Studebaker John

The 16th annual Blues Festival is this weekend.  Everywhere around town, the Blues shall be heard… The kick off party is on the Henrietta III at 7:30pm Friday July 29.  There will be music on the dock by Rick Toby.  Catered heavy appetizer buffet, cash bar and a 2-hour sunset cruise along the historic Cape Fear River.  Tickets are available at Wilmingtontickets. Three different Blues Bands will perform on the cruise.  Post Cruise party at Rusty Nail.   For a full list of events and bands please visit www. capefearblues.org.  The weekend will be fun and eventful. Talent everywhere.

Studebaker John and the Hawks… listen here….

While you are in town, if you see real estate that interests you, let us know.  On your phone text 14059 to 44133 to search Wilmington NC real estate or go to www.cbbaker.com.  Have fun!

We’ve all thought about it while lying on the beach or inhaling the fresh mountain air: “Why don’t we buy a vacation home?” Owning a vacation home can be a good decision if you buy smart.

They provide another investment that includes a mortgage-interest tax deduction.

Whether you rent it out or not, you can deduct the mortgage interest as long as you use the home more than 14 days or more than 10% of the number of days the home is rented annually at a fair rental, whichever is longer.

Qualified second homes include houses, condominiums, cooperatives, mobile homes, house trailers, boats or similar properties that have sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities.

Here’s an interesting twist on the mortgage interest deduction: If you take out a home equity loan on your first home and use the funds to acquire your second home, the interest on the home equity loan is also deductible. That’s three mortgage interest deductions off your tax return!

Consult IRS Publication 936 for a complete discussion of how mortgage interest for a second home is deductible.

You can purchase your future retirement home in Wilmington NC now, at today’s prices.

Though your second home may be a vacation home now, if you buy right you can convert it into your principal residence later.

They can produce their own income.

Renting out a second home occasionally or often can help you pay for the property with OPM (other people’s money). Check with your tax advisor about how much of the upkeep and management expenses are deductible against your income.

Buying Tips From The Experts

Buy something within a reasonable distance.

Be sure you can get to your vacation home in a short amount of time. Before you make a final decision, travel the distance on a typical Friday afternoon to see whether the drive will be too much to deal with after a long work week.

Rent in the area several times before you buy.

If you really like a particular area, check it out during different seasons. This way you get to know the climate, people, pests, traffic patterns and other regional particulars first-hand.

Consult other owners.

Check with owners of nearby properties about public and private facilities, special maintenance required due to location or weather, the social climate, local development plans and prevalence of crime. Learning about the lifestyle of the area may help you narrow down your choices.

Think home first, investment second.

Although you may be able to generate rental income from your vacation home, it may not cover your ownership costs. (If you want to try real estate investments, give us a call to look at properties in the Wilmington NC  local area.)

Consider different styles of properties in a vacation area.

To minimize upkeep and have a more secure environment, a condo may be preferable to a single-family home. If you plan on converting it to a retirement home, consider what type of home you’ll want as a full-time residence.

Here are some of the current Wilmington NC real waterfront/waterview real estate  in our area.

Priced from 100,000 – 200,000  Click here

Priced from 200,000- 400,000  Click here

Priced from 400,00 -600,000  Click here

Priced from 600,000 – Click here

To search all properties please visit www.cbbaker.com

With the beautiful weather, scenery and talent here in Wilmington NC, what do you think one of  our favorite things to do in the summer is?  Listen to music outdoors of course.  The venues have just started and will continue throughout the summer months.  The Star News compiled the list so we just have to look in one place.  Please bookmark this post so that you can look at the schedule weekly.  Take time to enjoy and relax.  You deserve it. 

Airlie Concert Series

Location:Airlie Gardens, 300 Airlie Road, Wilmington

Times: 6-8 p.m. every other Friday, May 20-Sept. 16

Details:$8 adults, $2 children, free for Airlie members. General admission parking is off-site. Free parking and shuttles provided from the old Cinema 6, 5335 Oleander Drive. Picnics welcome.

Contact: 798-7700

SCHEDULE

June 3: Grenoldo Frazier (jazz, showtunes)

June 17: Da Howlies (Hawaiian)

July 1: The Imitations

July 15: The Dynamic Thermotones (blues)

Aug. 5: Stardust

Aug. 19: L Shape Lot (folk, country)

Sept. 2: Stephanie Nakasian and the Hod O’Brien Trio (jazz)

Sept. 16: 360 Degrees

Carolina Beach Boardwalk

Location: Carolina Beach Boardwalk

Times: 6:30-9 p.m. Thursdays, followed by fireworks

Details: Free, adjacent to amusement park.

Contact: 458-8434

SCHEDULE

Still waiting for these guys to get back to us on their schedule. Feel free to post below if you know it.

Carolina Beach Free Summer Concert Series

Location:Air Force Recreation Area, Kure Beach

Times: 6:30-9:30 p.m. every other Friday, June 10-Aug. 26

Details: Free. Bring blankets, chairs and picnics but no pets or beverages. Beverages will be for sale.

Contact: 458-8434

SCHEDULE

June 10: Live Bait (classic rock, blues)

June 24: BLP (classic rock and dance)

July 8: South of K (bluegrass)

July 22: Cowboy Chrome (country rock, blues)

Aug. 18: Spare Change (beach, classic roc, country)

Aug. 26: The Mako Band (beach, boogie and blues)

Concerts on the Coast

Location: Leland Municipal Complex Park, 102 Town Hall Drive

Times: 6:30-8 p.m.

Details: Free. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets.

Contact: 332-4818

Schedule

June 30: UBU (party band with three female vocalists)

July 14: The Main Event (party band with horn section)

July 28: Central Park Band (dance)

Concert in the Park

Location:Soundside Park, next to the swing bridge in Surf City

Times: 6-8 p.m.

Details: Free. Snacks and drinks available. Parking is limited. No alcohol. July 3 concert is 6-9 p.m., followed by fireworks.

Contact: 329-4446

SCHEDULE

May 20: Dixon Middle School Jazz Band

May 27: The Mako Band

June 10: Lucia & Levi

June 13: Langley Winds

June 24: Stump Sound Ramblers

July 2: Longo & Co.

July 3: Mark Roberts & Breeze

July 8: Highway 17 Band

July 22: Sea Pans

Aug. 5: Camouflage

Aug. 19: Pamlico Joe & Clean Water Flow

Sept. 2: James Rimes and Friends

Downtown Sundown

Location: Riverfront Park, Water Street between Front and Princess streets in downtown Wilmington

Times: 6-10 p.m. Fridays, May 27-Sept. 2

Details: Free. Beer, wine and food available. Rain or shine.

SCHEDULE

May 27: Appetite for Destruction (GnR tribute)

June 3: The Breakfast Club (80′s tribute)

June 10: Frontiers (Journey tribute

June 17: Funky Monks (Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute)

June 24: SRVT (Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute)

July 1: ZOSO (Led Zeppelin tribute)

July 8: UV (U2 tribute)

July 15: Girlz Girlz Girlz (80′s hair metal tribute)

July 22: Slippery When Wet (Bon Jovi tribute)

July 29: Cosmic Charlie (Grateful Dead tribute)

Aug. 5: Dave Matthews Tribute Band

Aug. 12: Satisfaction (Rolling Stones tribute)

Aug. 19: Onward, Soldiers (rock, Americana)

Aug. 26: Machine Gun (rock covers)

Sept. 2: Tuesday’s Gone (Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute)

Greenfield Lake Amphitheater

Location: 1941 Amphitheater Drive, Wilmington

Times and details: Vary

SCHEDULE

July 3: JJ Grey & Mofro

July 7: Dark Star Orchestra

July 10: Jack’s Mannequin

July 24: Donovan Frankenreiter

Aug. 14: Bela Fleck and The Flecktones

Jazz at the Mansion

Location: Bellamy Mansion, 503 Market St., downtown Wilmington

Times: 6:30-8 p.m., the second Friday of each month through September

Details: Bring a picnic and blanket and enjoy the show. $12 non-members/$8 members of CF Jazz Society or Bellamy Mansion. Wine and beer for sale.

Contact: 251-3700

SCHEDULE

June 10: Mike Waddell & Bob Russell

July 8: Melodious Thunk (feat. Susan Savia)

August 12: Jack Krupicka & Julie Rehyder

Sept. 9: Liz Pina & Kevin Kolb

Mayfaire Music on the Town

Location:Mayfaire event field behind Ulta and World Market

Times: 6-9 p.m. Fridays

Details: Free. Bring a blanket or chair. Food, beverages and kids’ activities available.

Contact: 256-5131

SCHEDULE

May 20: Jam SandWich (Southern/classic rock)

May 27: Beach Billy Brothers (country rock and blues)

June 3: BLP (classic and modern rock)

June 10: Selah Dub (reggae, surf and rock)

June 17: Mako (variety)

June 24: Live Bait (acoustic rock)

July 1: Jim Quick & the Coastline Band (blues, soul, R&B)

July 8: The Other Guys (acoustic rock)

July 15: The M-80′s (‘80s covers)

July 22: Phantom Playboys (rockabilly)

July 29: Painted Man (funk, R&B, rock)

Aug. 5: Soul Power Posse (funk, soul)

Sept. 2: Blivet (eclectic rock)

Music in the Courtyard

Location: Cameron Art Museum, 3201 S. 17th St., Wilmington

Times: 7-8 p.m.

Details: $8, $5 for museum members. Concert held indoors in the event of inclement weather. Beverages available.

Contact: 395-5999

SCHEDULE

June 2: The Workshop (jazz, R&B)

July 7: El Jaye Johnson & The Port City All-Stars (jazz, blues, funk and more)

Aufg. 4: Lisa & Galen (acoustic)

Ocean Isle Beach Concert Series

Location:Parking lot of the Museum of Coastal Carolinas, 21 E. Second St., Ocean Isle Beach

Times: 6:30-8 p.m. Fridays, May 27-Sept. 2

Details: Free

SCHEDULE

May 27: The Entertainers

June 3: Northern Borders

June 10: The Imitations

June 17: Mark Roberts & the Breeze

June 24: Gold Rush

July 1: Holiday Band

July 8: Craig Woolard Band

July 15: Continental Divide

July 22: Band of OZ

July 29: Tim Clark Band

Aug. 5: The Imitations

Aug. 12: Legends of the Beach

Aug. 19: Sea Cruz

Aug. 26: Carolina Breakers

Sept. 2: Craig Woolard Band

WECT’s Sounds of Summer

Location:Wrightsville Beach Park

Times: 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. June 23, July 7 and 21, and Aug. 4

Details: Free. Bring blankets, chairs, picnics. Concerts cancelled due to weather will be rescheduled for the following Thursday

Contact: 791-8070

SCHEDULE

June 23: Key Lime Pie (tropical rock)

July 7: The M-80s

July 21: Selah Dubb (rock, reggae)

Aug. 4: The Imitations (beach, Motown)

Details: Free. Bring blankets, chairs, picnics. Concerts cancelled due to weather will be rescheduled for the following Thursday.

Please come visit our great town and enjoy what it has to offer.  If you would like to look at Wilmington NC real estate, please visit www.cbbaker.com and search by map, neighborhood, street and more.  Happy Summer.

There is talk of a minor league baseball stadium being built on the riverfront in downtown Wilmington NC.  There has not been a baseball team in Wilmington NC since the Port City Roosters, a Southern League minor team which was a Double A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners Major Club in 1995.  Some of the players that wore the Roosters Uniform you might recognize : Red Sox captain Jason Varitek, pitchers Derek Lowe and Ryan Franklin, infielder Desi Relaford and outfielders José Cruz, Jr. and Raul Ibanez.

Chuck Schoninger, the CEO of USA InvestCo owns property on the riverfront, 35 acres which he hopes to develop into a marina, a hotel,  condos, restaurants and to top it  off a Minor League Baseball Stadium.  Schoninger will travel to China to present his plan to Chinese investors with a Federal Program called Employment Based Program Number 5, or EB5, that was started by George Bush in 1990 to entice foreign investment.  With the opening of the Wilmington NC Convention Center, this will make an addition to the growing and thriving downtown area. For a complete story from the Greater Wilmington Business Journal, read more here….

To search all Wilmington NC downtown properties, please visit www.cbbaker.com

Photo from DariusRucker.com

The party is getting started…. The 64th annual Azalea Festival will be held April 6- 10, 2011 in Wilmington NC.  Darius Rucker has been announced as the the headliner for the concert on April 6 at Trask Coliseum to open up the festivities.  Rucker was previously with Hootie and the Blowfish, before he set out on his own.  Deep voiced country music is what you will enjoy at the concert.  The other celebrities are Wilmington’s own  Tampa Bay Buccaneers place kicker and John T. Hoggard High School graduate Connor Barth; Miss North Carolina 2010 Adrienne Leigh Core; Emmy Award-winning actress and soap opera star Leann Hunley, who played the cougar-ish Tamara Jacobs on filmed-in-Wilmington TV series “Dawson’s Creek”; USS Gravely Commander Douglas Kunzman, making his second festival appearance; and Chris Lambton, who appeared on the ABC reality show “The Bachelorette.” The Avett Brothers are headlining a concert on April 8, and that show is sold out.

To listen to a hit “Come Back” song from Darius, click here.

The Azalea Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Wilmington NC and has for 64 years drawn many celebrities including headmaster Ronald Reagan.  Please join us in a great tradition.  Tickets for the concert are avaliable starting Saturday Feb. 12 at http://www.ncazaleafestival.org

While you are in town text 14059 to 44133 to search Wilmington NC real estate, or visit www.cbbaker.com.