So...like, lots of agents I've been pretty busy.  Buyers needing to see properties, contracts to write (yes!), new listings-paperwork for new listings-photos for new listings, and fielding phone calls.  Lots of phone calls from people "thinking" about listing their homes.  Digging a little deeper, more than a few won't be listing their homes for quite some time or their neighbor's house just went on the market and they don't really want to list their own house just curious about the market value.  I get it.  The challenge in small towns in the mountains of Western North Carolina is to find good comparable recent sales of as similar properties as possible.  The callers are surprised to find out it might take a day or two to find out the answer what is their house worth. Why?  We don't ha... 05/22/2017

In my real estate area of Western North Carolina, I get my share of quirky and artistic listings. They are always interesting and so far, they've always been well built. The houses, like their owners have character and personality. The target audience is definitely not from the base of the pyramid but somewhere near the top quarter. In Sylva, NC and the surrounding area we are beyond blessed to have so many creative individuals, artists, craftspeople, musicians, gardeners and the occasional talent that cannot be defined or confined by or with a category.  They all have to live somewhere and that somewhere is in a quirky but full of character home.  Somedays it feels like my number is written in the local creative individual hangouts for listing their homes. There is never a reason to be... 05/01/2017

Some weeks, it seems that there is plenty of time to book everything I need to and no big deal if someone is late or grrrrrr a no show but not so much this week.Everyday I will have a couple of written in stone events to attend and they aren't all located within a city block.  This is the country and sometimes nothing is close together.This week starts off with the people I trust the most with taking down some of our very big, very old and very ailing trees.  Jeff Polson's company Western Carolina Tree Company will be here shortly so time is tight even to do this post!Our Boards of Realtors and MLS with a neighboring county are merging and since I serve on the Board of Directors of the Board, there are details to be worked out.  Those meetings start insanely early and I never want to be... 08/30/2015

You can barely turn on any of the local news channels or open the local newspapers in Sylva, NC and the surrounding areas without seeing headlines boasting about the Mountain Faith Band from Sylva, North Carolina.  They have successfully arrived in the play-offs of America's Got Talent and voting is tomorrow!Yes, it is completely true that the McMahan family behind the band has been playing together since they were little kids.  They not only headline at local festivals and music venues but they've done an impressive amount of traveling as well.  It is also true that Mr. McMahan owns High Country Tire at the foot of Cowee Mountain and in between tire changes and gas fill-ups (yes, they have service people fill your tank for the same price as self-serve!), the band would practice their m... 08/23/2015

Gardening can be seductive...a lot of work but really seductive.  Before I knew it, I was in for the ride of my life.  It started simply, a way to take control over some of the food that enters my body.  We studied how to do this, asked advice from any friend who'd ever turned a shovel of dirt, attended the Jackson County NC Cooperative Extension seminars and googled and youtubed the subject like crazy.It worked! Now, we have food stuff all over the place.  We can hardly find a square inch of counter space that isn't occupied by tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers or beans, beans, beans.  Along with learning how to grow things, we've also been trying to learn how to preserve what we've grown.During the last two weekends, I've managed to figure out how to turn cucumbers into pic... 08/09/2015

"I have loved this house more than any other in my life", says the current owner. "The mountains can be seen through almost every window. There's a hot tub on our covered patio and the deck runs down the front and side of the house for great entertaining."   The houses that are the most pleasure to list and sell are the ones that the current owners have loved, respected and maintained. This is all that and more. "Ready to move into" is such a cliche in our industry but the house at 108 Hardrock Road is "turnkey" and "ready to move into".     This approximately 1200 square foot, 3 bedroom and 1 bath house has always been well maintained but from the moment the current owners decided to sell the house they have given the property a lovely spa treatment. Fresh paint inside and out gives ou... 10/05/2014

Terrible Fire in Downtown Sylva, NC...Saturday, August 16, 2014 ...Kelly Timco Photos     This past Saturday morning started like most others. We had plans to go to downtown Sylva to enjoy the celebration of the NC Cooperative Extension's 100th birthday and to go by our local tailgate market. I put the pot of coffee on the stove and settled in to catch up on Facebook, ActiveRain, emails, etc. I never got past Facebook.       Sylva, NC is a very small town full of independently owned businesses. We all know each other.  The downtown area is less than four blocks long. By 7:00 am, a fire was raging in a restaurant that was closed for renovations. On one side of the old Hooper building is Motion Makers, a 20 something year old high end bike shop and on the other side is a outdoor store. Th... 08/18/2014

I'll admit that I really didn't have a full picture of what the NC Cooperative Extension Service in Jackson County, NC did or how they affected the citizens.  I sort of got the idea that they would test soils for gardens and help people figure out how to get rid of certain pests.  The local radio station WRGC broadcasts mini shows from our County Extension Agents very regularly and the Sylva Herald New features regular guest columnists in their own article in the newspaper in addition to weekly posted events sponsored by the Extension Service office. We're trying desperately to have some control over the quality of foods we eat here at home and part of our plan is to grown and preserve our own foods.  This past Tuesday I managed to get away from the office and attend the Cooperative Ext... 08/01/2014

Every morning this week there has been an appointment to get to early.  Prime posting time for me up until now has always been early but I can see I'll have to break out of that habit if I want consistent content! By blocking out some personal time this past Tuesday, I got to attend a class with the Jackson County NC Extension Service and learn a little about water bath canning.  I have to tell you, it was more fun that social media! More tonight about that class and an upcoming one on Monday about organic pest control in the garden. Gotta run, have an appointment to see a contractor for a buyer to replace a house full of paneling with drywall! LOL, never a dull moment in the day of a Realtor.     07/31/2014

The past week or so has been filled with looking at listings that have uhmmm "matured" in the "Days on Market" category.  The buyers I'm working with are interested in houses with character and personality and while there is something to be said for brand new and probably worry free houses, they often do lack in individuality...especially in the $200,000 or less price range.  We've seen some incredible houses...some are incredibily cool, some are incredibly awful and some are just pure head scratchers.  Many of them however have shared a common and unfortunate tag line in the very old (275 to 1100 days on market) write ups..."Won't Last Long". Ouch. This is proof that once the seller signs the Listing Agreement with an agent, they never glance at their listings after maybe one time.  Lo... 07/28/2014

Sometimes it is good to just transport ourselves to another place mentally, even if only for a few minutes. We're grateful for a very good several months of real estate transactions but it sure has been a morass of details. The short sale that turned out to not have a right of way to the state road and the farmhouse with the 1933 power easement surprise took an amazing amount of energy. Revisiting listings taken in winter to rephotograph with fresher and more seasonally appropriate photos takes time. Catching up on business after an awesome two week visit with my mother was intense...but worth it. Tree removal on personal property, an insane number of home improvement projects, planting the first serious vegetable garden in years, unexpectedly having to say goodbye to one dog after a ho... 07/22/2014

 Listing “Suitable for Horses” in Western North Carolina will attract a broad array of potential equestrian buyers.    But if the horse ain't happy, it ain't guna sell!    Appalachian Beauty Draws Equestrian Buyers The scenic beauty of Western North Carolina’s Appalachian region draws summer residence from all across the eastern seaboard and central plains.  If these summer residents are horsemen, they will want to bring their horses with them.  Those who are fortunate enough to make the Western region of North Carolina their year-a-round home are fewer in number but when selling a property as a potential horse farm both permanent and seasonal buyers must be considered.  Whether the buyer will be permanent or seasonal resident, the seller of a potential horse farm must do more than have... 05/30/2014

Buyer Treasure Trove North Jackson and Swain real estate markets still remain a treasure trove of opportunities for buyers.  Residential property sells are at their highest levels since 2008 and homes are selling.  There still remains an adequate supply of homes for sale giving buyers choice and negotiation power. Sellers Entering the Market The last week shows sellers entering the market to take advantage of the up-surge in home sales. In the last week 28 homes were brought onto the market.  New listing prices range from $79,000 to $1,150,000.  With this range there remains purchasing opportunities to meet the needs of a broad range of financial situations. There were 5 residential homes sold this past week. With 5.6 times the number of new listings to sold properties the number of new... 05/23/2014

Yes, that's right. I have a new girlfriend and she is a redhead. She already belongs to someone else though and they've been in a committed relationship for seven years. You know how these things go though, I'll just have to be happy to see her whenever I can! We often luck out with our clients. They usually have more in common with us than not and we end up having a great time while helping them buy their new homes. These buyers live in Roanoke right now and can only look at houses when they can get away from their demanding schedules. As it was, only Ms Buyer could come on Saturday and she brought her traveling companion, Henle. OMG...love at first sight! She was so tiny and clean with eyes alert with intelligence...her traveling kennel was small and easily fit in the back of the car.... 12/08/2013

   Yeah, that's right. Not all sellers are created equally. Fellow agents, you KNOW I'm telling the truth. There are just some sellers who deserve a higher return that others.   Of course, those would be the sellers who treated their homes like organic entities and went beyond simply mowing the yard and keeping the laundry up. Sellers, who from day one of owning their homes, decided to treat their real estate as the most precious of investments, absolutely should have the shortest time on market and the highest yield.   That becomes a little more difficult in a buyer's market but not impossible. The market time is a little longer because in a buyer's market buyers can become immobilized by overwhelming choices. Not many sellers have the luxury of not becoming like the barkers at a carni... 11/21/2013

One of the first questions we ask new home buyers is "When would you like to be in your new home?". The first time I met Megan she told me "I'm not in a rush". Sometimes those words strike a mental shoulder slump in many Realtors and its hard to explain how some of us have an innate sense of serious buyer vs tire kicker. Home buyers who are serious have a certain intensity about them.  If they ask questions about the Buyer Agency Agreement before signing it and have a list of specific needs with a definitive location range, then they are serious. If the buyer does what is asked of them by the real estate agent (contact a lender and give constructive feedback on listings), then they are serious.  Megan may have been one of the most analytical first time homebuyers I've worked with and it... 11/17/2013

  The Northern Jackson Board of Realtors and Multiple Listing Service have been searching for a way to make a positive financial impact on the local communities that they serve. The entire membership present at the annual organizational meeting in October voted unanimously to donate up to $2,000 per public elementary school in Jackson and Swain counties for a total of up to $14,000 for 2013.   Most people don't understand the structure Realtors work under.  We belong to local and national Association of Realtors and we pay dues to be a part of these organizations.  Lots of dues.  So much that the Northern Jackson Board of Realtors and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) found themselves sitting on quite a hefty amount of money in their coffers.  The members wanted to see the money put to goo... 11/14/2013

    You can still enjoy plenty of brilliant autumn color here in the mountains of western North Carolina, but you need to hurry!         The small mountain towns of Dillsboro, Sylva, Waynesville and others are exhibiting the bright yellows, oranges and reds made all the more startling when displayed next to the trees that have already shed their leaves for the season.     You'll find it well worth a drive to experience the crisper air and extraordinary colors that herald the arrival of our next season.       Come today, the weather is predicted to be perfect!     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11/02/2013

Silva NC, a Small Mountain Town with a Big Heart I have only been to North Carolina once but I have a keen desire to spend a Night on the town in Silva North Carolina, with Mona Gersky, the person who introduced me to it on Active Rain.  This is the kind of culture shock I Love. Small beautiful town at the Base of the Smokey Mountains and chock full of good food, art, music and quaint shops.  One of my favorite things is a small town a palette that rivals big towns… art, music, restaurants, scenery and people who appreciate where they are living.  Silvia is one of those places. Music The town is the home to many fine musicians. Mona introduced me to a new musician, Eric Hendrix who also owns the local fresh fish market. He is living his life in a charming NC town and sings like an angel... 09/30/2013

  When we owned our camping and backpacking store, Venture Out, here in Sylva, NC we would hire students from Western Carolina University. We had some great employees (Hi Monica Perry!), kids who matured into the awesome adults we knew they would become.   We were lucky by design for the most part with who we hired. Employers have to be so careful with what we are allowed to ask and not allowed to ask of prospective employees. We used a boilerplate application form but on the back of the form we asked one simple question...   What is the title of the last book you read and ...  why did you read it?   Truthfully? It didn't matter what was on the other side of the application...we didn't really care where they'd lived or worked before. We really didn't care at all about their references. ... 09/22/2013