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Thanks for the sincere appreciation! In point of fact no 'xenophobic nutters' have replied, so far. To try and maintain the humour (sorry, humor) I should explain that the English are very sensitive to xenophobia; we KNOW everybody hates us
Moderator cut: WAY off topic
By the way, I see you're an estate agent, is that domestic or commercial or don't you make the distinction there? Hopefully if this thing continues to run I can come back to you for more specific advice (if I haven't offended you too much!).
Real Estate agents here are pressed by the NC Real Estate Commission to choose to work in one area of practice among residential, i.e., "domestic," or commercial, or property management. And Land sales are developing into a new specialty. We are told not to work land, particularly raw land without some level of specialized training. Too many opportunities for harm to consumers from untrained agents.
Different requirements within each market niche make it difficult for an agent to practice skillfully in multiple areas. Commercial agents really have myriad speciality possibilities.
I work in residential.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 06-14-2010 at 04:38 PM..
Reason: Edited quoted text and your response to it
I did make the distinction from partial service to full service. This would include varying definitions of full service. There are Realtors who offer complete full service for much less than 6%. We have been conditioned by market forces to assume 6% gets you something 4 or 5% does not. Sometimes it may and sometimes it may not. Shop for a Realtor the same way you would shop for a home. Get the best price for the best product.
There is no maximum on "Full Service," either.
We can say, "complete full service," then, "over the top complete full service," or even,"Bodacious over-the-top, complete, wildly enthusiastic, out-of-this-world, unparalleled full service," etc, ad infinitum.
I routinely see "full service" that would make a weaker person throw up. But the price is right. Sometimes...
We have been conditioned to look at price first, and make assumptions about what it buys, or that what it buys will be adequate without knowing what it buys, and without knowing what the service demands are. "Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing" comes to mind.
NO ONE with knowledge and skill in their industry and confidence in their talent leads off with price in any industry. They examine the need to fulfill, the demands of fulfilling that need, and then set the price, so they never have to snivel and whine, "I'm not making enough on this deal to ... "
Thanks for the sincere appreciation! In point of fact no 'xenophobic nutters' have replied, so far. To try and maintain the humour (sorry, humor) I should explain that the English are very sensitive to xenophobia; we KNOW everybody hates us,
Moderator cut: WAY off topic
By the way, I see you're an estate agent, is that domestic or commercial or don't you make the distinction there? Hopefully if this thing continues to run I can come back to you for more specific advice (if I haven't offended you too much!).
You should read this brochure from the NC Real Estate Commission for a good discussion of the function of agents, and the roles they can assume:
Working With (http://www.ncrec.gov/publications-bulletins/WorkingWith.html - broken link)
the purpose of my original comment was to inform of the substantially higher "Estate Agent fee" payable in the US compared to the UK - the 6% and 2% figures were guide figures only, but 4% additional fee to what you may expect on a $350k home represents a $14,000 hit
Originally Posted by Beermat
One thing you need to take account of here is that Realtor costs when you come to sell in 5 years are 6% compared to 2% in the UK, so you would need $20k appreciation just to cover that cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PropertyExplorers
The key thing to note is this is the maximum Realtor percentage. You can use a Realtor who charges less than this. Anything from full service to partial service. No one needs to pay 6% anymore, even for full service.
Thanks RaleighLass,
You have your finger on the pulse, so to speak. Unfortunately, you raised even more questions for us! What's a 'planned neighborhood'? I mean are the facilities you mention municipally maintained or private. Size of lot is an issue also - for England we live in in a relatively large detached property of approx. 1800 sq ft with a garden area (sorry, yard) front and rear of approx. 2800 sq ft - can't think in acreage, in England acres are for the landed gentry and the impossibly rich! So in summary I suppose we are looking for a medium sized property in an established neighborhood in suburbia ie not too far out 'in the sticks' as it were.
Schools. Oh dear, that's a thorny one too! Katy currently goes to a private school - this is because in our area, as in many areas of England, the state system is in a mess; years of political correctness have left many state school teachers permanently stressed out with no proper sanctions against unruly elements and education suffering for the majority who want to learn (sorry, that was a rant - even though it's true), From friends experiences in The States we feel that your state system may answer our needs very adequately. The only definition I have of a good school is one that can produce good results across a broad spectrum of abilities. In other words get the best out of all its students. Could always stick with private schools but have no feel for fees over there. Presently we pay around $15k per annum in day school fees - very reasonable in UK terms.
We are a very ordinary family our outdoor interests are cycling, hiking and more exotically skiing and scuba diving we are well travelled and have spent many weeks vacationing in The States; Colorado, Utah, Wyomimg, Idaho and Ohio but those were just holidays and somebody, who has travelled the States far more widely than us, tells us that North Carolina is high on the list of places to live.
Does all that give you a little more to go on advicewise?
Thank you very much for taking the trouble to reply (and that goes for everyone else who's replied too. I'd thank you all individually but, with two finger typing I'd still be here at the end of 2011!)
feel free to keep the advice rolling in - I'll read every word.
Regards,
Steve
If your OH has a real job to come to or has a business to bring, and which will pay at least $50K, you should be fine anywhere in the Triangle.
If not, I wouldn't bother coming here if you need an income to live on as jobs are think on the ground.
The best areas to live in are North Raleigh or Cary, but take into account the work location too for traveling time.
The East and South parts of Raleigh are generally not very nice and some downtown areas are pretty grim too.
Traffic here is quite good and nothing like most UK towns.
Driving here is a welcome change to the UK driving experience.
Your house budget will get you a lot of house in this area and you will be able to get yourself a great deal.
You can get even more house the further out you go but traveling times will increase markedly and finding suitable services, shopping, doctors, schools etc further out will be much harder and will become a major problem if you have not considered these things properly.
There's effectively no public transport here and you will probably find you need 2 cars.
Virtually nothing can be reached here by foot, except when you are in the small downtown area or live in one of trendy zones, like Cameron Village.
It might not be in your plan, but I would recommend that you consider renting an apartment for 6 months before you decide to buy, as this will give you a chance to check out many areas and you wont be rushed into buying something that may end up being a millstone around your necks., which can easily happen here with so many properites for sale and "bargains" to be had.
If you live in Raleigh itself, you will be around 30-40 minutes, or less, from the airport from almost anywhere you live.
Any other questions, please let me know.
Hi,
Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.
Some good pointers there but I particularly appreciate the one about renting first. Sometimes it's easy to miss the obvious in the hectic initial rush to garner as much information as possible!
Regards
Steve
if you are here for 5 years I would not purchase a home but rent, and in the current market there are some excellent bargains where people have had to move out of state and decided not to sell in a distressed market and rent their home instead. One thing you need to take account of here is that Realtor costs when you come to sell in 5 years are 6% compared to 2% in the UK, so you would need $20k appreciation just to cover that cost. With the market still dropping and no guarantee that it will increase there is no incentive to purchase for a 5 year residence period.
Also, I trust you have all the US Visa issues resolved and documentation in place as the Immigration people at RDU are very strict in enforcing the Visa procedures - face it they only have one aircraft a day to deal with so have pleanty of time to enforce the rules rigidly.
Another factor is that you will find it difficult to get a mortgage if you buy as you have no credit history and for bank accounts credit cards you will need a letter of introduction from your wifes employers. Good luck
Hi,
Thanks for replying.
Good point about renting but need more info. Do realtors deal with rentals as well as purchases or is it all done by advertisement in some form?
We are reasonably well versed in US immigration procedure, having got friends who have jumped through those hoops. My wife's prospective employers will handle these issues and we won't move until they're all resolved! Nevertheless thanks for pointing out that pitfall.
Banking is a good point. I think our bankers have either US subsidiaries or correspondent relationships with US banks so we'll have to investigate the position with them.
Regards,
Steve
PS Why 'Beermat' or is that too personal a question?
PPS Reading my replies I'd say you'd provoked some sort of war of words in the realtor community!
My wife has the opportunity to work in the US for the next five years or so. We are a family of 3 (White Caucasian - if that makes any difference) - myself, aged 60 and retired (but with both feet firmly outside the grave) my wife, age MYOB and a daughter 14 (going on 21 - ie should leave home, get a job and earn loads of money, while she still knows everything!).
Our priorities are:
Schooling - quality high school (don't understand what year round schooling means, please enlighten)
Housing (the boss will be working from home or US-wide so airport access is relevant) - our budget is circa $300,000-$350,000 as we will be keeping our UK home ftb (just in case we get run out of town - or run ourselves out, for that matter).
Community - we want to integrate so community facilities, church, sports etc are relevant. Someone told us Southerners are 'the best' is this true?
Sorry, could write a book - but we would appreciate some hard information.
Only constructive replies please - don't need xenophobic nutters!
Regards
Steve Head
Steve,
Having been here for almost 7 years now I can tell you that you need to dial back on the British brusqueness
If you only intend on being here for 5 years I (personally) wouldn't touch a house purchase with a bargepole. If you buy in the wrong area it will end up costing you a lot, houses are expensive to upkeep and when you come to sell the selling process will be very expensive compared to UK. Buy for $350k now , sell for $400 in 5 years and you MAY break even
PS Most people on this board are pro-British so treat them on that basis until you are treated otherwise
pm me if you have any direct questions that I can help you with
Beermat is very simple to explain - 3 years ago when using this forum for the 1st time it prompted me for a user name and looking at my desk for inspiration of a name I saw a Beermat and entered that as my user name. .
regarding the Realtor 'war of words' I would point out the Mike Jaquish is a well respected long standing member of this forum who has provided helpful advise to 1000's of posters, whereas, I see that PropertyExplorer made their first posting on this board 24 hours ago I think you know the answer
Quote:
Originally Posted by steve&helenhead
Hi,
Thanks for replying.
Good point about renting but need more info. Do realtors deal with rentals as well as purchases or is it all done by advertisement in some form?
We are reasonably well versed in US immigration procedure, having got friends who have jumped through those hoops. My wife's prospective employers will handle these issues and we won't move until they're all resolved! Nevertheless thanks for pointing out that pitfall.
Banking is a good point. I think our bankers have either US subsidiaries or correspondent relationships with US banks so we'll have to investigate the position with them.
Regards,
Steve PS Why 'Beermat' or is that too personal a question? PPS Reading my replies I'd say you'd provoked some sort of war of words in the realtor community!
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I think you know the answer 
