We need YOUR help naming our Building!

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Good evening all! We have been mulling over what to name our new office building, and we can’t figure out! Perhaps you can help by telling the name of an office complex you have seen or by making up a new one. Here’s a few facts that might help you come up with a name:

-3 stories, 6,000 sq. feet on each level

-RE/MAX will be on the second floor (sorry, one rule is that RE/MAX can’t be in the name)

-It’s a professional building – the 1st floor/basement is rental space and stores. The third floor is partially ours, but mostly going to be rented out to builders and other professionals (individual offices)

-it’s designed with A LOT of stacked rock, a beige colored stucco, and looks REALLY sharp

-it’s on highway 64 West in Murphy, North Carolina (Cherokee County)

-It’s either the largest or really close to the largest professional building in the county

Please feel free to ask me any questions – I’ll be watching this post carefully. We need to name it ASAP and haven’t got a name we like.

Our building has been named Cornerstone, and you can find Directions to Cornerstone and RE/MAX Mountain Properties in Murphy NC Here

Solve Your Computer Back-up Problems Effectively and CHEAPLY!

Posted by I Love Murphy on

If you have the same problems I had with computer back-up, this is for you. I bought a 100 gig hard drive to backup all my client folders, pictures, music, and everything-else-known-to-man. The only problem is to protect the drive, I had to always keep it disconnected from power and my laptop. Then I had to go through the hastle of reconnecting it, transferring everything over, and then disconnecting it when I was done.

No more! For less than the cost of a back-up drive, you can back up your computer AUTOMATICALLY and securely using an online service. Merely tell it what drive(s) you want to back up, and it will do the rest for you all the time. There’s no space limit whatsoever. My back up is over 21 gigs and there are no complaints from them.

Check it out – it’s well worth the investigation and the money because you never know when your computer will takes its last breath.

Use this link to download a free 15-day trial subscription to Carbonite, and get an extra free month of service when you buy:  www.carbonite.com/raf/signup.aspx?RAFUserUID=77443&a=0

Satellite Internet Brings High Speed Internet to ANYWHERE in Murphy NC!

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Satellite Internet is nothing new – but it is certainly new to me. Many of you probably have heard of, or perhaps even use, this great service. It will work in any part of rural America where dial-up has long been our only option.

Here in Murphy, North Carolina, I live just a couple miles from where the DSL line stops. I’ve used dial up, but it is painfully slow. Using it for anything, especially the MLS, is a lesson in perseverance and probably results in a dependency on Zoloft. Even desolate regions no longer need to worry! Forget your antidepressant and keep reading.

I signed up to use to WildBlue, which seems to be the best bang for the buck. Go to www.WildBlue.com for more info. Their equipment and monthly subscription was cheaper (yes, you have to pay for your equipment up front) than HughesNet, which is the only other real competitor.

The largest problems with it? 1)It can be cost prohibitive. 2) Web pages load a little slow. 3) They limit the amount of bandwidth you can use each month.

It is fairly expensive to sign up, but that is only determined by what the value of high speed internet is to you. The second problem is one of my main issues. It can download files amazingly fast to not be hard wired to anything, but yet the average web page seems to take quite a while to be up and running when compared with the speed of say, DSL. The third issue is the other thing you have to be aware of – both companies actually cap the amount of bandwidth you can use in 30 day period. For most people, we will come no where near the amount they allow. For those who download a lot (more than 5 gigs a month), this could be a barrier. If that’s you, make sure you ask what your limits are with each monthly package.

What does this have to do with real estate? A lot! With much of the population being more and more internet savvy, they want the ability to not be tied to dial up. No matter who you are, where you live, or where you work, you now have the option to have high speed. It’s a great thing to know when looking for real estate in other outer regions where it has never been available before.

Septic Permits Bog Down Buyers in Murphy – But Do They Really?

Posted by I Love Murphy on

Obtaining septic permits in Cherokee County has become an issue shrouded in controversy and political pitfalls. I’ve found many of my buyers have been very disgruntled in the fact it takes an average of 6-8 months to get a standard permit. Hold it! Clear your head and use it to your advantage!

One of the most important things to understand is what got us to this point in the first place. This is a very small nutshell of what all has been occurring behind the scenes. We have lost several soil scientists to counties offering to pay them more and provides more benefits. To offset the losses, several younger scientists were hired, but they must train under a veteran in order to eventually work on their own. Coupled with many political issues, the problem snowballed into more than 600 outstanding permits and an average of 6 months wait time.

Now how can you turn this dilemma into a benefit? The fact is most land buyers (especially in the Murphy, North Carolina area) who intend to use their new found property to build their second home, or cabin in our local market, don’t want to build right away. If you’re planning on taking a year or more to build, PERFECT! In this case, you’re making a smart call to buy a tract that doesn’t have a permit.

Now, I’m not saying that buying a piece with a permit is bad – it’s not in any way. What I am presenting is you write an offer on land contingent upon getting a septic permit (FYI – it’s rated by the amount of bedrooms your home will have). That way, you only put up some earnest money and have the property tied up while you wait for the Cherokee County Health Department. You don’t even close on the land till a couple weeks after you have the permit in hand.

The benefit to the buyer? Lots! While the county is working to get you a permit, You’re not paying interest on a land loan, you’re not paying the real estate taxes, you many times get to enjoy appreciation on the property you’re getting, and some investors have even used this time to find a new buyer! There’s a lot of opportunity in what may initially seem like a “bad thing.” We live in an instantaneous age, but if we can sometimes slow down, great things can come to those who wait.

John Poltrock – REMAX Mountain Properties – www.MyMurphy.com – JohnPoltrock@gmail.com – Call us Toll Free at 1-866-Murphy-NC or 1-866-687-7496

The State of the Market Address – June 2007

Posted by I Love Murphy on

As the second installment of the State of the Market, we venture
into what has happened in the month of June for the market here in
Murphy. North Carolina has been overall very fortunate in its ability
to retain a stable market in relation to many other states – especially
Florida. The majority of our second home buyers come from the Florida
area, and we have seen an indirect effect on our market. Many of the
younger investors from Florida who made significant amounts of money in
real estate have been tapering off. We’ve seen the “normal” buyers who
have historically bought vacation and full time residences in both
Murphy and Andrews coming back and regaining their strength as our
primary buyers.

In a brief summation, there were 144 total
transactions that were not a result of hand-me-downs, quitclaims, or
other non-cash transactions. Of those 144 transactions, land
represented 87 total and homes were 57. Land was down by six
transactions while homes were up by 10 transactions from May.  28
homes and 36 land tracts were transferred by the Mountain Lakes Board
of Realtors. From May, we have seen a 2.9% increase in total transfers.
From the beginning of the year, we’re at a 9.1% increase.

2007
is turning out to be an excellent real estate year. Historically, our
numbers are up significantly even though some consumer confidence seems
to be flaky. What I find
to be one of the most interesting factors is that the largest real
estate investors are buying while the market is staying “down.” They’re
going against the grain and are going to find the greatest increases in
their investment when buyers begin to come back in full force.

Although
Murphy is small drop in the bucket in America’s real estate market,
it’s great to see the media is over exaggerating the results of the
market. I’m sure many other agents and investors are experiencing and
finding these same results. For those of us who enjoy and love what we
do, this market will prove to be an excellent change of pace and a challenge that we are sure to enjoy.

 John Poltrock – REMAX Mountain Properties in Murphy NC – www.MyMurphy.com – JohnPoltrock@gmail.com – 1-866-687-7496

The State of the Market Address – May 2007

Posted by I Love Murphy on

The President is required to give a State of the Union Address, and it’s interesting to think that even something as local as a real estate market deserves such an "address."

Murphy, North Carolina has long been a second home market and will continue to be so. With amazing natural beauty, more than 93,000 acres of US Forest Service, mountain views, and much more, it’s allure runs nationwide. There’s property owners from here all the way to California.

Cherokee County saw 140 transactions in May, all of which came with some monetary consideration. This figure does not include inheritances, give-a-ways, or any of the such. Of that 140, 47 were houses and 94 were land. That’s a great figure averaging out to 1.51 houses and 3 land sales per day. 32 of the homes and 28 pieces of land were handled through the Mountain Lakes Board of Realtors.

Great! Now what does all that mean? Just like the Dow Jones, our transactions vary from month to month. We see a positive uptrend of 9.4% from the month of April.

As the first installment of the "State of the Market," we hope to continue this service and give you valueable data of our market. As financial planning majors, trends mean a lot to us and we’d like to bring them straight to you!