Charlotte Information - Living in North Carolina

Our efforts were recognized in a Charlotte Observer article by Nancy Stancill, Home Editor on Friday, Mar. 13, 2009. An excerpt from that article is below:

The best in the neighborhood

John C. Walker, a Charlotte Realtor with Wilkinson & Associates, listed his house in Commonwealth Park near uptown for $195,000 last July. No takers.

Walker, who had lived in the house for 20 years before moving to Mint Hill earlier, knew the three-bedroom, two-bath home was in good condition. But it needed to stand out.

He took it off the market and went to work pressure-washing the vinyl siding, walkways, decks and garage floor. He and some relatives painted it one neutral color throughout and added plants and fresh mulch to the landscape.

Then he put it back on the market at $175,000 – $20,000 less this time.

Within 10 days, he was talking to the couple who eventually bought the house at the new price. The deal closed in December.

“I wanted and needed to sell the house,” he said. “I knew we needed to offer the best deal and the best-looking house in the neighborhood.

Indian Trail is one of the top ten towns in America to raise a family, according to Family Circle magazine. Each year, Family Circle selects the top five places to raise a family and this year Indian Trail is one of the finalists. A total of 1,700 municipalities were examined. Currently, Family Circle reporters are interviewing residents and collecting information about the ten finalists. The final five will be announced later this year. To read more about Indian Trail and other fine Union County towns and villages, visit our area resource and find out why national publications recognize the merits of the area.

Aviation Career Education Academies: Teens entering seventh to 12th grades can turn a fascination with flying into a lifelong passion at the Monroe Airport, where they’ll tour aviation companies and Air Traffic Control facilities, do minicourses on aviation topics, hear guest speakers, take field trips and learn career opportunities. Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport, 3900 Paul J. Helms Drive, Monroe Dates/Time: Middle school – July 13-17, High school – July 20-24; 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Cost: $100, includes lunch. Application deadline is April 1. For more information, visit www.ncaviationedu cation.aero

Charlotte Academy Music Camps, June 15-Aug. 7: The Charlotte Academy of Music offers instruction at summer music camps and a music technology lab with guest composers and performance opportunities. Professional music teachers create custom curricula for campers. Private and small-group instruction in piano, rock guitar, voice and musical theater; Musikgarten for kids from birth to age 5; and ensembles such as the Academy Children’s Choir and Chamber Ensemble are offered. 15040 Idlewild Road, Suite C, Matthews Call 704-545-7400 or visit www.charlotteacademyof music.com for dates and prices.

Equestrian Camp: Beginner through advanced riding instruction for kids ages 6-14 at Providence Equestrian Center. Camps include English riding, beginner position and technique, show prep, intermediate and advanced hunt seat and jumping. Providence Equestrian Center, 424 Waxhaw-Indian Trail Road, Waxhaw Cost: $325 per week. Extended care available for extra charge. For more information, visit www.providenceequestrian. com or call 704-843-5215.

Central Piedmont Community College’s Summer Theatre program is preparing to hold auditions March 30-31 for children ages 6-12 from 5:00-7:00pm in the lobby of Halton Theater, 1201 Elizabeth Avenue in Charlotte. Roles are available for planned productions of “Camelot” and “Willy Wonka.”

Interested children need a prepared song, should be dressed to dance, and an accompanist will be provided. No appointments necessary. For more details on working and auditioning for Summer Theatre, visit http://arts.cpcc.edu.

By the start of next school year, Queen’s Grant Preparatory High School in Charlotte could have a permanent Mint Hill address... and it may cost millions of dollars less than school officials planned.

Presently in negotiations with Impact Church, 10323 Idlewild Road, school officials want to buy 33-acres of land for about $2.4 million. The Mint Hill church property, near the intersection of Idlewild and Margaret Wallace roads, is the former home of the Idlewild Country Club. The church has outgrown its location and wants to buy a larger facility nearby where it can have a nursery and children’s classrooms.

A rezoning application has been filed with the town to change the property use from residential to institutional, so the school can operate there. A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, April 9; commissioners could vote on the application as early as May 14.

Queens Grant planned to buy land off Lawyers Road and build an approximately 42,000-square-foot building, but couldn’t get financing for the approximately $10 million project. The high school, an expansion of Mint Hill’s Queens Grant Community School, opened in 2007 with about 105 students. With about 220 students this year, the high school meets in rented space at 7700 Wallace Road. Though open to the public, charter schools don’t receive state funding for facilities.

Town officials in Waxhaw and Weddington are focusing their attention on future downtown development. In April, BL Patch & Associates will present to the Waxhaw Planning Board its plans for an 298,000 square foot apartment, office and retail complex between Broome and Broad streets. The developer, which foresees a college campus, library and new town hall at this site, has submitted a rezoning request. If the board recommends approval of the rezoning request, it would be voted on by commissioners in May or June. Developers hope to break ground by the fourth quarter of 2009.

In the meantime, Weddington has launched a committee to study downtown development there. The downtown committee, which is charged with recommending land to rezone for commercial use, met for the second time in March.

Two builders active in the Charlotte home market, Toll Brothers and Lennar, are offering their versions of a buyer-protection plan. The plans seem inspired by South Korean automaker Hyundai, who has been advertising a program that allows customers to return cars within a year of a lease or purchase if they lose their jobs. The builders' are offering a mortgage protection plan that will cover a buyer’s mortgage for up to six months if there is a job loss.

Toll buys involuntary unemployment insurance on behalf of buyers who use Toll’s financing subsidiary to close and fund their home loan. The plan will cover up to six months of mortgage payments, including principle, interest, real estate taxes and homeowner insurance — up to $2,500 per month — if the borrower incurs a job loss within 24 months of closing on the home. There are other requirements, such as buyers can’t have knowledge of a pending job loss at the date of settlement. With Lennar, qualified homeowners enrolled in their "Peace of Mind Mortgage Protection Program" can have their mortgage payments of up to $2,500 per month paid for up to six months.

The trees are starting to show little green leaves, the Bradford pear trees are blooming, there is a warmth in the air... OK, maybe not today, but soon. Yes, these signs can only mean one thing... it's spring time again! And with this season returns to Charlotte the Southern Spring Home and Garden Show 2009 for the 49th time.

Discover beautiful landscapes created by top professionals, inspiring designer rooms from the Interior Design Society, exquisite displays of bonsai, Ikebana, and orchids, and over 300 companies with the best and latest in building and home improvement, outdoor living, kitchen and bath, decorative arts and crafts, green building, and interior décor.

Most importantly, you’ll discover ideas, inspiration, information and experts all designed to help you create the home and garden you have always wanted to make your Charlotte real estate become the envy of the neighborhood. See you there!

Two Charlotte-area towns made BusinessWeek's top list of "Best Affordable Suburbs 2009." That distinction belongs to Cornelius, NC and Fort Mill, SC. Each is a wonderful location to live and we serve buyers and sellers in both communities.

The noted national publication studied suburbs near the biggest city in each state to find what they considered the best quality of life for your money. The magazine considered factors like green space, well-educated residents, violent crime levels and overall cost of living, while penalizing for bad weather, high divorce rates and few children.

Considering their good schools, lower taxes, resilient and affordable housing prices, it makes sense that these fine communities were recognized by BusinessWeek.

To see what Fort Mill or Cornelius homes are currently listed for sale and keep track of new homes in these towns as they get listed and come on the market, visit our Charlotte area home listings website and see them even before most of the agents do!

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