Blog
The Great Medical Facilities in WNC
The photos above are (L to R) The Haywood Regional Medical Center (A Duke LifePoint Hospital) in Waynesville and Memorial Mission Hospital complex in Asheville. I am extremely proud and thankful that we have such great facilities in our area.
A little over 5 years ago I was diagnosed with a rare cancer in my upper sinus cavity above and behind my eye. My doctor here send me to a ear, nose and throat doctor in Waynesville who diagnosed the cancer and arranged for surgery at Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem. After the surgery I was directed to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville for chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I found the doctors there to be excellent. I had a Chemo Oncologist and a Radiation Oncologist who were both thorough, caring, and helpful. After 5 plus years, I am still diagnosed as cancer free. I feel as if I owe the last 5 years, and any years I may have left, to my wonderful doctors.
Next week my wife must go for coronary artery bypass surgery at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville. Her surgery will be done in the Owen Heart Center by the Asheville Heart team of world-class cardiothoracic surgeons. This state-of-the-art, award-winning facility is ranked as the only Top 100 Heart Hospital in the Carolinas. The Owen Heart Center Tower has 60 private rooms for heart patients, a 16 bed cardiac intensive care unit, 6 cardiothoracic operating rooms, a 40 bed cardiovascular progressive care unit, 20 bed cardiovascular intensive care unit, an amphitheater for physicians, staff and community education programs, family conference rooms and a chapel.
The surgeons at Asheville Heart do approximately 1000 surgeries a year, around 20 per week. They are rated in the top 2% of thoracic surgeons for positive patient outcomes. My wife is understandably nervous about the surgery, as am I. I do, however, have total confidence that she will be in the excellent hands of her surgeon, and the highly trained staff in the heart center.
Many clients moving here from Florida and other states are retirees with health issues. I am often asked about medical facilities in our area. I confidently answer, “They are great!” (More about her surgery next month.)
Danny
So You Want to Make an Offer on a Home, What’s Next?
Your Realtor has shown you several homes you like, but you fell in love with one of them. It’s time to make an offer; how much should you offer? The most important factor in making an offer is knowing the market. How are homes selling in this neighborhood? What was the selling price of comparable recently sold homes in the neighborhood? How long has this home been on the market? The answers to all these questions help determine an offer price. Your Realtor should be able to answer all these questions and assist you in a successful negotiation. One important thing to remember in a negotiation, is do not start with an unreasonably low price. This practice often serves to alienate sellers and make the negotiation more difficult, if not impossible.
Okay, we have negotiated a price. You are spending a little more that you would have liked and the sellers are getting a little less than they would have wanted. This is a successful negotiation, both sides compromised a bit. When the offer has been signed by the sellers, and the buyers or buyers’ agent has been notified of the sellers’ signing, we have a contract. In North Carolina most contracts have a Due Diligence Period. This is a period of time for the buyers to do all necessary inspections, and to secure final approvals if they are financing. The period usually runs from 10 to 45 days. (30 to 45 days normally for banks to get paperwork and appraisals completed if the buyers are financing). During the Due Diligence Period the buyers can cancel the contract for any reason. After home inspections, if repairs are indicated, repairs are negotiated between buyers and sellers. After the Due Diligence Period, comes settlement. The settlement date is determined in the original offer. Settlement is when the money changes hands. The bank (if a finance deal) sends a wire transfer to the closing attorney. (In NC, all real estate closings must be done by an attorney.) If the contract calls for a cash deal, the buyers would have their bank wire transfer the funds to the closing attorney. After Settlement is Closing. Often these are both on the same day. Sometimes closing is the day after settlement. Closing in NC is when the attorney takes the new deed to the county courthouse and records the property under the name(s) of the buyer(s).
The above represents the buying process in a condensed form. If you have any questions, please let us know. We will find the answers for you. Come see us in the mountains!
Waynesville Has Some Great Craft Beer Taverns and Breweries
Most of us who occasionally enjoy a craft beer know that Asheville, NC was voted Beer City USA in 2009, and has swept the competition in most years since. Over 100 local beers can be enjoyed in Asheville, with more breweries per capita than any other U.S. city. We now have some great beer venues in Waynesville for those who don’t want to drive 30 miles to Asheville for their craft beer.
The Tipping Point Brewery and Tavern
Located at 190 N. Main St. in Waynesville (828-246-9230)
You might try their “Punch in the Face” IPA
Boojum Brewing Company
50 N. Main St. in Waynesville (828-246-0350)
Try their Chocolate Milk Stout, Blueberry Coffee Porter, or Double IPA
They also offer tours and tastings in their brewery at 357 Dayton Dr. by appointment. (828-944-0888)
Frog Level Brewing Company
56 Commerce St. in Waynesville (828-454-5664)
Try different craft beers from their IPA to a smooth Scotch Ale. They don’t serve food, but you are welcome to bring your own.
Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop and Beer Garden
(Named after “Mad Anthony” Wayne, the revolutionary war general for whom Waynesville was named.)
124 Branner Ave. in Waynesville (828-246-9249)
40 Craft brews and Cider on Tap plus music and entertainment.
The bottom line is: ENJOY !! Life is short at best. Drop in and see us when you get here.
Come Join Us for 4th of July Fireworks on Monday!
On Monday July 4th we will be have a spectacular Fireworks Show at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds almost across the street from our office. (The Festival Grounds are located at 3374 Soco Road.) The show will begin at dark and admission is free. You can bring a cooler, but no alcoholic beverages are permitted. (Coolers will be checked.)
There will also be a Fireworks Show at Lake Junaluska. The Lake Junaluska Assembly stages a Fireworks Show each 4th of July, also at dark, and admission is free there also. Probably the best place for this show is to sit near the cross across from the Lambuth Inn. Get there early though, as this spot fills up quickly.
I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. Enjoy the fireworks, the cookouts, and your loved ones.
Nature’s Air Conditioning
For the last 2 weeks we’ve had unusually warm temperatures here in the mountains. This past Sunday it was 88 degrees in Waynesville, and 93 degrees in Asheville. Those are record-breaking temperatures for our area. On Sunday afternoon, Barbara and I put Dakota (our 75 pound Golden Doodle baby) into the car and hit the Blue Ridge Parkway. We headed north of Asheville on the Parkway to Craggy Gardens. The views were outstanding, with a few puffy clouds in the distance. The temperature at Craggy Gardens was 72 degrees with a cool breeze blowing. The Mountain Laurel and the Rhododendron were both in bloom, putting on quiet a show for all us tourists. We even saw a motorcycle with a small side-car for a puppy. The puppy was wearing a pair of red goggles and a small red motorcycle helmet. After leaving Craggy Gardens we drove a short distance north to the entrance of Mt. Mitchell State Park. The views driving up the road to the parking lot at the top were absolutely gorgeous. At the parking lot (photo above) there is a concession building, and a small museum telling about the area. The thermometer at the museum read 64 degrees. There are many trails in the park, including the trail to the observation tower at the summit. The grave of Elisha Mitchell, for whom the mountain is named, is also at the summit. His body was found at the base of a waterfall not far off the mountain. He was heading back down to the Toe River Valley after one of his many trips to the mountain. He had an on-going disagreement with Thomas Clingman over the bragging rights as to which mountain was taller- Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains, or Black Dome in the Black Mountains (later renamed for Mitchell). Elisha Mitchell died before knowing that he had won that argument. Mt. Mitchell is actually 6683 ft. above sea level, while Clingmans Dome is only 6644 ft. above sea level. Mt. Mitchell is the highest mountain in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
To my original point- yes, we have some hot days here in the mountains occasionally. However, we have the option of getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway, or other roads, and going to higher elevations to enjoy nature’s air conditioning. If you live in Florida, you don’t really have that option on a hot afternoon. Let us know if you would like to join us. We’ll keep the open sign on for you.
A Beautifully Upgraded Hiking Trail
I am asked frequently for advice on places to hike in out beautiful area. The above picture is the start of the Andrews Bald Trail that begins at the Clingmans Dome parking area, at the end of the Clingmans Dome Road. The road begins at Newfound gap off Highway 441 which crosses the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The parking area is usually busy with visitors and tourists. Most of the visitors take the short, but steep, half mile trail up to the observation tower that tops Clingmans Dome. Fewer visitors, however, take the 1.8 mile trail to Andrews Bald. Just a few years ago, this was a very rough trail that had eroded down to bedrock in many areas, and the footing was dicey at best. The Friends of the Smokies, through the Trails Forever program, tackled the rebuilding of this trail in 2008. The results of their efforts are amazing. Steps were constructed of locust wood, and in many places, large flat granite stones. The rough sections of the trail were transformed to boulevards. I can’t walk on this trail now without admiring the wonderful work that was done in rebuilding this trail. The trail is only 1.8 miles to Andrews Bald, but could be hiked by almost anyone in the family. Soon after beginning the hike you usually leave the crowds behind in the parking lot.
Once you get to Andrews Bald, there are great views of the Smokies to the south and west. Nature seems to be in the process of reforesting the bald. Besides the grasses, rhododendron, mountain laurel and flamed azalea are now taking over the bald. On my last hike to the bald I came upon a deer grazing. Deer are common on the bald in early mornings and early evenings. Andrews Bald is the ideal location to get away from all the city noise and just contemplate and enjoy nature. (It’s a great place for a picnic lunch.) Clingmans Dome Road is closed in the Winter and early Spring, so take advantage of the season and get hiking.
Living next to one of the great national parks is just one of the perks of living in Haywood County, NC. Won’t you come join us?
10 Steps to a Successful and Profitable Home Sale
This time of year I have customers who ask “What should I do before I list my home for sale?” I came across the below “10 Steps to a Successful and Profitable Home Sale” compiled by the National Association of Realtors. I am proud to say that all of us here at Mountain Dreams Realty of WNC, Inc. are members of the National Association of Realtors, the North Carolina Association of Realtors, and our local Haywood Board of Realtors.
1. Price your home with the competition. Don’t price your home too high for your neighborhood. Buyers are looking in your area and they could see homes that are comparable to your home for less money. If your home is too high for the area, buyers will not even come to look at your home.
2. Get a home inspection before putting your home on the market. Review the inspection carefully and fix everything that needs repair! If buyers see too many things wrong with your home, they will walk away. Buyers want homes that are in move-in ready condition. By doing your own home inspection and fixing up your home before you start showing it, you will greatly reduce the odds of losing the sale of your home during the due-diligence period (or “look-see” period), which is when the buyer has time investigate the property’s condition and see if they remain satisfied with it before finalizing the purchase.
3. Get a consulting appraisal of your home. This way, you will know even before you put your home on the market what an appraiser thinks it is worth. When you sell your home, you and your agent will have a defendable fair market value. If you get a lowball offer, your agent can show comparables to the buyer’s agent that justifies your sale price.
4. Curb appeal is extremely important. It is the window to your home! You want your home to make an emotional appeal at first sight. Some buyers won’t even enter a home if they are not attracted to its exterior. It should be neat, freshly painted and nicely landscaped, begging you to come in for a closer look. Discuss with your real estate agent the best ways to make the outside of your home the most appealing.
5. Dress up the inside of your home. A fresh paint job will get buyers excited. It gives a fresh and lively look to your home. Always use light colors such as off-white, pale blue, tan and light grey for interior walls and carpeting. Have your carpeting professionally cleaned and replace any carpeting that is stained or worn. If the walls and floors look immaculate, buyers will assume that you also took very good care of the rest of the less obvious places of your home. De-clutter so your home looks spacious.
6. Make potential buyers feel at home. Do not be at home during showings. You don’t want to distract buyers from feeling like this could be their home. Remove all personal photos and collections. Work with your real estate agent and/or a professional stager to place furniture to best utilize the space in your home. This will put your home at its best advantage and put it a step above all others in your neighborhood.
7. Don’t overspend on improvements to your home. Do improvements that will keep you up with the rest of the neighborhood so you can get fair market value or above for your home. However, system replacements are essential so do keep current with air conditioning, heating, roofs and other major systems.
8. Be prepared to make a deal to sell your home. Be ready to compromise if necessary on price and terms. Your real estate agent will help you work with reasonable offers. Generally, your first offer is your best. Do what you can to make it work. Keep in mind that you want this process to be a win-win situation. The process from offer to closing can be a reasonable and mutually beneficial situation for both the sellers and the buyers.
9. Always go into the negotiating process with a positive attitude! Your real estate agent has been in this situation many times before and can best advise you how to proceed in any given situation. Remember that you, the buyers and both agents all want this deal to work.
10. Hire a professional real estate agent. Hiring a professional agent can help identify comparative homes in your area so you can list your home for a competitive price. An agent will advertise your home with internet marketing to the public in ways that are only available to a professional. Finally, an agent understands comprehensive agreements and can best negotiate with the buyer’s agent to sell your home for the highest price.
100- Year Anniversary of National Parks
2016 marks the centennial year of the legislation that led to the creation of our national parks. Here in the Smoky Mountains we are very fortunate to have two of the most visited parks in the nation. We have the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the largest area of wilderness in the USA east of the Rocky Mountains. The GSMNP has over 800 miles of hiking trails. If you love to visit waterfalls, the GSMNP has dozens of waterfalls to explore and photograph. Also, admission to the park is FREE! When Tennessee and North Carolina donated land for the park, it was with the stipulation that no entry fee or road toll could ever be charged. The photo above is of a steep, craggy peak just north of Newfound Gap on the Tennessee side of the park. I took this photo last Sunday.
The Blue Ridge Parkway has 4 highway access points in Haywood County. In fact, the highest elevation point on the entire parkway is located in Haywood County. One of my favorite parts of the parkway is a road called the Heintooga Spur Road. This road begins just a few miles north on the parkway from the Hwy 19 entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Soco Gap, just past Maggie Valley. The paved spur road will take you to a campground, and a nice high-altitude picnic area. There is a col-de-sac at the end of the road by the picnic area. Look for the sign that is the entrance to the Heintooga- Round Bottom One Way Road. This is a 28 mile narrow, winding mountain road (more like a driveway) leading down the mountain to Round Bottom and on into Cherokee. It takes about 1 hour (more if you take lots of pictures) to travel down to Cherokee. The road is closed in the Winter, but usually opens sometime in May.
If you have always wanted to live in the mountains, come on up. Adventures are waiting and time is fleeting!
There are still Good Buys Available in Haywood County
I listened to a segment on the news from WLOS-TV in Asheville. A one bedroom apartment in Asheville now rents on average for $940. In my opinion, that is a fairly hefty rent for a one bedroom apartment. Asheville housing costs are now the highest in North Carolina. I was looking today at closed listings in West Asheville. I found small homes built in the 1920’s and the 1930’s selling for around $200 to $250 per square foot. Some Asheville agents are now bringing their clients to Canton, Clyde and Waynesville to find homes they can afford. Buyers are finding it less expensive to live 20 to 30 miles away and commute to work than to buy a home in Asheville.
There are still good buys available in Haywood County. Most homes here in the county are still selling for between $100 and $165 per square foot, with some selling for less than $100 per square foot. Combine those prices with current interest rates, and that translates into a great value. One could purchase a pretty nice home here with a 30 year mortgage payment less than a 1 bedroom apartment rental in Asheville.
If you are going to be in the home-buying market soon, come see us. Let us show you how much home your dollar can buy in Haywood County.
Why Buy A Home Now?
To answer my own question: interest rates are still historically low, and prices are increasing due to lower inventories of existing homes for sale, and lack of construction of new homes. Interest rates today for a 30 year conventional home loan are quoted between 3.71% and 3.93%. Interest rates for a 15 year conventional loan are as low as 2.98%. Interest rates were around 6% when I was a boy. I did not think I would ever see 6% again. In the early 1980’s interest rates on home loans ran as high as 14 to 16% for a while.
As to prices increasing, the average price of the 39 homes sold in Haywood County, NC, in February 2015 was $164,011. In February 2016 there were 52 homes sold with an average price of $189,781. That represents an increase in the average price sold of 15.7% in one year’s time.
If you are still thinking about renting, prices on rentals have increased considerably also, due to lack of inventory. I saw a small brick home for rent last week for $1000 per month. The home was just over 1000 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths on a small lot. This home would probably sell in the neighborhood of $130,000. If a buyer paid 10% down the principal and interest payment on a 30 year loan would be about $554.00. Even with taxes and insurance escrow, the payment would only be $685.00. As you can see, you can live in home you are purchasing for considerably less than you can rent that same home. Also, your interest on a home loan may be deductible on your income tax, but rent is not deductible.
If you are a bargain hunter, the current interest rates, coupled with the current market , present a real opportunity.
