Best Homes In Jacksonville for $100,000 or less!

It's true!  You can own a home in Jacksonville, NC for $100,000 or less.  Many of these homes are move in ready, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and convenient to everything Jacksonville has to offer!

469 Hunting Green Drive is a PERFECT example and has been recently renovated and updated to offer a "LIKE NEW" home!  The roof, windows, heat pump, flooring, kitchen, appliances, and more have all been remodeled and replaced.

The benefits of purchasing this existing home that's been remodeled vice a new construction home are many, such as:

• Established community
• Tax Value is less than new construction, resulting in a lower monthly payment and lower insurance
• Included features all ready installed:  blinds, established yard, fence, warm neutral paint included, wood burning fireplace instead of propane, ceiling fans installed
• 10'x10' tiled sunroom with attached patio

469 Hunting Green Drive is just one of many homes on the market in Jacksonville, NC for $100,000 or less.  If you have been thinking of home ownership, now is the perfect opportunity while interest rates are still low and homes like these offer low monthly payments!  Call us or check out our website to discuss your options!

Williams Farm- Exclusive Living in Jacksonville, NC!

Welcome to the exclusive community of Williams Farm in Jacksonville, NC!  This community offers custom built homes that are sure to please with the finest amenities such as gourmet kitchens, home theaters, in ground swimming pools and more!




Homes in this neighborhood have been designed for the utmost grandeur and southern living.  The professional landscaping throughout the community perfectly compliments the architecture that defines Williams Farm.  I was showing homes to some lovely buyers this week from Virginia and they absolutely fell in love with the atmosphere and design of the neighborhood.  They complimented how clean and neat everything is and really liked how spaced out the homes are.

 They specifically wanted to find a home with at least 4,000 heated square feet, 5 bedrooms, large master bathroom, lots of garage space and kitchen to entertain.  We were lucky enough to find several homes that fit this bill and they found the perfect home, with the best spot for their Christmas tree!   

Residents enjoy the convenience of living in Jacksonville and short commutes, as well as privacy and open spaces.  The gated community offers homesites as big as two acres!  Horse lovers are welcome to the stables included in the home owners association.  
Homebuyers interested in building their own custom estate in Williams Farm have several homesites to choose from.  Make your dreams become a reality by designing your own home and enjoy the luxurious living Williams Farm has to offer.  For your personal tour of Williams Farm in Jacksonville, NC, give me a call!  910.545.0450 I'd love to show you around and find the perfect home for you in this exclusive neighborhood!

"We're closing on our house next week, let's go shopping!"

Congratulations!  You're closing on your new house!  But you haven't "closed" yet, so please, for the love of all that's neat and orderly in the world, DO NOT go shopping!

Here's why!
•If you've financed your home purchase, your lender is going to do a double check of your credit before closing.  You DO NOT want to make them redo anything, or make them mad! 
•If you're not financing your home purchase, and paying cash, the funds need to be verified before closing and any large transactions will look a little strange.  

For instance, if there is a washer/dryer set on sale, and you just have to have it!  Please wait.  That could be several hundred dollars (maybe even thousands....) that could make or break the transaction.

Here's what will happen.  If you finance the washer/dryer (say, using a Lowe's credit card,) that automatically creates more debt and changes your debt to income ratio, which can affect your interest rate, and quite possibly make your lender crazy.  They'll have to redo everything.  Is the new washer/dryer important enough to delay the closing, and sign more paperwork?  
Many lenders will require a certain amount of money "in reserves" when you're purchasing.  After all, you're asking them for hundreds of thousands of dollars, right?  They want to make sure you have at least the first mortgage payment in your bank account before they give you the money!  So if you pay cash for this washer/dryer, it could affect the amount of "assets" or "cash in reserve" that you have to bring to the closing table.

Additionally, don't expect to be able to paint, make repairs or changes, or move in furniture prior to closing.  Sometimes sellers will allow this under the right circumstances and it can be negotiated.  But standard practice is, whoever owns the house gets to make those decisions.  Turn the tables and look at it differently.  Would you allow someone to come in and paint your house, or replace your flooring, or move their stuff in, before you've officially sold it to them?  Probably not.  Better safe than sorry!

So the moral of the story is, please, please, wait until you've closed on your house until you go shopping, make changes or move in to your new home!  For a complete list of homes for sale in the Jacksonville, Richlands, Sneads Ferry, or Hubert areas of North Carolina, click here!  If you or anyone you know would like to chat about purchasing or selling a home, give me a call!  910.545.0450.  I'd love to help, and can explain more about why you should wait until after you've closed and where you can find the best deals to go shopping!!

New Construction Homes For Sale Near MCAS New River!

Jacksonville, NC is growing by leaps and bounds and the southwest area near MCAS New River has a lot of great homes for sale, to include foreclosures, resales and new construction!   Amanda Parmer, Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty is available to show you around the neighborhood, or provide more information about any of the homes that are for sale!

 Tall Pines at New River is situated two minutes to Marine Corps Air Station New River and features large homesites with natural vegetation and tree lined yards.  The developers of this community intended for the homes to be situated in a 'natural looking' community, instead of the cleared out, no character, subdivision.  Home builders, 70 West and H&H Homes are building new construction homes ranging in size from 1700 heated square feet and up!  

Standard features in these new construction homes include oversized cabinetry, designer lighting and granite countertops in the kitchen.  Design plans for these homes boast current trends and are similar to what is found in luxury homes.  There are many floorplans available to choose from and home buyers have the opportunity to choose which features they would like in their home and build it from the ground up, or choose a home that has all ready been built and is move in ready!

Tall Pines at New River is a perfect starter community with a luxury feel and price and only minutes to MCAS New River!  Call Amanda 910.545.0450, for your personal tour of this beautiful community, or for more information on any of the new construction homes, resales or foreclosure homes for sale!

108 Farmgate Drive, Richlands, NC FOR SALE!

Perfectly situated on almost a half acre, this three bedroom two bath home is almost new! The vaulted ceilings in the living room make the room feel even bigger than it all ready is and the built in entertainment area is ready for your flat screen! 

The master bedroom boasts gorgeous tray ceilings, ceiling fan, lots of closet space. The master bath is a gem! Enjoy the dual vanity sink, large garden tub and separate shower! The other two bedrooms are generous in size and both feature ceiling fans, carpet and blinds all ready installed.

The eat in kitchen features a bar, tile backsplash and newer stainless steel appliances. Enjoy the private view from your dining room into the large backyard! Entertaining will be a breeze with the two-tier deck and firepit all ready in place! 














108  Farmgate Drive was built in 2010 and has been meticulously maintained and updated with blinds throughout, security lighting outside, alarm system installed, tile backsplash in the kitchen and updated fixtures. Not to mention the great back deck for entertainment! Conveniently located in the Meadowview Elementary and Richlands school districts, this home is only a few minutes from area shopping, Camp Lejeune MCB and New River AirStation. 

Call Amanda for your personal viewing or for more information on homes in Jacksonville, North Carolina!  910.545.0450

308 Carlisle Court FOR SALE!

This four bedroom home is conveniently located minutes away from New River MCAS!  Featuring fresh new paint and carpet, vaulted ceilings and a fireplace, this home is move in ready!  Call Amanda today to start your home search in Jacksonville, North Carolina!  910.545.0450

Large two car garage situated on a cul-de-sac lot!

Vaulted Ceilings, new paint, new carpet, ceiling fan,  and fireplace in the living room!

Complete with fenced yard, all appliances, blinds and security lighting!  This home is affordably priced at $145,000 and the seller is offering buyer's closing cost assistance!  

Call today to take a look at this home and others!

Amanda Parmer, REALTOR®

Keller Williams Realty

910.545.0450

Walkthrough- Crossing the T's and Dotting the i's!

As a homebuyer, the "walkthrough" before closing is simply the opportunity to make sure everything is in the same condition, or better, than when you signed the offer to purchase.  The purpose is to make sure all of the seller's personal property has been removed, nothing was damaged in the moving process, the seller's obligations were met (i.e. having the living room painted or the house cleaned before closing,) and most importantly, what needed to stay in the house stayed, like appliances for instance.

If any repairs were negotiated in the contract, this would be the last opportunity before the buyer accepts possession and ownership to make sure they had been completed satisfactorily.  So if you have an electrician friend, or a plumber friend, it might be a good idea to invite them!  Walkthroughs are even necessary with new homes!
Many homebuyers tend to think that since it's a new home, there can't possibly be anything wrong or malfunctioning with it.  Not the case!  Homes are built by humans, in the elements.  Many things can and sometimes do go wrong!  
North Carolina is a "caveat emptor" state.  Meaning, "buyer beware!"  Once the buyer signs for the home, they've signed for everything- including the hidden problems!  Take the opportunity to examine your home first!

Call Amanda for all your real estate needs!  910.545.0450  www.AmandaParmerSellsHomes.com

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Thinking about moving up??

Sometimes, making the decision to sell your house and buy a new home is relatively easy. Sometimes it is not.

What will you gain by moving? What will you lose?

Get out a piece of paper. Draw a line almost halfway down to the middle, then put a circle about the size of a quarter at the bottom of that line. After that, continue the line down to the bottom of the page.

On the left side you are going to write down everything you expect to gain by moving. Do the kids fight over bathroom time? Do you run out of hot water? Do you need a better backyard atmosphere for barbecues? Better schools? Better neighborhood? More rooms? More living space? Bigger garage? Better kitchen? Get your family to help.

Can you fix it by improving your present house? Do you want to?

Write four things down at the top of the right column. Current mortgage. Sale of home. Moving. New home. If you have a second mortgage or home equity line of credit on your present home, write that down, too.

Before you do anything else, you have to know what it would take to pay off your existing mortgage. This will include your balance, any pay-off fees, approximately 30 days of interest, and (heaven forbid!) any prepayment penalties.. Most people forget to include the interest.

You get this from your mortgage company’s loan service department. Often, you just have to punch buttons on your phone and they will fax it or mail it to you directly.

Write the total payoff figure on the right side of the page.

Repeat those steps for any second mortgage or home equity line.

Now you need to call your friendly neighborhood real estate agent so you can learn two things: how much your home is likely to sell for and how much you will net from the sale. Your agent cannot determine your net without knowing your mortgage payoff, which is why you got that information first. Your agent won’t make a big production out of it. You’re dong research. They understand.

Write down how much you will net on the right side of the page. If it isn’t a positive number, you probably shouldn’t move unless you have to. If the number is positive, continue with your research.

The next step is to call a mortgage loan officer. Not to apply for a loan (though you can get pre-qualified or pre-approved if you want), but because you need to know how much cash you need to buy a new home. You need to know the down payment, closing costs, prepaid items like homeowners insurance and property taxes, and 30 days prepaid interest (everyone forgets the interest).

Remember, you’re not shopping for a loan right now. You are deciding whether to move or not. You don’t want the “best case” deal…you want the “worst case” possibility. The most it might cost you under different down payment scenarios. You want your lender to include inspections and stuff that might not normally be in a Good Faith Estimate.

Then you need to know how much it costs to move.

If you're thinking of hiring a traditional moving company, there are moving calculators on the web that will estimate your moving expenses. There are other options, too, and you can get an estimate by making a simple phone call. Your real estate agent or loan officer will know local options and companies you can call.

Just in case you're thinking you don't know with real estate agent or loan officer to call to get this research going, look at the bottom of this page and see if (by golly!) there isn’t a phone number down there.  Or stop now, call Amanda (910.545.0450) and she will help you with the rest!

Okay, subtract the moving expenses from how much you will net from selling your home. You should still have a positive number. If so, move on to the next step.

Subtract how much the lender says it will take you to move into the new house, including down payment, closing costs, prepaid expenses, and all the other "stuff."

Hopefully, you still have a positive number. If not, don't panic. There is a lot of "fudge factor" involved here and purchases can be structured to limit the out-of-pocket cash necessary to close the deal. Or perhaps you knew you might be a little short and always intended to use savings, borrow from your 401K, or get help from family members.

Or...you might have a positive number that is fairly BIG.

If so, put that number on the left side of the page because that is "cash left over" (or it could be). It is also money that you could use to make a larger down payment or to buy new furniture or help stimulate the economy.

So the right side of the page is for calculations and reasons not to move, sort of like a right-brain vs. left-brain kind of thing. Or vice versa.

Oh. I forgot.

What about that circle you drew in the middle of the page?

(I didn’t really forget).

By the time you get through this process, you’ll know whether moving is a good idea or not. That circle is where you write your decision in big bold letters.

Call Amanda for all your real estate needs!  910.545.0450

What Really Makes A Real Estate Agent Valuable

Recently, an excited first-time homebuyer spent some time telling a real estate agent what she wanted in a home. They also discussed financing. Immediately afterwards, the agent took her new client out and showed her...

...two homes.

One was perfect.

Instead of making an offer right away, the buyer went home and called her friend. The friend had a real estate license. The buyer and her second agent presented an offer on the home, leaving the first agent totally in the dark.

After all, the first agent hadn't worked "too hard."

Which made me think about what really makes a real estate agent valuable, among other things.

Knowledge of inventory was near the top of the list.

It sounds boring and unexciting. Bookish, even.

You see, the reason the first agent knew which houses to show her potential client was because she had previewed those properties. That's one of those things agents do that you don't know about. They go out on their own, by themselves or with other agents, and look at property after property after property. They know what models are located where, how long they've been on the market, which ones have listing agents that are easy to work with, and more. They know all kinds of things that you don't know they know.

Not only that, the agent had been previewing properties for what "seems like forever" - so she immediately knew which houses to show the soon-to-be-excited buyer. She had been to those homes and/or model matches for those homes - for quite some time.

She knew her inventory.

The friend did not know the inventory. Otherwise, the buyer would have gone to her friend first, right?

It's like wandering around the aisles of a drug store not knowing which over-the-counter cough syrup is best for your particular ailment. Who would you rather ask? The clerk at the register or the pharmacist?

Either way, you're walking out of the store with a cardboard box filled with thick sloshy liquid.

So what you're really hiring in an agent is knowledge - and not just knowledge of inventory. Knowledge of lots of things that you don't even know you don't know. They make it seem easy, but that's because they want it to seem easy. If agents told you how hard it was, you would be even more nervous about shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After all, it is only the most expensive purchase you've ever made in your life.

But it's only a house, right?

And everyone knows that a Schedule 1 item on a termite report must be repaired prior to closing, which Schedule II items do not. And all those other little details.

By the way, the first agent and the listing agent talked to one another because she expected to present an offer shortly. No details, of course - just the name of her client and to expect the offer.

The buyer did present an offer, but with the wrong agent. This took the listing agent by surprise. Like many industries, real estate agents have a code of ethics they are supposed to obey. At the same time, agents don't always know what their clients are up to. Anyway, imagine how negotiations went, if they went anywhere at all. Plus, there were other problems that will be saved for another article.

Which isn't really the point. The point was that you hire an agent because of training, knowledge, experience, problem-solving ability, connections, their ability to communicate...and lots of other neat stuff.

The moral I promised?

You don't know what you don't know.

Which is why you hire people that will cover the blanks you know about, as well as the ones you don't. That is where you find the true value of a real estate agent.

Call Amanda for all your real estate needs!  910.545.0450  www.AmandaParmerSellsHomes.com

Using a VA Loan?

The majority of people buying a home in Jacksonville, North Carolina utilize their VA loan entitlement.  Why wouldn't you?  It's 100% financing, with little to no closing costs in this housing market.  It's a perfect opportunity to invest in your financial future!
But there are some things you might not know!

~You can use your VA loan more than once!  Many military members intend to use their VA loan for their "forever home".  But it's actually designed for first-time homebuyers!  Even if you use your VA loan on one home, you are still entitled to use it again and again and again!  And, you can use it more than once at a time!  Military members move around!  That's the lifestyle.  But just because you have a home in California that you bought with a VA loan, doesn't mean that you can't simultaneously have a home in Jacksonville, NC with a VA loan!
~You only need 90 days of active duty service during wartime to qualify to use your VA loan!  And, you don't need perfect credit (although it doesn't hurt!!)
~The VA isn't lending you the money- they're only backing it up for you, kind of like insurance.  So you can still shop different lenders for the best interest rate!
~They are for primary residences only.  However, military members move around- a lot!  So after a reasonable amount of time, it can be used for a rental home if necessary.

For more information on how to utilize your VA entitlement to buy a home, give me a call!  I can recommend lenders in the area who are familiar with VA loans and who have worked with my military clients in the past!  

Don't Shoot the Messenger!!

So part of my job as a professional REALTOR® is prospecting.  One of my methods of prospecting for future clients is telling people about my current inventory.  Not only does it give me the opportunity to speak with other people about real estate, but serves as a great service to my seller when I call other people to talk about their home for sale.  Point blank, it's cold calling.  It's not easy, it's not always very fun, but it does work.  So I do it.  Today, I was calling around my listing at 146 Locust Court, Jacksonville, NC, 

 and one of the gentlemen that I had the pleasure of speaking with asked me to never call his home again because, "Realtors® are nothing but scam artists and take advantage of these young Marines in this town."  He belabored the point to tell me about the new 3.8% real estate tax that everyone has to pay is in the Obamacare bill and how no one in Jacksonville will be able to sell their home and it's only going to add to the 200 foreclosures in our town.  (His words, not mine!!)
Little did he know, I am, in fact, a US Army Veteran and I am in a very committed relationship with a Marine, and actually come from a military family.  So truly, scamming young Marines is not on my list of things to do.  I know not everyone has the same goals, but I think I speak for most of my REALTOR® comrades by saying that it's just not true.
I tried to explain to him that his information isn't accurate.  The fact is, the real estate tax of 3.8% ONLY applies to individuals who make more than $200,000 (adjusted gross income) and $250,000 for couples.  I don't think that's going to harm the average consumer in the Jacksonville, North Carolina real estate market right now.  
And as far as there being 200 foreclosures on the market- the actual statistics, according to Jacksonville Board of Realtors® MLS today, there are 2,424 homes on the market for sale in Onslow County.  Of those homes, 165 are foreclosure homes.  That's less than 7%.  And nationally, speaking, foreclosure sales are at an all time low since 2007, according to Les Christie at CNN Money.
Another part of my job, and probably the most important job, is educating.  I think it's more important for people to know the facts, rather than what they heard in the media or what their neighbor told them about the housing market in Toledo.  I don't go to the salon to ask about a weird noise my car is making, I go to the mechanic.  REALTORS® are here to educate and guide, as well as sell houses.  All REALTORS® aren't the same, and some are better than others.  Call me for a more detailed statistical analysis about the Jacksonville real estate market!  I'd love to help!