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