Monthly Archives: January 2025

What about the Market Now??

There are a lot of reasons to feel optimistic about the future, but if you are expecting 3% interest rates again, you’re gonna be disappointed. What we have now in upper 6’s lower 7’s is still incredible rates. Full disclosure, my rate is 3% and I’m not going to go UP to 7%. BUT, if you haven’t had a 3% or lower rate, well, this is reality now. BTW my first mortgage rate was over 14% with a perfect credit score. Shew. Glad those days are over. For most people, though, it’s not about the rate; it’s about the resulting payment amount and that is tied to price.

When you hear a market report, and I’ve said this before, remember that real estate is local. Local local local. Example, if you life in Raleigh NC, you will be the last market to fall and the first to rise. Why? We are a fire ant colony, so there’s a lot of demand and that’s the lowest, simplest reason. Lots of people needing housing. But we are also full of universities, colleges, teaching hospitals, regular hospitals and healthcare sites, manufacturing, service providers and dare I say it? Wealth (not me). So we bring in, last metric I heard, 70 people every day. That creates demand and that’s good for a market.

Our market crashed in 2008 for a few months before it started climbing out. I describe it as bumping along the bottom and then suddenly, an uptick. I bought my house during the early stages of the climb, by the way. Other nearby markets stayed down lower and longer, by the way, because in some cases there was no market for their homes. No demand.

Let’s talk home prices. In my area the MEDIAN price has gone up about 2% to the 400’s. And folks, please know there’s a difference between MEAN and MEDIAN. Mean is an average of all prices. Median is just the middle of the scale, period. An increase in median means the prices have gone up overall and more homes in the higher prices are selling more often. Higher priced homes selling more can mean (and does in my market) that there aren’t any lower priced homes fit for most lower end buyers. The whole market has risen, in terms of price. Now I don’t like that because many buyers have been pushed right out of the market, had their dream of home ownership stolen from them. And I’m talking about hard working educated people. Very frustrating for me, because I love my first time buyers.

First time buyers used to find a home under 200K. Now, first time buyers have a 4 in the first number, very often, and few can afford that. The lower priced homes are often old, suffering from delayed or non-existent maintenance, or are a flipped home with lipstick on a pig, to steal that overused description. Sometimes what is hidden is a huge repair bill sleeping. So…better have a smart real estate agent who knows what to look for. Like me. Because these first time buyers area not aware of the market, they want an acre, 2000 square feet, fenced back yard, pool, clubhouse, modern look…no. They’re looking at a 5 or 6 in the first number there.

The outlying areas are the only places left to find ‘a bargain’. And ‘bargain’ might end up being a monster waiting to strike your bank account.

So in my market, and I know my market, it’s tough. You have to be prepared for reality. Yes, have a good credit score, but also have some savings. Remember, even if you find a seller who will go under contract with a 100% financing buyer, you will still have inspections and attorney fees to pay and that is in the thousands.

I’ve said this 100 times. TALK TO A REAL ESTATE AGENT. It is free to talk and gather information. A good agent can prepare you and even give you some ideas of good lenders to TALK TO, so you have that data point as well.

Notice I said TALK. You are NOT going to text your way through a real estate transaction. And besides, studies are showing how spending your time with your head bent down to a phone or computer is keeping you from getting good jobs. Why? Because you have zero people skills. So communicate by talking. Learn those ropes. And if I can help you, I’d be honored. I’m Brenda at Premier Advantage Realty. Call and ask for ME. I do not charge any ‘consultation’ fees.

I was on the phone with a car insurance person the other day, and she said, “You have such a pleasant voice.” Isn’t it interesting?

Hey, have a wonderful day out there! Thanks for reading!

See, the Thing Is…

See, the thing is, we don’t know where to look anymore, to find what the hell is going on. We can look at:

  1. Bank account balance
  2. Cost of goods
  3. Proliferation of Covid in spite of a ‘vaccine’
  4. People who were fired for not taking the ‘vaccine’ now seeing that the ‘vaccine’ was actually killing people.
  5. Ukraine, where American money and assets are being shipped by a value of many millions
  6. Drones, or whatever they are, which are massive enough to carry a bomb or missile, and can hover
  7. Proliferation of unqualified people in positions of power who are destroying our country
  8. Massive, destructive wildfire in California, for which there are insufficient water reserves and not enough firefighters due to budget cuts (reference number 6) to fight the walls of fire.
  9. Censorship running rampant in spite of our Constitutional right to free speech.
  10. Destruction in Western North Carolina needing FEMA assistance but that money is now in Ukraine.
  11. Mass inflation
  12. Schools turned into indoctrination centers at the expense of education, supported by the current administration.
  13. Judicial branch of government being used against ‘we the people’, something the founding fathers warned about and therefore built in checks and balances
  14. Massive corruption in government
  15. Politicians enriching themselves just as though they were robbing the bank accounts of Americans (see number 1)
  16. Assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, apparently implicating the FEDERAL bureau of investigation
  17. A complete loss of trust in the government
  18. A complete loss of confidence of mainstream media
  19. This list is not complete

There are good things, of course. We have independent media to rely upon until the corrupt government finds a way to take that out. And we’ve had so much destruction that people are waking up to how much manipulation we have endured. Finally. But it took near complete destruction to wake people up.

Even with independent media, I see so much anger and hate around the world. Why? Why is hate a primary emotion these days? Well, I have some ideas. They’re probably wrong. Who knows?

I know real estate though. I’ve been at it a very long time. My favorite way to feel is kind. If you like that attitude and need a very good agent, that’s me. I’m Brenda, with Premier Advantage Realty. 919-210-6113.

Bridgewater Canal Breach in UK

If you haven’t heard of the narrowboat community in the UK, you’re missing something wonderful to know about. There’s a system of canals throughout the UK, and around 9000 ‘live-aboards’, many retirees, many YouTubers, own narrowboats and travel these canals. Many more are not living aboard, but have or rent narrowboats for holidays or seasons. This lifestyle has become a way for people to live less expensively, and sustainably as well. Most have solar panels and some are going all electric now. Most use diesel power, traveling about 2 miles per hour if I get that right. And there are a very few steam operated ones. It’s a slow, calm pace, allowing for peaceful viewing of nature. Mostly, all you hear is the sound of the small diesel put put putting.

It’s not for everyone. You have to love the slower pace. And most areas where you can moor up for the night, won’t let you stay more than a few days. If you want stay for a longer time, you have to find a marina and rent a slip. I think they do it this way to allow room for everyone to have a mooring as they pass through. You see some fiberglass ‘cruisers’ along the way, but the canals only allow for a narrow beam, so most cruisers would are small. You won’t see a 60 foot fiberglass (what we call a yacht) cruiser. Lately, I believe I am seeing ‘wide narrow boats’ here and there, but they would be restricted from some areas based on size. Remember you’re passing oncoming narrowboats as well, in these narrow straits. Some of the boats are small and maybe not in the best of shape; others are gleaming specimens of the good life, the way it is everywhere. Narrowboats are steered from the rear, right out in the open, although some are putting up canvas covers. But you look ALLLL the way forward as you steer, kind of like a sailboat. Imagine being 60 feet from the bow, steering. And some of the bridges are just wide enough for the boat and a few inches per side. Amazing. Many couples own narrowboats, but there are single women as well, and single men. Lots of pets, both dogs and cats. There’s a toe path along these canals where people can moor alongside and go for a walk or into town. There are sanitation stops for getting water on board and for taking care of all of the waste. Not my favorite viewing part, but part of the experience, nonetheless.

The canals are operated using locks and even a canal aqueduct, the only one of its kind. People who travel on narrowboats have to leave their boat, walk up the path and operate the lock to enter it, and then again to exit. Like the Panama canal on a tiny scale, comparatively. It’s the only way to manage the dramatic landscape there. By the way, these canals are often higher up than the surrounding land, built on berms or structures high above the land.

What makes this canal system unique in my opinion, is the amazing feat of engineering from the Victorian era, to build and sustain this lifeline, pre-railroads. Some lock ‘systems’ consist of multiple locks, back to back, when the elevation change is dramatic. Interestingly, there is a camaraderie among these boaters, similar…no exactly like…what you see in the US among live-aboards here, and they work together at the locks to help one another out when the timing allows it.

Narrowboats are usually under 60 feet long, because there are tight turns along the way, and often boaters have to find a ‘winding hole’ which is a wide area allowing these long boats to swing around and reverse course. Along the Bridgewater canal is an aqueduct, Barton Swing Aqueduct, which takes these narrowboats OVER the River Irwell. This Barton Swing Aquaduct looks like a steel swing bridge, but it is a part of the Bridgewater canal and therefore, has water in it. When a ship approaches along the River Irwell, a shipping lane, these superstructures require that the aqueduct swing out of the way. So at that time, water in the aqueduct (all 80,000 gallons) is held in by walls dropped into place on each end, and then the structure, including water, swings out of the way. By the way, this aqueduct was built in 1761. And, in case you’re wondering. There are also blocking walls that drop on either end of the canal itself, to hold water in while the Aqueduct swings around. Amazing.

I believe Queen Victoria’s seal is on that structure. These canals criss-cross the entirety of the country and are used all day, every day, by boaters whose lifestyle revolves around those waterways. As the boaters cruise along slowly, they pass wildlife, domesticated animals, people’s homes, small towns, huge towns, and one another. It’s a very tight knit community, even with as many boats as there are. I’ve watched these folks on YouTube for years now, so much so that I can be watching one channel and see a couple from another one whose boat I recognize. It’s not like being there, but it’s the next best thing.

A few days ago, the Bridgewater canal was breached due to a massive amount of rainfall, one month’s worth in two days. This part of the canal is higher than surrounding land, atop a large berm like structure, so when it breached, it drained water out. One YouTuber threw his drone up and got footage. I watched his channel when the water was down only a few inches. Now there’s a few inches of water REMAINING in that part of the canal. This person’s images are mostly what is shown on the news. His channel is Taylors Aboard a Narrowboat. But there are many, many channels. By the way, along the canal there are structures in place to hold water in, in the event of a breach. So I expect to hear more about the overall condition of that canal as days pass.

It is heartbreaking to see the devastation, and those affected boats will surely be grounded for months and months. It will take a massive amount of manpower and money to repair the damage to the canal, but I know they will start as soon as the land dries out. They will have to repair the canal structure completely in that area, before they can even let water flow and get marine equipment in there. It will be another huge engineering feat to watch.

Area around Manchester is flooded such that cars are floating, barely visible, and homes have been inundated and evacuated. Many people are displaced or stranded right now. And there is a freeze warning in the entire UK now. I hope the stranded boaters can manage.

So, check out narrowboats in the UK. It will be worth your time to see that lifestyle; I recommend YouTube. Just search narrowboat and you’ll be hooked. It is an amazing culture, an amazing feat of engineering, and a bunch of lovely folks living out there on their narrowboats. As I said, I’ve never been there, but still, I love getting to know these folks through YouTube, and I can even recognize some parts of the canals now. Check it out.