Home inspections in the Triangle Area of NC can take 4-51/2 hours so I thought I’d show you in about 5 minutes what to expect.

Home inspections in NC are paid for and scheduled by the buyer or buyers agent. Other additional inspections depending on the home might include radon, HVAC, septic and well, termite and wood destroying insects and mold testing.

A home inspection is important even if you are buying a new home.

The NC Real Estate Commission has a publication Questions and Answers on Home Inspections that answers basic questions about inspections.

Governors Club Terrace

A Peek Inside Governors Club ~Chapel Hill Neighborhood                                                                                                                             

 Bill and Gretchen planned a visit to Chapel Hill  this past July to investigate the possibility of moving here. The winters in Ohio are long and they were ready for a change. Bill works from home so they can pretty much live anywhere.

On their second visit a few weeks later they wanted to carefully check out the club and facilities to make sure they would feel comfortable and be happy with the neighborhood.

All listed Governors Club homes

Governors Club Documents
Covenants
ARB Guidelines

Property Owners Assocation Web Site

Triangle Taxes

North Carolina collects taxes on both personal property and real property. Every January residents are required to list personal property such as motor vehicles, boats, and aircraft. The bill will be sent at the same time as personal property bills. Property taxes are due by September 1st and are late with penalty after January 1.

The State requires that counties revalue property every 8 years but some choose do it more often. Chapel Hill usually revalues every 4 years. The tax is based on 100% of the assessed value which is market value determined by a county appraiser. Because the appraiser doesn´t go into the homes and does so many evaluations you shouldn´t use the assessed value as a factor when buying a home. Just ask your Realtor to do a current market analysis for you.

Visit The League of Woman Voters web site for details.

Chapel Hill and Orange County Property Taxes

The real estate market is always changing. Lately it’s been down or stable in most areas of the Triangle.  Supposedly to keeps things fair the State of North Carolina requires real property be reappraised at least every eight years. The tax rate for Chapel Hill and Orange County changes just about every year. The rate goes down when the assessed value goes up.

Every four years properties in Chapel Hill are reassessd and the value adjusted to market. Then the rate is adjusted downward. Every year the rate is adjusted according to the budget needs.

The tax rate is often shown as a percentage per $1.00 of valuation. So for example if the home is valued at $300,000 and the tax rate is 1.50, the yearly taxes would be $4500.

Only the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District in Orange County collects a special district tax which supplements funds appropriated by the county and state. It is billed and collected at the same time as other county and town property taxes.

Durham Property Tax Rates

It might seem confusing that  in Durham County there are special district taxes for both Chapel Hill and Raleigh. That’s because some areas of Durham have a Chapel Hill or Raleigh address. This really only means that the post office is Chapel Hill or Raleigh. The schools and county services are still Durham.

Chatham County Property Taxes

How to Calculate Taxes from the Wake County Tax, Property and Deeds web site

Ballentine Chapel Hill

A new neighborhood in Chapel Hill

Homes for sale in Ballentine

It takes a long time to get a neighborhood approved in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.  There are only 42 homesites in Ballentine  with homes under construction priced in the 400′s.

Ballentine has a Chapel Hill address but is in the Carrboro municipal district which means it has Carrboro taxes ($1.64 for each dollar of valuation which is market value).

The school district is the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools. Morris Grove Elementary is a new school right down the street. McDougle is the middle school and the high school is Chapel Hill High. These can change so verify here.

The main street in Ballentine is Dairy Glen. The walk score map below will give you an idea of distances but the neighborhood is on an extension of Dairy Glen on the map, it’s just too new to show up.

Closings in the Triangle were up in July compared to last year!

Annual review Triangle MLS

That’s good news but days on the market were up and the trend is up. We can’t really have a turn around until that changes. See this video from the Triangle MLS explaining why.

July 2011 data from the Triangle MLS

At the height of summer, we’re finally beginning to move beyond comparisons to the 2010 incentive market. Even so, sudden changes in sales volumes are likely due to factors occurring at this time last year. Qualified buyers may find more attractive opportunities now than during either of the recent tax credits. Interest rates should hold their ground around five percent, though the shift in the federal credit rating could change that. Some indicators suggest improving conditions, but let’s see just how we’re faring locally.

New Listings in the Triangle region decreased 23.0 percent to 2,992. Pending Sales were up 29.6 percent to 1,914. Inventory levels shrank 15.8 percent to 17,035 units, but consumers are still finding terrific opportunities. Strong affordability is partly driving purchase demand.Prices softened a bit.

The Median Sales Price declined 5.0 percent to $189,900.

Days on Market increased 25.8 percent to 130 days.

Absorption rates slowed as Months Supply of Inventory was up 5.0 percent to 11.0 months.Second quarter GDP growth was just 1.3 percent after a meager 0.4 percent gain in the first quarter.

We added 117,000 new jobs in July, a stronger gain than expected after an embarrassing June. Even though a budget deal has been reached, several challenges persist. Changes to Fannie, Freddie and the mortgage interest deduction are still in play.

As consumers absorb distressed inventory and labor market conditions improve, the wheels of recovery grind on.

Triangle Area Monthly Indicators July 2011

 Homes for sale in Wexford, a Chapel Hill/Carrboro neighborhood.

What I love most about Wexford are the half acre lots with mature landscaping that makes a beautiful streetscape.

There are just a handful of neighborhoods in Chapel Hill and Carrboro with a neighborhood pool. Wexford has a pool, club house, tennis courts, a playground, pond and gabezo. Sidewalks line the streets and bike paths make for easy riding into Carrboro, only a little over 2 miles from Wexford. The center of the UNC campus is only 3 miles from Wexford.

Here is a link that shows the area and distances to stores and schools.  

Wexford has a Chapel Hill address but is actually in Carrboro. The tax rate is 0.016358. That would be $1.63 per dollar value of the home. The value is assumed to be market value and the property is reevaluated every 4 years. Homeowner dues in Wexford are $65 per month and includes the pool and other amenities.

Children can walk to McDougle Middle and Elementary Schools ,part of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School System. The high school is Chapel Hill High, which is just a couple of miles down the road. Most homes are in the mid 400’s to around 600 except for around 10 homes build in the past few years that are much larger and higher priced.

The neighborhood was developed around 1990 and build by custom builders who completed around 125 homes by the late 90’s. A few additional lots were developed in 2008 and large craftsman style homes were built on those.

 Don’t fall in love with the trees

Why new houses have small lots

Watch the video

Marianne Howell Wright

Triangle Area Real Estate

919-274-4365

Where are the basements in new homes in Chapel Hill?

That’s a question I get a lot from out of state clients so I thought I’d show you a basement under construction and talk about why we don’t have many in this part of NC.

The first reason basement building is limited is our heavy clay soil. Water won’t drain through the soil away from the house and an underground basement would be wet.

Another reason is foundations should be dug 12” inches below the frost line which can be 5 ft. in the north but only 18 inches in NC. It’s just not as cost effective to build a basement here. A builder will add $30,000 to $80,000 to the cost of a home (depending on the size of the house) for an unfinished basement. Finishing will add another $50-$60 a square foot. A buyer has to really want a basement to pay that much more for a home.

We do have basements though. Sloped lots are often called basement lots and the slope allows for the water to be drained away from the house. There is also a system of gravel and drains running around the house to carry water away. If you See a newer home with a totally underground basement it might be a good idea to have an engineer check the drainage before you buy.

Poured concrete foundations are more common these days than masonry block foundations. I asked Carlos to explain why.

Please let me know if you have construction questions.I’m happy to help.

Also, the house in this video with a basement is for sale now in the Avalon Park neighborhood in Chapel Hill. The address is 112 Celtic Circle. The 10 home neighborhood is located right across the street from Chapel Hill High School. Take a look!

Harkers Island is a special place located on the southern portion of the Outer Banks off the NC Coast.
My husband and I love to go there because of the rural quiet lifestyle and beautiful scenery and birds. It’s surrounded by the Core Sound and buffered from storms by the Core Banks and Shackleford Banks. It’s only about a 15 minute boat ride to Cape Lookout. On the way to the Cape we often stop and watch the wild horses, the oldest horse population in the US.
The local industries are commercial fishing,back yard boat building, and decoy carving.
The seafood is just out of the water and every dinner is a feast.
Take a look at one of my favorite places.
Marianne Howell Wright