While visiting the Triangle area of North Carolina, one can be overcome by the many communities to chose from for lifestyle. One such community the Villages of Apex is outstanding. Developed by Apex First Development, the company chosen by the town of Apex to create an upscale mixed use neighborhood adjacent to historic downtown Apex.

The 200 plus acre Villages of Apex neighborhood features luxury condo’s, villas, Georgetowns, brownstones, patio and single family homes along with a commercial center for retail and restaurants. For the dog lover they have a two acre  park and miles of greenway trails wind through the community

For Further Information on this or another community of interest please contact by e-mail  jeff@jeffdicks.com or call 919-793-4730

Buying a home in Raleigh can be confusing,frustrating, time consuming process. A free information kit that can eliminate practically all of these problems has just been made available.

“There are so many great opportunities for home buyers in the Raleigh area,” says Jeff Dicks, a specialist in Raleigh real estate. “Unfortunately, buyers often run around in circles and miss the great buys and even better financing that’s available.”

To help home buyers, Dicks has made a free information kit available to anyone interested in purchasing a home in the greater Raleigh area. Included in the kit is information about neighborhoods in Raleigh, including schools, parks museums, shopping, health care and recreation in the area. Also included is a list of home loan providers, home inspection companies, moving companies and real estate attorneys.

“Perhaps the most important part of this kit is the free “Home Buyers Hotline” number. This is a free service offered to homebuyers. They can call 24-7  Leave a message with any home buying questions they may have. Their question will be answered by a specialist familiar with the area. There is no charge for this service.

To get a free copy of the “Raleigh Home Buyers Information Pack,” call (800) 516-9507 #1212

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

Dumb question!   At this rate I don’t think I’ll ever get there. So I guess I’ll have to do it the old fashion way… save…save…save… (Not quite as exciting as answering a few questions for a million bucks).

We were thinking of several ways to save a few more bucks and we came across a tip that may help you save thousands of dollars.  We thought we would pass it along to you just in case you don’t actually win the lottery or qualify for a TV game show.

Here’s The Deal!

1.         For instance, if you are paid bi-weekly, you can voluntarily make a bi-weekly mortgage out of your existing mortgage and save, save, save!   The idea is to pay half of your monthly mortgage every two weeks.  At the end of the year, you would have made 13 payments instead of 12.   Viola… one extra payment per year… and that adds up!

2.                  If you are paid twice a month or monthly, simply divide the monthly payment (principal and interest) by 12 and add that number to each mortgage payment. This will make the terms of the loan reduce from 30 years to 18-22 years.  The savings will be phenomenal.

Simply by making a 15-year loan out of a 30-year loan will save you thousands over the life of the loan.   And, if you ever decide to sell before the loan is over, imagine how much equity you would have accumulated when you sell your home.

Well, you’ll probably never see me on one of those crazy, “Win A Zillion Dollar” game shows, but I’m on my way to pay off my 30-year loan on the 15 year plan.   That will save me a bunch in the long run.

If you are still a little confused about the 15/30 mortgage plan, please give us a call and we can refer you to one of our preferred mortgage counselors who can look at your payments and help you make a good business decision about your loan.

Happy savings!

Jeff

www.JeffDicks.com

With interest rates at near-record lows and incentives such as a federal $8000 tax credit available for first-time home buyers, the Tri­angle area real estate market is showing signs of a rebound.
Data for May from the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors show that pending sales, showings, monthly closings and average resale prices were the highest in six months. Meanwhile, the number of expired listings fell to the lowest totals seen in the same time period.
Statistics also showed some stabilization in home values

http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=1940

Great news coming out of Wake Forest ! Is the recession over ? Recently, new home sales in Heritage Wake Forest, NC have surged. In the same month of 08 New Home Sales were very light and moving into 09 sales have increased five fold. The even better part of the story is that New home inventory is shrinking in Heritage which equates to price stabilization. This should also help the resale market were homes have seen some price cutting.

Although, one month a trend doesn’t make , however it’s encouraging news. We’ll keep a close eye on long term mortgage rates which should also be a benefit to both buyers and sellers in the new and resale market.

The Raleigh real estate market has been soft for the past 18 months. Many home owners have had difficulty selling their homes for the price they want.

“Even though the home prices in Raleigh have been at their lowest point in a few years, there are many things homeowners can do to boost the final selling price $ 5000 to $10,000 and more above the average sale price,” according to Jeff Dicks, a real estate specialist based in Raleigh. “Most home owners feel they’re at the mercy of the market. If the market falls, so does the value of their home. This simply is not true. ”

According to Dicks, there are several easy things home owners can do to substantially boost selling prices. For example, there are over 24 ways home owners can “dress” their home’s exterior so it gives a more appealing first impression. “As people walk up to your front door, they’re getting their first impressions. You want to be sure your lawn, walkway, and home’s exterior looks as good as possible.”

Dicks offers a few simple tips to home owners. “If a homeowner has only half an hour to make their home as appealing as possible, I would suggest the following:  1)  turn on all the lights in the home and open all the curtains,  2)  take almost everything out of the closets, it makes them look a whole lot bigger, 3) be sure the door bell works, The first contact a prospective buyer has with the home is the door bell.

Dicks offers Raleigh home owners a free booklet that is full of tips that can boost the selling price of any house by thousands of dollars. For a free copy of his booklet, “What You Can Do To Ensure Your Home Sells for Top Dollar,” Call Jeff at 919-793-4730 or e-mail jeff@jeffdicks.com

Many wonder what may transpire over the next few months or years with long term rates. Inevitably it’s inflate or die or worse stagflation. Much as the unwinding of Japan’s economy in the late 80’s we ponder if the US is heading down a similiar path.

The economic models however, are somewhat uncertain, however many theorists indicate were heading for inflation and it won’t be pretty. Mortgage Rates have bottomed and have headed higher for the past several weeks. If and when the Fed begins to raise short term rates long term will certainly follow. So, if you have an ARM about to reset don’t wait longer refinance ! It is said that rates are like a boat floating atop the sea of inflation as inflation rises, so will home loan rates. Call your lender to catch today’s still low loan rates.

Jeff D

Many places offer great weekend getaways. One of my favorites Wilmington, North Carolina. Just a couple of hours drive from Raleigh, Wilmington has a certain allure that makes it such a great pit stop. Not only do you have a symphony, theater groups and tons of live music clubs, there are festivals from the Azalea festival in the spring and the celebration of jazz music it gives to many a late evening. The riverwalk in the downtown features a reclamation of old warehouses converted to shops and restaurants bringing new life to the older commercial areas.

Always, everyones favorite as we ponder relocation, warmer climate or simply a change of pace. I caught this article recently published on Yahoo News about Durham, North Carolina.

Once a tobacco town, Durham, N.C., has evolved into a world-class center of all things advanced. This city of 206,000, located halfway between the Atlantic coast and the Great Smoky Mountains, is called the “City of Medicine” because of its expansive healthcare industry. And although widely known as the home of prestigious Duke University, it’s also a thriving technology hub. At the same time, Durham’s mild climate allows residents to get out and explore the region’s abundant outdoor attractions. Consider hiking one of the many distinct trails and greenways or heading over to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for an afternoon baseball game.

http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=Ajpbdo6Qa0AbAqRIVr.8CVbFLs8F/SIG=12ddmoste/**http%3A//www.usnews.com/business/best-places/listing/north_carolina/durham

I happened to come by a recent news article on a couple from Raleigh in the USA Today, James and Macon McDavid.  The McDavid’s had spent a large sum of money to pay for their sons medical expenses whom died. Not only was the story about the passing of their son, however, evolving too a much bigger story.

Sadly, the story turned into the situation of approximately 600,000 AARP members in foreclosure. As a son of parents whom are alive (god bless) I was extremely saddened at the current pandemic. I live some 2500 miles from my parents and being a single child perhaps I feel it more than some. My parents divorced in the mid 1980’s and both are in reasonable good health, however a hip here and a knee there are needed. Not only do they face an uncertain economic future there are many like them.

Many have seen their 401k’s decimated and the coffee room banter turns them into 101k’s. I suppose we get a chuckle when were 47 or perhaps younger believing time is on our side, however this is all to real for the folks who are retired or supposed to be. With the demise of the automakers we’ll likely see a further digression for some retiree’s.

You may wonder where I’m going with all this and some will inevitably say ‘Oh well” the beat goes on. All I can say is these folks built this great nation, so government, private interest, and the public take notice this problem is growing and these folks deserve much better. ask yourself “How can I help”?