As dire as it is, the housing slump is not as big a fac-

tor for the economy as investors think. True, the

downturn has been unprecedented, leading to foreclo-

sures, seizures in the credit markets, erosion of house-

hold wealth, record low consumer confidence, and, until

recently, stock market declines. But residential con-

struction contributed just 3.8 percent to first-quarter

a high of 70.8 percent of GDP in the first quarter of

2008, based on advance numbers. Exports, another

rising category, added 12.7 percent.

"Do not freak out about housing," says JPMorgan

Funds Management Chief Market Strategist David Kel-

ly. "We pay too much attention to housing in terms of

how it's going to direct the U.S. economy." He thinks

stocks are under-priced as a result. Housing is closely

tracked, with frequent updates on sales, construction

activity and prices. "The problem is, every one of those

numbers is lousy, and every one makes the evening

news," notes Kelly.

Citi Investment Research strategist Tobias M.

levkovich says consumer spending is more important

for stock prices. "Too many critical points are missed

when investors only hear one data point and don't ana-

lyze the rest of the information," he writes.

Of course, housing shouldn't be dismissed. Mort-

gage troubles helped cause the current credit crisis.

Christopher Burdick, director of economic analysis for

the Schwab Center for Financial Research, notes the

spillover effects on spending. "The concern is warrant-

ed," he says.

But Kelly thinks investors should pay more attention

to the stronger-than-expected growth in services in

April. In addition, an early reading on first-quarter GDP

points to growth, albeit at a sluggish 0.6 percent pace.

SOURCE: Bureau of Economic Analysis Dani and Girard, AP
I was delighted to read another perspective not that I am looking for a "there-there"...perhaps a look at some other pieces of our economic mchinery. Enjoy.

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

No. They are banks not property managers. Condo Associations have to be pro-active to protect everyoneâs property values.

4. I have heard it said that curb appeal drives the saleâwe live in a condo, what can we do?
Most folks are quick to say they want a condo. They are tired of cutting the grass. But you still have responsibility to be involved with the association, know the rules and regulations and be a good neighbor. Neat and clean go along way in the presentation of your condoâeven in the glitziest condo tower, there are shiny windows, a handsome lobby, no trash in sight or coffee cups and papers. Itâs home, people.

Got questions on condominiums or townhomes? Send them our way and weâll do our best.




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

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

Thursday, a Time For Favoritesâ

Favorites have included the very first condominium in Charlotte, Gaynor Arms; a first and a favorite, Center City Green recently announced because it is creative, progressive and green; a favored builder, Brian Speas, because he is the epitome of a fine builder and good person.
âSo now what?â, youâre thinking.
You know what I likeâI like many of the ways Charlotte is changing and many of the ways Charlotte is constant.
Change is 400 North Church with itâs green center islandâwhen it was new and exciting at the time. The main streets, Trade and Tryon, in Charlotte or at least six blocks in each direction of the square had been torn up and remade.Curbs, street lights, bus stops, streets, sidewalks, all rebuilt, Only a handful of cities in the world have ever undertaken that project.
Constant is The Poplar in Fourth Ward, once apartments that were converted to condominiums and how The Poplarâs grace and charm harken back to my visits to New York City. Change is Iveyâs Department store when it was renovated into condosâvery large condos with large storefront windows and no terraces or balconies and what seems like bridges to some of the units. Constant and change how The Square has evolved to be the traffic cop of all the condo towers and high-rises in Uptown Charlotte Center City.
Change in how Earle Village (subsidized housing) in First Ward has become the Garden District wrapping around the Afro-American Cultural Center and how many of the condos overlook the freewayâand change in how Piedmont Courts (high crime-low rent) is being totally transformed as a gateway to Central Avenue and The PlazaâChange thrives on Central Avenue as condos spring up and through Plaza Midwood. Constant are the wide boulevards and tree canopies in Plaza Midwood, Myers Park, Elizabeth, Dilworth, Wesley Heights. Change is how Freedom Park becomes more charming and constant is how much the lake and park and playing fields are loved by old timers and new comers alike.
Unfortunately, we are constantly tearing down what is old and historicâor cutting down trees, or changing the threads of the fabric that made our tapestry wondrous to produce the change some think will be more appealing.
In some cases, that worksâI look at

Charlotte is constantly changing, growing, envisioning. I can see favorites both in looking back and imagining tomorrow.


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

   In every instance, there was discussion, questions, points to be made and finally, within two hours, acceptance that was a win-win-win for everyoneâincluding my buyers original mortgage broker.
   I learned a lot yesterday. My buyers listened so carefully to each of the steps of the process, I got it myself, how important my role as a broker is. I followed their search around the different areas and learned even more about single family homes, new construction and resales... The current day âknowââtrending, marketing and activity.
    What else did I learnâthat all new construction is not gloom and doom. That some home builders seem to take pride in the homes they build and the neighborhoods they create. And this particular case, they honored the buyersâ spread sheet on budget concerns, and valued the buyerâs relationship with their mortgage person. The buyers were listened to and an agreement was reached to everyoneâs satisfaction.

Living and learning, thatâ me,

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

May 3, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte

NCMecklenburg sales down, but not equally

ALLEN NORWOOD, Charlotte Observer

Real estate folks like to point out that an average is just that, an average. When average sales are down, that doesn't mean sales are down by the same amount in every neighborhood. In fact, sales could be up in some areas, including yours.

Elementary-school math says that's true, and there's plenty of other evidence. Average home prices are down across the country, according to the respected Case-Shiller report â but up slightly in Charlotte.

I wondered whether local sales could be up in one of the nine multiple listing areas in Mecklenburg County, so I compared sales figures for March with the same month last year. The quick answer is no.

As you might imagine, though, Mecklenburg sales aren't down equally.

Sales dipped the least â 19 percent â in Area 8, northwest of uptown. They fell the most in southwest Mecklenburg's Area 6, where they dropped 38 percent. The average for the nine listing areas was 26 percent.

Sales were down at Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, in listing areas that include slivers of Mecklenburg and other counties.

But I did find sales actually up in one lake listing area. March sales of homes, condos and townhouses through Carolina Multiple Listing Services rose 19 percent at Mountain Island Lake.

The statistics are available online if you'd like to explore them. Visit www.carolinahome.com.

Chuck Grahamâs First Quarter 08 real estate report is up on www.condocando. Com

MORE
From The Charlotte Observer, Bruce Henderson writes:

GREENING THE REGION

Elected officials from nine counties and 14 cities heard a sometimes-bleak assessment of the Charlotte region's environmental challenges Friday.

Here's what speakers said about key topics:

Water quality

Land development is now the major cause of the region's water pollution, sending sediment, bacteria, metals, pesticide and oil into streams and lakes. Between 1984 and 2003, municipal areas of the region grew by 99 percent while the number of trees dropped 33 percent, said Mecklenburg water programs chief Rusty Rozzelle. Impaired waters in the Catawba River basin grew 32 percent between 1998 and 2004 alone.

Air quality

The region faces more regulatory headaches over ozone pollution, despite several years of improvement. All eight of the region's air monitoring sites will violate a new ozone standard announced in March, said Mecklenburg air chief Don Willard. The human cost of air pollution: It causes one-third to one-half of N.C. asthma cases, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates, triggering 240,000 asthma attacks and sending 6,300 people to emergency rooms each summer.

Waste management

N.C. residents send far too much recyclable material to landfills. Just 10 counties, including Mecklenburg, account for half of the state's total waste disposal. The average N.C. household recycles only a third of the 745 pounds a year of recyclables it produces each year, said Scott Mouw of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Open space

Time is running out for local governments to preserve open space, as land values soar. What Mecklenburg residents want, according to surveys: more hiking and biking trails, and large parks, said parks director Jim Garges. What they're most willing to spend tax dollars on: preservation of green space. The reality: 20 percent of the highest-priority natural areas targeted for conservation have been lost to development since 2006, and another 30 percent loss is expected soon.

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte

Wait, Wait, Donât Tell Meâ

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

Friday: Time for Q/A with Condo CanDoâ

1. In buying a newly constructed condominium, should you,
the buyer, have a structural and mechanical inspection?

Yes. A friend recently bought a real nifty condo at the lake.
There were two condensate lines from the air-conditioner.
One line was installed correctly and the second, oops!
Forgotten. She spent two weeks in a hotel while the walls
were torn out, remediation for mold was performed and
the condensate lines properly installed.

2. In buying a resale condominium on the fifth floor,
should you have a structural and mechanical inspection?

Yes. Thereâs glass, heating systems, plumbing and
electrical not to mention balconies and terraces.
Recently on a brand new condominium, the inspector
found water running into the wall from a cement
cap on the terrace.

3. In buying a condominium that is a new conversion
should you have a structural and mechanical inspection?

Most definitely. Some conversions are totally gutted
so by all means, a thorough inspectionâand if there were
just a cosmetic overhaul, most definitely.
And that might include a separate inspection for
heating and air.

4. Should you know the percentage of investor
owned units before you make an offer on a condominium?

Yes. Yes.  Heavy percentages will affect the type of
mortgage you will be able to obtain. With a higher
interest rate of course.

5.Should you look at the yearly budget and the last yearâs
financial statement before you sign on the dotted line for a condominium?
Yes. Look for irregular expenses, like collections and legal fees.

6. Should you read the by-laws and rules and regulations
on a condominium before you sign, seal and deliver?

Always, always, always.

Condominium living can be great for some folks. Condominium buying may seem more tedious than buying a single family homeâinvest time up front looking and checking the details.

Whatâs that old saying?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?

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

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

It all depends a friend of mine says. It all depends on where you are going, how long you plan on staying and what about your life style? Yep, it all depends. Still, I have a few favorites.

Being a long time resident of Charlotte, I recall the days when we knew the buildersâ namesâand their reputations. There was John Crosland, Srâand still building, John Crosland, Sr, William Trotter, Herman Nance, Charles Erwin, Mr. Thomasonâwell, you get my drift.

Now days itâs names of companies. Except in one instance. There is a fellow who has been building for some years now. When I first spoke with him maybe ten years ago, I thought he was my senior. Then I met him. He is a younger man with traditional ideas and takes a hands-on approach to the condominiums he builds. Heâs often on the job site.
His buildings are small compared to the uptown towers. They are often nestled in our exquisite neighborhoods: Myers Park, Eastover and one on the fringe of Dilworth, and one almost in Barclay Downs in SouthPark. The buildings are all different. The one component they have in common: class.

So while I can go on and on about other builderâs lack of attention to building products and quality of construction, I have only praise for Brian Speas. I am sure I am joined by the residents of his buildings, the real estate agents he works with, and the neighborhoods he enhances by his tasteful designs and his fine execution of every detail right down to individual landscaping for each address.

I have pictures of each one and will search for a sketch of the new one.

There is The Oakley at Park and almost Scott.

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

April 30, 2008

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

A Tribute to Warren

May 1st, tomorrow, at Queens Art Gallery,
                                   1212 The Plaza, in Charlotte, NC

Artevation, A Celebration of History Through Art will begin.
An art show and tribute to Warren Burgess, an influential city
planner, urban designer and talented artist who worked many
years for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission
and the Town of Davidson. Warren died in 2005.

The following is an editorial written by Mary Newsome

Sat, May. 14, 2005
URBAN OUTLOOK

Planner, artist understood the power of place
Without power or wealth, he left a legacy rich in humanity

MARY NEWSOM

It's conventional wisdom to believe today's Charlotte is a creation of titans -- the likes of Hugh McColl and D.A. Tompkins, the Big Guys, who have Big Money and wield Big Power and leave Big Footprints.

But in truth cities are more complex than that. Other people with less fame, less power and a lot less money leave important footprints, too.

Warren Burgess, who Tuesday died unexpectedly and far, far too soon at age 56, was never powerful, never famous and most definitely never rich -- at least not in money. He'll probably never get his due in any history books on Charlotte . But Burgess left his fingerprints all over this city, in the plans he drew, the enduring vision he had for his city and the people and places he touched.

Cities need catalysts, and Warren was a catalyst. He was always putting one person in touch with just the right other person, and dropping a good idea in just the right place, and in doing so altering the course of the planet.

I met him almost 11 years ago. I had written a column lamenting the lack of community gathering places in most Charlotte neighborhoods.

A few weeks later the phone rang and some guy said he was a city planner and he had my column posted on the wall of his office and would I like to have lunch? I figured it wouldn't hurt to know a city planner, especially someone who liked my columns.

He was one of the thinnest people I had ever met, walked with a limp and handed me a book he had bought for me on a hunch -- Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" -- which fed my curiosity about cities and pretty much changed the course of my career.

We shared an interest in art and cities, in mountain streams (he loved fly fishing for trout) and, most important, in neighborhoods and how their buildings and streets shape the lives of the people who live there. He was a planner who understood that real places and people are always more important than theories and statistics.

He was an urbanist, rare for a late 20th-century, Southern city. He filled notebook after notebook with drawings of neighborhoods where he did plans. He would walk the streets in a wide-brimmed straw hat, talk to people and just hang out until he absorbed a sense of the place into those thin bones of his.

That's one reason dozens -- no, hundreds -- of Charlotteans met Burgess over the decades and treasured his friendship. I was forever finding out that friends of mine had already known him for years. He lived his life like a one-man community center, always getting people together in his own quiet way.

And though Burgess' feet may have been planted on city sidewalks, his imagination was soaring. On the wall at my desk is his pen and ink version of North Davidson Street looking toward the towers of uptown. But it differs subtly from reality. Burgess, in his drawing, buried the power lines, as he did in most of his sketches. He once drew a plan for a European-style boulevard along N.C. 49 at UNC Charlotte.

 Next time you go down West Trade Street near Johnson & Wales University , look around. In the 1990s Burgess was the city's urban designer for a Third Ward Plan that -- to its everlasting credit -- Bank of America pretty much followed in developing Gateway Center . The low-scale buildings with stores below and homes above, hiding the parking decks, those were Warren 's vision.

Another of his visions is the drawing shown here, part of the

In the bridge drawing, a thin figure in a wide-brimmed hat appears to stand in the creek, holding a cane in one hand and what looks like a fishing rod in the other. Miraculously, if you know Briar Creek, he is landing what can only be a trout. Talk about the power of dreaming.

Mary Newsom

Warren Burgess was a gifted planner and a visionary.
He translated his vision via watercolors and his work is impeccable.
Warren brought us the gift of his vision with sketches of Uptown
Historic and watercolors of various neighborhoods, Dilworth,
Wesley Heights, Plaza/Midwood, NoDa and others.

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

Ladies and Gentlemen, Sharpen Your PencilsâPop 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
yesterdayâa 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
yearâs 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
âso, 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. Itâs 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.

It was the best of times, it is the worst of timesâyouâve 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 Associationâand 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 youâand it is the (not really) worst of timesâ
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 outâto 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 itâand am successful at itâand I work with buyersâfirst time buyers, condo buyers, mc mansion buyers, horse farm buyers, trading up and moving down buyersâI 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.

Soâletâs play ball!
Whatâs 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 Upâback to work as

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

Our Weekly Wrap by the Numbers

This has been a lovely springârain 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 canât 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 90âs: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 2000âs: 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 Charlotteâs 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, âIâd put us in the category of a flower about to bloom-weâve seen nothing yet, but weâre just now budding and the growth potential here is phenomenal. Weâve just been discovered.â

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

Friday is Q/A Day on Condo CanDoâs 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 blogâand of course, thereâs Condo CanDo and they are posted there as well under âBlogâ.

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 Iâll be willing to bet that we will see these apartment projects convert to condominiums once the market turns. That is an interesting financial scenario isnât 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

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 Toâs are for sale either in book form, or conference calls or DVDâs. 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

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 REALTORSÂ 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

Roberts advises buying a property near your workplace or current home. After looking at several, go with the best deal. âDonât negotiate with the bank-make an offer and then go dark,â 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. âJust because itâs in foreclosure doesnât mean itâs a bargain,â Roberts says. Things to look out for: Donât buy in a market with too many foreclosed homes-no more than a few in any area. Also, regular maintenance likely wasnât done, so there may be substantial costs beyond the purchase price.

And donât trust late night TV gurus-there are scams aplenty. âMany are simply very good sales people who know how to push your buttons to extract a tremendous amount of money out of you,â says Alexis McGee of Foreclosures.com. She lists several well-known schemes on her Web site.

âGet a good agent, a good lawyer, good inspector and do your homework,â 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

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 homeownerâs action lists. You canât see, smell or taste it, which makes it-unlike mold- easy to ignore. The federal government recommends but doesnât 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.

Canât see it, smell it, taste itâRadon.

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

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

And what a week that was/ erâahâstill 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 Wachoviaâs 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 Specialtyâs 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. Thatâs one.
Next was the announcement of Center City Green and Spectrum Properties superb plan for parking, condos, open air fresh air market, organic fareâand built under the LEED banner. Green building practices are great in our book.
The Business Journal published their first Green Bookâhow 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 thatâand 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

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

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

â 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.

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

â 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.

â 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.

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

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

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

â 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:

â 

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.

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

â Bank of America's Gateway Village on

â 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

â 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

Thanks for joining us. Rememberâread the fine print. All of it.



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

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 Specialtyâs 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 Westsideâand 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 waysâwe have room to growâto 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 onâwe 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 âCondo Newsâ. 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

Friday: Time for Condo Q and Aâ

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 âfootprintâ.
Then there are co-operatives, a co-op. We have two such co-ops in Charlotte. One is The Kimberlee off

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 womenâs 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 Kathrynâs, Al Busedu, was kind to write this story in memory of his friend.

Thanks, Alâanother Angel!

On Wednesdays we take a trip Around the Townâ

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 wonât 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 âCondo Newsâ section on www.CondoCanDo.com.

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

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 âcooling offâ 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