As the new year approaches, Lake Norman homeowners  will most likely be creating lists of things to do in 2012 that will include repairs or upgrades of our homes and gardens.  Many times we don’t stop to consider if a permit is needed, especially for minor repairs.

So, if you live in the Lake Norman area, or the entire state of North Carolina, you might be interested to know that the North Carolina General Assembly passsed house bill HP-1409  which exempts from building permitting the replacement of a water heater. Here are a few of the stipulations:

• Electrical, Plumbing or Mechanical work must be performed by a person licensed under G.S 87-43 or G.S. 87-21
• The replacement of a water heater is the same capacity, location and energy source

This includes the repair or replacement of electrical lighting fixtures or devices ) receptacle and/or lighting switches, connection of an existing branch circuit to the electric water being replaced and the reconnection of the flue and gas supply to the replacement gas water heater.  For details of the bill click on the link above.

When in doubt, contact your county building department!

Wow, I can’t believe December is here!

In the Lake Norman area our gorgeous hardwood trees are now bare and most of our perennial flowers are going into hibernation for the winter.  But, our Fescue lawns are still bright green and pansies bring new color to entrances to subdivisions and shopping areas.

The good news is that because of the bare trees our views of the lake have never been better! During these next 4 months, homes with “seasonal views” will truly enjoy the best of Lake Norman.

To make your desktop calendar, go to the round button at the top of this site’s home page entitled: “Lake Norman Calendar”. Click on this button and up will come this image of my Lake Norman photo wallpaper calender for October 2011. All you have to do is right click and select “set as background”. If you would like a copy of this photo without the calendar, just send me an email.

FREE $25 GAS CARD!

I need your HELP!  I would love to use one of your favorite photos depicting life here in Lake Norman.  (Optimum size is a landscape photo about 2MB or about 1600 x 1200 pixels). I will give a $25 Gas Card to anyone who provides a photo that I use as one of my monthly calendars.  If you’d like to submit a photo  or an idea for a future calendar, please send it to…

diane@dianeaurit.com

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Mooresville’s 67th Annual Christmas Parade is being held Tuesday, November 22nd (2011) on Main Street in Historic Downtown Mooresville kicking off at 3:30pm!

What, Mooresville’s Christmas Parade is before Thanksgiving?  It is a long story, but I guess each town around Lake Norman and Charlotte was designated a different week for their parades and Mooresville ended up with the Tuesday before Thanksgiving!

Every year our annual Mooresville Christmas Parade just keeps getting bigger and better  yet organizers work hard to make sure it retains its ‘home town’ feel.

With 160 floats, bands and vehicles (3500 participants in all) this year’s parade will be the longest in Mooresville’s 67 years!

The Parade, as always, will be on Main Street in Historic Downtown Mooresville beginning at Statesville Avenue and ending at Mills Avenue at the former Burlington Mill–a block farther than in previous years.

You really must stay until the end, not only to see Santa but, according to parade organizer Ron Johnson, “The float preceding the bearded fellow’s — sponsored by a business called Keeping it Green– will contain a small forest of lighted Christmas tress engulfed in blowing snow.  It’s pretty incredible!”

The Mooresville Christmas Parade is put on by the Mooresville Convention and Visitors Bureau.  For more information, call 704.662.8210.

Looking at a variety of local and state economic and business news is an important component of gaining insight into the future direction of our Lake Norman real estate market.  I collect such data from various news sources for several months and then share them with you in one blog post with the goal of helping you get a better understanding of the bigger picture in our area’s economy.  This stack of data shows some glimmer of hope:

• ISI Alams announced on 10/5/11 that they will be moving their headquarters and call center to Downtown Mooresville.  (From Concord). This move will include an expansion and, according to CEO Jayson Walker, will  employ about 150 workers within two years.

• Forest City Land Group has requested a rezoning of property on N.C. 801 in Mooresville for their Cotton Creek housing development; increasing the number of single family homes from 655 to 1,100.  While this is a long-term project, it is a positive sign to see developers moving forward with the planning and construction of new homes after years of inactivity and even shutdowns.

• “Facebook ‘likes’ North Carolina, and it’s investing here” according to a Charlotte Observer article on 10/5/11.  The first of Facebook’s 3-building data center is scheduled to go online in March, 2012 about 75 miles west of Charlotte.  The $450 million data center will serve the Eastern U.S. and Europe. This announcement “underscores state officials’ efforts to lure high-profile companies to North Carolina …with the help of incentives including our low-cost electricity, ready access to water and significant building incentives”.  Facebook will join Google, Apple, Time Warner Cable as part of North Carolina’s “data hub”.

• North Carolina ranks as Number 16 cyberstate according to The Triangle Business Journal on 10/10/2011.  TechAmerica Foundations’ annual report stated that North Carolina currently employs 145,700 tech workers.  North Carolina computers and peripheral equipment manufacturing which employs 11,000 ranks 4th nationwide after California, Texas and Massachusetts.

• North Carolina ranks 5th in corporate relocations according to another article in The Triangle Business Journal on 8/17/11. “An Atlas Van Lines migration study shows that North Carolina continues to rank among the strongest states in the country as a corporate relocation destination.”

• North Carolina was 8th in the “Top 10 States for Venture Capital” rankings according to an 8/9/11 article in The Triangle Business Journal.

• “Charlotte among Forbes’ top potential boom cities” was the headline of an article in the Charlotte Business Journal on 7/14/11.  Charlotte ranked 8th on the list “mainly because of its mild climate, low housing prices and relatively small size, which allows it to avoid transportation bottlenecks that strangle larger cities like Atlanta”.  They also considered the Charlotte Airport and Charlotte’s investment in its infrastructure.

• North Carolina is the second-least-expensive state for mortgage closing costs according to a new survey from Bankrate Inc.  I can support these findings as I hear this from many of my relocation clients who are very pleased when they find out their actual closing costs are so low!

• Charlotte ranked 47th in job increases out of all of the U.S’s metropolitan areas according to an article on 10/4/11 in the Triangle Business Journal.

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If you have never seen a “Wiener Race” then you are in for a whole lot of fun this Saturday!  First, just being there in the midst of so many adorable dachshunds is worth the visit.  But, watching the dogs racing (I use that term loosely!) and their owners at the finish line doing anything to get their dog to run to them is hilarious:

 

The annual Mooresville Wiener Race  is organized by the Mooresville Downtown Commission and volunteer Tom Kilroe.  The event’s mission is to raise money for two non-profit organizations; Friends of the Animals-Iredell County  and the Humane Society of Iredell County NC.  Races start at 11:00am but I highly recommend you get there early to get a good place along the race fence to see the dogs doing their best to figure out what they are supposed to be doing.  There are 4 categories:  Puppies, Juniors, Adults and Seniors.  You will see some actual racing in the Adult group!

There will also be vendors selling barbecue, funnel cakes, slushies, pet insurance, scented candles and more but I must admit the best souvenir is the Mooresville Wiener Race T-Shirt.  I still have mine from several years ago.

If you want more incentive to attend, just Google You Tube Videos of Wiener Dog races!

Have fun!

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