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.

The Federal Government has been involved in purchasing mortgage-backed securities for the past while in order to be able to stabilize interest rates and the housing market in general. 

Most MBSs are issued by Ginnie Mae or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which are US government -sponsored enterprises.  Ginnie Mae guarantees that investors receive timely payments.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also provide certain guarantees and  have special authority to borrow from the US Treasury.

If you’ve been considering the purchase of property, the time is NOW.  Most real estate is going to be the highest priced investment any of us make.  Add an extra percent or percent and a half to the cost of the property.  Now, you have an additional investment of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.

An investment in  Cashiers homes and land, Highlands Homes and Land or Lake Toxaway Homes and Land is still one of the best investments anyone can make. 

Contact Merry Soellner, your Cashiers, Highlands Real Estate Professional for information on YOUR property purchase!  Call 828 399 1580.

There’s also good news for current homeowners, wishing to purchase a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010. If those current homeowners have used their home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight, they are also eligible for up to a maximum $6,500 in tax credit.

Not only is the tax credit available on single family homes, but also on other primary residences such as condos, townhomes and co-ops purchased for $800,000 or less. As long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close and still qualify for the credit. The credit does not have to be repaid if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during the three year period, the full amount of credit will be recouped on the sale.

The above information should instill enough confidence in some of us to help us get off the fence we’ve been sitting on. The buyers’ market we’re in right now won’t last forever and neither will the enticement of the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit. Now, more than ever, is the time to consider that home you’ve wanted or needed!