Let's Talk The Triangle

If you are a homeowner who has owned your home for five of the last 8 years and you meet certain income restrictions you will soon be able to take advantage of a Home Buyers’ Tax Credit of up to $6,500. On Friday President Obama signed into law not only an extension of the First Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit through April 30th of 2010 but expanded it to include some current homeowners.

Realtor.com, the most visited real estate website in the world, has a consumer blog called Ask A Realtor. Consumers submit questions and one Realtor in the entire U.S. is selected to answer the question. This time marks the fourth time in as many months that Tim McBrayer has been selected to provide the answer.

This time a consumer wanted to know what steps to take if she was thinking about putting her home on the market in the next year or two.

See Tim’s blog answer here: http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2009/11/01/preparing-a-home-for-a-sale-ask-a-realtor%C2%AE/

The number of foreclosures in North Carolina fell nearly 6 percent in the third quarter from the same period last year, according to data from RealtyTrac Inc. The state had 9,818 foreclosures in the latest quarter, with one in every 420 homeowners receiving a default notice, auction-sale notice or bank-repossession filing. North Carolina ranked 36th in the nation for foreclosure filings in the latest quarter. Nevada, Arizona and California posted the top foreclosure rates. Foreclosure filings, however, rose nearly 29 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter. Foreclosure filings in North Carolina rose 51 percent in September from the same period last year. Filings were down 13.5 percent last month from August. Across the country, foreclosure filings rose 23 percent in the third quarter from a year ago. There were 937,840 foreclosure filings, which affected one in every 136 U.S. households. Filings rose 5 percent from the second quarter and fell 4 percent from August. Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac tracks default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions. Its figures exceed those compiled by the N.C. Commissioner of Banks. The company counts every foreclosure filing, including multiple filings for a single household, while the commissioner counts each household only once, regardless of the number of filings it receives.

Even though the Triangle area is relatively safe compared to many other large metropolitan areas I do think safety tips like these need repeating often to make people aware, especially women, that there are SMART choices to be made when it comes to personal safety. Take a look at the tips below and try to remember them if you ever find yourself in one of these situations. You probably never will but it’s better to know these tips than to be the unlucky person who does end up facing one of these situations and doesn’t know what to do.

 

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do :The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!
2. If a robber asksfor your wallet and/or purse DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM  Toss it away from you….Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. Then RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy..The driver won’t see you, but
everybody else will. This has saved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkebook, or making a list, etc.DON’T DO THIS!)
The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.
AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR ,LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE..If someone is in the car with
a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car.Your Air Bag will save you.
If the person is in the back sea they will get the worst of
it .As soon as the car crashes bail out and run.It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.
5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor , and in the back seat B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door.  Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car
parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side…If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you
back out.  IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (Andbetter paranoid than dead.)
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!
8. Women are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP
It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy,
the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man,
who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked ‘for help’ into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
9.. In some communities women have heard a crying baby on their porches. One such lady called the police
because it was late and she thought it was weird.. The police told her ‘Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door..’ The lady then said that it sounded like the baby
had crawled near a window, and she was worried
that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, ‘We already have a unit on the way,
whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.’ He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coaxwomen out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not
verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby’s cries outside their doors when they’re home alone at night.
10. Water scam! If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full ball so that you will go out to investigate and then attack.

Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbours!

Tim answered a question about how to serve listing clients and the managers of the Realtor.com blog site chose it as the answer to show on their blog site. You can check it out at http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2009/08/19/ask-a-realtor%C2%AE-how-a-realtor%C2%AE-helps-sellers/

Kplinger Magazine just ranked Raleigh the number one place for people to retire to over the next 20 years. The combination of great weather, excellent health care and a low cost of living makes Raleigh Number One.

Raleigh couldn’t escape two big economic hits over the past year. For one, the state of North Carolina has had a bad run, losing thousands of jobs in two particularly vulnerable sectors in this recession: manufacturing and financial services. And construction was also a major force during the boom years. The bursting of the real estate bubble has killed off that sector.

Nevertheless, Raleigh still has an enviable economic base, built on three universities and Research Triangle Park, where employers in everything from biotech to computers still thrive.

Although Raleigh’s unemployment rate has doubled in the past year, to 8.6%, it’s still much lower than the 10.8% rate for the state as a whole. And people continue to move here, recognizing — as we do — that the Raleigh area will boom again.

Info provided by www.Kiplingers.com

RALEIGH –– The North Carolina Turnpike Authority took possession of $1.01 billion in bond proceeds and federal loans today allowing it to award construction contracts to build the state’s first modern toll road, the Triangle Expressway in Wake and Durham counties.

“This begins a new era for funding transportation projects in North Carolina,” said David Joyner, executive director of the Turnpike Authority. “While financing the Triangle Expressway presented unforeseen challenges due to recent credit market events, it reaffirmed our commitment to providing this new form of highway delivery. We are excited about bringing this project to the citizens of our state decades sooner than otherwise possible using conventional funds.”

The Turnpike Authority Board of Directors awarded contracts to S.T. Wooten Corp. for the Triangle Parkway segment of the Triangle Expressway and the Raleigh-Durham Roadbuilders (a joint venture of Archer Western Construction LTD and Granite Construction Co.) for the Western Wake Freeway segment. The contract amounts are approximately $137.5 million and $446.5 million, respectively. Right-of-way acquisition and other preparatory work will begin immediately. Construction will begin in mid-August.

“With the project’s financial close and the award of contracts today, more than $1 billion is being injected into North Carolina’s economy, putting thousands of North Carolinians to work,” said Transportation Secretary Gene Conti, chairman of the Turnpike Authority Board of Directors. “The Federal Highway Administration estimates that for every $1 million spent on transportation 30 jobs are created. Using those estimates, this project alone could create or preserve 30,000 jobs.”

The Triangle Expressway is a new-location roadway from the NC 55 Bypass near Holly Springs to I-40 at NC 147. This toll road system is approximately 18.8 miles in length and is comprised of three segments: Western Wake Freeway, Triangle Parkway and existing NC 540 between NC 55 and NC 54. The project is a six-lane, controlled-access toll road and is expected to save customers up to 20 minutes per full trip. The Triangle Parkway is scheduled to open to traffic in 2011 while the Western Wake Freeway is scheduled to open to traffic in 2012.

The Triangle Expressway became an official turnpike project in October 2005. By using a
combination of earlier environmental and engineering studies from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and new studies conducted by the Turnpike Authority, the project was able to move to construction in less than four years. The Turnpike Authority had hoped to sell bonds and begin construction on the project in late 2008. However, the worldwide financial crisis essentially closed the municipal markets, and the bond sale was delayed. Despite difficult economic conditions, the Turnpike Authority continued to pursue a financing plan that would allow it to raise the Triangle Expressway’s credit rating and sell bonds.

The Turnpike Authority and its underwriters, led by Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, closed on roughly $270 million in toll revenue bonds and $353 million in state appropriation bonds. Due to favorable financing, the bonds will carry a 30-year term rather than a 39-year term and have a blended interest rate of five and three-fourths percent. The Turnpike Authority also closed a $387 million federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan on July 10 to complete the project’s $1.01 billion financing package.

The Triangle Expressway will be the first project in the United States designed and built to utilize an all electronic toll collection system, meaning there will be no toll booths and no stopping to pay tolls. Customers may use cash, check or credit card to purchase an electronic transponder that will automatically charge for road use. For those without a transponder, overhead gantries with highspeed camera imaging systems will capture license plate information and drivers will be billed. The Triangle Expressway toll rates have not been set, however similar toll facilities around the country charge tolls in the range of 10 to 20 cents per mile.

“We look forward to formally breaking ground on this regionally significant project and we thank our many partners, including the North Carolina General Assembly, the Research Triangle Park Foundation, area chambers of commerce, the Regional Transportation Alliance, NCGO!, and the members of the Capital Area and Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organizations just to name a few,” added Joyner.