Introduction - Part 1
Relax and Enjoy the View
I'm sure that you have noticed how the expertise of some individuals in certain honorable professions seems to extend beyond their area of study. It seems that their professional position can afford them unquestioned credibility on a wide range of topics. For example, I did believe that having spent over 20 years in the Florida vacation home/real estate industry gave me a decided advantage when I searched for my own vacation property in North Carolina. The key word in that last sentence is "did".
In the spring of 2003, my wife, Stacy, and I began our search for the perfect vacation home in the cool mountains of North Carolina. After browsing the websites of real estate brokers in several towns which we had visited, we narrowed our search to a dozen different properties. A trip to North Carolina to preview those selections proved not only time consuming and tiring, but also frustrating. It was certainly no vacation! However, with the help of a local Realtor, we eventually picked our favorite area and soon concluded that purchasing a lot, then building, was the best way to obtain the perfect home. After negotiating what we felt was a very good price on a beautiful riverfront parcel (complete with cascades and a waterfall) we finalized our lot purchase. Perfect!
Over the next two years, we made several more trips and spent considerable time interviewing contractors, finally finding the right builder, Michael. Once the home specifications were finished - months later - the last step prior to beginning construction was for Stacy and me to meet with Michael to review the final cost estimates. That is precisely when we realized the consequence of our lack of expert guidance, and it hit us like a ten ton bomb.
You may be thinking that this is exactly how everyone conducts a new home purchase. What's so wrong with getting advice from the local Realtor and contractor? Actually, nothing, but we learned that if an expert had guided us from the inception of our mountain home idea, we could have saved a lot of time and frustration. We didn't have such guidance, and it was quickly becoming evident. For example, we learned that because our lot was pie-shaped, which dictated a specific septic drain field location, the foundation had to be moved closer to the river, which would multiply the expense. Additionally, we had planned to build a rustic home from antique reclaimed lumber, which is more expensive than using conventional materials. The estimated cost of that type of home would put it's value 50% higher than the most expensive home to ever sell in that community. So here were our choices: we could opt to build a very simple, scaled back structure – certainly not our dream home - in order to get within competitive pricing, or we could start at square one and look for another lot to build the mountain home we envisioned.
Disappointed and frustrated do not even get close to describing the emotions we experienced. After regrouping, we spent the next day riding around with another Realtor trying to find the next perfect lot. We found nothing of interest and said good night to the real estate agent. Tired and further frustrated, we wondered if we should just surrender the rustic mountain lodge we had envisioned. The next morning, on the verge of abandoning our dream, we mistakenly turned into the open security gate of a new community, the Preserve at Rock Creek. A call to the Realtor with which we had spent the previous day only produced the reply, "I'm not familiar with that project". Despite that, we continued to explore the available estate lots. The community was second to none we had seen, offering large five-acre lots with spectacular high elevation views. In that development we found our second perfect lot. After 18 months we received the certificate of occupancy on our rustic cabin. Dream realized!
Photos of our dream cabin, Sapphire Heaven:
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- Sapphire Heaven – Living Room
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- Sapphire Heaven – Exterior
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- Sapphire Heaven – Outside Hot Tub
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- Sapphire Heaven – Kitchen
Reflecting on my mountain real estate search experience, it was much like trying to assemble a large puzzle without all the pieces…and I'm a Realtor! Each person I contacted would give me one or two pieces of information. Then, back home in Orlando, I would spend hours browsing the internet for the other missing pieces. Eventually I was able to complete my puzzle, but how easy will it be for you to complete yours? Will you find the missing pieces before they prove to be expensive mistakes?
This series of articles was written to provide potential buyers of North Carolina mountain properties a larger picture of the mountain real estate market. This booklet is based on not only conversations with Realtors, but also on their responses to a questionnaire I sent to dozens of them throughout the mountain region.
I hope you find this to be a valuable reference. Stay tuned for Part 2 - What Are You Thinking?
Additional information is always available from Rock Creek Realty, LLC. Visit our website at www.PreserveatRockCreekNC.com.
