http://irenakohler.com/blog/archive_201006/sort_entrydatetime-desc/ Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty associate Sean Skutnik appeared in a report on WWAY Newschannel 3's newscast last night.Skutnik and other area Realtors told reporter Meghan Torjussen that home sales in Brunswick County have steadily increased over the past year and that they're excited by the recovery of the local housing market.To see Torjussen's report, click the image above or click here.To find properties in Brunswick County and other areas on the Cape Fear Coast, please visit SeaCoastRealty.com. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1655/tv-report-says-brunswick-home-sales-encouraging/ Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0500 The new and improved SeaCoastRealty.com is up and running!So far, the response to our new look and new features has been overwhelmingly positive.Check it out at SeaCoastRealty.com and let us know what you think. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1656/it's-alive!/ Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0500 On June 29, 2010, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty will launch a new version of its website, SeaCoastRealty.com. The new and improved site with offer consumers a fresh look, customization options, live chat assistance, and powerful new features unmatched by other area real estate companies."We spent months designing the all new SeaCoastRealty.com and tailoring it to what consumers told us they wanted, like Google Maps with street views for every property,” said Tim Allen, Sea Coast Realty’s Director of Information Technology.The new SeaCoastRealty.com offers a “My Property Retriever” feature that allows consumers to create a login and save their favorite properties and searches for later. The feature is headlined by Sea Coast Realty’s mascot, a yellow Labrador retriever named Barkley, but users can customize their accounts by uploading their own images. Consumers can even opt to receive email information about new listings, upcoming open houses, and price changes. “My Property Retriever” is integrated with Sea Coast Realty’s mobile website, Mobile.SeaCoastRealty.com, so that consumers that save properties on their mobile phones can look at the same properties when they log in to their “My Property Retriever” accounts online.By creating a “My Property Retriever” account, consumers also gain access to a wealth of information for each property, including recently sold properties nearby, detailed information about nearby schools, community statistics, and maps with points of interest, like nearby restaurants and businesses. Even without a “My Property Retriever” account, users have access to a professionally-narrated slideshow, price and property details, maps, and agent contact information for each property. Users can even live chat with a team member at Sea Coast Realty.For more than a decade, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has been southeastern North Carolina’s largest and best-selling real estate company. It operates nine offices with more than 325 sales associates and staff in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, & Onslow counties. For more information, please visit http://www.seacoastrealty.com/. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1657/new-website-will-offer-live-chat-added-features-and-a-helpful-labrador-retriever/ Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0500 Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is among the country’s largest and most successful residential real estate companies named in the recently released 2010 REAL Trends 500 report. The list is released annually by REAL Trends, Inc., the residential real estate industry’s leading source of analysis and information.The REAL Trends 500 report ranks the country’s top residential real estate companies by closed transactions and by sales volume. In 2009, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty closed 2,799 sales, ranking #151 in the list of “The 500 Largest Brokers in the U.S.” ranked by closed transactions. Sea Coast Realty closed $579,520,735 in sales volume in 2009, ranking #162 in the list of “The 500 Largest Brokers in the U.S.” ranked by sales volume.Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty ranked #23 out of more than 1,074 Coldwell Banker affiliated companies in the U.S. Coldwell Banker was ranked as the country’s #1 real estate franchise again this year, closing more than $128 billion in sales and almost twice as many sales transactions as the next leading real estate franchise.Locally, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty performed similarly well. In 2009, it closed more than twice as many sales as the next leading company. Sea Coast Realty has claimed the title as southeastern North Carolina’s top selling real estate company for ten years in a row. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1658/sea-coast-realty-ranks-highly-among-nation’s-top-real-estate-companies/ Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0500 Written by guest blogger H.C. "Hutch" Hutchison, Ed.D. VA AppraisalEveryone wants to get good value for their money when they make any type of a purchase, especially if the purchase is several thousand dollars! To ensure that a veteran is not paying more for a house than what it is worth, the VA requires a VA Appraisal.The VA will not guarantee a home loan unless the property is appraised (for value) by a VA-assigned fee appraiser. The required VA Appraisal can be requested by the buyer, seller, real estate agent, or lender (normally, the lender is the requester) by completing and submitting a VA Form 26-1805, Request for Determination of Reasonable Value. Upon completion of the appraisal, the requester pays for the appraisal according to a fee schedule approved by the VA. This VA Appraisal estimates the value of the property.The VA Appraisal is not an inspection and does not guarantee that the house is free from any defects. A home inspection can be completed by a qualified home inspector to determine what, if any, problems or defects exist. The VA only guarantees the loan, not the condition of the property.Closing CostsWhen purchasing a home, closing costs must be paid in cash for such items as the title search, recording fees, hazard insurance premiums, and prepaid taxes.If I want to refinance, do I still have to pay these costs in cash?Normally when refinancing a VA loan, closing costs may be, but are not required to be, included in the loan amount, as long as the total amount of the loan does not exceed the value of the property. A loan with the purpose of reducing the interest rate on a loan may include closing costs and include a maximum of two discount points.Points, sometimes called "discount points", are a form of pre-paid interest. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Borrowers can offer to pay points as a method to reduce the interest rate on the loan, thus obtaining a lower monthly payment. For each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by 1/8%.Law requires that a VA funding fee also be associated with a VA guaranteed loan. The fee is intended to enable the veteran who obtains a VA home loan to contribute toward the cost of this benefit, and thereby reduce the cost to taxpayers.Required OccupancyOne requirement for eligibility for a VA home loan is required occupancy. That means that the veteran (or the spouse of an active duty service member) applying for the loan must certify that he or she intends to occupy the home as a primary residence. However, when refinancing a VA guaranteed loan to reduce the interest rate, only prior occupancy must be certified.H.C. “Hutch” Hutchison, Ed.D., retired from the U.S. Army in 1991, after more than twenty-two years of active duty. Since then, the former helicopter test pilot and aviation maintenance officer has earned his third post-graduate degree and taught under-graduate and graduate courses. In addition to practicing real estate with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, Hutchison is active in national, state, and local leadership organizations and local chapters of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Modern Warfare, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and United States Army Warrant Officer Association. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1659/va-loan-appraisals-closing-costs-&-required-occupancy/ Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0500