Creekside Commons Participates in 2008 Parade of Homes!

We are proud to announce that Creekside Commons has two entries in the 2008 Parade of Homes. Both Lookout Development and Empire Contractors have a submission and each home is truly stunning.

For more information on Creekside Commons, please visit the community website:

Creekside Commons Online

CREEKSIDE COMMONS FOR A CAUSE

*Win a $500 Gas Card!*

When you visit our 2 Parade entries at Creekside Commons, bring 2 non-perishable* food items or a $2 donation for the North Carolina Food Bank and submit your name into our contest and you could win a $500 Gas Card!

No more worries about gas prices!

Lookout Development, Inc. Parade of Home Entry

Lot 50, 5008 Sunny Creek Lane - Apex, NC 27502

Empire Contractors, Inc. Parade of Home Entry

Lot 60, 210 Windy Creek Lane - Apex, NC 27502

The 2008 Parade of Homes Schedule:

October 4-5, 10-12 & 17-19, 2008

Open daily 12 noon to 5 p.m.

*Non-perishable food items include canned goods, peanut butter, cereal, rice, pasta, hygiene items (toothpaste, feminine products, soap), infant products (diapers, wipes, formula) and paper products (paper towels, toilet paper). No glass containers please.

Safest Banks of 2008.

Global Finance has presented its annual ranking of the World's Safest Banks of 2008. Selections were made based on long-term credit ratings and total assets and the safest banks were selected out of 300 different institutions.

The Top 10 Safest Banks in the World:

Groupe Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) France
Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) Netherlands
Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank Germany
Rabobank Netherlands
Landeskreditbank Baden-Wuerttemberg-Förderbank Germany
Lloyds TSB United Kingdom
BNP Paribas France
Dexia Belgium
Wells Fargo United States
NRW Bank Germany

As you can see, the United States' Wells Fargo ranks on the list. This should encourage potential home buyers to look into the offerings Wells Fargo currently has. In such a tough current economic market, we hope this ranking provides a ray of hope for those uneasy.

Please contact us if we can do anything to assist you in your home-buying or home-selling goals.

All the best,

Chuck & Cindy

Hurry! First-time homebuyer credit of $7,500 expires July 1, 2009!

We just learned of this exciting news!
The Federal Government is offering a tax credit of $7,500 to first time home buyers! This is a wonderful opportunity for those looking to purchase their first home.
Click here for more information!

We would love to assist you in your home search.
To learn about us, visit our webite: ChuckandCindy.com


-Chuck & Cindy
Real People. Real Experience. Real Difference.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Bailout - What does this mean for interest rates?

Lower mortgage rates, more than likely!


The below is from this recent news article:
"Sunday's federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will likely translate into lower mortgage rates and greater availability of credit, experts said. Rates could drop by 1 percentage point from the stubbornly-high 6.39% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage."This could be good for would-be homeowners," said Tom LaMalfa, managing director, Wholesale Access, a research and consulting firm. "It would reduce the cost of financing at the new and improved Fannie and Freddie."

"The government bailout is aimed at making mortgages easier to obtain and afford. By shoring up the mortgage financing giants, they can continue buying mortgages from lenders and injecting much-needed cash into the system."

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are crucial to turning the corner on housing," said Treasury Henry Paulson. "Therefore, the primary mission of these enterprises now will be to proactively work to increase the availability of mortgage finance. Our economy and our markets will not recover until the bulk of this housing correction is behind us."

This is definitely encouraging news for those who are thinking of purchasing a new home. As always, we are here to help and answer any questions you might have about the home-buying process. Feel free to contact us!

Regards,
Chuck & Cindy
ChuckandCindy.com

Chuck Hinton: (919) 422-4841
Chuck@ChuckandCindy.com

Cindy Leonard: (919) 868-4661
Cindy@ChuckandCindy.com

We Have An Exciting Announcement!

We are proud to share that our team, Chuck & Cindy, has been named the #24 Team in the North Carolina region for 2008 and #30 for the North Carolina AND South Carolina regions of ReMax for 2008!

Who said it's a bad real estate market? Not if you work harder & smarter!

We are very proud of this accomplishment and are very grateful for such fabulous clients. We love meeting new people and helping to make dreams of home ownership come true.

We look forward to continued growth and success.

Wishing you and yours the best,
Chuck & Cindy
ChuckandCindy.com

10 Things You Should Know About North Carolina's Real Estate Market!

We recently came across this list and thought it was very important to share with potential buyers and sellers. We feel it is essential to reassure you of the local Real Estate market. So many forms of media focus on the many negative aspects that are generally in other areas. Unfortunately, many seem to generalize the market issues across all states but North Carolina's market is promising. Here's why.

10 Things You Should Know About North Carolina's Real Estate Market

• THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A NATIONAL REAL ESTATE MARKET. If you read the newspapers, it’s easy to get the idea that real estate markets are the same everywhere. If conditions are bad in Orlando or Los Angeles or Chicago, they must be bad everywhere, right? Wrong. All real estate is local. When you’re looking to buy or sell, pay attention first to sales price trends, volume and inventory in your target market or region, rather than to misleading headlines about national sales trends.
  
• NORTH CAROLINA HOME VALUES ARE STABLE. In 2007, the average sales price of a North Carolina home grew by 4 percent, an indicator that homes generally are still worth more now than they were just a few years ago. In fact, since 2000, the average home sale price in our state has risen by more than 25 percent. And in a 12-month period through September 2007, North Carolina had the seventh-highest appreciation in home prices in the country.
  
• IT MAKES SENSE TO USE A NORTH CAROLINA REALTOR®. If you had a $150,000 legal question, would you deal with it without an attorney’s assistance? If you had a $150,000 income tax issue, would you dare risk not consulting a CPA? There are nearly 45,000 REALTORS® in North Carolina, who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain the highest level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling a home.
  
• NOW REALLY IS THE TIME TO BUY. Interest rates significantly dropped twice in January in an effort to stimulate the national economy. While North Carolina’s economy hasn’t suffered as much as some states, we nevertheless can benefit from these lower interest rates. The bottom line is this: If you’re a buyer, this market is for you!
  
• AND IF YOU’RE A SELLER, BE PATIENT … AND SMART.Price your home correctly – your home’s value is what someone is willing to pay for it, not the price that you think it should sell for. Competitive pricing is the single biggest reason that a home sells or does not sell. REALTORS® know the marketplace and help you determine an optimum sales price.
  
• IT’S A PRIME TIME FOR SECOND HOMES. Savvy investors and prospective retirees understand how important real estate is to their portfolios. Nationally, about one third of all home sales are second homes or vacation properties; in North Carolina, that figure is nearly 40 percent – largely because of our inventory and desirable locations in the mountains and on the coast.
  
• OWNING A HOME BUILDS WEALTH IN A WAY THAT RENTING CAN’T. According to the Federal Reserve Board, the average renter’s net worth is $4,800. Contrast that to the average homeowner’s net worth of $171,000. Clearly, it pays to own a home, as the hard-earned equity you build will pay future dividends.
  
• THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF REPUTABLE MORTGAGE COMPANIES READY TO LEND. If you have good credit and a realistic understanding of what you can afford, getting mortgage approval to purchase a home can be more easily attained. Help is also available through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and other organizations.
  
• A HOUSE IS WHERE YOU MAKE A HOME, NOT JUST A BUCK. Most purchasers don’t buy a house to flip it. They buy it to live in it, to establish their roots, to raise a family and to build on the American Dream. The value of strong communities, civic pride, comfortable retirement, and a higher quality of life can’t simply be expressed on a balance sheet.
  
• HOUSING DEMAND IN NORTH CAROLINA IS ON THE RISE. Even in what was considered a down year in 2007, there were more than 125,000 existing home sales in North Carolina – that’s the third highest number ever, exceeded only by 2006 and 2005. And estimates indicate that the Tar Heel state’s population will increase by more than 400,000 by 2010. These new North Carolinians will need a place to live!

Source: NC ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Visit us online! ChuckandCindy.com

Chuck and Cindy - A New Look!

We are proud to present our newly designed website!

ChuckandCindy.com

Visit our user-friendly site to view new features such as our Quick Home Search, Featured Listings and other helpful, informative details!

We are commited to excellence.

Real People. Real Experience. Real Difference.

To ensure a positive real estate experience, let us show you our difference.