Fort Mill Tega Cay Lake Wylie Real Estate

 Warning: The Sturgeon General advices you to be careful reading or listening to positive homes sales news which maybe dangerous to your health or at least a shock to your system compared to the normal news environment. Care should be taken when reading or listening to positive news.

I get up every morning with a positive attitude with the goal to make it a positive day. During my morning drive to work I listen to the news talk radio station. I don’t know about you but I almost hate turning on the radio or any news these days. My positive attitude flies right out the window after listening to a few minutes of the morning economic news. Most of the news seems to be about the bad housing market, failing mortgage market, and of course the main headline these days the high gas prices. So here is my attempt to go against the news trend and share some good news for a change.

The National Association of Realtors® released this week their homes sales forecast based on April’s pending home sales index data. April’s index showed a national gain in homes sale contracts of 6.3% over March.  NAR’s economists forecast a continued moderate home sales increase in the next few months and it may get better in the second half of the year.  

The West coast has shown the most improvement. Positive sales growth was also felt in the Midwest and the South. The Northeast was still showing a decline by 1.9%. Pending homes sales numbers have picked up significantly in areas seeing significant home value price drops like the West. But economists predict home values will stabilize in most areas in the second half of the year.

As for the Fort Mill, Tega Cay SC area, the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association reported steady increases each month from January through April which is consistent with the NAR report. The total homes under contract nationally and locally are below last years numbers but the positive news here is the sales are gaining each month. 

I apologize if this news is shocking to you.

Read the rest of this entry →

Fort Mill SC keeps growing. The new Koll Development Company 150,000 square foot Intellicenter building in Fort Mill SC is finished and has been turned over to Daimler Trucks of North America. Freightliner LLC changed it corporate name last January to Daimler Trucks of North America.

Last October Daimler Trucks announced the move of its 340 job sales and marketing division from Portland OR to Fort Mill, SC. As of the company deadline for relocation decisions last January, 118 Portland Daimler employees are making the move to Fort Mill, SC. I took a look at Daimler’s job opening website. Only 14 positions were listed as available. Daimler had a job fair in March so many of the non relocating positions may have been filled.

The Daimler Trucks sales and marketing new office is located on Deerfield Drive near the Gold Hill and I-77 interchange. Here is the last picture from the construction job site camera of new building taken on May 21st.

You can see the exterior of the building and landscaping is complete. Work left to do is focused on the interior office set up including furniture. Daimler Trucks expects operations to begin in the new offices the first part of August.

What is the latest about the Daimler Trucks HQ move from Portland to the York County area? Read the rest of this entry →

If you are shopping for a home in the Tega Cay or Fort Mill area right now you will notice lawns looking brown instead of green these days. With higher or I should say HOT summer temperatures and water restrictions that are in place, it is difficult to maintain a bright green lawn.

So you might ask what are the current water restrictions? Here is an update.

Tega Cay’s city council did revise the current stage 3 water restrictions on May 31st. Stage 3 restriction have been in place since October of last year. We were blessed with much needed rain during the spring season so the council reduced the restrictions slightly from the April 21st, 2008 change. We are still in stage 3 water restriction with the following changes:

You are allowed to water lawns with sprinklers or irrigation systems one day a week.
Odd addresses are allowed to water any time on Saturdays
Even addresses are allowed to water anytime on Sundays.

The April 21st update only allowed you to water on the designated day from 12:01am to 9am. The May 31st change allows you to water anytime during your designated day.

Besides the change to the time of watering your lawns 1 day a week, you may now wash vehicles, watercraft, fill pools, and pressure wash structures/driveways on the same designated day of the week. But only one day a week on your designated day.

Residents are allowed to use hand held watering containers and hoses with spray nozzles to water plants, shrubs, flowers, containers, gardens, and lawns any time and any day of the week.

Tega Cay restrictions now match the current York County stage 3 restrictions. Fort Mill water restrictions are similar except the only day to water, wash, or fill is Saturday. Fort Mill did not break out different days for even or odd addresses.

In all jurisdictions, watering, washing, and filing on days other than your assigned day is strictly prohibited. And so is any water run off. Read the rest of this entry →

The Tega Cay based Carolina Show Ski Team started their show season last night with their first summer ski show at Windjammer Park. This year’s ski show theme is a country hoe down.
The show features thrilling skiing acts, such as jumping, barefooting, ballet lines, and human pyramids.

The ski show even has a commercial break from the energizer bunny.

Info from their website:

Carolina Show Ski Team, Inc. was founded in 1988. We are a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting the sport of water skiing in a safe, fun-filled, family environment. Our team performs through-out the Carolina region and is based out of Charlotte with members from Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, Lake Hartwell and High Rock Lake.

The Carolina Show Ski Team has competed in several Regional Water Ski Tournaments, including the Southern Regional Tournament in Florida. This year the team will be competing in the Division II Show Ski Nationals in Indiana for the very first time. Every year our team hosts several skiing tournaments, including the “New Years Day Barefoot Challenge” on Lake Norman. In addition, we also offer several “Learn to Ski” clinics throughout the summer for those who are interested in learning how to ski, wanting to improve their skiing or perhaps learn a new trick.

The ski team is made up of skiing and non-skiing members who work together to raise money for team activities; work together to put on great performances; and who work together to have fun! The ski team is governed by a board that manages team activities and finances, and as needed, presents information to the whole team at monthly meetings (or special meetings called by the President) for decisions to be made. We have weekly practices and perform ski shows throughout the summer season, and contribute to the community in a variety of different ways. Read the rest of this entry →

Wow, the stock market got a little scary today!  The employment numbers were worse than expected and the stock market took a hit… that is good for rates typically and we saw a little improvement, but oil prices are still rising and that is BAD for rates.  Overall, we are in a holding pattern right now with an slightly upward trend.

30 Year Avg: 6.25%

100% Programs

GONE.  The only way to buy right now without any down payment is with some time of down payment assistance.  FHA loans are back in the spotlight!

Also, ask about community programs and first time homebuyer programs.  There is some money out there for lower income buyers but beware, some have neighborhood restrictions.

STATED INCOME

Agency Stated programs are back!!!  We can offer conforming pricing on stated income programs again… the only drawback is 75% max financing.  NO DOC loans are no longer available in N.C.

INVESTMENT Programs

PMI companies are no longer offering mortgage insurance for cash-out refinances on non-owner occupied properties.  If you own investment property and are looking to get some cash, you are now stuck with 80% loan to value.

What’s HOT??

Read the rest of this entry →

View Larger Map
York County Council approved on May 19 to re-zone 32 acres in Fort Mill on highway 160 west across from Baxter Village to mixed use.

ELA, a Rock Hill based developer, original planned to build apartments but sought to add retail and office developmemt to the project. The development after last months county approval will now consist of 288 apartments and 110,605 square foot of retail and office space.

The buildings in the front of the development facing highway 160 will be 4 to 5 story buildings with retail and restaurants on the first floor and offices in the upper floors. The apartments will be located in the rear of the development.

The county has tried to restricted further commercial development on this part of highway 160 to minimize the traffic impact on the highway. Read the rest of this entry →