I just typed this long introduction and explaination of my background, business philosophy, competitive advantage, visions, etc. and was asking for direction on good blogs to subscribe to.  It was long and I hit the wrong button and it disappeared. Actually I went to add a neighborhood, which I probably didn't need to do.  I was saying that I was very passionate about my business and being industry leading.  I listed the trainers who had influenced my career, talked about how I was a little nerdy and obsesive about learning, knowing, and becoming, but cool at the same time.  I'm bummed out and tired because it took a long time to write.  What are some of your favorite blogs that are related to the real estate industry and self improvement type stuff?  Maybe I didn;t need to say so much ... 08/12/2008

The Week in Review ......your Wilmington Connection August 9, 2008 Summertime in the port city is a wonderful time. So many things to do, and with the beach here you feel like you are on vacation all year long. Thinking of relocating? Contact me and I can get you a relocation package out in the mail. As you can see Wilmington is a growing city with house prices holding pretty steady now.  Wilmington's home equity ranks high in 'Forbes' list  If the local housing market has got you down, take some heart from another of Forbes' lists of superlatives and negatives. Wilmington ranks No. 20 in the magazine's list of cities with the most home equity. Home equity as a percent of home value was 61 percent in Wilmington, or $117,470, Forbes said, down from 64 percent in 2007. The drop in year-ov... 08/10/2008

If you love good ole Southern cookin' with all the fixins' like Grandma made, you will surely love the pickins at Casey's Buffet Barbecue & Home Cookin' on Oleander Drive Wilmington NC. Only open 3 years, Casey's has developed quite a following and has been voted the "Best Buffet" and "Best Soul Food" in 2 categories by Encore Magazine. The casual Buffet Style Restaurant is decorated with a "Down Home Country" feeling that will make you feel cozy and comfy. Adding to the down home charm and home again feeling is Casey's  owner, and Hostess extraodinaire, Gena Casey, who will most likely greet you when you enter, unless she is strolling about getting caught up with the regulars, or getting to know the newcomers. Gena's Husband Larry will be manning the kitchen, and keeping watch on the ... 08/07/2008

Real Estate by the news media is viewed as a national market but in fact all Real Estate is local. The Cape Fear Region, including Wilmington NC, has been affected by the slowing in the Credit Markets but the impact has been less drastic than many in the nation. The Forbes list of 20 cities with high Home Equity ranks Wilmington NC among them. (see article below.) Wilmington's Home Equity ranks High in 'Forbes' list   Published: Wednesday, August 6, 2008   If the local housing market has got you down, take some heart from another of Forbes' lists of superlatives and negatives. Wilmington ranks No. 20 in the magazine's list of cities with the most home equity. Home equity as a percent of home value was 61 percent in Wilmington, or $117,470, Forbes said, down from 64 percent in 2007. The ... 08/07/2008

The Week in Review .......you Wilmington Connection August 2, 2008 Whew! it's hot here in Wilmington.....cooling off at the beach or on the boat is the answer. The Real estate market has seen quite a bit of activity considering the media claims we are in such a "Glum state" although as I have said before the real estate market varies nationaly as real estate is local. Drop me a line if you want to talk about what has been going on here. Currently there are 2885 homes on the market here in Wilmington and the Greater Wilmington area, in the last six months 1523 have sold and homes are averaging 95% list to sell price. How long it takes to sell your home depends primarily on price, marketing ability of your Realtor and of couse how many homes are on the market in that price range. Let me k... 08/05/2008

If you have never been to the coast of North Carolina, you must put it on your 'Bucket List'.  The Real Estate market is thriving and I have the perfect mortgage - whether you are a first time home buyer, trading up, downsizing, second home (best place in the world to have a beach house) or you are in the military and want to take advantage of your VA benefits - I am here to assist you.       08/05/2008

Why Wilmington NC? Planning: A city with an active vision for the citizen’s future… A community thrives when a concerted effort towards its growth and its embellishment are planned and thoughtfully implemented. The Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization functions as the hub for the beautification and improvement of transportation issues in our community. As an example the Monday edition of the Star-News had a story on how one of Wilmington’s main corridors is being re-designed for improvements and showed Preliminary design options for North Third Street - are available at www.wmpo.org/projects.html. (Full story here...) Visit this WMPO website (http://www.wmpo.org/) and learn about the planned growth of our community – one more reason why living in the Cape Fear and sp... 07/29/2008

Forbes Magazine just recently listed the "America's Top Recession Proof Cites" and North Carolina's Raleigh at number 5, and Charlotte at number 9 made the list! Texas had 4 top cities....San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth!  Other cities that are said to have recession proof cities were San Jose California, Salt Lake City Utah, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, and Seattle Washington.  In a nutshell,  recession proof means these areas are, or will have, a great economy, low unemployment, affordable housing, top education and health services, along with a host of other services and opportunities that measures a cities potential for growth and WEALTH.  Without alienating Seattle these cities were all in warmer climates (I guess if it ever stops raining, Seattle could be considered ... 07/26/2008

www.CoastalCommunities-NC.com BradNorris.OIB@GMail.com Brad Norris | Blue Sky Properties of NC | (910) 988-4888 421 Windchime Drive, Wilmington, NC Has private backdrop off of the protected wetlands of Barnard Creek! 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $320,730 Year Built 2008 Sq Footage 2,138 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .25 acres HOA/Maint $80 per month DESCRIPTION Phillips B Open plan. This 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath new all brick patio home is bright, open and best of all has a private backdrop off the protected wetlands of Barnards Creek. Home features such details as a bonus room over (2) car garage, natural gas fireplace, hardwood flooring in all living areas, plus ceramic tile in baths and utility/laundry room. The kitchen has granite c... 07/25/2008

www.CoastalCommunities-NC.com BradNorris.OIB@GMail.com Brad Norris | Blue Sky Properties of NC | (910) 988-4888 345 Windchime Drive, Wilmington, NC Natural Gas Community. Backs up to protected wetlands! 4BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $326,990 Year Built 2007 Sq Footage 2,269 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .26 acres HOA/Maint $80 per month DESCRIPTION Great value in a great community. This all brick patio home is situated on a private setting backing up to protected wetlands. Home includes a bright sunroom, elegant arched doorways, lots of hardwood flooring and ceramic tile in baths and laundry room. Large kitchen with maple cabinets and a finished room over the garage. Natural gas community. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEAT... 07/25/2008

www. CoastalCommunities-NC.com BradNorris.OIB@Gmail.com Brad Norris | Blue Sky Properties of NC | (910) 988-4888 4301 Densiflorum Court, Wilmington, NC All Brick Home... Natural Gas Community! 4BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $322,590 Year Built 2007 Sq Footage 2,269 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 11,545 sqft HOA/Maint $80 per month DESCRIPTION This new all brick patio home is loaded with extra details and is situated on a great corner lot in a cul-de-sac. Home features a spacious sun room with french door entry, hardwood flooring in all living areas, ceramic in baths and laundry and a roomy kitchen with granite countertops. Natural gas community. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Central A/C Central heat Fireplace High/Va... 07/25/2008

www.CoastalCommunities-NC.com BradNorris.OIB@Gmail.com Brad Norris | Blue Sky Properties of NC | (910) 988-4888 425 Windchime Drive, Wilmington, NC Open floor plan - Maintenance Free - Natural Gas Community 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $354,540 Year Built 2008 Sq Footage 2,591 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 12,843 sqft HOA/Maint $80 per month DESCRIPTION You will fall in love with this Open Townes floorplan as soon as you walk in the front door. This beautiful home comes with crown molding, cherry cabinets, SS appliances, hardwood floors throughout the living area, wainscoating in the dining room, recessed lighting and much more! What you'll love the most though, is never having to do lawn maintenance! If you're looking for a beau... 07/25/2008

Brad Norris | Blue Sky Properties of NC | (910) 988-4888 425 Windchime Drive, Wilmington, NC Open floor plan - Maintenance Free - Natural Gas Community 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $354,540 Year Built 2008 Sq Footage 2,591 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 12,843 sqft HOA/Maint $80 per month DESCRIPTION You will fall in love with this Open Townes floorplan as soon as you walk in the front door. This beautiful home comes with crown molding, cherry cabinets, SS appliances, hardwood floors throughout the living area, wainscoating in the dining room, recessed lighting and much more! What you'll love the most though, is never having to do lawn maintenance! If you're looking for a beautiful view, you will never have to worry about looking... 07/19/2008

The Week in Review .....your Wilmington Connection July 19, 2008   The Well needed rain gave Wilmington a cool off, but not in the real estate market, with many homes under contract. Once under contract we all wait with abaited breath that the loans will be approved. Mortgage mayhem is what I call it. But if you need a good lender that will get the deal done for you let me know I have a couple under my belt I would definately reccomend. Fannie & Freddie will they be Rescued Washington, D.C. - Following a weekend of negotiations among officials, the U.S. government plans to extend several financial lifelines--but not a bailout--to the beleaguered mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and announced Sunday that it will allow the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend money to Fannie and Freddie sho... 07/19/2008

The Week in Review ....your Wilmington Connection July 12, 2008 In the Wilmington real esate market we have 2934 homes on the market. Currently 16% of those are under contract. House prices are still holding steady and homes have been closing on average 95% of there list price. There still is hope in the air if you are currently selling your home. If youj are thinking about it, then let me tell you about my marketing plan that will get you home sold. Contact me. Homeowners Say River Road project shaking houses For Jon Deputy, it's bad enough that a developer is moving River Road within a stone's throw of his neighborhood. The developer, California-based Newland Communities, is operating a sand mine on its property. While Newland has the appropriate mining permit and county officials hav... 07/12/2008

It’s true, even though the market continues to stabilize, for some odd reason Wilmington, NC real estate waterfront homes are still selling, and still for sale at great prices. Many feel the reason is the area, for example the cost of living is still reasonable, the location is accessible to a major airport, shopping, over 50 golf courses, and so on. Also, CNN recommends Wilmington, NC as a place to invest for the future. Some people are taking advantage of extremely good prices on homes and waterfront communities in North Carolina such as one I have spoken about before. I would highly recommend you search the Wilmington, NC MLS for up to date homes for sale. For additional details on new home communities in Wilmington, visit our "new homes in Wilmington, NC" Squidoo lens. 07/02/2008

The other day I was reviewing some videos I made for a couple of my real estate clients, and noticed a new feature on YouTube that allows you to add annotations to your videos. I have a client that offers golf course homes, golf communities, and real estate that had a professionally made video, however the video was made without optimization OR social media in mind! I have been racking my brain as to how to add the websites name to the video to no avail. Now however, you can add names or whatever you want to the video. Take a look at this video, and notice the banner at the top, and if you hover over the video, you can see additional text I placed in there as a call to action. UPDATE!!! For some reason the annotations only appear on the YouTube site, so just start the video, then click ... 06/30/2008

The Week in Review .....your Wilmingotn Connection June 28th 2008 Wilmington' real estate market has heated up some with 530 homes sitting under contract this week. Buyers are taking advantage of the reduced home prices....smart move. In the past 6 months there were 1377 homes sold. If you are looking to relocate click here and let me know what I can do to make this happen. Preservation Effort Nets three more Buildings The Historic Wilmington Foundation has been on a roll saving threatened properties in the heart of Old Wilmington. George Edwards, the executive director, announced this week that the foundation has saved several historic buildings from demolition, including one of the city's many modest historic homes, which as a category made it onto this year's list of threatened histo... 06/29/2008

The Week in Review .....your Wilmington Connection June 28th 2008 Wilmington' real estate market has heated up some with 530 homes sitting under contract this week. Buyers are taking advantage of the reduced home prices....smart move. In the past 6 months there were 1377 homes sold. If you are looking to relocate click here and let me know what I can do to make this happen. Preservation Effort Nets three more Buildings The Historic Wilmington Foundation has been on a roll saving threatened properties in the heart of Old Wilmington. George Edwards, the executive director, announced this week that the foundation has saved several historic buildings from demolition, including one of the city's many modest historic homes, which as a category made it onto this year's list of threatened histo... 06/29/2008

    The one million dollar question.  Should you talk to a realtor first and find out what houses you could buy or should you speak to a loan officer first to get your financing options in place?  Speak to a loan officer first.  Time again, I get consumers coming to me after they found a house and need to settle on it prior to being qualified for a mortgage.  Don't you want to know what your payment is?  What it might cost you at settlement?  Never assume.....   Just a FYI :  FHA loans might even be your easier way into a home nowadays. I still have some loans officers that tell me differently or the consumer differently.  There are now even penalties if you have a credit score below 720. Yes, 720.  If your lender is not FHA approved, how do you know that you are getting the nest possib... 06/23/2008