We are proud to announce that Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, a private company, has been named the #64 real estate company in the nation in closed sides and the #65 company in the nation in sales by REALTOR® Magazine.  CBHPW was also named the #62 real estate company in the nation in closed sides and #66 company in sales volume by RealTrends 500.  

Locally, CBHPW has again been ranked the #1 Real Estate Company in the Triangle by the RealTrends 500 in 2010.

Even in a normalizing economy, the strength of Coldwell Banker as the most recognizable national brand in real estate combined with the powerful local presence of Howard Perry and Walston has allowed CBHPW to continue to grow its market share locally, regionally and nationally.  Over the past year, Coldwell Banker's national success has blown its competition out of the water, with the closest competitor achieving only half of its production. 

These recent awards and accolades are due in large part, if not entirely, to the outstanding associates who comprise the CBHPW family of Realtors®.  With the best training and technology in the industry and their unrivaled knowledge of the local Triangle real estate market, our associates continually prove what it means to be a Trusted Advisor to buyers and sellers alike.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate, here to provide exceptional service with all your home buying and selling needs.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle.

To do the best home painting job possible, I would plan on making this at least a two day project. If you are anything like me, my attention to detail is much better at the start of the day when I am fresh, well rested and not tired.  I can't imagine trying to prepare your space for painting, taping and then painting all in one day. I haven't been sorry I took two days to complete my project.

Day One- I used the first day of my home painting project for shopping for all of my painting supplies and for prepping my space.

So, what did I buy?

• Paint.  I actually took in my selected swatches of color and a floor plan of the walls/rooms I was painting to meet with my Home Depot paint guru. Not only did they help me make sure I was buying the right amount of paint, they also let me in on a tip I didn't know. 
  Did you know you can adjust the colors a bit from the color swatches you select?  I didn't. 
  All of the paint colors are based on formulas.  It is very easy for the paint specialist to adjust your color a bit just with the turn of a switch.  I was painfully torn between my gray color selections.  Porpoise?  Or Winter Mist?  I thought one was a tad too dark and the other too light.  The paint specialist explained to me she could ‘back off' the darker color a bit and create a color in the middle of my two options.  The result?  A perfect shade of gray for my home office.
  
  
• Drywall spackle, small putty knife, fine grade sandpaper- If you have had art or photos hanging on any of the walls you want to paint, you will need to repair them before you paint. Don't be scared, this is super quick and easy to do. Purchase some inexpensive wall repair spackle, a small putty knife and some fine grain sand paper to repair any nail holes that may be in your wall.  I used Dry Dex Dry Time Indicator spackle .  This wall repair spackle starts off a light pink color and turns white when it is dry and ready to be sanded.  It dries in anywhere from 1-4 hours and it is pretty dummy proof which is why liked it so much. Once the spackle is dry, I used a fine grade sand paper to buff it smooth.
  
  
  
• Purdy Premium Paint Kit- I purchased the Purdy Premium Paint Kit.  It is basically a paint tool starter kit and included an aluminum paint tray, an aluminum roller frame and two roller sleeves, a 2 inch tapered brush and a paint can opener.  It was only $18, all of the items were high quality and it saved me a ton of money over buying the items separately.
  
  
• Additional Paint Tray- I did purchase an additional paint tray.  They are very inexpensive and since I was doing two different colors in two rooms, I just decided to throw them away rather than wash and reuse them.
  
  
• Additional paint rollers.  The Purdy paint kit included a standard size roller which is great for painting large spaces.  I also purchased a small paint roller  for smaller areas of the wall like above the door frame. It was so much easier to handle in small spaces and GREAT for touch ups.  I also purchased a small corner paint roller. This has got to be one of the greatest painting inventions ever for DIY-ers.  I know it seems silly now, but wait till you get started.  This little corner roller is small and just makes tackling the corner areas of your painting project easy.  If you have very tall walls, you may want to look in to purchasing a telescopic paint roller.  My project was pretty normal so I was able to reach everything with a standard ladder and roller.
  
  
• Plastic Sheeting- I also purchased a roll of plastic sheeting to cover my floors and furniture with.  A lot of DIY paint articles I read suggested buying a canvas sheet to reuse if you were going to be doing a lot of painting as it would save money over the long haul.  Since I know I am only going to do this a few times, I opted for the easy to use and dispose of Husky plastic sheeting . I didn't need the entire roll for either room and it was easy to cut and size to the necessary space.
  
  
• Frog Tape. A friend of mine recommended Frog Tape.  Word to the wise, Home Depot doesn't carry Frog Tape, you will need to venture to Lowes for this.  It is bright green painting tape that comes in various sizes.  I bought the largest width possible to tape off my crown molding and then the smaller one inch width size for edges, windows, doors, etc.  Throughout the entire taping process I was so glad to have two sizes available for different areas.  If you have crown molding, odd room layouts or door placements, or tight windows I think you will appreciate having two sizes as well.
  

Now it's time to prep the space for painting!

• Prep the space.  Take part of Day 1 on your painting project to clear out the space near your paint area.  Remove artwork, photographs, move furniture.  It is helpful to create as much open space in your painting area as you can.  If there are some pieces of furniture you can't move out of a room, move them to the center of the room and cover with plastic sheeting.
  
  
• Remove the hardware. Take this prep time to remove all of the light switch and outlet covers from the area you will be painting.  I actually took a piece of the painters tape and covered the actual switch to make sure I didn't get paint on them either.  I removed all the plates and screws and put them immediately inside a Ziploc bag for safe keeping.  You will also want to remove hardware from doors or cabinets, draperies, etc.
  
  
• Repair your walls. Take this time to also repair your walls.  You may have some areas where you may have nail holes from artwork that was hanging or small dings in your wall. Using drywall putty, a small putty knife and fine grade sandpaper repair those areas at least 5 hours before you start to paint.  Some spackle takes even longer to dry so make sure to read the specific instructions on the drywall putty you choose.
  
  
• Tape. Tape. Tape.  Unless you are Picasso, don't believe as a ‘paint rookie' that you can ‘cut' around doors, edges, crown molding and baseboards with a paint brush freehand.  I really took my time and paid attention to taping off all of those areas.  I made sure the tape was sealed well, that it followed straight lines, etc.  Taking the time to make sure you tape well is, I think, the most important step in DIY painting. There is nothing more rewarding then when you remove the tape when you are done painting and see those beautiful, crisp straight lines.
  

Stay tuned over the course of the next few days for my all of my posts on home painting for rookies! Tomorrow we get ready to paint!

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate, here to provide exceptional service with all your home buying and selling needs.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle.

Tips for rookies on selecting colors. 

As I mentioned earlier, I did get some direction on the paint color selection from Michele with Triangle Home Staging and Design.  If you need some help with paint color selection, check out Michelle's blog post which includes some great advice on choosing the right paint colors for your home.

About a month before my scheduled painting project weekend, I went to Home Depot (in my opinion, Home Depot has a wonderful paint department and very helpful staff) and selected color swatches.

• Make sure to select paint swatches from the brand of paint you want to use.  It will make your life easier down the road.  I chose to use Behr paint with the primer built in.  Why you may ask?  Well, my Home Depot paint guru explained to me that ‘builder beige' paint used in a lot of new home construction has a tendency to absorb a new paint color.  This absorption can result in needing to paint additional coats, thus needing to use more paint, thus more dollars.  The built-in primer option on the Behr paint helps to avoid some of that.  It also helps produce a better, more even coverage of your walls.  It is a bit more expensive than regular paint, but WELL worth it.

I knew I wanted a blue accent wall in the living room area and a gray office. Simple enough, right? Until you start looking at options, you have no idea how many shades of blue and gray there are. I selected several color swatches that I loved in the store, took them home and taped them to the walls that I was planning on painting.  This helped me accomplish a few things-

• Colors you love in the store, you may not love at home.  I got to see what the colors actually looked like in the different lights that affected the rooms in my home.  It let me see what colors were too light or too dark, which colors looked better in natural light, artificial light, etc.

• I kept a black sharpie near the swatches on a wall and as I made decisions on ones I didn't like anymore, I marked them off with a big black ‘X.'

• This process also forced me to live with my color selections in a temporary state before making the plunge and actually painting the walls.  Some colors are great for a few days, but can get old as the weeks go on. As indecisive as I can be, I knew I wanted to make sure my color choices weren't just a passing fancy.

• Flat. Eggshell. Semigloss. Satin. Yikes!  If you felt like you hadn't already had to make enough decisions with your paint color, get ready to make one more. Now you have to pick a sheen.  Here is an informative post on paint sheens and how to choose one.  I selected Eggshell.  It provides a slight sheen, but also the durability I was looking for in paint.  I am a bit of a clutz sometimes and can use all of the wall forgiveness I can get.

From one home painting rookie to another....

I moved into my new home towards the end of last year.  It is a wonderful Raleigh, NC home, but there has been one thing bothering me about it.  The ‘builder beige' walls.  For those of you not familiar with the term ‘builder beige,' it is that great neutral color that a lot of builders use in new construction that shows you a warm, unobtrusive blank palette before you move in.  It allows you to envision your wall color choices, your furniture, your design taste, etc. 

6 months into living in my new home the ‘builder beige' walls were becoming, well, a little blah.

So, a few months ago my friend Michelle with Triangle Staging and Design (who is also featured in some GREAT home staging and color selection videos on HPWtv) visited my new Raleigh home and helped not only with suggestions of some creative arrangement of my furniture to make the space feel larger, but also with some color inspiration for my ‘builder beige' walls.

Fast forward to this past holiday weekend, I decided to tackle my very first home painting project.  Yes, I know it would have been easy to hire any of the great painters listed in our HPW Home Concierge section, but I really wanted to tackle this one on my own. I was truly looking forward to that sense of accomplishment....little did I know I would want to pull my own hair out a few times along the way. 

Here I am a week later, most of my hair still intact and with a couple of great new rooms that I transformed with not a lot of money.  So, for all of you painting rookies out there, I have put together some painting tips to help you get started on your first home painting project.  Am I a painting expert?  No. Will this cover everything you need to know?  Absolutely not. However, I hope that it will at least help you make some good first choices and learn from the mistakes I made. (Just a note, opinions are my own and I received no compensation from the brands recommended.)

Stay tuned over the course of the next few days for my all of my posts on home painting for rookies! Tomorrow we look at color selection! 

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate, here to provide exceptional service with all your home buying and selling needs.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle.

Tthe senate has proposed an amendment to the jobless benefits bill that would offer an extension on the Homebuyer tax credit. The Homebuyer Tax Credit offered eligible 1^st time homebuyers $8000 and $6500 to current homeowners that purchased and moved into a new primary residence. 

So what does this all mean?

• The proposed extension would ONLY be available to those buyers already under contract and made the original Homebuyer Tax Credit deadline of April 30, 2010.
• The proposed extension would give buyers already under contract till September 30, 2010 to close on homes, rather than the current deadline of June 30, 2010.
• If you missed getting under contract on a new home by the original tax credit deadline of April 30, 2010, you are ineligible for this proposed extension.

To read more on this story from MSNBC, please click here.

At Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, we are always looking for ways to incorporate the newest technology with the home buying and selling process. We are proud to be the first real estate company in the Triangle area to integrate all of the homes for sale on HPW.com and Facebook.

You may be asking ‘What does Facebook have to do with buying or selling a home?' Don't think it is important that your Realtor® and their real estate company are actively involved in social networking? Think again.

• Facebook reaches 56% of the active U.S. Internet universe, with each user spending an average of 6 hours a month on the site
• Facebook is the #3 website visited by users 65 and older
• Time spent on social networking sites in the U.S. increased 277%
• The average U.S. worker spends 5 hours a month visiting social networks at the office
  (Statistics Courtesy of Nielsen Wire, Jan 2010)

Did you find a home on HPW.com that you would like to share with your Facebook friends and family?  Or perhaps you want to let your Facebook friends know that YOUR home is on the market.  Each home for sale on the Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston website, hpw.com, now has a quick and easy to use Facebook ‘Like' button.  With the click of your mouse, you can ‘Like' a home for sale, add a comment and share it with your Facebook friends and family.

Here's how. 

• Simply visit the ‘Buy' page on HPW.com 
• Enter your search criteria for the home you are interested in and click on the ‘Search' button. 
• You will now see a list of homes for sale that fit into your home search criteria. 
• Next click on one of the listings to see detailed property information.
• ‘Like' the home for sale?  Want to share it with your Facebook family?  Simply click the Facebook ‘Like' just to the right (Firefox users) or above (Internet Explorer users) of the home's main photo
• Then, move your cursor back over the ‘Like' the button and you will be given the opportunity to add a comment. 

The new ‘Like' feature on HPW.com is great way to get your friends and family's thoughts and input on a home for sale that you are interested in buying, or a very quick and easy way to tell friends about YOUR home being on the market.

Check out the new Facebook ‘Like' feature available on all Triangle area homes for sale on HPW.com today!

Want to stay up todate on the latest real estate news, community information, decorating tips and more? 'Like' Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston on Facebook!

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle.

We hear it all the time on the news - "Look out for the latest Craigslist scam..."  But odds are you haven't been warned about a common scam involving spammers who advertise your home for rent without your knowledge or consent.  The scammers gather details about a home for sale online and, posing as the homeowner, post it as a Rental on popular sites like Craigslist.com.  They then make contact with the potential renters (who believe they are speaking to you, the seller) and try to obtain deposit money. 


Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston Realtor® Carrie Surti, from our Falls of Neuse office, has experienced this scam firsthand.  Carrie found out about the scam from an interested renter, who contacted Carrie directly in response to the Craigslist ad.  Fortunately, Carrie fought back alerting Craigslist to the scam and having the postings about her properties quickly removed from the site.  The biggest thing to keep in mind is to never give your personal information in a circumstance like this.  Just one more reason why it's so important for you to work with a Realtor® with the knowledge and expertise to be able to handle any issue which might arise...even the unexpected ones.

Click here to see Carrie Surti featured in the NBC 17 News Report which brought attention to this scam.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle area. 

Does a ‘contingent sale' offer written and accepted by April 30th count as ‘going under contract' and make a buyer eligible for the homebuyer tax credit?"

A tax credit question answered for those of you looking to purchase real estate in the Raleigh, Apex, Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Mebane or other surrounding Triangle areas.

Recently, we received this question from a client who is looking to make a ‘contingent sale' offer on a home in the Triangle area and was wondering whether that would still qualify them to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit.

First and foremost, a ‘contingent sale' offer is an offer to purchase a home that depends on the sale and closing of the home the buyer currently owns.   A ‘contingent sale contract' is no different than any other ‘contract.'  Virtually every sales contract to purchase a home contains several conditions and contingencies that must be satisfied in order for the sale to happen.  So, in a ‘contingent sale offer' contract, the successful sale and closing of the buyer's home is just an additional contingency on the list.

So, the short answer to your question is absolutely YES!  A ‘contingent sale contract' is a contract and sufficient to meet the requirement of the IRS for the tax credit. 

Remember that all contracts, regardless, MUST close by June 30, 2010 in order to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit.

*This information is not meant to be tax or legal advice.  As with any tax law change, please consult with your tax advisor for more information regarding availability, eligibility and possible timing of any tax credit.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle area. 

This weekend is National Open House Weekend and Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston associates are thrilled to be participating.  The Triangle area weather looks to be cooperating and we are on schedule for a stellar weekend.

Planning your personal open house tour doesn't have to be daunting.  Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston is proud to offer the Triangle area's first and only website dedicated to your open house search.  Please visit hpwopenhouse.com where you can search all of our open houses for the weekend. Get open house dates, times, photos, or ask the listing agent any questions you might have. Please also take advantage of our Google mapping features available on both hpwopenhouse.com and hpw.com.  

Is there a property in the Triangle area you would like to see but isn't scheduled for an open house? Take advantage of our CBHPW Quick Response program.  We can schedule showings of homes in the Triangle area in as fast as 90 minutes.

Just have some questions?  We also have the Triangle area's first ‘Click To Call and Click to Chat' features providing you an instant connection with our team. 

Remember, there are still 21 days for you to take advantage of the extended and expanded homebuyer tax credit.  You have to enter a binding contract on the home, but still have till June 30, 2010 to close.

If you are ready to take the first step and get pre-qualified for a home loan, our Towne Mortgage of the Carolinas lending managers are ready to help you. We also have exceptional associates ready to help guide you through the home buying process.

We would like to wish you a fabulous weekend and Happy Home Hunting!

Is there still really time to take advantage of the Homebuyer Tax Credit in the Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill, Garner, Mebane, Pittsboro and Hillsborough areas?

Yes.  There really is still time. And no, this is not some advertising tactic.

The 2009 1^st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit that was set to expire the end of November 2009 stated that the person needed to close on their property by the deadline.  The Extended and Expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit simply says you must have a written binding contract to purchase a home in place by April 30, 2010.  You have an additional 60 days (June 30, 2010) to close.

What does this mean?  This means you have almost 16 days to find the home of your dreams, submit an offer and have it accepted by the seller.   Then an additional 60 days to close on the home. This also means $6500 in your pocket if you have owned a home 5 consecutive years of the past 8 or $8000 if you are a 1^st Time homebuyer.

Since it often takes around 45-60 days to find your home and close, this means you do really have time left to find the home of your dreams.

Need to get pre-approved for a home loan?  There are some items and paper work you will want to go ahead and pull together. We have preferred lending managers in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill, Garner, Mebane, Pittsboro and Hillsborough markets.  You can contact any one of these great Towne Mortgage of the Carolinas lending managers today and get
the process started immediately.

Ready to start your home search ? You can start your search right now and contact one our CBHPW Trusted Advisors to help guide you through the process.

If you find a home  and want to schedule an immediate showing, we can often arrange for one in as little as 90 minutes with our CBHPW Quick Response program for buyers.

So yes, there truly is still time, but it is going fast.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Garner, Hillsborough, Holly Springs, Clayton, Zebulon, Wake Forest, Mebane or any of the Triangle surrounding communities, we are here to help.  We are your Triangle Area Trusted Advisors in Real Estate.  Please make sure to visit HPWtv and learn more about the various communities that make up the Triangle area.