Today I treated my self to a haircut, no a hair experience at the Old Fashioned Barber Shop in Jasper. This is post number 2 about this great Barber shop. If you saw the classic movie Barber Shop, or the female version with Queen Latifah then when I tell you the Old fashion Barber shop is that experience mountain style you will know what I mean. The Barbers are great. The coffee is good and the atmosphere is friendly and very inviting. The shop itself is centrally located In Jasper on Church street There is plenty of parking. Based on the popularity of the shop you will need it. The sign below gives the details. So if you are in Jasper, or heck, if you are in Jasper, or Ball Ground, or Marble Hill, or Ellijay, or even Canton get your next hair cut at the Old fashioned Barber shop . You ... 07/26/2011

I got a call today which reminded me of something I blogged about a while ago and it needs review. A very nice lady and I talked today and she asked about a property , "Is it a short Sale?" Now that is the wrong question. It could be right if you are in a hurry to buy. This was not the case. Buyers are watching HGTV and listening to the news. They want to know if the property is a short sale,  or a foreclosure, or a corporate transfer. What they should want to know and ask their Realtor is IS THIS A GOOD VALUE ?  With the utmost respect let me say to the buyers reading this post, I watch Grey's Anatomy on TV. Take my word for it , you would not want me to do brain surgery on you. Work with your Realtor he or she is the professional. Find a good value. That's the name of the game. Gettin... 07/05/2011

 The big banks and finance houses wounded housing. We all know this. But the real tragedy is that they continue to hurt housing. Bank of America is now talking about their losses in housing. Consider this. First they do not modify enough loans. And even if you are in the middle of a modification with a bank there is no guarantee that the foreclosure arm of the bank will stop and not take your house. Second these folks put the homes back on the market at terribly low prices. So what happens? The regular folks in a neighborhood cannot sell because now their homes do not appraise. Chances are in this market if you are trying to sell you NEED to. So you cannot sell and end up in foreclosure , because you couldn't get modified. Your home comes back on the market at a ridiculously low price. ... 06/15/2011

Maybe 2 years ago the Fed stopped buying Treasuries. The run up to the stoppage was that interest rates were going to go up. They were going to go up BIG time. Well the Fed stopped and interest rates went down. In fact at a meeting with a gent from the Fed he said they( the Fed) was as surprised as anybody that rates went down. For those of us who took economics we all learned about supply and demand. Low demand means that the rate of return has to go up to entice buyers. However this truism seems not to have been the case. The Fed again has been buying securities and I believe they are due to stop in July or August of this year. Again folks are saying that rates will rise. But will they? Are we undergoing economic changes, not yet fully understood, that effect rates? It will be interes... 06/14/2011

The Vintage 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. The shop is under new management and was caleed the Old Fashioned Barber shop 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 pic... 06/01/2011

The newest thing in Congress in the area of Housing is the QRM. To me QRM = lets punish the victims. Who are the victims? You and I and every home owner in the country. Lets review. In the 90's and into the early 2000's a tremendous amount of money found it's way into our country. America was considered a safe haven for funds. Both Greenspan and Bernacki told us not to worry. It was normal for people to want to invest here. But as usual a lot of cash caused problems. What that cash did was create debt. How can cash create debt? Easy. If there is 100k available at good interest rates somebody will borrow it for a mortgage . So there is now a 100k debt. Multiply that by billions. Billions were invested in the housing market. When you have this kind of money both domestic and foreign pouri... 05/20/2011

I am in Pickens County Georgia which was hard hit by storms a week ago. We did have some injuries and a fatality. A listing I was looking at had a new comment. Do not show home wiped out by tornado. Now as i look around I see the trees in bloom and mother nature doing her thing to repair the damage with a bandage of green. The North Georgia festivals have started and it is a beautiful time to be in our great mountains. Visit us at www.allmountainrealty.com for some videos as well as some great buys. Better yet visit us in person. 05/09/2011

The Jasper Olde fashioned Barber shop in Jasper Georgia is  located on Church Street in Jasper. What makes this  Olde Fashioned Barber shop so special ? In my opinion it is the dedication of the folks who work there to excellence. Now I am a Barbers kid so I think I qualify as a knowledgeable person in this area. Here are the facts .   There are 3 chairs and until everybody discovers the new location very little waiting. The Barbers, are Mary Caraway ( Owner), Christie Parker, and Misty Sullivan. It does not matter which chair you sit in you will be treated to a quality hair cut.  Special treatment includes a hot towel after your neck is shaved ! This brings back memories of the old time Barber shop for sure. In addition the hand held Back massagers will finish the experience and guaran... 04/29/2011

Yesterday I was on line and ready to buy. But in the end I was frustrated. So for all you on line marketeers let me clue you in on what I absolutely hate and I suspect others hate too. 1 I get an email and before I delete it, it is actually something that I might want . I click the link in the email  and go no where. If you cannot get that right I do not want your product. 2 I get to a web site to buy  product X . All I see is how great the company is, a great history , and hype about the product. But I never see the product. So the first thing I think is , "What are we hiding here ?" 3 The links from page to page do not work. I have 2 words, GOOD BYE 4 How much does it cost ? This is one of my favorites. The longer I have to search for a price the more over priced I think your product ... 04/19/2011

The Jasper art Festival kicked off the out door activities season  in the North Georgia Mountains.  It was a little chilly ,but the food was hot and plentiful. It was  a juried festival. So if you are like me, juried means that the exhibitors were all pre screened. Main Street was closed as folks walked around and had fun.  f There was also a great antique car show as part of the festival. These cars make your mouth water. Spring really is here.The North Georgia Mountains are a great place to visit or spend the rest of your life in. 04/18/2011

Why use a Realtor and not a Real estate agent? Here is why. Both can be qualifed and good. But the National Association of Realtors is a strong property lobby. You as a home owner have a lobbist in Washington fighting for your property rights. Being a Realtor means that I pay dues  from my earnings. Those dues in part go to fighting for your property rights. Yes we have additional traing and a code which places us on a higher standard of ethics. but a Real estate agent can be equally ethical and take the time to get training. In one case you know a Realtor must do these things. In the other you hope that the agent does these things. I think one big reason you as a property owner should weigh when choosing a real estate professional is the fact that Realtor money goes directly into effor... 04/14/2011

Seventy percent of the fire fighters in this country are volunteers. That is an incredible, to me , number. I am a wild land as well as structural volunteer fire fighter. It requires 30 hours a quarter in training as well as working actual fires. this is one way as a Realtor I give back to the mountain communities I make my living in. The first picture is a wild-land urban fire that we worked near Amicolola Falls. This is a controlled burn we are doing on multiple acres to prevent wild fires. This is done in areas that have buildings and people walking camping and generally being.  It was a hot day and we worked hard to keep all under control. By my smile you can tell the day went well. Even though it was tiring the job got done. This is one of the ways I say thank you to the folks in t... 04/05/2011

Big Canoe is North Georgia's premier community. It has a great balance of Amenities open spaces and wild life. On my way home yesterday I was treated to some of the wild life.  This can only mean one thing. Spring is in the air. To learn about Big Canoe or many other areas in our North Georgia Mountains contact the pros at All Mountain Realty at 706 579 1098 or visit us on line at www.allmountainrealty.com This guy was crossing the road strutting his stuff for the ladies. So the question is in the photo below is he showing off for the ladies or giving me the bird? Mountain living is great and this is just one reason why 03/15/2011

In the North Georgia mountains we are starting the selling season. You could look at it the other way and say we are starting a buying season. What this means if you are selling a home or plan on putting a home on the market now is the time to do it. For a complete list of services and tips contact the folks here at All Mountain Realty. We are at www.allmountainrealty.com or 706 579 1098 03/14/2011

This blog celebrates reaching 600,000 points here on ActiveRain. What does that all mean? For My Sellers Being active and prominent on ActiveRain maximizes my sellers property exposure. My sellers can rest assured that their property is getting great Internet exposure. My sellers know by my commitment here that I am in this business for real. Sellers can feel confident that they are working with a proven commodity For My Buyers My buyers can get a real feel for who I am through my blog. Buyers can know that even if they are not in this area I am part of a great network made to help them. Buyers can see that I am constantly working on my craft in the largest social network around for Realtors For ME To me this network has been a great learning place. It has made me a better Realtor. I ha... 03/06/2011

I cannot tell you how many blogs I have read or how many times I have answered the question, Is it a good time to buy? The question is it a good time to buy is very subjective. It requires an opinion of the market, thoughts on where it is going, and the financial as well as emotional state of the buyer. So lets ask a different question. Why buy at all ? A recent survey by NAR showed that home owners versus rentors were more likely to be committed to neighborhoods. They were happier in their homes than renters. Home owners tended to vote in larger numbers than renters. In addition they were generally more satisfied with the quality of their life. More than quality of life issues are , according to a Federal Reserve study,  the economic issues. Home Owners net worth averaged  200,000 whil... 03/04/2011

There are some interesting dynamics, of the human kind, in the economic recovery that I believe are going on. I am not an economist but the numbers are all moving in the right direction. So lets focus on the human aspect of the recovery. We know that home prices in many areas are still falling and in other areas are still low and not recovering. So why is housing lagging behind? My first thought, is jobs. Why take on the responsibility of a home if you are unsure about your job or the ability to sell if you are transferred? This is a major issue and one that I am afraid will be with us through 2011 and parts of 2012. But this is only part of the story. My second thought, with all due respect to the economists at NAR is that for 2 plus years they  have been saying now is the time to buy ... 02/10/2011

There is a scam going on in Real Estate here. It is something you should all be aware of especially if you are a Georgia agent as it appears it is our turn. Here is how it goes. ( And yes they tried it on us.) Buyer is usually from out of the country. You have a house listed at 1,000,000. (They only work high end.) Buyer wants the house gives you an offer at 950,000 all cash with 50,000 earnest money. The offer is always close to asking price so you will take it. The buyer always comes in around 50,000 earnest money. Everybody is really happy !!! Now the buyer who is traveling has given his attorney a check for 50,000 for you. The "attorney" has a name and number . Obviously an accomplice. The reason you do not get a wire is that the buyer is traveling and cannot give instructions over ... 01/25/2011

This weeks show deals with financial aspects of home ownership . Among other things, we talk about recasting as a way to reduce your mortgage payments. We also cover special financing in the mountains. We have geared this show to economics for the new year. We hope you enjoy this and as always welcome your suggestions for future shows. Your browser does not support iframes. 01/20/2011

In our mountains today we are seeing more and more first time buyers come out. We do have somewhat of a shift from vacation buyers and second home buyers to folks looking to take advantage of this market. Many renters are singing the same song. The home I am renting is going in to foreclosure.  We still have 100 percent financing available for veterans and as part of rural development. Now is a great time to consult with your local expert here at All Mountain Realty and own your first home. 01/18/2011