AtHomeInRaleigh

Where Did Half the Year Go?

2010-06-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe the year is nearly half over. I remember when I was a kid how my parents used to say time moves faster as you get older. As kids, we didn't believe it. As a middle aged guy, I realize now how right they were. Life moving faster and faster means that I have to stop and take time to... LIVE. All work and no play means you're too soon dead. So take some time to hang out with some friends. Once a year we get together and cook italian from scratch. The red wine flows, the food is phenomenal and most important is the fellowship with friends. A friend of mine and I have actually started making from scratch our own Italian sausage and I've even started experimenting with some other recipes. This past Friday we ground up 25lbs of pork and made Italian and a form a potatis korv, a Swedish potato sausage. I put my own spin on it and used cube potatos, onions and a sharp irish cheddar cheese. I've use frozen cubed potatos in the past but they seemed to mush down and get lost in the meat. So I used raw cubed potato this time but I learned that I have to make the cubes of potato a little smaller so that they cook all the way through. Even though the potato has held up quite well, it's a great flavor in the sausage. I think they will work great for breakfast, or tail-gating or cooked in the crock pot with sauerkraut. Next time we get together for our sausage making party we plan to do 50lbs. We're getting really good at it, especially now that my buddy Jeff brought back this sausage press from his family's meat market in PA. The press was made by John Wagner in 1859. It still works great and it's loads faster than using our KitchenAid. Hopes are to try some chicken recipes soon but that will have to wait until I get back from a two week break to my cabin on the Manistee River in northern Michigan.

So stay tuned. The RaleighHomesGuy (Twitter) may be evolving into The Sausage Man.

For Sale: 2BR/2+1BA Single Family House in Raleigh, NC, $176,000

2010-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

For Sale: 2BR/2+1BA Single Family House in Raleigh, NC, $176,000

March Madness

2010-03-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

When I was living in Ann Arbor Michigan I really thought I was living in a place that was very sporting. After all we had the University of Michigan athletics, Detroit Redwings, Tigers and ehrmmm Lions just 40 miles east and then Michigan International Speedway 40 miles west. Plus wonderful fresh water lakes everywhere. There was always a sport going on somewhere in all seasons.

I moved 14 hours south and east from Michigan to Raleigh NC in 1992. North Carolina is home to NASCAR, and here in the Raleigh area we have three major universities that have as fierce a rivalry with each other as Michigan/"that team from Columbus" and Michigan/Michigan State. It's insane when March hits the Carolina's because that means basketball tournament time. The Atlantic Coast Conference is basketball. Of course they have other sports too but I'm not writing about them right now.

The ACC Tournament Championship game is tomorrow. I was hoping the NCSU Wolfpack would pull off an upset of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets today so that it would be a Triangle teams championship but that wasn't to be. The Wolfpack played a tough game to the end but lost by four points to a determined Yellow Jackets bench. So the big game is tomorrow, Duke and Georgia Tech. And in the Big Ten it will be Minnesota and that team from Columbus.

I'm not sure how much real estate work I'm going to get done tomorrow, except for vacuuming the floors of the real estate I live in. I'm probably going to be glued to the TV most of the afternoon and evening. Oh and then watch out because the NCAA Tourney starts on Thursday. It's an absolutely awesome time for sport.

I just love it! All kinds of sports happenings and Spring to boot. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour tonight before you go to bed and tomorrow why don't you change the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

Gary Clark, GREEN Realtor and sporting enthusiast in Raleigh.

2010-03-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone, Smarter Agent Gary Clark, GREEN Realtor in Raleigh North Carolina here to tell you about a great new way you can search for homes – right from your mobile phone. I have partnered with Smarter Agent (SA), the nation’s leader in mobile real estate technology, to provide this mobile search capability to ALL of my clients!
SA will allow you to search homes for sale anytime, anywhere - right from your cell phone!
Wherever you are, driving, or walking around looking at properties, you’ll have access to all of the MLS information on the homes for sale around you, with just one touch of a button on your cell phone. Hit “Call to See” and you will be put right in touch with ME, ready and waiting to serve all of your real estate needs.
It’s so easy to do! Just text AHIR to 87778, and the application will be sent to your phone by text message. Just click on it and the application downloads right away.
I know you will love this great new way to look for homes. So don’t delay – start searching for your dream home TODAY!

Innovative ways to make our lives easier.

Local expertise for a world of buyers,
Gary Clark
GREEN Realtor

Home Remedy for Arthritis

2010-02-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

I friend told me about this, I've tried it and I have to say it's working for me. If the knees squeak and grind when you go up the stairs or you just don't feel like you have the flexibility in them that you did in your younger days, try this...
Two boxes of white raisins soaked in gin until the alcohol evaporates. When the happy little raisins are plumped up and the alcohol has evaporated, eat a teaspoon full (about 10) every morning. I even enjoyed the little guys when the were a bit boozey.

You'll be amazed at the information I'm going to be sharing on this blog. This is just one of those tidbits of information brought to you as a free service by your friendly GREEN Realtor, Gary Clark with Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, AtHomeInRaleigh.com .

When it comes to real estate don't listen to the numbers they post on the evening news. They are typically national numbers and your real estate questions are local in nature. Contact me if you have questions. If I don't have the answer off the top of my head... I have the resources to get it for you.

Have a great day!

Blogging and What Gets Your Attention

2010-02-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

I started this blog over a year ago and I've been really lax at posting to it.

I'm a Realtor in Raleigh North Carolina and for the last year the big buzz has been social networking. Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, Blogging, which one is the one that will appeal to my clients and which of these can be managed in the course of my business week, (haha I'm in real estate and I'm always working.)

I tweet, RaleighHomesGuy. I'm on Facebook but I use it for personal communication not business. I've actually started a Facebook Fan Page for my website, AtHomeInRaleigh.com but I haven't finished it yet, so stay tuned and please fan me when it gets published.

So, I'm taking the leap and hope to blog at least three times per week. As far as the content of the blog, well I think it will be a mixed bag of real estate related, University of Michigan sports, flyfishing and living in The Triangle area of North Carolina and since it's my blog, whatever suits my fancy.

The Day The Clouds of Fear Lifted And Went Away

2009-01-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

Monday, the 19th of January a mortgage specialist (Beth) I work with and I decided on a whim to drive the five hours to Washington DC to be a part of the Inauguration of our 44th President. There was supposed to be a snowstorm in Raleigh on Monday night and Tuesday so we packed up the Grand Cherokee and left Raleigh at 430pm on Monday afternoon. We had no official tickets or passes, had know idea where to park, we just decided to wing it. Plans were to get inside the beltway and park in the Georgetown area and then try to get into a bar (they stay open till 4am) or rest in the car and then walk over to the mall. I have a cousin Dave that I hadn't seen in YEARS. I sent him an email via my PDA and also called his Dad (my great uncle) who also lives in Springfield VA. As we were stopped in Richmond to get Beth a charge for her Blackberry. I got a response from Dave and he was very cordial and offered us a bed for the night. Wow, we had a warm place to sleep. So we get to Lorton VA and make our way to Dave and his wife Patty's estate. We were still amazed that we were lucky enough to connect with them and they were so accommodating. Dave gave me a big hug and his super nice wife Patty greeted us. They had official tickets to the Inaugural Parade for us thanks to their neighbors.... WOW WOW WOW. The big guy upstairs was certainly looking down on us. And, Dave's younger brother Mike, a fellow Realtor was there too! So I got to see him as well. Mike had tickets to one of the secure stands for viewing the inauguration. We talked about what our plans would be for getting in to the city while chatting like it had only been a couple of weeks since we'd seen each other. Patty had EVERYTHING set out for us as far as the itinerary. Her suggestion to take the free bus from the shopping center nearby to the Franconia-Springfield Metro station was spot on. Our idea to drive and park at the Metro station would have been disastrous as the traffic into the station was backed up for miles. Our bus zoomed past all of those cars and before we knew it we were inside the station along with several thousand other Americans!

This picture shows the people from inside the cross over to the station. We waddled like thousands of weebles as we made our way in to the station. We already had SmartTrip cards because Dave and Patty gave us theirs so that we wouldn't have to try to get to the fare machines. It was a crowded train when we finally got on and we were glad we got on where we did. Franconia-Springfield was the end of the line so the train was empty. Imagine all those people who wanted to get on at the stations we came into on our way toward the city, some crammed in but not many at all. We chatted with all of the people we "got close to" on our journey. Everyone had a peaceful at ease look on their faces, like the weight of the world had been lifted from their shoulders. We laughed, we were inspired, we were happy and laughing and we all knew that the responsibility of what happened to our nation as we go forward was not just the responsibility of the elected officials in Washington DC. Here's Beth talking with a woman from Tennessee , I gave her my seat and when I did, the other guys who were seated, got up and gave their seats to the other ladies that were standing. It does only take one person to take action and others will follow. Keep that in mind as we move forward over the coming years.

The next decision was what Metro station to get off at. The trains were backed up and late getting into the up line stations because of the heavy demand. We pulled up to Arlington Cemetery station and decided that we would get off there and walk across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, it was a short walk of 1.5 miles and we walked past the sculptures, Aspiration and Literature and Music and Harvest, then the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and the World War II Memorial. We figured we'd watch the Inauguration from that area before we departed for the Parade. Here are some of the pictures of the monuments and the faces of the people of our great nation.

The last picture above shows the walk toward the Washington Monument. It was still early and there was still space not filled with people. You'll notice as we got closer to the World War II Memorial the people had already filled in. Beth and I continued to walk, thinking we might be able to get closer. We also had in mind the next phase of the day which was to get to the parade stands. As we moved north toward the Capitol we were only able to as far a 15th Avenue, our quest was 12th (an official crossing point) to get us to the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue toward our Yellow Gate C. The secret service had closed points north and the access on 12th to the parade stands. After talking with one DC Police Office Haley we were told to turn and go south to where we had started. We gave up the thought of watching a jumbo tron with the swearing in ceremony for the hike around the city to get around to Yellow Gate C which we knew would be at least another three to four miles, at least. Okay, so my gunboats were starting to feel the
many thousands of steps I'd already hammered my weight plus the five layers down on them. I know my feet didn't like me, but my endorphins had kicked in and I was going to conquer Gate C and get into the parade. By 10:30 AM we had made it to Gate C (we even tried to get in through other gates but the gatekeepers turned us away). As we stood there with MANY other "official ticket holders", observing no passing of people through the security gates except police officers, county sheriffs, special police etc. One of the police officers informed us that the Secret Service had closed our gate and they would not be allowing anyone else through. They supposedly had met the numbers of people they were authorized to let in, 300 thousand. Of course we were disappointed but we had hope the gate would open. We listened to the oath of office being given and the inaugural address by President Obama over the loud speakers. Hoping upon hope that The Secret Service would be letting us to our bleacher seats. It didn't happen. Eventually we were told that the gate at 12th Ave was opened but they did not know for how long. We pondered whether to try it and after waiting ten minutes and the officer saying it wasn't going to happen at this gate we walked another two blocks. When we got to that area, the entire city block was FULL of people hoping to get through the security gates into the parade. Within two minutes of standing in that line this poor beleaguered guy with tears in his eyes said the Secret Service had just closed the gate. Beth and I looked at each other, knowing that we had been witness to history, we were there, we saw the people, we had a new President and a time for hope, inspiration and helping each other was upon us. The days of being afraid and living in fear are gone. We hopped on the Metro and went back to the car. We beat the crowd and got back home at 7pm.

I left that moment in history thinking about all the faces. All of us Americans, every size, shape, color, look, religion, ethnicity, orientation. All of us, regardless of the difference that makes us, "us", we were a collection of people that look the way the whole of the United States of America looks. United we stand! As a united, States of America we can accomplish anything we set our hearts and minds too. We can, pull up our boot straps and do what needs to be done. In one day, the world in front of me changed. The look in the eyes of all those faces showed the hope and desire of the American people. I remembered walking along the reflecting pool with tears my eyes, seeing the faces of the American people knowing that all things good will never parish, all things good will rise. Yep tears in my eyes and damned proud to be an American.

Even though my poor feet hurt, I was happy with my decision to be spontaneous. It had been a long time. It would have been easier to find an excuse not to go and just sit at home and watch it on TV, but being there to experience it live will last in my memory and my heart for the rest of my life.

Making Myself Available to Buyers

2008-11-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

I was working my real estate company's kiosk at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh today. Yep, can't believe I signed up to go to the mall on the worst parking day of the year. So why did I choose to try and do a little business there today? Simple, I figured there would be lots of potential buyers that might have questions about real estate. I actually had contact with eight people in the 3 hours that I was there. Each one of them asked me what I thought it was going to take for us to get out of the economic slump the US economy is in. The answer I provided was "you and me and our friends and their friends opening our wallets and starting to spend again." I told them how I felt we've been frozen in fear and we need to get beyond that... we need to get over this fear factor we'ver been trained to live in over the last many years... pull up our boot straps and get on with LIVING. I talk to people everyday. The "news" will feed you doom and gloom. So don't believe everything you hear on the evening news. Remember that real estate numbers that are important to you are the local numbers, not the national numbers that most news organizations report.

Today was the fourth day of this week that the Dow was UP. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have introduced new loan programs that our mortgage specialist can assist you with. There are still 100% financing loans .

So do us all a favor, loosen up on the funds you're holding. You don't have to go overboard in spending what you don't have to spend. But do spend. If each of us spend some of what we have, we'll warm up and the freeze will thaw.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family this year. My two brothers and their families came to town so the whole bunch of us got together for the proverbial feast. More food than we needed but I love the leftovers and we don't waste anything. I hope you and your family had as great a holiday and wish you the best for the coming holidays.

The Rebound

2008-11-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

I figured I'd foray into the blogging world with GOOD NEWS. Read this... http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/Real-Estate/Now-for-the-Good-News-on-Home-Prices/?page=2 and then read this... http://email.hpw.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008111202?OpenDocument Both articles are an indication of how the market here in the Raleigh area is pretty solid and beginning a rebound.

As a local real estate agent in The Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) I seem to be spending more time every day convincing people that things are not as bad as the media has frightend us into believing. Personally, I feel it's all a part of the environment our society has been trained to live in these last eight years. It's a perception I'm fed up with and everyone else should be too. Our attitudes and perceptions are what will get "us" out of the current stagnation that our nations economy is facing.

We are FROZEN IN FEAR. Now is the time to melt the ice. Get involved with your neighbors, your village, your town or city. Share your thoughts and your ideas. If you don't like how government is acting these days, change it through your involvement. Phone calls and e-mails to your elected officials is a great place to start.

The holidays will soon be upon us and though most of us don't have as much money this year as we did last year, we can still have a great holiday. We may have to be more creative in the gifts we give, make something, re-gift something you're not using yourself, go garage "sailing" and find something to gift. If you want to give brand new, shop shop shop. All of these activities will help the money and our economy start to flow.

From a real estate perspective, please know that you DON'T need a 780 credit score to buy a house. Contact a professional real estate agent (that would be me, I'm a Realtor) to start the process of owning a piece of The American Dream. I can put you in touch with mortgage specialists that HAVE money to lend.

We are the United States of America. We will get our economy working again because WE CAN!