Greybeard Realty agent Scott Russell and Asheville professional photographer Gary Leive had their names in a Wall Street Journal story about camps for sale across the United States. Russell, the agent listing the Black Mountain camp property, mentions the tremendous potential for the property, and Leive gets [...]

In yet another sign of a recovering residential real estate market, residential building permits for Buncombe County are up 21.1% for year to date. The statistics, compiled by The Market Edge, indicate a continuation of the upward trend that began last year for the Asheville [...]

Finding a large land parcel for sale in a gated mountain community near Asheville is unusual. Finding a large land parcel in a gorgeous mountain setting with cascading streams on the property is priceless. Greybeard's listing, Tract 7 Winding Poplar, has limitless potential uses as well, from private estate to residential [...]

Fourth of July is the time for fireworks and parades, so in keeping with that tradition, Greybeard Realty has scheduled a Montreat Parade of Homes. This open house of homes for sale, on Sunday June 30^th from 2-4 pm, provides interested buyers with a chance to see 11 specially selected homes all on the same day.

It may seem as if the biggest decision was whether to put your home on the market to sell it.  In fact some of your more difficult decisions may come as you prepare your home to sell.  What do you need to have on hand in your home and what can you put in storage until your present home sells? Realtors agree that overcoming clutter is one of the biggest obstacles to selling a home.

Reduce and remove before relocating.

Greybeard has a whole page on how to prepare to sell your home which you can check out the seller's tips page here. Perhaps the most challenging for many people is de-cluttering your home. Everyone seems to understand that a home should be clean and well kept. Successfully preparing your home goes beyond sweeping the floor, however. You really need to pare down and remove most personal items so that potential buyers can imagine themselves in the home.  That's really hard to do if the house if full of personal photos, including the ones in magnet frames on the refrigerator door.

And while you're in the kitchen, be sure to remove everything from the counter tops.  Put the small appliances out of sight and be sure to take any old, unusable food out of the cupboards.  Even if you've found the kitchen storage space to be limited, you need to create the appearance that there's more than enough room for the new owner's canned goods! And please don't just put the toaster into the coat closet.  Potential owners open closet doors.  Closets should be neat and organized, again giving the appearance that there is room for everything in the home. Are there clothes out of season or out of favor in the closets? Box them up, label them, and put them into storage. Just think, it's one less thing you'll have to do once the home sells and you're ready for moving day.

If it all seems overwhelming, choose one room at a time and really be thorough with that room.  Consider removing furniture and putting it into storage as well.  Do you need his and her recliners right now? Having less furniture in a room makes it look larger. While you're taking the other boxes to storage, take some of your furniture as well. Box up the knick-knacks that are meaningful to your family but clutter for new home buyers. And think about the fact that whatever you pack up, you will have to unpack at the new house.  Can you part with some of the items and perhaps donate them somewhere?

With the tracking we do, we know that the real estate numbers are improving in the Asheville market, you need an edge to sell your home more quickly. When preparing your home to sell, just remember that less is better, especially when it comes to furniture, personal items and photos, and items on the kitchen counter. And again, doesn't it make sense to downsize on some possessions now and reduce what you have to pay the movers to transport? All of your hard work prior to showing your home will make your own transition to a new place that much easier. So go out and get those boxes. And don't forget the sharpie markers to label the boxes.

Greybeard Realty often tells potential buyers in Black Mountain and other local communities to spend some time in the towns they're considering purchasing real estate in, perhaps attend an event. Tomorrow's Rockin' Around the Square Concert in Black Mountain, June 1, is one of those community gatherings that will capture the essence of this [...]

Imagine a log cabin, four acres of beautiful land including pasture, two creeks and a pond all within easy access of Asheville. Now view the listing on our website for MLS #53995 and see that image in your mind become [...]

There's no place like an Asheville home, unless it's a Montreat cottage, or a Black Mountain cabin.  At Greybeard Realty, we have come to realize that it isn't all in the name.  When it comes down to it, what people really want is a special house in western North Carolina.

When searching for real estate for sale in the area, people often choose "Asheville cabin" as their search words, even when they want an elegant, four-bedroom structure in the middle of the city.  In fact, "Asheville cabin" is among the most searched keyword phrases for real estate in western NC. The on-line Merriam-Webster defines cabin as: a small one-story dwelling usually of simple construction. That word choice, then, is often correct for Asheville log cabins for sale. But it doesn't quite capture the essence of some of our larger houses, for example our listings of homes with 5 or more bedrooms.

A five-bedroom Montreat listing on Assembly Drive.

In second place for most searched is "cottage," as in Montreat cottage, which again conjures up the image of a small, cozy structure.  A quick glance at Greybeard's Montreat listings, however, indicates that some of these western NC homes for sale are hardly small. Again, Merriam-Webster defines cottage as: a usually small house for vacation use. The definition does match some of our Asheville vacation homes for sale.

And how about an Asheville home? Merriam-Webster defines home as: one's place of residence. Well, that may be true for some of our western NC listings, but what if someone is looking for a vacation home for sale to buy now for a later Asheville retirement? Does that still qualify as one's residence?

If all of this conversation about residential words has your head spinning, don't panic.  For the best results of houses, homes, cabins and cottages in western North Carolina for sale, simply go to our Asheville real estate advanced search option, enter the criteria you're seeking, and hit search. And as always, if you want the one-on-one contact with a Greybeard Realtor, please contact us. After all, to paraphrase a famous bard, "a home by any other name is still a home".

If you want to explore the flavor of a particular western North Carolina community prior to purchasing a home, there may be no better way than hitting a few arts and craft festivals to see what each NC mountain town has to offer.  Whether it's a Montreat cabin, a Black Mountain home or a mountain vacation rental for sale that you are looking for, you will have a better idea of how each town feels just by walking the streets and viewing the area culture.

Rock out to the fantastic culture of western NC

The idea came to mind Friday night while strolling through Black Mountain at the Blue to Black Art Weekend.  This event, aptly named because it stretches from the Blue Ridge Parkway through Asheville all the way to Black Mountain and then Old Fort, runs all weekend.  It concludes on Sunday, May 6, with another gallery stroll from 11-5.

The Black Mountain gallery AnTHM is participating, and there isn't another spot that offers such a selection of eclectic art to let you see what is really happening in the culture of the area.  If you can't make it this weekend, consider checking out the next Black to Blue art Weekend October 10-13^th, 2013.

So if you know you're ready to buy an Asheville area house, start looking in all the right places. Check out the Greybeard Calendar for upcoming arts and craft events such as LEAF and get the true feel. In the true spirit of "try before you buy", why not select a convenient weekend and rent an Asheville cottage. Greybeard Rentals has a complete listing of available homes. For more information about specific communities and the homes available in the area, contact Greybeard Realty.

While much is made about the outdoor adventure activities in the area, there's also a lot to be said about the city life available to those people living in downtown Asheville. With its eclectic arts scene and its various and varied dining spots, Asheville city residents have the experience of city living in a very tranquil, mountainous [...]