By Anonymous April 18, 2011
EXCEPTIONAL!!!!!!! ...read more
By Brandi McKinney August 26, 2008
I was trying to find a home in a specific area. Whitley Realty was very helpful and SO very nice. I would highly recommend them to anyone that wants to deal with fair, honest, hardworking people. ...read more
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By Suzanne Whealan, REALTOR 1-980-328-8172 April 07, 2011
Supporters for creating West Stanly Middle School filled the Huneycutt Room at SCC's Crutchfield Campus in Locust last evening. Moderating the event was Chris Phillips, a father of two sons who now attend Ridgecrest Elementary. Phillips stated that the meeting would address only the debate over K-8 versus middle school configuration and would not address the possible closing of schools in the Western District. Along with many parents and educators, Superintendent Dr. Sam DePaul, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Terry Griffin and school board members Chris Whitley, Anita Owens-Scott, and Melvin Poole were in attendance. Phillips challenged everyone to "just think about the best option for our kids" and spoke to the reality of a $2.5-$4.5 million budget shortfall facing the school board. "Dr. DePaul and the school board are facing un-chartered waters. They have tough, hard decisions to make." "We're not against K-8, we're pro middle school. My kids have had great teachers and principals at Ridgecrest, but middle school would be better. Our children deserve equal opportunity to what the other children in Stanly County have," said Phillips, who named band, chorus, arts, foreign languages and adversity of sports as options that make the middle school the better configuration. He also addressed the culture shock issue of changing schools with its transition to new classmates and surroundings that opponents of middle school often site as a disadvantage of middle schools. "Children need to be around other people, diversity is not a bad thing," Phillips said. "We've have to step out of our comfort zones to ever accomplish anything….going from Endy to Running Creek is not culture shock." In concluding his opening, Phillips made the recommendation that Running Creek be made West Stanly Middle. While the ideal middle school model is 6-8 grades, there are too many students (728) across the Western District to permit this. Running Creek has a capacity of 585 students, thus Phillips recommended making it a 7-8 grade middle school. In the discussion that followed, concerns were shown for busing issues, student test scores comparisons of K-8 versus middle schools, and the culture shock of going from a K-8 school to high school without the bridging of the gap from elementary to high school offered by middle schools. Also in attendance was Bud Smith, now retired after a long career as principal of West Stanly High, who made an passionate plea for parents to stand up for a middle school in the Western District. "It doesn't make any sense at all that three-fourths of the county have middle schools and the Western District does not. We've been wanting and waiting… the time is now for action," Smith said. "Talk is cheap… action is where it's at. Stand up and make something happen." The school board will hold a public hearing next Tuesday evening beginning at 6 in Stanly Commons Meeting Room to address the budget shortfall and possible school closings. It's regularly scheduled April meeting will follow at 7 and will be a continuation of discussions on the crisis situation. ...read more
By Suzanne Whealan, REALTOR 1-980-328-8172 March 30, 2011
Real Estate Outlook: Good News Across the Nation by Carla Hill The market is changing out there, and the latest reports are showing that when it comes to buyers, less is more in some cases. A recent study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) indicates that the recent housing slump has meant buyers are looking for smaller houses. The McMansions of the boom era are quickly losing their style. The NAHB reports that the builders they "surveyed expect homes to average 2,152 square feet in 2015, 10 percent smaller than the average size of single-family homes started in the first three quarters of 2010. To save on square footage, the living room is high on the endangered list – 52 percent of builders expect it to be merged with other spaces in the home by 2015 and 30 percent said it will vanish entirely." Also a heavy influence on the housing front are green and eco-friendly features. The NAHB reports that "in addition to floor plan changes, 68 percent of builders surveyed say that homes in 2015 will also include more green features and technology, including low-E windows; engineered wood beams, joists or tresses; water-efficient features such as dual-flush toilets or low-flow faucets; and an Energy Star rating for the whole house." This is great news for eco-activists across the nation. The other great news this week? The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that mortgage applications are at the highest level in months. They rose by 17.2 percent, that being the biggest increase since June 11th. Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, reports, "An improving job market is beginning to pave the way for an improving housing market. Additionally, mortgage interest rates remained below 5 percent for a second week, maintaining affordability for buyers and leading to an increase in refinance applications." The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had their own good news. Their latest February edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard revealed that existing home sales are on the rise thanks in part to high home affordability levels. And since April of 2009, record low mortgage rates have helped more than 9.5 million homeowners to refinance, resulting in $18.1 billion in total borrower savings. They did report, however, that the "housing market remains fragile as data through January paint a mixed picture of recovery. Existing home sales ticked upward in January, but remained below levels seen in the first half of 2010. Mortgage delinquencies continued a downward trend compared to early 2010 and foreclosure starts and completions remain below peak." But not everyone is in agreement about what foreclosures mean for today's homeowner. According to the New York Times, "All 50 state attorneys general, as well as a host of federal agencies, are pushing for a settlement over investigations into foreclosure abuses by major mortgage servicers that could cost the industry $20 billion or more. Much of that money would be earmarked to reduce principal owed by homeowners facing foreclosure." Many homeowners have weathered the storm, however, taking on heavy burdens in order to avoid foreclosure. Bank of America argues that by helping some and not helping others, we create an unfair system. "There's a core problem that if you start to help certain people and don't help other people, it's going to be very hard to explain the difference," said Brian T. Moynihan, the chief executive of Bank of America. "Our duty is to have a fair modification process." Published: March 14, 2011 Suzanne Whealan, REALTOR ERA Four Seasons Realty CALL OR TEXT MLS TO (980) 328-8172 facebook.com/PROPERTIESSELLER http://www.propertiesseller.com NOW offering SAME DAY LOAN APPROVAL! ...read more
By Suzanne Whealan, REALTOR 1-980-328-8172 March 14, 2011
Are you looking to buy a house? When you go to look at houses, you will quickly see that realtors do not use street addresses as a method of identifying houses. They use an MLS number which allows them to quickly access information about a property for sale. Using a street address gives you some infor... ...read more
Finding the perfect place for your business can take a great deal of time and research. You may want to lease a building rather than rent it. Leasing a building helps you build equity in the building. Depending on your location, commercial property may be listed for lease differently than traditional ... ...read more
