Repeal the Transfer Tax

The NC Senate has overwhelmingly approved SENATE BILL 1951 – legislation that repeals the authority given last year to counties to impose a real estate transfer tax if approved by local voters. Now, the bill goes to the NC House of Representatives for consideration. It’s important that we move quickly because budget negotiations are on the fast track and we can’t let our state legislators leave Raleigh without fully considering a repeal of this tax on homeownership.

WE NEED YOU TO E-MAIL YOUR MEMBERS OF THE NC HOUSE AND ASK THEM TO ENCOURAGE THE HOUSE LEADERSHIP TO HEAR THE BILL – SENATE BILL 1951 – REPEAL COUNTY LAND TRANSFER TAX.

Last year, the transfer tax was included in the state’s budget bill along with hundreds of other issues. It has never been discussed as a stand alone bill by members of the NC House. The issue deserves to be heard and voted on.

The North Carolina Realtor’s Association has set up an easy and automatic way for you to send an email to request a repeal on this tax.

I will be holding an open house tomorrow from 3 to 5 pm at my listing at Queens Station. This condo is immaculate and has an excellent floorplan. Even better is the private patio only steps from the community pool! If you missed it on this website, you can see pictures and a map location here: Queens Station, #37

Come out and visit me and see a great condo for the money!

Have you been considering demolishing your old bathroom to give it a new look? As I walk through homes daily with my buyer clients, we go through quite a few homes or condos in need of sprucing up in the kitchens and bathrooms. Normally the older homes or condos close to uptown Charlotte are some weird color that you just can’t live with. Well, it looks like there is a finally an affordable solution that eliminates the need to completely gut your bathrooms and kitchen. This solution is especially good for those on a budget that would eventually like to remodel, but just don’t want to go through the expense initially. Take a look at these before and after pictures:

I got these pictures from the vendor that uses this process to completely transform your existing tile, laminate, and cultured marble finishes. If you are trying to keep a budget on your current home or thinking about trying to rehab a property, email me and I can give you the contact details for this vendor.

Each week, on Tuesday mornings, me and my fellow HM Properties Realtors visit our new listings from the week. This is a great time for us to learn about each other’s listings so that we are even more knowledgeable about the Charlotte market.

Well, in the picture above, you will see a mirrored ceiling shot from Barbara Callaway’s Iphone inside an elevator as we were visiting a new listing a few weeks ago. With all of the agents at HM being such good friends, we decided we would fit as many on the elevator as possible to save time. After we all got on, the doors shut and we pressed the button to go to the penthouse of the building. Unfortunately nothing happened. The button to the penthouse didn’t light up. We then decided we would push the door open button so that some people could get off, but that didn’t work either! Finally we were able to get the elevator to take all of us to the basement where everyone immediately jumped out of the elevator!

Needless to say, we only had a few Realtors at a time travel to the penthouse condo after that! That was my first time being stuck in and elevator and hopefully my last! Luckily we were only stuck for about 15 seconds, but it felt like hours!

While looking for commercial space for a client this past week, I requested some additional information on Metropolitan from the commercial brokers that have it listed. In the .pdf packet of information that I received, I learned about more of the new tenants in the development that has been redeveloped where Midtown Square and Charlottetown Mall once stood. Here are a list of the tenants announced so far:

Best Buy
Trader Joes
West Elm
T-Mobile
Modern Salon and Spa
New Dominion Bank
Vivace
Zoe’s Kitchen
Chipotle
Staples
Marshall’s/T.J. Maxx
Dressler’s

I’m really excited to see more retail come to Uptown, even though Metropolitan is just outside of uptown.

There are still three loft residences available in Metropolitan, so email me if you would like additional information on pricing, floorplans, etc.

Have you been wanting to live in Myers Park, but just weren’t sure how you could afford a Queens Road address? Well Queens Station is the answer to your question. This newly listed condo gives you two times the square footage of a condo in Uptown Charlotte for a fraction of the cost! For a private showing, or details of the first scheduled open house, email me.

Novare’s second building in uptown Charlotte will begin sales in a couple of weeks. The building is really taking shape and is scheduled for completion late this year with residents moving in at the beginning of 2009.

As with their first building, Avenue, Novare’s Catalyst will offer uptown resident hopefuls a more affordable option for a condo in center city. One bedroom condos will start in the $180’s; one-bedroom + den homes will start in the $250’s and two-bedroom homes will start in the $330’s.

Don’t miss out on early pricing and availability. Email me today to get your first choice of a new condo in Catalyst.

Even with the stir-up this week at Wachovia’s headquarters, their new building on South Tryon is moving along. Here is a recent picture that show the outside glass beginning to be added.

If your looking for a way to get out in Charlotte this weekend and have food from some local restaurants, Taste of Charlotte is for you! This annual event is in its tenth year and grows stronger with each year. Taste of Charlotte is held on Tryon Street between MLK Blvd. and Sixth Street. Check it out: Friday, June 6th, 11a-11p; Saturday, June 7th, 11a-11p; and Sunday, June 8th, 11a-6p.