Real Estate and Related Topics

This New Construction Home in Clayton,NC Just Got A Whole Lot Nicer

There is a lot of activity in Portofino in Clayton, with multiple pre-sales and spec homes. Steve Corker with Corker Enterprises is building a magnificent super custom home for a lucky family. This home is scheduled to be finished in July. This custom built home was a floor plan the buyers had but needed Steve to engineer it to their requirements. The result is a home where every detail is just to the buyers liking.

Another pre-sale in Portofino is being built by Neil Jarman with Jarman Homes, this home is for a family from PA who have kids that cannot wait to move into Portofino. Again this is a collaboration of the builder and his wife Joy who is the designer, the new homeowners and a base floor plan that is custom built to suit their family. One of the many wonderful features of this home is the massive wrap around porch.

Lot 42 in Portofino,Clayton was just cleared for a new home to be built by Art Kirkwood with Kirkwood Builders. The buyers of this home are from New Jersey and looked at a few neighborhoods before realizing that Portofino had everything they desired, namely, large wooded private lots, beautiful amenities like the beach entry pool, the piazza at the clubhouse and the many miles of nature trails. This is another new floor plan that came about as a result of the buyers and builder getting together and coming up with a custom built home.

In the Churchill section of Portofino, there are 3 pre-sales about to be started, JordanBuilt Homes is the very successful builder who is building beautiful custom homes on wonderful private lots. JordanBuilt built three homes to start and we have already sold two, and we have two more spec homes about to be started.

In the pipeline, all the builders have other homes that people have requested pricing on and nearly all will be starting another home shortly.

Along with all the pre-sale activity we have a few builders getting ready to start spec homes. Jason Graci with Royalty Homes is building a wonderful four bedroom, three car garage on Lot 82 in the Estate section of Portofino.
Steve Corker with Corker Enterprises has plans for Lot 12 in the Belmont section, and our newest builder Capitol City Homes has purchased five lots and will start two homes and already has a pre-sale.

Are you looking for a builder who can build you your dream home on the perfect lot and be surrounded by all the wonderful amenities that Portofino has to offer?

Call (919) 601-2268 or email David at irishdavid2011@gmail.com and I will be happy to arrange a meeting and help guide you through the process.

Blogging Does Get You Noticed, Just Pick A Good Topic Like Schools!

I wrote a quick blog post the other day about the schools in Clayton,NC. I mentioned that here in Johnston County there are some of the best schools in the state. I also made mention of the neighbouring ( Irish Spelling) county, Wake which is trying a new school assignment program. The program is getting a lot of discussion and some of it is quiet passionate.
The way it works is, parents of school children in the Wake County Public School System recently had an opportunity to choose the school they wished their child would attend.
It was done on a first come first served basis so those parents who are up on what was going on were first in line, if the school you picked was full, your child would then be assigned to your second choice, then your third etc, etc, until your child was placed in a school.

The problems arise when a new family moves into a neighbourhood and they won't know what school their child will attend, some realtors are afraid that will deter people from buying homes in Wake County.

I got a call from my brother in law Jim yesterday who was in North Carolina on business and picked up the local newspaper the News and Observer to find my blog post was featured in the paper in a section about the school system in Wake County. The writer pointed out that I was using the situation in Wake County to market homes in Johnston County. That was not the intent of the blog post but merely to promote Johnston County Schools.

The writer T. Keung Hui also has a blog, WakeEd and it has received about 25 comments to date and some are quite, "shall we say direct!!!" Apparently I need to take some grammar lessons......!

T. Keung called me later in the day and explained that those comments were nothing, that the opposing side in the debate can go all out sometimes. We had a very nice conversation and I learned a lot from him.

So a quick blog about a serious topic gets in the newspaper and sparks a debate, I wonder will I sell more homes in Johnston County because of it?

Four Bedroom Homes For Sale in Clayton, North Carolina.

154 Sicily Drive, Clayton,NC 27527

This is a wonderful home in Portofino, Clayton’s premier neighborhood. The four bedroom home is on a three quarter acre lot, it overlooks the wooded trail system. There are two bedrooms downstairs and two upstairs. The master suite is luxurious and features a huge closet, jacuzzi tub, oversized shower, dual vanity, tile floor.
There is a great bonus/theater room with surround sound subwoofer and room for games , pool table.
If you are looking for a four bedroom home in Clayton, just outside Raleigh then you will need to see this home. At $459,900 it is priced  well below its worth.

The zip code was named #10 in the country by Business Week Magazine for having the most affordable housing and best schools.

Clayton Derby Days at Portofino Equestrian Community, Saturday May 5TH 2012 is here.

The day has arrived, May 5TH and the work has been non stop to get the barn and rings and race track ready to go for the big day. Portofino in Clayton is hosting the first annual Clayton Derby Day. The Clayton Rotary are the organizers of the event and they are expecting a big turn out. There will be lots of activity for the whole family to enjoy.

The gates open at 2PM The admission is $35.00 for adults, kids 9 and under get in free, 10-20 is $15.00. This gets you free parking, admission, and free pig picking. Jockey Club admission will include free valet parking, open bar, access to the jockey club, and viewing of the Kentucky Derby for $75.00 per adult.

There will be horseback riding for kids, a hunter jumper demo, dressage demo, horse racing, reining, fashion shows, music, and dancing. Here is the link to their web site www.claytonderbyday.com

Portofino in Clayton is a world class equestrian community the likes of which you wont see very often. It comprises of 400 acres of woodlands and trails, creeks and river access. There are only 200 or so home sites with prices of homes and land included starting in the high $200,000's and going up to $700,000-$800,000.

Things I’ve Heard Doing Open Houses in Portofino in Clayton, NC This Week

I’ve heard some wacky and funny stuff lately, here are a few examples.....

“I don’t care for the glass shower it would make her awkward if I had to get a shirt and she was showering!”

(I don’t think you have anything to worry about, just being married to you I’m sure is plenty awkward enough!)

“Did you see the big snake on the steps?” This snake...........>

“Mommy I like this house more better than our house, you should buy more lottery!”

“Daddy, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeease, please can we buy this house please?”

“You said it has four bedrooms and I can only find two?” ( “that’s because you haven’t gone upstairs yet”)

“ Where’s the basement at?” …......( “that would be downstairs”)

“ Well if we bought this house I would stay at our old house and you and mommy could live here, would you be OK with that?”...............”Sure!”

“Is the builder married?”

“I could put my in-laws in the finished basement”..........and from someone else, “Oh no honey, my in-laws would never find out about the basement!”


“There is only one thing wrong with this house.......my name is not on the deed!”

“My Room!” .......about twenty times!

Johnston County Parade of Homes 2012

As usual the traffic at the Johnston County Parade of Homes has been wonderful, this year has seen great crowds of people checking out the new homes on display. The Johnston County Real Estate market is certainly heating up compared to a year ago.
There seems to buyers coming from all over the United States to live in North Carolina and Johnston County. I recently met folks from California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, every day it seems I come across someone relocating to North Carolina.

The Johnston County Parade of Homes has about twenty homes to see, anywhere from great town homes to estate homes like award winners Steve Corker in Portofino and Art Kirkwood in Flowers Plantation and, wonderful family homes like Neil Jarman’s Gold Award Winner in Mill Creek West and JordanBuilt Homes in Portofino.
The prices range from $150,000 up to $600,000 and there are some great ideas in these new homes, you will see the latest in lighting, entertainment energy saving products. Landscaping ideas are also abundant as the builders spare no expense to showcase their entries. You will see homes on large lots, small lots, wooded lots, cleared lots. Foundations from slab to crawl space to finished basement.

Typically when you buy a Parade Of Homes entry you are getting a bargain as the builders want to impress the judges by putting as much in the home without raising the price too much, ask any builder and they will tell you that to build the same house again is going to cost more.

Johnston County, North Carolina is seeing some growth and has done for some time as the land in Raleigh and Wake County becomes more and more scarce, coupled with the fact that Wake County Schools are going through a huge school assignment issue. Johnston County has low taxes, excellent schools,  a good industrial base and job growth, plus you get so much more for your money here than in Raleigh or Cary.
The Johnston County Parade of Homes is April 14,15 21, 22, 28,29 Saturdays from 10-6 and Sundays from 1-6, hope to see you out there, if I can help you purchase a home I'd be glad to help.