$5,850,000

MLS Number: 50913

City: Valle Crucis, NC
Stories: 2
Bedrooms: 4 Baths: 4.5
Area: Boone-Blowing Rock, NC
Year Built: 1990
Plus Five fully furnished 1,400 sq. ft. Rental Cottages. Each built in 1996 on approx. 1/2 acre sites. Current cottage average annual rental income $150,000.

39.4 acres with 360 degree view of Blue Ridge Mountains.

5,200 sq. ft. main house built in 1990 on 1.24 acres.

No restrictions and no zoning offer many other options:

* Family compound
* Corporate retreat
* Religous retreat
* Horse farm / Dude ranch
* Recording studio
* Cottages can be sold separately
* Land can be further subdivided if desired

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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search for : Valle Crucis, NC, Blowing Rock, NC, Blue Ridge Mountains

The world of technology is changing fast. When I was young, it was not uncommon for tradespeople to use a horse and cart for local deliveries around town. Now, we have trains that ride on a magnetic field, jet aircraft and hybrid cars. The idea of a hybrid is quite fascinating. As a gardner, to be able to take two different species and create something new with the best qualities of both. As a technologist, to be able to take a conventional internal combustion engine and combine it with electric motors. It’s like a marriage. When the two components work well together, they are strong. If there’s disharmony, breakdown follows close behind.

So what’s driving this hybrid technology? The main reason is fuel economy. Gas prices have been rising fast with the $4 gallon reached and passed. Although some prefer to play around with biofuels to keep conventional engines running on greener fuel, the better strategy looks to use less fuel. It’s now not uncommon for hybrid vehicles to achieve 50 mpg – a big improvement on the SUVs and Hummers. The retail prices have been quite high as the first of these new cars rolled out on to the public roads so, to encourage the switch to this more eco-friendly technology, there have been various federal and state tax incentives.

Some states have been giving priority in the use of parking spaces or reductions in tolls. All these add up to big savings, which get even bigger when you look at the auto insurance industry. Many of the companies offering auto insurance have been offering a discount of up to 10% for those using the new technology. Using a site like this is the best way of shopping around to find out which company is offering the best rates. This is not a corporate policy to combat global warming. It reflects the reality that those who buy hybrid cars are more thoughtful and careful, buying a vehicle that is slightly less powerful than the conventional car, and one that will probably not be driven quite as many miles in a year as the conventional car. People who drive less powerful cars more slowly have fewer accidents and so justify lower premiums. It’s sad that Detroit chose to stay with the gas-guzzler as the main product line. The big three U.S. car producers are facing an uncertain future as the hybrids grow more popular. If they survive the economic downturn, hopefully they can retool and compete in delivering this new technology. Until then, imported cars save money both at the gas pump and in reduced auto insurance premiums. They are a good buy.

WEST JEFFERSON NC MOUNTAIN PROPERTY

87.5 +/- Acres Available For Residential Subdivision Mountain Development, 7 miles from West Jefferson, NC

Paved Road and Bridge Built To State Specifications.

Average of $23,000 per acre.

This Property Should Retail For Approximately $50,000 to $60,000 per acre.

ALL PROPERTY HAS LONG RANGE MOUNTAIN VIEWS

Contact Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247

or

email Greg at grstike@charter.net

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Never borrowing money might look slightly extreme so let’s look at it carefully. In the big wide world, there are many things you “can” do. All it takes is the wish and the will to make any one of them happen. So, when we have the money, we can spend it however we want to get whatever we want. If we don’t have the cash in hand, we can always borrow to spend some more. For many, saving has not been an option. With property values rising year-on-year, there has been a growing positive housing equity to tap into to keep on spending. Except that was yesterday.

Today, it’s official. The US is in recession and this “thing” called the credit crunch is biting us. It’s a scary time. So what does it all mean? Well, like all situations, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is there’s still money out there to borrow. If you use a site like this, you will find there’s still money looking for borrowers. The bad news is loan companies are only lending to the people with the best credit scores. Even the top-rated borrower is thought a risk for a more substantial cash loan unless there’s collateral. Worse, if the companies offer loans to people with lower scores, they are asking for cash deposits on the property or goods, and charging higher rates of interest. This puts a lot more pressure on people to manage their credit scores and ensure they remain as high as possible. Now back to the question: even though you can borrow, should you?

There’s a simple rule about keeping your credit score high. Use the credit available or watch your score fall. The way the score is calculated will penalize you if you don’t use your credit cards and take out loans. So you have no choice. You should borrow. Running money through your cards for routine household bills is good. But don’t use your cards for big ticket items unless you have no choice. Always try for a separate loan where the interest rates are usually lower. Then think carefully about what you’re buying. For example, the biggest purchase most people make is a vehicle, but it’s the item that’s going to lose its value the fastest. Buy a new car and it will lose two-thirds of its value in the first four years.

So never buy a new car unless you can afford the loss. More importantly, don’t be tempted by car loans offered through the dealerships. Even the zero-percent deals are expensive when you look at the profit margin built into the retail price of the car itself. Unless you’re made of money, stick with used cars with two or three years depreciation already paid by the first owners. Then, make sure you get a free-standing auto loan. You want to be a cash buyer in the dealership. That way, you get the best discount on the price. Using your credit wisely during a recession is the way to keep your credit score high.

Vacation property, an investment for retirement or a permanent residence, this Lake James waterfront home may be your dream property.

The beautiful water front home is located in a private community with spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has a double deck boat dock, an enclosed boat garage and a private ramp to launch your own watercraft. The home was built originally in 1972 and totally renovated in 2002. A four car detached garage was built in 2002.

There is a total of 264 ft. of water front. Beautiful three tier sea walls accent this elegant home. Hard wood and tile floors, modern appliances and vaulted ceilings are only a few of the amenities that capture you with this home.

Private dock permit.

List Price: $1,800,000
Flexibility: Willing to finance
Acreage: .75 acres
Type: Waterfront

Floors: 2
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Sq. Footage: 3700
Garage Size: 4.0
Year Built: 1972, totally renovated in 2002
School District: Nebo

Suitable Use: Residential

Topography: Rolling
Road Frontage: Private Road
Location: Lake James, Burke County, NC

Amenities: Waterfront, Fireplace, Central AC, Alarm, Wood Floors, Gas Range, Patio, Wheelchair Accessible, Nature/Bike Paths, Boating, Controlled Access, Spa/Jacuzzi

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search for : Lake James waterfront home, Blue Ridge Mountains, Lake James, Burke County, NC

When you’re young and in good health, you often live for the now. Some have the qualifications to find employment including health insurance in the compensation package, but most take what is available and let things drift until responsibilities come along. Then you start asking questions about what you want in the future. It starts with a partnership or marriage. It gets more urgent when children appear on the scene.

If you found a job with a health insurance package, you can usually add your new partner or spouse to the plan. The first issue is whether that plan gives all the cover you need. Should there be gaps, you buy top-up cover. Then as the family grows, does the plan include children and any other dependents? Overnight, you become experts in the detail of the employer’s plan and carefully research what the private health insurance companies offer to give the additional cover. If your job has no health plan, but one of you had the wisdom to begin a private health policy, it is usually possible to upgrade to a family policy. Because you have track record with a company, this is less of a hassle than finding a completely new company for the family.

If you’re starting with no health cover, you will find there are major differences in the premiums quoted. Through sites like this, you get instant quotes from multiple health insurance companies. By using two or three sites like this, you can rapidly accumulate a daunting array of information about different policies and quoted prices. This makes choosing the right cover a real challenge. The first step is take a cold-blooded look at the family finances. This is not a time for sentimentality or blind hope. You need hard figures on what you can afford to pay not just now, but in the foreseeable future. Remember your credit score drops if you start a policy and then find you cannot afford the premiums. The next step is to decide exactly who is to be included in the policy and what range of cover you want – just basic treatment options working up to long-term care insurance. Remember the larger the group and the wider the age range of the people to be included, the more the premium is likely to be. The more conditions, illnesses and injury possibilities you add, the more expensive the policy is likely to be. This drives you back to your financial calculations. The way to lower the premiums is to accept a higher deductible or copayments. But this needs a careful calculation. How much will you pay each year as self-insurance through the deductibles or expenses, against the saving in the annual premium. Weigh the benefits against foreseeable costs to make the right decision on which family health insurance policy to buy.

In November, 1988, the electorate in California approved Proposition 103 to prevent the massive increases in premiums that were affecting all consumers looking for insurance. After major litigation to decide whether the Proposition was constitutional, it was finally implemented in May 1989 and rapidly revolutionized the rates of insurance across the state which fell by an average of 45% between 1989 and 2001. It is estimated that up to 2006, Californian drivers alone saved $62 billion on their auto insurance rates.

Then the Consumer Watchdog combined with other socially active groups to force the insurance companies to abandon the practice of basing rates on the zip code and not your record as a driver. Now comes Assembly Bill 2800 which emerged from the Senate Appropriations Committee in August 2008. This is being treated as a slightly more controversial measure. The auto insurance industry is campaigning to allow a switch to mileage and use as criteria for fixing the premiums. It estimates that this could produce further average savings in premiums of about $275 per vehicle. It would work by placing a small monitoring device in every vehicle to assess how far you drive in a year and how well you drive. But this device is viewed as an invasion into the privacy of drivers.

As a compromise, the Insurance Commissioner suggests that drivers could allow the insurers to make regular checks on the odometer rather than allowing electronic collection and transmission of data. If the electronic version of the plan does go ahead, it will allow companies to identify consistently low-risk drivers from the time of day they use the roads, the speed at which they drive and the distance they travel. Such drivers will receive the maximum discounts available. Those deemed more likely to have accidents from the way they drive will potentially pay more. The current system allows drivers to report their own mileage. The industry standard is to offer discounts to drivers who do less than 10,000 miles per year.

Obviously, there’s a temptation in difficult economic times for drivers to underestimate their mileage to gain the discounts. This proposed device will reward the genuine drivers and charge a fair premium to the others. It will also help to save the planet because drivers who maintain a lower average speed use less gas and so produce less emissions. For once, the auto insurance industry would be helping to fight global warming which is very public-spirited it.

Laurel Springs is in the high country of beautiful Alleghany County, near the Eastern Continental Divide and between the towns of Jefferson and Sparta on Highway 18 near the Blue Ridge Parkway,

At over 3,000 feet elevation, this community is famous for it’s abundance of North Carolina Christmas Tree farms. Laurel Springs is a vacation and retirement paradise with motorcycle riding, hiking, canoeing, fishing, swimming, mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing, golf and much more.

With both the the New River and Mt. Jefferson State Parks nearby, visitors to Laurel Springs come to experience cool summer breezes, spectacular mountain scenery and outdoor recreation.

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

click here for more information