉

Giving blood is a good thing, and you even get schnacks.

A few weeks back, I think on the last really cool and windy day of spring, I donated blood for the first time in forever.  Royce, a colleague at my office suggested it and as a father of two grown kids, knew exactly how to rope me in.  “Want to give blood today?” “I’m in the middle of herding some cats, when?” “Right now, I have an appointment.” “Eek, maybe!” “No, seriously, just hop in the car, I’ll drive.” So off I run out the front door, jacketless, to be the first donor of the day, with excellent blood flow no less (yes, I’m that competitive).  I close the car door, he locks it and off we went but I have to admit I felt like a dog being tricked into a vet visit with a promise of a cookie and a drive around the neighborhood.  Anyhoo, good deed done and yesterday, a shiny new official donor card showed up in the mail with a thank you note and a suggestion of when and where I could donate next.

If you’d love a giggle, check out this link  http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/takemywings/bloodtypes.htm .  In Japan and Korea there’s a practice of asking your blood type.  Apparently they feel much like a horoscope that it reflects your personality (which I would say is a bunk science, however, I do happen to check my horoscope a few times a month-Libra, ‘natch).  Soooo, type O positive does seem to hit the nail on the head although I’m getting better at finishing unfinished projects.  Happy reading and researching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hovercards

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/gravatar-hovercards/

Easy access to your home when it’s on the market

Please bear with myself as well as my area Realtors as we transition from Supra brand lock boxes to Sentrilock.  As a board we feel the technology Sentrilock offers is far superior to that of Supra, and less cumbersome in our day to day activities working for nice folks like yourself. 

What does it mean for you as a seller?  Pretty simple swap out of your older lockboxes with the new, please be patient as we wait for them to arrive, probably in batches, to be exchanged.  I believe the goal is to have them all exchanged by end of month so, if your home is on the market, expect to see your agent dash by to swap them out.

As a buyer, you won’t notice much change, but, instead of that little black calculator looking thing we have used for years to gain entrance to a home, we now have something that looks more like a credit card or a college laundry card. . .much smaller and hopefully, more efficiently tracking what homes we show and when to give the sellers a better idea of the activity on their home.

What is a lockbox you say?  I provides a safe and secure location for a spare key to your home to be available for any licensed real estate agent in the regional area to easily gain entrance to your home (with proper notice, naturally) so either preview your home for clients or to offer a guided tour of your home to help get it sold.  It’s a pretty handy system, the spare keys are located at the homes to be shown and an electronic log is kept of who showed your home and when.  No need to hid a key under the mat or wait around for an agent to show up.

All in all, we are growing and updating to better serve you, our consumers.  I’m looking forward to the transition, it helps me work even harder for you.

JBOR Spring Swing Charity Golf Classic

Saturday, April the 12 The Jacksonville Country Club will play host to the Jacksonville Board of REALTORs Spwing Swing Charity Golf Classic.  Registration begins at 9am, tee-off at 10. Your specific tee time will be announced Friday night at the Captain’s meeting.  Please register at least 30 minutes before your tee time. 

The cost for the event is only $80 ($320 for a team of 4).  This price includes entry into all events, 18 holes of golf, cart, gift bag, cocktail, lunch, dinner, 2 drink vouchers, door prizes and various awards.

To help us properly plan for this event, please register by March 14 2008, by completing the registration form (contact me for a copy that can be faxed, emailed or snail mailed).  Please include a personal or business check made out to the Jacksonville Board of REALTORs for your registration.

Golf attire is required, collared shirts and no jeans.  No metal spikes allowed on the course.

Prize money: 1st $640, 2nd $320, 3rd $160

Captain’s Choice (superball format), Handicapping A Flight/B Flight, Mulligan tickets avail., T-buster tickets avail., Longest Drive, Putting Contest, 50/50 Raffle, Green Side Toss and more!!!

HOLE IN ONE TRY TICKETS: PRIZE: NEW CAR FROM NATIONAL DODGE!!!

ALL Proceeds will go toward the charities the JBOR supports.

The Jacksonville Country Club is located at:

2201 Country Club Road

Jacksonville, NC 28546

Guilty?

Alrighty folks, one of my pet peeves? Leaving all the exterior holiday decor up for months after said holiday passes. . .exception being I think if your beloved was deployed and missed the holiday. . .but other than that. . we’re in February for goodness sake! Driving back from the Jacksonville Board of Realtors meeting last night I passed more than one home with all the holiday splendor ablaze with twinkle lights in the yard. It’s about time to pack it up and let it rest until things get chilly next year. With all the warm weather we’ve had off and on the last few weeks, regardless of what that groundhog had to say, I think spring it right around the corner!

My take on today’s mortgage news.

Good afternoon all~

 Many of you have had questions regarding the state of the real estate market in the greater Onslow County area which includes such townships as Jacksonville, Sneads Ferry, Topsail, Holly Ridge, Hubert, Richlands, etc.

“What’s going on with our market?” “Would you say it is a seller’s market?” “Are we in a buyer’s market?”  There is SO much to discuss on these topics and more so as a first blog posting, I will try to give an overview as to what status OUR current marketplace is in.

Onslow County is BLESSED, we have great stability, we are less affected by inflation as well as recession than other portions of our great county.  Which means, those high swings UP in property values that major urban areas saw in the last several years had a pretty small impact on our property values namely because we are such an appraisal-based market. . .generally speaking our average buyer is using a VA/FHA or Conventional loan, we saw, percentage wise, very few unconventional/high risk/adjustable/or exotic loans that other portions of the US . . .mortgages that required the property REALLY be worth what it is being sold for, using nearby recently sold homes (within the previous 6 months) as comps to justify the prices.  We certainly did see an uptick in prices in the last few years but with a majority of our home buyers and sellers being full-time active duty or in a career that is in support of them, folks have fixed salaries and generally could qualify for a traditional mortgage. . .keeping things pretty steady in terms of property values and sales were brisk.

Things have slowed over the summer and fall due to bad press for the mortgage market and higher interest rates to cool that market down. . .some buyers were intimidated by what they were hearing daily on the news, the foreclosure rate and changes in the mortgage industry were largely to blame.

What’s happening now?  Things have actually picked up, despite the winter being seen as our “slower” season. . .homes in a higher price range in our area, namely the $220,000 and up price range are still a bit sluggish. . .but your average single family dwelling, when well priced and adequately marketed by a professional sell in a very reasonable amount of time with happy sellers and buyers as a result.

If you have questions specific to your home, such as what improvements are worthwhile, or, would be interested in a free home valuation and market assesment, I would be more than happy to speak with you on a personal level. 

One wonderful lesson learned as a result of all of these market changes, there is no one-size fits all mortgage, buy what you are comfortable balancing as a monthly bill in conjuntion with your car payment, student loan payments, etc.  Don’t get talked into buying more home than you can afford comfortably and choose a loan with a fixed interest rate so that years down the line you aren’t hit with a balloon loan payment or a hefty refinance fee. . .I know personally I feel uncomfortable working with someone who is stretching for a mortgage with a promotion in their future. . .the future is uncertain, I can tell you that I shudder at the idea of helping someone get into a home that will have then crying over their mortgage payment down the line as they write their monthly check!

More info to follow, check back freqently!

Here is what I received from Carolina Family Mortgage today regarding the Mortgage Freeze Plan:

For those of you that are interested:

Details on the Mortgage Freeze Plan that President Bush announced to assist clients with Adjustable Rate Mortgages:

*** In order to qualify for an interest-rate freeze, you must have received your mortgage sometime between 01/01/05 and 07/31/07, and need to be facing an interest rate reset sometime between 01/01/08 and 07/31/10. 
*** You may be eligible to have your interest rate frozen for five years, but only if you don’t qualify to make payments at the higher adjustable rate. 
*** You cannot be more than 30 days behind on your payments. 
*** Investment properties are NOT eligible.
*** You cannot have more than 3% equity in your home.
*** Credit scores <660 will be given top priority.
Clients interested in the program should call 1.888.995.HOPE

I took this information from an article I just read, so this is my interpretation of the Plan. In other words, don’t hold me to it:) 

Thanks!
Jennifer Ellenor
Carolina Family Mortgage