Monthly Archives: December 2010

Have you heard the news?  Michael Jordan recently purchased a condo in Uptown Charlotte for $3.15 Million! If you’re looking for chance to live close enough to rub elbows with a Living Legend, here are some nifty uptown options to get you situated in a prime position:

508 North Tryon Street Apartment Eight, Nine, One Oh Seven, One Eleven, Two Ten,  Two Twenty One and Three Oh Nine.

626 N. Graham Street Suite 208

400 North Church Street Unit 403

210 North Church Street Unit 2415

Kori

If you’re preparing fornext semester but on-campus housing is not available, take a look at these properties available convenient to UNCC’s campus! Roommates are welcome in our two bedroom properties!

Marlyn Apartments Trio!

1500 Marlyn Drive Apt # 24  – $370/mo

1500 Marlyn Drive Apt # 5     – $375/mo

1500 Marlyn Drive Apt # 11   – $395/mo

Located two miles from the center of UNCC’s campus, these 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartments are perfect for students on a budget!  ONE FREE MONTH’S RENT SPECIAL GOING ON NOW!  Contact the resident manager, Beth Burt, at 704-548-9941 or bburt@trlawing.com today!

9629 Vinca Circle Apt C  – $610/mo

This 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment is also within walking distance to UNCC’s campus and is pet-friendly! Contact our office today to view! info@trlawing.com or 704-414-2000.

10161 Ballyclare Court   - $825/mo

This 2 bedroom and 2.5 bath townhome has all appliances, including the washer and dryer and is a short distance from UNCC’s campus. Plenty of closet space and pool amenities! Contact our office for more information: 704-414-2000 or info@trlawing.com

University Heights Trio!

10227 University Park Lane  – $895/mo

This spacious 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome has all appliances except washer and dryer included and features a wired alarm system. Water is included in the rent!

10176 Forest Landing Drive  - $750/mo

This 2 bedroom 2.5 bath townhome also has all kitchen appliances and water included in the rent!

10130 Forest Landing -  $850/mo

This 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome boasts brand new hardwood floors on the main floor and a fresh paint job throughout! Also has all kitchen appliances and water included in the rent!

Enjoy this semester and Go, Forty Niners!

Joe

We all know the iconic scene in A Christmas Story, in which dinner is ruined and the hapless family resorts to eating out at a Chinese restaurant.  As families shift, move and coordinate for quality time during the holidays, traditional meals are moving from being prepared in the kitchen to trending towards local restaurants. One in four families reported over this past Thanksgiving holiday that they opted for mealing at places like all-you-can-eat buffets or hibachi steakhouses rather than prepare food at home.  So, if you’re considering eating out with the family instead of eating in for the Christmas holidays, go with “A Christmas Story” theme!  Here are our Top Five picks for the best Chinese restaurants in the Charlotte area!

1. P. F. Chang’s China Bistro in SouthPark and NorthLake locations!

2. Jo Jo China Bistro on 7800 Rea Road, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28277! – Have a meal then go to the Regal Stonecrest theater for a movie!

3. 8 8 China Bistro at 1620 E 4th St Suite A Charlotte, NC 28204 call (704)-335-0288 for more info!  Take a stroll in Freedom Park!

4. Wan Fu in Pineville, on 10719 Kettering Drive, Charlotte, NC 28226 call (704)-541-1688 – after feasting, stake out shops at Carolina Place Mall where you’ll be using your Christmas giftcards!

5. House of Taipei of Lake Norman at 16500 Northcross Drive, Huntersville, NC 28078 call (704) 987-7997 – check out the festive lights in the area as well as along the lake!

Whether you’re a starving college student, an uber-frugal executive or any mish-mash of states in-between, you’ve been confronted with the idea of living in a small dwelling.  For some college students, it’s presented as “the breaks;” when a class of 3,500 are all cramped into compartmentalized college dorms – many learn early the craft of making use of limited space.  For frugal execs, perhaps you’ve been relocated to a new city and it seems more cost-effective to rent an inexpensive 800 square foot apartment in the uptown area close to your job than to buy an overpriced 3000 square foot home in the suburbs with a forty-five minute commute. For many people in many different walks of life, LESS space makes MORE sense. 

How do you determine if a smaller space is a fit for you?  One of the questions this MSN article  answers is just that: they suggest you Edit. “You really have to be honest about the way that you live and what’s important to you.” Before starting a dialogue with yourself about learning techniques to maximize small living spaces, you have to see if you have what it takes to live in a simpler, more organized fashion. Are you a shopaholic and a poor housekeeper? Are you the slightest bit claustrophobic? We all have our comfort zones and quirks, so find out beforehand if your lifestyle suits THIS lifestyle.

The second thing you should do is Research.  The website, Apartment Therapy, was started by person who lived in a janitor closet his sophomore year in college, and showcases many examples of beautiful, healthy and organized living for those either on a budget or looking to simplify.  Jay Shafer sells building kits, giving the average Joe the ability to construct their own 65 to 837 square foot Tumbleweed House.

The third suggestion we have for you?  DO IT. Thought about simplifying your life?  Start looking at properties with smaller spaces! Check out these properties which are positively ripe for the simplified lifestyle:

508 North Tryon Street Apt 221 – This $425 efficiency in the heart of Uptown Charlotte is within walking distance of the Blumenthal Performing Arts center, the Bank of America building and the Light Rail, to name a few! Water and gas for heat and the water heater is included in the rent as well as access to an on-site laundromat!  With a 92% Walk Score, convenience is an understatement! There are studios, one bedroom and two bedroom apartment available at theTryon House! Sign a lease before December 31, 2010 and receive a free 32″ flatscreen LCD tv! Go view our properties and check in!

3618 Dresden Drive Apt B – This 900 square foot, one-bedroom, Eastway Park apartment is convenient to Uptown Charlotte, with full carpeting and offering one month’s free rent at this $395/month steal!

108 McKinnon Avenue NE Apt 4 – This 623 square foot apartment is centrally located in Concord, near the parkway and convenient to I-85. Fully renovated, this apartment is also offering a free month’s rent special, and with all appliances included(even washer/dryer), you can’t pass this up for $450/month!

These are just three properties that can fit a simplified and organized lifestyle, but there are many moreapartments, duplexes, condos, townhomes and houses here!

Thad

The process of determining the best place for you to live can be quite challenging! Thankfully, T.R. Lawing Realty excels at transitioning people interested in looking through our listings to finding and living in one of our many homes!  Look. Lease. Live. It’s an attitude.  It’s a culture. It’s THE way of experiencing Charlotte to the fullest!

Look. 

     If you’ve driven around Charlotte and the surrounding Charlotte areas for any length of time, you’ve probably seen the trademark red, white and blue “For Lease” signs used to market our properties all over! The myriad locations our signs are placed are an expression of  the growing and evolving Charlotte area: you can find our signs from Fourth Ward apartments to Huge Cabarrus County homes! With a portfolio of over 2,000 properties, we have the right fit for you!  The majority of our properties are vacant and move-in ready, allowing a quick occupancy from Day One!  Use our award-winning website www.trlawing.com to browse listings and chat with our helpful leasing agents online or over the phone for additional recommendations. For the more enterprising, come into our office and pick up a vacancy list(updated daily!) and talk with one of our leasing specialists! With a variety of tools at your disposal, from QR Codes, Neighborhood Information, Social Media and even Walk Scores, we make the searching process painless and hassle-free!

Lease.

     Once you’ve found the right place for you and decide you want to move to the next step, this experience couldn’t be easier! Starting with submitting the application, it takes only one to two business days for us to process your application and have a status back to you! We pride ourselves on processing applications and getting residents moved-in quickly, making sure to remind new tenants of the small details like activating utilities. For those on-the-go, we’ve provided the DocuSign service, which allows tenants to digitally sign their lease without having to make special trips or coordinate signing with multiple parties! We make the leasing process Quick and Easy!

Live.

     The Charlotte Culture is an ever-growing, ever-changing one! From finding out out what Charlotte can offer to experiencing the city one event at a time, finding a home is the first step to finding your niche in the community!  Becoming part of T.R. Lawing Realty’s community allows you to get updates on goings-on in the Charlotte area, through Facebook posts, Twitter updates, real blogging, email Newsletters and a host of other connections: we’ll keep you linked with the pulse of Charlotte Metro! You’ll experience everything from learning the importance of having renter’s insurance  to finding out where the best lights for Christmas will be!

Look! Lease! Live!

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ve heard about the Wikileaks strike on everything from releasing national secrets to sensitive documents from financial institutions. How can you keep your information and not “get leaked?”

We’ve got some DO’s and DON’Ts for you:

DO:

     – Secure your home or office environment network with antivirus programs, firewalls, security-enabled wireless connections.

DON’T:

     – Use public WiFi access points to conduct personal or company business.

DO:

     – Shred documents like credit card offers and bills at home, shred unused documents that do not need to be filed/scanned/backed up.

DON’T:

     – Carry your social security card on your person or sensitive documents unsecured outside of the secure work environment.

DO:

     – Put sensitive personal documents in a safe at home or in a deposit box. Secure work-sensitive documents in appropriate(read: non-public) places.

DON’T:

     – Share credit card PINs, CVVs, or other identifying numbers with anyone other than verified persons handling transactions authorized by you.

What it comes down to is this: if you are in possession, on the job or off, of any sensitive materials that you wouldn’t want displayed in front of the public eye, take extra measures to secure these materials!

Before you break out the crates filled with holiday cheer, you may want to check with your Home Owners Association. Whether a tenant or an owner, the HOA’s Rules and Regulations provide guidelines for ANY resident of the community.

Don’t care about the HOA, you say? Going to put up your fifty foot-tall light & sound diorama of the Nativity Scene anyway?  If your HOA restricts certain displays, be prepared to pay a hefty fine for the infraction.  Read your neighborhood bylaws to make sure your holiday spending lines the pockets of Kris Kringle and not Uncle HOA.

If, upon reading your HOA bylaws, you find verbage that will keep you from breeding live reindeer on your front lawn – let’s say you’d like your decorating ideas to be considered for exception – you can make a request to the contrary from the HOA directly.

And if you’re one of the lucky ones who don’t have to consult an HOA before putting up decorations…just be considerate of your neighbors!

Happy Holidays!

       VS.    

Your Yuletide-o-Meter is at its peak: you’ve got the blinking lights strung everywhere from your chimney to your mailbox(the chimney so Santa and his reindeer can touch down safely and the mailbox so the postman can drop off your Amazon.com orders), the wreaths are adorning every exterior door including the family automobile, and your iPod stereo system is set to a constant shuffle, blaring out all things Christmas-y 24/7 and annoying your neighbors (and the neighborhood dogs) to no end.

“The only thing I need now,” you think to yourself, arms akimbo in satisfactory pride, “Is a tree.”

But should you get an artificial or real tree this year?

To answer this question, we consulted our Two Talented Tannenbaum experts, Sallie and Thad.

Point: Real Trees – Sallie

Me: “So, Sallie, Real versus Artificial.”

Sallie:  “Personally, I love the real fir trees: nothing beats the smell you get from a real tree and if you have cats, they really enjoy them. Plus, if you have kids, it becomes a cool tradition in going to pick out the tree for the family!  People get the artificial trees thinking they’re less hassle and better for the environment, but the plastics and other materials used to make them just sit in the landfills and don’t biodegrade for quite some time.  For real trees, you can put them out on your curb and the city will come by to pick them up for no charge. One bit of advice, though, when you get your real tree, get it no more than a week or two before Christmas, because it can start to brown out and you’ll need to water it to keep it fresh.”

Counterpoint: Artificial Trees – Thad

Me: “So, Thad, Artificial versus Real.”

Thad: “No question, artificial trees are the way to go. Some people have allergies, and the needles leave a mess all over your floor. If you’ve ever stepped on one, it is NOT pleasant. With an artificial tree, if you have the room, you can keep it stored in your attic or a closet without taking it apart, and when it’s time for Christmas, ‘Boom,’ you can put it right out and plug in the lights. My kids are all grown up so trudging down rows of trees and fighting to get the thing situated on my car has less and less appeal for me. If you get a good tree, instead of throwing it away, you can keep it for years to come. It’s easy to maintain and quick to take out and put away. Plus, dogs are less likely to relieve themselves on an artificial tree.”

So, there you have it: the pros and cons for Real versus Artificial. You’ve heard it from the experts – what will you do? No matter how you choose to celebrate, have Happy Holidays!  Maybe you could even consider an alternative to real and artificial…

Just a thought...

 Yesterday’s issue of the Charlotte Observer hosted an article that was very telling about the housing market in Charlotte.  House sales prices are falling, ever-so-steadily, and experts report that they may continue to do so.  Of note is that this isn’t just a Charlotte metro trend: it’s nationwide.

What does this mean for homeowners?

Many homeowners have often battled with the thought of whether they should sell or lease, and in a still-recovering economy where foreclosures are becoming more and more the norm, many are turning to property management services for an answer when the sales market seems to be in such a volatile state. 

More and more homeowners are adopting a stance of maintaining their property through having it leased by a property management company, in essence, waiting for the sales market to recover while simultaneously generating income to keep their mortgage(s) safe.

How Can T.R. Lawing Realty Help You?

For starters, we bet you’re interested in what you might be able to rent your house, condo, duplex or apartment for, should you decide to have your property rented. Click here or below to use a nifty tool that can give you an accurate approximation of what your home might rent for:

 Have more questions? Contact someone live at our office to explain our Property Management Services to you at 704-414-2009.  Don’t have time to call?  Email Us! 

Can’t Sell It?  Rent It!

Tommy