Real Estate Information

Peacemaker in Wilmington March 2009

For the second year in a row, the 150 foot Tall Ship named "Peacemaker" will be docked in Wilmington.

The ship will be arriving on Tuesday, April 6 for a two week stay in celebration of both the Azalea Festival and the annual Rims on the River Car Show being held April 16-18.  The approximate time of her arrival is between 5:30 -6:30pm, depending on tide currents.

The ship is modeled after the likes of Old English Clippers like the Cutty Sark, but the Peacemaker was built in the late 1980s on a riverbank in Southern Brazil by an Italian family of boat builders, and was first launched in 1989.

While in town, the ship will be open for public tours.

WECT

Wilmington, sometimes known as Hollywood of the East, is getting ready to kick off another television production.

According to Johnny Griffin with the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, a pilot entitled Playing With Guns is set to film in the Port City.  If the show is picked up, it will air on Spike TV.

Production crews are expected to set up shop in the area in mid-April.

Danny Masterson from That ‘70s Show and Joey Kern from Cabin Fever will play high school buddies who become cops.

This is the second pilot to be filmed in Wilmington this year.  An unnamed medical drama starring Oscar winner Sissy Spacek is also underway.

Screen Gems Studios has produced over 350 film, television and commercial productions.  It is the largest production facility outside of California and his home to one of the largest special effects water tanks in North America.

Related post: NC film industry gets good news

WECT

Join us for an open house on Saturday, Feb. 27th from 12-3pm at    6205 Tree Toad ct.

Nestle among the trees in exclusive Timber Creek, this lovely Cape Cod home set on 1/2 acre corner lot offers an inviting rocking chair front porch, large open foyer, first floor master with walk-in closet, large master bath. Upstairs includes 3 additional bedrooms, a large bonus room and large walk-in attic for storage. The flow of the family room, kitchen and rear porches make this a great home for gathering with friends and family. Enjoy the large screened porch with adjoining deck over-looking the private backyard. Timber Creek is located within 10 min of Wrightsville Beach and 5 min to the Mayfaire shopping area.

More info here

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These days, homebuyers need a minimum 620 credit score to qualify for a home loan.  However, folks with scores that aren’t up to snuff don’t have to kiss their dreams of home ownership goodbye.  The real estate professionals at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, the area’s top-selling real estate company, have partnered with Wilmington-based American Credit Resolutions to help home buyers boost low credit scores.  

“They were recommended to a client of mine and he went from a 570 credit score to over 620 in less than 10 days.  I don’t know how, but they did it and my client enjoyed working with them,” said Sea Coast Realty associate Sherri Pickard referring to the credit clean-up team.  Other associates praised American Credit Resolutions’ quick results too. 

American Credit Resolutions managing partner Dwayne Furmidge says that a “do-it-yourself” approach is the best way to solve credit problems.  “However, there is a learning curve for most Americans and many make costly mistakes in the process,” he says.  Furmidge and his team put their years of experience to work, handling the often tedious process of resolving credit issues on behalf of their customers.

 “Clients with small issues may be completed the same day,” said Dwayne Furmidge, Managing Partner of American Credit Resolutions.  “Clients with major issues may take longer.”  He says that the average credit clean up takes four months. 

He warns consumers against working with credit repair companies that charge exorbitant fees and non-profit agencies that creditors sometimes pay to stretch out the credit repair process.  The fees for American Credit Resolutions services vary depending on the issues, but the price for the average four month clean-up would cost $545.95 – a price many consider worthwhile when low credit scores stand between them and the dream of home ownership. 

"We are pleased to partner with American Credit Resolutions and feel our partnership will enable many more potential homebuyers to achieve their dreams of home ownership," said Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty president and CEO Tim Milam.  Offering customers value-added services, like help with low credit scores, is one way that Sea Coast Realty has increased its market share despite the economic downturn.

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The spring buying season typically takes off in March and runs through May. But buyers who want to claim this year's tax credit — up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for repeat buyers — must have signed purchase contracts by April 30. And they have to complete the deal by June 30.

"I expect the buying season will be moved up," says Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker. Sales "are going to take off in February and March and really take off in April. ... My concern is that the move-up buyer hasn't thought what they need to do. Their window is really short. They have to coordinate closing dates."

The average time it takes to get a home loan processed is about eight weeks now — two weeks more than it used to be, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The tax credit's impact on 2010 home sales is uncertain. Some economists expect the credit to pull sales that would have occurred later in the year into the first half.

"The tax credit will absolutely have an effect," says Pete Flint, CEO of Trulia, a residential real estate search engine. "It is going to shift demand from the later part of the year to the first part. January and February will be very strong. The next three months, there will be a surge in demand."

"I'm actually in the middle of house shopping, and I decided to do it now so that I could get the $8,000 tax credit," says Amity Gay, 26, who's looking for a cottage-style house in Tallahassee.

Sellers should be prepared to appeal to first-time home buyers, who still make up the majority of buyers, according to Pat Lashinsky, president and CEO of ZipRealty.

And buyers should expect rising prices in some markets, including San Diego, Dallas, Minneapolis, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

At MetLife Home Loans, buyers are being preapproved now for new housing developments; an increase in demand is being attributed to the expanded tax credit.

"Our spring market got moved up at least two months because of this," says Kent Geschwender, branch manager.

The tax credit was scheduled to expire on Dec. 1, 2009, but was extended and expanded by Congress.

Source: USA Today

The number of homes sold through the WRAR's multiple listing service totaled 351 in December, compared with 299 in December 2008.

It was the fourth straight month that sales exceeded year-earlier levels, according to the WRAR data.

A string of year-over-year improvements is necessary to show any kind of sustained rebound from the housing bust. April McDavid, then president of the WRAR, said in the fall that it would be 2010 before a truer picture emerged on the housing market's strength.

Sales reflect actual closings of deals. That means that contracts may have been signed 30 to 90 days before.

The average price of a home sold in December was $223,312, compared with $240,147 in December 2008. The median price - the point where half the homes sold for less and half for more - was $175,000 in December, compared with $185,500 a year earlier.

The average time it took to sell a home was 135 days in December, almost even with a year earlier.

Source: Star News

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Selling a home in the dead of winter might seem ill-advised, particularly considering the state of the economy, but some experts think that making the decision to wait until spring to list the property could be a mistake.

Government incentives will likely have a big impact in 2010, with many buyers determined to sign a contract before the April 30 tax credit deadline.

“This year, we're anticipating sales will peak earlier,” says Nicole Hall, editor in chief of Lendingtree.com, an online mortgage comparison service. “The best time to get your house on the market will be February or early March, and maybe even earlier if you want to avoid competition.”

Traffic on real estate Web sites begins to rise right after the New Year, says Ken Shuman, spokesman for real estate Web site Trulia.com.

Source: Forbes.com

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Following are key points that prospective home buyers should be aware of when considering a home purchase under the tax credit program.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of the "Best Values" among public universities in the nation and one of the top four in North Carolina, according to Kiplinger's 2010 rankings.

Kiplinger's ranks four-year schools that combine outstanding economic value with top-notch education. For 2010, UNCW is ranked 27th nationally as a "best value" for in-state students and 25th for out-of-state students.

In North Carolina, Kiplinger's ranks UNCW as the fourth best value in public education for 2010. Kiplinger's has rated UNCW in the top 5 public universities in the state since 2003. Other UNC institutions that made this year's rankings were UNC Chapel Hill, NC State and Appalachian State.

Of UNCW's 15 peer institutions, which are determined by the UNC Board of Governors, 10 appear in the 2010 listing of Kiplinger's top 100 best values in public colleges. The top four best values among UNCW's group, comprised of public master's institutions, are James Madison University, the College of New Jersey, Truman State University and UNCW.

Selected from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, schools in the Kiplinger 100 were ranked according to academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid. The complete list is available at www.kiplinger.com.

This year, UNCW also has received top rankings from U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review. For the twelfth consecutive year, UNCW was named one of the top 10 public master's universities in the South in the annual college rankings by U.S.News & World Report. U.S.News ranked UNCW sixth in its 2010 edition. UNCW also received the 2010 "Best in the Southeast" designation by The Princeton Review.

Source: UNCW

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