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<br />ORANGE COUNTY-DEMOGRAPHICS/INFORMATION
<br />Orange County, NC is located in north central North Carolina, and is
<br />bisected by two interstate highways, I-40 and I-85. The county seat is
<br />Hillsborough, located in central Orange County, and the other two
<br />incorporated cities are Chapel HiII and Carrboro, located in southern Orange
<br />County.
<br />Except for these cities, most of Orange County consists of suburban
<br />communities with no distinguishing boundaries. Postal addresses of Orange
<br />County properties include Mebane, Efland, Burlington, Cedar Grove,
<br />Prospect Hili, Hurdle Mills, Rougemont, Hillsborough, Durham, Chapel
<br />Hili, and Carrboro. Often times, properties located within a mile of each
<br />other will have different mailing addresses, yet be similar in all other market
<br />data features.
<br />Typically, buyers in this particular real estate market put no limitations on
<br />their property search based on mailing addresses, phone systems, school
<br />districts, or proximity to highways and urban areas. The market has been in
<br />a healthy balance for over a decade, and most properties continue a modest,
<br />but steady appreciation, as building costs and land development costs
<br />continue to increase. Comparable sales, especially on larger acreage tracts,
<br />oftentimes have a closed date of over a year ,and are located 5-10 miles or
<br />more from the subject property, yet may very well be the best available
<br />closed comparable sale available to me.
<br />Square footages of homes and acreage sizes of land tracts are often
<br />unimportant factors in the Market Data Analysis. Typically, nice, well
<br />maintained 1,200 square foot homes sell for more money than average,
<br />neglected 1,400 square foot homes, all other factord being equal.
<br />Conversely, beautiful, scenic, one acre land parcels might sell for more
<br />money than larger 2-3 acre parcels that are inferior in any number of factors,
<br />including location, deed restrictions, soil quality, or topography.
<br />In conclusion, my seventeen+ years in the Orange County real estate market
<br />as a real estate agent, appraiser, developer, and consultant, have given me
<br />good insight and intuition into what knowledgeable ready, willing, and able
<br />buyers want. I use this experience to reconcile values for the properties
<br />appraised. I drive by every property that I appraise after the initial
<br />reconciliation process is completed, but before the appraisal is printed out,
<br />and ask the only question that really matters, "Would a typically motivated
<br />buyer pay that amount for this property?" If the answer is yes,. the appraisal
<br />is completed, if not, then further reconciliation is done.
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