Holidays in the High Country

Blowing Rock and the surrounding areas are a Winter Wonderland during the Holiday Season.

The High Country Host says: "Like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting, Blowing Rock is the destination if you want to experience a picturesque small town Christmas. Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blowing Rock is a great place to make holiday memories while shopping, dining and taking in the lights and music of the season."

• Blowing Rock Christmas in the Park & Lighting of the Tree
  November 28: 2-8pm
  Held in Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, this event features Santa, games, carolers, hot chocolate and the lighting of the town tree!
• 
  
• Blowing Rock Christmas Parade
  November 29: 2pm
  Held on Main Street in Blowing Rock, the parade features community floats, music, antique cars and much more!
  
  
• Blowing Rock Art & History Museum Open House
  November 29: After Christmas Parade
  Fun for the whole family! Hot chocolate, cider, crafts for kids, wreath silent auction and caroling. Free.
  
  
• Chetola Resort Festival of Lights
  Nov 28-Jan 25: Dusk
  Chetola Resort becomes a Winter Wonderland with over 50,000 dazzling lights around Chetola lake and its surroundings.  The festival is free and open to the public, with more information available at the gatehouse. Carriage rides and visits with Santa are available the weekend after Thanksgiving.
• 
  
• Ensemble Stage: It's a Wonderful LifeNovember 30: 7pm
  The treasured holiday film comes to life before your eyes in the style of the classic 1940's radio drama. Complete with all the characters you love and love to hate, it's a story of redemption that resonates with all ages. A special treat for anyone kicking off their Christmas holiday season in our real-life Bedford Falls; Blowing Rock, NC. For tickets, click HERE
  
  
• Ensemble Stage: The Best of Christmas in Blowing Rock
  December 12-14
  Patterned after the Andy Williams and Bing Crosby TV specials of the 60's and 70's, complete with women in beautiful dresses, men in tuxedos, a kid's chorus, silly comedy skits and lots of singing and dancing, our Christmas in Blowing Rock shows have become one of the most popular traditions in our village. For tickets, click HERE

This information is courtesy of: http://highcountryhost.com/blowing-rock-nc-small-town-christmas/

Combatting Homelessness with Tiny Houses

Homelessness is a pervasive problem across the United States, and one that hits close to home with Realtors. Most recently in Madison, Wisconsin activists organized a non profit dedicated to solving this life threatening problem.

" In a city with a homeless population that has risen by 7 percent over the last four years to about 3,370, Occupy Madison organizers decided to tell their local leaders to “put up or shut up” and developed a non profit organization Occupy Madison Inc. In June 2013 OM Build was born and Tiny Homes was decided on as a solution.

To achieve their goals of a Tiny Village complete with 9 tiny homes, permanent comprehensive day resource center, safer places to sleep at night, as well as access to restrooms, showers, laundry, community gardening space, and other basic needs for people experiencing homelessness, OM Build realized that they would need to work from within the system. The hard and relentless work paid off. Scheduled for November 15th 2014 is a Ribbon Cutting Event for The first Tiny Village for the Homeless in Madison."

Read the full article here!

It's Christmas Tree Season in the High Country!

The High Country is renowned for our wide selection of beautiful Choose-and-cut Christmas Trees!
We attract patrons from all over the State and surrounding areas to experience the joy of choosing and cutting their very own Christmas tree.

Below you will find great resources for planning your journey to the High Country to choose and cut your own tree this season!

http://highcountryhost.com/shopping/choose-cut-christmas-trees/

http://www.exploreboone.com/includes/calendar-of-events/Choose-and-Cut-Christmas-Tree-Season/18170/

What You Need to Know Before Buying Rental Property

"

RENTAL PROPERTY: THE BIG PICTURE

When owning real estate, it’s important to focus on the big picture. I personally don’t buy property to rent out immediately. Instead, I buy property to enjoy for at least a couple years and then rent out after I’ve accumulated enough funds or want to live somewhere new. The idea is that if I’m willing to live in the future rental property I’m buying, so will others.

* It’s all about income. As a real estate investor you must ascertain what is the realistic income the target property can generate on a sustainable basis every year. Once you have an income range then you can calculate a property’s gross rental yield and price to earnings to compare it with other properties on your acquisitions list.

* Price appreciation is secondary. One of the big reasons why there was a housing collapse was because investors moved away from the income component of property and just focused on potential appreciation. Investors didn’t care they were hugely cashflow negative if they could ride the wave and flip within a year or two. Once the party stopped, speculators got crushed, which caused a domino affect that hurt neighbors who planned to buy and hold. If you are primarily focused on property appreciation and not income, you are a speculator.

* Property prices historically rise closely with inflation. Property price appreciation generally tracks inflation by +/- 2%. In other words, if the latest inflation figure is 3%, you can expect a 1-5% increase in national property prices. Over the years property price changes can fluctuate wildly. But if you look at property prices over a 10 year period you’ll see a relatively smooth correlation. 10%+ annual increases are unsustainable because eventually property prices will become unaffordable as wage growth fails to keep up.

* Property is always local. Be careful not to extrapolate property statistics. Just because one report says national prices are up 10% doesn’t mean you can sell your San Francisco home for 10% higher than a year ago. Property price statistics tell you the general direction of prices and the relative areas of strength. The most realistic value for your property is if your neighbor sells and has a very similar layout."

Read the full article here: https://blog.personalcapital.com/investing/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-rental-property/