CASEY DURANGO. Greensboro Realtor®.

Some of the demon treadmills at the Bryan Family YMCA in Greensboro

We may not love to do time on a treadmill but Greensboro is surely glad to have Precor as a new member of our business community. And the jobs that will be coming will be a blessing to about 140 folks. The new facility at Rock Creek Center should be done by the end of the year. 2010 could mean new opportunities for job seekers.

So, while “no pain, no gain” is a popular saying, we’ll embrace Precor as that which will relieve some pain – and everyone can gain.

Now, where are my running shoes?

_____________________________________________________________
The thoughts & opinions are mine. The quips that fall flat are someone else’s. Please feel free to shoot me an email with a question or a good joke.

And remember, real estate agents aren’t bad. We’re just drawn that way.

Tags: Bryan Family YMCA in Greensboro, Greensboro jobs, Guilford county jobs, Precor, The Business Journal

I can think of a couple of things that are more unpleasant than relating the latest foreclosure numbers in Greensboro, like watching “Quest for Fire” or taking the NC Real Estate Commission licensing exam. But I’m so deep into this foreclosure watch that I’m really curious to see how it all ends. (Unlike the aforementioned “Quest for Fire”.)

For the week ending 8/23/09:

• new foreclosure listings: 13
• highest list price: $425,000
• lowest list price: $45,000
• average list price: $162,907
• median list price: $119,900

The 13 new listings means a return to the double-digits after only one week – last week – where there were fewer than 10 (7).  The average, median and highest prices are also appreciably more than previously. As a matter of fact, the average list price of $162,907 is the highest weekly average by far since I’ve been keeping track.

Oy.

The listings are spread judiciously across almost all zip codes. Only 27401 and 27408 had no new listings for the week. The rest are as follows:

• 27403: 1
• 27405: 2
• 27406: 3
• 27407: 1
• 27409: 1
• 27410: 3
• 27455: 2

The distribution of listings over the last 4 weeks is still heaviest in the 27406 zip code with 27410 increasing its numbers with 17 and 10 new listings respectively.

Perhaps the most unpleasant piece of this is that the rolling 12-week number has increased – again. This is the 10th week with out a decline in that number. I don’t know about you, but I find this really irritating.

There isn’t a great deal to be done with this except move on and hope for better numbers next week.

In the meantime, think I’ll duck into a dark movie theater and let myself be diverted by something less disturbing than these numbers. Or by seeing cavemen chow down on a mastodon.

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

Tags: foreclosures by zip code, Greensboro foreclosures, Multiple Listing Service, Triad MLS

After all the looking at houses, measuring furniture, negotiating repairs and near constant nausea, the real estate buying process always ends up with a document called the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. HUD stands for Department of Housing & Urban Development.  (Here’s a PDF) It is used for virtually all residential real estate closings and details the financial part of the transaction for both buyer and seller.

It is nothing to be feared. Although there are columns and rows and decimal points and subtotals, even those with math phobias can embrace that fact that this is where everything is made clear and specific.

By the time you are at the closing table you should know what your “bottom line” is. And it really is there, at the bottom of page 1. The buyer will have already been advised how much money to bring to closing and the seller will know how much they (hopefully) will net out from the proceedings. [note: Here in Greensboro, closing is customarily handled by an attorney. Other parts of the country may have 'escrow agents' or other 3rd parties.]

Where do the numbers come from?

They start with the Offer to Purchase and Contract which should spell out  financial details of the agreement between the parties:

• sales price
• earnest money paid
• if the seller is paying for any of the buyer’s closing costs and how much
• if a home warranty is being purchased and for how much, etc.,

Added to this is any information not specifically addressed in the contract:

• Was there a home inspection?
• termite inspection?
• repairs made?
• If so, for how much, payable to whom and was it paid outside of closing (“POC”)
• hazard insurance premium
• sales commission

This information is generally provided by the Realtors representing the parties.

The real nitty-gritty information is provided by the lender. The closing attorney will be provided a ‘closing package’ or ‘closing instructions’ by the mortgage lender. The package will instruct the attorney how much money is to be collected and disbursed on the buyer’s side. Here is where the attorney will note how many months of taxes to collect up front and for the escrow account, what expenses have been incurred for the mortgage itself:

• appraisal
• origination fee
• discount points
• flood certification fee
• application fee, etc.,

The closing attorney will also do a deed and tax search to verify which party owes how much for real estate property taxes. The seller is responsible for taxes up to the day of closing and the buyer is responsible for the day of closing through the end of the year. Same thing for homeowners association dues.

After all this information is collected by the closing attorney, all the debits and credits are listed on the 2 pages of the HUD-1. There is a columns for the buyer (left hand side) and a column for the seller (right side).

There should be nothing left off the HUD-1 and nothing added that the lender hasn’t approved. Nothing ‘under the table’. That is a serious no-no.

It is on the HUD-1 where you’ll see a credit in the buyer’s column for the earnest money you paid when you made the offer. (The buyer’s agent will generally bring a check, made out to the attorney, written from the agency’s trust account). Also noted will be a credit for the mortgage itself. Again, funds are wired to the attorney from the bank.

Adding up all the various debits and credits for both sides leaves two bottom lines. One is the amount the buyer needs to bring to closing (certified check payable to the attorney), the other the amount due the seller.

All the funds from the earnest money to the mortgage to the buyer’s day-of-closing money go into the attorney’s trust account. It is from that account the attorney cuts all appropriate pay-outs: seller’s net, tax bill, homeowners insurance premium, termite inspector, etc., At the end of the day, the attorney’s trust account will balance out to $0. Every penny of money that comes in for that transaction goes out.

Both buyer and seller and the attorney will sign the HUD-1. It is the financial record of the deal. You’ll be given a copy.

There are MANY itemized expenses in a real estate transaction and I’ve noted just a few. The thing to remember is that there will be nothing on the statement that doesn’t have an explanation.

If things aren’t clear to you, ask the attorney. Line 1107 will show their fee, so get your money’s worth!

_____________________________________________________________
The thoughts & opinions are mine. The quips that fall flat are someone else’s. Please feel free to shoot me an email with a question or a good joke.

And remember, real estate agents aren’t bad. We’re just drawn that way.

Tags: earnest money, HUD-1 Settlement Statement, real estate closing, real estate terms

It was a nice, quiet week that ended August 16th as far as new foreclosure listings is concerned. After a few weeks of double-digit listings, seeing only 7 new foreclosures  come on the market was refreshing. And one of the properties is already under contract.

Excellent.

The 12-week rolling period saw another uptick, which is a bummer. The 128 properties listed in the period between 5/25 and 8/16 is lower than 154 listed in the 12-week period that ended 2/22/09 but higher than 88 for the period ended 5/31.

*shrug*

It is what it is.

Some details:

• prices: highest $234,00; lowest $36,900
• type: 5 single family; 2 townhouses
• zip codes: 2 (27405); 3 (27407); 2 (27410)

Do I have to draw you a picture? Actually, I’ll just show you some graphs:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

Tags: Greensboro foreclosures, Greensboro housing statistics, Multiple Listing Service, Triad MLS

Finally, the number of properties listed for sale in Greensboro has dipped a bit. It’s been a minute since that’s been the case and is welcome news. The number isn’t lower by much, mind you, and the average list price is up by only roughly the amount some spend on designer coffee each month. But still… Down is down and up is up.

I’ve added a new metric this week, one I should have been tracking all along. It occurred to me that while I post weekly information about the raw number of foreclosures listed in Greensboro, I haven’t shown that number as a percentage of total listings.

D’oh!

This weeks rights the wrong. But first the overall data:

• Total listings: 2925* (down 72, or 2.4% from last week)
• Average list price: $225,470 (up $322 or .1% from last week)

Of the total listings 189 (6%) are listed as foreclosures. This breaks down into type of housing as follows:

• single family: 153 of 2110 (7%)
• townhouse: 15 of 422 (4%)
• condominium: 21 of 393 (5%)

Breaking further by zip codes:

And the rest of the data (and not for nothing, but between the high prices and low foreclosure percentage, you’ve got to think homeowners in the 27408 zip code are loving life)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Tags: foreclosures by zip code, Greensboro housing prices, Greensboro housing statistics, Multiple Listing Service, percentage of foreclosures in Greensboro, Triad MLS

The view from my husband's plane. Somewhere over...somewhere.

I’ve written about this previously, but it’s time for an update on how Greensboro is fast becoming an aerotropolis.

Yes, it’s a word.

Aerotropolis list: Hong Kong, Chicago,  Amsterdam…Greensboro. Why not?

And of all the predictions one could make about what would be a major industry for the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina in general and Greensboro in particular, aviation might not have headed the list. Or made the top 20.

But here we are. A list of just a few of the reasons and companies that are adding up to Greensboro becoming a center for all things winged:

• FedEx Hub (slated to open in October 2009. One of only in the country)
• HondaJet
• TIMCO Aviation Services (Headquarters here as well as 600,000 sq ft maintenance facility)
• HondaJet engine facility (in Burlington, about 20 minutes east of Greensboro)
• Atlantic Aero (highly regarded Fixed Base Operator)
• Aerosphere Aviation Services (supplies parts for commercial & military aircraft)
• GTCC Aviation Maintenance Training (PDF)
• Greensboro Aviation (aircraft component repair & overhaul)

You can even see the plane that is known as Air Force One when the President is on board doing practice maneuvers at PTI as well as the occasional ginormous C5:

So, keep an eye on the skies – and this spot – to see what happens next.

_____________________________________________________________
The thoughts & opinions are mine. The quips that fall flat are someone else’s. Please feel free to shoot me an email with a question or a good joke.

And remember, real estate agents aren’t bad. We’re just drawn that way.

Tags: Aerosphere Aviation, aerotropolis, Air Force One over Greensboro, C5 touch and go at Greensboro, FedEx hub in Greensboro, Greensboro Aviation, HondaJet, News & Record, Piedmont Triad International Airport, PTI, TIMCO

photo credit: Greensboro Daily Photo (www.greensborodailyphoto.com)

Back in the day there were called Victory Gardens. Today some have called them Recession Gardens, which grates on my optimist’s ears.

Let’s call them our Getting Back To All That’s Good And Taking Back Control of Our Lives Gardens.

By any other name, the tomatoes are are as sweet – and prodigious in their output. Mint, onions, blueberries, squash, cukes and zukes. Many people are planting vegetable gardens in their front yards or next to the driveway. Five gallon buckets can be seen, wooden poles sticking out, with all manner of vines climbing skyward. Downtown, uptown, on roofs, on front stoops. Herbs on window sills or on patios. People are keeping bees in their yards. Making compost bins out of huge plastic drums or discarded wooden pallets.

There are large scale urban gardens in Greensboro, where dedicated and creative folks are putting there hands – and shovels and rakes and trowels – where their mouths are, community involvement-wise. [UPDATE: The folks over at Greensboro Daily Photo just posted info about another community garden on their site. And you can read about their personal garden in the comments section for this post]

So, the topic for this week’s poll: Are you growing food at your house?

Hope so.

[UPDATE: This story was just posted on Public Radio Station 88.5 WFDD about this very topic and an urban garden in Winston-Salem (just about 30 minutes down the road from Greensboro). There's audio if you'd like to take a listen]

Tags: 88.5 WFDD, Greensboro Daily Photograph, Greensboro Urban Garden, News & Record, WFDD segment on urban gardening

There are so many phrases, terms and abbreviations in a real estate transaction it can be confusing and many are embarrassed to ask, as if everyone should emerge from the womb knowing what “PITI” means.

If you did come to the earth with such knowledge, congratulations – I think. But if you’re like the rest of us, I’m putting together a list of real estate-specific terminology that may help. You can find the growing list, and the definition of PITI,  here. Soon you’ll be able to crush a RealEstateSpeak Slam with the best of ‘em.

Today’s term:  Earnest Money

This is money a buyer tenders with an “offer to purchase” for consideration. The buyer need not be truly an earnest person, though it’s nice when it happens. And some parts of the country call it a ‘binder’. It is presented with the offer to show the buyer is serious – or earnest – about the transaction.

There is no required amount. Indeed, there need be no money involved. Technically, the buyer’s good will is sufficient. So one can attempt to make an offer with zero dollars involved.

Good luck with that.

Sellers generally aren’t all that impressed with only a person’s good will. Just sayin’.

[Note: Earnest money, while paid at the start of the transaction, is not the down payment a lender will require. Earnest money is, however, credited towards that down payment. So, if your lender advises you'll need a $5000 down payment to buy in the approved price range, and you pay $2000 in earnest money, you'll need to bring $3000 to fulfill the down payment requirement on the day of closing.]

So how much earnest money should parties to a real estate sale expect to change hands? The amount is, as with virtually all terms of an offer, negotiated between the buyer and seller. A very rough but reasonable estimate is 1% of the purchase price. (example: $1500 – $2000 for a house with a sale price is $150,000) Again, negotiable between the parties.

Buyers should remember that the amount needs to be enough to prove to the seller that losing it would be painful so you’re not likely to simply bail on the transaction.

Sellers should remember that buyers need to be able to eat and pay their electric bill while waiting to close on the house. So the amount can’t be too cumbersome.

[Note 2:( I cannot stress this enough.) The check for the earnest WILL BE DEPOSITED. By NC Real Estate Commission law it must be deposited within 3 banking days of acceptance of the offer. Some have thought the check would be clipped to the file and cashed the day of closing. Having an earnest money check bounce is a less than auspicious start to a deal]

In Greensboro, the earnest money traditionally is held by the real estate company that has the seller’s house listed. (If the property is being sold by owner, I highly recommend a 3rd party hold the earnest money. An attorney is the best bet in that case.) It is held in a trust account and remains there until the closing day, when it’s released to the closing attorney and credited to the buyer’s bottom line as noted on the HUD-1 closing statement.

Hmmm. HUD-1 Closing Statement. I think I just hit on the topic for next week’s Term of the Week.

_____________________________________________________________
The thoughts & opinions are mine. The quips that fall flat are someone else’s. Please feel free to shoot me an email with a question or a good joke.

And remember, real estate agents aren’t bad. We’re just drawn that way.

Tags: earnest money, real estate terms

Time for a snapshot of the inventory of houses for sale in Greensboro.

The the total number of properties on the market – both active and those under contract but not yet closed – is 2997. Plenty, but down from the 3091 we had at the end of May. As with all economic news, we’ll take all the good we can get.

The percentage of “pending” properties is 18% of the total. This is very much in line with what we’ve seen over the past several months.

Ditto on the consistency for he percentage of single-family homes which remains at 72%. .

The average list price took a real hit on the tookus recently, so seeing a moderate increase is a relief. It is $236,093 today compared to $226,548 this time last week. This is down from the high of $248,854 in mid-May. Oh well. There’s always next week on that piece.

And, for your viewing pleasure, here’s Graphipalooza:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Tags: Greensboro housing prices, Greensboro housing statistics, Multiple Listing Service, Triad MLS

I’m flat out of clever things to write about foreclosures in Greensboro – or what I hope has passed as clever. At any rate, the numbers for new foreclosure listings show that not much has changed over the last several weeks. There were 10 foreclosures listed* the week ending 8/9/09, compared with 11 the week before and 11 the week before that.

The number of properties listed as foreclosures over the 12-week period ending 8/9/09 is 121. Last week that number was 122, 119 before that, 117 before that, and so on.

All of these numbers are higher than the Spring when there were fewer weekly listings and fewer cumulative listings. Perhaps we’ll be glad that flat is better than worse.

So glad we shall be.

This week I’m adding a new measure to the stats: list price. I hadn’t been tracking it previously because, well, because I hadn’t thought to do so. But below you’ll see a graph of the weekly median list price of foreclosures in Greensboro. And you’ll remember from high school that the median is not the average but rather the number at which half the prices are lower and half are higher. (If you don’t remember that, then you are probably the median person of all those who memorized the definition. Half of us didn’t remember either.)

Let me save you some eye strain:

The weekly median price of foreclosures in Greensboro has ranged from $44,900 to $149,900. The ‘average’ median – and my apologies to statisticians if there is no such thing – has been $75,373.

For the week ending 8/9/09, the list price numbers were:

• Median – $87,400
• Average - $92,360
• High - $150,000
• Low - $40,100

For those of you who wonder about such things, the list price numbers (based on weekly stats) show us that, since the week that ended 9/14/08 have been:

• Median – $75,373
• Average - $91,408
• High - $674,900 <-still available
  
• Low - $8,000 <-not

As for the rest of the data, here you go:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

Tags: Greensboro foreclosures, Greensboro housing statistics, Greensboro zip codes, Median home price Greensboro, Multiple Listing Service, Triad MLS