Southport, NC 09/24/07 The issue I’m offering up for discussion deals with the real estate transfer tax. I know, I know, all real estate agents, builders, and developers are collectively opposed to them. Pardon me for being the contrarian here but I’m not sure what my vote is going to be come November. At 4:00 today the Brunswick County Commissioners will hold a public meeting to discuss the proposal of a .4% real estate transfer tax. Brunswick is one of 16 North Carolina counties to get approval from the State legislature to add this tax referendum to the November ballot. So far the NC Realtors Association has spent well over $600,000 to fight this tax proposal in the General Assembly. I admit to having been on the sidelines on this issue up until now. It seems that Realtors are nearly... 09/24/2007

A short drive reaps big rewards......NC Getaways      Two small towns, "both alike in dignity,"  In fair Carolina, "where we lay our scene..."                                                                          Highway 211 begins where the Piedmont meets the "Sandhills" as it intersects Highway 220 in Candor. It ends quite abruptly in Southport, NC at the mouth of the Cape Fear River as it greets the Atlantic. As two small North Carolina towns experiencing huge growth and growing pains, both are top retirement destinations for "snow birds." Their size and demographics are remarkably similar. If you take Highway 211 from here in Southport, 130 miles up the road, a quick jaunt on Highway 5 will bring you into the Village of Pinehurst, to a land of golf and its fabled Pinehurst #2, to... 09/15/2007

 Say you’re in the middle of a property search in the area of Southport, NC. You’re out riding around on a Sunday afternoon and you run across my sign here next to a parcel of land in the area you are looking. Should you call me at the number given? Is this a trick question? Yes it is, for my answer is, “No.” I’m serious. The reason is simple. Why would you call the Listing Agent if you are a Buyer? The Listing agent represents the Seller. By you, the Buyer, calling the Listing Agent, you involve yourself and the Agent in what is called “Dual Agency.”  The Listing Agent can no longer represent the interests of the Seller exclusively.  He must offer you “skill, care, and diligence,” but his primary loyalty must be to the Seller, and he must try his or her best to work impartially for bot... 09/07/2007

I am getting ready to renew my license plate. I've never had a specialty plate or a personalized plate. I don't have my name or the firm I work for on my car. The car is an '01 Subaru Forester. All this probably says a lot about me. First, I'm not comfortable driving a billboard on wheels. I like to fly under the radar. Second, I'm a penny-pincher. I can't justify changing vehicles. We're in a slow market and "if it ain't broke......" I know that it's not the greatest for showing clients around, but so far I haven't lost anyone because of it. At least I don't know about it if I have. So back to the license plates. Here's my quandary. I've been wanting to get the Blue Ridge Parkway plate ever since it came out a few years back. I've traveled the distance of it, a part of it runs through ... 08/18/2007

 A cage-rattling line of thunderstorms came through town during the night last night, the likes of which we haven't seen in quite some time. I was driving home on Goodman Road fairly late last night after seeing BLT's hilarious performance of Nunsense. Debris was flying through the air and there was a constant rumble of the storm a comin'. It held off thankfully but when it finally hit, it hung around ALL night! I expected to wake up this morning to some cooler, fresher air-but nooo-August and its dependable dog days of summer will be with us just a little while longer.I've read a lot of blogs this week, most of them real estate related, and I'm extremely impressed with the thoughtful insights offered up to the masses with a genuine dose of generosity. I'm not sure if I'll be capable of... 08/11/2007

Sunday, August 5, 2007 My first post and the big news is that I got my brand-new website up and going yesterday. It's a work-in progress but I was pretty fed up fooling with it so I just hit the "Publish" button and off she flew. The message said it would probably take 24 to 48 hrs before I could log on but after about 5 minutes, I couldn't resist. I typed southportsoundings.com in my web browser and BAM!.... there it was........amazing. My feelings of satisfaction didn't last long, as I was on to "traffic" setups....keywords, metatags, robots, spiders, and the like.I don't have any well thought out aspirations for this blog. It may end up as nothing but a personal log, cause who has time to read this stuff, and frankly, who cares? If I can strike up a few conversations with fellow Sout... 08/11/2007