Archive for April, 2008
Is wanting a high price such a big deal?
April 30th, 2008 categories: Sellers
 If the seller’s price is too high, people will just offer less, right? Wrong. Pricing properly matters.
Pricing property too high can end up netting sellers less money than if they’d priced it right in the first place. First, there will be a smaller pool of buyers who’ll even look at overpriced properties. There is such a large inventory that buyers want the best buy on the market. If the house is priced outside its true price range, it may not even get a showing.
Second, if buyers in that smaller pool even make an offer, it’ll be lower than if the property had been priced right in the first place. Buyers compensate for problems with houses in the pricing. The longer a sign is out or a listing is on the MLS, the more likely buyers think something’s wrong with it. Buyers will think they should offer less to compensate for that. They also think they should pay less because when they have to sell it, they might have the same problem selling it.
What if sellers want to list too high with the expectation that they’ll lower the price if it doesn’t sell? In a hot market you may have been able to get away with it, today that’s usually a bad idea. Our present day market demands the correct pricing on a property. Here’s a good analogy: Consider a sale at Dillards. If clothing doesn’t sell, it goes on the sale rack and gets marked down and marked down and finally sells for less than it is worth. That’s the same way people respond to price issues in real estate.Â
If you’re holding on to a number from the peak of the market, before it became a buyers market, it may be hard to let go of that number that could have been! The important thing to remember is that it isn’t the home owner or even the real estate agent that sets the price for the home – the market does.
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The Fireplace Restaurant in Weaverville
April 26th, 2008 categories: Restaurant Reviews
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In the the sweet little town of Weaverville, N.C. right on Weaverville Highway, just about 8 miles north of Asheville is a log cabin restaurant I had been wanting to try for awhile. I had the impression that this was a place of country home-made food and I wasn’t disappointed. We decided to give it a whirl for a Sunday Brunch and got there just a little before they were ready to serve (we were hungry!). The restaurant is very rustic inside with a huge stone fireplace. We asked the hostess to sit by the fireplace and she gladly put us right by the fire. It was a bit chilly that day and the warmth really felt good, not to mention the ambiance.Â
The buffet offered pot roast, turkey and dressing, ribs, ham and an assortment of vegetables and, my favorite, mashed potatoes! All the food was very good, but let me tell you about the rolls & biscuits – To Die For!!! The rolls were hot and practically melted in your mouth, sort of like a Krispy Kreme donut . . . without the sugar. If I had known the rolls were that good in advance, I would have had very little else! Seriously!! I wonder if they sell them as take out? I’ll have to check on that. Anyway, we definitely had our fill of the buffet trying to keep some room for dessert. There was carrot cake, brownies, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake and on and on.   After sampling just about everything, and knowing we might have to be rolled out of the restaurant if we stayed any longer, it was time to leave. Lo and behold around the corner was the salad bar that we totally missed out on, Darn-it. 
 
As a buffet goes, this was more of a country food extravaganza, no gourmet high falutin’ frills, just plain, simple good tasting food, and plenty of it!
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5 reasons you don’t want a long closing!
April 21st, 2008 categories: Sellers
In an effort to help anyone out there contemplating a long closing date on the sale of their home, I wanted to share some pitfalls that are very real today. As we all know, or perhaps there are a few sheltered people out there that don’t watch the news, we are in a buyer’s market. Sellers are now pretty much at the mercy of buyers if they want to sell their home. That means Sellers are asking for a myriad of concessions from the Buyer such as paying closing costs, deep discounts on the asking price to long closing time frames to give them time to sell their house, if they have one to sell. My focus today is why you want to avoid a long closing date if at all possible.
A normal time range from contract to closing is typically 6-8 weeks for a sale that requires a mortgage, a cash sale can range from a few days to a couple weeks if the Buyers want to move on it immediately. So knowing the normal time frames, anything outside of an 8 week closing begins to be a liability to the Seller. How? Anything can happen! Here is a list of possibilities to consider when negotiating the closing date.
1. Probably the biggest problem with long closings is that the excitement for the Buyer can wear off and they develop “cold feet”. When cold feet occur, some Buyers will do anything to get out of the contract, including forfeiting their deposit. With the media broadcasting daily doom & gloom, it’s no wonder that Buyers & Sellers are nervous about making a move. Some buyers can second guess themselves in their decision to buy a particular home by continuing to compare other homes on the market. If they perceive that they didn’t get the best deal they thought was out there, the warm fuzzy feeling is out the window.
2. In todays mortgage world, things are changing daily. Bank programs can change or be deleted even after a Buyer has been approved. If your Buyer has narrowly qualified for a certain program, and the bank discontinues that particular program, they may be out of luck qualifying for any thing else! I’ve seen home sales disenegrate the week before the closing because the lender no longer offers the program they qualified the Buyer for.
3. Another result of the mortgage crisis are that many lenders are not accepting appraisals that are more than 90 days old. If you have a Buyer who gets an appraisal within the 90 days, but then decides he needs an extension on the closing date, he will have to start all over again with the appraisal process. Some lenders will allow the original appraisal to be re-certified, which is an update to the comparables data to justify the value, but some appraisers won’t re-certify. So it becomes a nerve racking experience to start from scratch and hope that the 2nd appraisal will justify the value of the contract price.
4. You’re keeping your house off the market! Think about this scenario: Your house goes under contract at the beginning of the real estate high season. You’re very happy and are looking forward to moving on, but you have a long closing of 4-5 months. As you’re nearing the closing date, something unexpected happens to the Buyer, maybe he lost his job and no longer qualifies for the loan and the contract falls through. This would be devastating to everyone, but for the Seller it may mean not finding another buyer until the next real estate high season, NEXT YEAR!Â
5. If something is going to break down in a house, it always seems to happen during the contract period. I’ve seen this happen time and time again, everythings been working like a charm for years and BANG! the A/C system goes on the blink, or the septic system goes awry, or there was a high wind and the roof was damaged, etc, etc, etc. The longer under contract, the longer the chances of something going wrong. I’ve been recommending home warranties to home Sellers just for these occasions.Â
Beyond these major five reasons there’s also the worrying factor of the “what if’s”. What if you move out and now the house is vacant, who will look after it? What if you’ve already bought another house because your house was under contract and now you’re facing having two mortgages? If you have a choice in choosing the closing date, these are just a few of the scenarios you need to think about before accepting a long closing date. It’s not just a matter of waiting out the several months until closing, it’s a matter of anything can happen!
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Why you don’t want to let your dogs run free on the Blue Ridge Parkway
April 18th, 2008 categories: Area Attractions
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Have you ever taken your dog to a dog park, thinking it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch your poochie make all kinds of doggie friends? For some the experience was less than what they had hoped for, usually because there always seem to be some dog owners that don’t watch over their pet and things happen . . . mostly a dog fight with owners trying to break it up, and it’s easy for someone to get bitten in that situation. When I read in the Asheville-Times by Clarke Morrison, that Blue Ridge Parkway rangers are taking notice of pet owners who let their dogs run loose on the Parkway, because of biting incidences, it really reminded me of a few of my doggie park visits. Current Parkway regulations require that all pets be kept on leashes no longer than 6 feet. They are now issuing fines of $100 if you are in violation of this simple regulation. So, if you didn’t know this regulation existed, consider yourself in-the-know!
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Biltmore Festival of Flowers
April 14th, 2008 categories: Area Attractions
One of my favorite things to do is visit the Biltmore Estate here in Asheville. There’s always something to do or new to see at this fabulous estate, this time it was for their Festival of Flowers, the annual unveiling of beautiful tulips, flowering bulbs. trees & shrubs. We got there the day after this event opened and it was just amazing! There were hundreds, probably thousands of blooming tulips, hyacinth, pansies, daffodils, phlox, crocus and so many more.Â
  
The flowering trees that always amaze me are the cherry trees, so gorgeous! As you can see from the photo’s everything was really just beginning and wasn’t at peak. I’ve included a photo of a Japanese Maple that is just getting ready to pop, it must be a hundred years old and one of my favorite trees to study. Mid-April you can expect to see dogwoods & redbud trees at their finest, late April are poppies, snapdragons and pansies. By the beginning of May the azaleaswill be at their peak, you won’t want to miss that showing!
Festival of Flowers is officially on between April 5th through May 18th, on Saturdays and Sundays they also have live music in the garden between 11:30a.m. – 3:30p.m. If you’re in the area, take some time “to smell the roses” and enjoy this stunning garden.
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The Biltmore Ramble – an incredible community!
April 7th, 2008 categories: Neighborhoods
Recently I had the honor of being asked to hold an open house at one of the most incredible homes at the Biltmore Ramble – many thanks to Beverly-Hanks agent Debbie Kelly for giving me this opportunity.   To start, I should give you a little history and information about this wonderful new community. The Ramble is the newest community developed by Biltmore Farms. The Ramble is located on nearly 1,000 acres next door to the famous Vanderbilt Biltmore Estate at the southern boundary of the Town of Biltmore Forest. The exterior design of homes at The Ramble are based primarily on the following architectural styles: Classical, Colonial, Revival, Mountain Shingle, British Arts & Crafts, European Romantic and contemporary interpretations of each of these styles. Only 15 minutes to the Asheville airport and 15 minutes from our wonderful town of Asheville. George Vanderbilt is said to have walked frequently between this property and the Estate.Â
My first time visiting The Ramble I had to look very carefully for the turn off street of Valley Springs Road, which is accessed off Hendersonville Road.  From the road there’s no indication that you’re entering one of the finest neighborhoods around. As you enter and drive up to the gated entrance, which is probably 1/4 to 1/2 mile long, you’re immediately aware of how beautiful and natural the landscaping is. There were woods, flowering bulbs and simply a peacefulness that I knew I was somewhere special.
My destination was 15 Landsdowne Court, a beautiful 3 bedroom, 4 bath, 5,295 square foot French Country inspired home, in the European Romantic style. Priced at $2,379,900, it is currently their top home on the market. Located on a cul-de-sac, the lot this home is on has a great preserve view with a gentle walking trail  running through the preserve area. One feature I absolutely loved was the generous deck that wrapped around two sides of the back of the house. It had enough room for two parties!  With 3,171 square feet on the main floor, if you like one-floor living, this home will work for you. The Master Bedroom, one guest room and all main living areas are on the ground level. The lower level has 2,124 sq ft and also goes out to a huge deck that overlooks the preserve area.
The weather on the day of the open house was grey, cold and dismal, but I had a constant stream of interested parties, neighbors and individuals. It was fun meeting everyone and watching as they Oooed & Ahhed. This home is of remarkable quality and it was a pleasure to show it. There’s so much to tell about The Ramble that I’ve included the above links. There you will find all kinds of great detail on the environment, architecture, wellness and technology of this fantastic community.
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