We hear it on the news day after day, how bad things are. We are being told how the volatility of the stock market will cause our business to fail and how the down turn in the real estate market has caused us to lose for what many in America is our primary investment; our home. As if that weren’t enough, the media now wants us to believe this financial crisis we’re in will cause us all to go bankrupt.

If you’re like most responsible Americans, you are invested in the stock market for the long haul and every ten year period since the depression we have seen an increase in wealth. During this same ten year period, the value of our homes have also increased. And yes the financial market is in trouble because of bad loans given as a result of poor lending practices.  So how does that affect us and what is the bottom line you ask? It has given us the lowest interest rates in decades and folks with a few dollars saved up can and are getting loans, good loans, at discounted rates!

If you were waiting to get the best deal possible to build or buy a home, your timing is perfect. But don’t wait until the interest rates go up. Don’t wait until after the first of the year! Buy now! Why, you ask?

National headlines don’t tell you the true state of today’s market. The market is beginning to turn around, but that doesn't make headlines.  The media will finally get around to letting you know this, but it may take a while.   For those of us that watch the market trends, we know this and are investing now.  By the time the media gets around to letting the general public know things really are getting better, home prices & interest rates will have already began to rise.  This is nothing new folks.  Look at Real Estate historic trends for 30 years back.  Wise investors have always timed the market to buy low.  Buy low / Sell High.  Now is the time to buy!

Add to this equation the risk of waiting to buy.  Interest rates are at an all time low.  Home prices are at a ten year low but are leveling out and soon to begin rising again.  NOW is the time to buy. Here are the top 5 reasons to buy now:

1. The headlines are slow to announce good news and once it is commonly known, home prices and interest rates will have already begun to increase.  If you are looking for the PERFECT time to buy and at the lowest prices, that would be now!
2. Home ownership provides tax decuctions & incentives for fist time home buyers are still available.  Once the new administration gets in office, changes in how these benefits are determined are likely to be different.  We don't know if that will be good or bad for the Real Estate market, but we know that buying now will result in a bottom line tax savings to the buyer.
   
3. If you are waiting until the market goes back up to sell your home at a higher price, think this through again.  If you are moving down (a lower priced home, you might want to wait).  On the other hand, if you are moving up (a higher priced home), you would be better off buying NOW.  While a few thousand dollars more for your lower priced home might look good, it doesn't take into affect the same increase in cost for the new higher priced home which will result in you paying more out of pocket.  Add to this equation the anticipated increase in interest you will have to pay and the bottom line is a lot more money out of your pocket if you wait to buy. 
   
4. Time is money.  The market has a lot of good buys out there.  If you wait until the market turns around, it will be harder to find that special deal.  Think of it like a farmer. Farmers have an annual harvest of crops when the fruits & vegetables are just ripe.  If they pick too early, the corps are hard, taistless and unsellable.  If they wait too long, the crops begin to spoil and rot.  They know when it is the best time to pick their crops just like a smart Realtor or Real Estate Investor knows when it is the the best time to buy land or a new home.  Did I mention that would be NOW!
5. All Real Estate is local.  These trends I mention above are national.  There are a few sweet areas for investors and smart buyers out there that stand out above the rest.  Folks that for years past had been moving south to Florida to retire have for the past several years been moving again (we call these halfbacks by the way).  For about 15 years now these halfbacks have been moving further north and north east (but not too far) to escape the storms that have ravaged the gulf states.  Increased property insurance rates in Florida and the increase in population have acted as a catalyst to move this trend along faster.  For those of you into statistics and market trends, we call that "The Tipping Point".  Anyway, lots of folks are moving out of Florida in record numbers.  While most have been moving to Northeast Georgia & the Carolina's, the trend is shifting.  Higher property prices & the increased population in these two areas have resulted in fewer deals to be had.  As a result, wise Real Estate Investors (and the average Joe looking for a good deal) are shifting their focus further West to Northwest GA and Central Tennessee where the prices are still low and the number of available properties still high.  

Bottom line, in case you missed it before: NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! Don’t pass go, don’t collect $200, go directly to the phone and call your Realtor. If you are looking for smart buys for retirement property or a second home, you might want to consider a trip to Chattanooga, TN, Lookout Mountain (TN & GA), Huntsville, Al or the surrounding area.  This area has four distinct seasons while still having mild weather.  Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too in the NW Georgia & Central Tennessee mountains.

OK...now my disclaimer.  I am a Realtor/Builder licensed in GA, TN & AL specializing in homes made from natural materials and development property where we focus on "community" and a lifestyle we call Modern Rustic Living.  But wait, before you think I am biased.  I am one of you!  I was born in Florida and lived there for all of my childhood and most of my adult life.  Having an analytical background, I did the research and chose the North/West GA/Central TN mountains as my new home for a reason.  Not only is it a great place to live, the cost of land is still low, there are great buys available, TN has no income tax and many GA counties have several tax incentives for retired folks.  Either way, this is a great place to live, work and play. 

To learn more or just check us out, go to the following links:

• Real Market Estate News
• Modern Rustic Living 
• Ask The Log Home Guy
• Property Or Home  Search
• Featured Hot Buys
• Design Build Options
• Request Private Consultation
• News & Events On The Mountain
  

Joe Folsom,The Log Home Guy

This Blog is dedicated to my fellow Baby Boomers who find themselves in search of balance and a better life.  I know what it’s like to wake up in a hotel room and not remember what town you’re in or when you will be able to sleep in your own bed again.  Leaving the corporate world behind and moving to the mountains has made a huge difference for me.  Today I help those poor souls I left behind find a place to escape.  It might be a second home in the woods or that dream home you always wanted before you retire.  Some may call it change of life, but for me it was getting my life back.  It took a huge change in how I live along with a realignment of my priorities.  Today I enjoy a lifestyle I call “Modern Rustic Living”.  To learn more, read my Biocommentary below and then check out my web site at http://www.ModernRusticLiving.com.

I use to be a Business Process & Information Management Consultant for over 23 years.  Specializing in knowledge management and disparate systems integration, I traveled all over the USA and North America helping organizations, companies and governments realize improved business processes, increased productivity, reduced operating costs and improved customer service by leveraging knowledge management as intellectual capital.

While earning a multiple six figure income and successful in the traditional since, I began to realize something was missing.  Leaving on Mondays and returning on Fridays almost every week left little time with my family and  friends.  I began to realize the American dream was missing a critical component; time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  I concluded that working hard for a new car in the driveway and a house just a tad better than my neighbors was not providing the lifestyle I wanted or setting an appropriate example for my family.    

Not willing to drop off the face of the earth quite yet and having been cursed with an analytical mind, I began observing my fellow travelers and noticing just how unhappy everyone was.  At airports all across the country, there were people busily tapping on their fancy notebook computers, people speaking way too loudly with cell phones glued to their ears and yet others pacing around the airport terminal as if to indicate they were busy, very busy!  Then there were those that always had to let everyone else know just how unhappy they were.  They were the ones that always shouted at the flight attendants complaining about the delays, the food and even the weather as if to indicate they were either more important than the rest of us or we were just too stupid for not noticing how bad things were. 

I began to realize the tension and frustration on the faces of my fellow travelers was more than a temporary discomfort.  It was an epidemic of monumental proportions that was infecting almost everyone around me.  The worst of it was that no one seemed to recognize the degree in which the epidemic had taken over or that it was spreading like wild fire from one disgruntled traveler to the next.  It was at that point I decided enough was enough and I was going to do something about it!

In late 2003, I put a transition plan together I hoped would effectively inoculate myself against this epidemic.  I decided a log home in the woods and a new occupation was in order.  I stopped taking on new clients and began building a business selling log homes and helping other FABOE’s (Frustrated And Burned Out Executives) find balance in their lives. 

In early 2005 I informed my last few business clients that I would no longer be doing IT consulting and today spends most of my time working on my newsletter entitled “On The Mountain”, writing a book which is soon to be published and telling my story of how I escaped the FABOE epidemic while also helping inoculate other FABOE’s with a new log home of their own. 

Today I  work with Developers all over the Southeast helping my fellow Baby Boomers find that perfect spot in the woods, on the creek or atop the highest mountain.  If it's made from natural materials (log, timber or stone), we find it, sell it or build it!  

Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences along these lines.  Together we will be "Recovering FABOE's". 

Here are Before & After Photos: 

               Before                           After