Hello Friends, Here's an update of current listings and homes sold in the past 90 days in the Bayshore community.  For more information on Wilmington, NC real estate visit www.thekeytowilmington.com  Let me know if I can provide more information on this or other Wilmington NC neighborhoods. Area Market Survey Listings as of 10/24/08 at 7:26pm Property Type  Single Family    Property Subtype  Stick Built    Community  Bayshore Estates Statuses  Active, Active Cont Sale Add, Active Alternative 2, Active Temp Off Mkt, Pending (9/24/2008 or after) , Sold (7/24/2008 or after) , Expired (9/24/2008 or after)     Bayshore Estates Active Listing Price Range  Quantity      Average DOM   $200,000 thru $249,999 3 72   $250,000 thru $299,999 3 72   $300,000 thru $349,999 2 36   $450,000 thru $499,99... 10/24/2008

  Hello Friends and Neighbors, Below is a market update for homes listed, pending, and sold within the past 90 days in Porters Neck Plantation.  Even in tough economic times, we are so fortunate to live in an area that many across the country desire to call home.  If I can provide additional information on real estate market conditions, create your personal market analysis, or help with any of your real estate needs, please let me know. Area Market Survey Listings as of 10/24/08 at 5:36pm Property Type  Single Family    Property Subtype  Stick Built    Community  Porters Neck Planta Statuses  Active, Active Cont Sale Add, Active Alternative 2, Active Temp Off Mkt, Pending (9/1/2008 or after) , Sold (7/24/2008 or after) , Expired (9/24/2008 or after)     Porters Neck Plantation Active Li... 10/24/2008

Area Market Survey Listings as of 10/24/08 at 5:12pm Property Type  Single Family    Property Subtype  Stick Built    Community  Marsh Oaks Statuses  Active, Active Cont Sale Add, Active Alternative 2, Active Temp Off Mkt, Pending (9/1/2008 or after) , Sold (7/24/2008 or after) , Expired (9/24/2008 or after)   Hello Friends and Neighbors, The information below is a market update of properties currently listed, pending and sold in the Marsh Oaks Community.  Marsh Oaks is a popular community with amenities including pool and tennis.  The location in the Porters Neck area makes it convenient to General Electric, area beaches, and shopping. If I can provide additional information on the Marsh Oaks community, please feel free to contact me at 910-617-5244 or by email at dianeparker@seacoast... 10/24/2008

In this market I feel it is important for us to focus on the positive and not the negative news we hear on a daily basis.  Today was one of those positive days in the mortgage business for me and for my clients.  Today I closed on a refinance for one of my clients.  They are actually past clients of mine.  I financed the purchase of their home three years ago in Burgaw, NC, and today we refinanced it.  I reduced their interest rate by .75% and saved them over $140 a month on a VA 30 yr fixed loan program with NO Points! The loan product that I utilized was something called an IRRL or Interest Rate Reduction Loan.  This is a great loan program for borrowers that have an existing VA loan for their mortgage.  The high points of the IRRL are many: •·        It is used when the borrower is r... 10/20/2008

Today I traveled up to Martinsville, VA to watch my brother and his team race in the Craftsman Truck series.  He is the jack man for the 09 truck who is sponsored by Zacksby's.  For those of you who do not know much about racing, the jack man is the one who...you guessed it, jacks up the truck when it comes into the pit to change the tires.  We sat seven rows up and could really smell the exhaust and feel the rubber off the ties!  My brother's pit stall was directly across from us.  We could see with an unobstructed view every move he made.  Now, you might be thinking with the way that I am talking that I am die hard race fan.  That statement is not 100% accurate.  This is only my second race I have ever been to and I really only go to see Justin (my brother). Don't get me wrong, once y... 10/18/2008

Are you still writing mortgages?  This is a question that I have heard from Realtors and also prospective borrowers over the past few weeks.  To me this is an unbelievable question, but after watching the news for the past few weeks I really see how that question is one that is on the top of mind with many Americans. The facts are that credit market has become a bit tighter and there have been some changes to our lending environment over the past 9 months.  It has been a very volatile year and will probably continue to be through the end of the election and the end of the year.   There is no doubt that if you, as a mortgage professional are not constantly plugged in, you can miss the next guideline change or update to the products we have.  However, the bottom line is that there is stil... 10/17/2008

Today I was listening to a coach talk to a room full of hungry industry professionals like all of us.  He was discussing how the "new" thing in this market is for us to get back to the basics.  You may ask, what are the basics....have I forgotten them???  Only you can answer that question.  One of the back to basic techniques that I think we all need practice on is prospecting.  This is one that could have gone by the wayside in the past few years.  It is hard for folks who are not used to picking up the phone and asking for the business to do it.  As long as I have been doing it I still have to make a conscious effort to sit down and knock it out. But every time I do, I have a great feeling of success and accomplishment.  However, I might not be the best example.  The way that I am wir... 10/14/2008

Azalea Festival Art Unveiling Party The Art Unveiling Party for the North Carolina Azalea Festival was held Friday night at the Arab Shrine Club on College Road. The event was sponsored by Frame Works and Jim Quick and the Coastline Band was the entertainment for the evening. Rest of the Story..... 10/14/2008

Even though banks are closed today for Columbus Day, we have received some hopeful news in the credit market arena.  The World Bank leaders gathered this weekend to discuss the worldwide credit crunch.  They, in conjunction with our president, have decided to offer up some more cash to the troubled banking system to get the money flowing again.  I know these comments may seen contrary to what I wrote about this weekend, but the facts are that we are in a credit crunch but there is still money for homeowners to borrower for mortgages.  What this huge infusion of cash should do is sure up the confidence of our large national banks and let them know that the federal govt. and the other world banks are behind them.  The European Central Bank has pleaded to invest what ever money would be ne... 10/13/2008

My name is JD Terry and I am a new member to active rain.  I am a Mortgage Banker for East Carolina Bank Mortgage in Wilmington, NC.  Since I am joining this community in such turbulent financial times, I feel it is my responsibility to relay the true message regarding the current mortgage market.  Therefore I choose my username "ihavemoney2lend".  This username says it all!  Despite the negative outlook that we all hear on a daily basis, "ihavemoney2lend".  In future blogs I will go into more detail about the true status of lending money for home mortgages, but for tonight I just wanted to get my feet wet. I will post more info on who I am, where I come from, and what I feel is important to know in these historic times.  I look forward to connecting with everyone and learning more abou... 10/11/2008

To me it's a no-brainer.  Anyone who has money and is looking for a good place to put it, should look very seriously at buying investment real estate. It is the least risky, most solid, long term wealth building investment vehicle.  The key is in the way it is purchased.  Although speculation does factor into the value of real estate, wise, conservative, successful long term investors do not take it into consideration when they purchase.  A few years ago, a lot of people were making a lot of money this way.  Now, a lot of those same people are singing the blues because they gambled on the market continuing to increase. Obviously, it didn't When I say real estate is where I'm putting my money, I'm referring to the fundamentally sound purchasing of investment real property.  For a piece p... 10/09/2008

The Week in Review ....your Wilmington Connection October 4, 2008 This week in Wilmington....welcome to the annual Riverfest. Almost as soon as it began in October of 1979, Riverfest became the seasonal little sister to the Azalea Festival, which of course is held in the spring. But Riverfest is far from little anymore, with multiple stages, nearly 200 food and craft vendors, a budget of $80,000 and, of course, the thousands and thousands of people it draws annually to downtown Wilmington. Many visitors from out of town realize that Wilmington is the ideal place to live with great year round temperatures and a lifestyle that many can only dream about. What about home prices?In theory, repairing the credit markets could lower mortgage rates and make loans more available for home buyers. ... 10/05/2008

by Key Yessaad - CFO Exit Homeplace Realty 1. Bailout may not be the right term - yes we hear the term all over the news and the plan will help banks shed their "toxic assets" to calibrate their Balance Sheet. An interesting term would be "Government Bridge-Loan." - it conveys the idea that the money is used to buy assets that will be cleaned up and later sold... Many of you understand this concept when you buy a distressed property, fix it up, and then either sell or rent it. 2. Think long term - don't get swayed by the gyrations in the Stock Market: Banks survive by making loans - especially short term loans between banks... these types of loans have come to a grinding halt because banks make loans based on assets (Balance Sheet.) Some of the assets that banks are holding are Mortgage... 09/29/2008

  Well after many months of refining our old site, we have finally rolled out our new website:).  My family is pleased to let everyone know about our 'green baby' Green Eco Communities.  Why did we make this site? After trying (with no success) of finding other eco-communities in the US, on one website, we wanted to develop this site to be a resource for this ever growing need. We are certainly going to enhance the site as we go, creating informative articles on green real estate, news by state, green builders, and much more. I would love to hear your feedback, and would love suggestions on communities, articles, and builders. We have been overwhelmed with requests to add communities as we are doing this for free, (Until January 2009) but will have to be selective, mainly because we on... 09/18/2008

Real Estate Web Strategy & Survey Analysis Real Estate Buyers demand CommunicationBy Key Yessaad - Web Trainer Sep 15th, 2008   The following Survey of Real Estate Buyers took place in California but the results are significant to all of us in Real Estate. I bulleted some of the important findings and strongly advise you to read the article. The Web Classes I bring to our Exit Agents are designed around these essential ideas... (article is enclosed below!) 1. Agent Web Strategy must be Sticky - Buyers need a reason to return to your site; their ability to create an account and save searches is very important. This is due to the lengthening of the search process. They are currently spending 8.3 weeks versus 5.2 weeks in 2007 and 2.2 weeks in 2006. 2. Working with Buyers requires more pa... 09/15/2008

The Week in Review .....your Wilmington Connection September 13, 2008 Wilmington has been warm and windy this week with some cooler evenings. But the feel of summer is still here. Lets have a look what has been going on in the Port City. Port City at No. 6 in best-performing cities list Last year, Wilmington made the No. 2 spot on the Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners' 2008 best-performing cities list, with a nod toward its role as a port. This year No. 2 goes to Raleigh-Cary as strong technology and global trade centers influenced the top 10 list. Which is only 1 hour and a half from Wilmington. Wilmington still was up there, though, at No. 6, while Provo-Orem, Utah, led the pack. None of America's 10 largest cities made the list this year as limited room for expansion ... 09/15/2008

This Saturday in Wilmington, the Downtown Riverfront was treated to a great show. Do we have any fans of reggae music out there?  If so, you would have liked to be here.  The Red Stripe Roots Reggae festivel was presented by the Downtown Business Alliance and featured "Culture" as the headliner and 3 other bands.  The event went from 3-11. A local restaurant "Jamaica's Comfort Zone" provided excellent food and Red Stripe was on the menu too.  Wilmington is an awesome place to live, I must say, again. 09/14/2008

As summer draws to an end and so ends the tourist season here at the coast, I wonder how well all of the homes that have been foreclosed on and are now owned by the banks will be marketed.  So many people want to have coastal property and buying a bank owned property is one of the best ways to get into a home with possibly some equity.  Hopefully there will be more investors searching online trying to find those deals. 09/02/2008

The Week in Review ....your Wilmington Connnection August 30 2008 Hello All! I just wanted to wish you all a very fun and safe Labor Day weekend! It has been a scorcher this week with the combination of humidity and heat. US Buyers just can’t resist a bargain. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes rose 3.1% in July as buyers capitalized on deeply discounted properties in parts of the country hit hardest by the housing meltdown. While foreclosure-fueled sales weaken home prices, they also speed a housing recovery by quickly finding the market's bottom. The industry group said sales, which were only supposed to climb 1.6%, rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.0 million units with the median price for a home down by 7.1% from a year ago... 08/31/2008

I just typed this long introduction and explaination of my background, business philosophy, competitive advantage, visions, etc. and was asking for direction on good blogs to subscribe to.  It was long and I hit the wrong button and it disappeared. Actually I went to add a neighborhood, which I probably didn't need to do.  I was saying that I was very passionate about my business and being industry leading.  I listed the trainers who had influenced my career, talked about how I was a little nerdy and obsesive about learning, knowing, and becoming, but cool at the same time.  I'm bummed out and tired because it took a long time to write.  What are some of your favorite blogs that are related to the real estate industry and self improvement type stuff?  Maybe I didn;t need to say so much ... 08/12/2008