The economy is growing and there are job gains, so consumers have the financial wherewithal to purchase homes. Sure, the rise in rates has been inhibiting buying recently. A lot of the boom markets that boomed over the last several years are cooling off and home sales are dropping. But if the economy were in a recession, this would be worse. And mortgage rates aren’t rising too high — they’re only going up to 7% by the end of the year.

The last two years of the boom were exaggerated because of lending. There were more loans, such as negative amortization loans, allowing people to put off their debt payments until later. In some metropolitan areas, this exaggerated home prices and increased them further than they should have gone. To that extent, there’s some risk in those local markets. For example, if you take any local market in California, they’ll have interest-only loans and adjustable-rate mortgages because prices got too high. If mortgage rates increase, then some of those markets are vulnerable. But the forecast isn’t for interest rates to go up significantly. I have mortgage rates going to 7%, not to 10%. (more…)

search for : mortgage rates, negative amortization loans, interest-only loans

More than years after Asheville literary giant Thomas Wolfe gave us this immortal expression, his words echo with the love and longing that a place gives us. But what about returning to a place that never was your home, a place that somehow adopts you, welcomes you back as if it were your home? If there is such a place for me, it is Switzerland. The mountains there may be snow-capped like the Rockies out West, but the rolling verdant hills and forests remind me of an unspoiled Western North Carolina — minus the haze, billboards and sprawl of box stores.

Taking the “wanderweg” (hiking trail) on a ridgeline overlooking the lake, we could see the snows beginning to melt, making for some slushy hiking. White and purple crocuses bloomed along our path and Crayola green slopes served as pasture for cattle and sheep. Plots of farmland and neatly terraced properties made a patchwork of the landscape fields. Not a single house perched atop the mountains to spoil the view. Down below was the Vierwaldstättersee, or Lake Lucerne. Rising from the lake and into the distant horizon were the Alps — forests of black and green giving way to snow-capped rocky giants in the horizon. (more…)

search for : Thomas Wolfe, Switzerland, Western North Carolina, wanderweg, hiking trail

Slow sales and dropping prices aren’t normally the stuff of real estate industry presentations. If they are mentioned at all, they are usually quickly skipped over or tempered with a quick nod to other, more positive economic signs. The housing industry, from Realtors to developers to builders, must adapt to weather the rough waters that are probably ahead for the real estate market. Homebuilders must provide products that focus on quality, not quantityt. Gone are the days when cookie-cutter designs that scrimp on design will be snatched up by buyers who are eager to get into the home-buying frenzy.

Concern about what will happen when the payments on all the loans taken out last year increase plagues many builders. If home prices do not rise significantly many borrowers with interest-only loans could be stuck with higher mortgage payments. Absent higher prices, the buyers won’t be able to refinance by cashing in on anticipated equity. It’s the loans that were taken out in 2005 that there’s an upside-down concern about. However, if those borrowers had two- or three-year introductory terms, many borrowers will manage to maintain their payments. It’s possible that borrowers could be actually helped in the next few years if interest rates — and consequently mortgage payments — come down. (more…)

search for : Slow sales, dropping prices, real estate, Realtors, home prices, borrowers, interest rates, mortgage payments

Most people probably wouldn’t readily associate the tagline, “a taste of the mountains,” with Asheville’s water system. But soon, the water that comes out of your tap could be moonlighting under the name “Blue Ridge Mountain Mist.” Water Resources Director David Hanks said the city is considering bottling water for promotional use and to possibly sell at area stores. “We’ve actually been looking at bottling some more water for quite some time,” Hanks said.

Four years ago, the city started bottling water for use by city employees. The bottling was motivated by health and sanitation concerns over the use of five-gallon water coolers by city employees working outside. Hanks said the city would probably initially truck about 5,000 gallons of treated water to the Blue Ridge Mountain Water bottling facility. The company, located near Hendersonville, bottles its own brand of natural spring water but also takes requests for custom bottling from organizations in the region. (more…)

search for : Asheville, Blue Ridge Mountain Mist, Hendersonville

Over his six-plus decades, John Santosuosso has cultivated a soft spot for outcast nations, animals, and even plants. But none of that has kept him from earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in the stock market. To the contrary, he says, those values have for nearly two decades guided him to promising companies, often in far-flung places he’s researched as a professor of political science at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. To him, a country known to brokers as an “emerging market” is sometimes “a good place to put money” in a moral as well as a financial sense.

But having high ethical standards can also lull investors into complacency, according to Santosuosso. He says he held for too long his stock in Nortel, a Canadian communications firm that joined the Dow Jones North America Sustainability Index this year. He watched as a profitable track record vanished. His lesson for other ethically minded investors: Don’t get greedy – or self-righteous. (more…)

The weather warms up and the rhododendron blooms full force in June, making this the ideal time to stretch your legs on the serious climbs in the western part of the state. Most Floridians head to the Blue Ridge Parkway region around Boone, Blowing Rock and Banner Elk, just like Lance Armstrong did when his original cancer comeback flamed out with his disappointing withdrawal from Paris-Nice.

As nice as the Boone area is, we prefer the even more rural village of Bakersville, where the only choice is to stay in the Bicycle Inn (http://www.bicycleinn.com) and let mountain man proprietor Michael Davis point you in the direction of the mighty Roan Mountain. With beautiful empty pavement all around and absolutely nothing to distract you from the task at hand, you’ll make a speedy transformation from flatlander to polka dot jersey candidate. (more…)

search for : rhododendron, Blue Ridge Parkway, Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Lance Armstrong, Bicycle Inn, Roan Mountain

John Myers of Hickory Nut Forest, LLC, who has spent the past 18 years protecting over 20,000 acres for parks and trails, has designed a unique conservation development project in Hickory Nut Gorge, just 17 miles from Asheville. Over the past two years, John and a small group have acquired over 200 acres of pristine land on Little Bearwallow Mountain. Rather than seeking to maximally develop this land, their goal is exactly the opposite, to work to keep this rich habitat natural as an undisturbed forest.

Overall in the entire Little Bearwallow Mountain project, an amazing 90% of the land is planned to remain forested! In addition, just across the road is another 560-acre nature preserve with miles of hiking trails, and a few miles down the gorge is the new 1500-acre Hickory Nut Gorge State Park. John envisions hiking trails eventually running the length of the gorge linking all these areas together. (more…)

search for : Hickory Nut Forest, Hickory Nut Gorge, Asheville, Little Bearwallow Mountain, Hickory Nut Gorge State Park

Stretching some 469 miles along the Southern Appalachian Mountains and linking two eastern national parks — Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and North Carolina/Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains — the Blue Ridge Parkway has often been referred to as “America’s Favorite Drive.”

It’s certainly the country’s first rural route — parts of it date back to 1930s (when construction began as a make-work project during the Depression) -– and one of its longest, with breathtaking scenery and dozens of recreational opportunities to distract you when you need to stretch your legs. (more…)

search for : Southern Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, Shenandoah National Park, North Carolina, Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, America’s Favorite Drive

High Country Conservancy recently completed a land protection project on Horseshoe Farm located in northern Ashe County. This property consists of 190 acres of farmland and forestland along Big Horse Creek. This donated conservation easement will permanently protect water quality, open space, forested and agricultural lands as well as half acre, intact rare Southern Appalachian bog. Approximately 2,100 feet of Big Horse Creek, a tributary to the North Fork of the New River will be permanently protected including a 300 foot wide riparian buffer on either side of the creek.

Horseshoe Farm’s owner, Terry Reeves, lives in Raleigh, NC, but comes to the farm every chance he has to enjoy the mountains. He has reserved the right to use the land for recreational purposes such as hunting, hiking and camping and may build and maintaining footpaths and hiking trails. He can also continue to use fields that are already opened and cleared for agricultural purposes such as livestock or planting crops. Reeves has amassed an extensive history of the property and surrounding area through stories collected from neighbors over the years. His love for the property makes him anxious to help HCC protect more land in the Big Horse Creek Area. (more…)

search for : High Country Conservancy, land protection project, Horseshoe Farm, Ashe County, Big Horse Creek, conservation easement

Baby boomers have a higher rate of homeownership than the national average and one out of four own more than one property, according to a new study of the largest generation in U.S. history commissioned by the National Association of Realtors(r). Initial results were released here today at NAR’s Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. The comprehensive study of nearly 2,000 Americans born between 1946 and 1964, conducted for NAR by Harris Interactive(r), also shows boomers are optimistic about the future, but many are not adequately prepared for retirement.

Nearly eight in 10 boomers own their own homes and almost nine out of 10 have owned at some point in their lives; 96 percent believe owning a home is a good financial investment — evidenced by their actions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the overall rate of home ownership is 69 percent. For the portion of baby boomers who have never owned a home, 85 percent cited financial reasons but 38 percent simply didn’t want the responsibility of homeownership. One-quarter of respondents own one or more other kinds of real estate in addition to a primary residence: 13 percent own land, 8 percent own rental property, 7 percent a vacation home or seasonally occupied property, 2 percent commercial real estate and 3 percent some other kind of real estate. (more…)

search for : Baby boomers, homeownership, National Association of Realtors, U.S. Census Bureau, home ownership

At one time I wanted to build myself an earth home (meaning 1 or two sides of the house would be underground); heated by solar power; and operated by photovoltaic panels, which would convert solar energy into electricity stored in a bank of batteries. Ah, yes, the dream of green living. Unfortunately, builders have not seen the public support swelling for such alternative, renewable energy sources, thus houses are continuing to built with energy technologies that haven’t changed at there core over the last several decades: central air conditioners, forced air furnaces, heat pumps, fossil fuels and natural gas. At least the politicians are getting it

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by the Department of Energy, is the nation’s primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. The group operates on a $220 million budget, dedicated to the development of renewable energy. An example of the group’s mission was depicted in a Habitat for Humanity house build last year in Wheat Ridge, Col. The home, on Carr Street in that town, is a net zero energy house, meaning it creates as much energy as it consumes — now that’s what I’m talking about. (more…)

search for : solar power, photovoltaic, solar energy, electricity, batteries, central air conditioner

The new crop of homes and commercial buildings in Western North Carolina may encroach on farmland, but it has a major upside for some growers, especially those in landscaping and greenhouse-related businesses. Savvy producers of flowers, perennials, shade trees and sod have tapped into a burgeoning market that has supplanted tobacco as the top crop in North Carolina. In Henderson County — long considered the apple capital of North Carolina — the nursery and greenhouse industry generates 10 times the revenue of that traditional crop.

The robust greenhouse and nursery industry has surpassed tobacco as the top crop in the Tar Heel state. In 2004, the industry generated $832 million in sales, compared to $620 million for tobacco. And that doesn’t count Christmas trees, which generated another $101 million. In his nine years on the job, Cliff Ruth, an agent specializing in ornamentals for the Henderson County office of the N.C. Cooperative Extension, has seen ornamental and greenhouse-related businesses increase from 240 to more than 500 in Henderson County alone, and from about 1,000 employees to 3,000. (more…)

search for : Western North Carolina, flowers, perennials, shade trees and sod, North Carolina, Henderson County, N.C. Cooperative Extension

You don’t need to be in the market to buy or sell a home to be affected by the cooling housing market. Economists, investors and the Federal Reserve are watching home building and home sales carefully because the sector has reached so far throughout the economy in recent years, lifting all manner of consumer spending and economic activity.

Even if prices don’t fall, even if there is no housing bubble about to pop, the cooling real estate market will be felt by many of those who may not be thinking about real estate prices. “It’s going to be very similar to the stock bubble, but even more so. Many who didn’t own stock lost their job when the market plummeted,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and one of those who believes housing prices have resulted in an asset bubble ripe for a correction. (more…)

search for : housing market, Federal Reserve, home building, home sales, housing bubble

High gas prices, traffic tie-ups, expensive housing – who needs it? Most Americans, if they want a good paying job. But an increasing number of people are opting out by telecommuting, giving them access to companies in high-paycheck areas while at the same time being able to live in areas with more reasonably priced real estate.

Rural communities are especially interested in promoting telecommuting. These areas have hemorrhaged population in the past few decades as agricultural jobs dried up and the best and the brightest of the young pursued opportunities elsewhere. Some of those migrants eventually return when they get older and begin to raise families. But often they can’t find suitable work. (more…)

search for : High gas prices, expensive housing, real estate, telecommuting

The worst mistake a seller can make in a softening market is to overprice a home. Even putting a high price on your home to “test the market” for a few weeks (with the notion that you can always lower it later) is a bad idea. Your goal should be to seal a deal during “the first two or three weeks your house is new to the market,” says Lyle Martin, co-founder of Assist-2-Sell, a discount realty firm. That’s when your home generates interest from serious buyers who have their radar up for fresh properties.

Hire an agent

You may hate the idea of parting with 6 percent of your home’s value, especially when you’re facing the prospect of getting less than you dreamed of. And with the Internet making do-it-yourself sales easier than ever, you may be tempted to dispense with an agent.

But in a tougher environment, marketing is everything, and an experienced agent–that is, one who didn’t recently jump into the real estate gold rush – can be invaluable in helping you price your home correctly and in getting it noticed by prospective buyers. An agent can also steer you through the tortuous sales process and keep a deal on track when the inevitable glitches crop up. (more…)

search for : seller, Assist-2-Sell, Hire an agent

Who could blame people for losing hope that they’ll ever be able to afford a Bay Area home when ever-creeping interest rates are compounding the pain of sky-high home prices? Don’t sell those mad scientists of the mortgage industry so short, however. In an effort to squeeze monthly payments into stretched-tight budgets, more lenders are peddling mortgages with the security of fixed rates, the flexibility of interest-only payments and a chance to spread out payments 10 to 20 years longer than usual.

The need for such loans is driven by the fact that local home prices continue to rise at a double-digit pace that has far outpaced the rise in average incomes. For example, the median-price home in Santa Clara County cost $735,000 in March, up 11 percent from the previous year. What these loans have in common is they can shrink monthly payments on pricey homes, at least at first. They also are designed to satisfy the growing appetite for fixed-rate loans at a time when interest rates have climbed to their highest level in years and borrowers get an unusually slim benefit from choosing a short-term adjustable-rate loan. (more…)

search for : interest rates, monthly payments, interest-only payments

The dot-com boom has reached the real estate world. Finally. Just as the Web changed how consumers listened to music, dated, shared photos and (at least temporarily) ordered groceries, a crowd of new companies, including RealEstateABC.com and Zillow.com, hopes to change the way people purchase, research, gossip about and value real estate.

Zillow says its site is still in beta form, and the company expects most people eventually to turn to a real estate agent. Still, Zillow’s instant popularity illustrates that home shoppers want more comprehensive information faster and cheaper. RealEstateABC.com offers a similar way to view real estate property online. In certain circles, Zillow is even used as a verb, as in “Have you Zillowed your house yet?” “The zestimate is not the end all, be all answer to the question of how much your home is worth,” said Zillow Chief Financial Officer Spencer Rascoff. “But it’s a first step. It makes for a more educated buyer or seller, but more often than not, they’ll seek the advice of an agent.” (more…)

search for : dot-com boom, RealEstateABC.com, Zillow.com, real estate, Zillow

Stretching 469.1 miles from the Shenandoah mountains of Virginia to the Smokies of North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Parkway provided jobs not only for skilled engineers but for hungry men with haunted eyes, calloused hands and families to feed. For many young men, a Civilian Conservation Corps job in the high country was a prelude to the rigors and regimen of World War II.

The Parkway is America’s most popular national park. It draws more visitors than the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, combined. Yet its budget is inadequate to cover even basic needs. Maintenance is lagging, rest rooms are not being cleaned and grass is not mowed. The problem is money. The National Park Service does not have the budget necessary to protect and repair the parks its has, much less to expand. (more…)

North Carolina voters would get to decide whether the state should spend $1 billion on land conservation efforts under a proposal being pushed by a number of conservation groups. Land for Tomorrow, a statewide coalition, is asking the General Assembly to allow a bond referendum on the issue in November. “We are asking the lawmakers to give the citizens of North Carolina a choice. We think there’s the support out there, and we believe this will happen,” said Marge Anders Limbert, outreach coordinator for Land for Tomorrow.

The groups want a bond referendum that would provide $200 million a year for five years for land conservation efforts. The referendum also would provide money for grants that allow communities to take advantage of undeveloped land and historic places. But some Western North Carolina lawmakers aren’t sure the state can take on more bond debt. Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, called the conservation effort a “wonderful cause,” but said the state “may not have room for many more bond issues. (more…)

search for : North Carolina voters, Land for Tomorrow, land conservation

Thousands of people used the non-traditional mortgages last year to afford a house in many locales, where home prices increased nearly 50 percent from 2004. They’re paying for that decision today. On many adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, the interest rate adjusts twice a year after the teaser period. As a result, each year, the monthly payment on a loan for a $250,000 Valley home could climb by more than $100.

It’s easy to see how people fall behind. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages are hovering around 5.7 percent, almost a percentage point less than a 30-year fixed mortgage, which hit 6.59 percent Thursday, the highest level since June 2002. But the interest rate on a one-year ARM can go up as much as 2 percentage points a year. So someone who takes out one of those mortgages today could see his or her mortgage rate hit 7.8 percent next spring, which would erase all the savings of the past year. The monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage would climb from $1,167 to $1,432 with that rate jump. (more…)

search for : non-traditional mortgage, home prices, adjustable-rate mortgage, ARM, interest rate, monthly payment

Major Patrick Ferguson of His Majesty’s Army was a red-haired Scot, both feared and respected by the Americans. He was one of the few officers on either side who was technically skilled with firearms. Ferguson, not only one of the best shots in England, was a student of the loading mechanism and the riflings of a rifle. “The Ferguson Rifle” became the British army’s first breechloading rifle. At a demonstration in England before top army brass, Ferguson fired six shots per minute in heavy rain and high winds while hitting the bull’s eye at 100 yards. His amazed audience then instructed him to organize recruits into a company of riflemen for service in America.

The next characters in our story are the Overmountain Men. These hardy fellows lived in the extreme northeastern corner of what is now Tennessee, along the Watauga, Nolichucky and Holston rivers where Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina meet. They were squatters on Cherokee land because the official policy of the British government was to keep white settlers east of the mountains. That did not prevent a number of families from North Carolina, led by James Robertson and John Sevier, from crossing the mountains and establishing settlements along the Watauga River at what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. (more…)

search for : Major Patrick Ferguson, His Majesty’s Army, The Ferguson Rifle, England, Overmountain Men, Tennessee, Nolichucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Watauga River

People want real estate deals to be quick, painless and good for the checkbook. They also want homes that are well-appointed, stylish and move-in ready. This combines real estate savvy with creative interior design to give clients what they want — a house that is almost instantaneously a home. If a seller has little time to clean out closets or organize the garage, no problem, Southern Home Design & Realty will handle it. If a buyer wants a new condominium furnished before he moves in, it’s done. The company’s interior designers will pick everything out according to the client’s taste.

“People are getting top dollar for their homes,” Smith said. “Sometimes it only takes $1,000 to make a house worth $8,000 to $10,000 more.”

The benefit for buyers is having a house that needs little or no work; the women say that is what most buyers are demanding.

“Everyone wants something a little bit better, and this gives them an ideal space,” Ringled said.

Coats of paint, less clutter and well placed furniture can open up a home and make it seem more inviting. The concept, often called staging, gives a house a neutral polished look so buyers can better imagine their things in the space.

But the women say they are going beyond making things look nice. They are helping buyers with bad credit secure mortgage loans. (more…)

search for : real estate deal

Like travel agents and stockbrokers before them, real estate agents are facing changes in their profession that could leave many of them looking for a new line of work.The same growth in computing power that has made it easier for them to do their jobs also is making it easier for potential customers to do without them entirely.

Historically, real estate agents have represented sellers, but in recent years, a growing number of sellers have decided to go it alone, aided by not only such Web sites as Mr. Sambrotto’s and another online site, fsbo.com, but also such venues as craigslist.org. The Web set is effectively an online classified ad that allows sellers to share information about their homes with the world — craigslist.org draws more than 4 billion page views per month. Even the traditional outlet for real estate ads, newspapers, have caught on to the virtual world and begun offering online listings, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In recent months, sellers have gotten additional tools that make do-it-yourself seem even less scary. The sites, Zillow.com or RealEstateABC.com, promise to simplify the pricing process, long considered an area of professional expertise. (more…)

search for : travel agent, stockbroker, real estate agent, fsbo, craigslist, craigslist.org, real estate ad, Zillow.com, RealEstateABC.com

Western North Carolina prides itself as a tourist destination — the mountain getaway where you can hike and shop and rest among the soothing sounds of nature. Travelers looking for that extra personal service in a cozy atmosphere have long enjoyed the comfort of bed and breakfast inns. Since the 19th century, folks have come to the mountains to catch the fall leaf season, get away from big city bustle or cool off from hotter climes.

In 2004, tourism revenue for Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties soared to $461 million, and 3-percent room taxes generated $1.7 million, most of which goes back into each of the counties’ tourism authority organizations to spend on advertising. Figures aren’t broken down to see exactly how much of that revenue is generated by B&B’s, but just by the number of inns, cabin rentals and resorts in the region, conservative estimates would put that figure in the millions. The Tourism Development Authority of Haywood County lists 25 bed and breakfasts and inns in Haywood County alone, with another 70 more listings for cabins, cottages and villas. There are 11 B&B’s listed with the Jackson County Travel and Tourism Authority that help make up the 1,400 available rooms in the county. (more…)

search for : Western North Carolina, mountain getaway, hike, bed and breakfast, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain, Tourism Development Authority, B&B, Jackson County Travel and Tourism Authority

High energy prices can make an environmentalist out of any homeowner. As we celebrated Earth Day, April 22, the National Association of Home Builders reported that green building is near a “tipping point.” The green construction industry segment will climb from 2 percent of all residential starts in 2005 to between 5 percent and 10 percent in 2010. “The necessity for more energy-efficiency is driving the trend,” says Matt Belcher, who runs Belcher Homes in St. Louis and who chaired the Green Home Building Conference there. “Consumers are looking for energy savings.”

Many green methods also conserve materials, which appeals to mainstream builders and consumers alike – fewer materials equal lower building costs. Builders of dome homes, for example, use the shape’s inherent strength to “drastically reduce the lumber needed to frame out a building,” says Dennis Johnson, owner of Natural Spaces Domes. “A dome uses about a third or even a quarter of the material a conventionally framed house of equal size requires.” Using longer-lasting materials also means less in repair and replacement costs. David Balas, who designed a green house on Bainbridge Island in Washington, topped it with a steel roof that will last for decades. (more…)

search for : National Association of Home Builders, energy-efficiency, Belcher Homes, St. Louis, Green Home Building Conference, energy savings, dome homes

Triad planners are nearing a decision on the route that North Carolina’s cross-state Mountains to Sea Trail will take through their area. The trail, conceived in the 1970s, is meant to ultimately stretch 940 miles from Clingman’s Dome in the mountains to Jockey’s Ridge on the Outer Banks. Existing trail is being used where available, but sections must be linked over property owned or governed by a variety of jurisdictions. The most complete section – 240 miles – is the western end because of the large amount of public land available.

n the Triad, the trail already includes a portion of the Greensboro city trails along Lake Townsend, but the section is miles from other approved parts of the long trail. In February, the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments and state officials held a planning conference so interested parties in the eastern half of the region could work on a plan to link short trails. “What a regional organization like ours is able to do is help connect the dots,” said Randy Billings, the council of governments’ executive director. Members have devised a draft plan that starts with the Lake Townsend trail and goes north into Rockingham to the fledgling Haw River State Park. It then follows the Haw into Alamance, where other sections of the trail are being formed. (more…)

search for : North Carolina, Mountains to Sea Trail, Clingman’s Dome, Jockey’s Ridge on the Outer Banks, Lake Townsend, Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, Alamance

Vincent Properties of Blowing Rock and Prestige Builders of Florida are partnering together to purchase the Phoenix Mountain property and recently announced their current plans to build a ski slope there. Representatives of the groups attended the Jefferson aldermen meeting Monday night to ask the town to resign a letter promising the developers access to sewer and water. A letter had previously been signed by the town aldermen to Eric Hunter, former property owner, stating that the town would provide 150,000 gallons of water and sewer a day to the property. The aldermen voted unanimously to sign the letter again stating the same intent with the new property owners.

Phoenix Mountain has an altitude of over approximately 4,600 feet, a ¾ mile long 300-400 foot cliff face, a mile of highway frontage, the 150,000 gallons per day of sewage and water capacity, unspoiled mountain streams, is located only two miles from a high-growth, historic village and has no zoning restrictions. Prestige Builders Partners is South Florida’s premier builder of exceptional residential communities and commercial properties, according to the company’s website at www.prestigebuildersgroup.net. (more…)

search for : Vincent Properties of Blowing Rock, Prestige Builders of Florida, Phoenix Mountain, unspoiled mountain streams, South Florida, www.prestigebuildersgroup.net

It isn’t an understatement: Rutherford County – a mostly rural, 564-square-mile county of rolling hills and small towns – is in a transformation. Residents are turning derelict buildings into inns and shops. Plans are developing for coffee shops and increased broadband service. Golf courses and large-scale, high-end real estate developments are under way in the county and close by.

Still, the county appears to be on the cusp of a building boom. Between 1990 and 2000, Census Bureau figures show that population density increased just a little, from 101 people per square mile to 111 per square mile. But that is likely to change soon, if leaders’ predictions come true. The county sits about an hour’s drive from Charlotte, Asheville and Greenville, S.C. – a commutable distance for workers and tourists. Many new residents are what some called “halfbacks,” or those former New York residents who moved first to Florida and are now coming halfway back to settle in Rutherford County, with its small-town feel and hospitality. (more…)

The Elk Knob State Natural Area, one of the newest additions to the state park system, is getting warmed up for summer as work continues on the development of trails through the mountain that bridges Watauga and Ashe counties. The 1,800-acre park was authorized as an addition to the state parks system in 2003 after being donated by The Nature Conservancy. The natural area’s main entrance is on Meat Camp Road, though right now there’s little more than a rough logging road to provide access to the park.

After the trail is finished, there will be some road upgrades, the addition of parking lots at the trail heads, and about a dozen picnic sites. Eventually a park office will be built along with an interim maintenance station, and Trivette hopes a picnic shelter will be constructed, though he said money will probably run out by that point. “We hope to start (the trail) in the next month or so,” he said. “We have limited staff to do the initial groundwork, and the DOT (N.C. Department of Transportation) will work on the roads. We’ll eventually be open to volunteers interested in trail construction.” (more…)

search for : Elk Knob State Natural Area, trails, Watauga and Ashe, The Nature Conservancy, trail head, picnic site, N.C. Department of Transportation