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We have been previewing houses all week for people coming in over the next 3 weeks.  I have been to gated communities and lake communities and vacant houses near the university.  Shocked is a harsh word, but I have been shocked at the condition of the properties we have looked at.

When you are looking to find a good deal, the first thing I look at is the days on the market and the number of times the property has been reduced.  Today most of the properties were in a gated community, on the market for more than 400 days and have been reduced by at least 10%.

I loved the first house.  People were still living there and everything was fresh and in excellent condition.  The price was droppe...

Summer is here, school is out, graduations are over.  Now  is time to buy your summer home or to move up.  Our real estate selection is the greatest it has been in over 20 years.  Great values, lots of selection and interest rates lower than they were in the 60's.

We have all heard how hard it is to get money, but not so. 

• If you have 2 months of pay stubs and have been at the same job for over a year you get a gold star. 
• If you do not have 2 new car payments, you get another gold star.  Add another if you just paid off your car.
• If you do not have any credit card debt, you get another gold star.
• If you are current on your student loans and other bills, another gold star.
• If you ...

First weekend in June is always the beginning of the summer season and also the family reunion season.  Yellow Branch Falls and Park is a forgotten jewel in our area.  This is a park with several hiking trails, less than 5 miles west of Walhalla and is very seldom crowded.

Wear long pants as the Forest Service is not servicing the trails, but they are still worth the effort.  I am adding pictures of the falls that I took during the winter.   I love frozen falls.  Something like being able to stop time for a moment.  Enjoy and if you make the 45-minute walk to the falls you will be glad you did.

In talking to a couple this weekend I realized a few differences between people who bought homes in the 60's-70's and people who bought in the 90's. 

People who bought in the 60's-70's were in the job they were going to stay in for life.  They did not have to move, to move up in the company.  They were company people, no matter who they worked for, they were a company person be it Sears, Winn Dixie, the local mill or manufacturing plant...did not matter they had made a commitment for their job and their life.  The company took care of them. This employee worked to live and lived to work. 

When they bought a home, they were looking for a 2nd bath, but not necessarily for each kid to have...

Oconee County has been revamped, updated and looks really good.  The website can be found at Oconeesc.com.

You can look at your tax bill there (or look up your neighbors to see if they pay as much as you do), look up your deed and apply for a county job.  The website also includes info on the different projects the county is now involved with i.e. county-wide INTERNET... high-speed internet.

The GIS department has now got maps for the area online with overlays for roads and tax map numbers.  You can see an aerial photo of your property.

This is a much-improved site, call me if you have questions and I will walk you through the different places you can visit.

Last weekend we had a call from our friend Dwight Malphrus.  He had been up at his log cabin at Bear Track for a week, working on plumbing and getting the place ready for spring. He had fixed all the broken pipes.  He had done some cleaning up around the place.  Put up the bird feeders and filled them. He could feel spring in the air. After a week of this, he was tired of being alone.  Dwight is a people person and there was too much quiet at Bear Track.

So he called Henry and Gwen, pick a place to eat and let's go.  He picked us up and we started over the mountain from Walhalla to Brasstown.  I had been hearing about the restaurant there...great food, wonderful service, great food.  E...

Each time you hear the news that the interest rates are climbing you should think about why you are waiting.  A point it really doesn't matter, right????

Yes, it matters.  The new lending rules have gotten stricter on the ratios you can have for debt to income, 38% Max.  When you factor in taxes and insurance sometimes a point can be the difference between you getting the property you want or having to settle for your second choice.

At a purchase price of $100,000 at 4.875% (today's rate) your payment would be $529.21 before taxes and insurance are added.  If the rates were 5.875% your payment would be $591.54.  This is based on a 30-year fixed conventional rate.  If your credit score i...