Read These Tips Before Buying Carolina Foreclosures

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tips for buying foreclosures

tips for buying foreclosures

Regardless of how experienced you are when it comes to buying Carolina real estate, buying your first foreclosure or REO property is a much different process. In a recent post on the

Equifax Personal Finance Blog, real estate expert Ilyce Glink examines some of the main differences between buying new homes and foreclosures.

One difference is that you cannot put a financing contingency on a foreclosure. Also, buying a home from a homeowner may allow you to negotiate pricing, especially if the home is in need of repairs. However, when dealing with bank-owned properties, getting the bank to make repairs is highly unlikely.

In “

Buying an REO or Foreclosure: What You Can Expect and What Can Kill the Deal,” Glink says that one of the big differences between buying from a homeowner and purchasing a foreclosure is the attitude of the seller. Negotiating with a current homeowner is usually a more emotionally-involved process. He or she will want to get a certain amount of money to support the family and to pay for a new home. The house may also hold sentimental value. Offering too little could make the seller upset, making it harder to negotiate.

On the other hand, dealing with the bank is much more of a pure business transaction. Glink says even though you’re technically helping them out, don’t expect them to help you out. The bank simply wants to minimize losses and sell the property.

To learn about more differences visit the 

Equifax Personal Finance Blog and read the full article.

NCSU Designated a Center of Excellence for Watershed Management

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NCSU Watershed Management

NCSU Watershed Management

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated North Carolina State University (NCSU) as a Center of Excellence for Watershed Management.  NCSU is the managing entity of the Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) for the entire University of North Carolina system. This is the first Center of Excellence to be designated in North Carolina and the sixth in the Southeast. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Regional Administrator Stanley Meiburg, NCSU Associate Vice Chancellor Matt Ronning, WRRI director Michael Voiland, and North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) Secretary Dee Freeman signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to help communities identify watershed based problems and develop and implement locally sustainable solutions.

“Everyone lives in a watershed”, said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Stan Meiburg.  “We believe a watershed approach is the most effective framework to address today’s water resource challenges. This designation will allow NCSU to continue developing the strong partnerships with other institutions, organization and agencies required to protect and restore watersheds.”

To become a recognized Center of Excellence, the institution must demonstrate technical expertise in identifying and addressing watershed needs; involve students, staff and faculty in watershed research; demonstrate the capability to involve the full suite of disciplines needed for all aspects of watershed management; financial ability to become self-sustaining; ability to deliver and account for results; willingness to partner with other institutions; and support from the highest levels of the organization.

Some of the benefits of being recognized as a Center of Excellence include receipt of EPA technical assistance where needed (instructors, speakers, etc); promotion of the Center of Excellence to stakeholders; EPA letters of support for grant opportunities; and identification of opportunities for Center of Excellence involvement in local and regional watershed issues.

For decades, EPA and NCDENR have protected North Carolina’s lakes, rivers and wetlands by regulating specific points of pollution; the most common of these being sewage treatment plants and factories. Although this approach led to the successful cleanup of many waterways, others still remain polluted from sources not as easily regulated. These more subtle sources include farms, streets, parking lots, lawns, rooftops or any other surfaces that come in contact with rainwater. Today, EPA and NCDENR take a broader approach to water protection, looking at both the individual waterway and the watershed in which it is located.

Begun in 2007, the EPA Region 4 Centers of Excellence for Watershed Management Program works with colleges and universities from across the Southeast to provide hands-on, practical products and services for communities to identify watershed problems and solve them. Each EPA designated Center actively seeks out watershed-based stakeholder groups and local governments that need cost effective tools for watershed scientific studies, engineering designs and computer mapping, as well as assistance with legal issues, project management, public education and planning.

More information about priority watersheds in the Southeast is available online at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/water/watersheds/index.html

Resolving Disputes With Your Insurance Provider

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Carolina real estate insurance

If you own your own home, it is very possible that you might have filed a homeowners insurance claim at some point. Normally, the procedure follows a few simple steps like clockwork: an insurance company representative comes to your home to take a look at the damage, a damage estimate is calculated and repairs are made. In a perfect world, that’s how the process is supposed to go.

However, sometimes you hit a snag and the claim is denied. Never fear! Don’t be afraid of being saddled with the entire cost of the repairs. Linda Rey, insurance expert and author of the Equifax Personal Finance Blog, has some tips to get you through and negotiate your insurance settlement in her recent post “

How to Resolve a Claim Dispute with Your Insurance Provider.”

Insurance companies must cut their losses, just as any other business would. They don’t want to pay for things in your claim that they do not expressly have to. Your insurance company employs underwriters whose job it is to examine your policy and your claim, determining whether your policy covers what you have specified in the claim. When your claim is denied, Rey says the first thing you should do is to review your policy and refresh yourself on what it covers. Make sure you are familiar with its limits. Next, have you unknowingly done anything to invalidate your policy? Are you up to date on your insurance payments? It is a good idea to check.

Documentation will be key to getting you through this negotiation process. Every single time you communicate with the insurance company, remember to write down the date, time and name of the person you dealt with. Writing down this person’s direct phone number is also a good idea. Notes about how the conversation went will be helpful as well.

Most importantly, keep all all receipts, letters, charts, estimates, witness statements, police reports, medical records and other papers related to the claim. At some point, you might need evidence proving your side of the story. This is made much easier by having all the necessary papers organized and handy.

Lastly, Rey reminds readers to keep their cool. As the old adage goes, you catch more flies with honey. Using a little sweetness in your dealings with the insurance company might help you get a better settlement.

Rey’s post can be found at the

Equifax Personal Finance Blog. If you have any other tips or experience in negotiating a denied homeowners insurance claim, please share it with us.

Approach the Sale of Your Carolina Real Estate Like a Business

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carolina real estate for sale

When it’s time to sell a home – even if you’re moving on to bigger and better things – it can be hard to remind yourself that the sale is a business transaction. By keeping that in mind, it will be easier to detach yourself from the sale and approach it with a clear and level head.

On the 

Equifax Personal Finance Blog, real estate expert Ilyce Glink offers tips on preparing your home for sale in the spring market.

Number one in Glink’s article, 

Spring Real Estate Market: Preparing Your House for Sale? Be realistic! Forget about what could have been, and price your home for today’s market. How would you react if you favorite retailers didn’t respond to supply and demand – if DVD players, for example, still sold for the same amount they did when first introduced? You would not go back to that store, and home lookers won’t come back to you, either.

Stores go to a lot of trouble to arrange merchandise so that you will see it and want to buy it. Similarly, you should present your home in the best possible light. Glink provides a link to a video on staging your home – which is what you’ll want to do after you’ve cleared out the clutter.

Glink offers many more tips in the article, but she ends with what she calls the real estate brokers axiom – “The first offer is always the best offer.” She says it’s not always true, but she also says to keep in mind that you might be better off with the first offer you get than with waiting six more months for the second one. With that in mind, she says to be fair as you negotiate early in the process.

Have you sold your home? Let us know in the comments if you were able to approach it like a business transaction or if it was hard to emotionally remove yourself.

Want to Move to a “Green” Location? Consider Charlotte

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1158957_green_houses aref featInvesting in energy-efficient products and green building not only protects the environment, but it protects your family as well. Buyers looking for a healthy, “green” location for their families should consider the purchase of Carolina real estate in Charlotte, N.C.

Recently, Charlotte was named as one of the top 25 cities with the most energy-efficient buildings that received the EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification in 2010. Among the facilities that are eligible to earn the ENERGY STAR label are K-12 schools, supermarkets, bank branches, financial centers, places of worship, hospitals, offices and retailers to name a few. Your family probably frequents these types of locations often, if not on a daily basis.

So, why is this important for your family? Did you know that nearly 20 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from energy use in commercial buildings? However, ENERGY STAR certified buildings emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide and use 35 percent less energy than average buildings.

To qualify for the ENERGY STAR rating, a building must perform better than at least 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide, and be verified by a licensed professional engineer or a registered architect.

Tell us what you think: How important is energy efficiency to you?

For more information about Charlotte’s ENERGY STAR certified buildings, visit the ENERGY STAR website.