Chapel Hill Durham Real Estate

Whether you are in the process of building or remodeling a home, the type of floors you will put down can have a big impact on the resale value, the look and feel of your home, and your pocket book!

Bamboo flooring is a rising trend in home flooring and a great alternative to traditional hardwood floors. It is the most environmentally friendly natural hardwood flooring alternative you can select for your home.

Bamboo grass (while it can grow to the size of a large tree, bamboo is techincally a grass) is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet, only taking 5 years to grow to maturity, and can provide 25 times the bio-mass of a comparable stand of trees. Bamboo is harvested every 5 years, and starts to re-grow immediately with new shoots when harvested.
So why look to bamboo to save the environment? Bamboo is an excellent replacement product for much of the hardwood species that are being harvested in our equatorial rainforests. Once harvested, these hardwood species often never grow back due to the thin layers of soil and lack of sunlight under the jungle canopies, and if they do grow back it can take up to 200 years! Our global rainforests are the lungs of our planet and provide a significant contribution to our global oxygen production, second only to the ocean.

By selecting bamboo flooring you reduce the demand for rainforest hardwood materials, and in the process can help save the environment for our future generations. Horizontal and Vertical bamboo flooring is harder than the most popular hardwood, Oak. Strandwoven bamboo is harder than the most expensive hardwood - Brazillian Walnut. It’s also less expensive!
For more detailed information on building and remodeling environmentally friendly, as well as being friendly to your bank account, contact Realtor Wilma Gunnesch, at 919-951-1944, or visit our website at www.GreatTriangleHomes.com.

Carrboro High School will be opening in the fall of 2007 for the 2007-2008 school year. The 140,000 square foot high school for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District will accommodate an initial enrollment of 800 students with core capacity for an eventual 1,200 students. Located in the Town of Carrboro on a parcel of land off Smith Level Road, the design og the facility is the central commons, seen as the “piazza” of the school where all roads lead. The heart of the school is the Library Learning Center, the physical and spiritual centerpiece of the school. The high school is scheduled to open for the 2007-2008 school year. If you are considering a new home in the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School District, the Great Triangle Homes - Shuping Advantage Team is knowledgeable with 2007-2008 school year re-districting and helping with your home buying decisions.

The Ashbury Green community is a new subdivision in Mebane, North Carolina constructed by Stonewall Custom Homes, Inc.  This neighborhood offers single-family homes starting in the low $200,000’s and is located on Highway 70 approximately 1.5 miles west of Buckhorn Road. The Club at Ashbury amenities include a fitness center, gas grills, a kitchen, pool, and outdoor Pavillion with stone fireplace. Residents will enjoy over 25 acres of open space with scenic lakes, 2 miles of walking trails and trail head to Lake Michael Park — a 200 acre park open to the public with a 59-acre lake, nature trails, picnic areas and fishing & boating.

Adjacent to the single-family home community Ashbury Green, is Ashbury Crossing.  The only neighborhood of its kind in the area, specifically designed for active 55+ Adults.  This community includes condominiums from the $130,000’s and attached cottages from the $180,000’s, offering a low-maintenance, hassle-free lifestyle. 

Also in the vicinity of Ashbury Green and Ashbury Crossing is Ashbury Square, an apartment rental community with units starting as low as $500 per month. 

Planning to relocate?  With Listing Agent Connie Shuping on your side, she will develop an exceptional home selling marketing strategy targeted to your home and neighborhood, to quickly sell your home.  Buyer’s Specialist Wilma Gunnesch will find the perfect home to fit your lifestyle and specific needs.  Experience counts – have Real Estate Professionals on your side! With experience since 1986, you can rely on the Great Triangle Homes Realty Team for your home buying and selling needs.

Looking for something fun to do with your family, friends, on a date, or even by yourself? Why not take a visit to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, located at 433 Murray Ave in Durham! Explore butterflies from around the world in the Butterfly House, travel through the swamp and watch the bears watch you, make music with drums and bells in Loblolly Park, or take a train ride on the Ellerbee Creek Railway, all in addition to the typical exhibits one will find at this type of museum. It may be small, but the curators have managed to pack an awful lot of hands-on fun, entertainment, and discovery into their exhibits.

I have lived here in the area for 10 years, and realized this past weekend that I have never been to this museum, so I took it upon myself to go exploring! What fun, there was so much to see and do!

If you have been considering moving closer to, or even farther away from, particular points of interest, such as area museums, visit us at www.GreatTriangleHomes.com to learn more about our team of local real estate experts, and to search area homes!

So I’m at the gas pump filling up and a lady ecxlaims,”WHEW! GEEZ!” when she’s returning the nozzle and noticing the total of what she just put into her tank.  I fill up my truck and feel the same reaction.  Goodness - the total was $73.00!  I’ve never paid that much for gas.  I have been carpooling with my husband to work and back for more than a year now, since the prices have skyrocketed. 

So I did a little research and found this link on the internet for gas prices in the area where I live and work - Mebane and Chapel Hill, respectively.  I plan to go to a more inexpensive station next time.  I hope you find this helpful, it’s fairly up-to-date.  Here’s the link: 

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

The great thing about Chapel Hill and Carrboro is that the bus service is free! To learn about Park & Ride, and for information on bus schedules, visit the Town of Chapel Hill website routes & schedules page: 

http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.asp?NID=397

If you are considering purchasing a home closer to work, day care or to loved ones, visit www.GreatTriangleHomes.com and we can help you find a home in any area!