The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Best Places to Live Nearby Chapel Hill, North Carolina        The cities and towns surrounding the Research Triangle Park are home to some of the nation's finest universities and colleges.  If you're considering relocating to the Raleigh area, choosing the best place to live near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill might be high on your list.    Quick Facts about The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Carolina) Carolina is consistently ranked as a "national best value" among top public universities Carolina is the oldest public university in the United States, founded in 1793 Carolina students come from every county in NC, as well as every state in the U.S. Carolina offers 77 bachelor's degrees, 107 master's degrees... 01/27/2011

Well, at least the seller was in pajamas. Whether or not I was is my secret. Up until now I have always been fully committed to getting in front of ALL parties to a listing appointment in full, living, REAL LIFE color. (If I hadn't put words to this before I knew I felt strongly when I read J Philip Faranda's excellent post on why this matters.) I want to see their facial expressions, feel the vibe in the room and let them look me in the eye when I speak. I want to know that we all heard the same things being said and are all on the same page when we make a decision that matters deeply to the owners of a home about to go on the market.  If we are going to work together, we need to build a trust based relationship. That’s one tough job on a faceless phone call. So this past week when I g... 01/20/2011

How's this for a fantastic opportunity!! Ecologic-studio, a sustainable residential design build center in Chapel Hill, NC, is running the UGLY KITCHEN CONTEST. If you live within a 30 mile radius of Chapel Hill, you can submit an entry which requires you to explain in 200 words or less why they should choose your kitchen. They also ask for 3 photos of your ugly kitchen and since a picture is worth a thousand words it ought to be easy to meet the previous requirement! The prize includes: A Free Energy Efficient BOSCH dishwasher A Total Redesign Of You Kitchen Space with Full Color 3-D Renderings (how cool is that?) A Gift Basket From A Southern Season (only Chapel Hill's finest store in this Realtor's humble opinion) You need to enter by February 1, 2011 IN PERSON at the store located a... 01/10/2011

One of the neat things about living in the Triangle Region of North Carolina is the proximity to three major universities.  Many families relocating to the area don't realize that the Triangle Region is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and Duke University. Back in 1991 I moved from Texas to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for my husband to go to graduate school. I fell in love with the area and Chapel Hill.  For such a small town there is so much to do: Great restaurants Great sports Great basketball- I bleed Tar Heel Blue Great shopping Quality of life However, the most important aspect of campus life at UNC was the education.  UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the top public Universities in the US and has just been named the #1 Best Value ... 01/05/2011

Builder Deposits in a New Home Neighborhood The first step in buying a resale or building is the same,  meet with a lender and get pre-approved. The pre-approval is only as good as the information you provide your lender. It pays to be very through at this stage because you don't want expensive surprises later. Your lender will check your credit and review your income and debts to determine the loan amount you will be approved for and the loan options. You will discuss what is a comfortable payment for you, what cash you will need for a down payment, and closing costs. When you are planning on building or buying a new home from a builder there aren't set rules about deposits, upgrades and timing of payments. There is also some risk involved because your new home doesn't exist yet and t... 12/29/2010

Private Academies and Schools  Chapel Hill Private Schools | Raleigh Relocation Information Private Schools in Orange County  Considering private school options in the Chapel Hill area?  The Raleigh area has a variety of options when it comes to private pre, grade, and high schools, either religious or independent.  Check out these Chapel Hill area private schools. Abundant Life Christian Academy - Hillsborough Private Schools 512 U.S. 70 EastHillsborough, NC 27278Phone: (919) 732-6460 Abundant Life Christian Academy is a non-denominational Christian religious day school for kids in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Located a short distance from Durham, Chapel Hill, and Burlington Visit the Abundant Life Church w... 11/23/2010

Chatham County Custom Home Builders Top Tips and Trends in Chatham County Custom Homes As custom home builders in Chatham County area, one of the things we most enjoy is to sharing information about various aspects of the custom home building process.  This week's top five most popular custom home building topics include:  Making Space in the Closet, By Design Well planned closets can make even a small spot spacious.  Here's how to plan ahead for everything you put away.  Top 5 Walk In Closet Design Ideas How Does a Green Home Make Breathing Easier? The average American spends about 90% of the time indoors, the majority of which is spent in the home.  Here's how a green home can make that indoor air cleaner, fresher, and healthier. Green Building: Making Indoor Air Better for You Top Fi... 11/18/2010

Raleigh loan officers wanted. Mortgage bank is seeking licensed loan officers for it's expanding downtown offices providing a perfect environment for networking with professionals. Contact us Join a team of highly experienced loan professionals with one of the country's fastest growing mortgage banks. First priority Financial has been in business since 1977, has a reputation for excellence and for treating their employees well. We are a direct lender and also a broker. Our mortgage rates are competitive and our systems are cutting edge allowing you more time to focus on originating loans. Licensed in multiple states. We have over 1,000 loan officers and approximately 300 branch offices. As a result we receive preferred pricing from our 200+ wholesale lenders if you choose to not use ou... 11/14/2010

Top 5 Custom Home Questions of the Week | Chapel Hill New Homes Home Builders in Chapel Hill Answer Top Questions As home builders in the Chapel Hill area, we believe one of the greatest contributions we can make is to teach about various aspects of the home building process.  This week's top five most popular questions include:  Which Tray Ceiling Styles are Most Popular in Chapel Hill? No matter what type of Chapel Hill home you're considering, chances are good that at least one room will have a tray ceiling.  Browse photos and ideas for some of the most requested tray ceiling ideas here! What is an ARM? The Language of Adjustable Rate Mortgages Before considering an adjustable rate mortgage for your new Chapel Hill home, make sure you understand what the lender is talking about.  Her... 11/08/2010

New Homes Chapel Hill NC Chapel Hill NC Relocation - Property Taxes How Much Will I Pay in Property Taxes for My New Chapel Hill Home? That's a very common question when considering purchasing a Chapel Hill new home. Orange County holds Chapel Hill, the third corner of the Triangle - which consists of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.  Orange County is divided nearly in half by Hwy 40, which runs east/west between Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro.  Mebane and Hillsborough are "middle ground" points between the two areas.  Chapel Hill and Carrboro are on the southern side of the county, just north of Chatham County.  Find out more about Orange County here.  If you're considering relocating to Orange County, you may have a Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Mebane, Durham, Cedar Grove, Sch... 11/05/2010

Southern Village was developed in the early 90's and was a new concept for Chapel Hill. The plan was to build a "new old neighborhood" reminiscent of the way people lived in the early part of the 20th century. There would be a Main Street (now Market Street) with shops restaurants and small businesses. Homes would have front porches and alleys for the garages in back. The neighborhood would be quite dense with approximately 300 acres with 90 acres of that green space. There would be 1150 housing units consisting of single family homes, condos, town homes and apartments. This type of neo traditional neighborhood had been done successful in several parts of the US including Kentlands in Gathersburg Md.Before Southern Village was developed Chapel Hillians loved their large lots and trees. ... 11/02/2010

2010 Career Expo in Chapel Hill Last night, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with some great Orange County high school and middle school students, during the 2010 Career Expo in Chapel Hill.     The 2010 Career Expo was held by the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City and Orange County Schools' Career and Technical Education Departments. They did a wonderful job converting University Mall in Chapel Hill to "career central".            The center of University Mall was full of tables and displays. Students could chat with web designers, bank branch managers, insurance agents, accountants, solar engineers, registered nurses, and much more at the Orange County 2010 Career Expo.               My topic was "construction".  I gave out a handout with nearly 60 different careers that are involved in... 10/14/2010

So many agents are not feelin' the love right now. “I've talked and talked 'til I'm blue in the face but they won't reduce their price!” “I've told them over and over that there are 60 other homes just like theirs on the market but they WON'T listen!” Maybe, just maybe, it's because they heard you the first time. Remember the first time you met with them? You listened and made notes about all the great upgrades in their home and you nodded and smiled in full appreciation of all the things they feel are truly unique and special about it and you said things like “Buyers will love that.” Then you told them you had done some homework and you pulled out long lists of “comps” for their property and “actives” on the market to help them “price” the property. You told them the “comps” show an av... 10/06/2010

Do you know how many “miles per gallon” your home gets? Does it matter how much it costs to operate your home? Did you consider fuel cost when you bought your car? So why not evaluate your homes “fuel efficiency”? Everybody loves a survey, especially when it ends with a report which compares you to the other folks in your demographic. A new small business is here to help! This Seattle based company (ActiveRain isn't the only cool Seattle company) began as Evoworx and debuted in October '09 as EnergySavvy.com, with an easy to navigate website that allows you to enter a zip code, fill out a short, simple survey and then provides you with estimated savings and suggestions for improving your energy usage. Add to that an easy to search list of rebates and credits available in your state (whi... 09/23/2010

Green Home Builders in Raleigh What does it cost to build a Green Home in the Raleigh/Triangle area? Answer - It depends! That really depends on what is put into a Green Home.  Just because two homes are green built, doesn't mean they're built the same.  Some might have solar panels and full underground rainwater collection systems.  Some might have other features, like WaterSense faucets, high performance windows, and Energy Star applicances.  To get an idea of price per square foot for Green Homes, I've put together a little information on green homes featured in the 2010 Triangle Green Home Tour. Here's a chart of all the homes in the tour that have asking prices.  Some homes were sold before the Green Home Tour or are otherwise unavailable, so not every home in the Tour is included.... 09/05/2010

Green Home Tour Special Presentation: "Rainwater Collection Systems"   If you missed "Your New Raleigh Home and Rainwater Collection Systems" during the Green Home Tour, you can see it here!  The experts at Rainwater Solutions shared information about rainwater collection systems during the Triangle Green Home Tour. Rainwater collection is not required for a green built home, but can be a great way to irrigate while reducing runoff. This video clip is Part 2 of the Rainwater Collection System information session.  See below for parts one and three! Some of the questions Rainwater Solutions answered included:   - Why save rainwater? - How much rainwater can be collected each year from my roof? - What does a rainwater collection system look like? - What different ways are there to use rai... 08/22/2010

What County is Chapel Hill, NC in? You would think this question should have a simple answer! The short answer is that the Town of Chapel Hill is in Orange County, NC. The long answer goes like this...There are areas surrounding the Town of Chapel Hill ,with a Chapel Hill address, in both Chatham, Durham and Orange Counties. There are also areas with a Chapel Hill address that are in the Carrboro municipality. It is really a matter of postal areas determining the address. If the Chapel Hill address is in Chatham County the homes will have low Chatham County Taxes and Chatham County Schools. If the Chapel Hill address is in Durham County the homes will have Durham County taxes and Durham County Schools. If the Chapel Hill address is in Orange County the homes will have Orange County tax... 08/19/2010

Governors Park, Chapel Hill, NC produced by Marianne Howell Wright on WellcomeMat Governors Park is one of the Governors community of neighborhoods in Chatham County with a Chapel Hill address. Chatham County taxes are quite a bit lower than the surrounding areas. With about 240 homes Governors Park is located adjacent to Governors Club and across the road from Governors Village and Governors Lake. The homes are priced somewhere between Governors Village (home prices in the upper 300's), and Governors Lake (prices in the 400,000's and low 500,000's). Governors Park prices have been solidly in the 400,000's for the past few years although in the past couple of months I have seen a couple of sales dip down into the upper 300,000's. Governors Park was developed in the late 1990's and lots ... 08/14/2010

The North Carolina State Board of Education just released the 2010 ABC Reports.  The ABC program measures academic progress at North Carolina's public schools, using standardized end-of-grade tests in reading and math for grades three through eight and end-of-course tests in seven high school subjects.    This year, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools again led the state in most areas of student achievement.  Every district school but one made High Growth, seven schools were named Honor Schools of Excellence, and another three were named schools of Excellence.   Honor Schools of Excellence earn the designation if 90 percent or more of their students are proficient in math and reading.  These schools are:  Glenwood, Morris Grove, Rashkis, Scroggs, Seawell, Phillips and Smith.  The Schools o... 08/11/2010

I know it sounds like a cliché to hear a Realtor say it is a good time to buy; but really, "It is a Good Time to Buy."   10-year mortgage rates are at an all time low.  See the chart below that was done for me by Jim Enright with First Financial Services in Chapel Hill.  Mortgage Rates - A 10 Year History CONFORMING                                                        JUMBO (Over $417 Loan Amt)  30 Yr Fixed    4.0%                                                    30 Yr Fixed   4.875% 15 Yr Fixed    3.75%                                                  15 Yr Fixed   4.25% 7/1 Arm           3.125%                                               7/1 Arm         4.0% 5/1 Arm           2.75%  Mortgage rates were provided by Laura Hall at Corporate Investors in Chapel Hill.  There is no wa... 08/11/2010