I saw it in yesterday’s Raleigh News and Observer, a reprint of an article from the Washington Times.
Wallpaper is staging a comeback!!!
Read all about it here!

I had heard wallpaper rumblings and rumors. A year or so ago, HGTV Househunters featured a fellow who wanted a condo where he could unleash his burgeoning wallpapering talents.
And, it seems that anytime something falls as far from grace as wallpaper assuredly has, it rebounds into the spotlight again just to keep us on our toes.

I worked hard many years ago to develop wallpaper hanging skills. To cut and match and plumb and level well enough to let people see my work.
About the time I got good at it (Or so I thought), wallpaper fell completely out of favor.
And now, my skill is redeemed! Wallpaper is back!

So, you have a home to sell in Cary? And now your wallpaper is back in favor, right? Not so fast. It can be expensive to be a trendsetter out on the bleeding edge of the cutting edge.
I have yet to hear Buyers mention “Wallpaper” without wrinkling up their noses at the concept.
And a new media fad doesn’t mean that your floral 1990′s have suddenly become chic, in, old school hot, desirable, retro. Not at all. And that foil paper? Buh-bye!
Decor is a personal and volatile subject. Your delight may well be a well-qualified Buyer’s stupor. And we all know there is no excess of well-qualified Buyers.

The advice to strip and paint is going to be with us for a while, I am afraid.

Since the end of October, the North Carolina Museum of Art has been honored to host Rembrandt in America, the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings to ever have been exhibited in America.
The collection is on display for a few more weeks, until January 22, so you should be scheduling your visit soon.
I haven't even visited the new NC Museum of Art since construction was completed, so I am overdue to find a reason to go.

Rembrandt in America may be the perfect reason to get out and go.

Interestingly, I have been collecting Rembrandts in Cary and Raleigh for some time.   Houses, that is.  "Rembrandt" models by New Fortis/K Hovnanian Homes.

I live in a Rembrandt.  Circa 1993.
Oddly enough, my Rembrandt is in a subdivision named "Giverny."  Rembrandt in Giverny?  Maybe it should have been a Monet?  That would have been OK, too.

The Elevation "D" Rembrandt was the masterpiece of the model.  Full brick front, with half circle windows, a hip roof, and a finished bonus room over the garage all elevated the "D" to the top of the heap.  It was the model home in Giverny, and as is common, the model became one of the most popular floor plans to be built.  I belive our neighborhood is about 20% Rembrandts, of one elevation or another.
I live in a home built to Elevation "C."  The "C" has a partial brick front.  We added a front porch that makes our "C" unique in the neighborhood.

Elevation "A" was the "plain Jane," base model elevation.

Elevation "B" adds a rocking chair front porch.

Elevation "C" includes brick trim on the left of the front of the house, and a step down in the roof.

But interiors of these three elevations are the same, unless options were chosen to change them.

The two-story family room in the top rendering offers dramatic central height to the interior, and the rendering shows the palladian windows included in the "D" elevation.  Our "C" Elevation home has rectangular transom windows in place of the palladians.
Most commonly, buyers chose to finish a loft area into a 4th bedroom and/or to add a 5th bedroom/bonus room over the garage.
Square footages vary from just over 2200 to about 2800 square feet.

While owners have customized their homes and properties over the last 15 to 18 years, a tour around the area turns up many Rembrandts.  You can see the Rembrandt DNA in the photos, and also appreciate the pride homeowners take in personalization of their properties.

Back on the Market!! 107 Cordell Place, Apex NC

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HUD Case Number 381-895169            This HUD-Owned home is conveniently located near the center of Apex NC

At $125,000, It is full of potential!

It offers 4 bedrooms,2 baths, 1767 square feet of living space, all on a quiet cul-de-sac.

Two bedrooms on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor.

The quarter acre lot is partially fenced, and there is a covered porch and huge deck for enjoying the yard.

See the Buyer Full Sheet from Triangle MLS

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This HUD-Owned home is just waiting for your offer. HUD requires you to use a HUD-Registered agent to write and present it.

I am a HUD-Registered agent and can show it, represent you, and write up your offer. Bidding is open daily for owner-occupants, government agencies, and non-profits.

Read “Working with Real Estate Agents” from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

Never register on a real estate site to search for your next home.

Try my No Hassle Property Search!!

Mike Jaquish, REALTOR®

919.880.2769

http://caryrealestatesales.com/

Broker Associate

KELLER WILLIAMS® Realty Cary NC

HUD Case Number 381-915588

Only $265,000. HUD Home: 307 Swordgate Drive

307 Swordgate Drive in Cary is a cute 5 bedroom home with great potential, and priced at only 265,000, in MacArthur Park.

See 307 Swordgate Drive listing on my No Hassle Property Search.

This HUD-Owned Home offers:

• 2776 Square Feet
• 5 bedrooms with a vaulted master suite.
• 2.5 baths
• Only 16 years old, built in 1995.
• Family room, Office/den, and living room.
• Large sunny kitchen with smooth-top stove
• Great deck in a lovely and private, fenced back yard.
• Natural Gas heat
• 2 car garage.
• Easy care vinyl siding
• Convenient location with Daveis Drive/Davis Drive/Green Hope School Assignments.
• Great Town of Cary services.

Bright Sunny Kitchen

Master Bath has separate tub and shower, and dual vanities

Private back yard and large deck

HUD Requires you to use a HUD-Registered agent to write and present your offer. I am a HUD-Registered agent and can serve you as your Buyer’s Agent and write your offer.

Call me to arrange your personal showing of this great opportunity in Cary.

Mike Jaquish, REALTOR^®

919.880.2769

http://caryrealestatesales.com/

Broker Associate

KELLER WILLIAMS_® Realty Cary NC

Only $151,000.  HUD Home:  208 Doves Haven Drive
HUD Case #381-831416

208 Doves Haven Drive in Apex is a cute 3 or 4 bedroom affordable home with great potential, and priced at only $151,000, in Sunset Hills.

See 208 Doves Haven Drive listing on my No Hassle Property Search.

This HUD-Owned Home offers:

• 1733 Square Feet
• 3 bedrooms, and the sitting area in the master suite could be a 4th bedroom.
• 2.5 baths
• Only 9 years old, built in 2002.
• Soaring vaulted ceiling in the living room.
• Large sunny kitchen with gas stove
• Great screen porch in a private, fenced back yard.
• Natural Gas heat
• 2 car garage.
• Easy care vinyl siding
• Convenient location on a quiet street near the community pool.
• City water and sewer services.

Bright Sunny Kitchen

Master Bath has separate tub and shower, and dual vanities

 Private back yard and sunny screen porch

HUD Requires you to use a HUD-Registered agent to write and present your offer.  I am a HUD-Registered agent and can serve you as your Buyer's Agent and write your offer.

Call me to arrange your showing of this great opportunity in Apex.

Mike Jaquish, REALTOR^®

919.880.2769

http://caryrealestatesales.com/

Broker Associate

KELLER WILLIAMS_® Realty Cary NC

Now Under Contract At $210,000 List Price, 200 Onondaga Court has a ton of potential

HUD Case Number 381-937917

200 Onondaga Court in Holly Springs, NC, is a HUD-Owned Home with a great floor plan and an interior flooded with light, a large fenced yard, and a side entry garage on a great corner lot.

HUD requires you to use a HUD-Registered agent to write and submit your offer. I am a HUD-Registered agent and would be glad to represent you as your Buyer’s Agent.

Built in 2000, 200 Onondaga Court offers many desirable features:

• Great location in a great neighborhood, the Oaks of Avent Acres
• 2167 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and 2.5 baths
• Plenty of hardwood floors
• Granite countertops
• Luxurious Master Suite
• Side entry garage with overhead storage
• Sunny Breakfast Room
• Two fireplaces
• Beautiful wooded fenced yard
• Shady front porch and great rear deck
• Easy exterior maintenance

See the Triangle MLS Buyer Report.

Call or email me to see it and let’s write it up! Currently, bidding is not yet open to investors.

Read “Working with Real Estate Agents” from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission

Mike Jaquish, REALTOR^®

919.880.2769

http://caryrealestatesales.com/

Broker Associate

KELLER WILLIAMS_® Realty Cary NC

1106 Maubrey Court:  A Great 4 Bedroom HUD-Owned Home in Apex NC 

Basements in Cary NC

Cary home buyers from other regions often are shocked that many Cary homes do not have basements, and buyers agents need to do some explaining.

There are several contributing factors to that situation.

1.  Basements are not structurally necessary, so they are luxury priced.  We just don't need them.  In the north and midwest states, it is necessary to excavate footings 4 to 8 feet below grade to get below frost depth.  We only need, by code, to bury footings 15 inches below grade, so further excavation is unnecessary.  And expensive.

2.  Many Triangle areas have high water tables on site.  Water around foundation walls  is more likely to intrude into the interior of the basement. 

3.  Expansive clay soils.  Our soils will expand and contract as they get wet and dry.  This movement can stress walls, and allow more opportunity for water intrusion.

4.  Cost of finish.  It is usually more cost effective to convert attic space and finish it than to create and finish a basement.  And the home buyers benefit from being high, dry and lit by sunlight.

Yes, you can get a basement in Cary NC.  Commonly, it will be a "walk out" basement, also known as a "daylight" basement.  one or two walls will be above grade, with exit doors and windows.  And the lot will have some slope to accommodate this.  Dugout, hole in the ground, basements are extremely rare.

Cary Homes for Sale with Basements

Buyers and Dealbreakers

Buyers will often cite a "dealbreaker" when considering a home.  In Cary, NC, some of those items are steep driveways, proximity to large powerlines, proximity to busy thorofares, railroad tracks, or excessive airplane traffic.

Some buyers are willing to work with a home that has only a single negative feature, but when they add up, those buyers often lose interest.
A few years ago, I listed and sold a home with a steep driveway, powerlines and a railroad behind it.  How can that be overcome?
We have a saying in real estate, that "Price fixes all deficiencies."  In other words, when a home's price recognizes the diminished value created by excessive incurable deficiencies, and there is an affordable home with otherwise great features, there will be a buyer.

Smart home sellers and their listing agents in Cary will take negative items they cannot change into account when pricing the home for sale.

How many cars can you fit into a 2 car garage?

What makes a garage a 2 car garage?  Or a 3 car garage?
How can you tell?

The big door in front won't tell you.  You can get a pretty big door on a pretty small garage.

We see Cary listing agents marketing 2 car garages, or 3 car garages, for their seller.  But, some garages are so tight, it is difficult to imagine parking two cars and being able to open their doors.

Or, as often done in Cary, the water heater is placed in the garage, in the parking space.  Or the builder adds a flight of stairs from the garage to the living area, and that flight of stairs encroaches into a parking space.

Et cetera…

So, when working as a buyers agent, I take a very close look at the garage layout, the dimensions, and other factors that can impact the utility of the space.  And sometimes I will tell my home buyers, "Well, heck.  That's a 4 car garage.  If you own 4 Smart cars."  In other words, you will work hard to park 2 cars in that garage.