North Carolina has the least expensive closing costs!

New York, Texas, Florida. For the second straight year, those are the most expensive states in which to get a mortgage. Nationwide, the average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage this year totaled $3,118, according to Bankrate's annual survey of closing costs. The fees in the survey don't include taxes, insurance or prepaid items such as prorated interest or homeowner association dues.

Fees in New York City were highest, averaging $4,016 in Bankrate's survey. Houston came in second, with fees that averaged $3,975. After that came Buffalo, N.Y., with fees averaging $3,845, and then Miami, at $3,683. North Carolina had the least expensive closing costs in the survey, at an average of $2,650. The previous year, Indiana took the last spot.

The annual survey of online lenders is conducted by obtaining fee estimates for a $200,000 mortgage in each state's most populous city.

Source: Bankrate.com

Concord: Cruisin' for a Bruton?

So the City of Concord has laid down with the dogs and is now itching it's fleas! Concord said NO to a dragstrip that Bruton Smith, owner of Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, started to build across the street from LMS. Now Bruton has said he doesn't need Concord and is entertaining the idea of removing the speedway from Concord. This would cost the City of Concord millions in tax dollars and a crushed dream of becoming the epicenter of the motorsports world. But what is this all about anyway? Will Bruton really move? Is it a bluff just to get more tax incentives out of Concord? Is Bruton just a billionaire Diva with no more loyalty then Paris Hilton's dog? Will he really risk becoming the most hated man in motorsports by turning his back on the home of racing in order to flip a few (million) bucks? Is Concord sucking up to Bruton just making you squint your eyes and grit your teeth with rage? Should Concord call on the Franz Family (the Royal Family of NASCAR) for help? Is NASCAR dead? Has it become so big that it's roots have been kicked out of the track because you can't through chicken bones or 24oz cans of Budweiser anymore? Do you care? Do I care? I don't even know anymore. Let's hear it!