Charlie Ragonesi Big Canoe Realestate's Blog

3 days a week I go to a 7 am class in the fitness center in Big Canoe. In the winter it is dark on the way there. But coming back at 8 am it gets pretty crossing the dam over lake Petit and watching the day start.

The sun in ths pictue is just coming up over lake Petit. The lake is 95 acres and just clean and beautiful.

When one turns around you can see the sun reflecting on the mountains. Now it is winter here but can you see any homes? They are there. Big Canoe does a great job through architectural control of making sure homes blend in with nature. In this photo there are actually some 4 and 5 bedroom large homes. You do not see them easily.

If you look the other way you see Cox mountain in the distance. below is a ball field ? walking track. In addition the tennis cours are near by as well as the fitness center. Big Canoe is a place where you can enjoy nature and be active

The mountains are great . This is part 2 in a series of mountain living tips. This part applies to Gated communities like Big Canoe or Bent Tree as well as areas not in these types of communities.

Bears

Bears are beautiful things to see. But you really do not want them on your front porch. There is nothing to get you going in the morning like looking out a window and seeing a pair of fuzzy eyes looking back at you . Trust me. It is better than an espresso to get the juices going. The black bears in the mountains are usually not aggressive. But they are bears so......

1 Never, never, never, get between a mama and her cubs. If you have dogs make sure they will obey you when they are left off a leash. One of my favorite bear stories here in Big Canoe is about a lady who had two little dogs who saw a cub and chased it. The cub ran to mama. This brought the dogs to a complete stop . And I am sure they said the dog equivalent of "oh S%$#$#T" ! as the mama bear chased them. Of course they ran back to their human mama. She saw them coming with a bear behind( there is a joke in there some where). The human mama said OH S&%^%$T! and neighbors came out in time to make the mama bear realize that she had made her point and she stopped.

2 Never leave food out. You can have Racoons as well as larger animals on your porch. We tell folks here not to leave out bird feeders between April and Oct. Baffles work for squirrels but nothing bigger.

3 If you cook outside in a green egg or barbecue one of our tricks is to use moth balls around them The critters do not like the smell and it usually stops them.

The Mountains are great and you will really enjoy seeing the Natural life. I just thing ther is space for them that is theirs and space that is ours. Let the folks at All Mountain Realty show you why we love living in the North Georgia Mountains

It is a great time to buy in our North Georgia Mountains.  Here are some of the do's and don'ts

1 Do not "lowball" a short sale or a foreclosure. If you do you probably will not get it. We are seeing more and more of these go for asking or over asking price. Hey THEY ARE GREAT DEALS to begin with.

2 Remember if you are "out there in the woods" on well water, on a gravel road your home may have been reasonably priced but your insurance will be high. The fire component of your insurance can be double or triple what it might be in other areas of the mountains

3 Lastly, but maybe not the last blog on the subject, if you find that mountain home think. Yes it will be beautiful but if you are isolated remember gas is + 3.00 a gallon and how long can you stare lovingly at the view and your spouse before you get a little bored? ( spouses may get bored with you too. I know it is hard to believe.

So think about your location in terms of your active life style. This list is in no way comprehensive But I am thinking 3 things to look at in a blog is manageable. . Stay tuned 

We have just listed 219 Tree Topper in Big Canoe. The Tree Toppers in Big Canoe were built as vacation homes in our beautiful community. This Tree Topper is priced to sell at 145,000. It has a view of Lake Petit AND the price includes all the furnishings!

This is a great affordable way to be in one of North Georgia's premier communities. This Tree Topper is 2 beds 2 baths ,as are most. However they have finished off the downstairs and made a nice sitting room. FMLS number 4311518. Contact the folks at All Mountain Realty we would be happy to show this home to you.

This Home is on a hill and has good views.

This inside view gives you an idea of the decor , which stays with the home . This Home also has a fireplace. If you are interested in a home in Big Canoe which you can vacation in as well as potentially rent out Tree Topper 219 is move in ready

Jasper Georgia is a great place to live and work. There are many homes for sale.  However in the case below I think the tree house home of this lovely couple is not for sale.

This photo was taken by wife Sally while moving through the Jasper area. In our North Georgia mountains we have so many wonderful natural sights and sounds. Some times if you just stop for a moment and look around you will be treated to some of our wonderful Natural sights.

If you are looking for homes for sale in Jasper do not despair . Even though this one is taken the folks at All Mountain Realty are your Jasper home experts.

 Here are some of the great sights we saw in Big Canoe this year. The top photo was fun. I think if she had a camera the doe might have taken a picture of me for her Blog.

The next picture down below was an exciting event. This guy was looking down at me as I was walking on the road.

The camera was a little shaky but you can see why !!

This last Photo was taken of the Moubtain mist. In a way you can see that the mountains breath. Their breath rises from the trees and provides us with clean air.

Think you want to get away from it all and not be in a restricted cheek to cheek Gated community? Well this is a Gated community Mountain style !! Big Canoe and for that matter the North Georgia Mountains are a great place to be.

Last year in Big Canoe there were 92 homes sold. This year the number will probably be 75. There are currently 263 homes on the Market in Big Canoe.  The average sales price is 15 -25 percent less than 2 years ago. The good news is Big Canoe is financially strong and a great place to live. So if you have ever been to Big Canoe and went wow I wish I could live here now you can. Home prices for good 3 bed room 2 bath homes start in the 200's. However there are bargains from time to time in the high 100,000's Prices top out at 2.8 million.

Now is the time to own a great piece of the North georgia mountains. If you work on the North Side of town Big Canoe's commute will be as easy or hard as any. Live work and raise a family in our great community. The pro's at All Mountain Realty are here to help you make Big Canoe living a reality.

In a Real Estate Transaction there is a buyer, a seller , a buyers agent, a sellers agent, and a Lender. now there does not have to be all these folks but more often than not they are all there. There are also "minor players" like the inspector. They are minor players but can kill a deal.

So all the players march along on the trail to the closing. The agents keep the clients informed and make sure we are all in step with dates and times and things to be done. The clients nervous to the end rely, hopefully, on their agents and generally are in step with the process as they want it to happen.

Then we get to the lender. The lender wants it to happen too but is very often not in step. The lender asks for tons of paper work, and then comes back and asks for more. The lender seems to miss the dates in the contract when the appraisal needs to be done by, as well as the loan commitment given. A "good" lender will actually come to you and say they need an extension.

The lender today is out of step with the transaction in my opinion. Now before you all jump on me I would say that this happen 50 percent of the time. So we do work with good lenders who come through. But here is the point. Until Lenders get back to loaning where they were pre bubble we will never see a housing rebound. When we bought our first house in NYC it took 60 days to close. When we moved to Georgia the lenders laughed that it took so long in New York. Well guess what ? Georgia is now 45-60 days even for loans that are 100 percent no problem.

So what is needed is we all need to get in step. The market was out of step when any one with or without a pulse could get a loan. But now we have moved too far the other way.

2 days a go I posted a blog about our first snow in the mountains of Big Canoe. There were also pictures. Folks often ask about the mountains in winter. Today it is in the 60's and all the snow is gone. In fact the last couple of days have been great in the high 50's or low 60's with plenty of sunshine.

This type of weather is why we love living in the North Georgia Mountains. Yes we get some snow in winter but all the seasons are great. You do not have those long Grey cold snow filled winters. Will we get more snow? Maybe. But you know we have come to enjoy it rather than dread it. The North Georgia mountains are a great place to live, work and raise a family. The folks at All Mountain Realty are here to help you learn to kick back and enjoy one of the great living place in our country

Today we woke up to snow. It came really early to us here in Big Canoe. The interesting thing about it all is if you drove out of Big Canoe today and through places like Jasper and Ball Ground. there was no snow. Only at the higher elevations did we get this great dusting and great sights.

When considering living in the mountains you have to consider elevation. The higher you are the cooler you will be in the summer. But you also might get a little colder and have some snow in the winter when others down mountain do not. But it really is quite pretty so enjoy the photos

In the photo abouve I am looking down at a stream in the snow as I drove through my neighborhood today

In this photo I am looking back up towards where I live Pardon the car door in the picture. The photo below gives you an idea of the pretty sights and our roads. This woodland photo is in a community with a fitness center, golf, tennis, over 100 clubs and a whole lot more. Big Canoe balances nature and activities. Enjoy