If you’re a person that’s been sitting on the fence, trying to decide whether this is the time for you to purchase, get the heck off!  The great deals on houses that are really nice are NOT lasting.   Talk to your own real estate agent.  See what she/he says.  I think they’re going to agree with me that you can’t expect the terrific houses that are priced really well to be on the market long at all.  Take a look at comparables and check the days on the market.    The numbers will not lie to you.  These are the days that are going to be remembered the best.  When most people really understand that this really is the bottom of the market, we’ll already be on the way back up and then you’ll find yourself in a seller’s market, and the great buying days will be over…OVER…

So, please don’t wait any longer.  If you’re thinking you may want to purchase a Cashiers, Sapphire, Glenville, Lake Toxaway or Highlands home, start looking and don’t give up until you find THE ONE!   It’s out there for you, just stay with it.  Be sure to engage a Realtor to help you.  Work with your Realtor as a Buyer’s Agent.  The seller pays the commission and a buyer’s agent will be the most help to you!  Better yet, just call ME!  I’ll be happy to work with you as a buyer’s agent and I’ll work really hard for you.  Call me today!!  828 399 1580  or e-mail me at merryproperty@hotmail.com.  You’ll really be glad you did!!

While looking at property, be sure to check with your buyer broker the motivation of the seller.  Has the property been on the market a long time?  Is it getting to the point that it could be distressed?  Does the seller need to move quickly?  While this information may seem a little personal, sometimes knowing a seller’s motivation is a bonus for the buyers.  In an area such as this, it is common to know a little of this information, so be sure to ask!

For resale purposes, be sure to get the most for your money!  There are a variety of price ranges right now and the lower price ranges are the ones going the quickest.  These properties do NOT sit on the market.  If you know of a property and you want to see it, you really need  to GO SEE IT.  The Cashiers/Highlands plateau has long been a favorite vacation spot for folks longing for mild temperatures and beautiful, natural views.

Check with your bank or other lender, if you plan to finance the home of your dreams.  Don’t wait to find that you’re unable to come up with the necessary funds to purchase a home that you love.  Find out what your limits are now.  That’s a practical, time-saving thing to do up front.  Go get pre-qualified.  If you plan to purchase a distressed property, your real estate broker will most likely need a pre-qualification letter from your lender to even be able to make an offer for you.  This can take some valuable time, even though most lenders can get you pre-qualified in a very few days.  Some distressed properties won’t even last a week, so if you’re at the point you really want to go property-shopping in the Cashiers or Highlands areas, please do everyone a favor and get pre-qualified.

Be sure to hire a Buyer’s Agent.  Most agents are paid by the seller, so you really aren’t paying their commission.  In North Carolina, brokers have to work for either the seller or the buyer, so get them to work for you!  It’s simple enough to have a buyers agency agreement with a broker.  Ask about it.  The broker will have fiduciary responsibility to you instead of the seller, and will then have your best interest at heart.  Be sure to ask questions when you have them.  Your broker will do what you need them to do (as long as it’s legal for them to do so).

Go ahead!  Jump in!  The water’s fine!  Call me!  I’m happy to help you!!

Merry Soellner, Broker

Keller Williams Realty

828 399 1580

merryproperty@hotmail.com

www.cashiersnchomes.com

In the end, your purchase will be something everyone hopes you’ll be proud of!  I can help you navigate those waters and land on shore with ease.  I hope if you’re considering any kind of Cashiers Home, Highlands Home, Glenville Home, Sapphire Home or Lake Toxaway Home purchase, you’ll call on me.  I have the experience, tenacity and patience to get through the process with relatively little inconvenience to you, the Buyer.  I have some foreclosures listed that may be of interest to you!  Let me know how I can help you.

The end of the year saw an increase in home and land sales in our beautiful mountain area, and a reduction in the absorption time of existing listings.  The Sales to List pricing remains about the same in our MLS area, about 90% of list price.  That’s still good news for sellers and buyers, too!

If you’re a person who’s considering a real estate purchase, I encourage you to do some looking!  Deals are out there to be had and you never know;  you could actually find yourself getting the deal of the century in 2012!

If you have ever dreamed of having a mountain retreat or escape, NOW really is the time.  Pricing is at an unprecedented low and interest rates are, too.  There really are great buys to be had, and your realtor will know just where to help you find that mountain retreat in western North Carolina!

Merry Soellner has sold 2 condominiums  and one house in the last couple of weeks alone.  I’m Merry’s husband, Rand Soellner.  I’m an architect.  She and I were at a dinner party at one of her client’s houses a few days ago and at least two different acquaintances mentioned during casual conversation that they are buying up bargain mountain properties and homes right now.

They said that they don’t trust Wall Street and aren’t sure about the commodities markets/precious metals, and aren’t comfortable with the stingy return from CDs and the similar instruments available from banks.  I asked them what they are doing with their investment funds and they said: “We are buying up mountain property and homes.”  When asked about their motivations, they said that they could not think of any other tangible entity that is so under-valued at present, that is poised to return to a higher price in the coming months and years.

The real estate brokers around here (Cashiers, Highlands, Glenville, Lake Toxaway, Sapphire, North Carolina) have this saying that you have all probably heard, about high-quality land: “God ain’t making any more of it.”  This is could not be any truer for the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The Cashiers-Highlands-Lake Toxaway area is a high plateau around 3,000 to 4,600 feet Above Sea Level.  It is the absolute end of the Appalachian Mountain chain.  People from Atlanta, Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and other places flock here to enjoy God’s air-conditioning during the summer and also to enjoy the spring and colorful autumn.  It is typically about 15 to 20 degrees cooler here than in Atlanta.  So if you’re in the Buckhead area just north of Atlanta and you are sweltering at 95 degrees F, rest assured that it is probably around 75 degrees F in the Cashiers area.

Also, there is the scenic beauty.  Unless you are in Rockies, the only other bona fide mountain range in the USA, you can’t match the tall granite cliff faces, steeply sloping mountain sides and vast valleys between rumpled mountain ranges.  Highlands – Cashiers – Lake Toxaway and Glenville have more waterfalls than just about any other location in the United States, with the possible exception of Hawaii.  And there are mountain lakes here.  It is a paradise.  No wonder so many people want to retire here.

So if you are thinking about what to do with your investments, you may want to talk to your accountant and consider taking advantage of the distressed housing and real estate market right now.  The time was never better.  All around us, there are whispers of a resurgence approaching in the housing market.  After it happens, it will be too late.  Even Warren Buffett has predicted a healed housing economy by early 2011.  When you are in the middle of history being made, it is often hard to see the forest for the trees, when you are in the middle of them.

Now that you know that some of the most desirable real estate and homes in the USA can be bought right now for bargain basement prices, you may want to give some serious consideration to that option.  Many other people are doing this right now and when the bargains are gone, new construction will renew and that will be the end of the bargains.