Buncombe County Total Market Overview

The Puffer Team, Keller Williams Professionals, 828-771-2300, www.homefinderasheville.com

For a home valuation on a specific property, click here.

This Month In Real Estate - October 2013 Edition

via kw.com

"In August the seasonally adjusted annual rate of home sales jumped to the highest pace since February 2007, as many buyers made the effort to lock in rates before they rise any further. While rates have ticked down due to the Federal Reserve's announcement that it would not taper its unconventional asset purchases in September, rates are still likely to slowly rise through the end of the year. Prospective buyers should take advantage of what is still a historically high level of affordability in the housing market before it diminishes. With inventory remaining tight in markets across the country, potential home sellers are still well- positioned to take advantage of the many buyers looking for opportunities and 18 months of year-over-year price increases."

Have a home to sell?  Call us today, we'll be happy to give you a no obligation market analysis, 828-771-2300; if you're in the market to buy, we can help you with that as well.

Click here to see what your Asheville area home is worth.

Click here to search for Asheville area homes for sale.

Two Candler, NC Listings To Consider

New on the market, two great homes in Candler, NC, both less than 15 minutes to Asheville, NC with quick access to I-40.

16 Sedgefield Drive; Candler, NC  28715

Immaculate solid brick home in a private neighborhood in convenient location with quick access to I-40. Inside you will find low maintenance floors, natural light throughout, an eat-in kitchen along with formal dining area, gas log fireplaces up and downstairs, and a family room and bonus room in the basement. There is also an oversized double garage with tons of room for storage.

 Virtual Tour

 

21 Tony Candler Ct; Candler, NC  28715 

Immaculate home in a convenient west location with quick access to I-40. This home features lush landscaping, a covered front porch, a light and bright open floorplan with vaulted ceilings, an eat-in kitchen and formal dining room, a spacious master suite with garden tub and a family/rec room in the basement. Come see for yourself all that this home has to offer.

Virtual Tour

Are you interested in seeing one of these homes or others just like it in the Candler area?  Call The Puffer Team today, 828-771-2300, or visit our website, www.homefinderasheville.com.

 

Vacation or Live Full Time in Barnardsville, NC

Great listing in Barnardsville, just reduced to $150,000!

91 Dock Branch Road; Barnardsville, NC  28709

(click address for more information)

Virtual Tour

 

One-of-a-kind charming cottage in a quiet country setting. Inside you will discover a light and bright efficient floorplan, open kitchen with breakfast bar, handcrafted cabinetry, and tons of unique finishes throughout. The large level yard is immaculately landscaped, has a stone patio and two outbuildings, great for storage or workshops. Also includes PIN: 9776-11-6525, washer/dryer & TV are negotiable. 

Convenient to Navitat Canopy Adventures,  downtown Weaverville, 

and 20 minutes to downtown Asheville.

Click here for more information about Barnardsville.

See also:  Homes For Sale -- Barnardsville

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The Puffer Team, Keller Williams Professionals, 828-771-2300, www.homefinderasheville.com

Featured Home For Sale: 118 College Circle; Swannanoa, NC 28778

Are you looking for a home in Swannanoa, NC?

Check out this solid brick home on 5 pristine acres with immaculate landscaping and mountain views. Inside you will find hardwoods, warm and inviting living areas, large windows offering tons of natural light, an energy efficient geothermal heating and cooling system, bonus space in the basement, and so much more. Also includes PINs 9678-78-2923, 9678-79-3105, & 9678-69-9102.

Find more information about this home here!

Would you like more information about Swannanoa?  Click here!



Virtual Tour:

Contact us today to see this home or others just like it in the Swannanoa, NC area, we can be reached at 828-771-2300 or via our website: www.homefinderasheville.com.


See also: Homes For Sale -- Swannanoa

How to Get Rid of Stuff and Declutter Your Life

We're all guilty of it, hanging onto "things".  Below is a great article on how to declutter and simplify your life.

via http://members.houselogic.com/articles/how-to-get-rid-of-stuff/preview/

By: Deirdre Sullivan

 

Published: November 13, 2012

You can get a warm, fuzzy feeling and make a few bucks by responsibly ditching all the excess stuff you 

accumulate.

Before you cast off, sort out

Designate an area in the home — preferably near an exit -- for the stuff you don’t want to forget to take out the door with you. What we really liked best about this video is that she includes tips for keeping your downsizing efforts on track.

Hazardous household materials

Sure, we all know where to recycle stuff like soda cans and water bottles, but what about dicey items like medications, paint thinners, or asbestos?

Earth911.com, along with its free app iRecycle, is one of the best sources for finding acceptance centers that handle household hazardous waste. Just enter the type of junk you need to unload, like compact fluorescent light bulbs (did you know they have traces of mercury?), along with your ZIP code, and it provides the nearest recycling center to you.

Old technology

If you want to recycle appliances, cameras, computers, and TVs, Best Buy Recycle will take them, no matter where you bought them originally. The retailer charges $100 to pick up old appliances like TVs if you’re not also having a new Best Buy item delivered to you. It says it destroys CPUs to protect your data privacy. And the recycled bits and pieces become raw materials manufacturers can use to make everything from appliances to park benches.

New-ish technology

If you want to sell your current smartphone or Mac gadget quickly, Gazelle.com will give you an instant estimate and a free shipping label. Plus, you can take comfort knowing that Gazelle believes in reusing products first before trying to recycle them.

FYI, while the company does protect your privacy by destroying SIM cards and erasing personal data found on devices they receive, Gazelle recommends you remove your SIM card and delete any personal information on your device before sending it in.

Junk mail

The best way to get rid of junk mail from accumulating at home is to stop it from being delivered in the first place. By creating a free account at Catalogchoice.org, you can banish catalogs and assorted marketing items from your home forever. Plus, their MailStop Browser extension for Firefox lets you opt out of mailing lists in real time when you shop online.

Lastly, if you’re willing to pay $35 a year, CatalogChoice will also prevent data brokers from selling your info to other direct marketers.

Kids' stuff

We all know how quickly kids outgrow their stuff. Once Upon a Child buys gently used clothing, toys, and baby gear. It won’t accept items that have been recalled or don’t meet their safety standards. To find a store location near you so you can swap your items for cash or trade for things your kid currently needs.

Books

Discover Books matches second-hand books with people who want them. It uses a proprietary software system to try to find a new owner for your old reads through an online retailer, or tries to donate it to an organization that supports literacy. Plus, if Discover Books can’t find a book a new home, it's sent to a recycling center to begin a fresh life as something else.

Places that buy books outright other than textbooks are becoming increasingly rare. Cash 4 Books pays you for books it wants, plus covers the cost of shipping to their distribution center. Just go to their site and type in the ISBN numbers of the books you plan to sell. Check out the video here to see how this process works.

FYI, if you really want to cut down on your carbon footprint, try donating your books to local libraries, schools, and hospitals. Or build your own free library in your front yard and let passersby help themselves.

Household linens, cleaning supplies, and old cars

If you have old towels, blankets, heating pads, cleaning supplies, and even a car you need to get rid of, consider donating to a local animal shelter like the ASPCA. Every shelter has different needs, from canned dog food to office supplies. But the items we listed are often animal rescue organizations’ top need. To find a local shelter near you, go to the ASPCA site.

Additional ways to part with your stuff

Donate, trade, or sell: Krrb.com is an alterative to sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Freecycle. Krrb makes it fairly simple to buy, sell, rent, trade, or even give your stuff away. Plus, the site offers a republish function that reposts your listings from Etsy, Craigslist, or eBay to Krrb with one click. They also have an iPhone app so you can find stuff for sale right in your neighborhood:


Krrbin' On The Go - Our Editors Take A Spin On The Krrb iPhone App from Krrb on Vimeo.
Charity thrift shop locator: TheThriftShopper.com makes it a cinch to find charity thrift stores in your area by entering your ZIP code. Plus, many of the listings include the shop’s website, so you can learn more about each organization before deciding where to donate.

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Need someone to help you get rid of stuff and declutter?  We know professionals that can help you take the headache out of the process; call The Puffer Team today, 828-771-2300.

Asheville, NC - A Foodie's Paradise

Asheville is an eclectic town that has a lot to offer, including the Biltmore Estate, the Omni Grove Park Inn, the downtown scene, outdoor adventures, etc.  One of the biggest things Asheville is known for, however, is it's food scene.

The Food & Wine Festival was here a couple of weeks ago.

"Launched in 2009, the Asheville Wine & Food Festival celebrates all that’s worth savoring in the mountains. This year’s festival, August 22-24, 2013 and presented by EDISON at The Grove Park Inn, offers four signature events in downtown Asheville full of culinary panache."

Currently the WNC Mountain State Fair is in town through 9/15, you can find all kinds of fried goodness there.  

The Blind Pig Supper Club is a great ongoing fundraising event which offers a lot of foodie options as well.

"The Blind Pig Supper Club was created to bring you closer to Asheville’s array of incredible talent. From chefs to farmers to foragers to musical and visual artists and dancers, Blind Pig dinners bring together the arts of our community that is truly one of a kind and humbling. Our cuisine is most often always local or regional, truly organic, unique and sometimes bizarre but always delicious. A dinner with us is an experiment in gastronomy. You should expect the unexpected and our one promise to you is that you will telling everyone about what you experienced on your plate.

Blind Pig supports, both monetarily and subjectively, a host of local and very important charities. We are a fundraiser raising awareness of our charity through what we do. We believe in absolute creativity, and we allow our featured chefs, often times collaborating with each other, to create a one of a kind menu and experience. As a diner, you will find experimentation and creativity with new dishes, food items and ingredients. Furthermore, we believe food is meant to be respected. We believe that local flavor has all to do with a vegetable picked hours prior to your meal and never refrigerated. We want you connect with the chefs that prepared your meal, the farmer that grew it and all the people that it took to make your dining experience wonderful."

September 14, 2013 - September 23, 2013 Biltmore Village is offering a Restaurant Week with various restaurants offering fixed price menus.

Ongoing are Asheville Food Tours, and when in doubt, just check out a local favorite.  We have a list of places worth checking out on our Pinterest page, which you can see here, and be sure to check out the latest culinary calendar here.

So when you're out and about in Asheville, where is your favorite place to go?

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The Puffer Team, Keller Williams Professionals, 828-771-2300, www.homefinderasheville.com