Nogui's Blog

The recent article in the NY Times has blazed its way through the local scene and cybersphere. Big congratulations to Matthew Beason, also known as Matty for his feature in the NY Times!

Matthew Beason
Matthew Beason is a Durham native who has over a decade of experience working in Triangle restaurants. He is the former co-owner of Pop’s and Rue Cler, and former general manager of Nana’s.

Six Plates
The restaurant is informally swank, elegant, yet comfortable. Leather sofas and majestic chairs are spread throughout. You can have your meal on the patio, or in one of the many interesting seating areas, where two people can share an intimate meal, and open areas that provide a great conversation zone for larger groups of people.

Menu
Six Plates offers six small plates of food (imagine an entrée cut in half) and six wines by the glass matched to those plates.  On the clipboard there are over 150 wines by the bottle including half bottles, magnums, etc.  On the back page you’ll find around 30 beers by the bottle.  If you don’t see what you are looking for by the glass make sure you check out the cork board behind the bar.

Check the Menu Update page for fantastic dishes! As the website suggests, you may come in on Tuesday and if you go back on Thursday, your likely to find something new on the menu.

Entertainment
There is live music on Thursdays. Fridays Mystic Mayhem plays silky vocals and great acoustic from 9-11. First Saturdays hosts an 80s Dance Party with DJ Dae and friends and Second Saturdays is Mingle, a House Music night with Dae the DJ and Sound Cartel's Marshall Jones and DJ Nugz!

Here are some good uses for your tax refund from House Logic, National Association of Realtors® website.

1. Low flow shower heads. Did you know old shower heads (pre 1992) can pump out 5 gallons of water per minute? The latest low-flow showerheads use up to 50% less water than even newer shower heads, which use about half of the old shower heads. That's a lot of water savings! The latest shower heads run about $50-$200. The savings can be about $150 a year, depending on usage. Low-flow toilets can save an additional $90 per year!

2. Heating and cooling efficiency. If your like me, you'd want to conduct your own DIY "energy audit". Visit House Logic for more info. Sealing up those gaps around windows, doors walls, and attics can go a long way to saving on your energy bills. Of course, if your not into DIY, you can always a hire a pro and get a professional diagnostic. Its not exactly inexpensive to get one of these done, but in the long run, the savings will make up for it.

3. When it rains it pours. And when it pours, you can harvest mother nature's power! A rain barrel is pretty much a large container that collects rain. Hook it up to your down spout and collect rain water for washing the car, rinsing out patio furniture and watering the lawn. These puppies can cost as low as $50 and as much as $600. Considering that the average home owner spends about $140 a year on water for these uses, this is not a bad investment that will pay itself off and make you feel good about saving your watershed and conserving water. Rain barrels work with gravity, so you'll need a spout at the bottom and one about 2/3 of the way for filling up containers. Also recommended are a fine mesh to keep the skeeters out and screens to keep pets and kids out.

Visit the Durham County website for a recycled, ready to roll rain barrel for only $90.


For this and other fabulous tips, visit NAR's House Logic site!

Let's get down to the basics of the home buying process. Buying a home, especially your first one is a challenging and thoroughly rewarding experience. The joys of home ownership can only be experienced when you buy your first home and not before. Happines will ensue at closing and even people will say, "oh so and so is doing well. She bought a house last year."

Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Establish your budget. Add up your monthly expenses and subtract from monthly net income. Car loans, credit cards, healthcare, grocery bills, savings, leisure expenses. Whatever you have left, plus whatever your paying for rent is what you will be able to afford.

2. Start saving! You will need about 3-4% of the purchase price on average for closing costs, down payment, inspections, etc.

3.Talk to a lender. The lender will check your score, and will review your finances, debt to income ratio to determine how much they are willing to lend you. Do not confuse what they are willing to lend you with how much you are willing to pay. Go with what you are most comfortable with.

4. At this point you are ready to speak with a real estate agent. You may already started working with an agent. Your agent can recommend several lenders, home inspectors, closing attorneys, etc. Your agent will help you locate homes that fit your needs. You can also view tons of homes online.

5. Determine what type of home your going to need. If you have kids, bedrooms and school district matters. If you have animals, you may want to look at fenced in homes with decent yards or if the home is not fenced, you need to be able to fence it in at some point.

6. After locating a home, your agent will run the "comps" (comparables) or evaluate market values in that particular neighborhood. Things to look at; recent sales of comparable homes (same size, amenities etc.).

7. Your agent will then put together an offer based on those values. You will need a check or certified funds for anywhere between 1-2% of the asking price to the seller's agent for "earnest money" or deposit. This is your way of showing the seller that you are committed to buying their home and will put forth your best effort to do so.

8. The offer will have a contingency that will allow you to inspect the home for repairs and wood destroying insects and submit those repairs to the seller for remediation. The seller with then have a choice to remediate or fix those problems. If the seller opts not to to do so, then you have the choice to accept the home as is or you can terminate the contract at that point and have your earnest money returned. Its important to note that you will bear the expense for any inspections. Sellers will typically choose to repair and complete the sale.

9. After successful negotiations of the repairs, your closing attorney will be handling the title search on the property. At this point, you will need to line up your home hazard insurance and schedule to switch your utilities. Make sure you have your mail forwarded as well and notify your credit card and other companies of your new address.

10 At the closing, you will be presented with a mountain of paperwork to sign. The lender will have a loan package, usually mailed 2-3 days before closing. Sometimes the loan package doesn't arrive until the day of closing. The closing attorney will review with you the "HUD"- a two sided sheet of paper that lists all of the costs associated with the closing for both parties.

Congrats, you've just bought a home. Make sure that you have a beer on the porch and reflect this wonderful time in your life. I'll buy the first round!

In joining the Dream Living Realty team with Ray Williamson and Jaime Dawson, their team brings over 8 years of Real Estate Service, Experience, and Knowledge to allow me to exceed your expectations as your Real Estate Consultant for Life!

It occurred to me that my friends and family members may not be aware of just exactly what a real estate consultant does differently from a traditional salesperson and how that benefits the people you refer to me.

Traditional real estate agents spend the majority of their time soliciting the general public looking for their next client, which leaves little time to personally see to their current clients’ needs.

As By Referral real estate consultants, The Dream Living Realty Team is 100 percent focused on the needs of our clients, keeping their best interests foremost in our minds. We are committed to making the home buying/selling experience the best it can possibly be by educating clients about the process, and providing a level of service that exceeds their expectations. Our goal is to build lifelong relationships, one client at a time.

Because this mindset is the cornerstone of Dream Living Realty’s practice, our previous clients are pleased with our service and refer friends, coworkers and family members to us anytime they have real estate needs.

If you know of a coworker, friend or family member who has a real estate need, please feel free to contact me so we can help them realize their dreams, too. Your heartfelt endorsement is greatly appreciated.