The following article will appear in the Feb Smoke Signals. This is a new column. I did post Last months article on chasing a market   Ask a Realtor   Buying a lot to build your dream home?     By Charlie Ragonesi ________________________________________________________________________   We all have dreams of owning a beautiful lot and building our dream home. Many of us find a dream home already built. But for those who start “from the ground up” here are some facts aimed at helping you keep your dream from turning into a nightmare. First of all make sure your lot is developed. Here in Big Canoe they all are. Developed means you have some services like electricity, for example, run to the lot.  Second, once you have a developed lot the one thing that most folks do not get is a level 3 ... 01/11/2010

This is our first show of 2010. We thought we would get the year off to a good start. So we have listed the top and bottom 3 home improvements. The top 3 return the most the bottom the least. We also talk about what to look for when selling your home and fixing those things that can be big time show stoppers. Hope you all have had a great New Year and enjoy !!! 01/07/2010

This is our last show for 2009. Where did the year go. In this show since it is the end of the year Linda and I talk about value. Value is what you should be looking for in 2010. Have a great New Year. We also talk, well Linda does, about being neat and tidy and what that means for your real estate portfolio 12/31/2009

The wind is howling through the mountains tonight. It has done so for a last few nights. Last week we had snow.Is this a sign of things to come? It isn't even winter yet. If you are reading this post and live in the North Georgia Mountains please make sure your fireplace chimneys have been cleaned. Also I was on a fire call recently and the home owner took the ashes from his fireplace, thought they were out, and scattered them in the yard. They weren't. Luckily a passerby saw the smoke and we were able to stop a brush fire from getting a lot bigger. I am curling up by our hearth tonight . Please exercise caution. I do not want to meet you for the first time in my fire gear. 12/12/2009

  The article below will appear in a newspaper in January in Big Canoe. I am hopeful that this is a regular piece. Each month we will do something to help either buyers or sells.. Any suggestions for future s will be greatly appreciated       Ask a Realtor   Are you and your home chasing the Market?     By Charlie Ragonesi   One of the maxims in real estate is; houses priced correctly sell. In the listing presentation there is some times a tension between the Realtor and the home owner looking to sell. That tension often expresses itself in a difference of opinion over sales price. Sellers tend to forget that Realtors are usually paid a percentage of the sale and so do not want to leave anything on the table. Realtors often forget the sweat equity, the emotional, as well as financial ti... 12/05/2009

The Mountain Real Estate report is heard every Thursday on WYYZ Radio in our North Georgia mountains. This week we give advice to sellers about pricing their homes. In addition we talk about changing market conditions as well as some great properties for sale. Each week we present different topics. Often they are from listener generated questions. If anyone has a great topic for future shows please leave us a comment or contact us at www.allmountainrealty.com. We hope you enjoy 12/02/2009

Yes I know it was a bad pun. But I cannot help myself sometimes. This young lady and I met quite by accident as I was walking out my door. This is the second posting I am doing about deer in a few days. I am remembering my camera so I am getting some good shots. This is a good one of a surprised young lady. Enjoy! 12/02/2009

I do not usually do speechless Sunday as it is the day I make up for my sleep deprived week. However this morning I walked out on the front porch with coffee in hand. I was listening and trying to see a woodpecker that was busy in one of the trees in our yard. Never saw it. But managed to get a picture of these folks instead. This NYC transplanted kid  LOVES LIVING IN THIS MOUNTAINS.   11/29/2009

This was a great Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for. We had a house full of company . They left today. We had a great party Friday night. We had friends and family here for a fun dinner on Thursday. One of the things I am most thankful for is there were no fire calls . Usually at this time of the year we have a chimney fire or a turkey fryer fire. As many are cooking and imbibing people get careless. But this Thanksgiving we got no calls. So I am really thankful for that. 11/28/2009

The Mountain Real Estate Report is broadcast every Thursday on WYYZ Radio out of Jasper. This Thursday we give out a Turkey cooking tip as well as talk frankly about whether or not , as NAR says, Now is the time to buy. We cover some reasons to buy OTHER than potential appreciation. Have a Happy Thanksgiving all and enjoy. 11/25/2009

Thanksgiving is becoming a holiday that may be better called Reconnect day. It is a time to reconnect with family and friends . During the year we become involved in day to day. We often miss seeing family and friends. We have less dinners at the table. So Thanksgiving to me is a day , after the cooking is done and we all sit down together, to take a deep breath look around the table, smile and reconnect. So I guess while ity is a day to reconnect it is also a time to give thanks for being part of the day. Have a happy holiday all 11/20/2009

The Mountain Real Estate report is heard every Thursday on WYYZ Radio in North Georgia. It is broadcast over the web and stored on our web site , www.allmountainrealty.com This week Linda and I review some nuts and bolts about buying and selling. We talk about the appraisal and pricing for the selling side, and financing as well as credit scores for the buyer. We give some tips for both. Enjoy 11/18/2009

I am a private property advocate. What does that mean? It means I support the bills that go through our state legislation that defend the rights of property owners. Property cannot move. So it is an easy target for those who want to raise money through taxes. This struggle goes back to the Doomsday book and probably even further. So if you are a Realtor you must also be a private property advocate. Think about NAR being the largest ,member wise, lobby in the U.S. Do you think if your sellers and buyers saw you as a private property advocate you would look a lot better to them? I think so. So get involved with your local boards. Stay current on issues and make your advocacy of private property known. When you do this be proud of the fact that you are a Realtor and ask for the business. P... 11/15/2009

The Mountain Real Estate Report is heard every Thursday on WYYZ Radio in North Georgia. This week we interviewed the President of the Mountain Conservation Trust. The trust is a non profit group aimed at preserving land. It is not just a green acres thing. The trust takes land use into consideration . There are also tax breaks for the owners. So if you are in North Georgia you may find this show of interest. Also as Trusts exist in most other states this show my make you investigate options local to you. As Realtors we are business people AND property owner advocates. We are members of the Trust here. Enjoy 11/12/2009

Our job as professional Realtors® these days is to listen to all the excuses people use to put off buying a new home. "The market will keep going down. The interest rates are staying low. The windows are a little dirty. There is no reason to hurry in a buyer's market. I'm looking for a $350,000 home for about $140,000." I'm sure my fellow agents can come up with a few more. It would be hilarious if it were not so tragic, watching people wring their hands in "analysis paralysis" while the deal of their lives slips away before their eyes.  Yesterday, President Obama signed legislation to extend the home buyer tax credit, and to expand it to include all buyers. THAT IS ALL BUYERS! We can thank our own Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson for hounding everyone in Washington until the legislation ... 11/08/2009

If you are looking for a Mountain home or land now is the time to look. NOT because of the 8,000 credit. NOT because of the new 6500 existing home buyer credit. NOT because prices are very very good. NOT because interest rates are low. NOW is the time to look because the leaves are off the trees! Now you will see your views that may have been hidden. Also you can get a really good look at the lay of the land. Also temperatures are wonderful for walking right now. So if you are looking in the North Georgia Mountains and think you need to be here in spring or summer. Not so. Now is the best time to look, especially if you are looking for land or views. 11/07/2009

If you are looking for a loan modification and have been turned down you may wonder why. If your loan is commercial you will almost always be turned down. The question is why. After all weren't we all taught that 80 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing ? Here is one answer. If your loan is through Fannie and Freddie then you stand a really good chance of getting a loan modification if you meet the criteria. But if your loan is held by private investors then your chances go way down. The reason is that the clauses that allow banks to change a loan are cloudy. So while a bank can usually modify a loan that is in the "best interest" of their investor, what best interest is, is debatable. And in this case you can substitute the words law suit for debatable. Yes that's ... 11/06/2009

The following was a press release we issued.                                                          PRESS RELEASE   All Mountain Realty Acquires  Ash-Car Realty   Charlie Ragonesi Broker for all Mountains Realty announced today that All Mountain Realty has  acquired the  assets and customer base of Ash-Car Realty. Ash-Car Realty has operated in the North Georgia Mountains for about 4 years. The focus of Ash-Car is on commercial property and developed lots. “We are adding about 15 million dollars in listings along with a group of buyers” said Charlie Ragonesi. “It is a lot for us to bite off . But the acquisition of  these commercial properties fits our model of  seeking buyers for residential listings. After all these commercial folks that are moving into our North Georgia Mountains w... 11/05/2009

The North Georgia Mountains are pretty year round. This fall in the Big Canoe / Jasper area the rains came and washed away many of the leaves. But today in the sunshine as I was driving I managed to get these shots. These pictures are from about 3000 feel up. The air was clear and the breeze was blowing. Temperature was in the 60's It was pretty bright out but you get the idea. The North Georgia Mountains are Beautiful and a great place to live and raise a family. Contact us at All Mountain Realty . We would love to work with you. 11/02/2009

The Mountain Real Estate report is heard every Thursday on WYYZ Radio in The North Georgia Mountains. We post it here on ActiveRain for your listening enjoyment. But more than listening we hope you contact the pros at All Mountain Realty . Whether you are buying selling or investing in our North Georgia Mountains we want to work with you. 10/29/2009