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Archive for September, 2009

September 30th, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Real Estate VIEWS

For the second month in a row, 18 of the 20 Case-Shiller real estate markets posted higher home values.  It’s the 6th consecutive strong showing for the benchmark private-sector housing index.

Combined with falling home supplies and rising sales figures, this month’s Case-Shiller Index suggests that housing may have bottomed sometime earlier this year.

It’s cause for optimism.

Even Case-Shiller respresentatives seem excited. In its press release, the publishers singled out the index’s winning streak, commenting on the recent “stabilization in national real estate values”.

But, in that statement, we see the Case-Shiller Index’s biggest flaw.  The index ipurports itself to be a national real estate metric but, in reality, there is no such thing as a national real estate market.

All real estate is local. I will be posting reports for the North Georgia Mountain Real Estate market within the coming days. These reports will include data from Blue Ridge, GA . in Fannin County, Ellijay in Gilmer County, as well as Blairsville in Union County and Hiawassee in Towns County. These Real Estate Market Reports will be for both vacant lots and acreage sales, as well as residential.

The Case-Shiller Index reports home values for 20 U.S. cities.  Each of those cities, however, is comprised of smaller neighborhoods, each with its own character, desirability, and price points.  Case-Shiller attempts to lump it all together — an impossibility.

As an example, New York City posted a nearly 1 percent increase in July but that figure is just a city summary.  The actual market in three distinct neighborhoods — Upper East Side, Chelsea, and Flatbush — vary tremendously.  Not to mention Long Island, too.

Flaws aside, though, Case-Shiller is still important.  It helps to identify broader trends in housing and housing may hold the key to our economic future.

With July’s Case-Shiller Index, we see that the housing market’s recovery is being sustained.

Tags: Case-Shiller Index, Housing Market, North Georgia Mountain Real Estate, Real Estate, U.S, United States

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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September 17th, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Real Estate VIEWS

According to the country’s home builders, the housing market is looking good.

Each month, the National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index report, a survey geared at taking “the pulse of the single-family housing market”.

Respondents report on three facets of their business, each series weighted and averaged:

1. How are market conditions today?
2. How do market conditions look 6 months from now?
3. How is the traffic of prospective buyers of new homes?

For the 3rd straight month, the Housing Market Index improved.  It’s now at its highest level since May 2008.

The housing market has shown signs of life since March.  Both Existing Home Sales and New Homes Sales have soared and home values are up in a lot of towns.  Builders showing confidence is another positive signal.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the recession is “very likely over” and strong housing data corroborates that statement.

As the economy strengthens and housing does, too, home sellers will start to regain the upper-hand in contract negotiations.  If you’re an active home buyer, therefore, and looking for “a deal”, be aware that time is close to running out.

Tags: Home Builders, National Association of Home Builders, Real, Real Estate, Recession, U.S. Housing Market

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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September 17th, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Got-To-Do reVIEWS

2009 SEBA Bluegrass Festival

When: September 25-27

Where: Historic Downtown Blairsville

3 Stages – Please Click Here for more details.

Brought to you by

The Southeast Bluegrass Association

and the

Blairsville Downtown Development Authority

Come Rain or Shine!

General Information: •Free admission, but donations to support the event are welcome
•Bluegrass jamming all around Historic Downtown Blairsville
•Free music workshops on bluegrass instruments
•Free workshops on sound support, recording, & website design
•Music performance on two stages all day long
•Raffle drawings throughout the day
•Blairsville area restaurants (within close walking distance) will be serving food and staying open late especially for the Festival. Please patronize them. •Don’t forget to bring a chair or blanket for the outside stage
•In case of rain, we will have an alternate site nearby.

Tags: Arts and Entertainment, Blairsville Ga, Bluegrass music, Festival, Music, North Georgia Mountains, Southeast Bluegrass Association

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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September 14th, 2009Categories: Clients reVIEWS

My wife and I just closed on a cabin in the North Georgia Mountains, after a search of about 10 months and what must have been around 50 or so individual listings. Our Realtor, Chad Lariscy, was a tireless advocate for our concerns. Not that we had all of our ideas wrapped into a tight ball at the outset (though we THOUGHT we did), by any means. We learned as we went, and Chad constantly heard, and applied, our desires to the list of properties we would be shown. We visited the area several times over the months and Chad met us each time with a smile, a warm greeting, genuine care and spent the entire day with us as our intrepid guide. When we needed input, he provided it – always with grace and real concern – to help us to more clearly see what we had in our minds and hearts. When we arrived at the place, we knew it was the one.

We’re glad for the time we spent – not only in seeing all the variations that sellers had listed, but for being able to realize our own concepts which at times weren’t all that easy to interpret.

Chad did an outstanding job of representing not only Blairsville Realty specifically, but the Real Estate profession in general. We’re proud to know him – and would heartily recommend him to anyone on a similar search.

Furthermore, Chad will keep the clinical and detailed aspects of the market before you with insights such as those of which he writes in his articles in “The Front Porch View”.

Rick and Starr

Rick and Starr,

I had the best time with you guys! Rick, your “mountain slang” to this day keeps me rolling in the floor with laughter! Starr, we are going to get that Volley Ball court on the side of that mountain if it is the last thing we do.

I am truly blessed and grateful that the both of you have come into my life. This goes well beyond the scope of agency relationships. You are both my dear friends whom I will always remember as being one of “The Best” I have ever had the privilege of working with. I am looking forward to many, many great years ahead. I know you guys are going to fit right in with us “mountain folk!”

My family and I are eternally grateful!

Tags: Blairsville Realty, Blue Ridge, Cabin, Chad Lariscy, North Georgia Mountains, Real Estate, Sold

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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September 14th, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Home Tips

At some point, every home fights with fruit flies.  2.5 millimeters in length, the airborne animals linger near garbage and circle fresh fruit, hanging around for weeks at a time.

Fruit flies are pests, but they can be dealt with.

In addition to the large number of homemade remedies, there are inexpensive, commercial ones, too.

One notable product is the Terro Fruit Fly Trap.  Shaped like an apple, the Terro trap sits in your kitchen.  It’s filled with a vinegar-like solution meant to attract and trap nearby fruit flies.  Once the flies are contained, they can no longer breed, and the pest problem subsides.

The Terro product sells for about $8 at local hardware stores.  It’s sold for $5 on Amazon.com.

Tags: Amazon.com, Annoying, Fly Trap, Fruit Flies

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: 1 Comment »

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September 11th, 2009Categories: Real Estate Made Simple

By its most common definition, a quitclaim deed is a document by which one person passes legal and financial ownership of a home to another person.

It’s also a way for an owner of a home to remove himself from the title to the property.

Often misspelled as “quick claim deed” or “quit claim deed”, quitclaim deeds have a multitude of applications, including:

• Assigning a home to a trust or entity
• Adding a partner to title after marriage
• Removing a partner from title after divorce

In order to quitclaim a property, the grantor must have the legal right to assign the property to a grantee, or else the quitclaim deed is worthless.  For example, you can quitclaim your interest in City Hall to your neighbor, but it would have no practical or legal consequence because you don’t actually own City Hall.

This is where quitclaim deeds vary from warranty deeds (or grant deeds) — the types of transfers that occur when real estate is sold.  In instances of the former, the title to a home is guaranteed to be clear.

Before using a quitclaim deed on your own home, consult an estate planning attorney.  Transferring real property can trigger ruin a will, or trigger taxes — it’s important to consult a professional for help.

If I can be of any assistance to you or point you in the right direction, please feel free to call me at 706-994-8686, or Contact Me today.

You might also enjoy learning more about Estates and Title To Property.

Make it a GREAT day!

Tags: Deed, Ownership, Quitclaim, Real Estate, Real property

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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September 8th, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Home Tips

How to Fix a Jammed Garbage Disposal — powered by eHow.com

If you’ve ever dealt with a broken garbage disposal, you know that just having a plumber show up costs in the neighborhood of 65 dollars — even if the repair takes 30 seconds.

That’s why every homeowner should have basic, garbage disposal-fixing skills.  Most disposal repairs are the simple kind.

In this 2-minute video from eHow.com, we learn the basic tools for fixing a jammed garbage disposal.  It’s nothing more than a broomstick, an allen wrench, and needle-nose pliers.  Anyone can do it, and it’s cheaper than calling for a pro.

Of course, for disposal problems bigger than a simple jam, there’s always Angie’s List.

Tags: Garbage disposal, Home, Plumber, Tips

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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