Heber Springs, AR

In the classic movie “The Sound of Music” Julie Andrews sings the oft-parodied "My Favorite Things". Personally, “raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens” don’t find a place on my list, but what I do identify with is the simplicity of the things named. We seem to strive for the grandiose, but it’s usually the simple things in life that bring us real joy.

One of “my favorite things” is a nearly daily occurrence on the Little Red River. It’s the river mist, a fog that forms almost daily throughout much of the year in the early morning and late afternoon.

A simple thing, I know, but it’s beautiful. Sitting in the mist while you’re trout fishing, you sometimes can’t see more than a few feet past the end of the boat.

The Old Testament speaks of a dense cloud that would appear in the Temple, a visual representation of the presence of God... Maybe that’s why I feel a little closer to Him on the river…

The Little Red River From A Buyers Perspective

Part Eight: The Best Place For You

I was with a client recently looking at riverfront property, talking about the usual things; good places to fish, wadable and dockable waters, ease of river access, the distance to the hospital...........What??????????

It never occurred to me that the time it takes to get to the hospital would be a consideration for picking the perfect spot on the river. Then it occurred to me what a first class hospital we have here in the Baptist Medical Health Center-Heber Springs.

The hospital moved into a new 60,000 square foot facility in June of 2007. The new facility includes an expanded ER, OR, outpatient clinic and in-house MRI services. Ed Lacy, vice-president and hospital administrator is especially proud of the new eICU which provides 24-hour access via two-way interactive technology to ICU physicians and nurses in Little Rock who assist with patient care in our hospital's ICU.

If you are a fisherman and a heart patient you have to be impressed with that info. Plus, if you are as far from town as Lobo Landing, and have the big one, you are only seven miles and less than nine minutes to the hospital. If you are fishing Cow or Winkley Shoals, you are only a couple of minutes away.

All of this makes Heber Springs a great place to live. Why don't you come live it with us?

Howard Calhoun

501-362-4219

One of the great things about being a real estate professional in a resort community is that there are times you can engage in outdoor recreation and still call it "work". As my colleague Howard Calhoun says, sometimes it’s like being a professional golfer.

This was one of those times.

We had been brainstorming about ways to provide useful information to people visiting our area and came up with the idea of doing a series on basic trout fishing techniques. Trout fishing on the Little Red River is something that I did with my dad from a young age. Now that I’m pushing 40, I do the same with my own kids. Our first video, “Trout Fishing 101,” is the most basic approach for catching trout and it’s probably the best way to go if you have small children that aren’t yet skilled enough to work an artificial lure.

As Howard will demonstrate, it works.

The Little Red River From A Buyer's Perspective

Part Seven: The Best Spot For You.

I get a lot of questions from clients as to where is the best spot on the river. Having navigated the river's first 29 miles, I can honestly say that I like all of it.

If you know what you really want out of the resource, the decision may not be as difficult. If you are a sho'nuff fly fisherman, you might not need a boat dock and would like to be able to just wade in from your back yard. There are spots on the Little Red where one can do just that.

One should not expect to pay a premium for a lot on skinny water, or for that matter, for a lot on the river that is dockable. A dock with a slip certainly gives you more options, depending on just where on the river it is located, but being able to wade in is not much of a disadvantage for a diehard fly fisherman.

I think that it is important to know as much about the river as you can before you make a purchase, and what better way than to just come up and see how we live on the Little Red.

Better yet, come live it with us.

Howard Calhoun

501-362-4219

Normally in real estate, the term "red lining" is a bad thing. It refers to the practice of denying (or increasing the cost of) services to certain areas. The term originally came from the practice of marking a red line on a map to delineate areas where banks would not lend. However, the “red line” on water front property on Greers Ferry Lake is something different altogether.

Many people familiar with the US Army Corps of Engineers project known as Greers Ferry Lake understand the “white line”. It is the “fee taking line” where private property ends and the government property consisting of the lake and its surrounding real estate begin.

Fewer people, though, have an understanding of the “red line”.

The red line refers to the flowage easement up to 491’ above sea level. Normal pool of Greers Ferry Lake is 461.3 feet above sea level. When land was purchased to create Greers Ferry Lake, the Government also purchased easement rights for property that remained privately owned, but fell below 491’ sea level. The flowage easement grants to the Government the right to periodically flood the land up to the 491’ level. Because of this, structures for human habitation and septic fields are not allowed below 491’. There are trees marked with red paint in the general location of the 491’ line, however, the exact location at any given point varies with the contour of the land. Therefore, it is recommended that a landowner obtain the services of a professional surveyor before commencing any new construction near the red line. For other structures such as roads, outbuildings and electric service lines, permission must be first obtained from the Corps of Engineers before placing onto the flowage easement area.

For more detailed information on the shoreline management policy, check the website of the Corps of Engineers Greers Ferry project.

Boyd Anderson
Crye*Leike Brock Real Estate
Principal Broker
www.HeberSpringsRealEstate.com
(501) 206-8845 cell
(501) 362-5868 office