http://irenakohler.com/blog/archive_201509/sort_entrydatetime-desc/  If you have been following along on our family adventure, you already know that moving and buying our new home has faced some unique circumstances. My family and I are located in the US, the seller of our soon-to-be home is based in the United Arab Emirates. This meant that throughout the buying process our agent had to be knowledgeable on the longer than usual buying process. It meant that my family had to practice patience, because any communication with the seller resulted in a longer than usual response time. My family and I had succeeded. We had a closing date! We set up utilities, changed our mailing addresses, and contracted various businesses to begin renovations (all for a closing date start date).  We should have closed and been happily nestled into our new home within 3 weeks of close. There was a bubble of excitement bobbing over all of our heads.The night before the closing date, I carefully coordinated outfits for our family of five to pop against the purple front door of our new home. We would head from the attorney’s office and head straight to the house for a quick sweet family pic. As soon as the last sock was placed on the last set of clothing my husband and I received a text....a very disappointing text. Our agent needed to speak with us asap.BAM! The happy bubble had burst. Closing would be pushed back a week. The sellers had not properly signed the deed. We are a pretty "roll-with-it" family, so after a few muffled curse words (the kids were all in bed) we accepted that life would happen and we would go on.Cue closing date Number Two. This time I decided to save myself some laundry time and just go with our regular everyday clothes. Cue call Number Two. Again, the closing would be delayed. The deed, which we were now assured had been re-signed, had not arrived as promised. There was talk of the sellers being on holiday, taking a special trip to London because the legal process is smoother there, and long courier times. I really am not sure what the details were. All I knew was that once again I was going to have to call all of the contractors and reschedule. The I was going to have to tell three children under the age of 7 years that our day was not going to include going to the new house. I was crushed.My husband and I stayed up late that night. We went through every possible scenario, and decided that if the house did not close on the next scheduled date we would have to walk. We were both paranoid that there was something bad going wrong, despite the assurance from our agent that this was not terribly uncommon when dealing with overseas sellers. The Door looks red here, but I assure you it is a very interesting shade of purple...Closing date Three...YES! WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!! And the kicker, our awesome agent was able to negotiate our first full month of bills paid by the seller due to the long delay! Our family skipped the matching outfits. We drove to the house and played in the yard. We walked around and guessed at where Santa might leave Christmas gifts. We introduced ourselves to neighbors through the fence posts. We were a family who was finally home. Memories multiplied, and all was right with the world.Tell us about your home-buying experiences! Did all go smoothly, or were there hurdles to jump along the way? You can join the conversation on our Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/seacoastrealtyReady to jump into the home-buying adventures? You’ll need a rockstar agent, like my own, and you can find one herehttp://www.seacoastrealty.com/ http://irenakohler.com/blog/1300/what-to-expect-when-buying-a-home:-please-please-just-give-us-the-keys!/ Fri, 25 Sep 2015 12:00:00 -0500 Sherri Pickard, Managing Broker of the Wilmington office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage and 2015 president of the Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS$reg;, has added another honor to her long list of accolades. On Monday, September 14, she was elected as Regional Vice President of the North Carolina Association of REALTORS$reg; (NCAR) to represent the Wilmington region. The election of new officers took place during the annual NCAR Convention & Expo in Hilton Head, SC. The North Carolina Association of REALTORS$reg; is a non-profit trade association founded in 1921 with a mission "to promote the success of our members and enhance the quality of life in North Carolina." NCAR also works to preserve and promote the right to own, transfer and use real property; maintain a leadership role in the legislative, political and regulatory process; promote and maintain the highest ethical standards; develop and provide the best education, products and services and promote housing affordability. NCAR divides the state into 10 regions and each region has an elected vice president, such as Sherri Pickard, who is responsible for coordinating activities in his or her area on behalf of the association. A sales agent with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage since 2008, Pickard received her Masters in Business Administration in Finance from New York University, is a graduate of the REALTOR Institute, a Certified Distressed Property Expert, Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource, and has extensive experience in short sales, REOs, foreclosures and distressed properties in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties. She also has specialized expertise in cash flow analysis and investment evaluation. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is the largest and best-selling real estate company in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties, with more than $1.1 billion in closed sales volume and 5,395 closed sales transactions in 2014. Sea Coast Advantage was founded in Wilmington, NC in 1988 and joined Coldwell Banker in 1993. Sea Coast Advantage is staffed by more than 400 real estate agents in 11 offices in Wilmington, Leland, Jacksonville, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Hampstead, Southport, Sneads Ferry, South Brunswick, Oak Island and Holden Beach. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage also has an ownership interest in 18 Coldwell Banker Advantage offices in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Southern Pines with an additional 375 agents serving those markets. With the addition of these offices, closed sales volume for Sea Coast Advantage in 2014 totaled $2.1 billion with more than 11,000 closed sales transactions. In 2014, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage was the #1 Coldwell Banker company in NC and #3 Coldwell Banker company in the nation. For additional information, go to www.seacoastrealty.com. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1760/sherri-pickard-of-coldwell-banker-sea-coast-advantage-elected-regional-vice-president-of-north-carolina-association-of-realtors/ Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:00:00 -0500 Castle Hayne, NC – When local developer Burrows Smith first walked the property in Castle Hayne now known asRiver Bluffs, he envisioned a unique community with rare riverfront access just minutes from downtown Wilmington.Yet that vision had one significant roadblock: the property had no sewer. Today, a decade later, the sewer lines arein and sales are underway at this 313-acre new home community. But the route these sewer lines took to become areality is nothing short of extraordinary.River Bluffs Development Corporation, owned by Wilmington Holding Corporation (WHC) and BurrowsSmith, fronted the $4.126 million it took to install a lift station on site and to lay the six miles of sewer lines requiredto connect River Bluffs to Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s 23rd Street wastewater treatment plant. Why did aprivate company make such a huge investment in public infrastructure? For two reasons: (1) banks typically don’tlend developers funds for this type of “high risk” infrastructure, and (2) Cape Fear Public Utility Authority wasfocused on other projects that took precedence.“We financed all of this out-of-pocket,” said Burrows Smith, “because sewer was absolutely necessary tothe success of this project. We have such a unique property here at River Bluffs that we were confident theinvestment was worthwhile. And now that sewer is available in this area, we hope to see a great deal moredevelopment in Castle Hayne, including new homes, retail and commercial projects.”To make this sewer project a reality, River Bluffs negotiated a “non-standard” utility agreement with CapeFear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA). The agreement conveys ownership of the lift station, six miles of pipe, andsewage capacity to CFPUA. The new system has a capacity of one million gallons per day. River Bluffs requireshalf of that capacity, or 500,000 gallons, leaving a surplus capacity of 500,000 gallons for other projects.The agreement negotiated with CFPUA allows River Bluffs to be reimbursed for sewer capacity when otherdevelopers tie into the new system at a rate of $4.12 per gallon. For instance, if a developer had a project thatrequired 100,000 gallons per day, the one-time, upfront cost to tie into the River Bluffs system would be $412,000,payable to River Bluffs. In contrast, according to Smith, if a developer were to develop their own treatment facility,the sewer capacity could cost between $20 and $25 per gallon, or $2 million to $2.5 million.“Over time, this reimbursement agreement will enable us to recoup some of our initial $4 millioninvestment, but we will never recoup all of it,” said Smith. “This was an investment in River Bluffs and an investmentin the Greater Wilmington community and we hope other developers will follow our lead.”Added Smith, “This agreement is a great example of how public and private partnerships can be a win-winfroisre e ivne pryroopneer itny vvoalvlueeds, bbeuct amuosset ooff tahlle, faovra tihlaeb ciloitmy omf usneiwtye or.f ICna tshtele l oHnagy-nteer.m In, wthee wsihllo sret-ete mrmo,r ew ep eaonptilcei pliavitneg s heeerineg a andrise in property values because of the availability of sewer. In the long-term, we will see more people living here andmore businesses locating here. This is what happens when sewer comes into an area.”Sewer service is a catalyst for development, according to Smith. “The developers of Porters Neck did asimilar type of agreement 25 years ago and look at that area today. Our new force main project could be a similartype of catalyst for this region of the county.”According to Smith, the new force main is both an economic and environmental boon for Castle Hayne.“This new force main is a critical first step to getting sewer into the area,” said Smith, “and will ultimately alleviatethe impact of the failed septic systems in this region. As more development comes into the area and more liftstations are created, the sewer capacity will increase and more homeowners will be able to tie into the system.”ABOUT RIVER BLUFFSRiver Bluffs is a private, 313-acre new home community developed on a philosophy of sustainability andenvironmental preservation. The community is ideally located in a pristine, waterfront section of Castle Hayne andframed by high bluffs overlooking the Northeast Cape Fear River. Residents are just 10 minutes from downtownWilmington either by car or boat.More than a third of the site’s 313 acres will be permanently preserved as open space, trails and parks. Allcommunity amenities are built with the latest energy saving technology and the development team members areexperts in the latest energy efficient building practices and opportunities. River Bluffs is the first community of itskind to incorporate a certified Organic Farm to support the community’s restaurant and cafe, as well as provideorganic farming teaching facilities for residents and students.Amenities include a pool, clubhouse, fitness center, tennis courts, riverfront restaurant, café/grocery, adeep-water marina with 141 boat slips and an expansive Riverwalk and gazebo overlooking the Cape Fear River.The community is comprised of two primary neighborhoods: Rosewood Landing, which includes 200 onestorybrick homes ranging in size from 1,900 to 2,900 square feet and $304,500 to $469,500; and River Bluffs,which includes 400 custom homes designed in the coastal cottage tradition. Single family, custom homes range inprice from $350,000 to $800,000 .Other notable projects in which the River Bluffs development team was involved include Sea Watch at KureBeach, Wrightsville Sound Office Park, Westbay, Plantation Landing, Sagewood, South Harbour Village andLumina Commons.For more information, visit www.riverbluffsliving.com.### http://irenakohler.com/blog/1762/developer-of-river-bluffs-in-castle-hayne-invests-$4-million-of-private-funds-to-bring-sewer-to-313-acre-riverfront-development/ Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:00:00 -0500 Castle Hayne, NC – When local developer Burrows Smith first walked the property in Castle Hayne now known asRiver Bluffs, he envisioned a unique community with rare riverfront access just minutes from downtown Wilmington.Yet that vision had one significant roadblock: the property had no sewer. Today, a decade later, the sewer lines arein and sales are underway at this 313-acre new home community. But the route these sewer lines took to become areality is nothing short of extraordinary.River Bluffs Development Corporation, owned by Wilmington Holding Corporation (WHC) and BurrowsSmith, fronted the $4.126 million it took to install a lift station on site and to lay the six miles of sewer lines requiredto connect River Bluffs to Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s 23rd Street wastewater treatment plant. Why did aprivate company make such a huge investment in public infrastructure? For two reasons: (1) banks typically don’tlend developers funds for this type of “high risk” infrastructure, and (2) Cape Fear Public Utility Authority wasfocused on other projects that took precedence.“We financed all of this out-of-pocket,” said Burrows Smith, “because sewer was absolutely necessary tothe success of this project. We have such a unique property here at River Bluffs that we were confident theinvestment was worthwhile. And now that sewer is available in this area, we hope to see a great deal moredevelopment in Castle Hayne, including new homes, retail and commercial projects.”To make this sewer project a reality, River Bluffs negotiated a “non-standard” utility agreement with CapeFear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA). The agreement conveys ownership of the lift station, six miles of pipe, andsewage capacity to CFPUA. The new system has a capacity of one million gallons per day. River Bluffs requireshalf of that capacity, or 500,000 gallons, leaving a surplus capacity of 500,000 gallons for other projects.The agreement negotiated with CFPUA allows River Bluffs to be reimbursed for sewer capacity when otherdevelopers tie into the new system at a rate of $4.12 per gallon. For instance, if a developer had a project thatrequired 100,000 gallons per day, the one-time, upfront cost to tie into the River Bluffs system would be $412,000,payable to River Bluffs. In contrast, according to Smith, if a developer were to develop their own treatment facility,the sewer capacity could cost between $20 and $25 per gallon, or $2 million to $2.5 million.“Over time, this reimbursement agreement will enable us to recoup some of our initial $4 millioninvestment, but we will never recoup all of it,” said Smith. “This was an investment in River Bluffs and an investmentin the Greater Wilmington community and we hope other developers will follow our lead.”Added Smith, “This agreement is a great example of how public and private partnerships can be a win-winfroisre e ivne pryroopneer itny vvoalvlueeds, bbeuct amuosset ooff tahlle, faovra tihlaeb ciloitmy omf usneiwtye or.f ICna tshtele l oHnagy-nteer.m In, wthee wsihllo sret-ete mrmo,r ew ep eaonptilcei pliavitneg s heeerineg a andrise in property values because of the availability of sewer. In the long-term, we will see more people living here andmore businesses locating here. This is what happens when sewer comes into an area.”Sewer service is a catalyst for development, according to Smith. “The developers of Porters Neck did asimilar type of agreement 25 years ago and look at that area today. Our new force main project could be a similartype of catalyst for this region of the county.”According to Smith, the new force main is both an economic and environmental boon for Castle Hayne.“This new force main is a critical first step to getting sewer into the area,” said Smith, “and will ultimately alleviatethe impact of the failed septic systems in this region. As more development comes into the area and more liftstations are created, the sewer capacity will increase and more homeowners will be able to tie into the system.”ABOUT RIVER BLUFFSRiver Bluffs is a private, 313-acre new home community developed on a philosophy of sustainability andenvironmental preservation. The community is ideally located in a pristine, waterfront section of Castle Hayne andframed by high bluffs overlooking the Northeast Cape Fear River. Residents are just 10 minutes from downtownWilmington either by car or boat.More than a third of the site’s 313 acres will be permanently preserved as open space, trails and parks. Allcommunity amenities are built with the latest energy saving technology and the development team members areexperts in the latest energy efficient building practices and opportunities. River Bluffs is the first community of itskind to incorporate a certified Organic Farm to support the community’s restaurant and cafe, as well as provideorganic farming teaching facilities for residents and students.Amenities include a pool, clubhouse, fitness center, tennis courts, riverfront restaurant, café/grocery, adeep-water marina with 141 boat slips and an expansive Riverwalk and gazebo overlooking the Cape Fear River.The community is comprised of two primary neighborhoods: Rosewood Landing, which includes 200 onestorybrick homes ranging in size from 1,900 to 2,900 square feet and $304,500 to $469,500; and River Bluffs,which includes 400 custom homes designed in the coastal cottage tradition. Single family, custom homes range inprice from $350,000 to $800,000 .Other notable projects in which the River Bluffs development team was involved include Sea Watch at KureBeach, Wrightsville Sound Office Park, Westbay, Plantation Landing, Sagewood, South Harbour Village andLumina Commons.For more information, visit www.riverbluffsliving.com.### http://irenakohler.com/blog/1754/developer-of-river-bluffs-in-castle-hayne-invests-$4-million-of-private-funds-to-bring-sewer-to-313-acre-riverfront-development/ Tue, 22 Sep 2015 12:00:00 -0500 Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage introduced a revolutionary new texting service thisweek that pushes new listings to interested buyers and also generates leads for the firm’s 400 sales agents. Thenew technology, entitled Sea Coast Home Text, is exclusive to Sea Coast Advantage and its 11 offices fromJacksonville to Ocean Isle.Sea Coast Home Text is a simple texting service comprised of two components: the Sea Coast Home Textphone number, which is 910-208-0556; and a Sea Coast Advantage agent’s unique key word. The phone number isconstant across all agents. Each Sea Coast Advantage agent selects a key word or phrase unique to him or her.For instance, Agent A may have the key word “advantage” which he will advertise and promote to existing andprospective customers. When buyers see a home they are interested in, they text "advantage" to the phone number910-208-0556. The buyer immediately receives information about that listing and 9 additional properties closest tothe buyer’s GPS location, regardless of whether these are Sea Coast Advantage listings or not. Agent A alsoreceives a text alerting him about the caller so they can follow up with the potential buyer. If the buyer looks upinformation about any of the 10 properties provided, the agent also receives data about this so they fullyunderstand what properties the prospect is reviewing.“The Sea Coast Home Text program is a win-win for buyers, sellers and agents,” said Tim Milam, presidentof Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage. “We are always looking for new ways to use technology to make thebuying and selling process easier for our customers and this new texting service is a great asset to both ourcustomers and our agents. Agents simply advise their buyers to save the 910-208-0556 number into their mobilephone, along with their key word, and now when buyers are out looking at real estate, they can get immediateinformation from their phone without having to access a website. It’s really an extraordinary new service and we’reproud to say that Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is the first and only firm in the Cape Fear area to offer thisadvantage to our customers.”Sea Coast Home Text pushes information about the 10 closest listings to the buyer, and if the buyer is in arural area, the search will go out to a 10 square mile area.Sea Coast Home Text was developed by XiLi Mobile, LLC, a start-up technology company headquarteredin Tek Mountain in Wilmington. XiLi develops mobile software for the real estate industry and specializes indeveloping mobile products that deliver listing information on request to interested potential buyers, andsimultaneously captures these leads and forwards them automatically to the listing agent for contact. Sea CoastAdvantage agents have been using the first and second generation of the XiLi texting product on their own listingsfor the past several years, and are enthusiastic about the new, advanced capabilities of Sea Coast Home Text,which uses the new, XiLi Enterprise platform.“Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage truly is a pioneer when it comes to real estate technology,” saidChris Colin, Director of Marketing and SEO for XiLi. “We have worked with the Sea Coast Advantage team sincethe very beginning of our company and they have enthusiastically embraced the technology and how it can simplifythe buying process. We’re proud to provide them the 3rd generation of our software on an exclusive basis in thisregion and look forward to launching XiLi Enterprise nationally over the next few months.”According to Colin, a similar XiLi Enterprise product in use in an Oklahoma real estate office has alreadygenerated 8,500 leads within just a few months. Nationally, XiLi generated more than 80,000 text messages lastyear, resulting in more than 50,000 leads.XiLi is one of five Wilmington startups that will participate in this year’s CED Tech Venture Conference inRaleigh on September 15-16. Sponsored by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the annual conferencebrings together angel investors, venture capital firms and 80 start-ups like XiLi to explore how they can worktogether to scale up their businesses.Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is the largest and best-selling real estate company in New Hanover,Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties, with more than $1.1 billion in closed sales volume and 5,395 closed salestransactions in 2014. Sea Coast Advantage was founded in Wilmington, NC in 1988 and joined Coldwell Banker in1993. Sea Coast Advantage is staffed by more than 400 real estate agents in 11 offices in Wilmington, Leland,Jacksonville, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Hampstead, Southport, Sneads Ferry, South Brunswick, Oak Islandand Holden Beach.Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage also has an ownership interest in 18 Coldwell Banker Advantageoffices in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Southern Pines with an additional 375 agents serving those markets. With theaddition of these offices, closed sales volume for Sea Coast Advantage in 2014 totaled $2.1 billion with more than11,000 closed sales transactions.In 2014, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage was the #1 Coldwell Banker company in NC and #3Coldwell Banker company in the nation. For additional information, go to www.seacoastrealty.com. http://irenakohler.com/blog/1756/sea-coast-home-text-is-exclusive-to-sea-coast-advantage-and-exemplifies-firm's-commitment-to-cutting-edge-technology/ Tue, 22 Sep 2015 12:00:00 -0500