Duke and Carolina are in the Final Four(s).  Carolina won the NCAA Championship last year.  Duke has a chance to follow their lead this year.  Carolina suffered through in injury-filled year, with high profile freshman, who didn’t meet the expectations of their fans.  But they did eke into the NIT Championship and now are playing in the Finals against a good Dayton team.  Some fans might scoff at an NIT Championship for such a storied program, but I have never met a coach or a fan or a player who do not like to end the season hanging a championship banner.  Only one team in each tournament gets to finish on a win streak. Both Duke and Carolina have that chance this year.  Winning anything is hard – don’t kid yourself.  To win any match or any tournament is a great accomplishment.

Go Duke and Go Carolina! 

And if interested in buying or selling a home in Durham or Chapel Hill, think about exploring an entirely new way of searching and selecting a home and an agent.  Try http://www.besthomepro.com/chapel-hill-nc/homes-for-sale/ or http://www.besthomepro.com/durham-nc/homes-for-sale .

Jeffrey M Johnston

President & CEO

BestHomePro, Inc.

Blog:  www.BestHomePro.com/blog

A recent Wall Street Journal article, "Time to Storm the Castles", points out that now is a great time to buy a luxury home.  Local Triangle North Carolina stats echo a national trend running through the high-end real estate market... Now is a great time to buy a luxury home.  Waiting could cost you. 

See Triangle Area Luxury Home Stats and Read More...

Should You Buy a New Home or an Existing Home?

Almost everyone is drawn in by the shiny hardware, glimmering hardwood floors and freshly painted walls of a newly constructed home.  There's a special feeling in being the first person or family in a new home.  However, deciding between a new home or existing home does have its trade-offs.   For a detailed discussion of this topic with Brian Davis, go to:  http://www.besthomepro.com/blog/post/should-you-buy-a-new-or-existing-home

Jeffrey M Johnston

President & CEO

www.BestHomePro.com  

Leverage is all about using "other people's money" to leverage your own investment.  Other than big-time leverage deals on Wall Street, the common individual has few opportunities to leverage. But real estate is one of those areas.  It is one of a very few areas where you can borrow money from a banker to cover the majority of the total cost of an investment.  The leverage part is that if the value of the property goes up over time, you gain from the increase in value of the entire property; not just the increase in the value of your down payment.

To read more about Leverage, go to:  http://www.besthomepro.com/blog/post/leverage-in-real-estate . 

Jeffrey M Johnston

President & CEO

BestHomePro.com

Goodness in a Bad Economy

Out of difficult times, often goodness emerges.  I believe more people are helping people than ever before.  Here is an example:  My mother just turned 87 this week.  She is a dear, small lady with some character and spunk.  She still drives a little and loves to buy presents for people.  I am constantly amazed at how kind and thoughtful almost everyone is toward “little old ladies,” but Mom told me that after shopping at Lowes Lawn and Garden Store yesterday, she was pushing her cart with a few heavy things in it toward her car.  As she tells the story, she saw a large man loading things into another car and thought he worked for Lowes.  She walked over and said, “pardon me, but when you are done here could you help me?”  The large man stopped what he was doing and helped Mom load her things into the car.  She thanked him and asked how long he had worked at Lowes.  He said, “no Ma’am, I don’t work here.”  Mom apologized for bothering him and the man said, “ma’am, I try to teach my children to offer kindnesses to others.  It makes me feel good to help someone and I believe it will make them feel good about themselves as well.”  He then said something amazing: “these are tough times, ma’am, but during tough times I see more and more people recognizing that everyone needs help sometimes, and I see more people offering help for free.”

Just a sweet story during challenging times.  It reminds me of the movie, Play It Forward.  Nice! 

Jeffrey M Johnston, President & CEO, www.BestHomePro.com