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  <channel>
    <title>Durham County Real Estate News</title>
    <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/</link>
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3736433/memorial-day-celebrations-raleigh-nc-2013</guid>
      <title>Memorial Day Celebrations Raleigh NC 2013</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Memorial Day is an important day to recognize those who gave their freedom.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Memorial Day Durham NC Real Estate" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/pix-memorial-day-300x200.jpg" height="200" alt="" width="300"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Below are some events to help you and your family commemorate Memorial Day in&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/raleigh-nc-homes-for-sale/" title="Raleigh NC Homes for Sale"&gt;Raleigh&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thanks to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/event-calendar" title="Go Downtown Raleigh"&gt;Go Downtown Raleigh&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for the information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony at&amp;nbsp;North Carolina State Capital&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Monday, May 27, 2013&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;11 AM to 12 Noon&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;North Carolina State Capital&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Details&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/event/memorial-day-wreath-laying-ceremony" title="Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony Raleigh NC"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Marbles Museum Open for Memorial Day&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Monday, May 27, 2013&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;9 AM to 5 PM&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Details&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/event/museum-open-for-memorial-day" title="Go Downtown Raleigh Memorial Day"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Stars, Stripes and Celebration! at Marbles Museum&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Monday, May 27, 2013&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;9 AM to 5 PM&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Star Spangled Dance Party, Fireworks Painting, Rocket Science and more!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Details&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/event/stars-stripes-and-celebration" title="Marbles Kids Museum Memorial Day 2013"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I hope you find this list helpful as we all remember the importance of Memorial Day.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:46 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3736433/memorial-day-celebrations-raleigh-nc-2013</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3677107/the-history-of-peeps</guid>
      <title>The History of Peeps</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h1 class="entry-title"&gt;I am amazed at how often Peeps are mentioned as people get ready for the Easter holiday.&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="entry-content"&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;h1 class="entry-title"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Peeps" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1471" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pix-peeps.png" height="191" alt="" width="252"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mass Production: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/" title="Peeps"&gt;Peeps&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;were a product of the Rodda Candy Company.&amp;nbsp; In 1953 Just Born candy company purchased the Rodda Candy Company. &amp;nbsp;Peeps turn 60 years old this year!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Bob Born of Just Born loved the way the marshmallow chick looked.&amp;nbsp; In 1954 Bob Born created a machine that would&amp;nbsp;produce&amp;nbsp;large&amp;nbsp;quantities&amp;nbsp;of marshmallow chicks.&amp;nbsp; Bob Born also trademarked the name &amp;ldquo;Peeps&amp;rdquo;.&amp;nbsp; The Peeps were created in three colors:&amp;nbsp; pink, white and yellow.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Peeps All Year Long: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;The Peeps were so successful that Just Born became the largest Marshmallow candy manufacturer world wide.&amp;nbsp; Just Born began creating seasonally manufactured peeps in the 1960s.&amp;nbsp; The Marshmallow Peeps Bunny was introduced in the early 1980&amp;rsquo;s.&amp;nbsp; In 1995, lavender colored peeps were introduced and blue Peeps were introduced in 1998 just in time for Easter.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New Peeps Flavors: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Vanilla Flavored Peeps were produced in 1999, and in 2000 Strawberry Flavored Peeps were introduced.&amp;nbsp; The Chocolate Peep was released in 2002.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cook Them So Many Ways:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I have heard of friends eating them &amp;ldquo;raw&amp;rdquo;, microwave peeps, fried peeps and even roasting peeps on a stick!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today you can find recipes for Peeps, display ideas and more! &amp;nbsp;Peeps has some&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/show-and-share/all" title="Marshmallow Peeps"&gt;great ideas here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How About You?&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; Which is your favorite peep?&amp;nbsp; Do you have a favorite &amp;ldquo;Peep&amp;rdquo; Recipe?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:55:49 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3677107/the-history-of-peeps</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3648492/insurance-news-5-tips-for-getting-good-insurance-for-your-home-or-car</guid>
      <title>Insurance News 5 Tips for Getting Good Insurance for your Home or Car</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title="Insurance News Amy Shair Real Estate NC" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/pix-house-coins.png" alt=""&gt;Many people are receiving notices of increasing&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;premiums for their homeowners and auto&amp;nbsp;insurance. You can get quality&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;at a reasonable rate if you know how to shop for&amp;nbsp;insurance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Not all companies are offering the same options so it is important to shop around to get the best combination of rate, coverage and customer service.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Here are 5 tips for getting&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;for your home or car&lt;/span&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Shop Coverage, Not Annual Premium&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- While saving money on the premium seems like the obvious choice, if you are underinsured and have a claim you will lose a lot of money. The replacement value of your home and how much you insure for your contents are important so if you have a major claim like a house fire, there is enough money to replace your personal items and furniture.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Increase Deductible&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- Your premium will decrease if you increase your deductible. Move from $500 to $1000 for example and save money.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Insure Your Home and Cars with Same Company&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- Most&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;companies want your business for both your home and your cars,boat, and motorcycle. So they will give you their lowest combined premium if you get their home/auto discount by using that company for both policies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Review&amp;nbsp;Insurance&amp;nbsp;Annually&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- It is easy to get comfortable with your&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;when the premium doesn&amp;rsquo;t go up very much or if you do not file a claim for a couple of years. But asking your&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;agent for an annual review and comparing what you are paying for your coverage to other companies is a good way to save money. Most people do not read the fine print that comes in the mail which details coverage changes so people only act when they see the higher bill arrive.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check With an&amp;nbsp;Insurance&amp;nbsp;Broker&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;Insurance&amp;nbsp;brokers can check on the best coverage with a number of companies so you can easily compare the differences in coverage and premium to make an informed decision. A broker will educate you on what some of the differences are in the offerings of different companies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keep Your Credit Score High&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;Insurance&amp;nbsp;is tied into your credit score as well as your driving history, and how many homeowners claims you have filed. Keeping a high credit score will help you get the lowest premium on your home and auto&amp;nbsp;insurance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Protect yourself by getting quality&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;and using a reputable and local contact for your&amp;nbsp;insurance. A good&amp;nbsp;insurance&amp;nbsp;agent or broker will help guide you through the insurance&amp;nbsp;process, which seems to be changing regularly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How About You? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Do you find these insurance tips helpful as you investigate coverage and pricing for your insurance? Comment below and let me know your thoughts for&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/contact/" title="Connect Amy Shair "&gt;connect with Amy Shair here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:16:39 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3648492/insurance-news-5-tips-for-getting-good-insurance-for-your-home-or-car</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3620914/touchup-paint-do-it-yourself-paint-tips</guid>
      <title>Touchup Paint: Do It Yourself Paint Tips</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title="Touch Up Paint - Amy Shair Durham NC Real Estate Professional" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/0/8/4/1/ar13605922714808.png" height="266" alt="" width="416"&gt;Whether you just&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/buyers/" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Buy a Home"&gt;bought&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;a house or are getting ready to re-arrange a room, touch-up painting is inevitable.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Even if you just had your house painted, small marks can show up from additional work that was done or&amp;nbsp;re-positioning&amp;nbsp;your furniture back into the rooms.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;All of us have gone into a home where you can see every spot that was touched up because the paint didn&amp;rsquo;t quite match or you can see the brush strokes or roller lines along the wall.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Here are tips to make sure no one can see you touched up&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Use flat paint&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- Flat paint is designed for easy touch up. If you have eggshell or semi-gloss on the walls, they will not touch up. On eggshell finishes you will need to paint that wall completely rather than touch up or you will be able to see in the finish where it has been touched up.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Use the same brand of paint&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- If the paint can you have is dried up or almost empty, be sure to get the same brand and type of paint to use for touch up. Different brands have slightly different formulas which will be more visible on the wall after touch-up. All paints are not created equal! Ideally bring the can of paint to the store so the employee can match it exactly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Test the paint&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- Decorators like to recommend that people use slightly lighter or darker shades of a color in a hallway or adjacent room so do not assume the paint you have matches all rooms even if it looks similar. Unless you know for a fact what color is in each area, you should test an area that is hidden or on a small wall so if it doesn&amp;rsquo;t match you can easily repaint that area. Be sure to let the paint dry completely before deciding if it is the right shade and is a perfect match.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;White is not always the same&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;- On trim paint or ceilings, if it is white be sure to follow tips 2 and 3 above. There are many shades of white and for the untrained eye it is difficult to tell the difference until the colors are on the wall or ceiling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New Construction&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;If you bought a new home you should be able to contact the builder to find out what paint colors were used and what brand of paint was used. Some builders will leave leftover paint but the brand and color might not be listed on the small can.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Painting is relatively inexpensive and makes a great impression. Have fun touching up!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How about you? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Have you ever had difficulty matching paint when you were trying to touch up a certain area? &amp;nbsp;Comment below or call my office at (919) 469-6539. &amp;nbsp;I am eager to hear your thoughts.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:19:26 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3620914/touchup-paint-do-it-yourself-paint-tips</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3599172/selling-or-buying-a-home-with-an-underground-storage-tank-ust-</guid>
      <title>Selling or Buying a Home with an Underground Storage Tank (UST)</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="wp-caption alignleft"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Underground Storage Tank Raleigh NC - Amy Shair" class="size-full wp-image-2199" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/pix-ust.jpg" height="300" alt="" width="300"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;p class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Photo courtesy of Cohesion Environmental Services. Used with permission.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Older homes in NC were originally heated with oil heat which required the homeowner to have a tank, often called &amp;ldquo;ust&amp;rdquo; or underground storage tanks. Since the tanks were large and held several hundred gallons of oil, they were often buried so they wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be an eyesore. Most of the oil heating systems have been replaced with newer systems fueled by electricity, natural gas or propane gas and the underground oil tanks were just left in place. Over time, many of the tanks have leaked, allowing oil to contaminate the soil.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Superfund Sites: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Now, there is a superfund to help cover the costs of having the tanks removed from residential properties. The state of NC has information about the superfund program on their website -&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/ust"&gt;http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/ust&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The original superfund guidelines required the authorization and documentation from the tank owner who last used the tank in order for the superfund to cover the costs. This was often difficult or impossible so the guidelines were modified so homeowners can use the superfund even if the heating system was no longer oil when they purchased the home or if the last user of the oil system has passed away.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Soil Testing: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;The process involves having the soil tested to confirm if the tank has leaked. Removal of the tank, any remaining oil, and contaminated soil follows. The final step is receiving documentation that the process is complete and no further action is required. Environmental companies like&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://cohesion-inc.com/residential/"&gt;Cohesion, Inc&lt;/a&gt;. do this work in the Raleigh/Durham area and are familiar with the superfund.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Does your home have a UST?&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;If you own or are buying an older home and are not sure if there is an underground oil tank, look around your yard and driveway for a metal pipe petruding from the ground. It may be cut off and just below ground level or may be along the driveway side or backside of the home. I have seen some very close to the foundation so it may be in the landscaped area. Cohesion&amp;rsquo;s website has more detailed information on locating a tank&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://cohesion-inc.com/residential/services/tank-locating/"&gt;http://cohesion-inc.com/residential/services/tank-locating/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How about you? &amp;nbsp;Have you ever had an underground storage tank on your property?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:56:37 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3599172/selling-or-buying-a-home-with-an-underground-storage-tank-ust-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3590984/buyers-top-6-qualities-in-a-real-estate-professional-raleigh-durham-nc</guid>
      <title>Buyers Top 6 Qualities in a Real Estate Professional Raleigh Durham NC</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I saw this great article in&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://bhgrealestateblog.com/2013/01/11/what-todays-homebuyer-wants-and-how-you-can-give-it-to-them/" title="Buyer Tops Choice in Real Estate Agent"&gt;Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and thought it had some great points that I would like to elaborate on.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Buyer's Agent Raleigh Cary Durham NC" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2177" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/pix-buyer-with-clients-209x300.png" height="300" alt="" width="209"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Today&amp;rsquo;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/buyers/" title="Buyer Raleigh Cary Chapel Hill NC Area"&gt;Homebuyer&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is looking for certain characteristics in their Real Estate Professional. &amp;nbsp;All of the points below are what I am seeing as I work with buyers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. &amp;nbsp;Brutal Honesty:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The Buyer in today&amp;rsquo;s market is looking for guidance and support. &amp;nbsp;Often this means that they want to hear the truth of a situation (even if it is hard to hear). &amp;nbsp;They want to get to a resolution quickly and most effectively reach the desired goal.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. &amp;nbsp;Exceptional Service:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Today&amp;rsquo;s&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Buyer is looking for top level service. &amp;nbsp;They desire an expert in a desired area who can answer the questions they have, but also help answer the questions they did NOT ask (but should).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. &amp;nbsp;Clear Direction:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; The Buyer in today&amp;rsquo;s market wants an agent who has a clear path to their desired result. &amp;nbsp;They want someone who listens to what they are looking for, and will have a full plan of how to get them into their dream home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. The Right to Choose:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Today&amp;rsquo;s Buyer wants to right to make choices during the buying process. &amp;nbsp;They are educated consumers and have opinions about certain things. &amp;nbsp; This is also important why Clear Direction (above) is important to Buyer&amp;rsquo;s know what areas they CAN have a choice in.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. &amp;nbsp;Professional Input: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;The Buyer in Today&amp;rsquo;s Market wants to make sure they are making the decisions. &amp;nbsp;It is important as a Buyer&amp;rsquo;s Agent that you give your Buyers the information to process so they can make the best informed decision for their lives and their family.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6. &amp;nbsp;Sympathetic Ear: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Today&amp;rsquo;s Buyer wants an agent who is sympathetic to their needs and challenges, yet also strong enough to remind them of the ultimate goal, which is finding the best house at the best price in the most desirable location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How about you? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;What do you look for in a Real Estate Professional when buying your home?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment below or contact our office at&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;(919) 469-6539&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;with any questions and/or&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/contact/" title="Contact Amy Shair ReMax Real Estate Award Winning Agent"&gt;comments you may have&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2013 05:50:08 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3590984/buyers-top-6-qualities-in-a-real-estate-professional-raleigh-durham-nc</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3552858/new-home-construction-in-2013-real-estate-wake-and-durham-county-nc</guid>
      <title>New Home Construction in 2013 &#8211; Real Estate Wake and Durham County NC</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;As the economy improves, real estate is buzzing in the Triangle area. Builders are continuing to apply for new permits and I have seen a lot more contractors on site in neighborhoods throughout&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/raleigh-nc-homes-for-sale/" title="Raleigh NC Homes for Sale"&gt;Raleigh&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/durham-nc-homes-for-sale/" title="Durham NC Homes for Sale"&gt;Durham&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/cary-nc-homes-for-sale/" title="Cary NC Homes for Sale"&gt;Cary&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="New Home Construction Wake County " class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2101" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/pix-new-home-construction.png" height="189" alt="" width="258"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New Construction Home Types: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;The types of homes being built include townhomes, starter homes and luxury homes. Builders have gone into developments that stalled during the economic downturn and have bought up the vacant lots. That is great news for homeowners who have been living with their neighborhoods partially completed or feeling like a ghost town.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;National builders like&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pulte, David Weekly&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DR Horton&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;have been busy in 2012 building homes in those communities. Custom builders have also been busy with buyers who are now ready to build their dream home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2013 Construction Plans: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Plans for more development will continue in 2013. Controversy still surrounds development in the&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Southpoint Mall&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;area off Hwy 751 where 2 developers are working with the city and county to build new residential developments.&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/apex-nc-homes-for-sale/" title="Apex NC Homes for Sale"&gt;Apex&lt;/a&gt;, Holly Springs and Fuquay Varina are busy with new development as the southern extension of I-540 is opening in those areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Standard Pacific Homes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;is just one builder building in Wake Forest in 2013.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Del Webb&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;is getting started on their new active adult community near Brier Creek which will be very active for 2013.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New Construction Buyer Representation: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Having a&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/buyers/" title="Buyer's Agent Durham Raleigh Chapel Hill NC"&gt;buyer agent&amp;rsquo;s representation&lt;/a&gt;continues to be very important &amp;ndash;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/2009/03/why-buyers-need-a-buyer%E2%80%99s-agent-for-new-construction/" title="Buyers Need Agent New Construction"&gt;see my previous blog post&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for a detailed explanation. Builders are offering a rotating incentive of either closing costs, lot premiums or free upgrades.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Spare Room - Cary North Carolina" class="size-medium wp-image-2102 alignright" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/pix-108-Palace-Green-Master-Bedroom-300x200.jpg" height="200" alt="" width="300"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2013 Construction Trends: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Finally, an important trend to note is having an extra guest room or flex space. Many new homes are being built with a room on the main level that has a full bath so it can be used as a guest suite. 3rd floor finished space is much easier for resale if the 3rd floor has a full bathroom so the room can be used as a bonus room or additional bedroom.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Buyers are seeing the value of these flex spaces for visiting family, combined households, or having a first floor suite for recovering from medical procedures.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How about you?&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Are you seeing more new construction homes in your area as well? &amp;nbsp;Feel free to comment below or call / text me at&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 13 Dec 2012 09:53:25 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3552858/new-home-construction-in-2013-real-estate-wake-and-durham-county-nc</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3512620/in-appreciation-veteran-s-day-2012-military-free-meals-and-discounts</guid>
      <title>In Appreciation:  Veteran's Day 2012 Military Free Meals and Discounts</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;As you know, our Veterans are some of the bravest and most sacrificial Americans we know. &amp;nbsp;I found this great site,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-free-meals-and-discounts/" title="The Military Wallet Veterans Day Discounts"&gt;TheMilitaryWallet.com&lt;/a&gt;, which links to the MANY Veterans Day Meals, Deals and Discounts honoring our Veterans this year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/blog"&gt;&lt;img title="Military Wallet Veterans Day Discounts" class="size-full wp-image-2041 alignnone" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/pix-military-wallet.jpg" height="126" alt="" width="253"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Restaurants&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Some great restaurants are participating:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Applebees, Champs, Golden Corral, Denny's, Outback, Red Robin and More!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Retail Stores&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Home Depot and Lowe's offer Military Coupons&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Veterans Day Discounts:
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Amazon&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Big Lots&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Dollar General&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Food Lion&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Attractions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Anheuser-Busch Parks free Admission&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Colonial Williamsburg&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Historic Jamestown&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pro Football Hall of Fame&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Regional Attractions and More!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;Check out&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-free-meals-and-discounts/" title="The Military Wallet"&gt;The Military Wallet&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for a complete list update. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;THANK YOU&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;to all of our veterans who serve. &amp;nbsp;We appreciate your sacrifice and service.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:04:34 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3512620/in-appreciation-veteran-s-day-2012-military-free-meals-and-discounts</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3495266/elections-2012-wake-durham-chatham-orange-franklin-johnston-counties</guid>
      <title>Elections 2012: Wake, Durham, Chatham, Orange, Franklin &amp; Johnston Counties</title>
      <description>&lt;h1 class="entry-title"&gt;Elections 2012 Polling Places, Board of Elections: Wake, Durham, Chatham, Orange, Franklin and Johnston County&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As you know, we have a national election soon. &amp;nbsp;I wanted to make sure everyone had the direct information for local polling places, board of elections and more.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="I Voted Election 2012" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2011" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/pix-i-voted-300x286.jpg" height="286" alt="" width="300"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chatham County&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A list of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=407"&gt;Chatham County&amp;rsquo;s polling places&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is updated regularly by the Chatham County Board of Elections. You can determine your voting precinct by using the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx"&gt;NC Board of Elections&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;online search tool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, contact the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=110"&gt;Chatham County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at (919) 545-8500 or write to them at P. O. Box 111, Pittsboro, NC 27312. The Chatham County Board of Elections office is located at 984 Thompson Street, Suite D, Pittsboro.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Durham County&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A list of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/elec/Polling_Locations.html"&gt;Durham County&amp;rsquo;s polling places&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is updated regularly by the Durham County Board of Elections. You can determine your voting precinct by using the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx"&gt;NC Board of Elections&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;online search tool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, contact the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/elec/index.html"&gt;Durham County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at (919) 560-0700 or write to them at 706 West Corporation Street, Durham, NC 27701.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Franklin County&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A list of &lt;a href="http://www.franklincountync.us/services/board-of-elections/precincts" title="Franklin County Polling Places Franklin County NC Amy Shair"&gt;Franklin&amp;nbsp;County&amp;rsquo;s polling places&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is updated regularly by the Franklin County Board of Elections. You can determine your voting precinct by using the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx"&gt;NC Board of Elections&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;online search tool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, contact the &lt;a href="http://www.franklincountync.us/services/board-of-elections/precincts" title="Franklin County Board of Elections NC"&gt;Franklin&amp;nbsp;County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at (919) 496-3898 or write to them at PO Box 180, 107 Industrial Drive, Louisburg, NC &amp;nbsp;27549&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Johnston County&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A list of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.johnstonnc.com/joconcelections/pollingplaces.cfm" title="Johnston County polling places Johnston County NC"&gt;Johnston County&amp;rsquo;s polling places&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is updated regularly by the &lt;a href="http://www.johnstonnc.com/joconcelections/" title="Johnston County Board of Elections"&gt;Johnston County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;. You can determine your voting precinct by using the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://raleighdurham.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&amp;amp;zTi=1&amp;amp;sdn=raleighdurham&amp;amp;cdn=citiestowns&amp;amp;tm=70&amp;amp;f=00&amp;amp;su=p284.13.342.ip_p554.23.342.ip_&amp;amp;tt=2&amp;amp;bt=1&amp;amp;bts=1&amp;amp;zu=http%3A//www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx"&gt;NC Board of Elections&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;online search tool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, contact the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.johnstonnc.com/joconcelections/" title="Johnston County Board of Elections NC"&gt;Johnston County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at (919) 989-5095 or write to them at P.O. Box 1172 Smithfield, NC 27577 . The Johnston County Board of Elections office is located at 205 S. Second Street, Smithfield, NC 27577 .&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Orange County&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A list of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/precincts.asp"&gt;Orange County&amp;rsquo;s polling places&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is updated regularly by the Orange County Board of Elections. You can determine your voting precinct by using the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx"&gt;NC Board of Elections&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt;online search tool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, contact the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/index.asp"&gt;Orange County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;by&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.orange.nc.us/Email/MsgForm.asp?email=treams&amp;amp;domain=co.orange.nc.us&amp;amp;name=Tracy+Reams"&gt;emailing Tracy Reams&lt;/a&gt;, the Director of the Orange County Board of Elections.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Wake County&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A list of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.wakegov.com/elections/info/Pages/pollingplaces.aspx" title="Wake County polling places Raleigh NC"&gt;Wake County&amp;rsquo;s polling places&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is updated regularly by the Wake County Board of Elections. You can&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx"&gt;determine your voting precinct&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;by using the NC Board of Elections&amp;rsquo; online search tool.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, call the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.wakegov.com/elections/Pages/default.aspx" title="Wake County Board of Elections"&gt;Wake County Board of Elections&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at (919) 856-6240 or write to them at PO Box 695 , Raleigh NC 27602-0695. The Wake County Board of Elections is located at 337 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh NC 27601 .&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I hope you found this information useful to find your local polling place and county Board of Elections. Thanks to &lt;a href="http://www.ask.com" title="Ask.com"&gt;ask.com&lt;/a&gt; for some of this information.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2012 06:42:51 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3495266/elections-2012-wake-durham-chatham-orange-franklin-johnston-counties</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3448524/immaculate-home-with-large-storage-building-and-workshop-must-see-</guid>
      <title>Immaculate Home with Large Storage Building and Workshop...Must See!</title>
      <description>&lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:52:16 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3448524/immaculate-home-with-large-storage-building-and-workshop-must-see-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3429527/new-home-fireplace-trend-in-raleigh-durham-chapel-hill-and-cary-north-carolina</guid>
      <title>New Home Fireplace Trend in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary North Carolina</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Everyone likes sitting next to a roaring fire in the wintertime, hearing the crackling of the logs and smelling the wood.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Fireplace Gas Durham NC" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1815" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/pix-fireplace-300x200.jpg" height="200" alt="" width="300"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So whether it's a natural gas fireplace, fireplace with gas that is ventless, or a corner electric fireplace, they all encourage the same type of feelings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The fireplace mantle is the focal point of many family rooms, holding family photos and Christmas stockings. &amp;nbsp;Fireplaces are associated with happy memories. Builders have decided that buyers should choose whether a fireplace comes with their new homes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Details: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Here is a list buyers provided of reasons for&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;not&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;including a fireplace in their new homes:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1) Gas log fireplaces are not romantic&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2) People do not want to deal with getting real wood for a wood burning fireplace&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3) Some new fireplaces do little to heat the house&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;4) Fireplaces make it hard to arrange furniture&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;5) Buyers do not want to pay the thousands of dollars for a fireplace&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Remember Resale: &amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;For resale, a fireplace is now a neutral factor. So if you are looking&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/buyers/" title="Purchase a Home Wake Durham Orange county NC"&gt;to purchase a home&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;think about whether having a fireplace is important to you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How about you?&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Is a fireplace important to you and your family?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2012 13:07:21 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3429527/new-home-fireplace-trend-in-raleigh-durham-chapel-hill-and-cary-north-carolina</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3415243/williamsburg-style-3-bedroom-first-floor-master-near-lochmere-cary-nc</guid>
      <title>Williamsburg-Style 3 Bedroom First Floor Master near Lochmere Cary NC</title>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;
Beautiful Williamsburg-style 3 Bedroom 3 Bathroom Beauty&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/span&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;Overview&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Beautiful-Williamsburg-style-3-Bedroom-3-Bathroom-Beauty/Cary/NC/B2E3E7E8/174923.aspx?tab=maps"&gt;Maps&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Beautiful-Williamsburg-style-3-Bedroom-3-Bathroom-Beauty/Cary/NC/B2E3E7E8/174923.aspx?tab=photos"&gt;Photos&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Beautiful-Williamsburg-style-3-Bedroom-3-Bathroom-Beauty/Cary/NC/B2E3E7E8/174923.aspx?tab=features"&gt;Features&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Beautiful-Williamsburg-style-3-Bedroom-3-Bathroom-Beauty/Cary/NC/B2E3E7E8/174923.aspx?tab=description"&gt;Description&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Beautiful-Williamsburg-style-3-Bedroom-3-Bathroom-Beauty/Cary/NC/B2E3E7E8/174923.aspx?tab=neighborhood"&gt;Neighborhood&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;$325,000&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;Single Family Home&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Main Features&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;3 Bedrooms&lt;br&gt;3 Bathrooms&lt;br&gt;Lot: 2,252 sqft&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Location&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/span&gt;
&lt;div&gt; 108 Palace Green&lt;br&gt;Cary, NC 27518&lt;br&gt;USA&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the "Like" button below:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.realbird.com/Files/Photos/B2E3E7E8.jpg?634810498281727500" alt="Amy Shair"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;span&gt;Amy Shair&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;ReMax United - Cary Durham Raleigh Wake County NC&lt;br&gt;(919) 469-6539&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:Amy@AmyShair.com"&gt;Amy@AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;http://www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogs/Amy%20Shair" class="nohover" title="Meet us on ActiveRain"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/activerain.gif"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/AmyShair" class="nohover" title="Follow us on Twitter"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/twitter.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" class="nohover" title="Connect on Facebook"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/facebook.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/AmyShair" class="nohover" title="See our videos on YouTube"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/youtube.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.Zillow.com/profile/AmyShair/" class="nohover" title="See our Zillow profile"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/Zillow.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/AmyShair/" class="nohover" title="See our LinkedIn profile"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/linkedin.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
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&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Listed by: Amy Shair, Re/Max United Cary Durham&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Our recent listings&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/174923.aspx"&gt;Beautiful Williamsburg-style 3 Bedroom 3 Bathroom Beauty&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/153543.aspx"&gt;Country Living -Minutes to Apex, Raleigh, Fuquay Varina - 3 Bed + HUGE Bonus&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/173283.aspx"&gt;Gorgeous 3 Bedroom and Loft Condo with Upgrades&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx"&gt;Spacious Chancellors Ridge Wooded cul-de-sac Lot&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/121493.aspx"&gt;Custom Build Beauty with 2 Story Foyer and Backyard Oasis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/rss/feed-icon-16x16.png"&gt;
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&lt;h3 class="realbird_nearbyhomes_header"&gt;Nearby  properties for sale&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 08:59:15 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3415243/williamsburg-style-3-bedroom-first-floor-master-near-lochmere-cary-nc</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3406795/north-carolina-annual-property-tax-bills-wake-durham-and-orange-county</guid>
      <title>North Carolina Annual Property Tax Bills: Wake, Durham and Orange County</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I have been asked by many clients about the annual North Carolina Property Tax Bills.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Durham Wake Orange County Tax Bill" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1787" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Pix-house-money-300x246.jpg" height="246" alt="" width="300"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The state of North Carolina issues property tax bills on an annual basis.&amp;nbsp; Often the bills are mailed out to Taxpayers at the end of July or August each year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is some information by county:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Durham&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;County&lt;/span&gt;:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/publ/News_Releases/News_Release.cfm?ID=1926"&gt;Durham County&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;mailed out their&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/publ/News_Releases/News_Release.cfm?ID=1926"&gt;2012 Property Tax Bills&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at the end of July.&amp;nbsp; Taxes must be paid on or before January 7, 2013 to avoid interest and additional collection costs. You can search for your Durham County tax bill.&amp;nbsp; Durham County also offers an option to pay your tax bill in person, by credit card or&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.durhamcountync.gov/departments/txad/On-line_Tax_Payments.html"&gt;online&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Orange&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;County&lt;/span&gt;:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.co.orange.nc.us/assessor/"&gt;Orange County&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;will have their property tax bills delivered by mid August&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://web.co.orange.nc.us/publicwebaccess/"&gt;2012 Tax Bills&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Taxpayers may pay their property tax bill by cash, check or money order, credit card or personal online banking.&amp;nbsp; Please Note:&amp;nbsp; In 2010, Orange County updated their bill numbers, so you may need to search by property address if you don&amp;rsquo;t have your old account number.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Wake&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;County&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.wakegov.com/tax/billing/default.htm"&gt;Wake County&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;mailed out their&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://services.wakegov.com/ptax/secure/"&gt;2012 Property Tax Bills&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;at the end of July.&amp;nbsp; Taxpayers may pay their property tax bills by mail, personal online banking or by telephone via Visa or Mastercard.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;span&gt;Please Note&lt;/span&gt;:&amp;nbsp; Mortgage companies are not automatically sent copies of tax bills, if your mortgage lender is paying your taxes from an escrow account.&amp;nbsp; The majority of lenders electronically access and retrieve tax data directly fromWakeCounty, eliminating the need for a paper copy of the bill.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Even if your mortgage company pays your annual property taxes through an escrow account, it is always good to keep review your tax information online to ensure that payment has been made.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Was this information helpful to keeping track of your annual North Carolina property tax bill?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 12 Aug 2012 18:14:28 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3406795/north-carolina-annual-property-tax-bills-wake-durham-and-orange-county</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3394267/durham-chancellors-ridge-spacious-4-bedroom-cul-de-sac-beauty</guid>
      <title>Durham Chancellors Ridge Spacious 4 Bedroom Cul-de-Sac Beauty</title>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;
Spacious Chancellors Ridge Wooded cul-de-sac Lot&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Overview&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Spacious-Chancellors-Ridge-Wooded-cul-de-sac-Lot/Durham/NC/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx?tab=maps"&gt;Maps&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Spacious-Chancellors-Ridge-Wooded-cul-de-sac-Lot/Durham/NC/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx?tab=photos"&gt;Photos&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Spacious-Chancellors-Ridge-Wooded-cul-de-sac-Lot/Durham/NC/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx?tab=features"&gt;Features&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Spacious-Chancellors-Ridge-Wooded-cul-de-sac-Lot/Durham/NC/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx?tab=description"&gt;Description&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Spacious-Chancellors-Ridge-Wooded-cul-de-sac-Lot/Durham/NC/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx?tab=neighborhood"&gt;Neighborhood&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;$359,900&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;Single Family Home&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Main Features&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;4 Bedrooms&lt;br&gt;3 Bathrooms&lt;br&gt;1 Partial Bathroom&lt;br&gt;Interior: 3,520 sqft&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Location&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/span&gt;
&lt;div&gt; 316 Marist Court&lt;br&gt;Durham, NC 27713&lt;br&gt;USA&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the "Like" button below:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.realbird.com/Files/Photos/B2E3E7E8.jpg?634793518557152500" alt="Amy Shair"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;span&gt;Amy Shair&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;ReMax United - Cary Durham Raleigh Wake County NC&lt;br&gt;(919) 469-6539&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:Amy@AmyShair.com"&gt;Amy@AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;http://www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogs/Amy%20Shair" class="nohover" title="Meet us on ActiveRain"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/activerain.gif"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/AmyShair" class="nohover" title="Follow us on Twitter"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/twitter.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" class="nohover" title="Connect on Facebook"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/facebook.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/AmyShair" class="nohover" title="See our videos on YouTube"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/youtube.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.Zillow.com/profile/AmyShair/" class="nohover" title="See our Zillow profile"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/Zillow.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/AmyShair/" class="nohover" title="See our LinkedIn profile"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/social/linkedin.png"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Listed by: Amy Shair, Re/Max United Cary Durham&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Our recent listings&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/171017.aspx"&gt;Spacious Chancellors Ridge Wooded cul-de-sac Lot&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/153543.aspx"&gt;Country Living -Minutes to Apex, Raleigh, Fuquay Varina - 3 Bed + HUGE Bonus&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="http://listings.realbird.com/B2E3E7E8/121493.aspx"&gt;Custom Build Beauty with 2 Story Foyer and Backyard Oasis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/3rd/icons/rss/feed-icon-16x16.png"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.realbird.com/feed.aspx?f=rss&amp;amp;id=B2E3E7E8"&gt;Subscribe to our listing feed&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;h3 class="realbird_nearbyhomes_header"&gt;Nearby  properties for sale&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.realbird.com/?refID=26042" title="Powered by RealBird.com"&gt;&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/images/poweredby_realbird.gif" alt="Powered By RealBird.com"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;img src="http://listings.realbird.com/images/EqualHousing.gif"&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:20:45 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3394267/durham-chancellors-ridge-spacious-4-bedroom-cul-de-sac-beauty</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3386369/north-carolina-sales-tax-free-holiday-weekend-august-3-to-august-5-2012</guid>
      <title>North Carolina Sales Tax Free Holiday Weekend &#8211; August 3 to August 5, 2012</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dornc.com/taxes/sales/salestax_holiday.html" title="NC Sales Tax Holiday"&gt;North Carolina&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is one of the few states to offer an annual tax-free weekend on certain Back-To-School items:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amyshair.com/"&gt;&lt;img title="Back to School NC Tax Holiday 2012" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1762" src="http://www.amyshair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/pix-back-to-school-girl1-198x300.jpg" height="300" alt="" width="198"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dornc.com/practitioner/sales/bulletins/section34.pdf#34-24" title="NC Sales Tax Holiday List"&gt;Detailed Tax Holiday List details&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Clothing&lt;/span&gt;, shoes and school supplies which cost $100 or less&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dornc.com/taxes/sales/holiday_exempt.pdf" title="NC Sales Tax Holiday Tax Exempt Items"&gt;List of EXEMPT Items&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Computers&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;which cost $3,500 or less&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Please Note:&amp;nbsp; Netbooks, and table computers qualify for the tax free saving, but e-readers and cell phones are not included.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Computer supplies&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;which cost $250 or less&lt;br&gt;This also includes:&amp;nbsp; Computer Printers and printer supplies, printer paper and printer ink&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;School Instructional items&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;and materials which cost $300 or less&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Sports equipment&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;which cost $50 or less&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have more questions, the state of North Carolina has a&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.dornc.com/faq/salestaxholiday.html" title="NC Sales Tax Holiday FAQ"&gt;Sales Tax Holiday FAQ&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;to assist.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I hope you found this information helpful and are able to save some money!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amy Shair, Re/Max United&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Award Winning Agent Serving Durham, Cary, Raleigh &amp;amp; Chapel Hill for 20+ Years&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I will give it to you straight - NO FLUFF!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.AmyShair.com"&gt;www.AmyShair.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(919) 818-5001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.Facebook.com/AmyShairRealEstate" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/7/9/0/ar13178341909769.png" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Facebook" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate Twitter"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/3/ar131783427432871.png" height="79" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate - Twitter" width="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDPbkFZEH9E/ToyO-o3AvGI/AAAAAAAACrI/Q6VTnzCZAwQ/pix%252520-%252520linkedin.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate LinkedIn" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/amyshair" title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube"&gt;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gfc6C9MS0Z0/ToyQTaxFBFI/AAAAAAAACrY/KWFKLSGMitY/pix%252520-%252520youtube.jpg" height="77" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate YouTube" width="100"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lYH06sa_RTA/ToySGnh6H1I/AAAAAAAACrk/sS_V-nz6Aec/pix%252520-%252520G%252520for%252520Google.jpg" height="78" alt="Amy Shair Durham Real Estate on Google+" width="100"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Amy Shair (Durham NC Referrals - RE/MAX United - Search Durham Homes)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:31:09 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://idurhamcountyblog.com/post/3386369/north-carolina-sales-tax-free-holiday-weekend-august-3-to-august-5-2012</link>
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