About Jasper's Arbor Hills

The Old Fashion Barber shop is exactly what it says it is. A small building on South Main Street in Jasper Georgia.

The Barber poll works and is the traditional advertisement. There is a bench outside where you can sit if you do not want to wait inside. This shop has many things that make it a wonderful experience.

It is not called a boutique, a salon, or a hair emporium. It is a Barber shop. And it really is a barber shop in the many ways that some of us who have gray hair can remember.

Yes that is right they have the old time Barber chairs. I am almost 6'4" and love the fact that I do not have some plastic seat cutting into my back about 1/2 way up. You can see the old sinks mirrors and paraphernalia in this picture.

The 2 Barbers are Becky and Mary. They own this shop and are each wonderful to have cut your hair.

I am a Barbers kid so I grew up around a shop my father had in Woodside Queens where there were big chairs, men smoking cigars, opera on the radio, and always good talk. The Old Fashion Barber shop has Oldies playing and folks talking about crops as well as local events. It is really a community hub. It is a place to go chat and learn. If any of you have seen the movie Barber shop you get the idea.

Becky and Mary give great haircut's and if you really want the full experience you can even get a shave from a straight razor.

The Old fashion Barber shop is a complete hair cutting experience. They do great work, and oh by the way, at the end they have electric back Massagers for when you are done!!! Even my father did not have that !

In my opinion this is the best hair cut you can get North of Atlanta

In theory one can use the 8k tax rebate as a down payment. I say in theory because I have not found a lender yet who will process this way. But assume this will work out should you use the money as a down payment? I think it depends.

If you are using USDA or VA I say no. Here is why. Assume the 8k as a down payment will save you about 10-15 dollars a month on a 30 year fixed. So at the end of year one you will have saved 120-180 dollars. But if you take the 8k at year end you could put it in a CD and make 10-15 dollars a month and HAVE 8k in case something comes up.

For FHA this may be the way to get to your 3.5 percent down and if that is the case this is a good thing. At the end of the day a Realtors role is to point out these things to you and maybe direct you to your accountant. With all the programs out there our role has become even more important

A friend of mine from Florida called me and said , "Hey I have a friend who is buying in Georgia. " I said. " good send him to me and I will help him. " My friend called me back and said , " Oh, sorry he is working with another agent." "No problem" I said." thanks for thinking about me."

About a month later I was talking to the same friend and asked him about the guy who was buying. Oh, the story was he really had a tough time. "Was he a first time buyer?" I asked. "Yes" was the answer. "So he got the 8k" ? Yes he got that. "What did he buy?" " He bought a foreclosure out in the country." "Oh did he go USDA for his loan?" "No he didn't know about it he put money down and went FHA." Did he go to the class and get 14k in Georgia money to rehab the property or use the money as a down payment?" "What 14K?" "What was his agent doing for him during this time?" Nothing the agent worked for the seller," (Bank)

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So this buyer lost 14k from the state and put 3.5 percent down which in this case made his mortgage payment 124 dollars a month MORE than the no money down option would have. Did the selling agent do anything wrong. Absolutely not. Did the buyer make a mistake? Absolutely. If you are buying and not working with your own agent look at this story in this case , as I know the purchase price , not working with an agent cost this buyer 19000 !!!!

NUF SAID.

I was searching for information and came across some interesting statistics about our market. Over the last 8 years housing prices are up. Over the last 2 years they are relatively flat. In terms of numbers of sales this is where we see the greatest swing. As numbers of units sold over the last 2 years are down.

What this means , and I believe it is true all over the mountains not just in Jasper is that since mountain property is the second most sought after behind water front, our values are holding. So if you are looking to buy now is a good time. As we come out of this recession and housing mess I think you will see a big increase in demand and a corresponding increase in price.

The strength of the price numbers surprised me. The reduction in units sold did not. We are your mountains Realtors. Visit us on line at www.allmountainrealty.com

We have a number of new plans outlined, rolled out, presented, with flourish and fan fare. However the toxic assets plan is now being rolled out for the first time. I wonder what this will mean for our market?

What I think will happen is that the good deals will start to go away. After all if investors along with Uncle Sam buy these things up aren't they going to sell them for more than they paid? So I am thinking this is yet another way for the rich to get richer.. Sorry for the Cynicism.

What it means for regular people is NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! With interest rates low, inventory high, and good programs out there BUY NOW. You will not see a market like this again in your life time.

Yes, we will have booms and busts. But the government is fundamentally changing the economic landscape. So what future markets hold and where the deals will be is a big Question mark. Contact your local Realtor and take advantage of this great opportunity. Do not be one of those shoulda, coulda, woulda, tragedies.