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| Janice e-NEWS - April 2008 |
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It is hard to believe Spring is just around the corner! The trees are starting to bloom and the flowers are popping up! Pray for more rain- we really need it! Please continue to do your part to conserve as much water as possible. We are happy to welcome Claire Mallory, Meredith's new baby girl. Claire was born on January 31st and weighed 9 lbs, 4ozs. As many of you know, Meredith is our client care coordinator and will continue to work with us. We are very blessed to have Meredith on our team. The real estate market is still strong in the Triangle area. I know the media is very doom and gloom, but to tell you the truth, buyers are buying and sellers are selling. Interest rates are excellent so if you are thinking of buying, there are some good deals out there. If you are thinking about selling, it does take a well staged home that is marketed fully with great stategies and priced correctly. If you need advice on what to do to get your home ready, I will be happy to help you. Congratulations to Dona and Jocelyn Sese for winning the movie tickets- each month we have a drawing for all the participants that respond to the quiz question. We hope you will play this month for your chance to win!dSincerely, Janice Rosenberg & TeamThe Team with Integrity, Knowlege and Experience! April Quiz Question What is the most abundant element in the universe? Everyone who emails or calls in the correct answer by the last day of this month will be entered into a drawing for 2 free movie tickets! - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it - 919-874-0124 Watch for your name in a coming month! Why Practice? A class of high school basketball players with similar skills was divided into three groups to conduct an experiment. Group one was told not to practice shooting free throws for one month. Group two was told to practice shooting free throws an hour a day for a month. Group three was told to practice shooting free throws an hour a day for a month – but only in their imaginations. At the end of the month, all three groups were tested. The group that didn’t practice slipped slightly in its percentage of free throw successes. The group that practiced an hour a day also slipped slightly. But the third group, which practiced only in their minds, increased its success rate by two percentage points. How could actual practice, such as that done by the second group, fail to improve performances as much as practicing in the mind? The explanation is that in your mind, you never miss a shot. What are you practicing in your mind? 1. How To Grow A Great Garden - Click Here The trees are budding, the grass is growing, and you’re thinking of all those wonderful garden plans you never got around to last year. This year, get a head start on the season with some tips to help save time and avoid disappointment. And don’t forget to involve the kids – this is one of the few times you can give them permission to play in the dirt! • If your only winter crop was couch potatoes, be careful. Don’t strain those underworked winter muscles. Bend at the knees and lift with your legs, not your back. • Check your garden chemicals and dispose of last season’s leftovers appropriately. Don’t buy more chemicals than you can use in a season – the smaller the bottle, the better. • Avoid using insecticides by planting marigolds, basil, mint, chives, onions, and chrysanthemums near or in your garden. Secretions from these and many other plants act as a natural insect repellent. • If cleaning out the fireplace is on your schedule, great! Save the ashes – your flower beds love them. • Starting seedlings in vermiculite to get a jump on the season? Be sure to transplant them as soon as the second pair of true leaves form, or they’ll starve. • Your soil is ready for planting when you grab a handful and it crumbles. If it forms a ball, it’s still too wet to start gardening. • Mulches can keep the soil from warming up, so wait to apply mulches until plants are three to four inches tall and the soil is warm. Back To Index - Click Here Welcome New Clients Here are some of the new clients who became members of our “Real Estate Family” this past month. We’d like to welcome you and wish you all the best! Welcome new buyers:
Welcome New Sellers
Click Here to visit our Featured Listings
No matter who makes the most money, divide the household responsibilities fairly. Set short- and long-term goals together, and stick to them unless you both agree to change them. Each partner should have access to money they can spend any way they want. No one should ever have to ask his or her spouse for money. Set a budget and stick to it for at least a year. If necessary, consult a financial counselor to help keep your finances in order. Back To Index - Click Here Administrative Professionals Week
But through all the name changes, the goal remains the same: To recognize and celebrate the work of the millions of secretaries, administrative assistants, and other people in various support roles. Here are some suggestions from the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) Web site for observing the last full week of April, Administrative Professionals Week: • Hold a company-wide observance or special event for administrative staff, such as a presentation by a professional development speaker, or a group recognition of administrative professionals by the chief executive. • Provide registration for a professional development seminar to build the individual’s technical, interpersonal or business skills. • Support membership in appropriate networking and professional associations. • Encourage study for and attainment of professional certification. Additional gift suggestions include appropriate business-related items such as personalized business cards or a desktop nameplate, or a monetary bonus for exemplary performance. IAAP also suggests that it’s always wise for employers, managers, supervisors or executives to ask their administrative staff how they would prefer to observe this event. Back To Index - Click Here Help Your Child Get A Good Night’s Sleep Does your child suffer from sleep problems? If so, he or she is more likely to have trouble falling asleep than staying asleep. Here are some tips to help your children sleep better from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine: Follow a consistent bedtime routine. Set aside 10 to 30 minutes to get your child ready to go to sleep. Establish a relaxing setting at bedtime. Interact with your child at bedtime. Don’t let the television, computer or video games take your place. Keep your children from TV programs, movies and video games that are not appropriate for their age. At bedtime, don’t allow your child to have foods or drinks that contain caffeine, and try not to give him or her any medicine that has a stimulant. Back To Index - Click Here 10 Things You Should Know about Today’s North Carolina Real Estate Market 1. There is no such thing as a National Real Estate Market. All real estate is local. Pay attention first to sales price trends, volume and inventory in your target market, rather than misleading headlines about national sales trends. 2. North Carolina Home Values are Stable. In 2007, the average sales price in NC grew by 4%. Since 2000, the average home in our state has risen more than 25 percent. 3. Housing Demand in NC is on the Rise. Even it what was considered a down year in 2007, there were more than 125,000 existing home sales in NC – that is the third highest number ever, exceeded only by 2006 and 2005. Estimates indicate that the Tar Heel state’s population will grow by more than 400,000 by 2010. These new people need a place to live! 4. A House is Where you Make a Home, not Just a Buck. Most purchasers don’t buy a house to flip. They buy it to live in it, and to build on the American Dream and a higher quality of life can’t be simply expressed on a balance sheet. 5. There are Hundreds of reputable Mortgage Companies ready to Lend. It makes sense to use a North Carolina Lender. Local lenders will know more about the local market and products available in our state. 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. 6. 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! 7. It’s a Prime Time for Second Homes. Nationally, about one third of all home sales are second homes or vacation properties; in North Carolina, that figure is nearly 40% -- largely because of our desirable locations in the mountains and on the coast. 8. It Makes Sense to use a North Carolina Realtor. If you had a $150,000 legal question, would you deal with it with out an attorney’s assistance? If you had a $150,000 income tax issue, would you dare risk not consulting a CPA? Realtors subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain the highest level of knowledge of the buying and selling process of a home. 9. Now Really is the Time to Buy. Interest rates significantly dropped several times this year 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 rates. If you are a buyer, this market is for you! 10. And if You’re a Seller, Be Patient… and Smart. Price your home correctly –your homes value is what someone else is willing to pay for it, not the price you think you should sell for. Competitive pricing is the single biggest reason that a home sells or does not sell. Realtors know the market place and can help you determine the right sales price. The information in this article was published by the NC Association of Realtors and I hope you found it helpful to better understand our North Carolina Real Estate Market. If you have any home purchasing or re-financing question please feel free to call me for advice and/ or pre-approval. Sabrina Schell, Southeastern Mortgage Corp.
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