A High Country spin on a classic Christmas tale... See the flip-book here:
http://anyflip.com/cwhs/smza
Monday, December 21, 2015
Friday, December 4, 2015
Benefits of High Country Vacation Homes
Vacation properties area great investment, especially in the Blue Ridge, because there is a finite supply views and frontage available. Additionally, tax deductions may be available depending on how you use your home. If you would prefer to mostly keep the house unoccupied while you are not using for personal enjoyment, you can claim this mortgage the same way you treat the mortgage on your primary residence. Since vacation homes are usually located in one's ideal area instead of where they have to live for work and family commitments, they keep their second home longer. This allows more time to pay off the loan and watch the house appreciate in value. If you go ahead and buy the home you'd like to reside in when you retire, you can save tons. By starting early, you build equity and reduce mortgage debt. When you retire, the profit from your current home may even be enough to pay off both houses.
Not only are second homes a financial advantage but they also provide unbeatable opportunities to escape from daily life. Returning to the same vacation home time after time gives you consistency and familiarity with the area. No need to check into a hotel or rent a house short term when you can return to a place where you feel comfortable and at home! This allows you to expand your social circle in the community, and build lifelong friendships with other residents. Additionally, you can forget about packing all your bags for a weekend getaway. You can store frequently used items at your second home such as ski gear, snow supplies, and heavy coats for a quick trip to the slopes without having to lug everything back to your primary home. Places stir up memories of holidays and vacations with special family and friends. Your vacation home can be the gathering place for your inner circle, allowing everyone to bond and spend treasured time together.
Whether you are looking to purchase a second house for the economic advantages or for the sentimental value, a vacation home is a great option. Between appreciation in value and tax deductions, they are a better investment than one may think. Plus they offer the chance to build a second social circle and a hearth for family and friends. If you're interested in owning a vacation property in the High Country, contact Liz Riddick to help you find the perfect second home!
Monday, November 30, 2015
A Sure Way to Achieve Work/Life Balance: Telecommute from NC Blue Ridge Mountains
So you have decided to telecommute, ditch the long commute to work and frenetic, noisy office environment. You’ve set up your home office in your current home, probably in the city where your office is located. Congratulations on a stress-reducing, healthy choice... but why stop there? Have you considered leaving the city, instead live anywhere you want (that has high-speed internet)? Where you have always dreamed of living? Maybe the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, where you can own the log cabin of your dreams, sip coffee with the sun peaking over the mountaintop, enjoy a picnic lunch on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and gaze at millions of stars in the crystal clear sky? Welcome to the joys of having it all, finding the true meaning of work-life balance.
Benefits of telecommuting from your mountain home
- Enjoy the mountains long before retirement: Most people envision retiring to the mountains, finally being able to buy that perfect little log cabin with view to relax. But now you don’t have to wait. With high-speed Internet service throughout the North Carolina High Country, you can work during the day and enjoy the mountain’s natural beauty after work. Take a hike, go fishing or skiing, participate in diverse community activities, fully explore the mountains while you and your family are young, vibrant, and able to participate in some of the areas more physically challenging activities. From a corporate IT project manager who worked from his log cabin retreat for 19 years before retiring: “When we bought our cabin we thought we wouldn't move there full-time until after we retired. Then we figured out we could telecommute and were able to enjoy the mountains during our 40’s and 50’s! Living in a beautiful natural environment while working was the best life-work balance decision we could have made!”
- Living on “mountain time:” Working (and living) in cities can be stressful with snarled traffic, crowded shopping, and constant city noises. Combined with the challenges of work, it can sometimes feel overwhelming, often impacting negatively health and happiness. According to a corporate training consultant who lives and works from a Valle Crucis cabin: “When we left the city frenzy, it was so healthy to reset, slow down, breathe, hike several times a week, enjoy peace and quiet, and learn to live on ‘mountain-time’. Rocking on the front porch and getting lost into the endless layers of old, wise mountains quickly put work stress into perspective.
- Increase job satisfaction and productivity: If you enjoy your work and the mountains, you will enjoy your work even more knowing that you come “home” to the mountains. According to a national non-profit leadership training consultant who lives in Boone: “I travel 1-2 weeks a month, sometimes more, to conduct management seminars. When I’m driving home from the airport and see the peaks of Grandfather mountain in the distance, I smile, knowing I am going home to one of the best places to live on the planet, where I can recenter, reenergize, and work in my yoga clothes!”
- Explore #10 in nation for outdoor living: This year’s Outdoor magazine ranks Boone, NC as 10th in the nation for highest quality of outdoor living with numerous and diverse four-season outdoor activities, such as riding Class 5 rapids, climbing Linville Gorge, mountain biking at Beech Mountain, hiking the Appalachian Trail, cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway, and skiing and snowboarding several local resorts. In response to the top 10 national rating, a local resident commented: “There’s a saying around here, ‘Our life is your vacation’.” So even while working, you can telecommute in the Boone area and make your life your vacation!
Contact Liz Riddick at Keller Williams High Country Realty to see her new listing of a perfect property with home office for telecommuting.
Email this premier listing agent at lizriddick@gmail.com or call her at 828-719-0120.
See the listing here!
Monday, November 9, 2015
5 Must Have Apps for your Home Search!
Buying a home can be a stressful and overwhelming process, especially in today's digital age of information overload. Many folks don't even know where to begin when starting their home buying journey. A great place to start is right where you are, right now. Pull out your mobile device and discover the Real Estate Apps that will make your life so much easier.
These Real Estate Apps are essential, convenient and helpful in initiating the quest for your perfect home.
1. Your Local Keller Williams Agent App (Free!)
This unique app features dynamic mapping, custom searches and specialized content for your local area with expert Agents who can provide even more specialized assistance. Accessible at any time and provides you a direct line with a caring KW agent to help you with your search!
2. Mortgage Calculator (Free) - By Left Coast R&D, Inc
Finances matter. Determining how much home you can afford is an important step in the home buying process. Start with a convenient Mortgage Calculator Mobile App to easily calculate monthly loan payments and assess the effects of varying interest rates. This app gives you the option to save several different mortgage rates with a simple and versatile design.
3. Trulia (Free)
This app not only provides search tools and photos of homes on the market, you also get crime stats and school ratings of areas in your search! This is a comprehensive tool to research several of the aspects of your home search.
4. Zillow (Free)
This nifty app also provides information on neighborhoods, schools and crime ratings. The advanced mapping features are easy to use and even allow you to search in an exact area by pinpointing your location via GPS locator. This is a great tool to view foreclosed homes and get "Zestimates" (monthly rental price estimate) on every home!
5. Houzz (Free)
The ultimate home inspiration app! It's like Pinterest but specialized to help you envision the home of your dreams, and then provides resources and connects you to local professionals who can help you renovation and design dreams come true!
While purchasing a home can be a lengthy and tedious process, there are so many tools at your disposal to ease the search. After checking out some of these essential Apps, connect with a local Real Estate Agent who can help you narrow your search, get you in some potential homes and eventually assist you in the purchase of your dream home!
Friday, September 25, 2015
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Live Off the Grid in the NC Mountains!
Living Off the Grid has countless benefits not only to you and your wallet, but to your community and environment as well. Here are some of the greatest reasons to go green when it comes to choosing your next home.
- Reduced energy costs: When you live off the grid, your electricity bills will go away or become very small! In fact, in some cases the electric company may even cut you a check (Wow).
- Less risk of weather-related power loss: When weather turns funky - you may still have power. During a big storm that knocks down poles, it's not Bob on the gird who'll have power. It will be the folks relying on alternative energy that have their lights still on and hot water cranking.
- Increased environmental knowledge: You will get a whole new education. Managing alternative energy systems, living more simply, and learning the best ways to conserve offer a hands on education that you can't get entirely from books. Many off grid home dwellers do come to think of off grid as a lifestyle choice instead of simply viewing it as the way their home is designed.
- Diminished carbon footprint: You'll be lowering your carbon footprint when you live off the grid. See how much with a carbon footprint calculator.
See the full article here, Top 6 Benefits of Living Off the Grid.
This incredible custom home is available now in Sugar Grove, NC - only 15 minutes from Boone and Appalachian State University. The property is already equipped with solar panels, organic gardens, and over 12 acres to enjoy the bounties of nature.
Take this once in a lifetime opportunity to live off the grid at your own Mountain sustainable oasis.
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