by Christa Gala | Nov 30, 2015 | Buzz, December 2015 / January 2016
1008 Parker Street Marketed by Christina Valkanoff Realty Group – ReMax One Realty Cameron Village Sold: 295k ($10,000 over list) Built: 1923 984 square feet
6508 Lane Anne Drive, Raleigh
6508 Lake Anne Drive Marketed by Mike Young – Safe Harbour Properties Sold: $304,900 Built: 2004 1,830 square feet
$300K could get you a mid-century rancher, a charming historic cottage or a traditional single family home.
But the big surprise for us was how hard it was to find anything at all—particularly inside the beltline, Midtown and all quadrants of North Raleigh.
Gina Gilliam, owner/broker of Gilliam & Associates Realty searched MLS for us: “There are only nine homes active on the market as of today in the $290k to $310K range. That’s all properties: condos, townhomes, single family homes, cluster homes; that is practically nothing!”
A seller’s market
“I’ve never seen inventory so low,” continued Gilliam, who’s been selling real estate since 1994. “The interesting part is that it’s a seller’s market because interest rates are low, but buyers are also very picky.
“Sellers who have their home in move-in condition and priced right are rewarded with fast sales and often multiple offers. Sellers who have not updated their homes or overprice them find, even in this low inventory environment, their home sits unsold.”
Shari Ellis, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, North Hills, says those with smaller budgets—less than $225K—feel locked out of the market.
“I’m currently working with a couple renting an apartment who asked me to assist them in buying a home in the North Hills area with a budget of $200-$225k,” says Ellis. “That’s a tall order because every real estate broker in town has a similar buyer, and because land is such a premium in Raleigh, we are competing against the builders and the buyers. After searching to no avail, my buyers have decided to wait a year until they can move up to the $300,000 price range.”
Feeling locked out?
Consider the three “Ps”
Be patient, be prepared and be pre-qualified.
“The first and most important step a buyer can take is to meet with a mortgage lender and obtain a pre-qualification or proof-of-funds letter,” says Ellis. “Most sellers won’t even entertain a buyer’s offer without a lender letter.
3516 Greenlaw Dr. Marketed by Michael Rose – Michael Rose Properties Sold: $299,000 ($9,100 over list) Built: 1967 1,715 square feet
3516 Greenlaw Drive, Raleigh
Sleep with one eye open
Use the Internet to be first in line
“We set our buyers up on an automatic search that populates a web portal for them,” says Gilliam. “As soon as a new listing comes on the market, they’re emailed, and we are too. If it’s one we know will work for them, we run comps and even have the contract ready for them to sign, so they can be one of the first to present an offer. Sometimes this prevents a multiple offer situation, which can mean paying less for a home.”
Write a love letter
Write a letter to the sellers telling them all the things you love about their house and why you want to make it yours.
“I recently worked with a buyer who is a widow and has a high school-aged son,” says Ellis. “She wanted to live in a certain community, but the ‘sold’ signs were going up the same day as the ‘for sale’ signs. We found a house they loved, and it went to multiple offers. My buyer got the house, and the seller’s agent said it was the letter.”
by Christa Gala | Nov 30, 2015 | Buzz, December 2015 / January 2016
Meet 10 Raleighites from all walks of life—including politics, television, food and real estate. More than half are entrepreneurs, building businesses that fuel the local economy. We asked them all the same questions, but got all kinds of responses—from funny to homespun. You’ll find good advice and neat stories as you take a peek into their lives. The fact that they’re all single makes it even more fun. Pull up a chair and sit in on our Q&A with Raleigh’s most interesting singles.
Angelica Alvarez
31, News Reporter for ABC11
Alvarez spends her days at WTVD, covering news and social issues, among other things. Before she landed in Raleigh, she worked in Tallahassee, Florida. She loves the Seminoles and her abuela’s red beans and rice recipe (which she’s still trying to perfect).
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
That can range from jumping in my car for a random day trip to just relaxing at home catching up on my T.V. shows with my two dogs.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
What’s meant to be…will be.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
Raleigh is beautiful and its location is awesome; in just a few hours you can find yourself at the beach or the mountains.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
In North Carolina, the Outer Banks
Kevin Tyndall
36, Territory Manager at Natty Greene’s Brewing Company
Tyndall served six years in the Navy before graduating from NC State in three and going to work in brewery sales for Natty Greene’s. He’ll pour you a drink since he’s also a Cicerone Certified beer server. We’re not sure what that means, but it sounds impressive.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
Work hard, play hard, drink craft beer and don’t forget to laugh.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My Grandma told me when I was a kid that “God has a plan.” That sentiment has stuck with me through good times and bad.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
I enjoy anything related to NC State along with hiking, camping and cooking.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Don’t take the moment for granted. You may never get that opportunity again.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
People not being nice to each other. Seriously, it’s not that hard to be nice.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
Raleigh is the epicenter of the best state in the Union! We have a fantastic small-town, Southern culture with big city amenities—not to mention the mountains and beach are both on our doorstep.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
Loaded question for me. My back patio with a roaring fire is real nice!
Amanda Bordeaux
32, Founder/Owner of Stellar Sitters
Even as a kid, Bordeaux loved taking care of little ones. By the time she was a senior at Meredith College, she had nearly 30 families in her babysitting network—and a real business. She founded Stellar Sitters more than a decade ago, which matches reliable sitters with families in Raleigh and Wilmington. She also works with youth in the high school ministry program at Hope Community Church in Raleigh.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
Love God, love others. Work hard, play hard. Take advantage of opportunities. Create experiences and collect friends wherever you go. Eat well, travel often. Celebrate well. Be thankful.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Relationships are more important than accomplishments. You’re responsible for your own happiness. You cannot be everything to everyone, but you can be something to someone.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
Enjoying meals with friends, hanging out with high school students from my church or just enjoying time journaling or reading.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Don’t wait until Friday to have fun. Spend money on experiences, not on stuff. Call your mom.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
When people are unwise with or unappreciative of the time they have and the resources they’ve been given.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
That no matter how far I roam, how much it grows, or how long I’m away, it always feels like home. And I love that Raleigh is home to the best pizza place I’ve found: Lilly’s Pizza.
Dee Stewart
42, President & CEO, The Stewart Group, Inc.
Stewart began his foray into politics as the National Youth Leader for the presidential campaign to elect Phil Gramm. Since then, he’s been to Capitol Hill as the Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman Patrick McHenry, and his firm now advises politicians regarding strategy, campaigns, polling, research and media.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
Enjoy each and every day.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My mom once told me to always dress well for every occasion. Being the best dressed doesn’t always guarantee that you’ll have an edge, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
I love to travel; I’m into food and wine, and I enjoy art and the performing arts.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Always find the best hotels along any route of a road trip. Hotel restrooms are always key in making the best pit stops.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
It’s a tie: When technology doesn’t work properly and the fact that there aren’t enough charms in a box of Lucky Charms.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
I love the people. They are generally well-educated, polite and very accepting of newcomers. It’s no wonder our community is booming.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
If I’m staying in town, the best places to unwind are at Players’ Retreat or C Grace or on my back porch. If I’m driving or flying somewhere, please just get me to a warm beach where I can veg out and regroup. Sand in my suitcase on a Monday means it’s been a great weekend.
Nunzio Scordo
43, Chef/Owner, Driftwood Southern Kitchen & Farina Neighborhood Italian
Scordo made his way to Raleigh from Chicago a few years ago and jumped immediately into what he knew best—life as a restaurateur and chef. He launched the successful Driftwood Southern Kitchen first and just recently opened Farina Neighborhood Italian, where he serves the kind of Italian food he grew up with.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
Be humble, be kind and do good things. Try to remember that we are where we’re supposed to be right here and now.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
To learn to get out of my own way and let things happen.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
I enjoy cooking, even at home, hanging out downtown and spending time in western N.C. and the beaches.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Don’t take yourself too seriously, and enjoy your life because time flies.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
When people are chronically late.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
I love the versatility of travel, the great food scene, weather and meeting so many great people here in the city.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
The amazing courtyard at Babylon. It’s such a unique setting and great for sharing a bottle of wine.
Sheri Smallwood Hagerty
45, President/Owner/Broker of Sheri Hagerty Realty Group with Allen Tate Co.
A single mom running her own company, Hagerty is also dedicated to yoga and finding ways to give back to the community. She grew up in Raleigh and is a founding member of the Midtown Raleigh Alliance Advisory Board. In 2012, she was nominated as one of the Triangle’s Top 25 Realtors.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
Do your very best at anything you attempt, give it your all, make your enthusiasm for life contagious, and always remember that people are motivated by encouragement and praise, rather than negativity. And most importantly, recognize grace and have compassion; we all just want to be heard and understood.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Celebrate the successes of others. In turn, you will find your successes.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
I love watching my 11-year-old son play basketball.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
I would say, be patient, but keep seeking. You will be amazed at how you can and will follow your dreams, but just be patient enough to see the beauty and grace along the way. Don’t miss the moment in front of you by focusing too much on the future.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Besides toothpicks and gum smacking? I would have to say disrespectful and rude people. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Even in business, when things get “heated,” I always try to remember this.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
There is so much opportunity here and so many amazing people!
David Worters
48, Broker, Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby’s International Realty
Once the president and CEO for the North Carolina Symphony, this Harvard grad helped oversee the opening of Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh. He launched a successful real estate career several years ago.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
On most days, symphony orchestra management and real estate brokerage feel worlds apart. But the constant has been the incredible opportunity to be of assistance to others each and every day. That’s what brings me more satisfaction than anything else.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
You can never say “thank you” enough. We’re surrounded every day by good people doing great things; take the time to notice and say thanks. It was important advice and something I’ve tried to take to heart.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
My favorite things to do are travel to new places, discover new foods and restaurants and cheer for our Carolina Hurricanes. There are a lot more places on my bucket list than I’ll ever make it to in person, but I would love to see as much of the world as possible.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Hold on tighter to childhood and college friends and find a way to keep them in your life. I admire my sister for having done this so successfully. I’m not sure it ever really occurred to me that we’d wind up in all corners of the country and, in some cases, the world, and I wish I was in closer contact with many of them.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Long and out-of-sync traffic lights.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
It’s really incredible how Raleigh has changed since I arrived in the very late 1990s. We’ve really grown and grown up, now to the point that it’s difficult to keep up with all the new places that open and all the events and performances that I’d like to attend. Four years ago, I had the opportunity to pick absolutely anywhere in the world to live. There were lots of great cities in the running but the right answer was Raleigh. This is home now.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
Bald Head Island, North Carolina.
Duane Hall II
48, Attorney and Representative in the NC House
Hall, a democrat, joined the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2013, now balancing that and his career as a real estate attorney. In his first term, he was elected by his House colleagues to serve as Minority Freshman Leader. Hall spoke out against the Voter ID law and also against drastic education cuts. His voting record on the environment earned him a perfect score from the League of Conservation Voters.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
It’s soooo short.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I didn’t take it.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
Spend time with friends, play basketball and go to social and political events.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Go to class!
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Slow left lane drivers.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
Its large socially conscious community of people.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
Clockwork.
Kim Hunter
39, Chef/Owner of Kimbap Restaurant
Hunter launched her career making fresh dumplings at local farmers’ markets. She blended her love of fresh foods with her Korean heritage to found Kimbap. Much to the delight of local farmers, last year nearly 50 percent of the café’s food purchases were from locally-sourced foods—including beef, chicken, eggs, fruits and veggies.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
To give more than I take, to try to leave things a little better than how they were found.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
A jog at Lake Johnson or Shelley Lake, eat at restaurants, cook at home.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
You know more than you think you do.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Dishonesty.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
I love the landscape at Pullen Park. I still head over there from time to time to sit under a tree and think.
Q. Favorite place to unwind:
Players’ Retreat and the bar at Bloomsbury Bistro.
Colin Fickes
35, CEO/Founder of Humdinger Juice
You might recognize this former “One Tree Hill” actor (he played Jimmy Edwards), but Fickes wanted a less stressful career and found the perfect niche here. This Raleigh native and 1998 Broughton High School graduate is back home working hard to build the city’s first cold-pressed juice line, Humdinger Juice.
Q. What’s your life philosophy?
“The only journey is the one within.” -Rilke
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Never be afraid to ask for what is most decent.
Q. What do you enjoy when you have free time?
Exploring new towns and cities, yoga, my bicycle, coffee.
Q. What advice would you give to a younger you?
Take more chances and worry less about other people’s opinions.
Q. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Littering.
Q. One thing you love about living in Raleigh:
The Greenway Trails.
by Christa Gala | Nov 30, 2015 | Buzz, December 2015 / January 2016
We like reading reviews. Seriously, it’s like having coffee with a friend and getting the latest scoop. But how reliable are reviews? And who’s writing them? Amazon is suing more than 1,000 people for writing fake good reviews.
What about bad reviews? It’s easy to hide behind a keyboard. Some local businesses say people often write them before they ever give a business a chance to fix the problem.
Dick Sears is a no-nonsense kind of guy. Affable and charming, he’s been the mayor of Holly Springs for more than 14 years. But he was concerned when he saw an online group being especially hard on local businesses.
“Several businesses called me and said, ‘We really want to come to Holly Springs, but we’re not going to come,” says Sears. “We don’t want to deal with the Ladies of Holly Springs.”
The name sounds demure, but the Facebook group “The Ladies of Holly Springs” is 5,600 members strong and was building a reputation for its vitriolic threads and business reviews.
One of the former administrators of the group, Tonya Palumbo, had heard similar rumblings. The two decided to talk.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to do something about all of this bashing that’s going on on your website,” says Sears. “I don’t know exactly how to tell you what to do because we have a free speech issue, but in some cases this is not free speech. If you have a problem with a business, you should go to the business and tell them. That’s what people do.”
Palumbo, along with site founder Dorrie Buccafusca, agreed and began instituting changes, including deleting posts with blatant name-calling and any business complaints where the poster had not first taken the issue up with the business personally to give it a chance to fix the problem.
That was about seven months ago. The commentary is back to largely being a chat group that facilitates coat drives, carpools for cancer patients and referrals for pediatricians.
But the harmony came at a cost. After Palumbo took a hard line with some of the posters, kicking them out of the group, they formed their own pages, and, she says, began harassing her. She’s hired an attorney, filed police reports and even owns a stun gun.
“We got rid of 30 to 40 bad apples,” says Palumbo. “I would love to know what makes people so hateful.”
All reviewers are certainly not angry or on the “fringe,” but the anonymity of the Internet often lends itself to a mob mentality frenzy.
No accountability
Social media platforms are so new that now many people get behind the keyboard to vent online—about everything.
One Raleigh restaurateur with two restaurants, who declined to use his name for fear of retribution, said: “We are faced with an infinitely open platform for anyone with a phone to openly allow people to positively or negatively influence our business. My main issue is accountability. No one is accountable for what they say, how they say it and the detriment it may have on the business and people in it.”
He says a mood can often affect a post.
“Someone may come into our restaurant, which has 30 employees and, on that particular day, maybe they had a fight with their spouse or a bad day at work, but they decide to come and have dinner and they’re cranky. No matter what we do, if their attitude about their day is garbage, then we will automatically be responsible. That person will go home and hop on their device of choice and bash us, affecting the hard work of 30 people and hence de-motivating the staff with their harsh words and criticism.”
Standing up harder than it seems
Business owners say they have little recourse for what they consider unfair reviews.
(The “reply” space on sites like Yelp is limited and readers must click through to read it. For other sites, the only option is for owners to jump into the fray where it turns into a “he said, she said” argument.)
Laura Dalton, owner of several GNC Nutrition stores across the Triangle, is constantly keeping tabs on reviews that might affect her bottom line. Recently, a reviewer confused her location with another. In the end, she had very little recourse even though the review was incorrect.
“One of our GNCs (at Park West Village) had an experience where a review was posted on our Yelp page for another location—and it wasn’t a good one. The reviewer was confused by the address on Yelp and left a long and detailed account of how they would never shop with us again. We privately messaged them – heard nothing. Publicly commented – nothing. I contacted Yelp who said there was not enough specific information to remove it. A few weeks later, it was removed either by the reviewer or by Yelp, but it stayed up for well over a month.”
Some business owners choose to ignore social reviews completely.
Our Raleigh restaurateur says: “If I respond with a backbone, I’m in the wrong. I haven’t changed nor will I ever change a thing due to this online platform, so the way I have chosen to deal with it that I just stopped reading them altogether. Until the playing field becomes fair and someone comes up with a way to change things, I’m not interested in having anything to do with it. But that’s just me.”
Are all reviews true?
Raleigh Magazine also talked with the owner of several ice cream shops across the Triangle who’s dealt with issues regarding long threads of negative reviews about an employee. She agreed to talk to us only if we didn’t use her name. She said she just couldn’t afford the backlash for speaking out.
“If somebody’s ticked off, they can crucify you,” she said, adding that some posts are outright fabrications. “To make it a good story, you might need to embellish, and some of these people have no shame in doing so.”
Interestingly, the majority of the population doesn’t write reviews for restaurants, services or products. In 2014, MIT conducted a study of a private apparel retailer and found just 1.5 percent of its customers wrote reviews.
Considering the small number of people who write reviews in the first place and the even smaller percentage of those who write reviews that veer into “bash” mode, are the very few influencing many?
And what makes folks go into “bash” mode?
Sears thinks some are bored, eager for attention or feel powerful writing reviews that they feel may compensate them for a perceived wrong. In other cases, he thinks something more troubling could be at play.
“I know of one particular person in our town, which will obviously go unmentioned; I think this person has a psychosis. This person is scary. Just plain scary. I don’t want to go into any more details, but I think some people do have an internal need to build themselves up or they just like to do this.”
It makes our ice cream shop owner mad.
“People don’t realize they are messing with our livelihood,” she says. “Or they just don’t care. They are interested only in revenge or payback, only themselves. They post as if it’s a public service announcement. They insinuate everyone will have a bad experience, which discourages new business and growth for the owner. Shame on them. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Dalton says people sometimes forget the reach of social media and its impact—good and bad. She suggests running your rant by a friend before you post.
“Social media can be a wonderful avenue for businesses, but what I’m also seeing is a tendency to dash to the computer after eating somewhere or purchasing something at a boutique and venting to those in cyberspace versus a friend about an annoyance they experienced,” she says. “Just as you are taught to take a breath, count to 10, think before you speak, such lessons should carry into the world of reviews.”
The Ladies of Holly Springs group has been largely successful in doing this, but for many other online platforms, local and national, the rules are still largely unwritten.
