Carolina Living Property Management Hits Milestone

By admin

Charlotte 10/31/2010

Carolina Living Property Management, a division of Carolina Living Real Estate, hit a milestone of 35 single family homes under management.

Concentrating on the single family market, Carolina Living charges no upfront fees and a very reasonable 8% management fee which is helping it steamroll into the property management picture.

Carolina Living Property Management offers a complete solution by partnering with our sales agents and agents with other firms listing the home for sale.  While listing and marketing the homes for rent, the listing agent continues to list the home for sale, in a effort to find the homeowner a solution.

Carolina Living Property Management currently focuses on single family homes in a effort to keep its focus on one core competency.

Learn more at the Carolina Living Property Management website.

For Agents – Will You Survive

By admin

The last decade has provided agents a windfall of success. The market was so good that almost anyone could expect have a successful real estate career. Today, agents are faced with many challenges brought about by our failing economy. The type of buyer and seller have changed. The way houses are sold and bought have changed. And the way agents organize and conduct their business has changed.

The agents embracing change will survive the down market. The ones who don’t change the way they work, will be one of the many fatalities of our business.

Never before has the following statement been more meaningful: There are those who make things happen…Those who watch things happen….and Those who say… “What Happened?”

Many agents will feel they need their company to survive, and the company will do it’s best to make the agent feel that way. The truth is, the company needs you more than you need them. Your transactions may decrease over the next few years, but the fees and percentages you pay your company on each deal will not decrease. The result is….less money in your pocket.

A person on a 50/50 split who only does half the transactions this year that they did last year, will be receiving half the commissions they received last year. On the other hand, the same agent with our company receiving 100% of their commission, will receive the same amount of money even though they only did half the transactions. Regardless of your current split, the extra money you would receive with our company could really help offset any reduced transactions.

We want the agent to receive a 100% commission check with no strings attached!
Because of our lower agent count, agents are able to communicate with the owners, other brokers and mentors easily.

Agents who have joined our company tell us that they have learned more advanced skills and techniques with our company, than they have within their entire career

See Carolina Living Agent Careers

Agent Careers

By admin

As a Real Estate Agent, you work hard for your money and Carolina Living Real Estate knows what it’s like…

Just some of the benefits of being a Carolina Living Real Estate Agent:

-You Receive 100% of Your Commission

-No Franchise Fee

-No Sign Up Fees or Annual Dues

-On Call Dedicated Lender

-E & O Insurance Included

-No Referral Fee for Leads

-Quick Turn Around on Commission Checks

-No Mandatory Floor Time Duty or Meetings

-***Custom Website and Blogging Training***

-You Take Your Listings and Website if You Leave

-In Office Wi-Fi

-Bonus for Recruiting New Agents

-No Mandatory Listing Rates & Listing Terms for Sellers

-All leads routed to all agents in order they are recieved.  Not Favoritism

-FREE Realtor.com enhanced listings

-24 / 7 Access to Our Office

– *** Property Management ***

***Custom Website and Blogging Training*** – We teach each agent that is interested how to build a website /blog at minimal cost to them.  This is not like other agencies giving you a web page.  This is a website that you can control, own and take with you.  It is branded the way you want to brand it and dedicate it to the niche that works for you.  These websites actually have a chance to be found on the major search engines because we teach you how to do it.  Even novices can do this with some effort!

*** Property Management *** – Property Management is huge in this economy.  Our property management division is growing rapidly and offering many opportunities.  Your clients remain your clients.  You can offer full service to your listing clients, get renter leads (these often turn into buyers) and the company shares in listing leads when the seller decided once again to sell!  Most if not all the other 100% companies shy away from Property Management but we embrace it and put the revenue back into the business!

Plan One Team Plan
$35.00 a Month Team Leader Fee $35.00 a Month
$290.00 a Transaction Team Members $5.00 a Month
$290.00 Transaction

If you’re an Agent, we would like to speak with you about the benefits of joining Carolina Living Real Estate. Call us today at 704-451-7051, or email careers@carolinalivingrealestate.com

114 Citation Drive – Mooresville, NC

By admin

Map of 114 Citation Drive, Mooresville NC

Mooresville Home For Sale

Mooresville Home For Sale! Priced below Tax Value! No HOA Dues! New Carpet and Tile downstairs. Open and airy floor plan. Wooded lot. Extended Parking area for your Extra Toys and New Roof. Great Location to schools, golf, hospital, Lowes HQ, shops.

Come and Preview this great Home, call 704.737.7878.  Move in Ready!  Better than a Short sale.

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114 Citation Drive Pictures. – Must See

Carolina Living Real Estate Embracing Green Solutions

By admin

At Carolina Living we are embracing technology that eliminates the hassle of shuffling paper.  With our adoption of the software offered by Gopaperless.com, we can now get all documents signed, sealed and delivered without the client ever picking up a pen, faxing, scanning or handling paper at all.

At Carolina Living Real Estate we are always embracing new technology that enables to serve our clients better and more effeciently.

Contact us and let us show you how.

Carolina Living Real Estate’s Sarah Drummond Recognized For Internet Marketing Excellence

By admin

Carolina Living Real Estate

Gastonia, North Carolina, October 20th, 2010 — REALTOR.com® National Speaker, Joe Sesso, has presented to Sarah Drummond of Carolina Living Real Estate the “Real Estate Online Marketing Award of Excellence”. The Award of Excellence recognizes top agents who consistently provide great marketing services on behalf of their buyers and sellers.

“There are always some real estate agents who distinguish themselves from other agents by doing a little more for their sellers. In particular; when the home they are selling is placed on a well trafficked site such as the 1st ranked REALTOR.com®,1 even simple efforts like having more photos displayed, crafting better descriptions or adding a full motion video, can make a home stand out from competing properties,” says Mr. Sesso.

The excellence award was presented to Sarah Drummond at a recent real estate marketing and technology seminar that demonstrated cutting edge techniques for leveraging the internet and technology in real estate marketing.

Sarah Drummond says, “My seller clients appreciate how I can help bring more attention to the unique selling attributes of their home and ultimately help attract more qualified buyers. Sellers who have worked with me can attest to the fact that home photography is one of the aspects of my job I take most seriously—and have the most fun with at the same time! I love making each listing look amazing online and in all my marketing pieces. Sellers like the fact that REALTOR.com offers a feature that allows them to monitor how many views their listing is getting on the website. I think buyers are also appreciative of a well-presented home and a website that offers a better description and more ways to learn about the property online before arranging an appointment. While it’s certainly an honor to receive this award, I think ultimately it would be a disservice not to make REALTOR.com® and the internet part of my standard home marketing plan. I market my listings heavily on several major real estate websites (and even YouTube); and REALTOR.com is certainly one of my favorite avenues for online advertising.”

“The extra steps agents like Sarah Drummond are taking on behalf of their clients is the reason we thought it worthwhile to call out the effort we have seen these agents make online and to recognize them for providing these added value services,” says Mr. Sesso.

REALTOR.com® is just one of the many ways Sarah Drummond is leveraging recent trends in home buyer online behavior to her clients’ benefit. Home sellers interested in finding out how to have their home marketed on REALTOR.com® should contact Sarah at 704-604-8849 or email sarahdrummond.realtor@gmail.com.

9112 Butterfly Court Gastonia, NC

By admin

Carolina Living Real Estate

Map of 9112 Butterfly Court Gastonia

Breathtaking two-story foyer showcases magnificent staircase that draws the eye upward to the stunning trey ceiling and ornate chandelier. Formal dining room with extravagant dentil and picture frame molding. Striking custom arches throughout first floor, coffered ceiling in soaring two-story great room with fireplace as focal point. Pre-wired for security system, surround sound, central vac.
Gorgeous dark granite in kitchen, large laundry room, luxurious first-floor master suite with lighted trey ceiling, huge walk-in closet, and custom tile work in the bath. Red oak select flooring shin es throughout. Expansive loft upstairs, bonus room above garage, private 4th bedroom with two closets and adjoining bath would make awesome suite for guests or a teenager.

[property_details details=”1″]

Visit Gaston Lincoln Home Finder for More info

Beautiful Gastonia Home For Sale

By admin

Carolina Living Real Estate

Map of 9009 Heather Trace Lane 

Gorgeous brick two story new construction home with four bedrooms/three baths plus bonus room upstairs. Fourth bedroom/office on 1st floor with adjoining full bath could be a great guest suite. Pre-wired for security system, surround sound, and central vac. Extravagant molding, trey ceilings, coffered ceilings in living room, fireplace, granite counter tops in kitchen, red oak select hardwoods.
The huge second-floor master suite is a dream with private sitting room and luxurious bath featuring beautiful custom tile work and his-and-hers closets and sinks. Laundry room is on 2nd floor for ultimate convenience. Other rooms, including 4th bedroom down, have two closets to accomodate both winter and summer wardrobes. Huge kitchen is open with awesome pantry and room for breakfast table.

[property_details details=”1″]

See More at Gaston Lincoln Home Finder

Tax Credits For Your Charlotte Area Home

By admin

Tax Credits for Adding or Replacing Insulation

According to  Gil Rudawsky at House Logic a very informative site created by Realtor.com!

A federal tax credit makes adding insulation an even cheaper way to improve your home’s energy efficiency and cut your heating and cooling bills.

f putting a dent in your home’s heating and cooling bills is a priority, then adding insulation needs to be at the top of your to-do list. It’s a relatively affordable home-improvement project, and the savings can be felt almost immediately. Some DIYers can even tackle the project themselves over a weekend.

For a 2,200 square foot home, adding insulation to an attic can cost from $1,000 to $2,500 including labor, depending on how much you put in and how easy it is to install. Effort and expense go up when you add insulation to exterior walls or around hard-to-reach ductwork. A federal energy tax credit worth up to $1,500 can help defray the cost.

Read more

Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Thinking Lease Purchase in the Charlotte Area? Think Again

By admin

Why do we say Think Again? Lets examine things closely.

Buyers run a significant risk of entering into a Lease Purchase – How?:

  • The Seller could take your rent payments and not make a single mortgage payment and the property could go into foreclosure. (Yes, this has happened)
  • The Seller may not keep up with the property. (from repairs, to taxes and you name it)
  • Any improvements the Buyers only benefit of the Seller, unless the Buyers actually close on the property.
  • As they say, “life can get in the way” and one of the parties to the contract may not be able to perform.

Having said that, Buyers are  more and more questioning the availability of this scenario because of the status of our economy.

Here are some seller risks you should be aware of:

The Buyers don’t have acceptable credit to buy today and hope that in the near future their credit will be better and they can qualify for a loan. Risk: How far off is the buyers’ credit from credit-worthy? Depending on the buyers’ situation, the buyer may not be able to cure their credit in time to buy the home. Then, the buyers cannot buy the house and the seller will have to clean up the house and prepare it for sale.

The Buyers have a home to sell. Risk: The buyers still haven’t sold their home at the end of the lease. If the buyers love the home and want to buy it, the best option is to reduce the list price on their current home and get it sold. Then, buy the new home.

The Buyers want to test out the neighborhood/house/city/etc. Risk: The Buyers are not committed to the new home. Even though they have entered into a binding purchase agreement, many Buyers think the Lease Purchase agreement is a Lease Option.

The Buyers think that some of their Lease payment will go toward the Purchase Price of the home. Risk: Though some Lease Purchases have a buy down provision, this is not true in most of the Lease Purchases that I have reviewed.

  • If you feel you your only option is to enter into a Lease Purchase, please take heed of the  following precautions:
  • An attorney must create the Lease Purchase documentation. Our standard Realtor forms do not cover all the items that need to be addressed.
  • Spell out very clearly what both parties expect at the end of the Lease Purchase.
  • Use non-refundable earnest money to ensure that the intent is understood and the Seller is compensated if the Lease Purchase does not come to a close.  Also, I believe the attorney should hold the monies AND collect the rents and pay the mortgage.  Too often we have heard of the seller keeping the funds and no making payments.  The home is foreclosed on and the buyer is out his/her money!

The Buyers should do their due diligence before they move in:

  1. Do an Inspection and Negotiate the Repairs. Determine in writing who will be responsible for repairs during the lease term.
  2. Examine the Title.
  3. Get an appraisal.
  4. Have the Seller buy a Home Warranty.
  5. Sellers should keep the home fully insured. Buyer should insure their contents.
  6. Neither Buyer nor Seller should make changes to the house during the lease term, unless negotiated by all parties.

Consider, Buyers and Sellers may simply consider signing a Lease with an Option to Purchase giving the buyer right of first refusal to buy the property at the end of the Lease.  However, the buyer would not be obligated to buy the home.

Be sure to get an attorney involved to create the language necessary to protect both buyers and sellers with any options involving a Lease Purchase.