Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours.

Spend time with family and friends, enjoy them richly.  Along the way find a way to help new friends.  This is the time of year that we must remember that it is the giving that is so rewarding.  Giving of your time, crafts, good deeds and helping others.

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. 

~Charles Dickens

Christmas is a necessity.  There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves.  ~Eric Sevareid

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.  ~Larry Wilde

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.  ~Washington Irving

Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!
~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

5 Basics for Building Wealth

Through Investing in Rental  Property

There are some people that have decided to rent instead of purchase until they find exactly the right house and price for them.  The flip side of this coin is that there are renters out looking.  There are homes and investor properties that are priced right, that could produce a positive cash flow.  If you have been thinking about becoming an investor, now might be the time. 

With a relatively modest amount of capital and income, you can profit from real estate investing – once you recognize the chief elements of the rental-property marketplace:

• Taxes may be inevitable, but they are also controllable. In rental properties, you currently benefit from cash deductions for financing, management and operating costs as well as non-cash deductions for depreciation. You also benefit from possible lower long-term capital gains tax rates or tax deferral.
• Leverage involves multiplying your profits by financing as much of your investment as possible and reducing your down payment, thereby limiting the amount of cash tied up and increasing your tax deductions.
• “Positive cash flow” means income either before or after taxes. A savvy investor knows how to turn “negative cash flow” into positive, by maximizing rent through various strategies and through depreciation deductions.
• Appreciation, the result of selling at a higher price than you bought, appears to be a trend that shows no signs of abating. In investing, the important thing is to choose property in a location where prices are rising more than in other areas.
• Equity, the difference between the property value and the remaining loan balance, brings a profit either through refinancing or sale. Timing is a key consideration in maximizing equity profits, since the longer you own property, the fewer tax breaks available to you.

If you’re thinking about investing in your future through real estate, call or e-mail us for professional assistance in finding the right property for your situation.  Please feel free to visit www.cbbaker.com.  You can view properties by price, neighborhood, map and zip code.  If you have a question, do not hesitate to contact us.

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!

Safe At Home For The Summer

The song says that living is easy in the summertime, but don’t let the lazy days of summer lead to accidents. Keeping you and your family safe is just a matter of following simple precautions. Here are some tips for ensuring your family’s good times and good heath:

• Beware of the cutting edge. Lawnmowers and other power tools can cause serious injuries. When you’re mowing your lawn, keep children out of the area, and don’t allow children to ride on a mower.

• Before mowing, take the time to move outdoor furniture, toys, sticks or other obstacles out of the way. Especially if you have children or pets, you don’t want to turn your back on an idling mower to move objects.

• If your older child will be helping you out this summer by mowing the lawn, make sure he or she understands how to safely operate the equipment. Read all instructions and warning information together.

• Always turn a mower off before attempting to unclog debris from the blade.

• Tend to the fire. Grilling food outside is a wonderful way to escape the heat of the kitchen. Keep children away from grills or open fires. You should always have water on hand in case a fire gets out of control.

• Lighter fluid should be off-limits for children.

• Be safe about food handling. Never return cooked meat to a container that has held raw meat. Keep coolers in the shade and add ice to them as needed. Keeping drinks and food in separate coolers will cut down on the number of times the food cooler is opened.

• Watch out for other living things. Insect bites and bee stings can be reduced by dressing children in shoes and clothing that is light in color. Make sure you know what is growing in your yard. Teach children about poisonous plants and berries so they know what plants not to touch, pick or eat.

• Beat the heat. The dog days can be deadly. When the temperature tops 90 degrees, fans alone will not be able to cool a home. If you don’t have air conditioning, get out of the house and head for air-conditioned public places, such as libraries or shopping malls. Taking a bath or shower in tepid water will help you keep your cool. Stay well-hydrated, and make a point to check on elderly friends or neighbors who may be especially susceptible to heat-related illness.

Best wishes for a safe and happy summer!

More Credit Score and Credit Report Transparency | Mortgage Match News.

According to Mortgage Match new rules will make it mandatory for Mortgage Lenders to give mortgage applicants credit scores and credit report factors used during the loan application process.  If a Mortgage Lender quotes an applicant an interest rate and points that the loan will cost and there is a difference between interest rate and costs quoted to other applicants the loan officers will be required by Federal law as of July 21 to:

“–Tell you that you received a less favorable offer because of negative information in your credit bureau files;

–Provide you the actual credit scores used for your rate quote;

–Disclose the name and contact information of the credit reporting company that supplied the scores that led to your less favorable quote;

–Provide consumer education materials explaining credit scores, how they are used, and how your own score ranks against other applicants, plus the credit file factors that may have depressed your score. For example, if maxed-out credit cards and late payments are in your files, they could play significant roles in lowering your credit scores” per Mortgage Match.

The applicants will be able to have access to their credit report and the whole loan application process will become more transparent for the applicant.  Consumer education materials will be available for the applicant, so they can see why they were turned down, or received a higher interest rate.  They will have the right to obtain a  free credit report if turned down for the loan.

Masonboro Island NC on July 4th

The efforts of Masonboro.org in educating people who visited Masonboro Island on the weekend of the 4th was successful.  The volunteers went around in red shirts and handed out trash bags so the people could take their trash with them.  Richard Johnson the founder of Masonboro.org says “that we do not need any more rules.”  The crowds and the trash from prior years celebrations caught the eyes of lawyers looking to make rules for the Island Reserve.  The Masonboro.org group stepped up and helped police the island.  The crowds were smaller and well behaved this year, so their efforts seemed to have worked.  Thank you for your dedication.

Masonboro Island is an 8 mile long uninhabited island on the southern North Carolina coast between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach and is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve. Masonboro Island, only accessible by boat, is enjoyed by campers, surfers, anglers, and bird-watchers alike. The reserve consists of about 5000 acres, which about 4400 acres are tidal marsh and mud flats.  The most northern end at Masonboro Inlet is the most popular area with its sandy beaches and protected waters. Any summer weekend you will see many boaters and campers prepared for a few days on the beach with tents, grills and water toys in to  Masonboro Island, normally calm and peaceful, has recently seen a little too much partying and alchohol consumption on big Holiday weekends such as July 4th and Labor Day. Boaters from all over the Southeast join in on a big party weekend.  So, if you plan to visit the island, be sure to keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum and take your garbage with you.

Masonboro Island is also located only minutes from the mainland where you will see prestigious waterfront communities with private docks, marinas, and boat ramps for homeowners. One of the most conveniently located communities to Masonboro Island is Shinn Point, located straight across from Masonboro Inlet, which is one of the most protected inlets on the East coast. From Shinn Point, you can be in the ocean in just minutes for a day of deep sea fishing or just cruise over to Masonboro Island and relax in the sun.

For complete details on all waterfront communities in Wilmington, NC or Wilmington, NC real estate, please feel free to contact me or go to my website at www.cbbaker.com.

The proverbial question every buyer who is in the loan process has is “Is this the best time to lock in my rate”.  The rates are creeping up but still under 5%.  Well, Warren Buffett, one the wealthiest and most highly successful investors  is “locking” in now.  His Berkshire Hathaway Company just sold $1.5B in fixed debt, mostly in 10-year Notes, in order to refinance their adjustable rate loans.  Mr. Buffett has not made comments on the move – but it is clear to us that he sees rates gradually moving higher over time as the US economy improves.   Business Week states “The market scrutinizes Buffett’s moves very closely and this would indicate he’s thinking interest rates in the longer term may go up,” Vijay Chander, Hong Kong-based head of credit strategy at Standard Chartered Plc, said in a phone interview. That’s consistent with our house view that the U.S. economy is improving.”

“The world’s most successful investor locked in interest payments on most of the debt as a report showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in seven months, spurring confidence the world’s biggest economy is gaining momentum. Former Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin said yesterday that while the central bank will complete its $600 billion bond-purchase program, a third round of so- called quantitative easing to spur growth is unlikely”

So, buyers it is a great time to buy a home and lock in with a great wait.  It looks like the rates will probably be holding steady or increasing.  Search 24/7 on www.cbbaker.com .  Call and we can send you instant emails when something in your price range hits the market. Happy Buying.

Good news is a blessing to hear.  The latest report in the New York Times  states that even thought the recession is “officially over” the latest measures to spur the economy on has many forecasters and policy makers expressing optimism that the recovery will gain substantial momentum in 2011.  The growth projections for next year have been raised by economists in universities and on Wall Street.  Retail, factory orders and industrial orders have increased.  The unemployment, while still high is on a downward trend. consumer confidence is getting stronger, large corporations are reporting healthy profits and the Dow Jones industrial average reached a two year high this week.  May this upward trend continue well on into 2011.  Merry Christmas and a very peaceful New Year to all.

Kay Baker & Associates

Wilmington NC real estate median sold price continues its five month climb; we are 1.0% ahead of last month and 1.6% over last year this time. Our pending index is up 6.3% from last month. Our year to date we have a growth of 15.2% sold units over last year while our average sold price is just 1.9% behind last year. In our rolling 12 months we are 16.1% up in sold units and our average sold price is only down by 3.6%. This is the first month to break the string of sold units over the prior year; we had a string of 10 months. A key point to note is the average sold price is just a hair under last month by .03% or $707.00, but we are 8.4% ahead of last year this time.  The trend is our negative numbers and gaps keep getting smaller and smaller.
In the month of July, we saw a decrease of 125 Wilmington NC homes for sale, we have 5,604 homes on the market as of August 1st.  This continues to put us in a strong buyer’s market with a listing inventory of over a 16.0 month supply. With the low sales in July this affects our month supply with a change of 5 months from last month. Our average list price has stayed below the $400,000 range for eleven months; we are currently at $377,052. In July we saw a decrease in our seller concessions, it is now 21.7%. Our average days on the market are 121. The list to sold ratio is 94.8% and is up .4% from last month; this number needs to continue to get better. The number of homes that sold in 15 days or less continues to remain very low, 17.7% of July sold homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.44% with an average 0.7 points for the week ending August 12, 2010. We are now hitting historic lows in mortgage rates.
Listing Inventory
In July we saw our first decrease in listing inventory of 125 units. We are about 204 units over August 1, 2009. We have 5,604 single family homes for sale in our MLS. The average list price of $377,052 is down by $3,515 from last month. The average list price has decreased by 8.1% from August 1, 2009. Read the rest of this entry

Kay Baker & Associates is excited to announce our Greater Wilmington NC School Guide.  Your one stop shop for all the information you need on New Hanover County, Pender County and Brunswick County schools.  This innovative digital magazine is the first in the Wilmington NC area.  Useful information is at your fingertips when selecting the best school for you or your child from Kindergarden to Higher College Education, whether it be a public school or private school.  We have it all here for you.  Please take time to visit, and explore the links to each school system.  All the information about registering for schools, what each library has on it’s shelves, special need centers in each school and contact numbers are all put together for you in an easy digital magazine.  There is also a link for Wilmington NC real estate to search for homes in a certain school district.  We want to make your life easy, especially when entertaining a move.  Click here for the Greater Wilmington NC School Guide. Search all Wilmington NC real estate on www.cbbaker.com and let us know if we can help.