Home sales in Pamlico County

Good news. Pamlico County home sales are up. Below are home sales in Pamlico County for the past few years. As you can see they are heading in the right direction.

9-27-12 through 9-26-13=112 homes sold

9-27-11 through 9-26-12=93 homes sold

9-27-10 through 9-26-11=86 homes sold

9-27-09 through 9-26-10=74 homes sold

9-27-08 through 9-26-09=66 homes sold

Not really sure why sales are up. However I will speculate that because Pamlico was hit harder than Craven in the housing bubble, perhaps their rebound is a little more lively than ours. Whatever the reason, sales are rising.

www.newbern-nc.info

My Easement is Wider than Your Easement!

Many properties in Central California are accessed by easements.  An easement road is the right to cross someone's property to get to another property.  If the easement is written down, it is called an express easement.  In this article, I wanted to address the issue of the width of an easement road in California.  

In Scruby v. Vintage Grapevine, Inc. (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 697, the plaintiffs owned some land with a house in the Napa Valley.  The defendant owned a winery next door.  Plaintiffs were landlocked.  They had to travel over a 52-foot-wide roadway and utility easement across the defendant's property.  

Here is where the dispute arose:  The plaintiffs only used 15 feet of the 52 foot wide easement. They became enraged and sued the wine maker when it put wine equipment on the part of the easement plaintiffs had not used.  The plaintiffs lost the lawsuit.  The court held, “that a deed granting a nonexclusive easement of a specified width does not, as a matter of law, give the [plaintiff] the right to use every portion of the easement. … [T]he [defendant has] the right to place improvements upon the easement as long as they do not unreasonably interfere with the right of the owner of the dominant tenement to ingress and egress.” (Scruby, supra, 37 Cal.App.4th at pp. 700, 708).  In reaching this conclusion, the court noted (among others) the following “controlling principles of law”: (1) “The owner of the dominant tenement must use his or her easements and rights in such a way as to impose as slight a burden as possible on the servient tenement”; (2) “Every incident of ownership not inconsistent with the easement and the enjoyment of the same is reserved to the owner of the servient estate”; (3) “The owner of the servient estate may make continued use of the area the easement covers so long as the use does not ‘interfere unreasonably’ with the easement's purpose”; and (4) “An obstruction which unreasonably interferes with the use of a roadway easement can be ordered removed ‘for the protection and preservation’ of the easement.”   (Id. at pp. 702–703.) 

Therefore, the key point is that express easements will not be interpreted by courts to unreasonably interfere with a property owner's right to use property.  

Ken Jorgensen, California Attorney
www.fresnolawgroup.com

New Bern Home Sales

Neuse Harbour Active homes for sale by price range=9 Pending sales=2 Active homes for sale by price range $200,000-$234,000=2 $309,000-$369,000=2 $550,000-$699,000=2 $,799,000-$979,000=3 There were 5 home that sold and closed in Neuse Harbour in the last 12 months. The most expensive house sold was $383,150.	Stately Pines Current homes on the market=5 Pending sales=5 Active homes for sale by price range $140,000-$200,000=4 $635,000=1 There were 5 homes that sold and closed in Stately Pines in the last 5 months. The most expensive house sold was $601,000.
Carolina Pines Current homes on the market=21 Pending sales=5 Active homes for sale by price range $100,000-$150,000=5 $159,000-$200,000=7 $207,000-$240,000=9 There were 16 homes that sold and closed in Carolina Pines in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $290,000.	Tucker Creek Current homes on the market=10 Pending sales=6 Active homes for sale by price range $154,000-$200,000=5 $220,000-$260,000=5 There were 10 homes that sold and closed in Tucker Creek in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $224,000.

Home Sales to date by year.

Total homes sold January 1-Sept 22- 2010=924

Total homes sold January 1- Sept 22- 2011=915

Total homes sold January 1- Sept 22-2012=953

Total homes sold January 1- Sept 22-2013=1103

Note, of the 1103 homes sold this year, 241 of them were Bank Owned.

There are currently 1505 homes listed for sale in our multiple listing service. We are selling homes at a rate of about 122 a month. A buyers market is defined as more than 6 months of home inventory. It remains a buyer’s market as we currently have about 12 months worth of inventory. With that said, each neighborhood and price range is unique and your could be better or worse than the overall market.

    www.NewBern-NC.Info

Some Good News for the Real Estate Industry

Realty Trac is a private company that tracks foreclosures across the country. I have been following them for years and trust their data. They recently announced that foreclosure filings in August hit its lowest level in eight years. Also, according to Realty Trac underwater mortgages, those who owe more on their mortgage loans than their homes are worth, is declining. This is certainly a positive sign for the housing industry. 

August's initial foreclosure filings fell 44% to 55,575, just below the 56,063 that were recorded in October 2005. The foreclosure crunch began in summer 2006, at about the same time that housing prices hit their peak. We are still seeing quite a few foreclosures in the New Bern market although I believe the number may be decreasing. 

Nationally, the peak in foreclosures was September, 2010. However, even though the number of foreclosure filings is falling, we will continue to see high levels of bank owned homes for sale for several years. The reason. There can be a 1 to 2 year lag between when foreclosure filings occur and when the bank actually takes back ownership.

The state with the highest rate of foreclosure filings was Nevada, with one for every 359 homes. 

In Florida, one of every 383 homes had some kind of filing, the second highest rate among states. Ohio, Delaware and Maryland filled out the top five.

If you have any questions give me a call.

New Bern Real Estate News

Plastic Pink Lawn Flamingos: How to Get HOA Approval To Put On Lawn

Let's pretend you love pink plastic lawn flamingos...

You live in the best condominium complex in Fresno.  However, lately you noticed that your love for plastic pink lawn flamingos has grown perversely large.  You have this urge to share this passion with your neighbors by placing them on the front yard.  How are you going to get the HOA to approve of your plastic feathered friends being placed in the front yard?    

A HOA, or homeowners association, is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of any common areas, such as landscaping, swimming pools, and tennis courts in certain housing communities.  If you live in one, you are required to join. The HOA has bylaws, which you are required to obey.  Some bylaws are common sense.  For example, you would likely be not allowed to place plastic pink flamingos in your front yard.   

HOA bylaws are not etched in stone. You might be able to talk the association into an exception if you can present your case well. Here is how you can obtain an exception to the HOA bylaws and get your pink plastic lawn flamingos placed in your front yard:

1.  Offer a Compromise:  Many HOAs will be concerned that if they allow one resident to break the rules, all the homeowners in the neighborhood will be lining up to receive special treatment.  While you might love a neighborhood littered with lawn flamingos, most neighbors would not agree.  However, a compromise is worth a try. Talk to the association. Maybe you will be permitted to place one flamingo in the lawn.  Or, perhaps the HOA would allow a pink flamingo prominently displayed in your home's front window.

2.  Talk to other Neighbors: Take your case to your neighbors.  If you want to plant a tree, demonstrate how the tree will provide extra shade, which is beneficial to everyone in the summertime.  (Pardon my change in example.  I can't think of an example of a beneficial use of lawn flamingo.)  Showing up to an HOA meeting with a team of concerned neighbors who want more trees can position you to get what you want, regardless of what the bylaws say.

3.  Be Reasonable: If there is something in your HOA bylaws that is causing a problem for you, approach the topic reasonably. Don’t act combative or confrontational. Hitting a board member with one of the plastic flamingo's is not going to curry a favor.  Rather, ask the HOA what you need to do obtain an exception. 

Good Luck!

Ken Jorgensen, California Attorney
www.fresnolawgroup.com

Photo Credit: joeysplanting

New Bern Weekly Home Sales Report

Weekly Update-Home Sales for New Bern-Craven County Market

There are currently 1056 homes for sale in Craven County.

In the past week, 15 homes closed in Craven County. (week ending 9/8/13)

$24,000.00-$100,000=5 sales.   In this price range there are 160 homes for sale!

$100,001-$150,000=2 sales.   In this price range there are 229 homes for sale!

$150,001-$200,000=3 sales.   In this price range there are 256 homes for sale!

$200,001-$250,000=5 sale.   In this price range there are 149 homes for sale!

            

Of the sales in the past week, 1 was a waterfront home. It closed for $185,000. 

Of the 23 sales this past week 1 was a Bank Owned property. There are currently 45 Bank Owned properties for sale in Craven County.

There was 0 waterfront lots sold in the past week. 

There were 3 interior lots sold last week. They were all in Fairfield Harbour and the highest priced was $2,500.00. 

There were 0 commercial,buildings or lots, sales in the past week. 

Here is how the sales this week compare to sales for the same week in prior years.

2013=15 sales

2012=14 sales

2011=20 sales

2010=17 sales

2009=23 sales

Another feather in New Bern's Cap

Below is an awesome article that I saw about New Bern.  Check it out.

http://www.frontdoor.com/places/what-its-like-to-live-in-new-bern-nc

Learn About the recent changes to Flood Insurance

There have been some changes to the Federal flood Insurance Program that may affect you if you live in or are considering buying a home in a Flood Zone. Click the link below and continue scrolling down toward the bottom of the page to learn more.

Click Here to learn about changes to Federal Flood Insurance.