TV Report Says Brunswick Home Sales Encouraging

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty associate Sean Skutnik appeared in a report on WWAY Newschannel 3's newscast last night.

Skutnik and other area Realtors told reporter Meghan Torjussen that home sales in Brunswick County have steadily increased over the past year and that they're excited by the recovery of the local housing market.

To see Torjussen's report, click the image above or click here.

To find properties in Brunswick County and other areas on the Cape Fear Coast, please visit SeaCoastRealty.com.

It's Alive!

The new and improved SeaCoastRealty.com is up and running!

So far, the response to our new look and new features has been overwhelmingly positive.

Check it out at SeaCoastRealty.com and let us know what you think.

New Website Will Offer Live Chat, Added Features, and a Helpful Labrador Retriever

On June 29, 2010, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty will launch a new version of its website, SeaCoastRealty.com. The new and improved site with offer consumers a fresh look, customization options, live chat assistance, and powerful new features unmatched by other area real estate companies.

"We spent months designing the all new SeaCoastRealty.com and tailoring it to what consumers told us they wanted, like Google Maps with street views for every property,” said Tim Allen, Sea Coast Realty’s Director of Information Technology.

The new SeaCoastRealty.com offers a “My Property Retriever” feature that allows consumers to create a login and save their favorite properties and searches for later. The feature is headlined by Sea Coast Realty’s mascot, a yellow Labrador retriever named Barkley, but users can customize their accounts by uploading their own images. Consumers can even opt to receive email information about new listings, upcoming open houses, and price changes. “My Property Retriever” is integrated with Sea Coast Realty’s mobile website, Mobile.SeaCoastRealty.com, so that consumers that save properties on their mobile phones can look at the same properties when they log in to their “My Property Retriever” accounts online.

By creating a “My Property Retriever” account, consumers also gain access to a wealth of information for each property, including recently sold properties nearby, detailed information about nearby schools, community statistics, and maps with points of interest, like nearby restaurants and businesses. Even without a “My Property Retriever” account, users have access to a professionally-narrated slideshow, price and property details, maps, and agent contact information for each property. Users can even live chat with a team member at Sea Coast Realty.

For more than a decade, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has been southeastern North Carolina’s largest and best-selling real estate company. It operates nine offices with more than 325 sales associates and staff in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, & Onslow counties. For more information, please visit http://www.seacoastrealty.com/.

Sea Coast Realty Ranks Highly Among Nation's Top Real Estate Companies

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is among the country’s largest and most successful residential real estate companies named in the recently released 2010 REAL Trends 500 report. The list is released annually by REAL Trends, Inc., the residential real estate industry’s leading source of analysis and information.

The REAL Trends 500 report ranks the country’s top residential real estate companies by closed transactions and by sales volume. In 2009, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty closed 2,799 sales, ranking #151 in the list of “The 500 Largest Brokers in the U.S.” ranked by closed transactions. Sea Coast Realty closed $579,520,735 in sales volume in 2009, ranking #162 in the list of “The 500 Largest Brokers in the U.S.” ranked by sales volume.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty ranked #23 out of more than 1,074 Coldwell Banker affiliated companies in the U.S. Coldwell Banker was ranked as the country’s #1 real estate franchise again this year, closing more than $128 billion in sales and almost twice as many sales transactions as the next leading real estate franchise.

Locally, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty performed similarly well. In 2009, it closed more than twice as many sales as the next leading company. Sea Coast Realty has claimed the title as southeastern North Carolina’s top selling real estate company for ten years in a row.

VA Loan Appraisals, Closing Costs, & Required Occupancy

Written by guest blogger H.C. "Hutch" Hutchison, Ed.D.

VA Appraisal
Everyone wants to get good value for their money when they make any type of a purchase, especially if the purchase is several thousand dollars! To ensure that a veteran is not paying more for a house than what it is worth, the VA requires a VA Appraisal.

The VA will not guarantee a home loan unless the property is appraised (for value) by a VA-assigned fee appraiser. The required VA Appraisal can be requested by the buyer, seller, real estate agent, or lender (normally, the lender is the requester) by completing and submitting a VA Form 26-1805, Request for Determination of Reasonable Value. Upon completion of the appraisal, the requester pays for the appraisal according to a fee schedule approved by the VA. This VA Appraisal estimates the value of the property.

The VA Appraisal is not an inspection and does not guarantee that the house is free from any defects. A home inspection can be completed by a qualified home inspector to determine what, if any, problems or defects exist. The VA only guarantees the loan, not the condition of the property.

Closing Costs
When purchasing a home, closing costs must be paid in cash for such items as the title search, recording fees, hazard insurance premiums, and prepaid taxes.

If I want to refinance, do I still have to pay these costs in cash?

Normally when refinancing a VA loan, closing costs may be, but are not required to be, included in the loan amount, as long as the total amount of the loan does not exceed the value of the property. A loan with the purpose of reducing the interest rate on a loan may include closing costs and include a maximum of two discount points.

Points, sometimes called "discount points", are a form of pre-paid interest. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Borrowers can offer to pay points as a method to reduce the interest rate on the loan, thus obtaining a lower monthly payment. For each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by 1/8%.

Law requires that a VA funding fee also be associated with a VA guaranteed loan. The fee is intended to enable the veteran who obtains a VA home loan to contribute toward the cost of this benefit, and thereby reduce the cost to taxpayers.

Required Occupancy
One requirement for eligibility for a VA home loan is required occupancy. That means that the veteran (or the spouse of an active duty service member) applying for the loan must certify that he or she intends to occupy the home as a primary residence. However, when refinancing a VA guaranteed loan to reduce the interest rate, only prior occupancy must be certified.

H.C. “Hutch” Hutchison, Ed.D., retired from the U.S. Army in 1991, after more than twenty-two years of active duty. Since then, the former helicopter test pilot and aviation maintenance officer has earned his third post-graduate degree and taught under-graduate and graduate courses. In addition to practicing real estate with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, Hutchison is active in national, state, and local leadership organizations and local chapters of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Modern Warfare, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and United States Army Warrant Officer Association.

VA Loan Entitlement & Eligibility

Written by guest blogger H.C. "Hutch" Hutchison, Ed.D.

The VA Loan Entitlement is the basic amount for which the Veteran’s Administration will insure or guarantee a loan. The loan entitlement is based on an applicant’s income.

The VA Guaranty Amount varies with the size of the loan and the property location with the VA guaranteeing 25 percent of the principal amount, up to the maximum guaranty. For the United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) the guaranty amount is the greater of 25% of $417,000 or 125% of the area median price of a single family residence. It's a good idea to check with a lender for current figures. However, the guaranty amount cannot exceed 175% of the Freddie Mac limit for a loan on a single-family residence in the county where the property is located. In 2009 the maximum loan amount was $1,094,625.

The initial step in purchasing a home using a VA loan entitlement is to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), a VA-provided document that certifies your eligibility for a VA home loan guaranty. There are two ways to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility: online or by mail.

Online:
You can obtain a COE online by first registering at the Veterans Information Portal. There are instructions for applying for your COE online, but the process can be daunting if you aren’t familiar with all the jargon. However, try WebLGY first because approximately 56% of attempts result in an immediate COE. If you find the Internet a little overwhelming, then I recommend working with a lender that has access to the VA’s WebLGY system. A lender can help walk you through the process and may be able to issue your COE in minutes. A quick call to a lender can tell you if that lender has access to “WebLGY.”

As you shop for a loan, don’t limit yourself to just one lender. Visit three or more and let each lender know you are “shopping,” because competition can result in offers of more competitive loan packages.

By Mail:
Sometimes the VA does not have sufficient data in its online records. In that case, you must apply for the COE by mail. A veteran can obtain a COE by completing VA Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility, and mailing the form to: VA Eligibility Center, P.O. Box 20729, Winston-Salem, NC 27120. Just remember, you are dealing with the VA. It may take time for the VA representative to receive, process and then approve (or reject) your request and then return the COE to you.

Once you receive your COE, you have completed Step 1 of the 7-step process to purchasing a home. Step 2 is finding a home you wish to purchase. We will look at that step in the next blog entry.

H.C. “Hutch” Hutchison, Ed.D., retired from the U.S. Army in 1991, after more than twenty-two years of active duty. Since then, the former helicopter test pilot and aviation maintenance officer has earned his third post-graduate degree and taught under-graduate and graduate courses. In addition to practicing real estate with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, Hutchison is active in national, state, and local leadership organizations and local chapters of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Modern Warfare, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and United States Army Warrant Officer Association.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty Ranks Highly In 2010 First Quarter

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is extremely pleased to announce it’s rankings among other Coldwell Banker affiliates for the first quarter of 2010.

Office Achievements

For the first quarter of 2010, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s Jacksonville, N.C. office ranked No. 1 in the Southern Region in adjusted gross commission income, No. 3 in selling units sold, No. 2 in total units sold, and No. 4 in listing units sold, among offices with 11-20 associates.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s Topsail Island office in Surf City, N.C. ranked No. 3 in adjusted gross commission income and No. 8 in listing units sold, among offices with 1-10 associates in the Southern Region for the first quarter of 2010.

Individual Agent Achievements

Lynda Haraway, a sales associate with Sea Coast Realty’s office in Oak Island, N.C., ranked No. 8 in adjusted gross commission income among all other Coldwell Banker sales associates in North Carolina.

Team Achievements

Real estate teams from Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s offices in Jacksonville, Southport, and Wilmington also ranked among the top-selling teams in North Carolina in the first quarter of 2010.

ADJUSTED GROSS COMMISSION INCOME
No. 2 - Jack Gale Team
No. 4 - Cynthia Strickland Team
No. 5 - Keegan-Rosado Team
No. 6 - Kay Baker Team
No. 9 - Melanie Cameron Team
No. 10 - Roger Mitchell Team

SELLING UNITS SOLD
No. 3 - Anna Garcia Team
No. 4 - Alex Paen Team
No. 5 - Melanie Cameron Team
No. 7 - Jack Gale Team
No. 8 - Kay Baker Team
No. 9 - Michelle Gurrera Team
No. 10 - Beth Fortunato Team

LISTING UNITS SOLD
No. 2 - Jack Gale Team
No. 3 - Roger Mitchell Team
No. 4 - Lori Smith Team
No. 6 - Keegan-Rosado Team
No. 7 - Cynthia Strickland Team
No. 8 - Kay Baker Team

TOTAL UNITS SOLD
No. 2 - Jack Gale Team
No. 4 - Roger Mitchell Team
No. 5 - Kay Baker Team
No. 6 - Lori Smith Team
No. 7 - Cynthia Strickland Team
No. 8 - Melanie Cameron Team
No. 9 - Anna Garcia Team
No. 10 - Keegan-Rosado Team

In 2009, the REAL Trends 500 report ranked Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty No. 151 in the list of “The 500 Largest Brokers in the U.S.” ranked by closed transactions and No. 162 in the list of “The 500 Largest Brokers in the U.S.” ranked by sales volume.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty sells more than twice as many properties as the next leading company in our area and has claimed the title as southeastern North Carolina’s top selling real estate company for ten years in a row.

For more than a decade, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has been southeastern North Carolina’s largest and best-selling real estate company. It operates nine offices with more than 325 sales associates and staff in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, & Onslow counties. For more information, please visit SeaCoastRealty.com.

Coldwell Banker Offering Buyer Bonus

Home sales surged in March and April as home buyers hurried to take advantage of the federal home buyer tax credit that expired April 30, 2010. Eager to maintain that momentum, Coldwell Banker recently launched its own home buyer incentive program.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty hopes its Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus program will encourage buyers who haven’t found a home yet to continue looking. It also aims to bring a new audience of home buyers who were unable to qualify for the tax credit into the market. The program offers benefits similar to the federal home buyer tax credit without any income or property eligibility requirements.

Buyers of participating Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus homes get a refund of 3 percent (up to $8,000) of the purchase price of their home at closing. That’s great news for home buyers, because it means less cash that they’ll need when they close on their home. They also won’t have to wait until tax time to get the money back from the government.

“I think it’s a fabulous idea. [Glenda Newell] told me about it when I was filling out the listing information,” said Susy King of Wilmington. This week, she listed her condominium in The Village at Mayfaire with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty sales associate Glenda Newell. “I saw what kind of activity the home buyer tax credit had, so I immediately said, ‘yes,’ because I want to sell my house.”

“We think the Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus program will make participating homes stand out from the competition,” says Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty president Tim Milam. He says that since the Buyer Bonus program kicked off last week, several buyers have shown interest in the participating homes. He expects even more inquiries from home buyers and sellers as print, online, and television advertising for the program ramps up locally and across the nation.

Unlike the federal tax credit, there are no income or property eligibility requirements. The Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus program is open to all home buyers and sellers. The program won’t last forever. The deadline for making an accepted offer on a participating home is July 31, 2010.

To search for homes participating in the Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus program or to read program details, please visit www.coldwellbanker.com/BuyerBonus.

Local Chowder Debuts in Harris Teeter Stores

Starting yesterday, the legendary seafood chowder from Michael's Seafood Restaurant in Carolina Beach, NC is available at your local Harris Teeter!

Pick up a pint today! A portion of the proceeds benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The seafood chowder at Michael's Seafood Restaurant is famous with locals and visitors. In fact, just a few weeks ago, it took first place in the Knorr Great Chowder Cook-Off in Newport, Rhode Island. Michael's staff regularly ships the tasty treat worldwide to chowder lovers.

Michael's chowder won the Pleasure Island Chowder Cool-Off in Carolina Beach for many years. This year the gang from Michael's bowed out to give the other great chowder cooks a chance and judged the competiton.

Real Estate Professionals Earn NC Workforce Housing Specialist Certification

Many hardworking North Carolina families don’t earn enough to afford an average-priced home in their community. Real estate professionals with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty recently earned the North Carolina Workforce Housing Specialist certification and learned about programs that can help teachers, firefighters, nurses, and other service workers in our community achieve the dream of home ownership.

Brett Adams, Cathi Anderson, Carolyn Dunwell, Paul Dunwell, Tom Gale, and Amy Whetsel from Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s Wilmington office earned the certification. Homes4NC, a housing foundation created by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, offers the certification to REALTORS® who take extra steps to learn about the federal, state and local housing programs specifically designed to help buyers that earn less than the area median income. They also work within the community to increase housing affordability for all citizens.

“My wife is a teacher, so I hear from her colleagues all the time about how hard it is to find affordable housing,” said Tom Gale. “With the training we received, I know about more lending programs that can help them.”

According to Homes4NC, wages in North Carolina are not expected to keep pace with the cost of housing. Half of the state’s future jobs are expected to pay 60% of the state’s current average earnings.

To earn the certification, REALTORS® must complete sixteen hours of educational courses that focus on national, state, and local affordable housing resources. For more information about the North Carolina Workforce Housing Specialist certification, visit http://www.homes4nc.org/.

Sea Coast Realty Will Build Habitat for Humanity Home

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is pleased to announce that it will begin work this fall on a Habitat for Humanity home. Sea Coast Realty president Tim Milam pledged his company’s sponsorship at Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity’s 9th Annual Golden Hammer Pledge Breakfast held May 25, 2010.

The breakfast marked Executive Director Barbara Birkenheuer’s retirement from Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity after ten years of service. In honor of her leadership, Milam announced that the Habitat home Sea Coast Realty builds will be dedicated as the “Barbara Birkenheuer House.”

By sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity home, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty will provide $60,000 in financial support and volunteer labor each week of the home build. Sea Coast Realty has sponsored three other Habitat homes since it began its involvement with Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity in 1997. Sales associates and staff from Sea Coast Realty’s Leland office also helped with construction of a Habitat home in Navassa in January 2010. Next month, Russ May, a sales associate from Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s Wilmington, N.C. office, will become president of the Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors.

“While sponsoring three homes in the Wilmington area, we have learned how valuable homeownership is to those who thought they would never own a home,” said Milam. “I cannot think of a more worthy housing organization.”

Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity is one of 76 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in North Carolina and is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. For more information about Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, please visit capefearhabitat.org

Stay Cool With Ceiling Fans

We get our fair share of humid summer afternoons on the Cape Fear Coast and the gentle breeze created by a ceiling fan makes them much more bearable. The breeze created by a ceiling fan evaporates moisture on the skin and makes you feel cooler. However, your ceiling fan will only make you feel cooler if it is turning in the right direction for warm weather.

Most ceiling fans have a winter and a summer setting. Typically, you can change the direction of your fan blades with the flip of a switch. Just look for the electric switch on the motor housing. If your fan has a remote control or a control panel on the wall, you may also find the switch there. If your fan does not have a switch, you may have to remove the blades and reattach them in the opposite direction.

To see if your ceiling fan is set on the correct setting, observe it while it’s running. During the summer, the leading edges of the blades (the part that goes around first) should be higher than the trailing edge of the blades. This pushes the air down and makes you feel a breeze while you stand under the fan.

Using ceiling fans can help you save energy, even if your home has air conditioning. Most people find that when they feel cooler, they can bump the temperature on their thermostat up a few degrees while still feeling just as comfortable. According to Progress Energy, for every degree you raise the air conditioning thermostat above 78 degrees, you can save 3 percent to 5 percent on cooling costs.

What is a VA Loan?

By H.C. “Hutch” Hutchison, Ed.D.

The men and women of the United State military devote themselves to ensuring that freedoms are protected, maintaining peace, and providing relief to those that are enduring hardship. Benefits of military service can include training in many diverse fields, pride of serving, civilian education, travel and the opportunity to grow as an individual. One significant benefit that can be derived from military service is the opportunity to obtain an home loan guaranteed by the Veterans Administration (VA).

What is a VA loan?

Banks and other private mortgage companies make a special type of home loan to veterans of the U.S. armed forces. The Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees a portion of each VA loan and protects the lender’s investment if the borrower defaults.

Who is eligible for a VA loan?

World War II: Sept. 15, 1940 – July 25, 1947

Post World War II: July 26, 1947 – June 26, 1950

Korean War: June 27, 1950 – Mar. 31, 1955

Vietnam Era: Aug. 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975

Post Vietnam: May 8, 1975 – Aug. 1, 1990

Persian Gulf: Check with VA regional office for specific eligibility.

Afghanistan & Iraq: Check with VA regional office for specific eligibility.

Peacetime Service: At least 181 days of continuous active duty with no dishonorable discharge (in part)
* May 8, 1975 – Sep. 7, 1980 (enlisted)
* May 8, 1975 – Oct. 16, 1981 (officer)
* Enlisted veterans whose service began after Sep. 7, 1980, or officers whose service began after Oct. 16, 1981 must normally have served at lease two years.

Reserve and National Guard: Members who have competed six years of service and honorably discharged (or still serving) may be eligible. Contact a VA regional office for more details.

*To determine individual eligibility visit http://www.va.gov or contact a VA representative.

H.C. “Hutch” Hutchison, Ed.D., retired from the U.S. Army in 1991, after more than twenty-two years of active duty. Since then, the former helicopter test pilot and aviation maintenance officer has earned his third post-graduate degree and taught under-graduate and graduate courses. In addition to practicing real estate with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, Hutchison is active in national, state, and local leadership organizations and local chapters of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Modern Warfare, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and United States Army Warrant Officer Association.

Our People Make the Difference

John O'Connor says he joined Sea Coast Realty's Southport, NC office because of the training, technology, and strong Coldwell Banker brand. However, he says that it's the people and the positive environment there that have really been key to his success. "It really does come back to having an environment where everybody is supporting you to get to the goals that you're trying to achieve," says O'Connor.




For more information, please visit http://www.seacoastrealty.com/ or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/seacoastrealty.

You're Invited: Hampstead Grand Opening Celebration

Join Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty this Thursday, June 3, 2010, 5-7pm, for a FREE, fun-filled, family-style event to celebrate the grand opening of our newest office in Hampstead, NC.

The fun will include:
* Burgers and 'dawgs from the Sawmill Grill
* Inflatable bounce house & slide
* Prizes
* Games
* Hula hoops

Sponsored by Alpha Mortgage.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty's new office in Hampstead, NC will serve Hampstead and Pender County. It is located at 16076 U.S. Highway 17 in Hampstead NC and can be reached at (910) 270-8880.