114 Jasmine Court

Have you ever had someone tell you it's better to own the smallest house in a great neighborhood than the biggest?

This would be the problem with 114 Jasmine Court. On the surface it appears to be a solid home. 3300 sq/ft, 5 bedrooms, 2 full baths and 2 half baths. Built in 1992, located on a small lot in a cul-de-sac in a popular Carrboro neighborhood (Quarterpath Trace). List price of $349,950.

This all sounds reasonable, but in comparison to the rest of the neighborhood, this home is much bigger and much more expensive. I have to wonder, will this appraise for almost $350,000? If this was in a different neighborhood I would say "Sure-not a problem" The real questions is what is an appraiser going to say when they compare this house to other houses in Quarterpath Trace?

116 High St. - A Carrboro Cottage

Looking for just a little space in the heart of downtown Carrboro? If 744 sq/ft, 2 bedrooms/ 1 bath, is enough living space for you then perhaps 116 may be for you. Of course, at $225 per sq/ft, this little cottage could be a bit overpriced.

The listing description points out that the roof is already near the end of its useful life. Which means the new owner will have to put one on- (think a couple thousand).

I'm not too sure that this is all that great of a deal. In fact, I won't be suprised if this little home sits around for a while.

300 Barnes St. vs. 205 Barnes St.

There are two houses available on Barnes St. in Carrboro. (For those of you familiar with Carrboro it is very close to OWASA).

205 Barnes St. has been on the market for almost a year. 3 bedrooms/ 1 bath, built in 1962, recently remodeled kitchen, 986 sq/ft. on a .2 acre lot. $149,900.

300 Barnes St. has been on the market for about two weeks. 2 bedrooms/1 bath, built 1952, no remodeling (recent or older), 788 sq ft. on a 1.75 acre lot. $175,000.

Why such a large price difference. Well, as they say in real estate- location, location, location. 205 Barnes St. is a solid (if not somewhat dated) home, but it is directly across from an apartment complex. 300 Barnes St. is in terrible condtion, but the 1.75 acre lot is gorgeous-perfect for someone looking to build on a tucked away lot in Carrboro.

My prediction is that it won't last too long.

102 Lisa

102 Lisa drive has been on the market for about two months. It is 2300 sq/ft, 4 beds/ 2.5 baths, built in 1998-located in Plantation Acres. For those of you not familiar with neighborhoods by name, Plantation Acres is a great older (meaning most of the homes were built in the mid-to-late 70's.

So why has this been on the market so long?

I believe it is because the lot is right next to a major road. There is a nice border of trees around the lot, but you can still here a lot of road noise (which makes it hard to really enjoy the fantastic lot. I would also say this is probably not the best lot for any child/children who have a tendency to run out into streets.

Overall, I wouldn't say that this is a bad buy, but I would definetly be very sure you can live with the background traffic.

Laurel Ave

On the market there are three houses for sale on Laurel Ave. If you are not familiar with Carrboro, then let me tell you that Laurel Ave is a small street very close to the Carrboro's Farmer's Market and a short walk to Weaver Street Market. It has only been in the past five or six years that any new development has occured, so there currently Laurel Avenue is a mixture of owner occupied and rental units.

The three houses on the market:
208 Laurel Ave: $299,900, 1560 sq/ft, 3 beds/2.5 baths, $192 per sq/ft
210 Laurel Ave: $312,000, 1560 sq/ft, 3 beds/2.5 baths, $200 per sq/ft
212 Laurel Ave: $540,000, 3944 sq/ft, 5 beds/4.1 baths, $136 per sq/ft

It is clear that 212 Laurel is a different 'level' of house, so let's compare 208 and 210 Laurel Ave. These are both new construction homes, currently being built. They are the same floor plan and right next door to each other, so why the different prices?

It turns out that 208 is on a larger lot, but has 8 ft ceilings and 210 has nine foot ceilings. 210's lot may be smaller, but is located between two newer homes, where as 208 is next door to an older (dare I say it?), more run-down home. So which home is better? That completely depends on the buyer, but if you are looking for a new construction home (and there is not a lot of new construction in Carrboro) then these are definately a must-see.

510 Davie Rd

When you first look at the listing information of 510 Davie Rd. it seems like a pretty good deal. A 1970 sq/ft detached home (two levels), 4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, built in 1963. Very walkable to Carrboro's Farmer's Market and Weaver Street Market. So where's the catch?

After taking a look at this home it turns out that the house has been converted (or maybe possibly started out as) into a duplex. In other words the main level is a 2 bedroom/ 1 bath home, that is completely seperate from the downstairs 2 bedroom/ 1 bath. You can not access one level from the other, you have to go outside.

As one large home it is almost $99 per sq/ft. That's great for a detached home in Carrboro (remember the average price per sq/ft is $145 sq/ft). Overall, I believe that the value in this home lies within the purchaser's loan. If you can make the numbers work, a duplex is great for someone willing to live in half and rent out the extra space.