No, this one doesn't have anything "directly" to do with Real Estate, however it does deal with Investing, Investing of yourself in someone else. I volunteer my personal time with several different organizations and I'm always amazed at how just a little bit of your time can make such a profound impact. One of the things I do is Junior Achievement which is volunteering at my son's school to speak to his class. I am amazed at how thankful EVERYONE is: Students, Teachers, Staff, Principal, etc. I feel it is something that should be "normal" for everyone to do and yet they tell me how hard it is to get just a little bit of volunteering done. Please consider the volunteering of your time and talents. I went to a breakfast at the school this week, they informed us that volunteers throughout the year had saved the school close to $50,000, that is a HUGE impact for a school. Cheers.

Use your heart and head when giving
By Perla Ni

There’s a trend in philanthropy to treat the act of giving as an “investment decision.” This is partly because nonprofit management is taught increasingly in business schools, and partly because more wealthy donors with a business background are becoming involved.Donors are younger, more active, and may have made their money in finance. They believe, as I did until a couple of years ago, that there is a holy grail of metrics, and if we just worked harder to find it, we could measure all nonprofits, lay them side by side, and figure out which ones were more effective in doing good in the world.What gets lost in all of this focus on evaluation and numbers is the grace and joy of philanthropy. Philanthropy inspires. It tells stories. It reconnects us with others and reminds us of our shared humanity.Two years ago, I visited a local homeless shelter located between the train tracks and the bus depot. It provided homeless people with free breakfast, a place to hang out, and referrals.I asked the Director, a Unitarian minister, how he measured effectiveness. I had expected him to say something about the number of people he had helped find jobs, or the number of breakfast sandwiches it handed out, etc. Instead, he replied simply: “Last year one of our [homeless] regulars died. We paid for his coffin and his burial. And 10 people, who he’d gotten to know here, showed up for his funeral.” He paused. “Does that answer your question?”That sobering encounter made me think hard. The fact that the nonprofit provided a place where a homeless person made friends who cared enough to go to his funeral—something that would not fit into anyone’s investment metrics—speaks volumes about how this nonprofit made an impact on this person’s quality of life. The organization did something incredibly decent for this homeless person at his death. It pulled at my conscience and my heart.I shouldn’t be so surprised by this story’s effect on me. After all, recent research on philanthropy points to the fact that it is a highly emotional and social behavior. The work of Deborah Small, a professor of marketing at Wharton business school, shows that presenting potential donors with metrics suppresses donations because it lowers empathy. It is empathy, her research says, that triggers giving. This rings true intuitively—we’ve all pulled out our checkbooks at some point at the sight of the picture of the child in India with a cleft palate.That’s not to say that effectiveness does not matter and we should look only to our hearts. It matters a great deal, but the human dimension is just as important. Many nonprofits are trying to make a difference in people’s lives. And that’s hard to do. People are not products. We are complicated—changing our attitudes, ideas, and behaviors can take years, and it’s difficult to isolate which single factor contributed to any specific result.And so, when people ask, “how do I know whether this is a good nonprofit?”, I respond as follows: “Go and visit. See for yourself. Volunteer for a soup kitchen and sit down next to an ex-felon. Ask them about their lives. What got them into trouble? How are they coping out of jail? How is this soup kitchen helping?” You will be amazed by the stories. It’s eye-opening, vivid, and inspirational.The other advantage of this firsthand approach is that you’ll see that the work of the nonprofits extends beyond tangible, immediate, or predictable results. Many such organizations—even those that provide direct services—also work to educate, change attitudes, and affect policy. These efforts towards systemic change—think about the various efforts by environmental nonprofits in the past 30 years—have a long pay-off timeline and only years later do we see the results of their efforts.Philanthropy is all the more powerful because of these poignant stories. Let’s not rob such giving of its human pulse by regarding it only as an investment decision.Bono, of the rock group U2, was inspired to become a philanthropist after traveling to Africa. “I saw it. I heard it. I felt it,” he said.This is the gift of philanthropy. It will awaken you to the joys, sorrows, and, above all, the hopes of life and our world.Perla Ni is founder and Chief Executive of GreatNonprofits.org, an organization that provides donors and volunteers with reviews and stories of nonprofits posted by nonprofit clients, volunteers, and donors. She’s also founder and former publisher of Stanford Social Innovation Review and a co-founder of Grassroots.com. Copyright © 2008 by The Financial Times Limited.

And Charlotte just keeps on going.....

The Charlotte Observer reported another National News Article confirming that the Charlotte NC Real Estate Market continues to increase in sales value while the other markets continue to fall. This echos what I've been speaking about for years and what Charlotte Business Leaders have been speaking about for years: Charlotte has a sound Economy, sound Job Growth, tops in Income Levels, one of the lowest Cost of Livings in the Nation....what it all adds up to is that our market CONTINUES to do BETTER and BETTER and as we're on track to be the FASTEST growing Population in the entire US over the next 20 years, it is a FANTASTIC time to be an Investor.

Here is the article in it's entirety:
The Charlotte region again ranks among the nation's urban markets with appreciating real estate.
STELLA M. HOPKINS
shopkins@charlotteobserver.com
The Charlotte region notched its third month Tuesday as the only one of 20 urban markets nationwide still showing rising home prices.
Area prices rose a little less than 1 percent for the 12 months through March, according to the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. That's less of an increase than in previous months but compares favorably with a 14 percent national decline on what is often a person's largest investment.
In addition to the annual gain, Charlotte also was the only one of two markets in which March prices rose slightly compared with the previous month. The monthly upticks in Charlotte and Dallas are the first for any of the 20 markets since September, according to the reports.
The two hardest hit areas – Las Vegas and Miami – have seen annual declines of about 25 percent. Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco also posted drops of more than 20 percent.
By another broad measure, Charlotte area home prices gained 6 percent during the same time frame. That put the Charlotte region at No. 14 out of 292 markets ranked by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which evaluates a somewhat different pool of sales. Both indexes evaluate repeat sales of single-family homes, an important gauge of changes in value.
The OFHEO quarterly index released last week shows Charlotte with a five-year return of 29 percent. The index also shows that markets with recent declines still have much higher long-term gains than Charlotte. Miami, for example, has a five-year return of 92 percent while Las Vegas is up 65 percent.
Charlotte has so far been spared steep declines because the area didn't experience the sharp gains during the nation's real estate bubble.

It's Official: Charlotte is named the BEST Place to Live in the US

We've talked more and more about the importance of investing in the RIGHT market. You have to know that your market IS headed in a positive growth direction and so therefore your investments will be headed in a POSITIVE growth direction. Well, more GREAT news, Charlotte has been named the Number One BEST Places to Live in the United States! Here is the article:

"Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.
This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.
"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."
HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.
Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.
But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.
Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.
Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point. "

Great Interview on CNN

Well, this has been an exciting week for sure. Charlotte has CONTINUED to do well as the ONLY market actually appreciating STILL. So, that does make for a very great story for the networks and so last Thursday, CNN sent a Producer and News Crew here to Charlotte and they Interviewed myself, Mike Knight, and the President of our Realtor Association, Dot Munson. It turned out to be a very good interview in my opinion (no, not just because it included me) because it did talk about the positive and true reasons as to why Charlotte continues to do well and why so many investors are building their portfolio in Charlotte, because they know it is the intelligent investment to make. They discussed with me our Real Estate Investment Market, Flipping Homes (I was called a "Flipper" during the broadcast and so now as I walk through the office I am constantly hearing dolphin calls from the great "Peanut Gallery" that we have at the office at City View Capital) Remodeling Homes, Dealing with Investors, you name it.

The best part is that they gave another incredible look at Charlotte and again brought to people's attention that Charlotte IS the market to invest in.

Hectic, Crazy, and Busy All At Once....Life As Usual!

Wow. I hope all is well with you and your investing. It has been very hectic for myself and the rest of our "City View Capital" gang. We have moved into a new office, endured the changeover of software on all of our computers which allows us all to "communicate" on the same network (that was as fun as a root canal) and then mix in an incredible market, seminar after seminar speaking engagements, well it makes for a Busy, Hectic and Fun time...in other words...Life As Usual.

The Great news is that the Charlotte Region continues to be the spot for Real Estate Investing. Just a couple days ago, the report came out that Charlotte has not only CONTINUED to have climbing house prices, however Charlotte was the ONLY market in Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller's Home Price index that went up AGAIN in the latest results. Places like Vegas, Miami, and Phoenix and San Diego all saw their values DROP up to 19%!!!

This is more GREAT news for Investors as we continue to provide Cash Flowing Properties are Great Prices, located here in Charlotte (did I mention the ONLY market that AGAIN has increased in sales price in the entire United States?). It has been amazing as our client list continues to get more and more diverse as we are now working with Clients literally located across Europe that are looking to take advantage of both the incredible appreciation opportunity with Real Estate Investments in this region and the strong Euro versus the weakened US Dollar.

Our region continues to have a low cost of living index and combined with an incredibly solid economy (one of the many reasons that experts report that our market continues to do well).

We look forward to hearing from you and invite you to join us: Www.CityViewCap.com

Charlotte #1 Price Gainer in 2007

While values slowed during 2007 across the US, ONLY three (3) markets finished the year in the positive: Portland, Seattle and CHARLOTTE. Charlotte was the best with a 2.3% increase, the highest in the US. Charlotte did also finish the year on a strong trending note as fourth (4th) quarter of 2006 to fourth (4th)quarter of 2007 actually showed a six (6%) percent rise.

Charlotte's economy stays strong and the commercial building and growth is phenomenal. Class A Office Space is being built as fast as developers can build it and it is virtually all pre-leased before being finished.

The Bio-Tech Center development continues on schedule and the accolades are already coming for this development that is already becoming Nationally and Internationally recognized for it's importance in the Scientific community.

Charlotte Hiring at RECORD Levels in 2007

A great article was in Charlotte's paper on Saturday, February 2nd. Last year, our area added 2.6% MORE jobs in 2007 and had the highest number of jobs in our area in more than a decade. This is another SOLID boost of confidence for our region considering the loss of jobs in other areas and the fact that we grew at 1 and a half times the National Average job growth rate.

Charlotte Growth...just keeps on improving

Here is an article published today that comments on the Healthy State of Charlotte's Economy and Growth:

"Navigating all the construction projects under way in Charlotte might be worth the inconvenience considering the alternative.
Economists say the cranes are a barometer of good health, indicating that things will keep going here no matter what happens on the national level.
The Charlotte Chamber's just completed 2007 report on new and expanding businesses seems to confirm that.
A record 1,326 firms announced plans to invest nearly $2.3 billion -- the second highest amount ever in Mecklenburg -- and create 14,648 jobs.
"What it tells me is we are building the infrastructure for future growth," said Tony Crumbley, chamber vice president of research. "I can't help but feel positive."
The city's uptown vacancy rate is around 2 percent -- the lowest of any downtown in the nation -- and office space is in short supply, helping fuel the building boom.
Employers, especially those who do business with the big banks, are eager to locate in the center city financial hub.
More than a half-dozen office buildings totaling more than 2.7 million square feet are under construction uptown and some won't be finished for two or three more years.
"The chamber's numbers have had a tendency to coincide with the general direction and magnitude of Charlotte growth," said Wachovia Corp. senior economist Mark Vitner. "The report shows we have a large backlog of work."
Home construction starts and sales have slowed, but Charlotte was one of just a few metro areas in the country where home values rose over the past year.
Vitner said local job growth, a key to future demand for housing, also remained relatively strong in 2007.
Planners see the Charlotte region adding an average of almost 50,000 people a year through the end of the decade.
Locally, consumers and businesses are keeping a wary eye on the uncertain national economy.
Vitner isn't predicting a recession, but if should happen, he doesn't believe it will last more than nine months.
In that case, activity likely would slow here, Crumbley said, "but we still have enough under way to keep us afloat."
The new construction and business expansion projects counted by the chamber totaled a record 25.1 million square feet.
Charlotte typically is insulated from drastic economic swings by its diversity of jobs and employers, Crumbley said.
The accommodations and food service industry -- the leading category in 2007 -- accounted for 4,436 of the announced jobs.
But firms also disclosed plans for almost 3,000 technical services jobs, 2,210 retail jobs and 360 manufacturing jobs plus substantial numbers of jobs in health care, finance and administrative support.
The big surprise in the year-end report, Crumbley said, might be the number of manufacturing jobs announced "because we are thought of around the country as a banking community."
Charlotte's location roughly between New York and Miami and interstate highway access is attractive to warehouse, distribution and manufacturing firms."