Ramesh Nyberg's Real Estate Blog

"Buy land, they ain't makin any more of it." 

"Don't wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate, then wait." 

Two great quotes I like a lot. One of them, maybe even both, I don't remember, were from Will Rogers.

I just got back from a 3-day Realtors tour of several land projects in Northern Georgia. If you have never been to that area of the country, you are missing out. If you have been to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, Tennessee, or South Carolina, though, you will find the scenery much the same. The Blue Ridge Mountains, in fact, extend into northern Georgia, making this region kind of the last frontier of affordable mountain property. You may have seen nothing like this, however. Five phenomenal residential projects, all beautifully planned, outfitted with in-place underground utilities (electric, water, cable, and high speed dsl) await the savvy investor looking for high quality gated (all but Apple Pie Ridge, which is open) vacation homes, retirement homes, or just lots for investment.
I simply can't describe it all here. I will, however, have new pictures up on the "mountain" page of this site, so you should come take a look. I'm really excited about the projects, they are first class, and outstanding value.

The location is so good you wonder why this area didn't hit the boom when North Carolina and Tennessee did. Georgia just didn't see it, and didn't promote it. Be glad they didn't. It's now available, but it's disappearing fast, and most of these projects are nestled in and around National Forests, so space is limited.

How's the market up there? Here's an example: In the Orchards--my favorite--there are 800 lots in all. 700 are sold, and 350 homes are in place. Orchards is an exquisite gated golf community with apple orchards and mountain views. It's pure genius. An SUV full of Realtors all stopped breathing for a moment when we drove through the entrance, and from there it we must have dismounted ten times to take pictures.

If you're interested in seeing what its all about, call me about a free dinner (no, there's no sales pressure, in fact you couldn't buy anything at one of the dinners if you tried-- I wouldn't send my customes that any arm-twisting involved). We have a fine dinner at Fleming's in Pinecrest, and we have fun, while you see a short presentation on the whole thing.

How's the market down here? Improving. I keep saying that, but each month the stats keep getting a little brighter. Palmetto Bay has seen a steady increase in pending sales for the 5th straight month.

Okay this blog server of mine has an annoying way of telling me how many days it has been since my last post. Once again, sorry for being away so long!

It's all about short sales and foreclosures these days. Wow, everyone wants info on them, how to buy them, where to buy them, how low of an offer can they make, and all those things. As far as short sales are concerned, my e-newsletter (which also goes out tonight) has some information on what short sales are from both buyer and seller perspective. The key to remember is that they are not all the same, because all banks handle them differently.

Foreclosures are also big topics. There are more and more on the market every day, and areas like Homestead and Cutler Bay, and West Kendall, just to name a few, are teeming with them.

We've gone through special training on short sales and we have specific packets for sellers to understand the process. I've got 5 short sale listings right now, and I've written two offers on short sales recently, so I'm getting extremely familiar with all of it.

Getting away from that for a moment..do you know anyone who wants to buy a beautiful parcel of land in the North Georgia mountians? I have one for sale, complete with a cleared pad ready to build a home and a lovely mountain view. It's in a gated resort community, near Ellijay, a Blue Ridge boom town that's only an hour from Atlanta but far enough away from everything to make you feel like you're way out in the country. Fantastic national parks, waterfalls, river rafting, etc are all nearby. Total acreage is 1.75 acres, and it's a short drive down the hill to the clubhouse, gym, pool/picnic area.  I'm asking $97,000, and I'll have some pictures up on this site shortly.