I wanted to write a quick post and share some pictures of the snow we recently had at our new homes subdivision, Summerlin Trace, in Leland NC. The snow was unexpected for our area, where we rarely get snow at all. The snow we may occasionally get (once every couple of years), is usually wet slush that doesn’t even cover the ground. This was a solid 5 inches of snow in Leland NC and the ground had been cold enough for the snow to actually hang around!

I sell new homes at our subdivision, but I also am a superintendent, and general caretaker of things at Summerlin Trace, so one of the first order of business on Friday morning was to go over and check out things and see how our new homes fared. My Wife and I had dropped off our children at Grandma’s house the evening before, so we were able to take our time and snap some pictures.

Snuffy the Snow Covered Toy Puppy

Everything at Summerlin Trace looked fine and in good order, and we did not lose power on any new homes or have any downed trees or anything. The snow was wet and thick and clung to the trees. The yards and signs were covered, as well as the roofs.

I took a couple of minutes and also walked through the 2 acre park that we have provided for residents of our new homes. This was the best part to me, as everything was super quiet and the snow crunched under my feet. I was the first one who had walked through this area, and it felt like I was an explorer finding my way through a new land.

Anyway, to sum it all up, I know that many people who are looking in our area for new homes want nothing to do with snow. I want to EMPHASIZE that this beautiful snow was gone the next day and we were left with soggy ground but no issues. To southerners, snow is like a distant relative that you get to see rarely. You’re excited to see them, excited to catch up on things, and excited to see them go after a brief visit. In that sense, this was a perfect snow.

If you are looking for new homes in the Wilmington/Leland North Carolina area, priced from the $140’s, you can’t do better than Summerlin Trace.  If you need more information or just want to see what the weather is like TODAY, just give me a call. I’d love to meet you. You can visit here to see our new homes for sale and real estate website.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep”

Robert Frost

Do Foreclosures, Short Sales and AMC’s make it difficult to determine value?

I saw this story online today and wanted to share it. It involves the new appraisal standards and how many banks are now using AMC’s, or Appraisal Management Companies, to handle their appraisals, instead of contacting and using local appraisers that they know and are familiar with. Oftentimes, this involves the AMC sending out the cheapest appraiser that they can find, irregardless of the appraisers knowledge of the local area.  What caught my eye was the opening line to the story.

“Where’s the bridge to Bald Head Island?” asked the appraiser.

The answer?

There isn’t one. You travel to Bald Head Island by ferry.

Do you think that maybe this appraiser was out of touch with the local market?  I’d say absolutely.

This is a demanding market where home prices have changed dramatically, and where a realistic home value that is spot-on is more important than ever.  Foreclosures and Short Sales, plus lack of sales, have made this process much harder, and more than ever, we need qualified appraisers with a STRONG local knowledge of the areas where they perform appraisals.  Home values vary on a neighborhood by neighborhood, and street by street basis.  A local appraiser has a stronger knowledge of individual areas located in a town or city, and probably has access to MLS data that can also improve the precision of the appraisal.

I almost lost a recent sale because of an out of town appraiser. He appraised the property at a fair market price, but checked that the area was a “declining” market, and thus the bank would not approve the loan to value ratio that my Buyer needed. Fortunately we were able to make things work and found another loan that would work my Buyer. However, the original appraisal was bogus and was not based on accurate market data.

Read the article and please share your thoughts. I think we all want an accurate value of appraisal, and it is in ALL of our interests that appraisals are like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, not too low, not too high….but juuust right!

If you have an interest in Leland NC real estate or foreclosures, contact me TODAY!

If you have any questions about Leland NC real estate, foreclosures or homes for sale, please contact me from this site or call me at 910-688-DIRT.