Friday, May 16, 2008

Charlotte named top place to live

Charlotte named best place to live Relocate-America.com ranks top 100 cities in its annual list By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch Last update: 5:37 p.m. EDT May 15, 2008 CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list. This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list. "North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over." HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.

Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added. But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said. Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said. Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point. Second on this year's list was San Antonio, Texas, which people praised for its cost of living, recreational opportunities and diversity, he said. Chattanooga, Tenn., came in third place, noted for its vibrant downtown and affordable home prices in the nominations.

Below are the top 10 cities in Relocate-America.com's 2008 list:
1. Charlotte, N.C.
2. San Antonio, Texas
3. Chattanooga, Tenn.
4. Greenville, S.C.
5. Tulsa, Okla.
6. Stevens Point, Wis.
7. Asheville, N.C.
8. Albuquerque, N.M.
9. Huntsville, Ala.
10. Seattle, Wash.
Read the full list at Relocate-America.com.

The firm also plans on releasing a coffee table book on the top 100 in the near future, Nickerson said. Proceeds will benefit American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, he added. The view from the top Certainly, being ranked as the top city to live in has its benefits, mainly as a marketing tool for the area to use, said Tony Crumbley, vice president of research for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. An email blast sent news of this list to thousands of residents, and the chamber actively keeps track of where Charlotte falls in many of the lists that are published. "They are important," Crumbley said of the good rankings the city receives. But he also knows that these rankings come and go and that they're somewhat subjective; the city's appeal can change from one day to the next, depending on who is writing the list. There weren't any significant changes in Charlotte during the past year that would account for boosting the city to the top of this particular list, he said. But the city definitely gets recognized a lot more today than it did 25 years ago, he added. Bank of America and Wachovia have their headquarters in Charlotte, and it's also a hub for US Airways -- all of which seem to have increased the visibility of the city outside its boundaries, Crumbley said. The addition of professional sports teams since the 1980s has also helped. In recent years, Charlotte has been successful in attracting young, educated workers to relocate there, he said.

Asheville, on the other hand, has become a popular choice with retirees, he added. But cities can easily make it to the top of one list and rank poorly on another, he said. Case in point: One recent Forbes.com list ranked Charlotte as one of the country's most miserable cities, a ranking, not surprisingly, that Crumbley and others disagree with. Forbes also ranked it as one of the best places to invest in foreclosures, in part because the real estate market there is relatively stable. "If they're good, you use them. If they're bad, I won't tell you you should ignore them -- you look at them," he said of the lists on which Charlotte appears. But negative rankings aren't likely to end up getting used as a marketing piece for the city. Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A long day

Well, I decided to play "hooky" today and take a little personal time to brew a batch of beer. My recipe was a German Roggenbier which is a German Rye Beer. I began around 10:00 and everything was going to plan. When it came time to boil the beer, I had the burner going and stepped away for a couple of minutes to attend to something else. When I looked back outside, everything was boiling over! I freaked! Oh no, I'm losing beer! As it stands, I lost about 1.5 gallons(out of a 5 gallon batch), which broke my heart. You spend all that time to develop a recipe, get ingredients, prepare everything for your brew day, then you lose beer. I was bummed!

Anyway, I finished the batch and transferred to my fermenter letting the fermentation begin.

Shortly thereafter, I received a phone call from my wife informing me that we had someone call in off of one of our yard signs and was interested in seeing the property. Awesome! A possibility of a new client! I was once again excited.

So, I called this person and scheduled an appointment to see the house. I met a very nice lady and her young son who had just moved to Charlotte 6 months ago and is now ready to begin a home search after renting. It was a refreshing visit and am glad I had the opportunity to meet them. I am looking forward to spending time with them and assisting in finding them a new home.

It was a great way to end what was a stressful day.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Homebrewing

When I'm not spending time selling Charlotte Real Estate, I concentrate on my hobby of homebrewing(yes, I brew my own beer). I have been brewing for 12 years. What started out as a curiosity, turned into an obsession of sorts.

I made some really bad beer in the beginning, but thanks to a local homebrew supply store, Alternative Beverage(www.ebrew.com) I was able to buy prepackaged recipes in styles that I preferred. Once I became more familiar with process, I made the conversion to all grain brewing(like the big boys do) and began formulating my own recipes.

Then I joined the Carolina BrewMasters, Charlotte's homebrew club(and I am the club President for 2008). I thought I knew a lot of about beer before I joined, but I learned quickly I didn't know near what I thought! The Carolina BrewMasters belongs to another larger club with other Carolina clubs, both NC & SC. Each club holds a competition during the year. That's correct, we enter our beers for judging by certified beer judges. I have won ribbons at several of the Carolina competitions.

This past weekend, we hosted the U.S. Open competition. There were over 350 entries in 20 different categories of beer. I was fortunate to take a 1st place ribbon for my ESB(Extra Strong/Extra Special Bitter).

This morning I was on a local radio station WFAE discussing the U.S. Open, homebrewing, and craft brewing in general. It was a great experience. If you would like to listen visit www.wfae.org click on the Charlotte Talks tab at the top and look for the today's date May 12, 2008. I think you will find it interesting and informative.

Cheers!
Rick

Charlotte Oktoberfest 2008

The Carolina BrewMasters, Charlotte's non-profit homebrew club, proudly announces the 10th annual Charlotte Oktoberfest Beer Festival will be held Saturday, September 27, 2008. This year, we will be back at Memorial Stadium which offers a spectacular view of Uptown Charlotte.

More than 350 breweries will be represented locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. In 1999, Charlotte Oktoberfest was launched to help expose the Southeastern craft brewing community to a wider audience. What started out as a very small event(200 people) has grown to over 6,000 people in 2007.

Major benefactors of this event are our local charities. Last year we gave $50,000 to 3 local charities: National M.S. Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and A Child's Place. This year's charities have yet to be determined, but it is our goal to keep all money in the local community.

Please visit our website www.charlotteoktoberfest.com for additional information as well as volunteer opportunities. Tickets are not yet on sale, however, all sales will be processed online. Be sure to get your tickets early as it will sell out once again.

My first Blog

Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at blogging. I hope this will be a fun and rewarding experience for all who read and reply.

I am a REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. The Charlotte market has been an awesome market for residential real estate for many years. We have nearly 75,000 people who move to the Charlotte area every year.

Many things attact newcomers to Charlotte. We get to experience ALL 4 seasons each year, we are 2 hours from the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains, we are 3-1/2 hours from the coast(including Wilmington, NC, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, SC). We have the Carolina Panthers(NFL football), the Charlotte Bobcats(NBA basketball), the Charlotte Knights(AAA minor league baseball), the Charlotte Checkers(minor leauge hockey), the Wachovia Championship(a major stop on the PGA tour), and NASCAR(3 races each year--All Star Race, Coca-Cola 600, and the Fall race). Not to mention the plethora of cultural events and opportunities that abound.

I also brew my own beer. I will attempt through this blog to keep you up-to-date on my activities both in Real Estate and homebrewing and everything that relates to both.

Sit back and enjoy!