This week we have Steve Moranos of Steve Moranos All state as our guest. While you are cooking the Turkey you may want to listen. We go over some very important issues about insurance and home ownership. The Mountain Real Estate report is heard every Thursday on WYYZ Radio in Jasper right after the noon news and announcements. It s posted here on ActiveRain and is available on our web site www.allmountainrealty.com. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the show. Your browser does not support iframes. 11/24/2010

Right now in the North GGeorgia Mountains we are in a period I call the in between time. The leaves are off the trees. The weather is not hot any more. But nor is it cold. When it gets gray it rains. It is too early for snow. Some nights are good for fires in a fireplace or a stove but not a lot. We are kind of waiting for winter. But on the other hand it is in the 60's most of the time during the day. The bugs are gone. The leaves being off the trees mean that if you are shopping for land now is a great time to be here, because you can really see the lay of the land. So summer and fall are pretty much over, and winter has not yet arrived. Still the weather is great for hiking and traveling . At night put on the sweater and sit outside and watch the stars. North Georgia is a great place... 11/21/2010

This week nothing has happened as far as contracts go but I am happy. I am happy because I am working with 3 first time buyers. I remember in the distant past( when dinosaurs ruled the earth) how I felt when Sally and I bought our first home. For me growing up in apartments all my life, made this a real thrill. After the closing we had 226 dollars between us. I still remember. I got paid once a month. So we had to live on that for 2 weeks. We bought paint for the homes inside. We bought food for our insides. We bought subway tokens to get to work. We had the princely sum of about 60 dollars left over for "emergencies". That was about 28 years ago. The memory of those times is brought back to me every time I meet and work with a young couple starting out. So even though we have no contra... 11/19/2010

Some where around post number 980 I realized I was going to reach the 1,000 post milestone. I obviously enjoy blogging and being here on ActiveRain. So I thought, What am I going to do post number 1,000 about? I read all posts that are titled 1,000 because they are special. So, I thought I would blog about my experience here at ActiveRain. But I have done that. Others have done that too. Some have done that really ,really, well. I passed on that idea. Then I thought I would blog about what it means to be a Realtor, and why I am a Realtor. But I have done that too. I think pretty well. Others have done that too. I do find their posts to be great reads so I passed on that as well. I really was starting to worry about this post number 1,000 and was wracking my brains for a topic to write o... 11/18/2010

This weeks radio show focuses on, to list or not to list , over the holidays . That is the questions. We talk about the pros and the cons of having your home on the market during the holidays. We also give you some tips are having your home ready to show over the holidays. In the holiday spirit our gift is the availability of 100 percent financing here in our mountains. So if you are listening to the show and looking to buy , What are you waiting for?? These programs may not be with us much longer. Hope you all enjoy the show Your browser does not support iframes. 11/17/2010

In the great Lewis G Carrol Story about Alice in Wonderland there is a part about Alice biting in to a mushroom. Now the Jefferson Airplane did a great song about this too. ( Am I aging myself?) So depending on what Alice bit into she got smaller or larger. Well today we are biting into the mushroom big time. The Mushroom being the value of my home. "Oh Dear," says the home owner. "Our values have dropped 20 percent. Our third bedroom has disappeared. I sure hope Spot was not in there when it happened!" "Oh my" says the home owner our values have gone op 20 percent. Look at that Jacuzzi that just appeared in the master bath! Your home is your home ! Yes a drop in value is an issue if you have to relocate and need to sell. Yes an increase in value makes you smile. But we all know our hom... 11/11/2010

Earlier today I posted a link to the Mountain Real Estate report. This week we had a guest from the Federal reserve bank on our Radio show. I am placing the link in this blog. The radio show lasts about 25 minutes and the first 2 minutes are introduction followed by 20 minutes of the interview. So for those of you who may have missed this earlier I think if you have 20 minutes or so you might find this really interesting. After all the boys and girls at the Fed are the ones that are supposed to know what is going on.  http://activerain.com/blogsview/1961459/the-mountain-real-estate-repothe Federal Reservert-interview-with-the-federal-reserve 11/10/2010

The Mountain Real Estate Report is heard through out our beautiful North Georgia Mountains. This week we are very pleased to provide you with an important interview we did with Tom Cunningham V.P. from the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta. Tom focuses on Real Estate and the economy. There is a lot of great information and insight in this interview from the folks who should be i the know at the Central Bank for the United States. I hope you all enjoy this show and come away with good information on our housing market and the economy Your browser does not support iframes. 11/10/2010

I am going to re tell a story I heard. No idea who the author is but if I knew I would give them credit. A lady is waiting for her flight and it is delayed. She goes to the lounge and sits down and takes out a bag of cookies she has brought with her for the flight. A man sits down next to her. She takes a cookie and while she is eating it she notices the man sitting next to her takes one too! She is really peeved at this behavior but says nothing. As she eats through the stack the man next to her takes a cookie as she takes one. She is really fuming now and then there is only one cookie left. She waits,  and the man breaks the cookie in half gets up and leaves eating one half while the other remains. The lady is so mad she cannot see straight. But she said nothing about this behavior so... 11/08/2010

Today the temperature is in the 50's but tonight it is supposed to go down into the 30's. It has been cool for the last few days. We have had the fire place going. I am now glad about sweating during the summer splitting wood as we have had our first couple of fires in out great wood burning stove. I guess there is a lesson in preparation there. In July as neighbors went by and saw me splitting wood they scratched their heads. Now when they go by and smell the smoke they smile. preparation works. In our business too. Have a great Sunday all. 11/07/2010

If you are considering buying a foreclosure consider this. Shop for good values not just foreclosures.  Many Foreclosures need work. If you can buy a home at 140,000 that is in good shape or a foreclosure that needs 40 ,000 worth of work for 110,000. which deal is better ??!! Do not let the price of the home be your only criteria for buying. Look at the total cost. In other words the VALUE. A second important thing to consider is price. You are buying a foreclosure at 100,000 in a neighborhood where the homes are priced at 200,000. You got a great deal right?? Well yes and no. You did get a great deal but not as great as you may have thought. Your home now becomes a comp for others who need to appraise if they want to sell. So by getting in low you may have helped lower values in this a... 11/06/2010

These photos are in our North Georgia Mountains. what makes them special other than the look is where they are. These are in the Jasper area. So if you landed in Atlanta and rented a car you would be about 1 1/2 hours away for these sights. That is really special. be in the Mountains and in nature or go to dinner and a show in Atlanta. The North Georgia mountains are a great affordable place to be and enjoy nature. Enjoy the photos Where are the people? Where are the houses? How close to Atlanta !!!   Many of the trees still have leaves on them . We probably have another week to go before they are gone 11/06/2010

Today and tomorrow and maybe through Sunday we will have our first really cold weather here in Big Canoe, Bent Tree and the North Georgia Mountains. Temperatures will be below freezing for most of s over night with day time highs in the 50's. So what does this mean? We have had some rain and even as high up as I am some snow flurries. driving can be tough if the roads do not dry out. In our twisty turny, up, and down, terrain wet roads with leaves can be treacherous . Wet roads with leaves covered with some frozen spots can be really a hazard. So be careful driving. If you are thinking about having  that first warm and toasty fire. Ask yourself, "When was the last time I had my chimney cleaned?" Pleas remember fire safety. And if you are like us you probably have some decorations around... 11/05/2010

This week the Mountain Real Estate report focuses on Interest rates. Are all the TV and Radio spots you hear about making you great offer? We talk about the catches. We also talk about some great opportunities in the land market. This is a great market to buy in if you can. We are heard every Thursday after the noon news on WYYZ Radio in Jasper. Enjoy the show. Your browser does not support iframes. 10/27/2010

We all know this is a tough market. And we know that as sellers when we are cutting prices to the bone paying a Realtor is really tough. So you may think I will sell on my own. Now there have been many blogs here on ActiveRain about why you should use a Realtor. The reasons are numerous and have been often stated. But there is one thing I have never seen given as a reason. How many time has this happened to you. If you are a Realtor the call goes something like this. " I saw this house for sale and I am interested in it. Are you the owner? No I am the Realtor. Oh I was hoping to speak to the owner." ASK YOURSELF WHY. To me the answer is simple. A Realtor works for his or her client. A Realtor is going to examine contracts, ask for earnest money, check on loan status and try to get a pr... 10/25/2010

Next Friday the town of Jasper shuts down for a BIG Trick or treat day. The kids will be 3 blocks long in either direction.  This is quite amazing considering all of Pickens county is about 23,000 folks of all ages strong.  So come out next Friday Oct 29 at 3 and join the festivities. All the children will be in costume. All along the side walks merchants and vendors will be set up with tables. They will drop one piece of candy in each child's bag as they go by. The folks at All mountain Realty will be there too. It was Linda Carrigs great idea to have little cups with water for the kids and parents as they march in costume on a day that could be warm. It really is an amazing think g to see. Hope to see you all there. Bring the little ones  !!! I will bring my camera this year and do a ... 10/23/2010

Yes it is almost year end and I think it is time to look back on 2010 and view the changes that effected our industry. The word value was replaced by the word foreclosure.  This change was not a good one. Folks often mistook buying a foreclosure for buying a value. Often times people said, "we want to see foreclosures." The foreclosures were sometimes good deals but not always. Some folks listened and bought something that was a better value  and not a foreclosure. Others unfortunately just saw that word. Short sales continue to be problematic. Depending on the number of liens and the lenders involved the only thing short about some short sales was the Name Short Sale. Buyers got frustrated over the length of time it took to make a deal happen. Some short sales went into foreclosure mid... 10/22/2010

This weeks show cover the land buying process her in the mountains. land is a good deal right now and there are many opportunities, as well as pitfalls. In addition one of the topics that get requests to go over again is getting your home ready to sell. We cover this as well as general market conditions here in our mountains Enjoy the show. Your browser does not support iframes. 10/20/2010

This is a great time of year. Where we are in the nNorth Georgia mountains the leaves should be in full Fall color in a week maybe two. They will leaf out again in April . So our cold weather is really from December through March. But it is not constantly cold. we have many winter days that are sunny and in the sixties during the day. If you are looking for a great place to live consider the North Georgia mountains and let the folks here at All Mountain Realty be the ones to help you make your mountain home owning dreams come true.Fall pictures are about 1 week away stay tuned !!! The FACT If you travel to England and use the word Fall instead of Autumn you will immediately be pegged as an American. You may even be corrected and told the correct word is Autumn. Well the reason we say Fa... 10/17/2010

Bent Tree homes for sale as of Oct 16 are 103 on the market. Prices range from 79,900 to 849,000. Bent Tree has a great diversity of prices and homes for sale showing what a diverse community it is. With Tennis Golf and equestrian center and More Bent Tree is a great place to buy for those on a budget looking for a quality mountain home. let the pros at All Mountain Realty help make your Mountain owning dream come true. 10/16/2010