We have a great New listin in Big Canoe. It is 1049 Thrasher way. It is on Lake Petit. It is 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths. It is a lovely mountain cabin. The pictues say it all . It is pricd at 449,000 !! When one considers lots on Lake petit sell in the 300,000's if you can find them and a smaller house sold 1 1/2 years ago at 699,000  this house is a great buy. MLS number is 4320992

From the deck you look out onto the 95 acre lake Petit

Looking Down from the loft you can see the wonderful mountain great room

There are decks and porches all around the home. If you are looking for water front property in a great home this is an excellent buy.

To sell more you can scan below

Folks looking to buy or sell in Big Canoe often have questions. In this series I will as a Realtor who works in Big Canoe as well as the North Georgia Mountains do my best to provide answers to the most asked questions.

Why are the association fees so high in Big Canoe ?

The Association fees in Big Canoe are approximately 225. 00 per month. The main reasons for these fees are simple:

 ROADS In a gated community in Georgia the community is responsible for the roads. In Big Canoe there are over 100 miles of mountain roads that need to be maintained. Drive any other mountain community and you will soon see why Big Canoe spends on Roads

SECURITY and FIRE PROTECTION In Big Canoe there is 24/7 EMT service as well as security and fire protection. I fact you will save close to 500 a year on your home owners insurance because of the great protective services in Big Canoe. When one considers this reduction against the cost it makes the fees in Big Canoe very reasonable.

Got a Big Canoe or North Georgia Mountain question visit us on line at www.allmountainrealty.com or email me at charlie@allmountainealty.com

3 days a week I go to a 7 am class in the fitness center in Big Canoe. In the winter it is dark on the way there. But coming back at 8 am it gets pretty crossing the dam over lake Petit and watching the day start.

The sun in ths pictue is just coming up over lake Petit. The lake is 95 acres and just clean and beautiful.

When one turns around you can see the sun reflecting on the mountains. Now it is winter here but can you see any homes? They are there. Big Canoe does a great job through architectural control of making sure homes blend in with nature. In this photo there are actually some 4 and 5 bedroom large homes. You do not see them easily.

If you look the other way you see Cox mountain in the distance. below is a ball field ? walking track. In addition the tennis cours are near by as well as the fitness center. Big Canoe is a place where you can enjoy nature and be active

I read this post as a reblog. Things like this need to be spread around so that we do not make the same mistakes, or become victims. I hope this post gets to all the ActiveRain members and the folks who are the problem take notice

In my opinion government is not this evil thing trying to run our lives. However they do stuff that sometimes has unintended consequences for our business.

1 The law was passed about appraisals. Seemed like a good thing. Make the process an arms length transaction so there would be no collusion between banks ,real estate folks, sellers , and appraisers. but there is that pesky unintended consequence. We now have appraisers that do not know the area and under appraise homes. As if we needed this added stone being thrown at our market

2 The President is putting forward a plan to allow current paying folks who are underwater to re-finance. This seems like a great thing. Hey the banks got bailed out by us . Why shouldn't they help? Especially since they are a LARGE reason for this mess to begin with. So as my wife and I are watching this on TV she says to me, "Aren't you glad we just finished our refi?' "Why?" I say. "Because the loan process will really slow down when the banks are swamped with all these refis". Unintended consequences.

I am thinking that "short" sales will become almost imposible. Foreclosures will get tough. So I have to ask where is our lobby NAR in this . Are they not effective ? Or are they not being listened too.? I know I never got a survey about political issues from NAR to comment on. Unintened consequences, even some of the best intentioned plans have them.

I will give you my all time favorite. I am sitting in a pub in England many years back with a solicitor friend. He says America was ahead of the UK when it came to seat belt laws. After a long time England finally adopted laws like the U.S.  I say, you know there are very few laws that are just good without folks getting punished or hurt. The seat belt law is one of them. He says you would think so. But now that the law has been in effect for a while we are having for the first time in this country a shortage of organ donors. True story , Unintended consequences. Be aware of them in your business too. 

I use ActiveRain in my listing presentation. Why?

1 Working with folks and telling them you will get them on an MLS that has 212,000 folks in real estate or related profession is impressive.

2 I explain to them about communities and google juice.

3 Even though All Mountain Realty is not a mega Real Estate firm our reach through the Internet is equal to the Big guys.

So I use ActiveRain in all my listing presentations. The interesting thing is so far not one seller has heard of us. It makes for interesting conversation. And interesting conversations get listings

So I heard this today and it fits so well in our business.

A man is out with the boys and loses track of time. He comes home at 1:30 a.m.  After quietly entering his home, with shoes in hand, he tip toes through the hall and heads toward the bedroom. His wife is sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for him.  " Where have you been ? " she says in a loud and annoyed voice.  He is startled and says the following;

" Honey I got home around 10:00.  I am sorry I have been out so late. It is a beautiful night. So I laid down in the hammock and gazed up at the stars. While I was laying in the hammock looking up at the natural beauty I started to think how lucky I am. I have a wife as beautiful as these stars. I have 2 wonderful children . Our home is beautiful. All I have I owe to you! The children and our home made beautiful by you. My success in business is due to you. I am so blessed. And while I was laying in the hammock thinking about how lucky I was that you came into my life a feeling of peace came over me. I was so calm I fell asleep. I woke up just a couple of minutes ago and was coming into the house as quietly as I could so as not to wake you."

The wife looked at him and said, "I took that hammock down 6 months ago !"

Tell the truth in your business

Don't exaggerate .

If you don't know say so and then add you will do your best to find out.

If you do this you will not need to worry about the hammock.

The mountains are great . This is part 2 in a series of mountain living tips. This part applies to Gated communities like Big Canoe or Bent Tree as well as areas not in these types of communities.

Bears

Bears are beautiful things to see. But you really do not want them on your front porch. There is nothing to get you going in the morning like looking out a window and seeing a pair of fuzzy eyes looking back at you . Trust me. It is better than an espresso to get the juices going. The black bears in the mountains are usually not aggressive. But they are bears so......

1 Never, never, never, get between a mama and her cubs. If you have dogs make sure they will obey you when they are left off a leash. One of my favorite bear stories here in Big Canoe is about a lady who had two little dogs who saw a cub and chased it. The cub ran to mama. This brought the dogs to a complete stop . And I am sure they said the dog equivalent of "oh S%$#$#T" ! as the mama bear chased them. Of course they ran back to their human mama. She saw them coming with a bear behind( there is a joke in there some where). The human mama said OH S&%^%$T! and neighbors came out in time to make the mama bear realize that she had made her point and she stopped.

2 Never leave food out. You can have Racoons as well as larger animals on your porch. We tell folks here not to leave out bird feeders between April and Oct. Baffles work for squirrels but nothing bigger.

3 If you cook outside in a green egg or barbecue one of our tricks is to use moth balls around them The critters do not like the smell and it usually stops them.

The Mountains are great and you will really enjoy seeing the Natural life. I just thing ther is space for them that is theirs and space that is ours. Let the folks at All Mountain Realty show you why we love living in the North Georgia Mountains

It is a great time to buy in our North Georgia Mountains.  Here are some of the do's and don'ts

1 Do not "lowball" a short sale or a foreclosure. If you do you probably will not get it. We are seeing more and more of these go for asking or over asking price. Hey THEY ARE GREAT DEALS to begin with.

2 Remember if you are "out there in the woods" on well water, on a gravel road your home may have been reasonably priced but your insurance will be high. The fire component of your insurance can be double or triple what it might be in other areas of the mountains

3 Lastly, but maybe not the last blog on the subject, if you find that mountain home think. Yes it will be beautiful but if you are isolated remember gas is + 3.00 a gallon and how long can you stare lovingly at the view and your spouse before you get a little bored? ( spouses may get bored with you too. I know it is hard to believe.

So think about your location in terms of your active life style. This list is in no way comprehensive But I am thinking 3 things to look at in a blog is manageable. . Stay tuned 

We have just listed 219 Tree Topper in Big Canoe. The Tree Toppers in Big Canoe were built as vacation homes in our beautiful community. This Tree Topper is priced to sell at 145,000. It has a view of Lake Petit AND the price includes all the furnishings!

This is a great affordable way to be in one of North Georgia's premier communities. This Tree Topper is 2 beds 2 baths ,as are most. However they have finished off the downstairs and made a nice sitting room. FMLS number 4311518. Contact the folks at All Mountain Realty we would be happy to show this home to you.

This Home is on a hill and has good views.

This inside view gives you an idea of the decor , which stays with the home . This Home also has a fireplace. If you are interested in a home in Big Canoe which you can vacation in as well as potentially rent out Tree Topper 219 is move in ready