Get your Pirate on!
September 5, 2012 By Ilona
Pirates were one of the realities that merchants along the Outer Banks had to deal with throughout the late 1600’s and early 1700s. Pirates attacked and raided Spanish and British ships carrying gold, silver and other riches. They used the outer Banks as an escape and to store their loot. Blackbeard also known as Edward Teach lived in Ocracoke until November 22, 1718 when the British Royal Navy cornered him. Blackbeard went down fighting instead of surrendering.
In the Outer Banks we have had several famous pirates such as Anne Bonny, Calico and Pamlico Jack, Mary Read, and Stede Bonnet.
The Outer Banks Pirate Festival will kick-off on Thursday, September 13 and carry on with festivities on Outer Banks until ending on Saturday, September 15. Discover Pirate history and everything Pirate from a Scallywag School for Young Scoundrels, how to use pirate weapons, storytelling, and pictures and more with pirates, pirates everywhere!
The event kicks on Thursday with a treasure hunt that begins at Kitty Hawk Kites and continues with a search through the stores of Jockey’s Ridge.
Get ready to get your Pirate on… Argh, Mateys!
For more information go to: Outer Banks Pirate Festival
Best Buys on the Outer Banks for the week of September 4th, 2012
September 4, 2012 By Ilona
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Great Sporting Events in the Outer Banks
August 31, 2012 By Ilona
In the month of September, the Outer Banks has several great sporting events that are taking place.
Grab a friend or a family member and head out to have a fun time!
The first weekend of September (Sept 1 – Sept 3) the Bud Light Lime Surf Series will be at Jeanette’s Pier. This tour includes the top 32 men and 8 women from various surf genres. Head to the beach and cheer on your favorite surfer.
September 12Th – 15Th is the Hatteras Wave Jam. This is the American Windsurfing Tour and Hatteras should be an excellent stop.
Wave conditions in the area are likely to provide some of the best action found in the US.
Wave conditions in the area are likely to provide some of the best action found in the US.
September 15Th is the All Out Pink Road Race, a 12K Bridge Run & 5K plus Garden Yoga and Pilate’s. This event is presented by Outer Banks running Club and Outer Banks Bootcamps and hosted by the Elizabethan Gardens. 100% of the event proceeds will provide mammograms to locals that do not have access to health care. This event has something for everyone and is a great way to spend the day with the family.
ESA Eastern Surfing Championship is September 16th – 23rd at Jennette’s Pier. This is the grand finale of surfing where the best from the national and international districts compete for who will be the overall champions for the year.
September 22 and 23rd is the Outer Banks Triathlon an event not to be missed! This is a whole weekend of family fun with Tri events that feature the half, Olympic and sprint distances in the beautiful Outer Banks. If you can’t participate think about heading out to volunteer!
The active month of September wraps up with the WRF Surfing Contest September 28– 30at Jennette’s Pier. We know how beautiful the Outer Banks is in September. Take some time to head outdoors with your family and support your community, join in the fun or even volunteer!
Best Buys on the Outer Banks for the week of August 27, 2012!
August 27, 2012 By Ilona
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Best Buys on the Outer Banks for the week of August 20th!
August 20, 2012 By Ilona
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5 Reasons Listing your Home this Fall is a great choice!
August 13, 2012 By Ilona
Every year we see a surge of listing activity in the Spring, as expected, and then another surge again in the Fall. These are by far the two best times to have your home on the market. Statistics prove that activity is greater in March, April, May and again September, October, November.
So if you’ve thought about selling your Outer Banks home, it’s definitely time to get started! Take a look…
- You’ve collected all the rental income! Why carry the home through the winter?
- If you’re facing a Capital Gain, right now the tax rate is 15% which is scheduled to change to 20% starting January 1, 2013.
- Why go through the hassle of winterizing and re-preparing the home next year? Sell now and let the buyer take care of that.
- Inventory is down 24% and number of sales up 17% compared to this time last year. That’s a much better environment to sell your home in!
- Buyers get the bug while on vacation and then come back in the Fall when access to the home is easier. You’ll have eager buyers ready to deal so they can spend the holidays here.
Consider these facts, then give me a call/email for a FREE analysis of your home.
Best Buys on the Outer Banks for the week of August 13th, 2012
August 13, 2012 By Ilona
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19 Athletes from North Carolina are Competing in the 2012 Summper Olympics!!
July 26, 2012 By Ilona
The Olympics
The Olympics starts this Friday! Love the summer Olympics and the opening ceremony. Here is the link – http://www.london2012.com/ if you want to keep up to date with all that is going on with the Olympics for the next few weeks.
I tried to discover if there were any competing athletes with ties to the Outer Banks and was not successful. I did find that out of 600 competing American athletes we do have 19 athletes representing North Carolina. Most of these athletes we may or may not see, but it will be fun to cheer for someone from our state.
Ricky Berens – Is a swimmer that competed in Beijing and was part of the winning 800 meter relay team. He swam the third leg of the 800m freestyle relay final at the Water Cube, where the U.S. won by more than five seconds over second-place Russia and third-place Australia. The time of 6 minutes, 58.56 seconds also set a world record.
Marko Blazevski – Is also a swimmer and will be competing in the 400-meter individual medley. He is a rising Junior at Wingate University in Wingate, NC.
Cullen Jones – He won a gold medal in Beijing for a 4×100 relay. He will be swimming in the same relay but will also race in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle.
Nick McCrory – is one of the best divers in America. He grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and went to Duke University. He is 20 and this is the first time he has made the Olympic team, he will be competing in the 10 meter platform individual even and synchronized diving.
Shalane Flanagan – is long-distance runner that currently holds the American record times in the 3000 m, 5000 m, and 10,000 m. She is also the Bronze Medalist from Beijing in the 3k, 5k and the 10k. Shalane is a graduate of University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She will be competing in the marathon.
Hunter Kemper – will be competing in the triathlon. He competed in 2000, 2004 and 2008 as Triathlete in the Olympics. He was born in Charlotte and attended Wake Forest University. He is the only American male that is ranked as the number one triathlete in the world and will be the first triathlete featured on a Wheaties Box.
Other Notable Athletes with North Carolina Ties are:
Dremiel Byers – Wrestling
Casey Eichfeld – Canoe/Kayak
Eric Hurd – Canoe/Kayak
Caroline Queen – Canoe/Kayak
Nick Thoman – Swimming
Rachel Dawson – Field Hockey
Katelyn Falgowski – Field Hockey
Tobin Heath – Soccer
Heather O’Reilly – Soccer
Caroline Lind – Rowing
John Isner – Tennis
Charlie Houchin – Swimming
Chris Paul – Basketball Lauren Perdue – Track & Field
GO USA!!
Outer Banks Update July 24, 2012
July 24, 2012 By Ilona
Sales activity continues to be higher than last year. June finished with a 19% increase of sold properties over June 2011. Properties going under contract are still on the rise as well. Typically the summer months see a bit of a slow-down in activity, which we have, yet still maintained the increase. I suspect the Fall Market will be very strong indeed.
Pricing seems to be stabilizing. Some towns are still declining while others are holding steady. For specific information on your location send me an email and I’ll get you a report.
The study on erosion in Duck is underway and the results of Phase I of this study will be presented to the public on August 15th at 1 pm. For more information click here.
There is no new news on the Mid-Currituck Bridge. We’re not expecting any updates until the end of this quarter.
As you can tell, I have a brand new website launched! This site is very user friendly and should provide you with all the searching tools needed to find out what’s for sale on the Outer Banks. I encourage you to check it out and take a look at my blog. If you haven’t done so already – follow me on Facebook, Twitter & / or Linkedin!
Doing a short sale in North Carolina is about to change. The NC Association of Realtors recently made several revisions to the Short Sale Addendum. For a quick video on the most impactful changes click here.
That’s all for this month. As always if I can answer your real estate questions please contact me!
