The Wake Forest Board of Commissioners has approved a smoking ban in all Town parks and greenways, except in specifically designated areas.

The board adopted the ordinance last month during it sregular monthly meeting, joining a growing number of communities that have forbidden smoking in public parks. The smoking ban is designed to help reduce curb exposure to secondhand smoke and reduce litter.

The ban takes place immediately and includes a possible $50 fine. Signage will be posted throughout the Town’s parks and greenways informing visitors of the new ordinance.

Enforcement will take the form of requesting voluntary compliance. However, if a smoker does not extinguish a smoking product, park staff will remind them of the new policy and could request exiting the property if they choose to continue smoking. For more information about the smoking ban, contact Parks and Recreation Director Ruben Wall at 919-435-9561.

Courtesy of Jeff Dicks Real Estate

Wake Forest Homes For Sale

Heritage Wake Forest Homes

“Even if it did win legislative approval – something that I don’t think will happen – I think it would have a negligible effect on the Canadian market in terms of attracting Chinese and other Asian property investors attracted to Vancouver and other Canadian markets,” Douglas Gray, author of The Canadian Snowbird Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Living Part-Time in the USA and Mexico.  “They are coming here instead of the U.S. for social and cultural reasons, and that won’t change.”

 

 

If a bi-partisan team of U.S. senators has its way, the American economy will see a significant increase in property investment coming from outside its recession-wary borders.

 

Last month, Senators Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, unveiled proposed changes to the country’s VISIT-USA Act, among them a measure to provide renewable three-year resident visas to foreign nationals who invest a minimum of $500,000 in residential real estate anywhere in the U.S.

 

That residency offer would extend to spouses and dependent children and is geared toward regenerating a housing market that has yet to recover from the 2007/8 housing collapse.

 

A host of conditions apply: of that half a million dollars in property, at least $250,000 must go toward a primary residence, although dwellings purchased for non-residential use can be rented out; the visa holder must also live in the primary residence for at least 180 days a year and pay U.S. income taxes on foreign earnings; all purchases must be made in cash; and all applicants would be subject to background checks.

 

That being said, Canadian snowbirds meeting the criteria would see their current six-month cap on stays in the U.S. removed. Proponents in Seattle – now struggling to grow its share of the Chinese investment now going to Vancouver – have also suggested the legislative changes would strengthen the city’s appeal.

 

That kind of diversion just isn’t going to happen, said Gray, among other successful property investors based in B.C. convinced Vancouver Asian-friendly approach and large community will keep it as the primary real estate market for Chinese investors.

 

Gray, also a lawyer and author of several other investment books, is just as convinced potential tax implications and the possibility of losing access to Canadian health care will also keep most snowbirds from relocating to the U.S.

“That isn’t going to happen,” he told CRE.

-Vernon Clement Jones

Courtesy Jeff Dicks Real Estate

Microsoft’s (MSFT) Kinect motion-sensitive game controller for Xbox 360
went on sale on November 7. The company has already shipped 8 million
units. That’s sell in to retailers, not sell through to consumers, but it’s
still a pretty impressive number; retailers aren’t going to buy a bunch of
these things to let them sit on their shelves. By way of comparison,
Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle might reach 8 million this year after more than two
years on the market, and Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone didn’t break 8 million until
the 3G version was launched more than a year after the original. (Business
Insider

Time to get off the couch!
Americans watched more television than ever in 2010, according to the
Nielsen Co. Total viewing of broadcast networks and basic cable channels
rose about 1% for the year, to an average of 34 hours per person per week.
(The New York Times

U.S. home prices fell for the 53rd consecutive month in November, taking
the decline past that of the Great Depression for the first time in the
prolonged housing slump, according to property appraisal company Zillow.
(Reuters)

Jeff Dicks a Realtor in the Triangle area of North Carolina launches new and improved website. To view go here

What I can tell you about myself is I’m a relocated northener to the Triangle area. Tired of the long winters, I migrated south with my wife and two children, and we now reside in Wake Forest. I have to tell you we absolutely love it here! The easy access to the mountains, ocean, forests, and superb golfing adds a unique quality to life. Schools, amenities and friendly neighbors are abundant in the Triangle area and helped make our decision easy.

I am uniquely positioned to assist clients with their move whether across town, across the country, or from another country. I bring my experience and insight into the many details and complexities of moving, to my job as a realtor. I know that real estate can be exciting and overwhelming and I am committed to making the real estate process clear, easy to understand, and smooth for my clients.

I am a dedicated and knowledgeable Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill real estate agent who can provide you with the highly specialized information that will help you make the right decisions. It’s the combination of this unique market-knowledge and excellent negotiating skills that enable me to get you the optimal price for any property you plan to sell or buy.

As a real estate expert in the Triangle area, I can provide you with helpful insights about the area, and can show you why Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill living is truly something to be desired. With a professional yet friendly approach, I help clients feel comfortable about what can be a stressful decision.

Trust is hard to come by in today’s fiercely competitive real estate market. I am here to provide you with the professionalism and integrity needed to ensure that you feel secure in what can be one of the biggest decisions of your life.

If your relocating to Raleigh,NC. Durham, Chapel Hill or other locale in North Carolina. Please use this website as a resource for all your Triangle Real Estate needs, and if you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us today!

Committed to Your Success !!

Jeff Dicks

The Capital City Real Estate Group & Keller Williams Realty

Stat of the day
Commercial livestock and poultry operations produce half a billion tonnes
of manure each year, more than three times as much as that produced by the
entire U.S. population. Such large quantities of manure stored at factories
can emit “unsafe quantities” of ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and particulate
matter and have become the fastest growing large source of the greenhouse
gas methane. This has led to Indiana Rep. Tom Saunders (R-Lewisville) to
file an out-of-state manure regulation bill last week to curb the spreading
of manure, especially near residential areas. (The Business Insider

Time to turn off the television get a breath of fresh air from the sky is falling news we seem to be over saturated with. The good news were getting rain, now that’s some saturation we need.

Low and behold the annual Parade of Homes is just 3 days away. The builders, and decorators are working furiously to have this years entries prepped and ready for public viewing. This years parade features some 188 homes.

So, if your out and about this upcoming weekend I’ve attached a link with the 2010 Parade of Homes list.

Parade of Homes 2010

For further Information on the Parade of Homes 2010 please conatct Jeff Dicks or Marc Iafrate with Keller Williams Realty and The Capital City Real Estate Group

It appears the economic recovery is in place in the Triangle area of North Carolina. August economic data was just released today. Although, were not bounding forward the improvements are an encouraging sign and is most likely to the diversity in employment opportunities in the area. Check out the August recap here

Our feature community of the week is Weston Place in Cary, NC. Weston Place is a community developed by Forever Homes. They have done a fabulous job listening to the consumer and have a great product starting in the 200’s.

If your planning on visiting the Triangle area soon, don’t forget the Parade of Homes 2010 runs for the first three weekends of October. Lots to see and lots to do.

Forever Homes

If you would like more information on this development or others in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Contact Jeff Dicks of of Keller Williams Realty

I find myself quite fortunate to have a fabulous wife and two children. Even more so that I have terrific parents. Life is a battlefield and on occasion we’re all too caught up in the latest fashion trend, car, watch or golf club. the past year an a half has been not only economic turmoil, a housing bust and most recently we’ve witnessed the tragic account of live’s lost on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf and the daily massive oil flowing polluting the waters.

Today I’m reminded that it is indeed Fathers Day and to those who lost a son, a father a brother I’m commemorate you, as I am a fortunate son. Dad, I love you and I’m reminded by my two kids every day how lucky I am. My son made me a tie from construction paper and my daughter a plaster nuts and bolts theme paper weight and a special poem.

**Footprints**

“Walk a little slower daddy,” said a child so small. “I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast, Sometimes they are hard to see; So walk a little slower, Daddy, for you are leading me.

Someday when I’m all grown up, You’re what I want to be; Then I will have a little child Who’ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right, And know that I was true; So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.”

Carpe Diem