Buying or Selling Property In Western North Carolina

North Carolina mountain real estate  buyers are lucky. Buying a home in the mountains entitles you to some of Mother Natures’ most spectacular landscapes. Whether you are buying a vacation home, an investment property, retiring, or relocating, you will all have the marvelous view scapes.

Our area is very fortunate as we have 4 beautiful seasons and none are extreme. Each season enables you to spend time outside enjoying the beauty of your surroundings. Hiking amid the beautiful spring wildflowers, cool summers, gorgeous fall color, and sweater weather winters to enjoy the fire by await you. Buying a NC mountain home is one you will enjoy through out the year.

If you are a buyer moving in from out of state, you will want to become aware of the terminology that the state of NC uses for real estate. The state where you currently live has their own words; however, NC uses Buyer’s Agents, Seller’s Agents, and Dual Agents. These words describe how your agent will work with you and whom she/he is representing, the buyer, seller, or both of you. To clarify each meaning, please read the “ Working with Real Estate Agents” brochure . This is for information purposes only and not a contract of any kind. If you have any questions, NCMountainLife.com is always available to answer your questions.

NCMountainLife.com always recommends that you have inspections prior to purchasing a parcel of property or a home. There are several types of inspections: Home Inspection, Radon Inspection, Pest Inspection, and Structural Inspection, Septic Inspection, to name a few. You may also wish to have a Survey completed on the property. If you are purchasing a parcel of land and wish to know if there is water, you may need to visit with a well driller.

• Working With Real Estate Agents Brochure
• Questions and Answers on Home Inspections Brochure
• Residential Property Disclosure-Sample
• Mountain Home Buying/Selling Resource People
• Mountain Driving Map- Mountain Communities and a must have driving map

All buyers should be interested in knowing what condition the home that they are buying is in. Some of these questions as to what an inspection covers can be answered with this Brochure on Home Inspections.

A Radon Inspection covers whether there is any radon coming from the ground beneath your home. This is a natural occurring gas found in Mother Nature. It is prevalent in some areas of the United States more than others. Your neighbor may have it and you may not. Some of you may not have heard of this before. A simple test can be completed to determine whether your current home has it. If after a test your home has greater than 4 Picos as determined by the state as being okay, then your home may require Radon Remediation. After this process is completed, the radon gas is removed from the area beneath your home by a fan. Not only does it remove the gas, but it may remove moisture as well receiving that as a second benefit.

Additional inspections: A pest inspector will determine if the home has pests. A structural inspection can be completed if one thinks there may be a problem with the structure of the home or building. Another inspection that you may inquire about is a mold inspection. We all know that mold is common in many places including sometimes showers, or tubs as well as you might find some in your refrigerator.

If you are acquiring a parcel of land and wish to know if the land will perk for a septic system, you should make your contract contingent upon a septic permit being okayed. This will protect you so that if your land does not perk and you were planning on building a home on the property, you will know prior to purchasing and look for another parcel that will suit your needs. The county will actually come out and check out the property for a place that a system can be placed. Septic systems are commonly used in many areas and are very effective for building where city sewers are not available. Depending on the type of soil your land may have, this will determine what type of system you may be required to use.

All of these inspections should be completed by qualified technicians. If you have any question, feel free to ask them. You may request any inspection be done on any home or parcel of land. The cost varies so it is good to always inquire with the professional as to the cost of each inspection. Many of these inspections are listed in the Offer to Purchase Contract.

There are many qualified inspectors available in the area.  Most real estate agents are not certified inspectors, so do not ask them to answer questions that are not in their areas of expertise. Our goal is to make you an informed buyer or seller, present you with a partial list of inspectors that you might contact, so that you are able to make the best home buying decisions you can. If you can not be on site for the inspections, the reports can be faxed, emailed, or sent in the mail. Many inspectors attach photos showing what needs to be corrected making it easier for you to understand and see.

Discussing various inspections are not meant to alarm you, they are intended to make you an informed buyer. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, having a professional do your inspections is the important issue.

NCMountainLife.com is always available to assist you. Please ask us for a list of various inspectors from around the area. A personal phone call to one of them will help answers any questions you may have in their special area of expertise. We are not recommending one over another or endorsing any particular company, but making it easier for you the consumer to have numbers at your finger tips. If you are a qualified inspector and would like to be added to our list, please let us know.

Other professionals to contact when buying a home will be your banker or mortgage broker, an attorney, a tax professional, or someone for insurance for your new home. Our local professionals are ready to answer questions and welcome you to this beautiful area.

Have you ever heard of the “Clue Report”? If you have not, you should be aware of it. This is a report that is on file that can be accessed by insurance companies. This is available for all insurance companies to look at prior to issuing you insurance on your home. If there have not been any claims filed about your home, then the report on your home will not show anything. If you have had a fire or other various claims, this may show up on this report. At the current time all home owners are able to request one of these per year for free. More than one copy will cost you an additional fee. Be sure look for the free one or call the company to find out where the form to fill in is on the site for a free copy.

We do hope you find this information helpful. The goal at NCMountainLife.com is to make your mountain home purchase easy and stress free. If you have questions about the process we are ready to serve you... 828-553-3391.

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