Barrett Powell Real Estate Team

Jordan Lake

Barrett Powell — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:21:17 +0000

Chatham Country Side

Barrett Powell — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:20:44 +0000

Downtown Pittsboro Shops

Barrett Powell — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:19:54 +0000

Selling Property In Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, Apex, or Cary – Should You Get an Appraisal?

Barrett Powell — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:50:20 +0000

If you are selling you property in today’s market, should you get an appraisal before you put the property on the market?

In Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Chapel Hill, and surrounding areas, the answer is yes and no.

Here is the advice I give sellers. If the price you want for your house can be easily supported by recent comparable sales then it may not make sense to have an appraisal done. An appraisal “may” become a material fact about the property, especially if a buyer ask if an appraisal has been done recently. If the appraisal is favorable to your position then things may be ok. But what if the appraiser comes in with a value that is way below your asking price.

I know appraisals “should be” very close to one another. But in today’s market where comparable sales may be hard to find, it leaves more to subjective opinion on the part of the appraiser. I have seen two appraisals on the same house done a couple of months apart come up with values tens of thousands of dollars apart. And timing can be everything when it comes to an appraisal.

Here are some examples of when it may be good to have an appraisal done:

1) The price of the house is very hard to arrive at. There are no or very few comparables or the house is so unique, such as a log cabin that may not have any direct comparables.

2) You want to be sure the house will appraise for the price you are asking. I have seen some desirable homes, say in a historic area, that would never appraise for the price they were contracted for. And if the buyer needs a loan and the appraisal does not come in at your price it may be difficult for the buyer to close if the bank cannot justify the price for the loan.

3) If you the seller cannot separate yourself and emotions from the transaction itself. If you built the house with your own bare hands and you know that every single nail went in with loving care, you may think the value is much higher than it actually is. An appraisal can give you an unbiased opinion of what it is really worth.

Posted via email from triangle’s posterous

Buying Investment or Rental Property in Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, and Pittsboro

Barrett Powell — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:35:11 +0000

With all the foreclosure and “short sale” properties available in the Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, and Pittsboro areas, one would think finding good investment rental properties would be easy. And in one since it is, there a many properties to choose from at relatively low prices. The first rule of buying investment property is buy at a good price. But there are many more factors one must consider and look at.

There will be many Realtors in the area that have assisted a buyer or seller with what could be classified as "investment" property. If that is what you are looking for you have many agents to choose from.

If you are looking for a professional to assist you with cash flow analysis and selecting the correct properties to buy, then the list gets a lot shorter.

For instance, when buying investment rental properties there are a number of things you need to look out for. Some are obvious and some depending on your experience are not.

1) Paying the right price for a property. This is obvious but many new investors simply overlook this and other cost of ownership to factor in what rental price you must charge. In addition to the mortgage, you need to factor in your taxes, your rental property insurance, maybe association fees depending on the property.

2) You need to evaluate the neighborhood. Is it likely to draw renters in? Is the neighborhood friendly to renters or will there be opposition?

3) Understand what the town or county regulations are regarding rental properties and parking. If there is a neighborhood association involved, will you be compliant with their rules? Are there rules regarding noise, trash pickup, parking. A bad tenant could end up costing you in fines.

4) Think about the property itself, its construction, systems, and construction materials. Many new properties are not built like they used to be. Doors are hollow now instead of solid, and so don’t take much abuse and may need replacing often. Is the flooring a light color likely to show stains easily and need replacing soon? Are there common walls, in the case of a townhouse, where a neighbor’s damage may affect you also or vice versa? Are the property systems easy to access and replace? Today there are many properties built on concrete slabs instead of a crawl space. This makes the original construction cheaper and easier to do but if you ever need to fix or replace plumbing you can be looking at a difficult and costly task. Is the air conditioning unit easy to access or is in a hard to get to cramp attic?

So buying and selling investment rental property done the right way is not simple and there are few agents that do this because it is not easy and is time consuming. I write a number of articles on investment properties and what to look for. I’m more than happy to answer any questions for you.

I do take clients on in this area, but as you can imagine I cannot take every client. If you are interested we can set up a time to meet and discuss your objectives and determine if we are a good fit or not. Either way I’m more than happy to answer a few questions for you.

Web Reference: http://www.remaxchatham.com/category/realestate/

Posted via email from triangle’s posterous

Homes For Sale in Pittsboro and Chatham County Report

Barrett Powell — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:15:51 +0000

For the period ending January 29, 2010, the home market in the Chatham County areas that include Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, and Sanford took a slight drop from the previous two months. The numbers looked like this for December and January:

Total Properties on the market were 741.

The number of new listings for the period was 68.

The number of sold homes was 23.

The number of expired listings was 48.

The number of properties taken off the market was 45.

And the number of pending sales was a respectable 42.

The average listing price was $233,893 and the average sales price was $220,411.

All in all the market continues to move forward. We are still seeing pain in the high end sector. First time home buyers continue to be a large part of the market. With the renewed tax credits and the extension to existing home buyers we feel the spring sales should start to pick up.

Posted via email from triangle’s posterous

Buying Property in Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, and Chatham County (Part 2, Erosion Control)

Barrett Powell — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:09:48 +0000

Buying proper, land, is not as complex a transaction as buying a home in Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, and Chatham County. However there are some things you need to know concerning erosion control rules. Recently, new ordinances have gone into effect that deal with how you have to control erosion on land you own when you go to clear that land to build your home on. In the past, you simply cleared what land you needed for your driveway, home, and yard and went about building your house.

Nowadays, you must use good stewardship when disturbing your land for clearing. As a general rule, if you clear more than 25,000 square feet of your land you should consult with an engineer to obtain an erosion control plan. Under 25,000 square feet, you should consult with the Chatham County Erosion Control Department. The link to their website is at the bottom of this article. You can easily have 25,000 square feet of cleared space for a driveway alone if you have a large tract of land you are building on. Include your home footprint and yard and you are over the 25,000 square feet.

It is always a good idea to have someone knowledgeable of the rules for your particular area to walk you through the process. I always meet with my clients to make sure they are introduced to the proper departments and individuals. A good Realtor in your area should do the same.

Click here to go to Chatham County Planning Department for more information: http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=127

Posted via email from triangle’s posterous

Timberline Drive

Barrett Powell — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:56:04 +0000

This is the last lot of it’s kind available. The only almost 9 acre lot with a 4 bedroom perk located at Jordan Lake that backs up to Army Corp of Engineer land that surrounds Jordan Lake. This lot is available for over $5,000 per acre less than the most recent sale in the same development. We have the lot loaded in handheld GPS units for check out to walk this stunning property.

Easy Street

Barrett Powell — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:50:14 +0000

Hard to find 5 acres in N. Chatham in Perry Harrison School District. Rolling wooded lot with lots of privacy. New 4 Bedroom Perk. No restrictions or covenants.

Soloman Degraffenreidt Road

Barrett Powell — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:44:26 +0000

Location, location, location. 5 acres near Pittsboro with all the conveniences of close proximity to Pittsboro without city taxes. Private and secluded, yet leave your paved road and immediately jump on 64 bypass for points East such as Jordan Lake, Apex, Cary, and Raleigh.