If You Plan To Buy . . .

Buy a home in a subdivision, and you may have a choice of five different floorplans – probably no more. That makes it easy to compare homes and their prices. If you look at five different homes with the same or similar floor plans, it becomes easy to determine which are priced fairly – and [...]

Finding your way on mountain properties can be a real challenge – using a metes & bounds survey. Descriptions often begin at “an old pine stump” and continue “with the center of the branch 116 poles to an old iron”. Often called “leaps & bounds”, old metes & bounds surveys can be complex, confusing, and [...]

OK – so you’ve heard the expression about buying a pig in a poke before. It involves making a purchase without knowing all the facts – right? So – who would buy a large tract of mountain land without first learning its size, location, physical characteristics, elevation, price, and access to roads? The answer – [...]

Why is it that land in Watauga, Ashe, and Avery counties may sell for $500, $750, and even $1,000 more per acre than land in Wilkes or Caldwell counties? The answer is elevation, elevation, and elevation. The higher above sea level a property is located, the more spectacular the views. Also, temperatures drop 3° for [...]

Mountain land is not flat (an obvious understatement). So, how can you tell where the ridges, valleys, streams, and peaks are located on a map? A “topo” map is a special map which shows the lay of the land – where it rises and falls. Each of the many lines denotes a change in elevation [...]

When buying a home, lenders have long required that title insurance be secured. Title insurance protects the owner against claims by others as to clear title, and to matters of survey – the boundary lines. If a legal claim is pursued and won against the property’s owner, the title insurance pays up to face value [...]

In years gone by, many mountain land tracts were accessible only by wagon road or logging trail. Freedom to travel over these undefined roadbeds was only as good as the temperament of the property owners. As long as all parties along the road were comfortable with the traffic in, out, and over these paths, there [...]

1. Make a list. If you are planning to purchase a large land tract, one thing is for sure – you have your reasons. What are they? Write down your primary purpose for buying, then list all the features and amenities you hope to find. 2. Share it. Call our senior land specialist, Paul Christian [...]