IT’S A GLOBALLY-CONNECTED TRIBE OF UBERINTELLIGENT ENTREPRENEURS LEADING THE WAY. IT’S INSTANT NAME RECOGNITION. IT’S THAT KNOWING NOD OF RESPECT. IT’S AN ALLACCESS PASS TO INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY, MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS. IT’S SUPERIOR LEAD GENERATION IT’S YEAR AFTER YEAR OF AWARDS. IT’S PERSONAL SUCCESS. IT’S WHAT THE KIDS CALL “EXTRA.” IT’S EVERYTHING AN AGENT WANTS. AND THERE’S NO APP FOR THAT.
12 2017: Year in Review
A yearly recap of NC REALTORS® accomplishments and a look ahead for 2018 President Amy Hedgecock.
16 The Intersection of Commercial & Residential Real Estate Insights from the 2017 UNC Real Estate Conference.
18 Upcycling for a Better World COVER: People around the world are making the old new again through upcycling.
22 The Heck-Andrews House
A glimpse into the future for this historic property.
26 Flipping Houses: A Race Against the Clock
The 4 basic stages in the house flipping process and how to cut down time in each one.
30 First Impressions: NC REALTORS® New Website Coming Soon
Check out the new features and style of the redesigned website.
36 Now You Know
Expand your "local" thinking to the "global" market.
38 Hollywood East in Wilmington
Get a sneak peek of what to expect at XCHANGE '18, the NC REALTORS® unconventional convention and expo.
Have something to talk about? Sure you do — and we want to hear it! Send us your comments, ideas or success stories to mallen@ncrealtors.org and you could be featured in the next Insight.
Wow — NC REALTORS® experienced an outstanding summer! We welcomed over 600 members to Asheville for XCHANGE ’17 where you got to meet Roy Williams one-onone, experience the powerful message and performance of Dan Thurmon and tour an HGTV-featured tiny house. We streamlined our email communication to members with a fresh, new design and started Mobile Mondays — a quick-form content channel utilizing Facebook Live for NC REALTORS® on the go! We also launched two important Calls for Action and witnessed Mother Nature at her finest with a breathtaking total eclipse.
Fall is now upon us, but let’s not fall into old habits of settling into our comfort zone in idle complacency. There is work to be done, progress to be made and fun to be had — with NC REALTORS®, your brokerages, your communities, the legislature and the industry. Fall is a time to finish the year strong, for reflection of our accomplishments and also for diving deep into the strategic direction of our future.
Our collective future as NC REALTORS® is anything but falling foliage. It is as bright as the ripest fruit on a new tree in spring with its first harvest. I encourage each and every one of you to get engaged with the association at the local, state and/ or national levels. Much like mother nature, you get out of our association, communities and the industry what you put in it, and you will reap even more benefits from the association than you can possibly ever contribute. That’s the power of REALTORS®.
This year has been one of the most rewarding years of my professional career, as it has for many of you. We’ve experienced a stronger real estate market, higher consumer optimism and while inventory continues to be one of our industry’s biggest challenges, we’ve continued to thrive. Through your advocacy, we represented homeowners across the state, helped communities recover and rebuild after Hurricane Matthew and shaped legislation to protect our profession. We could not achieve our successes at the General Assembly without your action, especially through the two Calls for Action on important legislation. We worked hard for you and for your clients, so you can have the most rewarding lives and profession possible. It has been our pleasure.
One of the many ways we share the accomplishments of our leadership and staff on behalf of each of you is through Insight
magazine. This issue — while the last under my leadership as your president — is rich with insightful and practical content you can use and share with your clients. From learning the latest trends in investing and flipping real estate and upcycling design strategies to how to expand your business into the global market, there is something for everyone inside these pages.
As my tenure nears its end, I have delighted in connecting with more members in 2017 than I ever have through regional and one-on-one opportunities, such as the new MIX Sessions, and I hope you take advantage of this venue to connect with your peers this fall. I made it my personal mission to reach you — the members — where you live, work and play and to celebrate and recognize members at all levels. Above all, I hope my intentional efforts to bring back the personal touch in our association shined through with our every action — to empower us to Thrive Together.
I especially want to compliment and thank the Leadership Team for all of their hard work this year: Amy for attending most of the meetings and events and joining me in decisions to be made; Kelly and Brian for working with us on all of the financials and keeping us within budget; Kim for keeping us informed on NAR news and updates and staying very involved as past president; and, Andrea for all she does for the association on a daily basis. I also want to thank the 12 regional vice presidents for taking on a more prominent role and being more visible within the association and their regions.
Peter F. Drucker stated, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” It is my hope that everything we’ve accomplished this year together proves to be the right things for NC REALTORS®, preparing us for an effective future.
It has been my honor to serve as your 2017 NC REALTORS® president. Best wishes for an even more fruitful 2018!
Treasure A. Faircloth 2017 President
President
Treasure A. Faircloth, GRI, E-PRO, CRS
President-Elect
Amy Hedgecock, CPM, GRI
Treasurer
Kelly Marks, ABR, CRS, GRI
Immediate Past President
Kim Dawson, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
Region 1: Kathy Perry, Emerald Isle; Region 2: Deb Hays, Wilmington; Region 3: Lisa York, Sanford; Region 4: Wade Corbett, Raleigh; Region 5: Lolita Malave, Greensboro; Region 6: Stephen Long, Winston-Salem; Region 7: Todd Pierceall, Gastonia; Region 8: David DeSilva, Steven Bryant, Charlotte; Region 9: Randall Blankenship, Asheville; Region 10: Asa Fleming, Harriette Doggett Raleigh; At-Large: Danny Brock, Wilmington
Chief Executive Officer
Andrea Bushnell, Esq., CIPS, RCE
Vice President of Communications & Marketing
Tracey Gould, M.S. IMC, CPSM
Editors
Mckenzie Allen Raquel Stubblefield
Contributors
Rosemary Buerger
Kim Dawson
Tony Harrington
Clyde H. Lovelady
For advertising information, contact Keri Epps-Rashad at 336-217-1049 or kepps-rashad@ncrealtors.org
INSIGHT (ISSN 24714127) (USPS 17170) is published four times a year in February, May, August and November by NC REALTORS®, 4511 Weybridge Lane, Greensboro, NC 27407. Periodicals Postage Prices paid at Greensboro, N.C. and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INSIGHT, 4511 Weybridge Lane, Greensboro, NC 27407-7877.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. Articles which appear in Insight are an informational service to members and consumers. Their contents are the opinions of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent those of NC REALTORS®. Advertising of a product or service does not imply endorsement, unless specifically stated.
To opt-out of paper copy mailings, email hello@ncrealtors.org with a subject line of “Insight opt-out.”
November 17, 2017
GRI: Technology Tools & Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Association of REALTORS®
November 17, 2017
Habitability Essentials CE Cape Fear REALTORS®
December 1, 2017
GRI: Balancing Business Risks & Ethics
Charlotte Regional REALTOR® Association/Mingle School of Real Estate
December 4 – 5, 2017
Mediation Training
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®
December 8, 2017
Ombudsman Training
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®
Interested in taking a Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) class?
Register online at ncrealtors.org/gri
NC REALTORS® provides numerous opportunities to mingle with your peers, industry insiders, thought leaders and more at our annual meetings and special events throughout the year. Make plans to join us and maximize your membership value through networking. Learn more at ncrealtors.org.
January 23 – 25, 2018
2018 Vision Quest/Winter
Leadership Meetings
Grandover Resort & Conference Center
Greensboro
February 17 – 24, 2018
CE at Sea
Royal Caribbean
Harmony of the Seas
June 4 – 6, 2018
July 14 – 17, 2018
Regional Association Executives Conference
Sea Palms Resort & Conference Center
Saint Simons Island, GA
September 16 – 18, 2018
XCHANGE '18
NC REALTORS®
Convention & Expo
Wilmington Convention Center
Wilmington
4511 Weybridge Lane, Greensboro, NC 27407
Phone: (336) 294-1415, Toll Free: (800) 443-9956
ncrealtors.org
Legislative Meetings
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel
Raleigh
The NC REALTORS® elections were held August 14 – 17, 2017 and voting took place on the NC REALTORS® website. The REALTORS® listed on this page have been certified by the NC REALTORS® Certifying/Recruiting Committee, chaired by REALTOR® Sandra O'Connor. Congratulations to our 2018 officers.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Asa Fleming
AHWD, SFR Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®
TREASURER
Kelly Marks
ABR, CRS, GRI
Greensboro Regional REALTORS® Association
ISSUES MOBILIZATION COMMITTEE
Kim Dawson
ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES Durham Regional Association of REALTORS®
FINANCE & BUDGET COMMITTEE
Wendy Harris
ABR, CRS, MRP Longleaf Pine REALTORS®
Tomp Litchfield
CSSS
Washington/Beaufort County Board of REALTORS®
Larry McNeill
ABR, ePRO, GRI
Brunswick County Association of REALTORS®
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
REGION 1
Sandy Hurst
ABR, GRI
Jacksonville Board of REALTORS®
REGION 2
James Goodman
ABR, CRB, ePRO
Brunswick County Association of REALTORS®
REGION 5
Laurie Edwards
High Point Regional Association of REALTORS®
REGION 7
Marsha Jordan
CRB, CRS, GREEN, GRI Lincoln County Board of REALTORS®
REGION 8
Maren Brisson-Kuester
Charlotte Regional REALTOR® Association
REGION 10
Mollie Owen
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®
NAR DIRECTOR
Myra Zollinger
CRS, GRI
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®
MAKE AN IMPACT IN 2019
Applications are now being accepted for 2019 officers including PresidentElect, Regional Vice Presidents for Regions 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10, Finance and Budget Committee (three at-large members for two-year terms), Issues Mobilization Committee (one at-large member for a two-year term) and NAR Directors (number of directors to be determined by member counts as of July 31, 2018). The deadline for receiving applications is March 16, 2018. If you are interested in serving the association, contact Donna Peterson at 336-8084221 or dpeterson@ncrealtors.org to obtain an application. Elections will be held in August.
NC REALTORS® presented these members with achievement awards during the annual 2017 Conference & Expo at the Omni Grove Park Inn on Monday, September 18, 2017.
Honorees of the Rising Star award are awarded by the members’ respective associations. The purpose of the award is to recognize members who have been REALTORS® for five years or less and who have provided exemplary service to the local board while exhibiting strong leadership potential.
NC REALTORS® announces the hiring of three new staff members, spanning events, education and government affairs disciplines. The latest hires bring the total staff to 32 between the Greensboro and Raleigh offices. New personnel include (pictured from left to right):
Dakota Cary comes to NC REALTORS® from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and was previously the vice president of government relations for the UNC Association of Student Governments. He has extensive campaign management experience throughout the state and has worked with the Parker-Whittaker administration to advocate for the UNC system on both the state and federal legislative levels. Cary holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in campaign management.
Lauren Angel brings extensive education experience as a kindergarten teacher for Guilford County Schools to the education department at NC REALTORS®. She also has experience in real estate, where she previously worked as a permit coordinator for Wade Jurney Homes in Greensboro. Angel received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education (K-6) with an academic concentration in interdisciplinary arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Sarah Small received her Bachelor of Science in business, with a concentration in hospitality tourism management, from Western Carolina University and has extensive experience in the management of guest meetings and conventions in the hotel industry. Previously, she was an event planner for the Grandover Resort.
NC REALTORS® welcomes its new team members and looks forward to what they will bring to the organization and its members.
BY: WILL MARTIN, GENERAL COUNSEL
North Carolina law provides that property taxes on real property being sold are prorated between the seller and buyer of the real property on a calendar-year basis unless otherwise provided by contract. According to the terms of the standard Offer to Purchase and Contract (jointly approved by the NC Association of REALTORS® and the NC Bar Association), the real property taxes are prorated on a calendar year basis as of the date of settlement. "Settlement" is defined in the contract as the proper completion and delivery to the closing attorney of all required paperwork and all funds necessary to complete the sale. The seller pays the taxes from January of the current year through the settlement date, and the buyer pays the taxes from the settlement date through the end of the year.
Cities and counties in North Carolina operate on a fiscal year that begins on July 1, so tax rates are established by the tax office in the middle of the year. However, the tax rates are applied in a calendar-year manner. For example, by July 1, 2017 a county sets its tax rate at fifty cents per
$100 in value. The owners of property as of January 1, 2017 receive the tax bill sometime in August 2017. Taxes are due and payable September 1, 2017 and may be paid without interest through January 5, 2018.
If, at the time of settlement, tax rates haven’t been established and bills haven't been sent, taxes are usually prorated based on the prior year’s taxes. The closing attorney calculates the seller's portion of the taxes based on the number of days that the seller has owned the property during the current calendar year, and the buyer is given a credit for that amount on the settlement statement. In this case, since the buyer received a credit at settlement, the buyer is responsible for paying the entire tax bill when it is sent later in the year. The closing attorney may have the parties sign an agreement to adjust the taxes between them if the tax bill is significantly different than the previous year's bill, on which the proration was based.
If the tax bill has been sent by the tax office but the bill has not yet been paid by the seller, taxes are prorated at
settlement and paid to the tax office. If the tax bill has already been paid by the seller, taxes are prorated and the seller is given a credit for the buyer’s portion of the taxes on the settlement statement.
Some properties (such as properties being used for the production of agricultural, horticultural or forest products, or unoccupied property in a builder’s inventory) are specially assessed and taxes deferred. The sale of such a property can result in changes in the tax status and cause deferred taxes to become due. Real estate agents are not trained or licensed to provide legal or tax
advice, so a seller should consult with the tax office and/or seek the advice of a lawyer or other tax professional regarding the tax consequences of selling the property. The seller is obligated to pay any deferred, discounted or rollback taxes according to the Offer to Purchase and Contract.
The information in this article has been taken from the Buyer and Seller Advisories, which are available to NC REALTORS® online at ncrealtors.org
Will Martin is a graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and Wake Forest University School of Law, where he graduated with honors in 1985. He practiced law in his hometown of Mocksville and then in Winston-Salem before coming to work for NC REALTORS® in 1996 as its general counsel. For the past 21 years, Martin has advised NC REALTORS®'s leadership and staff on a wide range of legal matters. He handles a large number of inquiries from individual members and local associations of REALTORS® on legal issues affecting the practice of real estate brokerage and association administration, and has been closely involved in the development of most of the NC REALTORS® standard forms. Martin is a Member/Manager of Martin & Gifford, PLLC.
The year has flown by! The greatest joy of my year has been traveling to local associations, meeting new members and reconnecting with members I have known for years. During my year as president, we launched MIX Sessions, which included broker dinners, focus groups and regional meetings. Connecting with members where they live, work and play has been a tremendous value to the association, as we learned the challenges facing our members. At the same time, it provided us an opportunity to share all the programs and services NC REALTORS® offers our members.
Setting the stage for further and more extensive member outreach in the local communities is the most important accomplishment of 2017. Many of our members really do not have a good grasp of the services available to them. Taking our message to them, in person, has been met with tremendous positive feedback. Members need and want to know that we are there for them and can truly help them in their businesses. With that said, however, we have a number of legislative accomplishments that cannot be overlooked. Of particular importance was the passage of legislation requiring rulemaking on Underground Storage Tanks. These rules will provide much needed direction to REALTORS® across the state. Clarification to the Vacation Linen Tax and Repair, Maintenance and Installation sales tax requirements also passed and will protect property and vacation rental managers across the state from unintended, detrimental consequences of previous tax changes. Since completing the long session in July, the legislature has returned for multiple special sessions to address additional issues, so it is important for our members to remain vigilant and take action on issues that affect their business and their clients.
The work of NC REALTORS® is never done! Our legislative agenda is always evolving; continued consumer engagement through the NC Homeowners Alliance in support of our political agenda is ongoing; assisting with solving community issues is always top of mind; refining events and convention to ensure we are meeting the needs of the members never ends. There is so much more to our Strategic Plan that can be accomplished. Happily, 2018 President Amy Hedgecock and I have been working closely together to ensure a seamless transition of issues and efforts.
I’m not sure that it is one project, but one effort that I am excited to see developing is the engagement of new members and getting them involved early in their careers. We developed a new member kit based on a messaging platform called “Be Epic.” It's bright, unique and an accessible way to share services available to members. At the same time, we developed an education track at XCHANGE '17 specifically for new members. To advance this program, we granted scholarships to five new members and paired each with a veteran member to help them navigate XCHANGE '17. There is so much more to be done, but I’m very excited about this new member initiative.
In 2016, President Kim Dawson formed an Economic Development Committee and in 2017, we further advanced economic development in North Carolina. At XCHANGE '17 we launched an Economic Development Toolkit to help local members and associations engage in economic development and business recruitment efforts in their local communities. Additionally, we formed the NC REALTORS® Global Network to help members thrive in international real estate and take advantage of the foreign investment money coming into North Carolina.
Being a past president! It’s the very best job in the association. I can help when asked, but I am looking forward to sitting back, allowing Amy to take the reigns and improve many of the initiatives that we started together this year.
I hope that I am remembered as the president who brought back personal touch and service to the members in new and innovative ways. Stay tuned for MIXers in 2018 where we will continue meeting with members at cocktail-style receptions, some even with food trucks, to encourage member engagement. We hope many more people who have never been involved with NC REALTORS® will want to be after these events. What was old is new again!
I’m looking forward to continuing the efforts to reach the members. I think the MIXers have been invaluable in helping the members discover the value of NC REALTORS®. Not only that, but having time to meet with them one-onone has given me a great opportunity to discover what their needs are. What can the state association do
to help them become better agents and more successful REALTORS®? It has been enlightening. Of course, I would like to continue to advance our legislative agenda and promote and protect private property rights in North Carolina.
I’m not so naive to think I will accomplish all I want to in one year. The goal, I think, is to lay the ground work
for a path that will lead our association into the future. It is impossible for any one person to do all of the things that our association does. Not one staff person, not one volunteer. It is a team effort — from the volunteer leaders to the everyday REALTOR® on the street. It takes all of us working as one unit. If we truly want to be “The voice of real estate
These individuals completed the curriculum required to earn the most widely recognized REALTOR® designation in the nation, the
REGION 1
Ernest Gore
Richard House
Carol Mercer
Jane Pittman
Holly Scantlin
Christopher Spellman
REGION 2
Donna Atherton
Rodney Axsom
James Lunsford
Elizabeth Weiss
Cynthia Young
REGION 3
Laura Guelfi
Tammy Holt
Lisa Little
REGION 4
Michael Cromer
Justin Jenkins
Michelle Morock
Tammy Smith
REGION 5
Karen Caulfield
Susan Davis
Teresa Johnson
Terri Johnson
Ludell McRae
Gloria Mitchell
Paul Roberts
Melissa Shepherd
Diane Wilson
REGION 6
Ray Derrick
Ashley Garren
Catherine McCrary
Michael Shelton
M. Hayden Thornburg
Dusty Washburn
Monica Werner
Jane White
REGION 7
Breon Allen
Crystal Honeycutt
Lori Lentz
Chris Puckett
Cecilia Reel
Jona Shuffler
Jodi Warren
REGION 8
Clark Bierbaum
Heather Bonner
Kelly Bost
Jill Brummer
Paul Cattieu
Lisa Cernuto
Patricia Elam
Kathryn Fritz
Brenda Goddard
Martha Mendoza Borgese
Nancy Muzichuk
Robert Sturm
REGION 9
Carol Barbour
Ginny Barker
Matt Barker
Richard Daniel
William Daves
Lesley Rohe
REGION 10
Tyler Ashworth
Cheralyn Baker
Lance Canada
Colleen Cerniglia
Umesh Chokshi
Sandra Coburn
Rosemary Cunnius
Chambrea Daniels
Lynn Foster
Sharon Henderson
Stephany MacKey
Karen Norman
Shiv Shankar Nunna
Gabriel Oxford
Brian Reddersen
Jason Rummel
Jennifer Teborek
in North Carolina,” then it can’t be one person shouting from a hilltop. It needs to be the thunderous roar of our entire membership speaking in unison. We are an unstoppable force if we all work together. This is why I will continue to meet with as many members across the state as I can. It is why I chose “Together we rise” as my motto.
to 10/10/17
Edward D. Alexander
Bythal Bostic
I. Kenneth Clay
Diana Creek
Peggy L. Dry
Timothy Fulcher
William M. Fox
Theodore B. Hardeen
Linda B. Kolarov
Robert M. Lovell, Jr.
Harold B. Mercer
Suzanne S. Nash
Mary Ann Parrish
Stacy L. Pascucci
Donald A. Singer
Don Wallace
Hugh S. Wallace, III
BY: ROSEMARY BUERGER & KIM DAWSON
The North Carolina Real Estate Education Foundation (NC REEF) is a long-standing honored sponsor of the UNC Real Estate Conference. Organized by the Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, the conference draws real estate market professionals from all industry segments to discuss real estate and capital markets topics. The 2017 conference was held on April 6 — on the "heels" of the Tar Heels men's basketball team winning the 2017 NCAA national championship. Excitement and optimism filled the air. NC REALTORS® Kim Dawson, Julia Tucker, Lou Baldwin, Billie
Green, Tony Hawkins, Rosemary Buerger and Susan Crawford attended on behalf of the association and NC REEF.
The official conference was opened by Wood/Bell Distinguished Professor and Director of the Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, David Hartzell. The keynote speaker, Len O’Donnell, president and CEO of USAA Real Estate Company, began with a powerful outlook of the upcoming year from his perspective. O’Donnell indicated slow and steady growth within the commercial and residential real estate markets will be driven by the political climate, economic growth and continued consumer optimism.
His message was echoed throughout the day, especially by Mary Ludgin, managing director and head of Global Research at Heitman. Ludgin provided an insightful presentation detailing how and where to expect commercial growth. The theme of optimistic caution continued with her presentation, but she did not anticipate the same level of bubble and crash we experienced in 2007 – 2011. She does, however, expect to see a future decline.
The afternoon presentation focused on the future: the future of how we travel, live, shop and purchase, as it relates to commercial and residential real estate. Take driverless cars, for example. How we live as suburbanites and urbanites will vastly change with the ability for our cars to take us to the train station and return home to park until we call it to pick us up again. The need for parking decreases in both settings. Those living in urban settings can park their cars remotely and call them as needed to avoid parking fees. Further into the conference, more discussion related to commercial real estate ensued, which prompted NC REEF attendees to speculate the impacts
on the residential industry. Soon, the correlation between the two became strikingly clear. Commercial needs effect how and where we live. We are no longer purchasing homes near shopping centers for convenience. Amazon brings almost everything you need to your doorstep. Grocery stores have conceded and fought back by creating online grocery shopping and drive through pick-up. Mega malls are out, and neighborhood centers are in, featuring anchor stores that provide onestop shopping to fill a variety of needs. How we live is rapidly changing with technology. The desire to obtain a driver’s license has decreased with the arrival of Uber and other types of car services. You no longer need the same things to get around. We do still need homes, however, and where we build them is driven by our inherent need for either an urban or suburban setting, and thus creating commercial growth. Ultimately, as REALTORS®, we must pay attention to where commercial and residential real estate collide and interconnect, as well as how technology impacts the daily lives of homeowners, and grow with those changes.
NC REEF Directors Susan Crawford and Kim Dawson attended the “Women in Real Estate” discussion held prior to the main conference. It was standing room only at the second-annual event, and the discussion focused on diversifying and increasing the number of women in the UNC real estate program and the industry in general, particularly the commercial segment. Currently, women comprise only 10 percent of the UNC real estate program, although tremendous strides have been made to increase female enrollment. In the fall of 2016, the Wood Center created a three-tiered mentor program and "Shadow Days." Both programs were expanded in 2017, and Campus Career Panels, Career Treks (company visits) and Skill Workshops will be added in 2018 — all in an effort to bolster interest in the program and industry among the female demographic. In addition, a $1.2 million endowment is being sought to establish a twoyear, full-time scholarship.
BY: CLYDE H. LOVELADY
You’re driving along when suddenly you see a pile of someone else’s junk sitting on the side of the road. You don’t know what it is exactly, but it draws you. Before you realize it, you’ve already pulled over. As you walk towards it, you make sure that no one’s watching; after all, it’s just a pile of junk…right? Where does our fascination with the old and discarded come from? We can assume the affects brought on by nostalgia are somewhat responsible for our inability to get rid of grandma’s wood organ, but there’s something more underlying here, something socially collective that propels us into thrift stores, consignment shops and, from time to time, towards piles of junk tossed on the side of the road.
Upcycling — not to be confused with recycling — is the process of transforming otherwise discarded junk into new materials or products of better quality, function and environmental value. And this goes far beyond the scope of those cute yarn toys made for cats that you can find in abundance on Etsy. The term “upcycling” was first used by Reiner Pilz of Pilz GmbH & Co., a German automation technology company, in a 1994 article explaining how it was he could take on such major contracts with only a limited supply of original material:
“Recycling,” Pilz said, “I call it down cycling. They smash bricks, they smash everything. What we need is upcycling, where old products are given more value, not less.”
Pilz then goes on to recall the supply of a large quantity of reclaimed woodblock from an English supplier for a contract in Nuremberg, while just down the road a load of similar block was being scrapped. “Is this the future of Europe?” Luckily, for Europe and the rest of the world, people are beginning to think more like Reiner Pilz. The idiom “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is being put into action now more than ever before, as people around the world are making the old new again.
Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to
make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” What upcycling provides in the world of design is just that: pure originality. When it comes to design and function, there are endless possibilities that can be created from materials already on hand. For example, you can take an old dresser with missing or broken doors and turn it into an open storage dresser by removing the drawers completely. Open storage dressers are perfect for folded towels, linens or clothes, and add a custom-feel aesthetic to a bathroom’s decor. Or, on a smaller scale, unused coffee tins make a great place to house your indoor herb garden — you can even save counter space by attaching magnets and snapping them on your fridge.
Many interior design firms have taken notice. Form and Function, an interior design company based in Raleigh, N.C., focuses their business on upcycling as many items in the client’s existing decor as possible. Its retail store also features many upcycled items, including farm trough sinks, old ballet boxes and upcycled animal masks.
Bonny Christy, editor at Furnish My Way, an interior design and fashion company, believes that people are beginning to find the appeal of creating personal, unique items from other items that would otherwise remain unused. “Our generation is very into having personalized items that mean something to us. Upcycling gives us that ability, and we can create an item
we love and need from an existing item that is personalized to our taste.” By upcycling raw materials and furniture, we are able to it give new life while catering to our needs. Christy believes that by doing this “we are helping the environment on two fronts: keeping more new things from being created when there’s already enough, and sending fewer items to landfills because we are upcycling and reusing them.”
It’s not surprising that Walmart, Target and Ikea have the market cornered on household furniture and most other products. These discount chains are willing to fill our every need at a price we can all afford. The problem, however, is that often the quality of these affordable goods is sacrificed for the low price tag, resulting in an over-accumulation of products with short life cycles. While that IKEA book shelf might be inexpensive and easy to assemble, it may buckle under the weight of actual books and isn’t designed to last.
The environmental impact of affordable consumerism doesn’t stop at furniture and plastic goods, either. The garment industry is also trending towards things new and inexpensive. Here’s a fun fact: It takes 650 gallons of water to produce the cotton needed to make a single t-shirt. That’s right, and to get a better idea of just how wasteful
Upcycling provides an economic, personal design approach. Whether you’re moving into a new home or just want to reinvent your living spaces, reconstituting one-of-a-kind furniture pieces will create a unique aesthetic that sets your home apart. It’s perfect – and inexpensive – for home staging, too. Avoid expensive designer stores and opt for these easy projects that only require a few tools, some paint and a little creativity:
HGTV.com HGTV.com
For the bedroom, repurposed doors can make great headboards. Reclaimed doors bracketed to the wall will give the room a rustic charm. By mounting legs or stands underneath, doors can also serve as dining tables, office desks and console tables. If the wood is old and smells, you can remove the odor by sitting the door out in the sunshine for a few hours.
this is, imagine taking ten long showers — long enough to thoroughly use up the hot water each time – before throwing on that newly bought t-shirt hanging in the closet. Polyester fiber’s no better, taking 70 million barrels of oil to produce the world’s yearly supply, but taking 200 years to decompose. What’s scarier is that Americans only recycle or donate 15 percent of their used clothing — the rest (about 10.5 million tons) goes to landfills each year.
Dressers with missing or damaged doors have the potential to become a unique TV console, bench or chair. To make a TV console, remove all the drawers and use the faces as shelves. For chairs or benches, leave one or two drawers at the bottom and nail in the seat above; a dresser-turned-bench makes for a great accent piece in a home’s foyer.
Most anything that can encompass a light bulb can be made into a statement light fixture. Mason jars make great single ornaments or can be hung in groups to create a chandelier. In the kitchen, try hanging a series of illuminated box food graters over the island — the perforated slates will create alluring light contrasts along the walls.
Jane Speller, a marketing specialist at Paul’s Rubbish Removal Melbourne, sees the waste industry and all the problems related with it first-hand. “There are so many things ending up at the landfill that don’t belong there. It’s not only that the amount of waste could be reduced, but up to 70 percent could be reused or upcycled.” She began upcycling as a way to show her own style in fashion and interior design, while at the same time wage her own personal war against pollution. She says that it’s not an issue of affordability, rather an expression of the inner artist along with the satisfying awareness that “minimizing the volume of discarded items sent to landfill each year is an easy and creative way to make a change.”
It’s no mystery that the low-wage working conditions in countries such as China and India are unfavorable, even dangerous. Just in 2013, the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapse, a devastating event killing 1,133 garment workers, exposing the wide range of abuses connected to the “fastfashion” sourcing of clothing. Factory labor laws are hardly monitored, and the rising income inequality continues to grow out of hand. According to World Bank, between 2001 and 2003, the income of the poorest 10 percent of China’s 1.3 billion people had fallen by 2.4 percent, while it’s richest became 16 percent richer.
This is why the shift towards upcycling is so important; not only does upcycling take away from the amount of waste that gets tossed, but it also stops the demand for more useless production that results in unethical labor conditions. Luckily there are a number of companies that are setting the trend for selling upcycled products and fashion, like Hipcycle and Looptworks, who identify and rescue high-quality materials that are left over from premium goods manufacturers.
BY: SETH PALMER | POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS & REGULATORY AFFAIRS DIRECTOR
With the purchase of the Heck-Andrews House from the state of North Carolina in 2016, NC REALTORS® has the opportunity to transform one of Raleigh’s most unique historic properties into a functional hub for our government relations activities, as well as a rental venue for private events.
Construction is slated to begin soon, but here is a quick update on how things are shaping up, and what can be expected for the space.
The Heck-Andrews House is undoubtedly the most recognizable property along Raleigh’s Blount Street. Built in the iconic Second Empire style by real estate developer and lawyer Colonel Jonathan Heck and his family in 1872, the house has stood the test of time, preserving many of its key architectural elements and its historic character. While the exterior
facade underwent a massive restoration and renovation in 2014 at the direction of the state of North Carolina, the interior rooms remained untouched since its last occupant moved out in the late 1980s.
To accomplish the goal of converting the HeckAndrews House into a rental space and office venue, particular care will be taken to preserve the architectural
quality of the house, while also adding modern amenities. The first floor will serve as the event space and will cater to both social and corporate functions. From small weddings and receptions to corporate retreats and committee meetings, the Heck-Andrews house will be designed and renovated to meet all needs.
In addition to the event space on the first floor, the
upper floors will house the NC REALTORS® Government Affairs staff headquarters and leased office space. For NC REALTORS®, the relocation of the team from their current office on Fayetteville Street to the Heck-Andrews House will give them direct access to the Legislative Building.
For construction updates, reservation information and more, visit heck-andrews.com, launching in 2018.
We’ve all seen the popular house flipping shows on HGTV and, let’s be honest, they’re fun to watch. It’s hard not to root for those camera-friendly hosts as they stumble across unexpected costs and other mishaps, only to somehow (after an upbeat montage) pull it all together and walk away with huge profits.
According to RealtyTrac, homes flipped in 2016 sold for a median gross profit of $62,624. The profits are, in fact, huge and can be made — should be made — in a relatively short period of time, because in the business of flipping houses it’s a race against the clock. Here are the four basic stages in the house flipping process and how to cut down time in each one.
In the magical land of HGTV, investors happen upon great investment opportunities as though it’s simply a matter of stepping outside and taking a walk. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Flipping houses on a regular basis takes looking at hundreds of properties in order to find a single profitable project. Investors can’t spend an hour evaluating every house on the market, so there’s a rule of thumb that the pros use when it comes to quickly identifying a good deal — it’s called the 70 percent rule.
Maximum Allowable Offer = (After Repair Value x .70) – Repair Cost
A property’s “After Repair Value” (AVR) is calculated by evaluating the sales price of similar fixed-up homes, also known as “comps,” preferably those that have been recently sold. Repair costs are proportional to the size of the property
and the condition it’s in. Once the ARV and repair costs are figured out, then the investor can quickly decide whether or not the price tag justifies the investment.
Then there’s the issue of location. Steven Kopstein, New York REALTOR® and Associate Broker at Triplemint Real Estate, says he doesn’t search for properties further than 45 minutes away from where he lives. “You’ll be spending a lot of time on site, so you want to make sure the project is close enough to where you don’t have to spend too much time commuting.” He also takes into consideration how difficult or easy a town is to work with for getting permits. “The more regulations and restrictions there are on renovating,” he says, “the longer the project will take, and time is your biggest enemy.”
The early bird gets the worm, but not if it doesn’t have money on hand. Homes that need major renovations usually don’t qualify for traditional mortgage financing. Cash is often needed up front, because home flippers can’t delay securing financing as investor offers typically have no more than 15-day inspection periods and no financing contingency.
If an investor doesn’t have cash on hand, they can opt for a “hard money” loan, which is simply a cash loan from a private individual or business. Lucas Machado is the president of House Heroes LLC, a real estate investment firm located in southern Florida. He has been involved in nearly one hundred real estate transactions in the past three years and knows a thing or two about cutting down on time. “Hard money lenders aren’t required to follow condition guidelines; unlike banks, these lenders don’t have to consider debt-to-income ratios or credit scores.”
There are, however, downsides to hard money loans. The loans are short-term (usually less than 12 months) and have high interest rates. A “partnership” is another strategy to use in order to make a quick purchase. This is when one partner supplies the entirety of the funding, while the other partner brings the deal and manages the operations.
The profit is already set once the property has been purchased, and it begins to dwindle if the project is not completed on time. “Investors should develop a scope of work,” urges Machado, “outlining required repairs and estimated costs, and confirm it with their contractors.” Having a reliable, trustworthy contractor is essential to ensuring a timely flip. The online community called Bigger Pockets is a great place to get recommendations for contractors who work in your area. The site also has renovation calculators to help estimate the cost of renovations easily. When it comes to finding a solid contractor, Kopstein suggests showing up at the local hardware store at 5:30 a.m. “That’s when the early contractors who have their ‘stuff’ together will be there.”
As for renovations, cutting down on unnecessary repairs also saves time. While repairing or renovating certain areas of a property can add value and attract buyers, other areas aren’t necessarily as important to the ending ARV. When creating the scope of work, it’s best to focus on the following areas: kitchen, bathroom(s), roof, doors, paint, flooring and decks. Areas to hold off on are: garage, basement, added amenities, trim and driveway.
Over-the-top finishings, too, can take up unnecessary time. For instance, installing elaborate kitchen cabinets when a quick paint job on the originals will do the trick or installing ornate tiled backsplashes when laminates would look just as good, can add weeks to the renovation timeframe. The level of finishing will depend on the location and the surrounding comps, and shouldn’t be overdone if it doesn’t need to be.
Marketing the property for sale should begin as soon as the renovations and repairs are done. In a seller’s market, good marketing can bring in higher offers; in a buyer’s market, it can be the difference between making a sale and sitting on the market. In either case, if the phone doesn’t ring, the property doesn’t sell and the profits begin to dwindle as the clock hand keeps ticking.
Listing the property with a REALTOR® and placing it in ads will certainly make for a quicker sale, but there are
other additional strategies to use as well. Staging a home, both inside and out, can attract more buyers and get a property sold quicker. In 2016, the National Association of REALTORS® reported that 62 percent of sellers’ agents indicated staging a home decreased the amount of time in spent on the market. Considering the relatively low costs, home staging is a worthwhile investment.
Attraction (and profitability) is also increased with professional photography. When taking pictures of the front, shoot up close with angled photos, and make sure to take advantage of the sunlight. For interior shots, open blinds and drapes and turn on lights. Creating a 360-degree virtual tour is also a great way to appeal to more buyers, and can be accomplished by using smartphone apps such as Vieweet and Google Camera. Beautiful pictures and imagery of the interior and exterior drives more prospective home buyers to showings, ultimately reducing the number of days spent on the market.
It’s a seller’s market out there, and for Tar Heel house flippers there’s more good news. Greensboro, North Carolina, has been voted No. 9 in WalletHub’s 2017 best cities to flip houses in. What’s more, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte all ranked within the top 60 out of 150 of the most populated U.S. cities. The analysis was conducted according to three factors: house-flipping market potential, renovation costs and quality of life. Sounds like it’s the perfect time to set your stopwatch and go make some money!
BY: TRACEY GOULD
First impressions are everything and are often your final impression. NC REALTORS®’ new website, launching in mid-November 2017, is the common cure to dated and tired first impressions.
Members — you spoke, and we listened. The NC REALTORS® marketing and communications team collected feedback from members, staff and the public over the past year and a half, conducting surveys, focus groups
and one-on-one conversations and developed what we believe to be one of the best REALTOR® websites in the nation. We hope you’ll agree.
Complete with a new member database and single sign-on capabilities,
New Features
Single Sign On (SSO)
New database
Multi-media friendly
Quick links for popular benefits
Easy navigation
Light, airy design
Member-centric
the new website is leaner, cleaner and much easier to navigate. In fact — most information is accessible within three clicks. Content is nestled in centers, and all the information you’re accustomed to finding on our website mostly lives within one page in expandable sections. And the information you use most, including forms and Legal Q&As, are available front and center with a new Quicklinks menu.
The design is light and airy — a white background, bold, large images, bright pops of color and interactive sections. The site is extremely responsive and works well on tablets, mobile, laptop, and desktop devices. It’s member centric, and you’ll love it.
Never miss an upcoming class or an open Call for Action with real-time notifications, and now, you only need to login once to access all of your member benefits. The new website also remembers your login credentials, which allows for a better website experience. Access and share original content and industry news and headlines right from the website. EPIC.
Sometimes, final impressions are the most memorable.
Francescka "Frankie" Bailey, owner and lead designer for Frankie’s Folio, specializes in website development, branding identity, print design, and illustration. To date, she has collaborated with NC REALTORS® on three separate websites, including the association’s main website (ncrealtors.org), and is contracted to design four more websites with us through January 2018. Bailey previously worked in the A/E/C industry in communication roles and branched out on her own in 2011, starting a woman-owned small business exclusively focused on print, digital and website design in the same industry. Since then, her clients and portfolio has expanded to include advertising, non-profit, and commercial organizations. Bailey lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children and enjoys travel, painting and live music. Learn more about Frankie Bailey and Frankie’s Folio at frankiesfolio.com.
Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) delivers on-the-go access to an allencompassing real estate platform, available exclusively to REALTORS®, and offered at no additional cost. Easily accessed through desktop, iOS and Android devices. Learn more at blog.narrpr.com/
For those who believe real estate is nothing more than showing houses, think again. Yes, real estate is a relationship building business where one’s reputation and people skills are critical to success. Those play quite well when showing houses.
Yet the industry has changed … a lot. And the value a REALTOR® brings to the table with regard to information has almost surpassed one’s ability to wave a client through a newly renovated kitchen. Today, consumers have access to more real estate data than any other time in history, so it’s the agent's job to have the right data at the right time and be able to both show and tell her way through a tour.
"Powered by technology, any REALTOR® can easily integrate the show and tell factor into a successful buyer tour," said Audrey Porter Plummer, a REALTOR® practicing with Coldwell Banker in Clifton, New Jersey. Audrey said the two dynamics came together for her once she adopted the Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) app, the national real estate data and reporting platform offered exclusively to members of the National Association of REALTORS®.
“Once I came to know the power of RPR and how it applies to every facet of my business, I started bringing an iPad to every showing so that I was always prepared to demonstrate my expertise to clients” said Audrey, a REALTOR® for 17 years. “This way, I’m showing them the house both physically and virtually, giving them the entire backstory, and even showing them everything that’s available in the area, all on my iPad.”
Audrey says her buyers “are amazed” when she pulls up RPR maps to show them the value of every house in the neighborhood, including photos, tax info, sold prices, mortgage information and more. In addition, buyers will ask if there are any listings nearby and all Audrey needs to do is move the map with a finger to search other neighborhoods or do a list-view search based on the client’s preferences.
To make things even more streamlined, Audrey can tap on a listing, show the client everything there is to know about the home and touch an icon to immediately call the listing agent to schedule a showing.
“My clients think I’m the best techie REALTOR® ever!” said Audrey. “But actually RPR is the easiest program in the world to use.”
“I had heard about this member benefit called RPR but wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Played around on the site and couldn’t believe what I saw. So I called the customer service line and said, ‘There’s a catch, right? You’re giving this to me now but you’re going to add fees later on?’ Now I get it. It’s part of our dues!”
– Audrey Porter Plummer, REALTOR® Coldwell Banker in Clifton, New Jersey
Audrey Porter Plummer has been a full time NJ Realtor since 2000. Her areas of expertise including servicing first time home buyers, sellers and investors. Her coverage areas include Essex, Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Union counties. Audrey focuses on old-fashioned professionalism, integrity and top-notch service which becomes lost so easily in this techie era. 'Every client is special, no matter their price range' is a motto she abides by which results in referrals every time. Audrey can be reached at audreyporterplummer.com.
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Tony Harrington, ABR, AHWD, ALHS, CIPS is the Broker/Owner & Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser with The Property Shop of the Carolinas in Wilmington, N.C.
When I think back to my first experiences with the terms “global” and "international,” I'm reminded of a quote from the famous Yogi Berra, “You couldn't know what you didn't know, but now you know.” This represents my initial view, and probably speaks to many of you as well.
To start, did you know that in 2016 alone, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) found that more
BY: TONY HARRINGTONthan $153 billion of international money flowed into the U.S. for residential purchases. In North Carolina, there are great opportunities to attract a piece of this investment and NC REALTORS® is working to develop programs to help REALTORS® with this effort. I am proud to be a part of the vision.
Two years ago, I was asked by 2016 NC REALTORS® President Kim Dawson to be on the newly formed NC REALTORS®
Economic Development Committee, a group comprised of business leaders from across the state with various levels of expertise and experience. As the committee evolved, we realized quickly that there was a need for additional education for North Carolina brokers. Connecting commercial and residential brokers with economic development partnerships, local and state government agencies, as well as federal organizations,
was crucial to create a “network” of communication to effectively draw global business and transactions to our state. And thus, the NC REALTORS® Global Network was born.
During a meeting of the committee at the NC REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in June 2016, NC REALTORS® CEO Andrea Bushnell spoke to the group about the need for creating this network. Internally, I thought this was a great idea, and then she looked at me and said, “Tony, would you chair this initiative?” You have all been there. You smile and say, "Why of course," while inside you are saying,
As the broker/owner of a firm who was content in my area of the state, I did not really branch out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, this is the case for most brokers. They do not participate much in their local or state organizations — not to mention with their local politicians and chambers. Most just sell real estate, and that is good enough for them. I was fortunate to have a mentor pull me out of that zone and show me that there is a much bigger picture. Due to that guidance, I knew I had to dive into my role as chair headfirst.
NAR leadership and NC REALTORS® staff helped me to develop a plan and lay the groundwork for our program. Quickly, I knew that if I was to understand and promote such a program, I needed to live by experience. I signed up to take NAR courses to better understand what was being offered. The first course I took was “At Home with Diversity,” an NAR certification program designed to present a picture of the changing face of the real estate industry. The curriculum encompasses topics of diversity, inclusion, fair housing and risk reduction.
Through this course, I realized global brokers who conduct international transactions need further education and experience via in-depth training tools and knowledge. The pinnacle of this education is the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) program offered by NAR Global Programs. After taking the five-day course in Annapolis, Md., I changed my business model.
I originally attended with the intention of observing the program and realized quickly the benefit of putting the knowledge to use. This course was dynamic, covering everything from transactions to global cultures, currencies, money transfers and so much more. The CIPS instructor was well versed and had strong knowledge of international processes with relatable stories and examples. And once accepted you are accepted, CIPS designees instantly join a tight-knit network of over 2,800 international property professionals around the world. These referral partners can help you do business in over 50 countries. Know your market, find out what attracts people to your region, educate yourself, find a mentor and go global! Needless to say, I have gone from thinking “local” to acting “global.” I now know what I didn’t know.
Stay tuned for exciting announcements in the coming year, as we roll out the NC REALTORS® Global Network,online and around the state.
If you thought XCHANGE ’17 was bigger, bolder and better than ever, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Forget everything you thought you knew about NC REALTORS®’ signature, annual event. We’ve flipped the script and rewritten all the lines. It’s your new, unconventional convention where you take center stage, REALTORS®.
XCHANGE ’18 is officially the most highly anticipated real estate event of the year with red carpet events, Oscar-style award programs, VIP experiences, TEDx and XPLODE-style content and think tanks — hands-on workshops where REALTORS® work shoulder-to-shoulder with A-listers from the community, private and public sectors and exhibitors to
solve real problems, providing real value.
It’s no longer about selling. It’s about solving. Never before has your influence been so great, your reach so immense, your voice so powerful, your impact so pronounced. XCHANGE ’18 is the only event where you will receive (and create) real-time value and instant gratification.
Brace yourself for the role of your life. At XCHANGE ’18, you’re the leading actor of your own story. Stay tuned for the world premiere of XCHANGE ’18 and how you can be part of the cast. Until then, grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the exclusive trailer at xchange18.com. #XCHANGE18 #15minsofFame #HollywoodEast
September 16 – 18, 2018 | Wilmington Convention Center
Registration starts January 23, 2018 | xchange18.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL TRACEY GOULD AT TGOULD@NCREALTORS.ORG.
JANUARY 23 – 25, 2018
GRANDOVER RESORT & CONFERENCE CENTER
Registration Fee: $85 Register online at ncrealtors.org. Registrations are non-transferable and no cancellations will be accepted after registration closes on January 16, 2018.
Hotel Information
NC REALTORS® has arranged for a block of rooms at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro for $175 plus applicable state and local taxes. Room cut-off date is January 2, 2018, subject to availability. Call 336-294-1800 or reserve online with Group Code NCR18.
