I’d like to add that we are number one in another category:
Number One: Fewest people who say they want to move/relocate somewhere else!

I can’t tell you how many people we talk to who are itching to move to Charlotte from Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York…and mostly California! That’s not to say they’re aren’t great, incredible things in all those cities**  but for overall quality of life Charlotte is winning out!  **remember I’m a 1979 transplant from Scarsdale, New York. I Love New York city but would prefer to visit.

In the last year I’ve had one person say they wanted to move from Charlotte (good reason - they missed family)

So the good news is Charlotte continues to grow 2.7% in the last year! If you’re in the mood to join that number here are some really fantastic homes in the Raintree golf community in South Charlotte just to whet your appetite!

With your help this little cycling team Rhonda and I started in 2005 has raised over $290,000 for charity! MojoRiding has turned the amateur cycling/fundraising world on it’s ear and we even got to meet and ride with a very special person because of it (more on that below)

So now we are at it again Rhonda, myself & fifty MojoRiders will be taking to the tree-lined streets of Myers Park in the 24 Hours of Booty << (watch the video it’s amazing) to benefit LIVESTRONG and Charlotte cancer charities July 25-26.

Like in the past Rhonda and I will be riding for our cousins Janie and Dale who passed away too young from cancer. We will also be riding for Robin Perkins wife of Dave Perkins our good friend and fellow Mojo. Robin was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is battling through surgery and treatments. We’ll also be out there in honor of our dear friend Brandon Elam who passed away, and to support little Ellie Potvin who is battling a rare cancer BUT after a year of chemo is winning her fight!

Robin and Ellie are examples of the promise of research, early detection and treatment that is funded by your donation to our efforts! Rhonda and I are going to ride a combined 300+ miles (20 hours) in the 24 hour period (through the night and summer heat) …we are asking for your support and your donation.

We realize there are a number of ways to give and some remarkable causes - we hope you’ll consider our physical effort and commitment should you decide to contribute - maybe you have someone you’d like us to honor - for every $50 donation we’ll write the name of your loved on our jersey and ride in their honor!

It’s very easy to donate** online simply click on one of the links below to make a donation Please make your donations by July 17. **or you can mail a check payable to 24 Hours of Booty to: Mike Gibbons, 4835 Sentinel Post, Charlotte, NC 28226

http://budurl.com/BootyForMichael | or | http://budurl.com/BootyForRhonda

Any size donation is greatly appreciated - Thank you for your generous donation!

OK so back to the “mystery person” - because of the generosity of our donors and the hard work of the Mojoriding team last fall Rhonda and I were invited to Austin where we both got to meet Lance Armstrong and I had the dream of a lifetime honor of riding with Lance.

Not much to say after that except ~ where you can…be the difference.

CHARLOTTE (June 25, 2009) - The immensely popular dining event Charlotte Restaurant Week will expand to ten days for its third outing. “Queen’s Feast: Summer 2009″ will run Friday, July 10, through Sunday, July 19, encompassing two full weekends. The semi-annual event boasts a new high of 71 participating restaurants for this summer’s run. The event website at CharlotteRestaurantWeek lists participating restaurants, their special Queen’s Feast menus, and reservations instructions, along with information on transportation and accommodations offerings.

Charlotte Restaurant Week is a metro-area promotion during a typically slow time in which numerous upscale restaurants offer a prix fixe, three-course dinner for $30 per person (not including tax and gratuity), a savings over what such a meal would typically cost. In addition to many areas of Charlotte, participating restaurants this summer can be found in the Lake Norman/North Mecklenburg area; Fort Mill, SC; and Belmont, NC.

Here’s a list of participating Charlotte area restaurants (by neighborhood) some of our favs in PINK! * new for 2009

Dilworth

300 East*
Copper
Dolce
Fiamma
Frankie’s Italian Grill
Outback Steakhouse-Dilworth*
Sole Spanish Grille*
Zen Asian Fusion

Downtown / Center City / South End

Basil Thai*
BlackFinn
Blue Restaurant & Bar
Caffe Siena
The Capital Grille
Chima Brazilian Steakhouse*
Cosmos Café-Downtown
Ember Grille
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
Greek Isles
LaVecchia’s Seafood Grille
Luce*
Mez
Mimosa Grill
Morton’s, The Steakhouse*
Ratcliffe on the Green
Ruth’s Chris Steak House-Downtown
Sonoma Modern American
Sullivan’s Steakhouse
Zink American Kitchen

Elizabeth / Midtown

Cajun Queen
Carpe Diem
Customshop
The Melting Pot-Midtown

Lake Norman / North Mecklenburg

Dressler’s
Kabuto Japanese Steakhouse-Huntersville*
Maddi’s Southern Bistro*
Mickey & Mooch-Huntersville*
Positano Osteria*
Red Rocks Café-Birkdale Village*
T1 Tapas*

South Charlotte (Ballantyne / Arboretum / Pineville / Fort Mill, SC)

Arooji’s Wine Room & Ristorante-Ballantyne*
Firenze*
Flat Rock Grille
Gallery Restaurant
Maestro’s Bar & Bistro
Mickey & Mooch…The Other Joint
New South Kitchen & Bar
Passion8 Bistro*
Tria Terra
Villa Antonio-Ballantyne

SouthPark / Park Road / Foxcroft

Andrew Blair’s
Arooji’s Wine Room & Ristorante-SouthPark
Brick Tops
Brio Tuscan Grille
Café Monte
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill-SouthPark
M5
Noble’s Restaurant
Oceanaire Seafood Room
Palm Restaurant
Red Rocks Café-Strawberry Hill
Ruth’s Chris Steak House-SouthPark
The Tavern on Park
Toscana
Upstream
Village Tavern*

University UNCC North Charlotte

Lava Bistro
The Melting Pot-University
Outback Steakhouse-University*

Myspace Neon Flash Comments

Rhonda lived at Lake Wylie for ten years and has just found some incredible lakefront bargains too ~ drop her an email for more information. Or set up your own Lake Wylie or Lake Norman home search by clicking SEARCH HOMES above and using area #15 for Lake Wylie or #13 for lake Wylie

homes like this….. 2 Catawba Ridge Road |3500 square feet | $625,000

American real estate is at best a mixed bag - we seem to be taking one step forward and a half step back. Don’t get  me wrong that’s an improvement from not too long ago when we seemed to be taking two steps back and back and back.

In today’s Charlotte Observer Stella Hopkins declares that while things are still tough in Charlotte…

“There are several factors helping sustain Charlotte-area prices. For one, they didn’t rise as sharply as in some bubble markets and so they didn’t have as far to fall. Also, the area has not been as hard hit as some by foreclosures.”

According to the National Association of Realtors purchases actually rose 2.4% in May (the good news) “…marking the second monthly gain in a row, spurred by tax breaks for first-time homebuyers and lower mortgage rates.”
So what does this mean for Charlotte home buyers and sellers and….yes you the fence sitters?

1. If you’re looking to buy a home now is a really good great time (especially if you are in the market for homes priced $300,00 and above)
2. If you’re looking to sell your home– make sure you hire an excellent, hard working Realtor, someone who is succeeding in this market - Charlotte MLS Listings Pendings Sold.
3. If you’re a first time home buyer (including those who have not owned a home in three years) don’t miss out on Uncle Sam’s $8000 tax credit!

And just an observation we talk to an awful lot of people in New York, California, Michigan, Florida etc who are saying “as soon as I can sell my house I’m moving to Charlotte” we rarely hear people who live in Charlotte saying they want to move to another city – just sayin’.

I know you’re thinking what happened to Friday Fun? what’s with all the real serious, real estate — well we wanted you to know the news of real estate’s death has been exaggerated — The TalkCharlotte Team Bunch and our clients are doing quite well here in Charlotte…just sayin’

In the past few months we’ve helped clients close on eleven beautiful homes over $2,000,000 with another seven homes ($2.5mm) closing soon! And we’ve got eleven more homes listed with a few more almost ready to go! Talk Charlotte Homes

So while there’s no doubt the Charlotte real estate market is tough...it’s NOT DEAD. We’re busy and if you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Charlotte you should be too! It may not be the “bitter bottom” but common sense says it’s a good time to get serious about a home! We’re not about to get on this wagon…are you?

And you’re a first time home-buyer please, please, please don’t forget that the $8,000 tax credit expires November 30. For you it could be a “perfect storm” of home buying opportunity — prices are down, interest rates are low and there are lots of home to choose from. Remember to close by November 30 you need to be putting your purchase offer in at the latest mid-October which is only 4 months away! We really can help you~drop us an note right here

Working title: Are women born like this? You missed I ducked!

Growing up in Scarsdale NY we lived in a nice garden apartment so a new car was the BIG thing I remember ~ maybe for you it was a house ~ I can’t even imagine the excitement of that at age 14!

My how things have changed, for most of us buying a car is a pain in the but ~ just not quite the same thrill and I’m afraid for too many today the same can be said for buying a home. Don’t get me wrong it’s still exciting and people fall in love with homes BUT for too many the joy and excitement and giddiness have taken a backseat to obsessing about getting the absolute lowest interest rate, the “bitter bottom” price and of course fretting that home repairs won’t make a 30 year old home just like new. OK I realize I just lost half of you but let me explain…

*(little disclaimer I am speaking only for myself today not the TalkCharlotte team!)
In my view too often and unnecessarily buying a home has become an uninspiring, surprisingly joyless transaction. Here’s what I mean…buyers and their agents become obsessed with the details and lose the bigger picture ~ why are you buying a home in the first place? I know you’re not an investor because you would have stopped reading in the first paragraph! So you’re buying a home to live in ~ you’re buying to raise your family near schools you love, you’re buying right on the lake because you love to watch a storm coming over the water, you’re buying Uptown because you love the arts & you want to be the first to try the hottest restaurants, you’re buying in Ballantyne because you love the convenience, the golf and the peace of a quite neighborhood cul de sac, you’re buying in NoDa because like me you’re a little crazy in a good way (we’ll get along great).

You’re buying that home because it’s much more than a transaction, it’s your 1974 Buick Century!

All the rest is simply details, IMPORTANT details no doubt and details that require a really sharp, professional Realtor to guide you through (& remember when you’re buying a home that guidance is free -wow!)

So I’ll leave you with this, my philosophy. I’ve always been a bit of a round peg in a square hole world, I like to look at things differently, like this. So when I look at the real estate market today I cringe (sure you do too). But I cringe because I see people missing out, too hung up on squeezing every last penny (literally) out a deal to the point where they lose the perfect home.

I am looking for a few good clients, clients who want to buy a home to LIVE IN! If that home happens to be a foreclosure or short sale or distressed so be it BUT if that is your primary focus then I’m probably not the Realtor for you (I’d be happy to refer to some very good ones). On the other hand if your looking for a 1974 Buick Century Luxus then let me buy you a cup of coffee and let’s get started!

And if you’re a first time homebuyer even better! Send me a message here

I don’t know Ryan personally but he is an active blogger, a smart guy and I think you should check out his book and his blog here. He talks a lot about distressed property and the foreclosure market and even though he’s in Rancho Palos Verdes CA you’ll learn a lot!

But back to the subject at hand, Ryan has written a book entitled Mia’s Home available on Amazon — it’s a kids book that does what a kids book is supposed to do — explain all this complicated mess in plain terms so kids too can understand, experience and learn from a very tough real-life situation . Ryan has also set up a website www.childrenofforeclosure.org with a lot more information.

As unpleasant as this subject is…it is equally that important. So if you, a friend or family member are in this situation I hope you’ll find Ryan Rockwood’s mission and book helpful. We are going to get through this but we will have to get through it together all of us even the most innocent of all!