For those of you who do not live in the North Georgia Mountains, Yeah there may be some of you on the waiting list, we have a radio show called the Mountain Real Estate Report. This show is stored on our web site at WWW.ALLMTNREALTY.COM Each show has a brief description of topics discussed. Why this may be of interest to you or your clients is that it not a show just about listings. It is about real estate today and conditions unique to the mountains. We cover the pro's as well as the things to watch out for. So if you are looking to buy in our mountains this show will have information you may want to listen to. If you are a Realtor thinking about referring a client. Listen to the show and know with confidence that the team at All Mountain Realty is who you want your good clients to wor... 08/14/2008

If you are looking For a Home For sale In Jasper Georgia and should you let us represent you in the purchase of your Jasper Georgia Home you can feel comfortable that you will get the best deal. Why? Because the Listing agent or onsite agent represents the seller or builder, and the best interests of the seller of the homes that you visit and view. If you want to get a good deal, stop! Think about it for a second. Why would they want to negotiate a great deal for you? They are going to do what it takes to represent there seller to the fullest extent. Would you go to court without an attorney? So you let a qualified agent represent you with your home or property purchase and one that will get the best deal for you. Home buying is not something someone typically does often. It's not an ev... 08/13/2008

We lost our way and our market came tumbling down. Oh yes we can blame sub-prime and easy credit. We can blame the economy . But these are all the results of losing our way. We lost our way when our home became an investment. It was no longer a home anymore. It was no longer the place where you sat out side in the evening and watched children play in the street or the yard. The kids were after all inside on video games. And at least one parent was not home yet as they had to work to make the payments for the "investment" So what do you do if an investment has gone bad. You sell at a loss. You walk away. After all you have more of a $$$ tie to the property than an emotional one. I have read post after tiring post and in the Q&A section of rain about people walking away. I have seen them ... 08/12/2008

We have seen the price of oil retreat under 115 a barrel. We also have seen the stock market rebound a bit. In addition we have seen the dollar get stronger overseas. It is too early to call these events trends. But it is interesting to note them. Bottom line is if liquidity returns to the markets folks will have cash to spend. Housing starts are at a low which puts pressure on prices on existing homes. So if you are looking to buy now is a good time. Make sure you buy with in your means. remember a fixed rate mortgage is a great hedge against inflation with the item that usually costs the most ( The roof over your head). I believe we will see housing prices start to rise in 09 and may stabilize in 08. Interest rates and down payments may be the sneaky aspects of this market that surpri... 08/11/2008

My wife and I just returned from a wonderful week in Savannah, Georgia.  We had an easy trip, saw some great places, ate a lot of great food and somewhere along the way I managed to squeeze in 30 hours of classroom work to complete phase 2 of the Graduate Realtor Institute.  Yep, it was a great week, but it was even better to pull in through the front gate of this little piece of North Georgia Heaven called Bent Tree. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Bent Tree is a gated community in the mountains about 50 miles north of Atlanta.  And yes I said "in the mountains."  Bent Tree is just about 10 minutes "above" Jasper, GA.  I can't tell you how many folks have told me - "there aren't any mountains within 50 miles of Atlanta!"  Au Contraire my friend not only are we in the mountai... 08/04/2008

  People often ask , How can I own or have horses in the Mountains The terrain in North Georgia ia varied . Above is a lovely barn Here above is the pasture Associated with the Barn. The horses were not there when I drove by and took these Pictures. But this setting is indeed pretty and green Now here is the real kicker. This view is less than 4 minutes away from the farm above. This view and these Mountians and this protected green space is less than an hour from Atlanta. North Georgia is Beautiful ,green and full of things to do. I enjoy sharing these pictures especially for my Active Rain friend Jeanean Gendron 08/02/2008

I have written a lot of blogs about land and the mountains. Today highlighted a point that sellers need to consider. We all know about staging a home. But what about staging land ? Aside from the obvious make sure there is no trash on the property observe the following; The picture above is taken from a pretty wooded lot. You can see through the trees that there are mountains out there. The lot should have a pretty good view This is THE SAME LOT with Vista pruning. Which do you think is easier to sell ?  Vista pruning is to lots what staging is to homes. Now we tell folks come up in the winter and you will get a good feel for the view. But often kids are in school and it is cold. So folks come to vacation. It is beautiful and green . But some times the views are hard to see. So if you a... 07/29/2008

  Prices in the North Georgia mountains are holding steady. Yes there are foreclosures and some short sales. But over all prices are steady. Now the opposite side of this is the length of time it takes to sell. This  has ballooned to over 100 days in many cases. This is an average so you know there are some properties that are well over this. A sign of building slowdown can be felt here. North Georgia is the carpet capital of the US and a force world wide. The low value of the dollar always aides this industry. It makes our prices low on the world market. This year we are seeing a closing of a plant in Dahlonega due to slow domestic sales. Other places are laying off. This is a sign that sales for new construction are slow as the need for carpet domestically is soft.  This impacts our m... 07/21/2008

In a strictly political sense we are talking about a bunch of guys who said, What do we need your British for? But that is only the start of the story. We are very dependent. My main PC is on a work bench right now, talk about realizing how dependent we are !!! We are dependent on the  power company water company etc etc . So what does it mean to be independent and what are we celebrating. We are celebrating the ability to think and have independent thought. We are celebrating the right to speak and act on more of those thoughts than people anywhere else on the planet. We are celebrating the beacon of light this independence brings. We are celebrating free humanity. This freedom and independence comes at a price. Even we as the beneficiaries try to limit it within our own society when w... 07/04/2008

I read many Q&A's here on active rain. I respond to some. What stikes me is how people save a little money and how that costs them a ton later on. Here are some common problems that hopefully yoube avoid 1 The quitclaim deed. This is my favorite. The qiut claim deed can be filed 100 percent correctly and you still may not have clear title. All this deed does is convey title. But if there is an earlier claim or liens the quit claim deed does not help you. Nor does the clerk who tells you it is fine. The second problem with this deed is it often does not convey the type of title you want. Just because you put 2 names on the deed it does not mean the property automatically goes to the other name in the event of a death. So with homes in 6 and 7 figures in a tight market why not spend some ... 06/23/2008

Yes gas prices have us all down. I am not blogging about this as we have done it to death. But if you are buying in the North Georgia Mountains, why not let your fingers do the walking? We at All Mountain Realty have provided links to our multiple listing service right on our web site. The good news is you can see thousands of properties without using a drop of gas!!  We are also able to work with you on all the properties you see. We give you the ability to create custom searches so that you can hone in on what you are looking for. This ability is for homes, lots and tracts of land !!! If it all too confusing you can contact us and put us to work for you. So save gas exercise your fingers and visit us at www.allmtnrealty.com or www.georgiasno1agent.com 06/20/2008

Jasper Georgia which is located in Pickens County is comprised of a number of close-knit communities scattered throughout the hills of the county,lush valleys,  flowing streams and green hollows of the area. The small towns of Talking Rock, Tate, Marble Hill, Hinton, Blaine, Ludville, Nelson and Jasper each have their own flavor. If you are looking to buy Jasper Georgia Real Estate or are looking for Homes For Sale in Jasper Georgia call Dwayne West with Solid Source Realty at 678-233-4159, and he will take you through the smooth process of buying a Jasper Ga Home. Also we can help you if you are looking for homes in Big Canoe and Bent Tree. 06/18/2008

I have some great listings here in Big Canoe, gorgeous golf course homes with all the bells and whistles, but: How Do I Get the Word Out? I have tried e-flyers, emailings, print ads, caravan exposure, begging,pleading!!! And virtually no showings! The homes are priced right, or I'ld like to think! In great condition with updates and candy...but still no showings.  Needless to say, my Seller is exasperated and I am sure he will eventually hop to another agent...and as we say, 1st child, 2nd wife and 3rd agent!  It probably will sell! I realize that it's the market... but other homes are being shown and sold! My listings are not foreclosures, or even close, so a bottom feeder's price won't fly...but they are not distressed houses and lots...just good old fashion good values at fair prices... 05/30/2008

Many folks come to us from other states. Many from Florida. One of the things that are issues for buyers are location. Usually buyers are coming from crowded locations. They are looking for wide open spaces for their primary or secondary home. Or are they ? This first Picture is in the gated community of Big Canoe. Now saying gated community to these folks is like giving garlic to Dracula. But this is what one of North Georgias' premier communities look like. Those mountains in the back ground are Big Canoe as well. This second shot is in the gated community of Benttree. How big is 3/4 of an acre with a stream border and surrounded by green space. Take a look this is a gated community as well  Now here is the point. If you are looking for a summer home then there are multiple gated comm... 05/07/2008

There are a few common mistakes sellers make. We are all pretty much familiar with them. The big one is I am priced here $$$$$$$$$    so I can negotiate. This is the biggest mistake I think . Seller overpricing leads to the home being overlooked.However there is one mistake that sellers make that they really know nothing about. Many sellers think OK now is the time to fix up my home. So they put the home on the market and start "sprucing" it up. This is the cart before the horse. What most sellers are genuinely surprised at when we do listing presentation is the traffic trends. The first 2 weeks generally get you 80 percent of the showings.  So if the house is not right then guess what !!!!I find repairing while listing is the biggest problem area where sellers just don't get it. So sho... 04/11/2008

One of the things I really enjoy about this network is the Q&A section. Every morning coffee cup in hand I would log on and look for questions that I could answer. It made me feel good about being a Realtor. I even had a couple of folks call me. I felt I was doing what I am "chartered" to do. Lately it seems that most of the questions are from people looking to do things on Active Rain. There are very few consumer questions and when they come in they are strange. Is it just me or do others see the Q&A section content changing?NOW FOR THE BONUSLast night I am watching the News hour on PBS. They are doing a thing about Baltimore housing. In this case they are getting on a lender. The story is the same, Bad lending, blah .blah , blah, Foreclosures Blah , Blah. We have all heard it many tim... 03/26/2008

The Wildcat community in Big Canoe is a unique community with in a unique community. In Wildcat there are walking trails that are paved. There are markers along the way to point out things of interest. Paved trails are a plus when hiking as you are not always looking down. What is also unique about this community is that there are basketball courts and a pool near the front. The homes are all new as the community was opened only a couple of years ago. Wildcat is part of Big Canoe. But it is a part of Big Canoe that reminds one of a more active Neighborhood. Big Canoe is very active. Wildcat affords many amenities and a uniqueness all it's ownThere are restrictions on building and how to build in Wildcat that are not common to all of Big Canoe. So if you are looking at Big Canoe consider... 03/24/2008

It is Spring (officially) in the mountains. Friday we had 70 degree temperature. Today looking out my window we have snow flurries. If that isn't Spring I don't know what is. But this leads me to write a bit about the North Georgia Mountains.The common misconceptions about Georgia are, It is flat , and it is hot. This is because many experience Atlanta in the summer, or drive through Georgia on I 95. In both cases it is hot and on I-95 really flat. But there are mountains in Georgia.. I am at 2500 feet. You can be as high as 4,000 feet in spots. The beauty of the North Georgia Mountains are fourfold.1 The climate is good. You do not have harsh winters. You are rarely iced in. The summers are great and altitude cools. It is rare that we at 2500 feet run the A?C. So from a fuel standpoint... 03/24/2008

All Mountain Realty works in the gated communities of Big Canoe Talking Rock Creek  Benttree and Lake Arrow Head. This is not to say we do not work else where. I am writing this blog for folks who are looking for homes or property ,or agents who have clients looking for proerty in these communities. It is important to know that you do not have automatic access to these communities. So if you are thinking about driving up and looking around you may have to think again. In some cases you will be refused entry. In other cases you will be directed to the developers real estate company. Either way your choice is made for you. Why not work with a company like ours and see these communities. We pride ousrselves on knowing about them. We will show you the community and listings of all agents in... 03/16/2008

Yes it is the end of Feb and we have one more month of winter to go. But spring comes early to the North Georgia Mountains. This is a spring, almost, picture. This is also why the North Georgia Mountains are such a great place to be. If you are in the mountains anywhere here is the big gardening tip of the day. Deer do not eat daffodils. They eat a whole bunch of other stuff including plants you spray with that awful smelling Deer spray. I think they have learned to associate that smell with something good to eat. So they just put their hoofs over their noses and munch away. But daffodils ahhhh. They hate them. So plant away and enjoy the first green of late winter.The other green you see in the picture is Mountain Laurel. As long as you do not fertilize it the deer do not seem to like ... 02/25/2008