Check out this new Single-family property that I just posted on my Web site. It is at 4523 Avalon Forest Drive in Charlotte. This Single-family property has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

A storm is brewing just beyond January in Mecklenburg county–the tax assessor is about to send new property valuations to homeowners.  

Many people are going to be surprised that the value of their property has actually increased, given the malaise of the real estate market in the past 3 years.   However, the past 3 years only tell part of the story for tax values.   North Carolina municipalities are requiredto revalue properties at least every 8 years & it has been 8 years since this took place here.   You may remember that from 2003 until roughly 2007 or 2008, home prices rose in Mecklenburg.   So, the current valuation must take in account the total picture, with the past 3 years factored in.

Good news is that an increase in tax value will not necessarily mean that more taxes will be owed on the property.   The county has until June to set the “tax rate” which could go down.  

An excellent article concerning tax valuation was published in the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER on December 19, 2010.   Check it out  @ www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/12/19/v-print/1920788  

Whatever your tax value, it does not necessarily coincide with market value.   Tax values are used to collect revenue and, theoretically, bear no weight in determining what a given buyer is willing to pay for the property at any given time.  

If you feel your tax value is inaccurate,  you may appeal.   In fact, 10′s of thousands of your neighbors are expected to do so!  

According to an article in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL this week, the value of a foreclosed home is reduced, on average, a total of 27% below market value.   The article went on to say that homes within 250 feet of the foreclosed property can expect a 1% reduction in value.   This seems to be in line with what we are seeing in the Charlotte area market at the present time.   Unfortunately, the number of distressed properties continues to accelerate at a very steady rate.   So, we might expect that at least in the short term, the averages asserted by the WSJ article may be a little higher than normal.

You may be aware that one of the biggest sticking points in completing residential real estate transactions these days is the appraisal process.   The market is changing almost hourly, making putting a price on property a very tricky business. Recently I heard an appraiser make a presentation regarding the guidelines appraisers must use when selecting comparable properties to use in their reports.   He said that the residential home appraiser’s goal is to compare to “the same house, located next door, which sold yesterday, in an arms-length transaction.”   In other words, the property should match the subject property as closely as possible, be located as close as possible & have sold as recently as possible.   Additionally, the buyer & seller are typically motivated, well informed and acting in their own best interested, the property was on the market for a reasonable time, buyer is paying cash & the price represents the norm for the market.   Obviously, this kind of comparable would be ideal.   Obviously, as well, we do not live in an ideal world so it would be rare indeed to find an absolute comparable property.

Typically, Fannie Mae requires appraisers  to stay within a subdivision or at least in an adjacent location when choosing comparables and they must use at least 3 closed comparable sales for their analysis of value.   The problem  of foreclosures comes into play  when they comprise an inordinate share of any one subdivision’s number of closed sales.   As the appraiser explained, if there  are enough other current  comparables available, the appraiser  will not be required to consider the  current foreclosures.   However, it seems to stand to reason that foreclosures  will have at least a  minimal effect on home values no matter the  neighborhood foreclosure rates.    

Hopefully, this information gives you a little bit better understanding of the reasoning behind the  appraisal process and of the difficulties we are having in trying to predict selling price in a  time of declining prices.    

Check out this new Single-family property that I just posted on my Web site. It is at 4888 Sherborne Drive in Harrisburg. This Single-family property has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The Homebuyer Tax Credit program is scheduled to expire at midnight on June 30.   However, many homebuyers hoping to take advantage of this phenomonal deal are one the edge of seeing their tax credit vanish.

There are many factors at play here.   Some homebuyers are attempting to buy short sale properties and have been waiting for months & months (not unusual in short sale world) for approval from mortgage-holding lending institutions.   Others are simply waiting for mortgage-lending red tape to be waded through for final approval on their own financing.   Additionally, the sheer numbers of home sales leading up to the April 30 contract  deadline to take advantage of this program has created a logjam with lenders & attorneys.  

There is some movement in Congress to extend the time to close from June 30 to some  other point in 2010.   Support for this extension appears to be mixed and  somewhat  unenthusiastic.   I would be interested on your opinion on this.    Do you think the date to close should be extended.   Why or why not?

For more information on this, you may  want to read the following  article at CNNMoney.com:   http://www.newsgeni.us/articles/268/200K_Homebuyers_May_Miss_Credit_with_Missed_Deadline.html  

Check out this new Single-family property that I just posted on my Web site. It is at 11129 Bridgehampton Drive in Charlotte. This Single-family property has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths.

Check out this new Condo property that I just posted on my Web site. It is at 8552 Kilty Court in Charlotte. This Condo property has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The First-Time  Home Buyer  Tax Credit formally expired last week, but it is still available for two groups of citizens.   They are military and certain federal employees currently serving overseas.   These two categories of government employees have until April 30, 2011 to contract to buy a principal residence and until June 30, 2011 to close the transaction.  

Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule.   It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside the U.S. for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.  

This is an added perk for those serving overseas that many people are not aware of.   This probably will not serve to solve the housing market’s difficulties right now, but will be great for those who are eligible to take advantage of it!

 Source:   IRS.gov

Check out this new Single-family property that I just posted on my Web site. It is at 6110 Creekview Court in Harrisburg. This Single-family property has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The City of Charlotte has decided to revamp its recycling program with the changes to take effect this coming summer.   Some of these changes will be very positive:

• More products will become eligible for recycling, such as plastics other than “1″ & “2″, grocery bags, plastic bottle caps, and even empty aerosol cans.
• Recycling items will no longer need to be separated.
• The city projects  the changes  will save major bucks.

Two other changes may be either positive or negative, depending on your perspective:

• Recycling will be picked up every other week.
• Red recycling bins will be replaced with large green rollout bins.

Picking up every other week will definitely save the city money; the major drawback to this  would seem to be trying to keep up with which week is designated for pick up.   Also, if you happen to be on vacation on pick up day, you would have to wait another two weeks for recycling to be picked up.

I like the idea of the large bin and not having to separate items.   The big problem with the rollout bins is where to store them.   Currently, my red bins are just outside my interior garage door and I simply open the door to dispose of my recyclable items & then carry the bins to the curb on trash day.   I could store the green bin where my red bins are, but that would require me to back my car out of the garage to roll it in and out.   We have a designated, decorative area outside to store our current trash rollout bin, but it is not big enough for two bins.   While I think the green recyclable rollout bin could work for some, I’m a little concerned about the aesthetics of storing them for many homeowners.   Lots of people do not have a garage for storage and will be forced to store them adjacent to the exterior of their home, along with the gray one they already have for regular trash–unsightly, to say the least!   There is an option of keeping the red bins, but I am not sure yet how that will work.  

What  do you think of these upcoming  changes?   I would love to hear your suggestions!