More and more sellers are choosing to get a home inspection before listing their house as a competitive tool and to help ensure that that the selling process goes more smoothly, with fewer surprises. This is by no means a complete list, but a typical home inspection includes an evaluation of the site, the exterior, the interior, the systems such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing and the building components. A home inspection does not include radon, septic system, termites, wells, mold or water quality issues, which must be evaluated by specialists. If you have concerns about any of these matters, rest assured the buyer's inspector will find the problem. It's smart selling to identify the problem yourself. One of the major benefits of a seller's home inspection is that it provides an unbi... 10/19/2009

  Fall is here. The pumpkins were out in Fletcher near the library, beautifully displayed. They had so many kinds, colors and shapes. It was really fun to walk through all of the rows. I am thinking I need to grow some of these beauties.                       Getting ready for the pies and pumpkin faces on the porch. And all the trick and treaters looking for goodies. The leaves are turning pretty colors and falling fast. If you don’t want to miss the colors, make plans to get here in the next few weeks.     The woods will be bare in no time. Join us in Hendersonville NC to celebrate fall.         10/07/2009

THIS HOME IN HENDERSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA WAS UNDER CONTRACT IN 47 DAYS AND JUST CLOSED FOR 92% OF ASKING!   If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in the Brevard or Hendersonville area of western North Carolina, visit us online today at BrevardNCProperty.com, or just give us a call at 828-551-6290 or 828-551-6291.  Be sure to ask for a copy of the most recent market report.   I just love happy endings! 10/05/2009

This summer has been the wettest summer I have ever spent anywhere, including the summer I lived in Oregon. It is especially amazing concidering the previous 3 years we were in a drought. And last year it was so bad that we were on water restrictions for a long time.                      I can't hardly complain, since I just moved into town from Bat Cave and spent most of the summer planting an edible landscape. My yard is growing with 100 strawberry plants, 60 asparagus plants, rhubarb and red raspberries. I even planted 4 cherry trees and 2 paw paw trees. I hope that the rain we have been getting the last week isn't going to rot the roots of all of these plants. They have been doing so well. And I have blueberry plants on the way soon that will need to get in the ground.              ... 09/21/2009

Health and animals are the focus in Hendersonville, North Carolina throughout the rest of the month of September.  The Blue Ridge Humane Society Thrift Shop will be hosting a Pet Adoption Day at its Greenville Highway offices on Saturday, September 12th, from 11am-2pm.  Come on down and adopt one of these pets into a loving home they so desperately need.  For more information, please call 692-3503. The third annual 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run for the Horses to benefit Hope for Horses, an equine rescue, rehab and adoption program in Western North Carolina, will be held at the Buncombe County Health Department in Asheville (35 Woodfin Street) on September 20th from 1-4pm. For more information and to register for the event, please visit www.hopeforhorses.org. Get your flu shots at the Pardee Hea... 09/10/2009

The 63rd annual NC APPLE FESTIVAL HAD RECORD ATTENDANCE this past weekend in Hendersonville.  The total numbers aren't in yet, but the feeling among the vendors was that the crowds were larger and their profits were bigger than in years past.  Everything from home-churned apple ice cream to fried apple pies and caramel apples were offered up for sale.  The streets were packed with vendors selling unique handmade crafts in between the apple grower's booths. North Carolina ranks seventh in apple production in the United States and Henderson County produces the most.  Hail, too much rain, frost and the spring freezes took a bite out of the apple crop.  The yield this year is down about 40% but the apples overall are sweeter and bigger because of it.   The crowds enjoyed live music througho... 09/08/2009

Mountain Pie Company held their grand opening a few weeks ago and it was a roaring success!  The name is new, as it was formerly known as The Front Porch Sweetery, but Merri Tyndall is still the owner and baker.  See what they are all about here. The menu is extensive for their breakfast selections and the pies and cakes are almost unlimited.  If you don't see it on the list, just ask and Merri will magically come up with a recipe for you. It's hard to imagine that there isn't anything that is already in the case that wouldn't appeal to you.  From crepes to cookies, the ovens are cranking everyday...except on Mondays. If you need a place for club meetings, birthday parties or tea; the Mountain Pie Company will be happy to accommodate your needs. For details click here. Located at 3400 A... 09/05/2009

The 2009 North Carolina Apple Festival marks the sixty third consecutive years the event has been held. The Apple Festival is held on Labor Day Weekend each year (Friday through Monday) to recognize the importance of the apple and the apple industry to Henderson County and North Carolina.  Henderson County's Famous Apple Festival is an outgrowth of the original Henderson County Centennial Celebration held in 1938. Following the centennial celebration, it was decided by a group of leading citizens that an annual fall festival was more desirable. For two years, 1939 and 1940, the event was held at the conclusion of the summer season. At the onset of World War II the festival was discontinued. The festival program has varied slightly from year to year, but it has always contained crowd-ple... 09/02/2009

The 2009 NC Apple Festival will be held on Main Street in downtown Hendersonville, NC over the weekend of September 4-7, 2009. The festival not only features a street fair with arts & crafts vendors but it includes continuous live musical entertainment, apple growers and their apples, children's & youth activities, special exhibits & open houses, food, and, to top it all off, on Labor Day, the King Apple Parade. Capture the spirit of a hometown celebration that has something for the whole family, with many individual events and entertainers throughout the festival. The festival is held annually, during the Labor Day weekend. The Apple Festival's Street Fair covers 9 blocks of Main Street with more than 150 vendors . Main Street is closed to traffic from 6th Avenue to Caswell Street. Nor... 09/02/2009

While the summer months are beginning to wane, Hendersonville is still alive with the sound of music, laughter and art.  Tuxedo Junction will be performing music from the 40's through the 90's at the Music on Main Street event on Friday, August 28th, from 7-9pm in Hendersonville.  There will also be a classic car show hosted by the Hendersonville Antique Car Club happening in addition to the Music on Main Street performance.  This event is sponsored by Burger King and FREE to the public.  Make sure you bring a chair and leave the pets and alcohol at home.  Monday, August 31st, is the last scheduled performance of the Southern Crescent Bluegrass and the Rough Creek Cloggers at the 91st Street Dances on Main Street.  Also sponsored by Burger King, this event is FREE to the public.  You ju... 08/26/2009

According to the North Carolina Association of Realtors®, home sales may be down overall across the state, but Hendersonville experienced a 2% increase in home sales from the same time last year.  The 110 Hendersonville homes sold in June 2009 was a 2% increase from June 2008 figures and was a 31% increase from sales figures in May 2009.  The average cost for a Hendersonville home was $219,362 (down 17% from June 2008's average cost of $264,559).  In comparison, Asheville home sales were down 7% from the previous year (June 2009 showed 217 units sold, June 2008 showed 233 units sold).  However, June 2009 sales were up 45% from May 2009 figures.  The average cost for an Asheville home was 6% less than the same time last year ($266,883 in June 2008, $253,852 in June 2009). What do these f... 08/13/2009

  I just previewed the most gorgeous home I have seen in a long time. Listed at $500,000 it beats out any million dollar home I have seen in a long time. It is all on one floor, making it ideal for mid to upper aged persons. Yet it has a large basement that could be finished easily to accomadate more living space.   When I first arrived, I wasn't expecting what I found inside. The front would never tell the story. Take a look.                         First off, I have to say that this is not even my listing. I am a buyers agent here in Hendersonville. But when I entered this home I had to ask myself, why isn't every buyer jumping at this home. It is gorgeous, and the price is a steal.   I think that with so many homes on the market today, it is hard to find those that stand out. The mar... 08/03/2009

Today is back-to-school day for students of Bruce Drysdale Elementary School in Hendersonville, North Carolina, making it only the second school in Henderson County to utilize the year-round system.  This makes the start of the school year only four weeks after the end of the previous school year.  Rotating tracks will now have 3 months of school for every 1 month break instead of the traditional 9 months on and 3 months off.  Both teachers and janitorial staff have worked feverishly to get the school ready for the new year during the shortened summer break.  Luckily, many parents have volunteered to help as well, making the transition a little easier. The reasoning behind having students on a year-round track instead of a traditional school year is so that students will retain more of ... 07/09/2009

Hendersonville will be showing its patriotic pride on Saturday, July 4th, in celebration of the birth of our country.  If you are a car enthusiast, head to Jackson Park from 2-9pm for the Fourth of July Cruise-in of antique cars sponsored by the Hendersonville Antique Car Club.  While you're at Jackson Park, you can enjoy food, beach music by The Embers, crafts and fun for the kids.  Just make sure to bring a chair.  Jackson Park events will culminate in a fabulous fireworks display at dusk. The Independence Day Parade will be held on Main Street at 11am, too.  Don't miss it!  I'll see you there. Rich Cooke - The Cooke-Knapp Team, Keller Williams Realty - Mountain Partners 07/02/2009

Mary Stephens and Sandy LeRoy   Smart selling requires that you prepare your house for market by evaluating its physical condition, including systems such as plumbing, heating and electrical, and components such as the foundation, roof, doors and windows, floors, fixtures and finishes. The time to begin the evaluation depends on how soon you want or need to sell. If you know the house has been well maintained, less time is needed. In most cases, allow thirty to sixty days before listing.  Today most buyers demand that a house be in move-in condition, meaning that it's structurally sound, in good general repair with no obvious signs of deferred maintenance, and meticulously clean, attractive and inviting.  If your house doesn't look ready to occupy, buyers will quickly move on, knowing ... 06/26/2009

Taking the right steps in the right order is how you get the best results when selling your house, but it doesn't always happen that way.  Instead, here's how it often goes:  You decide to sell and call a real estate agent who looks at the house and makes a few basic recommendations on getting it ready. Then the agent compares similar houses in the area and proposes a marketing plan and listing price.  Once you sign the listing agreement, North Carolina law requires that your house go on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within three days, allowing very little time to be certain it looks its best.  Pictures are taken anyway and the listing is published on MLS, the internet and in the newspaper.  What's wrong with doing things in this order? Isn't it the way everybody sells their house... 06/26/2009

The Henderson County chapter of the American Red Cross is holding its annual blood drive at Grace Lutheran Church in Hendersonville on June 25th all day long (7am-6pm).  All donors will receive a free Operation Blood Drive T-shirt and will be eligible to win a cruise for two in a special drawing.  The summer is an especially hard time for blood banks because many people are out of town on vacation.  Donors become scarce.  To put the importance of this event in perspective, the American Red Cross needs to have 1600 people donate blood as well as platelets every weekday to supply hospitals in the Carolina region alone.  You can give blood every 56 days and platelets every two weeks as long as you are in good health, weigh 110 lbs or more and are at least 17 years old (16 with a parent's p... 06/19/2009

SMART SELLING A Look at the Local Real Estate Market    Hendersonville, NC   If you're buying a house today, conventional wisdom is that you're in the driver's seat. Interest rates and prices are at record lows, and there's a large inventory of new, existing and foreclosed homes from which to choose. It's a highly competitive environment with many sellers vying for the attention of a relatively small pool of buyers. But what if you're a seller? Do current conditions mean that you're powerless? The answer is no, you're not powerless, but you do have to be smart. In this series, we're going to offer straight talk and practical information about the home selling process so that you can be a smart seller-in any market. First let's look at the local picture. According to the Henderson Count... 06/12/2009

During the warm summer months, the Visitor's Information Center in Hendersonville (201 S Main Street) will be hosting its "Music on Main Street" event every Friday evening from 7-9pm for free starting this Friday, June 5th, and continuing through August 28th.  All you need to do is bring the family, your dancing shoes and a chair to rest in between musical interludes.  No pets or alcohol are allowed.  Enjoy music of all kinds, including classic rock, oldies, big band, pop, beach music and even an Elvis tribute.  This year's festivities will begin and close with the great Tuxedo Junction band, who will be performing hits from the 1940's through the 1990's.  The schedule for Hendersonville's summer music series is: June 5: Tuxedo Junction (music from the 1940's-1990's) and Classic Car Sho... 06/05/2009

It's time to look at the communities and towns in Henderson County, NC. Hendersonville is the county seat and the main town in Henderson County. Hendersonville is a unique combination of slowpaced, tourist town and vibrant, growing town. Newly built communities populated with younger people vie for space with active retirees. Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and Staples on the edge of town contrast with antique shops, dress shops, restaurants and gift shops on a walkable Main Street. Hendersonville is 22 miles south of Asheville and accessed by I-26.  It is the home of Blue Ridge Technical College and numerous beautiful Bed and Breakfasts. http://www.historichendersonville.com is a wonderful resource of everything that is available in Hendersonville. Check it out.  You will want to come and v... 05/17/2009