Clif Cheek

The North Carolina General Assembly has updated its General Statues.  In relation to your rental property, N.C. General Statue 42, Chapter 42 (7), effective January 1, 2010, you must “provide a minimum of one operable carbon monoxide detector per rental unit per level, either battery-operated or electrical, that is listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory that is OSHA-approved to test and certify to American National Standards Institute/Underwriters Laboratories Standards, and install the carbon monoxide detectors in accordance with either the standards of the National Fire Protection Association or the minimum protection designated in the manufacturer’s instructions, which the landlord shall retain or provide as proof of compliance.”  “A carbon monoxide detector may be combined with smoke detectors if the combined detector does both of the following:  (i) complies with ANSI.UL2034 or ANSI/UL2075 for carbon monoxide alarms and ANSI/UL217 for smoked detectors; and (ii) emits an alarm in a manner that clearly differentiates between detecting the presence of carbon monoxide and the presence of smoke.”  This Statue applies ONLY to dwelling units having a fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage.

While this applies just to the above specified dwellings, we encourage each of our homeowners to be proactive in installing a carbon monoxide detector(s) to safeguard you and your tenants.  
You can read more of the General Statue at – Look up “42-42”:
http://t.lt01.net/m/f31GdtiNzYCA_VUNNNisOrCvE3AnVHjIETkmQ5ZN6RO6ukOsqg

Tags: real estate | safety | nc | north carolina | statute | carbon monoxide | proactive | tenants | vacation | renters | rentals | Clif Cheek

Clif Cheek

Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly this week to an average of 5.01%, Freddie Mac announced Thursday Feb 4th. This is up from 4.98% last week.  However, we are still faring well in comparison to last year when rates were slightly higher at this time.  The average 30-year fixed mortgage was at 5.25%.

Freddie Mac reports that rates fell to a record low of 4.71% in early December. A Federal Reserve program pumping $1.25 trillion into mortgage backed securities has held rates around 5 percent and make home buying more affordable. The program is set to end March 31, 2010.

This is good as long as you are able to take advantage of the low rates and maybe even pair this with the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit.  There is no better time to buy than the present.  Don't let this opportunity to get your dream home for nickels on the dollar pass you by.  Call us today to find out how to take advantage of our market.

Tags: mortgage | rates | Ocean Isle Beach | north carolina | South Brunswick Islands | first time home buyer tax credit | consultation

Baxter Cheek

Leave the big city or cold weather and come join us at Ocean Isle Beach, NC.  We will have a cocktail waiting for you. You will only regret it if you don't look into it.

Tags: Ocean Isle Beach | Baxter Cheek | Resort Brokerage and Consulting | north carolina | Sunset Beach | Beach Communities | Ocean Isle Real Estate | OIB

Clif Cheek

updated 11:46 a.m. ET, Tues., Sept . 1, 2009

WASHINGTON - A gauge of future U.S. home sales rose more than expected in July to the highest level in over two years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall.

The report showed the housing market is rebounding faster than expected from its historic bust. Low prices and the looming expiration on Nov. 30 of a first-time homebuyers’ tax credit of up to $8,000 have spurred sales. Prices in much of the country have begun to rise from the depths of the slump.

“The overall trend toward stabilization is undeniable at this point,” wrote Mike Larson, real estate analyst at Weiss Research.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in July for previously occupied homes rose 3.2 percent to 97.6. It was the sixth straight increase, and 12 percent higher the same month last year.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the index to edge up to only 96.5.

The index of pending home sales indicates how sales completed this month and next will turn out. Typically, there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a final deal. But delays in getting mortgages approved and appraisals completed have recently lengthened the time it takes to close a deal in many cases.

Analysts predict sales will drop off when the tax credit expires, or if mortgage rates rise from near-record lows. Foreclosures also continue to rise, and banks are forced to sell those properties at deep discounts, pushing prices down.

A 12 percent jump in sales contracts in the West and a 3 percent increase in the South drove July’s overall increase. Sales fell in the Northeast and Midwest.

The Realtors group projects that around 2 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the credit this year, and says it is spurring 350,000 additional sales that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

Nationally, home prices in the second quarter posted their first quarterly increase in three years, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller national index released last week. Prices are growing in some parts of the country, but “beware a rise in supply as frustrated would-be sellers see their chance,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

While home prices are still 30 percent below the mid-2006 peak, their new direction should bring relief to lenders, homeowners and buyers alike.

Falling property values have wiped out $4 trillion in homeowners’ equity, and thousands have walked away from homes that are worth far less than their mortgage balance. But now, with prices stabilizing, many buyers who had been staying out of the market are coming off the sidelines.

Tags: pending home sales | sold property | real estate | north carolina | national association of Realtors | Associated Press | market conditions

Clif Cheek

North Carolina continues to be one of the fastest growing states in the nation.

Tags: population growth USA | north carolina