Myers Park in Charlotte, North Carolina

Welcome to our review of the Myers Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this article, you'll learn all about the Myers Park area and what makes it such a unique place to live. So without further ado, let's jump right in.

Neighborhood Summary

Myers Park is more than just a neighborhood in Charlotte. It's also a national historic district, located in the heart of the city. This history of the neighborhood dates back to the early 1900s, when landscape architect John Nolen started working on preliminary designs. Nolen worked with developer George Stephens to plan the neighborhood, incorporating a pedestrian-friendly loop design.

A century later, this loop design is still intact, and it's one of many things that make Myers Park different from other neighborhoods in the Charlotte area. Use the map provided below to explore this neighborhood in street-by-street fashion.


View Larger Map

Myers Park Homes and Architecture

The homes in Myers Park could best be labeled as southern estates. Most of them reflect the predominant architectural styles of the early 1900's, such as the colonial revival and Tudor styles.

Being a historic district, Myers Park has certain architectural restrictions in place -- as it should. While homeowners can quite a bit to customize the inside of their homes, the outside is a different story. Externally, houses must maintain their original design and structure. This is common to any historical district.

Myers Park is an upscale neighborhood, with an average household income well over $100,000. At the time of this publication, the median house value was around $800,000, though some homes are priced over a million. I confirmed this through Realtor.com in July 2009.

Southern Snobbery, Alive and Well

Myers Park is widely regarded as one of the most snobbish neighborhoods in the Charlotte metro area. The residents themselves would probably argue this, of course, but that's to be expected. It's almost as if the modern-day residents think they have some connection to the southern aristocrats who preceded them. It's a phenomenon that is all too common in the United States -- some of the places with the most beautiful homes attract the ugliest people.

We spent some time in the Myers Park neighborhood in the past, and the elitism is virtually palpable. In reality, the entire Charlotte area is fairly homogeneous. A redneck is a redneck after all, regardless of income level. So what's with the snobbery? It's a mystery to me.

Here's a humorous but relevant entry I found in the Urban Dictionary: "A Myers Pauper is someone ... who spends all their income just so they can live in Myers Park for the prestige, yet have no extra money."

Dr. Charles Reed (of Queens University of Charlotte) made a reference to Myers Park and social snobbery in his 2006 convocation speech.

I could go on and on, quoting this person and that person. But that's not the point of this neighborhood review. The point is that this neighborhood has a pervasive reputation for snobbery, all throughout the Charlotte area. Of course, if you fancy yourself a social elitist and feel that your income makes you a far superior person to "lesser" humans, then Myers Park might be the neighborhood of your dreams.

Learn More About Charlotte Neighborhoods

You can learn more about Myers Park and other neighborhoods in the area by visiting this website: Best Places to Live in Charlotte, NC

This article reflects the individual views of a single person, the author. It is not meant to be viewed as an official description of the Myers Park area. So if you are offended by anything in this article, you'll just have to get over it.

Mayfield Ranch - Subdivision of Round Round, Texas

Are you planning to buy a home in Round Rock, Texas sometime soon? Have you been researching the various neighborhoods and subdivisions around town? If so, you might want to pay a visit to the Mayfield Ranch subdivision located in the northwest corner of Round Rock.

I have lived in Mayfield Ranch for a little over five yeas now, and I've come to realize that it's one of the best neighborhoods in the Round Rock area -- in my opinion, at least. Here is some information about this popular subdivision that you may find helpful:

About Mayfield Ranch

Mayfield is a master-planned community located in the northwest part of Round Rock, Texas, which is in Williamson County. Round Rock, by the way, is one of the fastest growing cities in the country right now. There are approximately 700 homes within the Mayfield Ranch subdivision. There are greenbelts interspersed throughout the neighborhood, so if you're in the market for a greenbelt lot you just might find one available in this subdivision.

Williamson County Regional Park is right behind the Mayfield Ranch subdivision, and if you ignore the "no trespassing" signs you can ride your bike straight through the woods to reach the park. There's easy access to grocery shopping as well, with an HEB about three miles down the road. The new IKEA furniture store is located nearby as well, as are the Round Rock Premium Outlet stores.

In my opinion (as a long-time resident), the Mayfield Ranch homeowners association has gotten pretty lax over the years. They used to have a rule about parking in the street, but that has basically fallen by the wayside. They also allow people to put "For Rent" signs in front of their rental properties, which doesn't help the neighborhood's image and property values much. I've even seen signs in yards that advertised services such as fence staining, which leads me to ask the question -- Is this a neighborhood or a business park?

If you prefer a laid-back HOA that lets people do whatever they want, then Mayfield Ranch might be the neighborhood for you. On the other hand, if you prefer an HOA that actively enforces rules and works hard to preserve the integrity of the neighborhood, you might want to look elsewhere. Again, these are my own personal views as a long-time resident.

Neighboring Subdivisions

The Mayfield Ranch subdivision is flanked by Stone Oak on one side and Vista Oaks on the other side. The residents of Stone Oak (and even some of our residents) love to speed down Mayfield Ranch Boulevard in their cars. So if you're a biker, jogger or walker ... use caution! The developers had the "wisdom" of connecting the two neighborhoods with a through-street, which is what causes this traffic situation. Round Rock police set up speed traps about once a month on Mayfield Ranch Boulevard, but the effects of their efforts are short-lasting at best. The speed limit is 30 mph on this street, but I routinely see people exceeding 50 mph or more. Like I said, cross this street with caution.

School Boundaries & Social Snobbery

There was recently a heated battle about school boundaries in the Round Rock area, and Mayfield Ranch was right in the middle of it. So if you have school-aged children, you might want to get up to speed on this issue. Basically, the Round Rock ISD is creating new schools and revising boundaries as a solution to overcrowding. This has prompted a surprising degree of social elitism and snobbery among many parents. A lot of the parents in Mayfield Ranch, for example, feel that their kids are "too good" to mingle with the children of neighboring Stone Oak (where a new school is being built). It begs the question: What are we really teaching our children?

I find this all very amusing since Texas is, after all, the intellectual joke of the United States. Yet here we have a pitched battle over social castes and intellectual superiority. Go figure. At any rate, it's worth researching if you plan to live in the Mayfield Ranch subdivision someday.

How to Get Instant Homeowners Insurance Quotes Online

by Brandon Cornett

In this article, I'll explain the many virtues of getting instant home insurance quotes via the Web, and I'll also recommend some of my favorites websites for that purpose. It's a topic of great concern among home buyers, so I'll try to cover all of the bases here.

Did you know you must have proof of homeowners insurance before your mortgage lender will let you close on your new home? It's true. In fact, you'll need to bring a copy of your insurance policy to the escrow settlement / closing. But there's no need to worry if you haven't purchased a policy yet. You can get instant homeowners insurance quote online and have coverage within 48 hours. Here's how to go about it:

Getting Instant Quotes Online - Step by Step

The first thing you need to do is determine the amount of coverage you need. Typically, you would want enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding the home and replacing the belongings inside it. You also want to make sure that your homeowners policy will cover the full replacement of your belongings at current value, as opposed to their depreciated values.

Next, you can start gathering quotes from insurance providers. This allows you to compare the cost and coverage offered by several different companies, which is the key to finding the best deal. This is also where the Internet comes into play. These days, you can go online and get instant homeowners insurance quotes from several different companies at once.

By the way, when I say instant in this context, I'm talking about receiving an email within a couple of hours of filling out the website form. There is no such thing as a truly instant quote for home insurance, because in order to get an accurate quote a person has to review your coverage request. Still, this sure beats the heck out of calling ten different providers on the phone, or driving all over town to get quotes!

Finding Homeowners Insurance Online

Like I said, there are plenty of websites where you can get instant quotes from insurers. But there's one site I recommend above all others, and that's InsureMe.com. I like it because it lets you shop and compare multiple home insurance quotes for free.


You do not have to pay to use this service, nor does it put you under any kind of obligation. It's just a quick and easy way to get several quotes for homeowners coverage all at once, without leaving your house or spending time on the phone. They give you access to such big-name providers as Nationwide, Allstate and Farmers. Give it a try and see what you think. You've got nothing to lose since it's free, and you could get an instant homeowners insurance quote that meets all of your policy needs.

How Are Home Mortgage Rates Determined?

by Brandon Cornett

When you apply for a home mortgage loan, the lender will review many aspects of your financial history, and they will offer you an interest rate based on these and other factors. And this brings up one of the most common questions first-time home buyers have: How are home mortgage rates determined anyway?

I won't get too far into the weeds on this one, because there are some confusing things that take place on the "back end" of interest rates. Instead, I'll explain on the basic factors that mortgage lenders use to determine the rates they offer.

Interest rates are driven by the stock market and other financial activities. Many lenders will package up the home mortgage loans they sell, and then sell them as mortgage-backed securities through the stock market. So the interest rate that financial institutions charge each other will also influence the mortgage rate offered to you.

Your credit score is another big factor that determines the interest rate you are offered. If you have excellent credit, you'll probably qualify for the best mortgage rates a lender has to offer. On the other hand, if your credit is bad, they will charge you more interest.

When you see a lender's advertisement that brags about a certain rate they're offering, it will always be followed by an asterisk. Read into the fine print below the headline, and you'll find that is says something like "for well qualified borrowers only." This means that they will only give their best mortgage rates to certain borrowers, and that they reserve the right to determine what "well qualified" means.

Whether choose a fixed-rate mortgage or an adjustable-rate (ARM) loan also plays a role. With an ARM loan, the initial interest rate will normally be set below the rate on a traditional fixed-rate mortgage. But "initial" is the key word there, because the ARM loan will eventually reset or adjust to a different rate -- hence the term adjustable-rate mortgage.

How You Can Determine Your Rate

As far as mortgage rates go, there are certain things you can control and certain things you can't. Obviously, you have no control over the wheeling and dealing that takes place on Wall Street, or the "going rate" for certain mortgage-backed securities. But you do have control over your own financial practices, and this is where you can partially determine the mortgage rates that lenders offer you. This is where your credit score comes into the picture. Here are some tips for getting a better credit score before applying for a home loan.

This article answers one of the most frequently asked questions among first-time buyers. How are home mortgage rates determined by lender? I hope this clears things up for you, and I wish you all the best in your mortgage shopping.

About the Author: Brandon Cornett is the creator of the Home Buying Institute and several other consumer-education websites, including The Agent Network.

Submit a Real Estate Article to the Agent Network

If you've written a real estate article and would like to publish it online, you can have it published right here on The Agent Network. We accept articles on a wide variety of real estate topics, as long as they meet the guidelines listed below.

Why Submit an Article?

You get extra online exposure for your website and business. You get another link to your website (from the author's note), which helps improve your search engine ranking. Additionally, we only accept the best articles that are sent to us, so you by being published on the site you'll have another credential to set yourself apart.

Types of Articles We Accept

We will consider any original article that is related to real estate in some way. This includes articles about buying a home, selling a home, getting a mortgage loan, etc. We only accept original articles that are not published elsewhere at the time you submit it (though you're free to publish it wherever you want after submitting it to The Agent Network).

Summary of article guidelines:

• We only accept articles from real estate agents.
• We accept original articles that are not currently published online.
• We will link to your website within the author's note on your article.
• All articles are screened for quality and originality before being published.

How to Submit Your Work

Please email your real estate article within the body of the email. Please do not send attachments such as Word documents. To reduce the chance of computer viruses, we do not open attachments sent from unknown sources. So please copy and paste your article into the body of an email and send it to info@theagentnet.com.

Common Questions When Buying a House

by Brandon Cornett

What's an ARM loan? Do I need a home inspection? How much should I offer? Do I need to use a real estate agent? These are just a few of the common questions people ask when buying a house for the first time. In truth, home buyers usually have dozens of questions on how the process the works, and it's easy to understand why.

So in this article, I've compiled a list of some of the most frequently asked questions when buying a house, along with my responses to each question.

1. How do I start the process?

Before you contact a real estate agent, apply for a home loan, or start the house-hunting process, you need to get your financial house in order. For starters, set up a home buying budget to see how much you can afford to spend on a mortgage payment each month. There are plenty of mortgage calculators online you can use for this purpose.

I also recommend getting copies of your credit reports from all three reporting bureaus, and reviewing those reports for errors. If you find mistakes, you need to dispute them through the website of the company that produced the report (Experian, TransUnion or Equifax). Such errors can lower your credit score, which could make it harder to get qualified for a home loan.

Third, you should start saving your cash. This will help toward your down payment, closing costs, and other expenses associated with the home buying process. The more you can save, the better. That's why I've put this tip at the top of the list. Now let's move on to some other common questions when buying a house for the first time.

2. Do I need a real estate agent?

This is really up to you. I usually refrain from telling people that they do or don't need an agent. Instead, I'll tell you what a real estate agent would do for you, and you can then decide if you're comfortable doing those things by yourself.

An agent will help you with four parts of the process. He or she will help you (A) find a house that meets your needs, (B) evaluate the home and the asking price, (C) make an offer on the home, and (D) negotiate with the sellers if it comes to that. Another benefit to having an agent is that you can get answers to all of your questions when buying a house, from someone who has been through the process many times.

If you're buying for the first time, or in a new city you're not familiar with, it's probably a good idea to have professional help. Likewise, if you have doubts about your ability to perform the four tasks mentioned above, you might want to hire a real estate agent.

3. What type of mortgage loan should I use?

I'll give you my own personal views on the subject. If you think you'll be staying in the home for a good while (longer than five years), it's best to choose a fixed-rate mortgage loan. This will keep your interest rate the same over the entire life of the loan. If you're only going to be in the home for a few years, and you're fairly certain of this, then you might want to choose an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loan to save money.

What you want to avoid is using an ARM loan when you're going to stay in the home and keep the mortgage for many years. This means you'll either have to refinance before the ARM resets, or face the uncertainty of a rising interest rate. Adjustable mortgages were a key factor that led to the housing crisis that wrecked our economy in 2008 - 2009. So you should learn everything you can about the different loan types, and choose accordingly.

4. How do I find a home?

If you've decided to use a real estate agent, he or she will assist you with the house hunting process. Most agents have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is basically a big database with property listings. When a home is listed for sale by a selling agent, it gets entered into the MLS. So this system is one of the easiest ways to find homes for sale.

In the past, the MLS used to be one of the only places to go for this kind of information. But not anymore. Today, there are dozens of real estate search engines you can use to find homes for sale in your area. Here's a review of popular search engines you might want to check out.

You can also find houses for sale the "old fashioned" way, by looking in your local newspaper and by driving through neighborhoods. In most cities, the weekend edition of the newspaper will have an expanded real estate section with a lot of property listings.

5. How do I evaluate the seller's asking price?

This is another common question people have when buying a house, and with good reason. After all, nobody wants to overpay for a home. It's important to understand than an asking price is exactly that -- it's what the seller is asking for the home. But that doesn't mean it's a realistic price. In fact, it's pretty common for sellers to overprice their homes due to the emotional value they place on it.

So the question becomes, how can you validate the price before making an offer? Once again, this is a key area where a real estate agent can help you. The key concept here is "comps," which is short for comparable sales. A real estate agent will pull a list of recent sales in the area, with an eye out for comparable homes similar to the one you're looking at. This will help validate the seller's asking price.

There are also a number of websites online that offer home value estimates, which is another way to get a feel for the average selling price in an area. But unlike a full property appraisal, these websites do not factor in the upgrades to a home, the way a full appraisal would. So they're not as accurate as a home appraiser's evaluation. Still, they might be useful to you. Here's a review of five popular home value websites you might want to read.

6. How do I apply for a mortgage loan?

This is another frequently asked question when buying a home for the first time. Applying for a loan is pretty straightforward. But getting approved for the loan is another thing entirely. To get started, you would simply submit an application with one or more mortgage lenders. You won't know the interest rate they're willing to offer until you submit an application. After that, the lender will review your credit score, debt-to-income ratio and other factors in order to approve (or deny) your application, and to offer you an interest rate.

Some people mistakenly think they will automatically qualify for the best rates being advertised by the lender. But this is not the case. A lender will only give their best interest rates to the best qualified customers (i.e., those borrowers who have excellent credit). So in order to calculate the full cost of a loan, including the interest, you'll need to submit your paperwork and get pre-qualified by the lender.

If you'll be buying a house in the near future, it's a good idea to start rounding up your financial paperwork. This includes your pay stubs and W2's for the last couple of years, financial statements, etc. These are the first things a lender will ask for when you apply.

Once you have these things rounded up, I recommend applying online for a mortgage loan. It saves you a lot of time and allows you to compare offers from multiple lenders. Use the "Mortgage Quotes" box at the top of this website to get started.

What questions do you have?

If you have questions about buying a house that aren't answered above, feel free to email them to us. We do not provide specific one-on-one financial advice, but we can answer your question here on the blog for the benefit of all readers.

About the Author: Brandon Cornett is the creator of the Home Buying Institute and several other consumer-education websites, including The Agent Network.

How to Get a Better Credit Score Quickly

by Brandon Cornett

A good credit score is the first step to getting a mortgage loan. It's not the only thing lenders will look at, but it is one of the most important criteria for qualification. So if your score is low, you need to get a better credit score before applying for a home loan. This will make it easier to get approved for the loan, and it will also help you qualify for a better interest rate on the mortgage.

Step 1 - Get Your Current Credit Score

This step is for those of you who have not yet received your credit scores from all three of the reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). If you've already done this, then proceed to the next step. Otherwise, use the white box at the top of this blog to request your scores from all three of the reporting agencies. After all, you might find that you don't even need a better credit score, and that it's already in the excellent range. But you won't know until you receive it.

You can learn more about requesting your credit score online in this article:
www.cornettcommunications.com/credit-score.php

Step 2 - Get Copies of Your Free Credit Reports

If you use the Credit.com link at the top of this blog to request your credit scores, you'll get your credit reports at the same time. Yes, they are two different things. You can also get free copies of your reports through AnnualCreditReport.com (which is the only website endorsed by the FTC, by the way).

Step 3 - Correct Any Errors On Your Reports

I wish I could say that the credit reporting agencies rarely make mistakes, and that the majority of the reports they produce are error-free. But this is simply not the case. In fact, some studies have found that the majority of consumer credit reports have one or more mistakes in them. So in order to get a better credit score, you must start by checking your reports for errors, and fixing those errors if necessary. The Home Buying Institute has a good tutorial that explains how to fix errors on your credit reports.

Step 4 - Reduce Your Credit Card Balances

Credit utilization is one of the top-three factors that determine your score. This is a percentage that indicates how much of your current credit limit you are using. For example, if your credit card balance is only 10% of your available limit, then you have a fairly low utilization ratio. This is a good thing, because it shows you're using your credit responsibly. On other hand, if you're using 95% of your credit limit (nearly maxed out), it will have a negative impact on your score. So reducing your balances is one of the things you can do to get a better credit score quickly.

Step 5 - Pay All of Your Bills on Time

You've heard this one before, I know. But there's a good reason this piece of advice is repeated so often. The reason is this. Your account history (how you pay your bills) accounts for 35% of your overall credit score, which is more than any other single factor. So if you have a history of missed payments, you can earn a better credit score by paying on time from here on out.

Step 6 - Avoid Credit Repair Companies

You've probably seen advertisements online for the so-called credit repair services. Let me offer the following advice on this subject. You should avoid these companies entirely. Most of them are scams, and they cannot do anything that you can't do for yourself (and for free). Not convinced? Try this. Do a Google search for the phrases "credit repair companies" and skim through the first two pages of results. You'll see all kinds of information about credit repair scams, ripoff advisories, government sting operations and more.

Better Credit Quickly - Items #4 and #5

Steps #4 and #5 above are the fastest ways to improve your score. When you do these two things in tandem -- reducing your credit card balances and paying your bills on time -- you'll see noticeable improvements in no time at all.

Some people make this more complicated than it really is. Credit repair companies in particular will tell you that it requires special skills and knowledge. But this is simply not the case. Getting a better credit score is one of the most straightforward topics within the realm of personal finance. And I've just given you the six steps needed for success.

About the Author: Brandon Cornett is the creator of the Home Buying Institute and several other consumer-education websites, including The Agent Network.