ALPHARETTA GA HOMES FOR SALE – Alpharetta, Ga Real Estate

The Preserve at Eagles Crest

View from the Pavilion – The Preserve at Eagle Crest Development

The Preserve at Eagle Crest is a 44 – 48 Estate Home Site community with an average of two acre lots located in the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains of Lake Glenville, North Carolina. The views are 360-degrees of the lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, Balsam Mountains, Snowbird Mountains, Whiteside Mountain and long range views into bordering states.

The development is located amongst the highest mountains in the Eastern United States and the area boosts the most waterfalls in North Carolina, exclusive shopping in Highlands & Cashiers, has two of the top five golf courses in North Carolina, public and private lakes, some of the best weather in the Eastern United States. Because of the close proximity to 3 major airports and several smaller ones, the area has doubled in size over the last 10 years. The area continues to see growth in golf courses, lake front property, shopping centers, residents of Fortune 100 companies and some of the top restaurants in the state.

The Preserve at Eagle Crest is located 8 miles from Cashiers, 7 miles from Highlands, and 55 miles from Asheville. The site is found off Hwy 107 North to Pine Creek Road and right on Cullowhee Mountain Road.

Entrance to Eagle Crest

The entrance to the community will feature stone pillars having an automated Iron Gate and signature Copper Eagle sculptures on the pillars. The drive up the 16-foot wide paved road is a slight grade with minimal lighting and side drainage for making access to this community one of the most attractive entrances around. At the top you will come to the Community Pavilion on your right which is present and will be enhanced with a 360-degree stone deck equipped with benches, chairs, fire pits and outdoor fireplace, outdoor kitchen, table and chairs, enhanced indoor kitchen with cooking island for catered events, large tables for entertaining. The Pavilion has an automated 8 over sized “garage” door system that rolls into the ceiling for 360-degree viewing. The thought for the Pavilion is will be used for private parties, weddings, special events, anniversaries, community “block” parties, and many other uses.

The Carriage House/Fitness Center

The current 2-story Carriage House will be converted to a fitness center, sauna, bathroom facilities, and showers. The fitness center will also provide restroom facilities for the future pool complex featuring an Infinity Heated Pool with full lake views from the edge and Mother Nature. This pool is intended to be upscale with the edge of the pool allowing for the 360-degree views.Walking trails are proposed to be developed throughout the community.The 2-story Guest House is intended for hospitality and on site sales office. This current guest home will be enhanced with the full lower level becoming a master suite utilizing the large windows overlooking the mountains. The upper level is superior to many current builder standards and features a full kitchen, great room, full wraparound deck, and will be furnished. The home will be a 2 bedroom-2 bath when completed. The use of this home could be used as a hospitality home for potential buyers and their families.For more information regarding Real Estate, Lots and Land for sale in the Highlands, Cashier, Lake Glenville Area, Call Traci at toll free at 1-888-277-2006 x 6 or e mail me at huntforhouses@yahoo.com 

Vacation Property Sales Increase

According to the National Association of Realtors, more than one million people bought vacation homes in 2006. Industry experts say the NAR data is good news for those considering purchasing a vacation home.

“Their data basically [reported] that vacationon-home sales rose in 2006 based on a 4.7 percent increase [over the previous year],” says Christine Karpinski author of How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner, 2nd Edition: The Complete Guide to Buy, Manage, Furnish, Rent, Maintain and Advertise Your Vacation Rental Investment (Kinney Pollack Press, 2007, ISBN: 0-9748249-9-2, $26.00) and Director of Owner Community for HomeAway.com.

Despite those results, is now really a good time to buy a vacation property?

“There’s a lot of talk about what the real estate market is doing and that this is the third worst time in the real estate market as far as things dropping but we haven’t seen a significant drop in the vacation market. As a matter of fact, in a lot of markets it’s still going up. Now that doesn’t mean that all of them are; some [vacation markets] have gone down a little bit or are normalizing,”

Vacation home sales and investment home sales together accounted for 36 percent of all existing and new residential transactions. Karpinski says, the survey results signal a “definite green light to anyone thinking of buying a vacation property.”

Karpinski says it’s important for consumers to understand that there are different segments of the real estate market.

“The general public tends to view the real estate market as a whole,” says Karpinski. But she says that not all real estate markets perform the same. The residential market is different from the investment, commercial or vacation properties.

“They really are two separate and distinct markets. So don’t let the doom-and-gloom sayers discourage you, and don’t let a sluggish real estate market in your area do so, either. You’re on a whole different playing field,” adds Karpinski.
There’s more good news for vacation-home shoppers according to Karpinski. She says that investment home sales are down by nearly 30 percent since 2005.

Fewer speculators in a market means less muddying of the water and perhaps less driving up of sales prices. “If you’re buying a second home for your personal use, you don’t want to compete with speculators. You want to take your time and make a thoughtful purchase you can feel good about,” says Karpinski.

If now is a good time to jump into the vacation home sales market, do you have to be wealthy to buy? Karpinski says not at all.

“Even if you can’t comfortably afford two mortgages, it’s not difficult at all to offset the cost of your vacation home,” says Karpinski.

She adds that you can rent it out part-time and enjoy it at other times and “As I point out in my books, if you rent out your home only seventeen weeks out of the year, you can still break even.”

An important consideration before buying your vacation home is to make sure that you have the ability to rent it out, even if you think you aren’t likely to do this at the time you’re buying the property.

“Having that safety net to be able to rent out your home is very important even if you’re sort of dead set against anybody renting your home now. The reason is that there are a lot of homeowners associations and municipalities that don’t allow short-term rentals,” says Karpinski.

So buying in an area that doesn’t allow short-term renting will not provide you with a safety net and Karpinski says it could hurt your resale value.

“Vacation homes that can be rented typically hold their value better because you’ve got that money to help off-set [the cost] and your pool of buyers then opens up,” explains Karpinski.

As with any real estate purchase, the best assurance for a good investment is acquiring an education about the area you’re buying in, researching restrictions, and hiring qualified industry experts to guide you through the process.
by Realty Times

For more information reagarding Real Estate and Lots for same e mail me at huntforhouses.com or call 678-575-6735

Every year, United Van Lines generates a press release about their annual migration study. Its a fun read, but hardly scientific. The report measures inbound and outbound relocation in each state. In other words, how many of their clients are moving into or out of a particular state.

A strong mobility pattern continued in 2006 as many Americans packed up their belongings and headed to the West and Southeast parts of the country, while the Central Northeast region of the country experienced an increase in residents departing. The statistics are among the findings of United Van Line’s 30th annual “migration” study that tracks where its customers, over the last 12 months, moved from and the most popular destinations.

United classifies each state in one of three categories — “high inbound” (55% or more of moves going into a state); “high outbound” (55% or more of moves coming out of a state); or “balanced.” Although the majority of states were in the “balanced” category last year, several showed more substantial population shifts.

MOVING IN

Known for hospitality and gracious style, the Southeast states welcomed many new residents in 2006, with North Carolina coming in as the top destination (64.0% inbound). South Carolina (60.6%) continued its 13-year inbound tradition, while Alabama (57.5%) experienced its fourth year as a high-inbound location. Although Tennessee saw less people move in this year (55.8% in 2006; 58.0% in 2005), it still captured a spot on the high-inbound list.

Outbound leaders

The midwest is struggling with weakening economic conditions from serious problems with the auto industry.Michigan leads the pack with 66% outbound traffic.New York is second with 59.5% outbound traffic. Upstate New York is still struggling economically and largely missed the housing boom like the New York City region did.

For more information regarding Relocating to North Carolina, Real Estate, and Lots for sale: e mail me at northatlantainsider@yahoo.com or call 678-575-6735

CITY OF MILTON NEW HOME COMMUNITY OF UNIQUE HOMES AND ESTATE HOMESITES

Every small community is a part of larger one. ASHLEY HALL is a small community located on the outskirts of the NEW city of MILTON, GEORGIA, but with Cherokee County taxes.

HOMESITES ARE 2 +/- BEAUTIFULLY WOODED ACRES.

Once you select your homesite at Ashley Hall, you may bring your own builder or use one of our CUSTOM BUILDERS. Only 13 opportunities available!

Our Vision respects restrictive growth policies; therefore, we are building a unique neighborhood with spacious 2 acre ESTATE HOMESITES.

Residents at ASHLEY HALL will enjoy the balance between tree-lined neighborhood streets and luxurious homes. The wooded acreage wraps throughout the community and creates a buffer of natural beauty.

Located on the “OUTSKIRTS” of the quaint city of Milton, you’ll discover a neighborhood recreated and remembered.

A relaxing communities where hourse farms are abound. Milton offers great shopping and family friendly communities. We have more information on additional homes or new construction in Milton. Feel free to call or e mail us and we will send a list right over to you!

The best Realtor in Alpharetta!

Traci Morreale Strub – 678-575-6735 or huntforhouses@yahoo.com
Posted by Access Milton

For more information on this community or others like it, please e mail us at huntforhouses@yahoo.com  call 678-575-6735

How to Invest in Real Estate — Without Investing in Real Estate

Using your pension to invest is hot. The problem is, like most other popular investing trends, there are pitfalls for the inexperienced.

Take UDFI (unrelated debt-financed income) and UDFI Tax, for example. Not everyone has enough cash in their plan to buy a property or business outright. Not everyone wants to sink all of their pension money into a single project, either. UDFI happens when your pension fund borrows money to make up the difference.

For example, say you wanted to purchase a bakery using money from your Roth IRA, but only had half of the purchase price in your pension account. If your Roth IRA borrowed the other 50 percent, then only 50 percent of the profit flowing back into your IRA would be tax-free. The other half would be considered UDFI and taxed at ordinary tax rates. If you sold the bakery the same apportionment factor would be applied to any gain. The government doesn’t think you should get to earn tax-free income when you use someone else’s money.

So does the possibility of paying UDFI Tax mean you should avoid leverage in your pension plan? Or, a better question: is it possible to avoid UDFI and still get the maximum results with leverage?

Yes! Here are four possible ways to avoid or minimize the UDFI impact:

1. Match your projects to your pension. If your investment is long-term and you’re taking advantage of all of the expenses that you can for real estate, you’ll be showing very little, if any, taxable gain during the time you’re holding the property. When you get around to selling that piece of real estate the UDFI Tax issue will be small. On the other hand, if you’re thinking about investing pension money in a cash-rich, expense-poor business, you may want to reconsider using your pension. Or, find another investment partner or partners to take up the slack so you can all buy the business together outright and avoid UDFI entirely.
2. Time your asset sales. UDFI Tax doesn’t come up until you sell an asset and it’s only calculated on the income earned by that asset in the previous year. So, by positioning yourself to pay the asset off entirely one year before selling it, there won’t be any UDFI — or UDFI Tax.
3. Use a better kind of pension plan. Here’s a powerful tax tip: 401(k) plans (including the new Solo Roth 401(k) plan) are exempt from UDFI and UDFT. Most traditional 401(k) plans can’t do this, because they aren’t truly self-directed. In other words, you get to choose your investments — but only from a list provided to you by your pension administrator or custodian. A true self-directed 401(k) can invest in just about anything.
4. Find a UDFI-friendly investment. It’s hard to argue with the success and powerful results of real estate investing. How many other investments can you think of that have paid off so dramatically over the past few years? But, if you don’t know much about real estate investing, are you sure you want to learn using your nest egg?

That’s why I’m excited about the idea of using pension money to invest in REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts. A REIT is a meeting of qualified minds with investor money. It’s like an investment partnership in the sense that you pay into it and experienced leaders invest your funds. But unlike a partnership there are no cash-calls in a REIT. You only risk what you invest.

Shares in a REIT are usually tradable in the same way you would any other type of corporate stock – something you can’t always do in an LLC or partnership situation — or at least not easily.

Best of all, there’s no UDFI Tax, no matter what kind of pension fund you might use to invest in a REIT.

The secret, of course, is finding a good REIT to invest in. You need to check out the credentials of the people running it very carefully. If they don’t have a good track record, you may want to pass, no matter how good the deal looks on paper. Make sure you also look at how the REIT pays out. Some go for immediate cash flow; others for long-term capital gain. Which fits your pension needs best?

Have a question?

Call me at 678-575-6735 or e mail me at huntforhouses@yahoo.com

Find out why I’m the “The best Realtor in Alpharetta”