Convergence theory

With the euro now worth almost 1.60 USD, house values dropping in the States and more and more sellers there unable to move their properties, circumstances couldn’t be more felicitous for buyers.

More and more property owners in the States are willing to negotiate price, to an almost unprecedented degree. The crisis in the sub-prime mortgage industry has led to an untenable situation for many homeowners who are faced with skyrocketing payments from their adjustable rate mortgages.

While the current drop in house values can make for some interesting bargains, there are also some safeguards you should take in this market. One of them is to demand an appraisal contingency:

In addition to the standard financing and inspection contingencies, it's a good idea to include an appraisal contingency for the property to appraise for the purchase price. Due to the softening market, some appraisals are coming in low. If you make an offer without an appraisal contingency and the home appraises for less than the purchase price, you could have to make up the difference in cash.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/softeningmarket

But if you have been thinking of buying, you should take notice of the confluence of current circumstances. They are unique and, obviously, time-sensitive.

our day

Sorry, faithful viewers, but, yes, I’m enamoured of this property.

It's indeed the one you’ve seen below, and I could watch the seasons change forever. As can you.

The dollar plummets: 1.56 American dollars for a single euro, as of today.

And, if you have been following previous posts concerning the byzantine intricacies of the American real estate process, you should know that the owner of this fetching property will also be paying the “closing costs” [the exorbitant add-ons of settlement fees, which, once upon a long-ago first purchase time, emptied my bank account].

Today may be an odd one, and it is, out of time and out of place, the 17th decreed the 15th, but all shall be well. Time to hear the words, listen to the music, raise a glass and, perhaps, contemplate what comes next...

A special gift

Today I'm welcoming some special guests who would like to introduce their very own piece of heaven to you - in their words and pictures and, obviously, from their hearts.

The Surles Estates is a privately owned property, now For Sale by Owner. To access YOUR ridge top land, you will drive through a secluded mountain cove to your private driveway. Almost three acres (2.84) of lush hardwoods, this gorgeous house site boasts electricity, a five-hundred foot deep well, and a spectactular view. Through the crystal clear air of the Appalachian Mountains, you can see two towns away to the highest point in Georgia, Brasstown Bald.

Soon it will be Spring and the sourwood trees will blossom with hundreds of thousands of small white flowers from which the owner, Michael Surles’ bees make golden honey. Then come the yellow and purple violets and dwarf iris. Later there will be more rare varieties of wild flowers found only in this area.

In Summer there is every kind of cooling, exhilarating fun on spectacular nearby lake Nottely. Cozy Cove boat dock will take care of your boat and sell you the bait to fish the pure cool waters. Or sun yourself and the kids at the man-made beach.

In Fall, the foliage will become a dazzling spectrum of colors and the annual pageants of the Arts, Local Indigenous Music, Storytelling and hand-made Crafts Fairs will commence.

As Winter comes on, the tourists will leave. What they don’t know is that in some ways, winter is the best season. By a cozy fire, with a good book or with the entire world (via high speed Internet-DSL access ) at your fingertips, you can de-stress. Or conduct your own business affairs as you sip hot chocolate in your ‘jammies’ and look out upon the bare bones of the oldest mountain range in the world. This private landscape will sometimes be covered with lacy, luminescent ice, or with beautiful brushings of snow. (And in Georgia the winter days will be interspersed with some clear and spring-like ones as well……)

With the thriving international metropolis, Atlanta, Georgia, only a short two-hour drive south, you could travel all over the world or simply enjoy big-city culture for an evening.

Are you ready to leave the Old World behind and begin writing your own personal history? Become landed gentry (with property to pass down to your family) in the New World. Or invest in a second home in the United States. There is no better time, especially since the exchange rate is all in YOUR favor right now…..