About Pickens County, GA

I was looking at log cabins yesterday, previewing for a customer, and it started to snow. Not a big deal for a lot of the country but here in the mountains of north Georgia a real event...The grocery stores have been jammed in anticipation of this for a couple days; meetings canceled long before the first flake; flights delayed, the list goes on, but it sure was beautiful! Again it reminds me of why I moved here and what a brilliant move it was! Standing in my front yard I could hear the flakes fall through the trees, I have never heard them before, it was that quiet. It was a Norman Rockwell moment; snow, trees, fireplaces, the way I like to think of "home". What was special today for you? Please stop by my web site and view some gorgeous mountain properties:
www.SimplyScenicHomes.com or www.AllmtnRealty.com

Who says Mountain property has to be billy goat steep. There are some great valleys in the mountains. The picture above show a great setting . It is 61 acres . The pond is stream fed and full of fish. This is a winter picture and the pond has been recently dredged. So there is great top soil for spreading. The price ??? 7,500 an acre. On a paved road. Could be divided into a few horse farms. Great stuff!!

This second picture is obviously not winter. But you can see how the green valleys and the mountains just go together. So if you are interested in Mountain property but want some flat space it can happen. The evenings are cool and our land is great for horses as well as people looking to get away from it all

I am mostly optimistic. However recent events lead me to less than optimistic predictions for us and our economy. I have posted around this issue before but now it seems to be more and more becoming a reality.

When something does not make sense then usually you are missing a piece. In this case what never made sense to me was how the Fed could cut interest rates in light of over the top government spending. The result , look at gas prices, has been a devaluation of the currency. So yes we want to help the housing market but....

Well the most recent turn with Citi Group helps explain it all. Foreign money is the answer the big guys are looking for a way to solve the liquidity problem. What makes investing in U.S. institutions so appealing for foreigners is a cheap dollar versus their currency. So if you look at B of A buying Countrywide at a good price the same kind of thing holds true for a cheap dollar making foreign dollars investing in the US attractive.

Now I am not one of those Xenophobic Americans. But this "solution" to irresponsible lending is being paid for squarely by you and me. It is being paid for in Higher imported good prices. It is being paid for in Higher gas prices. Have you taken a vacation out of the country lately ? You tell me how far your dollar goes. Now in the end this will translate into less rather than more home buyers as peoples discretionary income is dried up.

To the extend the Fed cuts interest rates they are complicit and part of the problem. To the extend the Bush administration deficit spends they are part of the problem. The Big guys are bailing themselves out on your back. So do not look at an interest cut with unabashed joy and as a panacea to our housing woes. I think quite the opposite is true. If the economy tanks then it really doesn't matter what interst rates are!

Thank you and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the potential Big Canoe real estate buyers out there who have called and emailed me over the past 14 days. Another thank you to all the renters/buyers who have needed a weekend of peace here in Big Canoe (the calls for Big Canoe rentals has been on the upswing as well).

My faith in real estate has been restored with the number of buyers who are holding cold hard cash in their hands and are looking for a quick and painless deal. They are looking for North  Georgia weekenders with rental potential, and a few of them are looking for full time high end property after spending "X" amount of years "storing their nuts" for a market like this!

Agents, don't be discouraged, because some of the smartest buyers are looking ALL over the net for the deal of a lifetime! Keep the faith! As always feel free to contact me at (770) 655-4303 or email.

~Karin
http://ibamountainhomes.com
Life in Big Canoe, Real Estate in North Georgia

I am a wordy cuss so with a little help from Rick I thought I would let the images do the talking.

When you look out into the mountains the leaves are down. But the sky is crisp and blue. This is some of the best time to be in the mountains. You can see the land and what is around you. You are not masked by the foliage.

Some times it happens that instead of Flowers on tress you get a frost. The beauty of the North Georgia Mountains are that the winters are pretty, as opposed to harsh. Walking around and looking at the ice in the tress is great. You smell the smoke from the fireplaces and it is very quiet and peaceful.

This is my first blog with pictures so I promise it will get better. But the point is winter time is a great time to shop in the mountain. Especially here. Walking land when the temperature is in the mid-fifties is really ideal. Now you have an idea of why I am smiling in my picture