April 29, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

Ladies and Gentlemen, Sharpen Your Pencils…Pop Quiz!

1.True Story: In Charlotte, NC, there is a nice, older townhome community located between South Park and Quail Hollow. It has three pools, a lake, tennis courts and a  nice clubhouse. The units are all brick, quite spacious and may need some updating.
But the prices are rising and I for one have always thought they were a
sensible buy. Well, according to a closing attorney I spoke with
yesterday…a man from the North or was it West?
bought one the units and moved in,
carrying his stuff back and forth from his apartment
in his truck.
Do you think he read the documents before signing
on the dotted line?
Do you think there might be anything in those
documents about
trucks and boats?

2. This is my current favorite. In one of the uptown new towers,
a fellow bought a unit that he says he bought for his folks who
since the purchase now have health issues. So he
signed up a property management company to lease the
property for him. A fellow transferring from Texas signed a
year’s lease, got all moved in and was loving it.
Until he was contacted by the concierge who said that unit
was not bought to be a rental. He was told he would have to move.
Do you suppose anyone, owner or property manager
read the documents?

3. Folks who live at the lake or in Ballantyne will
sometimes buy an uptown condo as a second home
to get a better rate than an investor would.
Or at Piedmont Row in SouthPark without ever having seen the unit
…so, would that skew the investor ratio?
Would there be a clause in the documents that
refers to a certain period before an owner can lease or sell?

Yes, the documents are like a book. Maybe a 100
pages and it is dry, dry, dry.
I take that back, I actually like reading them.
Documents are important, folks. It’s your money.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

PS. Answers. Hold your phone upside down to read:
Q1 Trucks are not allowed. He had to sell the truck.
Q2 Jury is out. The tenant did not cause the mess.
Q3.Too many investors will change the complex profile adversely.
Q4.You can always make your offer to purchase contingent on having a real estate attorney read them for you within a certain time frame.

April 28, 2008

Stop The Clock…Time Out Called!

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

It was the best of times, it is the worst of times…you’ve heard that one, right?

Well, it is the best of times because I am doing the things I love: learning, going to real estate and computer classes, visiting new construction sites, reading all the news from the local MLS folks and then pouring over the statistics from the National Association…and writing for my websites, taking pictures, talking to The Pros and polishing  all three websites adding podcasts and blogs and wait till you see what else I have in store for you…and it is the (not really) worst of times…
The market is iffy, people are frightened. Is the media helping? Not really. Charlotte is insulated somewhat and my business comes from the web and referrals from folks and families I have worked with for over 20 years.
But I am calling this time out…to announce to you all in Blog Land and in Podcast-ville that, yes, I am a full-time, working real estate broker. Yes, I market property and have a good time doing it…and am successful at it…and I work with buyers…first time buyers, condo buyers, mc mansion buyers, horse farm buyers, trading up and moving down buyers…I love it. I want your business. I love solving problems and figuring out the pieces to a real estate transaction. So I hope that answers that question I sometimes hear, do I, am I a realtor? a real estate broker? Yep, full time for a long time.

So…let’s play ball!
What’s new?

The industry is analyzing Short Sales, the definition and the execution.

In Charlotte, government leaders are working together with the self-help credit folks to design and implement a lease to purchase program for one of the hardest hit new communities.
On the condo front, it looks like the visionary project of Pete Verna, The Park, has hit a substantially significant snag and is stopped. On the 55 plus screen, a total retirement community was announced by Erikson in Matthews, one of the fast growing areas of Mecklenburg.
This weekend I received calls from investors from others states as well as folks moving here from around the country. And everyone who comes here joins our chorus, We love it!
Time Out is Up…back to work as

The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC. This is Lynnsy Logue.

April 26, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Our Weekly Wrap by the Numbers

This has been a lovely spring…rain by showers and rain by thunderstorms and early morning fog and rain. We measure the rain by inches, last year and this year, the lowest and the highest, the longest and the shortest. We count.

And the other numbers we look at are where we are in the country. As real estate goes we are in the top markets and the only one with a small percentage of appreciation. And yes, the Charlotte market is off but still perking. One problem we have is folks coming from other parts of the country can’t sell what they have to buy here. And what about those coming to Charlotte?

The Mecklenburg Times, our Business and Court Newspaper have a great article about where Charlotte has been and where Charlotte is going according to snapshots from the Census.

Where we have been: 2000 Census
Mecklenburg County Population   695,454     
Charlotte Population    540,824                          
National Rank  26^th                                      
Metro-area Population: 1.33 Million 
National rank: 37th                                                                                               
Rate of growth for metro area in the 90’s:29%                                                                                                   

Where we are going:
Projections for 2010 from recent Census Bureau estimates:
Mecklenburg County Population: 940,614
Charlotte Population 668,900
National rank: Top 20
Metro-area population:1.79 million
National Rank: Top 33

Rate of growth for metro area in the 2000’s: 34%

Tony Crumbley, vice president of research for the Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Office thinks a lot of businesses move here for similar reasons, one of the biggest being their desire to build a workforce based on Charlotte’s pool of available labor. He thinks this market is growth-oriented, young and diverse. Further, he says Charlotte has the second highest migration (nationally) of young, educated people between 25 and 30 with a college degree. He adds, “I’d put us in the category of a flower about to bloom-we’ve seen nothing yet, but we’re just now budding and the growth potential here is phenomenal. We’ve just been discovered.�

And while that is the good news, the downside is residents are frustrated about crime. For the first three months of 2008, violent crime rose 15.3 percent and property crime rose 11.9 percent compared with the same three months in 2007. And residents from neighborhoods across the city are coming together within Neighbors for a Safer Charlotte. For more information about the grassroots organization, go to www.neighborsforasafercharlotte.org.

Thanks for joining us. This is

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady,Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

April 25, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Friday is Q/A Day on Condo CanDo’s schedule.

Here  Goes:

Q1. Do you have other links relating to Radon?
A1. Yes and here they are:
1. http://www.epa.gov/radon
2. http://www.neha-nrpp.org
3. http://www.nrsb.org
4. http://www.radon.biz
5. http://www.radonworld.com
6. http://www.rtca.com
7. http://www.aarst.org
8. http://www.who.int
We received this with the article from the Wall St. Journal on Radon. Links are included in podcast as well on our blog…and of course, there’s Condo CanDo and they are posted there as well under “Blog�.

Q2.How will condo foreclosures affect the complex overall?

      Complex answer in a way. Foreclosures are just a part of the problem.
      Units without owners are not paying HOA dues.
      This might further distance mortgage investors.
Q3. What is the status of the condominium The Park? Stalled or stopped?
       It would appear the project is on hold because of unpaid bills according to a recent report from the Business Journal.
Q4. How do you feel about the announcement of so many apartment projects where there were once condominium projects talked about?
       Apartments are probably cheaper to build than condominiums and I’ll be willing to bet that we will see these apartment projects convert to condominiums once the market turns. That is an interesting financial scenario isn’t it?
Q5. Is Centex going ahead with their development on West Tyvola and

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

April 24, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

I Believe in Asking for Help

As you know by now, I read a lot. I read a lot to learn about the opinions of others, both clear sighted and obtuse. The daily papers, the business journal, the hip-hop weekly, reams of professional newsletters, association magazines, reports from every corner be they mortgage or bank, builder and developer, real estate statistics from around the country and in our own fair city, Charlotte. I read a lot.

This is what I believe.  The housing bubble is a mess. The causes are becoming clearer. It seems it was and is a house of cards. I have learned more about foreclosure that I ever would have thought, about the processes and the lack of processes, about short sales, about mortgage brokers and bankers, about abandoned homes, boarded up houses, communities in trouble. People blaming and being blamed. Recently I am reading about how it is a good time for investors to buy because prices are lower and interest rates are lower. Some of the articles are pretty basic. Some of the How To’s are for sale either in book form, or conference calls or DVD’s. And the part of our culture that turns a mess into an opportunity is beginning to take shape. Some will profit from the mess. Some will be scared for a long time. And some will be somewhat unscathed. But we are all feeling the uncertainty. Even me.

And I think that what I would want is for people to learn to ask for help. And maybe what I want is for the banks and mortgage investors and mortgage service companies and mortgage insurance companies to begin calling their clients and asking how are you doing? Do you think you will need help? We need your help in letting us know before it gets to foreclosure or short sale. We want you to stay in your home and we want you to know we are here to help. I want these professional people to set up a giant call center and begin calling everyone who has a mortgage. Everyone. Every sinle one. And ask those questions. And maybe, just maybe, we can stop the fear and start rebuilding trust.

I believe an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I believe we can all ask for help. And I believe now is the time.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

April 23, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

I read a good bit to keep up with all the changes all the time. I thought this an interesting article to follow the preceding one on foreclosures. Here goes:

Daily Real Estate News  |  April 17, 2008

Why Lenders Balk at Short Sales

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® says 18 percent of home transactions are now short sales, though experts point out that lenders are reluctant to approve such deals.

Research from Clayton Holdings Inc. indicates that lenders lose only 19 percent of the loan amount on average with a short sale, compared to 40 percent on a traditional foreclosure sale. However, short sales require approvals from primary lenders, servicers, investors, and home-equity lenders--a process that can take several months to complete.

Mortgage servicers blame delays on staff shortages resulting from the unexpected rise in problem loans, and Mortgage Bankers Association Senior Director Vicki Vidal points out that pricing also poses a challenge because buyers are making low-ball offers on distressed properties.

While servicers prefer repayment plans and modifications to short sales, the process is getting easier for borrowers who are encountering financial difficulties but continue to make timely payments. Additionally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both are taking steps to speed up the process, with Fannie Mae looking to make acceptable minimum prices known beforehand and Freddie Mac giving servicers more leeway in approving short sales.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon and James Hagerty (04/17/08)

More discussion on foreclosures and the short sale in the offing.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte,NC

April 22, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

This from  Associated Press...Money and Markets: Are Foreclosures a buy?

Speculators fled the real estate market in 2006 when home prices began falling sharply. But a new type of investor is looking to make money in the battered housing market by buying foreclosures-and he or she may be on to something.
The bank that owns a foreclosed home is looking to recover the value of the home’s unpaid mortgage, and quickly. That presents an opportunity to get a property below market value. “You can double your money if you buy and hold for ten years�, says Ralph Roberts, a Detroit area broker and author of “Foreclosure Investing for Dummies. “Interest rates are low and prices are low. Now is a good time to buy.� He says most foreclosure buyers get properties for between 75 percent and 90 percent of market value.

Roberts advises buying a property near your workplace or current home. After looking at several, go with the best deal. “Don’t negotiate with the bank-make an offer and then go dark,� he says. If you buy at auction, the full price is often required at the event, or soon after, so be prepared with the payment.

Buying foreclosures is not without risk. “Just because it’s in foreclosure doesn’t mean it’s a bargain,� Roberts says. Things to look out for: Don’t buy in a market with too many foreclosed homes-no more than a few in any area. Also, regular maintenance likely wasn’t done, so there may be substantial costs beyond the purchase price.

And don’t trust late night TV gurus-there are scams aplenty. “Many are simply very good sales people who know how to push your buttons to extract a tremendous amount of money out of you,� says Alexis McGee of Foreclosures.com. She lists several well-known schemes on her Web site.

“Get a good agent, a good lawyer, good inspector and do your homework,� Roberts says. Then start checking the foreclosure listings.

Tomorrow: Follow Up on Short Sales

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

April 21, 2008

Radon Is The Number One cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and one in fifteen homes has an elevated level prior to treatment according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

My Radar is on Radon…More Follow Up Since The Business Journal’s Report on Latta Pavilion Is Sick…Thanks to one of our followers we received an article from the Wall St. Journal. I include the highlights.
Here is the link to the article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120855599410427459.html?mod=home_we_banner_left

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

The EPA estimates 750,000 to 1 million U.S. Homeowners have taken radon-reduction steps over the years and says those steps, along with techniques in new construction have helped prevent 6,000 deaths.

Despite the risks, radon until recently has ranked pretty low on many homeowner’s action lists. You can’t see, smell or taste it, which makes it-unlike mold- easy to ignore. The federal government recommends but doesn’t mandate remediation for homes with elevated levels. But as homeowners and builders rush to make dwellings healthier on all fronts-from non-toxic paints and organic lawns to formaldehyde-free kitchen cabinets-radon is emerging as a hot button in both new construction and resales.
EPA spokeswoman says it has taken time to build public awareness just as it did with smoking.

The majority of states have some form of disclosure law requiring the home seller to inform the buyer about property defects, such as radon-but only if the seller knows about them. Many experts believe this discourages testing and say a better model is an Illinois law that took effect this year. It requires sellers to provide information about radon risk, whether the home has been tested or not.

Can’t see it, smell it, taste it…Radon.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Saturday April 19, 2008

Green, green, my world is Green!

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

And what a week that was/ er…ah…still is. We started by learning about the creative financial plan Wachovia put in place for the development of The Charlotte Law School. It is a Federal program that tries to spur development in low income areas. The program is named New Markets Tax Credit program and is Wachovia’s first. You may recall Monday when we reported this that the 100,000 square foot school of law is the first building in a 250M redevelopment of Radiator Specialty’s 40 acre site as a multi-use project named Bryant Park.

Folks, this is a big deal because although the Westside is already perking, this sets the course for major change as Westside goes from warehouses and commercial to multi-use with condos and townhomes. That’s one.
Next was the announcement of Center City Green and Spectrum Properties superb plan for parking, condos, open air fresh air market, organic fare…and built under the LEED banner. Green building practices are great in our book.
The Business Journal published their first Green Book…how fabulous is that?
Charlotte Clean and Green is happening as we speak.
Charlotte was named as one of the top ten cities for sellers! Hurrah!
And I think I finally have the technical pieces together to try our first telephone interview and put it on our podcast!

All that…and I planted 7 pink dogwoods!

All in all, another beautiful week in Charlotte, The Queen City.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Friday, April 18, 2008

PMI…Paying Extra…The Short Sale

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

There are many things to like about being an active real estate broker on a full-time basis.
There are many things to love. Like learning. Learning constantly about the Charlotte market and a business that is as changing as the river. Did you know that Real Estate professionals are required to attend two classes to keep their license in good standing?
I have been taking quite a few because they give me an opportunity to discover options.
From these classes, I create our Q/A for this day.

So let’s get started on our Question and Answer session:

Question: For years I have heard it is a wise move to pay one extra payment a year at least and that will save you lots in interest.
Answer: I learned this today from Jim Garrison who is joining The Real Estate Lady.com. Here goes. For years I have paid lots more on principle. No more. I’ll sock that extra money into a savings account because it will earn more for me and help me nurture that path to wealth. We’ll hear more from Jim about this when he comes aboard.
Question: If you have missed several payments and know you can’t bail out and foreclosure is imminent, can you start taking the necessary steps to a Short Sale even before you engage a real estate broker?
Answer: Yes. It’s the rule of being pro-active and starting the process yourself. Taking charge can help reduce the stress and understanding the process is knowledge building.
Question: If you make purchases based on 90 days same as cash or a year same as cash and you pay it off early or on time, is that great for your credit score?
Answer: No. Those terms are through a finance company. Not well regarded by the score keepers.
Question: By paying down the rate with points you might be throwing good money down the drain?
Answer: Not necessarily. Depending how your mortgage is structured, you may save a good bit and build wealth as well. Listen for Jim Garrison’s take.
Question:
Is there such a mortgage that would accommodate a major renovation?
Answer: Yes and Jim will tell us how.
Question: Who is Jim Garrison?
Answer: The latest team member on TheRealEstateLady.com and he’s fabulous.

Tomorrow we do the week’s wrap and what a great week it has been. Have a good one and thanks for joining us.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

April 17, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

I spoke of this project, Center City Green, yesterday and directed you to the full story on our website :www.CondoCanDo.com...It is such a fabulous project because it incorporates at the moment Green Building Practices, Organic Sustenance and a creative use of form and function. I am applauding Spectrum Properties. So it is a first for me to offer such applause. And I do like to give credit where credit is due. Here is the whole story...and the details were posted yesterday.
Enjoy!
The 12-story Center City Green – across from Time Warner Cable Arena – will include 1,400 parking spaces, 88 condos (far left) above a farmers’ market, and a restaurant (far right).

Uptown Charlotte's latest Next Big Thing started with a need for parking spaces, but it will be much more -- possibly even a year-round green market.
Spectrum Properties plans to develop Center City Green, a 12-story, 1,400-space deck to include condos, a restaurant and a farmers' market across

April 16, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady with Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Hallelujah! Uptown Green Market! Condos, Organic Food!


THE DETAILS OF CENTER CITY GREEN

• Size: 12-story parking deck to include condos, a restaurant and a green market.

• Location: 2-acre site bounded by Fifth, Sixth and North Brevard streets and the light-rail line.

• The condos: 88 units, 560 to 960 square feet, priced from the $180,000s to the $280,000s. Green features to include eco-friendly finishes such as cork, recycled glass, bamboo, compact fluorescent lighting, and energy-saver appliances.

• The restaurant: Developers are aiming for a health-conscious eatery featuring wholesome dining.

• The green market: Developers are working with Charlotte Center City Partners on a year-round market featuring fresh vegetables, fish, meats and dairy products -- all sold by local vendors.

• Parking: Condos with balconies would be constructed beside a 1,400-space deck. Glass elevator towers and a helix -shaped parking ramp add artistic elements.

• Design: Developers will seek LEED silver certification and include such green features as bicycle storage, showers and changing rooms.

• Development team: Spectrum Properties, developer; LS3P Associates Ltd., architect; BE&K Construction, general contractor; Bank of America, lender.

• Timetable: Groundbreaking by late June; completion by fourth quarter of 2009.

• Information:www.centercitygreen.com.

DOUBLE-DUTY DECKS

Developers are trying to improve the uptown streetscape by hiding or disguising parking decks. Here are some examples:

• 

This garage and several of its contemporaries helped changed the public's perception of uptown as a giant office park and made it more attractive for the residential resurgence under way in the center city today.

• Wachovia created The Green, a lively, 1.5-acre park atop an 860-space parking garage on

• Bank of America's Gateway Village on

• At other uptown projects constructed since the city adopted screening rules in the 1990s, parking garages such as the one at the 46-story Hearst Tower on

• Wachovia's First Street Campus under construction at Tryon and Stonewall streets conceals about 2,200 parking spaces beneath a 48-story office tower.

Doug Smith: Charlotte Observer

April 15, 2008

Here we go again, more about Condo documents…

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

“Use restrictions� are just what they say they are-restrictions on what the condo may be used for. The following restrictions were taken from an actual document. Children are defined as those twelve years and under. Permanent residents are defined as those occupying a unit 60 days or more. Interpretation: You can have children under twelve if you are vacationing 60 days or less.
Imagine your buyer moving in and habitually parking in the nearest space to the elevator. Six months go by. All of a sudden the new buyer receives a notice that in accordance with the condominium documents an assigned space has been reserved. The only problem is the assigned space is across the parking lot, next to the swimming pool!

Perhaps parking is unassigned. Usually it is assigned. Advantages of unassigned parking are less management headaches especially if parking is tight. Here is a clause guaranteed to start a war: “but one parking space per unit and one storage space per unit may be later assigned from time to time by the board of directors of the association.�

Did you tell your buyer parking was unassigned? You did? Good. Did you tell your buyer he might be assigned a permanent space at the discretion of the board? You didn’t? Why not? Because you didn’t know it was in the documents. I’m sure you get the point. The documents are important. And they are not all the same.
Next week on Regulation Tuesday, I will discuss the Typical Use Restrictions and publish a summary.

Thanks for joining us. Remember…read the fine print. All of it.



Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

April 14, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Catching up with Bryant Park

This is the site that was an industrial brownfield that needed to be reclaimed and the neighborhood qualified as low income and in need of revitalization.

Now The Charlotte School of Law is becoming visible against the uptown skyline. Motorists can see the four story building marching towards a completion date of August. What is not visible is the financial story. This building is the first Charlotte project Wachovia has financed under the federal New Markets Tax Credit Program. Officials say the program goes beyond affordable housing construction to create jobs and encourage revitalization with new stores, restaurants, day care centers and jobs.

The 100,000 square foot school of law is the first building in a 250 million redevelopment of Radiator Specialty’s 40 acre site as a multi-use project named Bryant Park. This is just the first phase of a broader plan that could have great impact on the area-in transit orientation, green orientation, and mixed-income housing.

Bryant Park is on the Westside…and Westside is beginning to shape itself into becoming a significant part of Charlotte. Just as North End has sparked growth just north of the city.
Charlotte is still a small southern town in so many ways…we have room to grow…to the west, to the north and to the east. I have a real estate friend who is quick to say if you miss a tower or two uptown, hang on…we have areas of the inner city that are just beginning to cook. The best, I believe, is yet to come.

Feature articles about Bryant Park and North End are on our website www.condocando.com under “Condo News�. You just bet there are both condos and townhomes in each new project!

Thanks for joining us.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

April 11, 2008

Friday: Time for Condo Q and A…

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

Legal descriptions define the property. When in doubt, even from MLS data, look in  Mecklenburg Polaris for the Unit File number. Unit File is often noted as a U/F. That means condominium. Condominium defines space. Does a condominium require a survey? A townhouse does and it, too, is attached housing. Townhouses come with a footprint and townhouses can be surveyed because a line can be dropped between units. The owner owns the structure and the land beneath it, ergo “footprintâ€?.
Then there are co-operatives, a co-op. We have two such co-ops in Charlotte. One is The Kimberlee off

April 10, 2008
Charlotte Condominiums: A First and Favorite

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC
        
Kathryn Krause Smetana

Built the first condominium in Charlotte in 1970. With great care she built Gaynor Arms in Randolph Park at Cotswold. This is her story.

She was born September 15, 1910 in Philadelphia, Pa. Her parents were Michael and Catherine Krause.

She went to school in Philadelphia until she was fourteen years old. Then she went to work with Apex Hosiery Company in Philadelphia. She went to Continuation School to complete her high school education while she worked. At sixteen years of age she left Philadelphia and came south. She worked several years in the Greensboro area and became quite proficient in all of the production jobs associated with the manufacturing of women’s hosiery. Soon she became an instructor, and it was not long before she was quite in demand to teach her skills. Whenever a new mill opened, Kathryn was hired to train the women in production. And her jobs took her to the Concord area and to Gastonia. As soon as the manufacturing plant was up and running smoothly, she would go to another start-up mill.

In the late thirties, Otto Smetana opened a new mill in Monroe, NC and hired Kathryn to train the staff in production. This time she stayed and married Otto.

After World War II the hosiery business changed drastically. The stocking that had the seam up the back was called full fashion. Rather than convert the plant to make hosiery as it is today, Otto Smetana sold the mill and retired from the hosiery business. He and Kathryn traveled extensively throughout the USA.

Otto and Kathryn built a bowling alley, Park Lanes, near Park Road Shopping Center. They later sold it, but Kathryn and her brother in law ran The Wash Bowl Laundry in the basement of the bowling alley. Otto and Kathryn lived in a home on

Kathryn got the building bug and decided to build a condo. The plans and specs were started in the late sixties and Gaynor Arms was started in 1970. Kathryn gave thought to every detail including security, storage, elevator, central laundry, clubroom and covered parking.

After completing Gaynor Arms, she moved to Florida and built four houses there. She stayed on in Florida for seventeen years, but in 1986, returned to her condo at Gaynor Arms.

Kathryn passed away January 23, 1998.

A long and cherished friend of Kathryn’s, Al Busedu, was kind to write this story in memory of his friend.

Thanks, Al…another Angel!

April 9, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte NC

On Wednesdays we take a trip Around the Town…

While in the last several years, much of the hoopla has been on the towers Uptown. For sure, it is still exciting for those who have been here a long while. But all the while the focus was on the Center city, developers were eyeing the in-town areas that were already promising by virtue of the larger homesites, the proximity to shopping and Uptown. Those areas are without looking : Myers Park, Eastover, Elizabeth, Dilworth, Plaza Midwood, North Davidson, and Cotswold.  Five of these are historic and if you would like to see their maps as well as pictures, here is a link to our main site: www.AtHomeCharlotte.com. AtHome was our first website and it was followed by TheRealEstateLady.com and then, that high flyer, CondoCanDo.com. Each of my sites is dedicated to the education and empowerment of the consumer or the newcomer. So you won’t see my listings and the cherry picked listings from other brokers, I tell you where to go to get all the listings! How fun is that?

May I have the envelope, please? Here are four newcomers: Parkside in Dilworth, off Waverly with a footbridge to Latta Park. 792,000 -1.15 million with square footage from 2800 to 3575.
Element at Craig in Cotswold. Contemporary, 2300 to 3000 square feet, 400,000 to upper 500,000. This is believe it or not on the fringe of high density with condos, apartments as well as a nursing home. Look for the area to change significantly.
NoDa is touting Steel Gardens. Lofts, 1075 to 1098 prices from 190,000 to 200,000.
And one of our favorite builders, Brian Speas, presents The Cherokee in Eastover. Brian has built such handsome communities as

More details on each project is featured in the “Condo News� section on www.CondoCanDo.com.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte NC

April 8, 2008

It’s Tuesday and once again, Condominium Documents…Part Two-

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® from Charlotte NC

After a buyer finishes with the statement, “I don’t want to cut the grass�…please weigh in on the time and effort it takes to be a good and an active member/resident of a condominium community.

Last Tuesday, I ended with:
®Every Tuesday, our podcast and blog will talk about some of the fine points. On our website www.CondoCanDo.com we will be publishing Typical Condo docs for your amusement, amazement and need to read lists.

Continuing:

The way to find out if any changes have occurred in the documents is to ask the President of the Condominium Association. Better yet, read them yourself. And it is a wise practice whether new or resale to make sure the purchaser receives a copy of the condominium documents. For instance, when purchasing a condominium years ago at the then brand new 400 N. Church, I read where the parking spaces were leased. Or in the case of The Park still under construction, a purchaser might be interested to know who owns the  first level. Or with a complex in Ballantyne long perceived to be completed, another section is being built, this time commercial instead of continuing the residential plan.

Many state laws have a “cooling off� period for condominium buyers, which gives them time to take the documents to their attorney for review. Note: This is especially true for the sale of new units. This is not necessarily the case with resales. But reading and approving the documents by a certain time could be a contingency.

South Carolina is ahead of us in that their law requires that the closing attorney must certify that he/she has read the condominium documents.

Knowledge creates a positive attitude. A lack of knowledge creates a negative attitude.

Next  Tuesday: The Community Association Institute

April 7, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

What’s new is not so new as we observe the changing condo market in our Queen City.The developers of a 75 unit condo project in South End have stopped sales and will build it as apartments instead. They say Chelsea South End was designed with multiple strategies. They are returning deposits and releasing buyers from their contracts.
Two thoughts. Complexes built as apartments can convert to condos. Buyers getting their deposit back and contracts become null and void. Think about that when you write a contract. What out do you the buyer have really? Condos that started out as apartments:
The Poplar in Fourth Ward an classy at that, Heathstead at SouthPark went from condos to apartments to condos, Churchill Downs started as apartments and are now condos, Quail Hill, Selwyn Village, Franciscan Terrace, Myrtle Condominiums, Cotswold Homes…so it happens. In our energetic market, I often wonder about the cost of apartment versus condo and then if there is a substantial savings starting out and then converting.  Sometimes it is a puzzle.
And there is an announcement of a condo project in Dilworth. Dilworth has been in the news for its stance on rezoning and its struggle to maintain its charm and historic stature. Of course, density rears its head everywhere so Dilworth has not escaped. Even though the Neighborhood Association fought long and hard.  I think it is important to note that the project was approved by City Council over the objections from the Dilworth Community Development Association which challenged the density and plans to demolish three structures. So the new units will be between 500 and mid 700 square feet priced in the range of 140,000 to 220,000. Figure that out a sq ft folks.

And lastly, the best is yet to come as we really do head for the greening of Charlotte. To date we have lagged behind the likes of Seattle and Portland. Within five years, buildings that aren’t constructed to environmental sustainability standards will have difficulty finding investors  so predict the experts. So as â€?Greenâ€? is on the horizon, which is exciting, I think it is also important to be educated on what products truly fit and are also
good building products. Quality and sustainability. Remember an earlier podcast expressing a concern for quality building products as well as quality construction.
And another recent one reminding you that as a buyer, you are in the driver’s seat.


Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

April 5, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo Charlotte NC

Charlotte didn't play speculation game like the rest of the nation did

New statistics reveal the big difference

ALLEN NORWOOD Charlotte Observer

You've read that speculators didn't drive up home prices in Charlotte as they did in many of the former hot markets now struggling.

Here are recent numbers that provide specifics:

Charlotte consultant Chuck Graham, on the Web site introduced by the city's builders, says investors bought 14 percent of homes sold here in 2006.

The National Association of Realtors says investors bought 22 percent of homes sold across the country in 2006.

Doesn't seem like a huge difference -- until you consider that's half again as much buying and flipping of houses.

The Realtors last week released their annual survey of vacation and investment home buying. Because it's a survey, not a study of buying data, information for specific markets like Charlotte is skimpy.

"Second home owners are not very good at responding to surveys," said Realtors spokesman Walter Malony. "We have to do a lot to get usable samples."

But here are interesting tidbits:

• Nationally, investors bought 21 percent of homes last year. That doesn't seem like a big drop either -- until you realize that's a share of a down market. Total sales of investment homes fell 18 percent from 2006 to 2007.

• The typical investment home cost $150,000 last year.

• Most investment homes -- 61 percent -- were single family; 20 percent were condos and 11 percent were townhouses.

• Seventy-one percent were existing homes.

• Thirty-nine percent were in the suburbs, and 20 percent were in urban areas. The rest were in small towns or rural or resort areas.

• The median income of investment home buyers last year was $92,900.

 All this to say Charlotte did have flipping, did have investors, speculators and as some are prone to say, criminals, but not as many as the rest of the nation. We were more conservative as we are want to be. Thank Heavens. Our market appreciated 1.8.

Lynnsy Logue The REal Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte NC

April 3, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte ,NC

After twenty years as a real estate broker and specializing in condominiums, you know I have favorites. Many I have walked through wearing a hard hat during construction, many I have watched through conversion, many I have seen go through transformation from ragged, rental property to shining examples of what home owners can do if they pull together. And when I met Condo CanDo® many of the streets where condo communities were built were not on the maps.
It was before the Internet, of course, before we were as interconnected as we are now with all of our search tools. I bought a whole set of the large, cumbersome, bound tax map books. There were three or four of the big books. I went through every single page looking for the clusters of buidings, the townhouses, the duplexes and the areas where I thought there were fourplexes. And then I took a trip down to The Register of Deeds and looked up every one on the microfish file. And I read about the details of every one on a bigger viewer. The files were like negatives and the print was small and really hard to read. I loved every minute of the search.
And once I wrote down the addresses and the details of each complex, I set about to visit every single one. It was the only way you could tell about such things as heating source, conversions, structure, amenities and such.
Over the years I hve photographed almost all of them on more than one occasion. When I first started working with the web, I spent days and days taking all the condo pictures. It was a little more labor intensive. There were not digital cameras that I could afford. I shot thousands of pictures, kept Wolf Camera's photo lab busy and scanned them all in to my database. Even all the ones at Lake Norman and Lake Wylie.
Charlotte has changed a lot. Condos seem to be more acceptable. There sure are many new ones, fancy ones, lofts and warehouses, towers and more towers. And the business of condominiums has gotten more energetic. So I keep reading about every aspect particularly the pitfalls, especially the surprises. And I am cautious these days about what I see and what I hear.
I know the history of Condominiums in Charlotte. The future of this home-choice is in the hands of the buyers, the owner occupants more than the investors. So much of what I write about is for you. The folks who want to live in a condo for reasons that are as individual as they are themselves. You drive the market. You make the market.
So I will write about my favorites and why they are my favorites. I will write about unique buildings and plain complexes and problems and pitfalls...and yes, even the good stuff.
And this will be a weekly feature on our blog as well as on our podcast. We hope you'll join us. Condo CanDo® and I have our digital camera and camcorder and we are off to have some fun.

Lynnsy Logue, The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® Charlotte NC

April 2, 2008

Lynnsy Logue, The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® Charlotte NC

Uptown Charlotte, Center City, Lofts and Condos and Creativity…

Our market is pretty energetic. There’s definitely buying and selling going on in our fair city…and where there is more inventory than the builders and developers would like, there are incentives. I like it when someone colors outside the lines and this idea seems unique and forward moving.
As reported by Doug Smith of The Charlotte Observer:

A South End developer has devised an unusual way to lure buyers to his live-work condos: invest money in their businesses.

"People are capital starved. Money is as tight as it has ever been," said MECA Properties President Tony Pressley. "What better way to help?"

The incentive is being offered at The Abbott Condominiums, whose 16 units are devoted to entrepreneurs seeking to live and work in the same building.

Qualified condo buyers will be eligible for a one-time investment of up to $25,000 in their business ventures.

There're strings, right?

Every potential buyer must submit a complete business plan and professional credentials and be financially qualified to purchase, Pressley said.

After that?

"I base my decisions more on gut, commitment and track record than credit and collateral," he said. "I'm a 28-year veteran of running my own business."

The exact form of the investment, depending on the needs of the buyer, could vary from repayable debt to an ownership stake in the business, he said.

Commercial and residential developers typically offer incentives such as interior upgrades, flat-screen TVs or rent concessions to fill their buildings.

Pressley, who helped pioneer revitalization in South End, said he came up with this unusual idea himself as a way of "keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive" and paying forward his success.

But he concedes the offer is more than an act of kindness. "I have product. I want to move it sooner rather than later," he said. "I'll do whatever I need to do to generate interest."

Tomorrow, we start our Spotlight Feature…catch Condo CanDo and one of her favorites.

April 1, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Condominium Documents…Important.Important. Important.

These are the documents you read and know well. Not the documents you read some night when you can’t go to sleep. How important are they? Here’s the quiz:

Can you park your boat and trailer overnight?

Does the association draw interest on its reserve account?
What are the restrictions on children?
Are pets allowed? How many and is there a weight limit?
May I replace my pet if he/she dies?
Or these scenarios:

The Greens are avid gardeners. They find a lovely condo with an enclosed patio perfect for a small garden. After moving in they discover the by-laws strictly limit the type of plants that can be grown because of allergy problems of many of their neighbors. Or
The Smiths buy into a co-op building and they plan to spend the summer with their grandchildren in Florida and sublet their unit while they are gone. The by-laws do not permit this arrangement.
In addition to these restrictions, the by-laws may prevent owners from making unauthorized alterations, and from using units for business purposes.

Every Tuesday, our podcast and blog will talk about some of the fine points. On our website www.CondoCanDo we will be publishing Typical Condo docs for your amusement, amazement and need to read lists.

Check in to the website. We have a monthly calendar noting daily subjects and features. Our effort to have a more cohesive schedule. If you have suggestions, questions, please let us hear from you.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

March 31, 2008

Lynnsy Logue, The Real Estate Lady and CondoCanDo in Charlotte, NC

Home Owner’s Questionnaire…Here Goes!

Quite often when a new client starts talking about a condo they say, “I don’t want to cut the grass�. And that’s fine as long as they don’t cut out knowing all they can about a condominium complex.
I asked a friend at Countrywide for their Home Owner’s Questionnaire, the one they send to the Home Owner’s Association and/or Management Company. I think it is great information and the buyer needs to ask these questions as well. I have posted the whole form on our website at www.CondoCanDo.com.

This is a little tricky to do in a podcast form, so what I am going to do is read some of the more interesting questions. The ones that I have seen sneak up on people.

So I will speak to these most interesting questions.  I may make some comments as I go along, so this is a somewhat different podcast. But, hey, it’s a condominium!

Here goes:

Questions and more questions...and I am just hitting the high spots!!!


Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and CondoCanDo in Charlotte, NC