Asheville ECO-GREEN Real Estate

head_left_image

OOOO-Yuckkkk. Contamination. Or CAN sustainable, green development happen here? Field Trip.

 

 update: if you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

REALTORS'®Due Diligence- Check out THIS list. asheville, N.C. conservation development?

  • Leaking Underground Storage Tanks   (LUSTs)                           
  • Landfills
  • Superfund Sites
  • Water Quality Assurance Revolving Priority Fund Sites
  • EPA Proposed Superfund Sites (CERCLIS)
  • Hazardous Waste Sites
  • Hazardous Waste

OOOO-YUCK! Who wants to talk about all this gookie-stuff?

 Raise your hands.Do I see one-hand? Do I see a few hands? Show me a few hands. Let me tell you a true story. Then maybe those hands will show up.

 

 Recently, we were on the hunt for land for a sustainable, green development for one of our clients. We were excited to hear about 60+ acres that overlooks the gorgeous French Broad River and guards the view from lofty heights where there are innumerable building sites just perfect for a green-built /conservation subdivision. It was not on the market. A local owner wanted to preserve it. We were anticipating a celebration. But we are a careful bunch. We like to review a site thoughtfully and personally. So, on a mild and breezy day, our ECO Team at the brokerage ventured out to see what could have been some of the most beautiful land for sale in the Greater Asheville, North Carolina area. 

ahseville, NC conservation development?

 

 

Isn't it just spectacular? Wouldn't you just love to build your dream home here?

Maybe not. Reasons why?

 1) Expanding disclosure standards and legislation for sellers of residential property requiring stepped-up due diligence concerning environmental issues and contamination..

2) At least one of the items from the above contamination list affect this property and could pose a serious challenge for all parties during due diligence.  

Want to know which? Raise your hands, and I'll tell y'all..PS There's a hint right there in the story.

Let me know what you think.

UPDATE: 8/25...

 scroll down the comments to the second photo for the answer   and  Let's open this up further discussion ...

HERE is a list of potential "material facts" about  which real estate professionals should learn  more...

  1. brownfields...when and how do we reclaim them?

  2. water table and leaking toxic substances

  3. a certain aroma...when does it become a material fact

###update: if you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

114 comments • janeAnne, Asheville's "Green-o-Lina" ECO Certified Real Estate Consultant • August 23 2007 08:16AM

200 "Passive Sun" BLOGS + 1 Active Flying Dog +YOU =

 update: if you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

This flying dog has been leaping across asheville realtor's flying dog
the blogging-blue-sky. (JT's photo taken at Bele Cher in Asheville, N.C. 2007)

She's read over 200 BLOGS this past week-always curious, and most-times impressed.  What's out there in the "passive sun"?  I'll tell you in two words:
A  lot!  

I'll also tell you that a week or so ago, that might not have been my impression Like Jeff G, I had been wondering why on Green Earth I would want to have another  BLOG outside of Active Rain.

My "Other Blog" (tended faithfully since 2004) while it had brought me many amazing clients interested in ECO-friendly land and homes, had NOT produced the other results I sought:

•1.      top ranking at search engines
•2.      super goggle-juice
•3.      connections with a network of my peers
•4.      comments

My BLOG at AR gives me(us)-enviable connections with a fabulous network of other "Green" real estate professionals and my colleagues (you), consistent top ranking at search engines, people who find my posts interesting/informative and actually subscribe to my BLOG, and comment.  What more could a mother ask?

But Colleen's K's  Laurie Manny Challenge (put forth just prior to her 200th post)  nudged me to look beyond Active Rain. Collen said, " Laurie Mannyof Long Beach CA is an amazing mentor for many of us at ActiveRain. Recently she sent me on a little reading tour. " THAT sounded interesting! I wanted to explore the territories of the "Passive Sun" and to get the old dog flying toward magic- the very magic  infact that can lift all of us AR bloggers  higher and higher until the blogger-dog flies,  raising the bar (so to speak) of writing at Active Rain-and the quality of posts.

YOU can take the Challenge: contest rules here, and then submit your post by 10 PM EST on Friday, August 17. Winners will be announced on Monday, August 20.

Have you ever seen a dog fly? - It's a phenomenon, actually. It reminds me of  when I used to mountain bike - when I rode the easy trails, I didn't feel challenged to shine, but when the high trails called me, I noticed how my own standards and abilities rose to match the trail. I could "fly". . . With this phenomenon in mind, I have visited over 200 BLOGS this past week. Yes over 200! It was like a mini-vacation into the passive sun. (If you  missed me over at the ECO-All-Stars that's what I've been up to.)

One result of flying the dog is the following list of 23 links to
•·        15 BLOGS possibly worth perusing
•·        5 Personal B LOG Favorites
•·        3 BLOGS that you just have to go visit right this very minute

15 BLOGS Possibly Worth Perusing  (in no particular order)

5 Personal Favorites

  1. http://landlegacies.blogspot.com/ (no comment)   
  2. http://www.texashorseandhome.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx(I love this BLOG and horse-sense)
  3. hhttp://www.bungalowblog.com/  (Just very, very cool, sophisticated and educational)
  4. http://wncrealestate.blogspot.com/ (Rich content, generous use of media. And some nostalgia.)
  5. http://photographyforrealestate.net/   (Found: Photography For Real Estate Blog)  
  • 3 BLOGS to Go Visit Right this Very Minute (still in no particular order)
  1. http://www.inmanwiki.com/Real-Estate/Real_Estate_Entropy(A great BLOG that tells you anything and everything about real estate.)
  2. http://www.ninedots.net/wordpress/  (National Real Estate company's Corporate Broker and Training Director strives to deliver top quality training and education)
  3. http://www.treehugger.com/ (OK! I just couldn't resist.) 

asheville realtor's dog on box

 

 

P.S.  And if you got all the way down here,
you deserve a big GREEN HUG
from the Flying Dog!..
or at least a comfortable soap box
upon which to sit.

 

("Sit!" photo by JT, Asheville, Summer 2007)

Take the challenge. View the contest rules here, and then submit your post by 10 PM EST on Friday, August 17. Winners will be announced on Monday, August 20. Good luck!!

update: if you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

#### THANKS  FOR SUBSCRIBING TO MY BLOG!

61 comments • janeAnne, Asheville's "Green-o-Lina" ECO Certified Real Estate Consultant • August 15 2007 11:07AM

TRENDS: THE BABY BOOMERS' BLAST

NEWS for BABY BOOMERS ALFA  produces the most authoritative and comprehensive publications and reports on assisted living, as well as important market research studies

SO! have you heard?  GOOGLE is going GREEN. They have chosen one of my favorite architects in the entire world, William McDonough. You can expect amazing news on that front.  Daily, such eco-nomically friendly news impacts trends in the real estate market.  I've written about this for what seems like a cyber-time dinosaur's age.  baby boomer heads to Ashevile, NC prime real estateAND!   What else is NEW?

                                            The Baby Boomer Blast
 
HELLO! Get ready Asheville's "green" real estate market, the baby boomers are on their way.  They could be getting ready to leave their old nests and fly  your way,too
And they could create business in your neighborhood.  Ah,the  baby boomers...  according to James J. L'Allier, Ph.D. & Kenneth Kolosh in an article for Chief Learning Officer  the "...baby boom generation is a demographic term for the population born between 1946 and 1964."

HOW MANY BABY BOOMERS? At least 82,826,479  lively souls ( remember they were the Flower Children of the 60s  and Valiant Viet Nam Vets)   will start their "un-retirement"  almost any day now.

What does the Baby Boomer Blast mean to real estate professionals across the country? To me it means life stories waiting to be told, with  many, many  happy closings.You probably already know this, but possibly it bears repeating: The Congressional Budget  Office says, "... baby boomers typically have higher income. . .and have accumulated  . .. private wealth. "

3 Questions to Ask Yourself:              

  1. Will Baby Boomers stay where they are?
  2. Will they look for second/vacation homes?
  3. Where will they go, these  shining "relics" with powerful means and an eye for creative pursuits?

                                                                                                     "Hello!"

My predictions:

  1. Baby boomers will blast into areas that offer an attractive quality of life and a relatively low cost of living.
  2. They will live, at least part of each year, in beautiful cities and towns.
  3. They will bring their "live free or die" attitude and their wisdom to a community, and you will see them not only on the golf course, but at city council meetings and at the art supply shop.

One thing I know for sure, wherever Baby Boomers choose to live they will have a huge impact on those communities, driving everything from real estate prices to our real estate livelihoods. Many of our "baby boomer" clients already have come here to Asheville, NC. We love working with them. They acquire fantastic high-performance properties and tell us great stories of their adventures from which we all learn.

I am wondering what your experience is if you live and work around Phoenix, Scottsdale, Northern California, The "Third Coast"  and Florida's coast ... But I am wondering, too about the  many small, highly desirable cities, like Asheville.

Tell me about your predictions and experiences.

#####update: if you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

93 comments • janeAnne, Asheville's "Green-o-Lina" ECO Certified Real Estate Consultant • August 02 2007 11:49AM