Charlie Ragonesi Big Canoe Realestate's Blog: January 2011

There is a scam going on in Real Estate here. It is something you should all be aware of especially if you are a Georgia agent as it appears it is our turn. Here is how it goes. ( And yes they tried it on us.)

Buyer is usually from out of the country. You have a house listed at 1,000,000. (They only work high end.) Buyer wants the house gives you an offer at 950,000 all cash with 50,000 earnest money. The offer is always close to asking price so you will take it. The buyer always comes in around 50,000 earnest money. Everybody is really happy !!!

Now the buyer who is traveling has given his attorney a check for 50,000 for you. The "attorney" has a name and number . Obviously an accomplice. The reason you do not get a wire is that the buyer is traveling and cannot give instructions over the phone to his bank. So the check comes in and gets deposited.  A day or 2 later something tragic will happen and the buyer will cancel the deal. He will ask for his deposit back. He will want it wired. What then happens is the wire clears before the holder of the check learns it is phony and guess who is out 50,000 !!!

I cannot mention names as this persons name is shared by real legitimate people. However the country that he is calling from is Canada. So be aware. In 2008 a blog before was posted about this scam. I am also including a link to it.

pacita.activerain.com/post/1672270/scam-alert-cash-buyer-from-out-of-area

Needless to say we as the listing agents and the buyers agent and the seller become very disappointed over this type of thing. it has been reported to the Canadian police and the FBI. Hopefully this dirt bag will be caught

This weeks show deals with financial aspects of home ownership . Among other things, we talk about recasting as a way to reduce your mortgage payments. We also cover special financing in the mountains. We have geared this show to economics for the new year. We hope you enjoy this and as always welcome your suggestions for future shows.

In our mountains today we are seeing more and more first time buyers come out. We do have somewhat of a shift from vacation buyers and second home buyers to folks looking to take advantage of this market. Many renters are singing the same song. The home I am renting is going in to foreclosure.  We still have 100 percent financing available for veterans and as part of rural development. Now is a great time to consult with your local expert here at All Mountain Realty and own your first home.

The snow is basically gone and we are expecting temperatures in the 60's this week. So if you are thinking about looking for a home or land in our great North Georgia Mountains today, the weather, availability,prices, and interest rates all work in your favor. Shake off the cabin fever and call the folks at All Mountain Realty. There has never been a better time to own in our beautiful mountains

This week I have been posting about snow in the North Georgia Mountains. Yes we do have a winter here. Here are some of the photos I took of the snow I did not post earlier this week

This is Thursday just after sunrise. It is a crystal Palace as frozen fog descended over night. It really is quite something to see.

Above is another angle at what covered all out mountains for a few days

So here is the last shot off into the distance looking another way. But today Sunday, 1 week later, we are sunny in the 50's and tomorrow we will be in the 60's. This type of weather to me is what makes the North Georgia Mountains unique and great. Yes we have have had more snow than usual this year so far and it lasts a week. We have 4 great and different seasons here . But none of them are severe or drag on. To find out more about the North Georgia Mountains contact us at All Mountain Realty. These photos were taken in the magnificent community of Big Canoe .

 

For a lot of my life I was a road warrior. You know that person you see on the road with a rack across the back f the car with shirts and jackets hung on it. So along the ay i have seen some wild things people do as they are driving.

When I drove n NYC it was not uncommon to see drivers driving and reading the paper in the stop and go traffic.  Later on it was talking on the cell phone. And of course the combo of cell phone talking and reading the paper.

Then there are the women combing their hair and tossing their heads while driving. In addition there are those putting on make -up and drinking coffee at the same time while driving. There were even a couple of occasions where I saw couples ..... well you figure it out while driving. BUT yesterday was the best. While at a stop sign in the middle of no where a pick up truck turned in front of me and the driver was  wait fo it .... SHAVING. I just burst out laughing. In all my years and hundreds of thousands of miles I had never seen this. So please add to this post about what you have seen drivers doing while driving

This weeks show is live from the snowy North Georgia Mountains. we talk about the rule changes i HAFA as well as cover communities in the snow. Linda comes in via telephone so pardon some of the quality. We also cover the market here. We are seeing real signs of a turn around and a return to some type of normalcy. We may I think see the market level out to neutral (neither buyers, or sellers market) this year. Enjoy the show.

This is a great post from Linda Carrig about living in Big Canoe. Despite the puny snow man it gives all an idea of the great community Linda and i are fortunate enough to live in

Today is ice day.The sun is coming out and now as the snow melts we deal with ice. This is just part of the cycle. Sally took these pictures today and they are truly lovely

Yesterdaysphoto of the same scene above all you saw was white and mist. Today we see sun. The mountains are truly beautiful

  

This picture is of Oglethorpe Mountain. You can see the ice in the trees. it was taken off our front porch. Oglethorpe is famous as up until 1930 it was the starting point of the Appalachian Trail

Looking out the back door this picture is of Sanderlin Mountain. you can see the ice in the trees here as well. Tomorrow may be the day we can finally move about.  These pictures are all from around our home. This is why ,even in this weather we love the beauty of Big Canoe and the North Georgia Mountains.

As to my question. yesterday i added the QR code to the bottom of my blog. I have no idea how to determine whether or not it works. Can any one help ?

As I am snowed in I am getting caught up on a lot of things and exploring new things. But there is one thing that really frosts me. Ever log into a site that says free.... or into a site that has something you want? The first question I have is, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

It is obvious that I am interested in the product because I clicked through. But I get really peeved when I go through 10 screens and am asked for credit card info and still do not have a price. I am equally peeved when I listen to some bozo tell me his or hers secrets will only be available for a short time. This info is free. I listen to 10 minutes of drivel and in the end find out for $49.00 I can have the package.

Guess what . This stuff does not work. If I was going to buy now I am not. I cannot imagine anybody that would. So the point here is advertisers give us the cost up front . Let us make our own decision to proceed. By doing it the way you do what you guarantee is I will block you in my email. So even if you have something some time in the future I want to buy it will not happen because of your deceptive practices.