greenolina: Asheville GREEN Real Estate, The Buyers' Broker & Real Estate Relationships- Three Phases of Caring
- 10/04/06 04:30 PM
Real Estate Relationships. I think they are an art form! Do you?
Clients who are attracted to sustainable, value-added properties generally have “done their home work” and expect a certain level of attention and mutual interest. Maybe that's why, at our Firm (as seen in the photo here) we tend to start out by sitting around the table to talk about those mutual interests . .
Successful real estate relationships often not only revolve around locating and securing properties and/or marketing “them, but in recognizing that each relationship is as unique as each person is…
Over the years, we have come up with a formula that seems to … (2 comments)
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greenolina: Asheville Development, Travel Patterns and Community Leadership
- 10/03/06 04:35 PM
I have a stake in what happens in my community. I am one person at work with my neighbors to make sure community leadership is responsible to me/Us. I know that public action can influence City Council.
Case in Point: Just this past month, right here in Asheville, a group of neighbors got together when we discovered that a developer was seeking permission to build 150 homes and route trafficdown a two-lane country road, already mighty dangerous. The neighbors held garage and bake sales, hired an attorney and used some legal clout to which city council responded.
Speaking of roads. . .As a REALTOR® I’m always … (0 comments)
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greenolina: Local Green Veggies
- 10/02/06 04:48 PM
While we are on the subject of Greens...
Read on October 1st, 2006
“The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that the E. coli outbreak that involved 187 cases of illnessincluding one death, 29 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) and 97 hospitalizations was caused by tainted spinach produced by Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, California. Natural Selection and other four companies that distribute spinach from Natural Selection have recalled the spinach tainted with E. coli. The FDA said spinach in stores is now safe to eat, news media reported.”
“The nine bags of baby spinach now linked by DNA testing to … (0 comments)
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greenolina: a closing gift that says I care
- 10/01/06 09:53 AM
" Welcome to Your New Home!"
Here's a closing gift I enjoy giving my clients as an expression of my appreciation. (see photo)
Iit will stay around and remind them of how much I care about them. Plants are special that way. I want a plant I give as a closing gift to stay healthy and around, so I usually include an "owner's manual" on the care and feeding of plants.
I call it The Unofficial Owner's Manual on the Life and Breath of Plants. And my Unofficial Owner's Manual is an odd mix of fact and hearsay with best wishes for long term survival in … (10 comments)
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greenolina: green as green can BE, you see (part 2) remedies
- 09/30/06 04:31 AM
Yesterday I wrote about toxic glopp in indoor spaces and promised that today I'd get back with you to tell you about Simple Remedies.
Remember when you were in Fourth Grade and your teacher taught about plants and their amazing ability to absorb carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen and carbohydrates? For those of you who guessed that the Green Remedy at hand is PLANTS (thanks for your comments) you get a big Green Star. Right on!
Plants have long been known as nature's air purifiers.
They maintain the oxygen supply on this planet…inside and out. In addition, NASA scientists discovered that indoor plants … (1 comments)
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greenolina: green as green can BE! and the case of 300 volatile hazards
- 09/29/06 09:49 AM
Did you know that at least 300 volatile substances found inside many homes and places of business can make you and your family sick? When I researched this, there was a B I G AHA! Moment for me...THE CULPRITS
. . .detergents, gasoline, oils, plastics, rubber, synthetic fibers,tobacco, smoke, carpet, clothes, foam insulation, furniture, household cleaners,paper goods, dry cleaning, inks, lacquers, creosote, varnishes, adhesives,sealants, paints, particleboard, plywood, and timber treatments…you will find them without much trouble in any indoor space.
These culprits are responsible, at least in part, for the “off-gassing”--and may result in
asthma,
heavy fatigue,
conjunctivitis,
chemical hypersensitivity syndrome … (4 comments)
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greenolina: Carpenter Bees. Watch Out!
- 09/28/06 01:51 PM
Recently, while touring properties with my agents, we noticed that several vacation homes had at one time been occupied by other than their occasional human residents. The tell-tale signs were obvious… the remains of the formidable carpenter wood-devouring bee. Carpenter bees are prevalent throughout the United States, so you may already be familiar with them. But just in case you aren't, here's a photo of one supplied by Wikipedia.
Here in Western North Carolina, you may find them foraging around flowers, shrubs and under the eaves of buildings. This bee even will bore into wood to make its home. And unlike bumble … (3 comments)
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greenolina: Greater Asheville and of Western North Carolina -"We're Talking Sustainable!"
- 09/25/06 03:29 PM
The Greater Asheville and Hendersonville areas of Western North Carolina have seen an influx of people investing in real property, both land and second home investments, in recent years. As you can imagine farmland is disappearing at a rapid rate as the land opens to new development. Land-of-Sky Regional Council Fosters desirable social, economic, cultural and ecological conditions in the Greater Asheville and sustainable development.
Where “working the land” used to mean laboring to harvest corn, tobacco, hogs, cattle, sheep, and native plants, “working the land” now calls to mind bulldozers, cranes, and construction crews erecting residential properties.Still farming, noted for … (1 comments)
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greenolina: Allergies and Your IAQ!(AKA ~ A B I G Sneeze from the Little Guy)
- 09/25/06 02:58 PM
Recently, on a family vacation to the ocean, one of our family members—we’ll call him “Q”— was overcome with a fit of sneezing upon entering the home we had rented for our stay.
The sneezing continued with little relief for what seemed like HOURS!. The poor guy couldn’t seem to stop sneezing and wheezing. Finally we headed over to see the Doc. The diagnosis: “Extreme Allergies”… “Take a look around the place for culprits: carpet, fabric, bedding,” we were advised.. “There are hidden toxins in every living space.”So, we were in the realm of indoor air quality and wondering where to … (2 comments)
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greenolina: Remodeling with Light- Then and Now- Oh! The Solar-powered Delight.
- 09/24/06 04:28 PM
Remodeling is nothing new. Back in the mid-1700s Queen Maria of Portugal was into it...on a grand scale.
This portrait, courtesy of Wikipedia , seems to reveal a woman ready to make changes in her home... And indeed, Queen Maria began making sweeping changes in one of her castles built in the 1600s. This was to be the royal family's "Country House" and a summer residence. The palace would be her escape from the burdens of her work and a place where she could relax and enjoy life. It didn't happen overnight, but after many years, her place in the country, AKA "Second/Vacation Home" underwent a … (2 comments)
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greenolina: Asheville's GREEN Real Estate Broker Muses , "It's Time for GREEN. . ."
- 09/24/06 03:41 PM
Time must be the most convenient invention of the human mind – sometimes it's even a tool for getting to staff meetings when everyone else does.
On Tuesday, when we get together, I ask our eco-friendly Buyers' Brokers to bring clip boards and use forms we have created mostly so that we can get through our staff meetings in a "timely" manner.
We have so much to talk about these days what with the "Green Revolution" and the surge in green building in the Asheville area. Don't laugh, but we even have a “designated” clock watcher and set the timer to keep us moving … (2 comments)
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greenolina: Changing Markets, Changing Season and Just Plain CHANGE! and OPPORTUNITY!
- 09/21/06 02:13 PM
Changing Markets, Changing Seasons:The Many Colors of a Change and Opportunity
CHANGE is right here, right now, and so is Opportunity— In your routine— in where you live—and possibly even in the way you live. Change is one life-process with which we all must deal and which we all share.
Here in the mountains, just outside my doorevidence of change has sprinkled itself in white.
Change –by the very fact that it is universally understoodas a fact of being in the worldactually brings with it a strong sense of belonging.(See yesterday’s BLOG entry.)
A few thoughts on CHANGE in the practice of real estate
Whether … (0 comments)
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greenolina: an Asheville Evening
- 09/20/06 05:01 PM
It's one of those perfect, clear nights in Asheville. Not a cloud in the sky. From my ridgetop, facing north, a million stars above call my name. Here in the venerable mountains, almost as old as time itself, tonight I am thinking that it actually is easy to connect with something much larger than myself. We all know that as you relax, your heart just opens wide, and that magic connection simply happens.. But, tonight that knowing is very present, and a certain embracing serenity is in the air. Maybe that’s why Asheville ranks as the “Happiest City in the USA”. … (1 comments)
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greenolina: Family Ties, New ECO-Friendly Neighborhoods,& Relocation with a Nod to Nature
- 09/20/06 04:33 PM
Because I am in Asheville,North Carolina and so many people want to be here, a particular interest to me in my real estate practice is providing good information to my relocating clients.
From time to time, families new to the area, tell me they really miss the sense of belonging and family ties they had in their previous neighborhoods. For example, high school kids let me know that it’s not easy to feel uprooted and to leave their pals in another city. Parents agree. They want to deal with concerns about “the culture” at a new school before they relocate here. In response … (10 comments)
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greenolina: ~ The Art of Storytelling ~
- 09/18/06 03:01 PM
When she was a young woman, my grandmother chose a teaching assignment in a pioneer's program off the coast of Cuba. Over a hundred years ago, this brave soul left Florida to travel by freighter to the Isles of Pines. There she joined a group of twenty or so Michigan families and native islanders who had requested a teacher. Grandma presided over a one-room schoolhouse. Students ranged in age from six to sixteen so flexible planning, field trips, and a personal touch became Grandma’s stock and trade. With such tools, Grandma could have been a successful REALTOR®. (I’m smiling.) But what set Grandma … (0 comments)
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greenolina: DOGS I've Met in My Real Estate Practice
- 09/16/06 11:17 AM
I have a steady real estate practice. For some reason, I keep attracting dog lovers. Maybe that’s because I am a dog lover myself. I hop in the car with families and their poodles, beagles, hounds and mutts. I take dog biscuits with me to my listing appointments. I carry dog goodies in my glove box.
I have met a hundred or more dogs along the way. This is the story of just one. Her name is Isabella.
Isabella is an exceptional Golden Retriever, but not in the way you might expect. By some measures, Isabella is a mess. She … (16 comments)
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greenolina: What Dogs Teach Us
- 09/15/06 11:06 AM
. DOGS are wonderful beings.
Each day it seems I learn something new from my canine companions. For instance, on our morning walk down our rural road today. Each time I breathed in the cool almost-Autumn air, there seemed to be a certain freshness. Each familiar boulder, newly covered with dew, looked different. I noticed each of my breath-clouds in the chilly air. Soon however, my thoughts overtook me and I ended up on a quite another road. Memories of yesterday, and plans for today floated around in my mind like so many bubbles on the pond I visited along the way. And … (7 comments)
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greenolina: Asheville Real Estate and "Smart Growth"
- 09/14/06 04:22 PM
Connor came home from school the other day talking about “smart growth.” Barb, his Mom, a new client of ours thought he was talking about how fast he was growing. Maybe her contribution to his "smart growth" should be to buy his shoes a size too big. But Connor straightened her out right away.
Connor explained that ”Smart Growth” is a term that Asheville and other communities are using to articulate their goal for a relatively compact pattern of development that accommodates a diversity of people, housing types and jobs. "It works well for everybody, and makes efficient use of public … (4 comments)
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greenolina: Mars Hill, N.C., ECO-Friendly living. Small Town. Sustainable Community. "High-Performance" Homes. Relaxing Views from the Hillside
- 09/12/06 08:27 AM
Quality of Life. Sustainable Communities. "High-Performance" Homes and ECO-Friendly Living.
For those of us who have come home to North Carolina, exhaling the "fumes" from zooming, full-tilt, down life’s highway while forfeiting a more natural, “earthly” pace, this Appalachian wonder, where you can just hang outand “set a spell, " is a miracle. A slower pace, homemade peach cobbler, and just "BE-ING" here in Western North Carolina, where the French Broad River runs boldly and small towns nestle comfortably beneath the sheltering wealth of the oldest mountains on Earth, is home to a particular breed of REALTOR .You may find such a person standing on … (1 comments)
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greenolina: Asheville Real Estate from an Energy Efficient Perspective
- 09/10/06 03:05 AM
"Green" Sustainable Real Estate is energy efficient. ! And saving energy and $$$ is exciting. Things HAPPEN when people start getting together and talking. And the the talk here in the Greater Asheville area, where "THINGS" already are happening, is about making wise choices in terms of sustainability. Here in Asheville, it is safe to say that we are on a roll for sustainable inoovation.
Asheville, N.C.'s creative citizenry has set its heart on finding ways around the "energy crisis" and the global warming predicament. They are taking a leadership role in "unearthing" new ways that will benefit our ecology and our … (5 comments)
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