Beautiful Wilkes County NC Timber Frame Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 51166, List Price: $898,500

2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2 half baths, 2 car attached garage, full basement, and a barn on 5 acres of land.

These terms are used to describe thousands of homes and yet some things just can’t be described, they have to be experienced. This is one of those homes that really has to be seen to be appreciated.

This majestic Timber Frame home of the Bob Timberlake genre is not just another house, it provides a feeling of home that is not about walls and floors and windows and doors. It creates a feeling of the flow between your outdoor and your indoor environment that is seamless. Everywhere you look there is a view. Everything you touch feels natural and beautiful in a way that cannot be described, only owned.

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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Those needing a larger home or folks that desire a house in a better neighborhood may soon get their chance to trade up on an affordable home. However, when they sell their existing home, they will likely get a less than stellar price.

Since the second quarter of 2006, real estate has fallen 10.2%, as measured by one National Home Price Index. But the new, grander house will also be relatively inexpensive, so those folks will effectively increase their real-estate exposure when the market is well below its peak.

Unfortunately, the new home will probably result in a bigger mortgage and higher ongoing costs, including homeowner’s insurance, property taxes and maintenance expenses. These ongoing costs will offset a large chunk of any future home-price appreciation. (more…)

search for : affordable home, mortgage, homeowner’s insurance

Small actions can make a difference in getting your home sold. “Scentmosphere” isn’t exactly new but it is rapidly becoming a way to attempt to attract buyers. When buyers walk into a house before they actually see anything in that house, because they breathe, they are smelling.

Prospective buyers actually get an impression, whether it’s conscious or subconscious, of your home just by the way it smells. Choosing to proactively make a statement in the way your home smells is just another step in helping to sell your home faster. It’s the next step after curb appeal. (more…)

search for : Scentmosphere

Beautiful Wilkes County NC Log Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 50863, List Price: $359,900

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 0, Est Total SqFt: 2600, Type/Style: Log Home, Area: Area 6, Middle School: Cntrl Wlks, High School: Wlks Cntrl, Construction: Log

Foundation: Combination, Roof: Metal Roof, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile, Garage/Carport: None-Garage, None-Carport, Interior Features: Master Bedroom, Main Level, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closet(s), Hardwood Floors, Fireplace(s), Great Room, Exterior Features: Double Pane Windows, Wooded Lot, 1-5 Acres, Hot Tub, Subdivision: N/A, Lot Size: 2.47, Apx SqFt: 2600 - 2800 SF, Basement: None

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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Global demand for bio-fuels and other agricultural commodities are driving up the value of farmland acreage to all-time highs. Unlike the housing boom, farmland appreciation isn’t being propelled by innovative and unsustainable financing, nor is it due to speculators looking to flip the property. Neither is it solely based on the surging popularity of bio-fuels.

Experts say price per acre appreciation is not because of the wild increase in the use of ethanol to fuel our obsession with the automobile, rather they contend that there are several fundamentals that are showing that the next 10 years for agriculture will be extremely favorable. (more…)

search for : bio-fuels, agricultural commodities

Guidelines for taxpayers that wish to do a 1031 exchange involving a vacation home have recently been clarified by the IRS. Historically, the accounting term “1031 exchange” defined that group of real estate investments as property held for investment or used in a trade or business.

Until just recently, there existed no guidance from the IRS indicating whether vacation homes were investment or personal use property. That changed when the U.S. Tax Court disallowed a taxpayer’s exchange from one vacation home into another.

The ruling was released as a Revenue Procedure, which is a type of “cook book” ruling, describing what a taxpayer must do to achieve a certain result from the IRS. (more…)

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The current crisi started in the housing market when the appreciation stopped, prices began to deflat and homeowners started defaulting on their mortgages. This scenario hurt the value of the debt securities tied to “subprime” mortgages that were made to high-risk borrowers. All these factors lead to big losses at investment banks and hedge funds.

Almost all of the credit problem areas today have one common denominator: housing. Several years back, as the housing market got hotter, lenders lowered their credit standards. Those companies allowed people with bad credit records purchase homes at inflated prices, just to bolster the company’s bottom lines. Some buyers even put no money down towards buying their dream home, condo, or even second (vacation) home. (more…)