July 30th HERA laws

On July 30, 2009: The new Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) laws go into effect today to protect home buyers. They require all mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers to help prevent deceptive lending practices and protect customers by helping them become more informed.

These changes are the standards to which I, and the other Real Estate Professionals at Jamison Realty have been adhering to throughout, however, not everyone has, and this has, in part produced the current housing market crisis. We applaud the government for making these practices into law

While these changes are all positive, they will take additional time to comply with, and therefore affect closing dates. Most of the changes will be transparent to the home buyer and the REALTOR® or Builder.

Want more information about the Mint Hill, Matthews and Charlotte area real estate market?
Check out www.minthillrealty.com

Your Real Estate Today

Sometimes, prospective home buyers have serious home buying or selling questions that they wish they could take to a real estate agent, but don’t. Perhaps they are shy, or worried they will be strong-armed into buying something they don't really want, or committing before they are ready. Whatever the case may be, at Jamison Realty like to be available to help anyone interested in learning more about real estate. To help with that, we’ve teamed with the radio professionals at WBT Talk Radio (1110am) every Saturday afternoon from 2pm to 3pm. It’s an hour or real estate answers, questions and hopefully – some good advice.

“Your Real Estate Today” Is a weekly show hosted by Paul Jamison of Jamison Realty. Our country is overflowing with negative news, so we’ve decided to do something different. “Your Real Estate Today” is positive and enriching information concerning the real estate market in our area. Yours truly, Rich Ferretti, along with Paul Jamison and other members of the Jamison Reality team, take to the airwaves every Saturday to discuss important and salient topics. We want you to learn and understand the different opportunities in real estate, whether you are a buyer, seller, investor or business owner. Or maybe you just love real estate, and crave more information. Just recently we discussed the amazing--but soon to be gone $8000 tax credit. Future episodes will touch on all the real estate topics you are curious about, but didn’t have an outlet to receive good, quality information.

Listen this Saturday: Your Real Estate Today!

Want more information about the Mint Hill, Matthews and Charlotte area real estate market?
Check out www.minthillrealty.com

Pointers for Purchasing a House that Will Maintain Value

Dear Rich –

We are relocating to the Carolinas and are looking at different communities in which to buy. We’re unfamiliar with the region and want to make sure our house holds (and hopefully increases in) value. What should we be looking for to make sure we’re making a good investment?

The Aldens

Dear Aldens,

When you buy any home, the first thing to consider is whether it suits your taste, your needs and your budget, and whether you love the feel of the community. Buying a house for investment purposes alone is a mistake, unless it’s exclusively an investment and you don’t intend to live there.

With that said, some points to consider are:

-->Whether or not you have children in school, be sure the schools are academically sound;
-->All houses in the neighborhood should be well-maintained. Houses that are in disrepair bring down the value of the neighborhood
-->Don’t be tempted to purchase the biggest, most expensive house on the block.
-->Consider the location. Is it in a desirable community?
-->Look for a house on a street where you’re not backing on to a high traffic thoroughfare and parents wouldn’t fear having children play in the yard.
-->Are there highways, an airport or factory very close by that produce noise or pollution?
-->Are there highways close enough to provide easy access for commuters?
-->Are there nearby amenities, such as a post office, supermarkets, drug stores, a park and malls?
-->How are the taxes compared to comparable nearby communities?
-->Are the services covered by the taxes comparable to nearby communities also?

If the house you want to purchase adheres to these guidelines, and especially purchasing now when values are low, your house should maintain and probably increase in value, depending on how long you live there.

At Jamison, we serve families relocating to the Carolinas all the time and would be happy to help find your dream home here. Please give our relocation office a call at 704-846-3663 or rich@richferretti.com.


Best regards,
Rich Ferretti

Want more information about the Charlotte area real estate market? Check out www.richferretti.com