Lake Wedowee Poker Run

DO YOU FEEL LUCKY?               

1ST ANNUAL                             

 LAKE WEDOWEE POKER RUN.

By: Leisel Caldwell

Have you heard the latest? Four local real estate companies are mixing real estate and fun together. What a concept! On July 7, 2007, Advantage Realty, Duffey Realty (Chimney Cove), Home Town Realty, and ReMax Lakefront are hosting the 1st Annual Lake Wedowee Poker Run. The poker run consists of a tour of 7 beautiful lake homes currently for sale by the participating real estate companies, a poker game where the best hand wins $777, entertainment, food and other great prizes given away during the event.

The Poker Run idea came together on a recent trip Kelly and I took to Las Vegas. It was a business trip where we attended the Mastery Summit on Real Estate presented by 3 of the top national real estate trainers in the business. Really, it was a business trip! Okay I admit it, we did mix a little business with pleasure. By the way, some of us were luckier than others in Las Vegas. Me ... not so lucky. Kelly, that is another story.

Once we got back to Wedowee, we put some ideas together. We soon realized this could become a big event and we needed help. We called Home Town Realty and set up a meeting with Dawn Fold and several of her agents. Home Town Realty loved the idea. Together we decided we needed 2 more real estate companies to participate. We then invited Laurie Bloomfield broker for ReMax Lake Front and Eddie Duffey to our next meeting. Again, they loved the idea and jumped on board. With the real estate companies in place we then starting working on obtaining sponsors, putting together a website, selecting the homes for the open house tour, game rules, etc. To keep us legal, we also cleared the event with local law enforcement and the Alabama Real Estate Commission. Wow! it has now become the event of the season.

Be sure to mark your calendar to attend July 7, 2007 (07-07-07). The festivities begin at the Beautiful Chimney Cove Clubhouse and will end with you playing your poker hand at the Chow House at Foster's Bridge at 3:00 pm. Entertainment by Roger Hammett, food prepared by the Chow House, fun games and valuable prizes.

Do you feel lucky? Well them, we would like to invite you to pre-register as a guest of Advantage Realty. The first 100 to pre-register will receive a free Lake Wedowee Poker Run t-shirt the day of the event. To pre-register and learn more about the event visit www.LakeWedoweePokerRun.com

Lake Wedowee Market Update

While lower lake levels may be putting a damper on fun this summer, it hasn’t hurt the inventory of homes for sale on Lake Wedowee.

As of June 21, the official first day of summer, there are 93 lake homes on the market. Considering only eight homes sold in May, we have almost a year’s worth of inventory. What does this mean? Well it depends which side of the closing table you will be sitting.

If you are a buyer, this could be a good time to do just that. More inventory means more options for you. We are hearing of all kinds of incentives being done right now. One house that is under contract, we have heard the seller is throwing in a floating dock and in the second home market it is not uncommon to purchase a home partially or fully furnished.

We have also seen houses sell for much less than asking price. In April and May, we saw two homes sell for 77 percent of the list price. However, just like the $1.25 million sale, those examples are not the norm around here. In fact, the average sale price is 94 percent of the final list price. Keep in mind those averages do not take into account price reductions.

What these numbers mean in simple terms, is that Lake Wedowee is becoming a buyer’s market instead of a seller’s market like it has been for the past few years.

If you are in the process of selling your house or are thinking of putting your home on the market, do not fear. We are actually ahead of the game if you look at last year’s numbers. Twenty lake homes sold through June 21, 2006 with a median sale price of $285,000 while this year 25 lake homes have sold in the same time frame with a median price of $304,000. The meat of the market is in the “under $500,000 price range” (60 of 93 listings and 22 of 25 sales) and that doesn’t look like it is going to change regardless of what homes are listed for.

Adjustments to price have already started on this lake, and as the season progresses, and sellers get more anxious to see results, the market will continue to fix itself.

I mentioned earlier about seller’s giving incentives to buyers some of those include: paying closing costs, leaving furniture, giving a dock allowance and even selling the boat or jet skis along with the property. Sellers are getting more and more creative these days to get the end result they desire and as your REALTOR®, it’s my job to guide you through the process from start to finish.

It takes more than putting a sign in the yard to get things sold these days, but... Hey, that conversation is for another day.

Fireworks use cautioned during Fourth of July

We had a good day of rain Tuesday but it was not enough to lift a no burn order for 33 counties in Alabama which includes the Lake Wedowee area. The no burn order, however, was amended this week.

In its original form, the order put a ban on personal fireworks of any kind. State Forester Linda Casey signed an order Wednesday clarifying the use of fireworks in the counties affected by the no burn order.

The new regulation allows ground level fireworks such as sparklers, poppers and basic firecrackers. However, aerial fireworks such as Bottle Rockets, Sky Rockets, Roman Candles and any other launchable fireworks are PROHIBITED unless it is over open water.

If found guilty of violating this order, you could face fines up to $500 and a sentence up to 6 months in the county jail.

Commercial or Municipal fireworks displays do not fall under this category and are permissible based on a permit from the state forester.

Drought not helping lake levels

Recent thunderstorms aren't going to be enough to help Lake Wedowee's water level. Alabama Power Company announced Monday, to expect Lake Wedowee (also known as Lake Harris) to drop to 789.5 by June 26, which means at that time, Lake Wedowee will be 3.5 feet below full pool.

Lake property owners and boaters should use caution on the lake as water levels continue to drop. Avoid going into shallow areas and be cautious of "stickups" (trees and stumps underwater). If you don’t visit Lake Wedowee regularly, you might want to take your boat out of the water. If the level changes drastically, boats could easily be beached.

The majority of the lakes in Alabama have felt the strains of this drought. Lake Martin (Our sister lake to the south) is down more than seven feet and could drop another foot by June 26. If that occurs, Martin could be at winter water level by July 4.

Sunset Point 3 Night Giveaway

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Roger Ottinger!

Roger & Denise Ottinger, of Douglasville, Georgia visited Sunset Point on Lake Wedowee and registered to win our free 3 night stay at Sunset Point.  Drawing was held and the Ottinger's name was drawn.  Mr. & Mrs. Ottinger has won a complimentary 3 night stay at Sunset Point from Advantage Realty.

Sunset Point holds open houses every Saturday until the end of June from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  Sunset Point has monthly drawings each month for a free 3 night stay.  Come and enjoy yourself at Sunset Point with Advantage Realty.

Randolph County native wins "Miss Alabama"

Saturday night Wadley's own Jamie Langley was crowned Miss Alabama after competing in the pageant six times.

Jamie, 23, is the daughter of Jeff and Mailey Langley of Wadley. She attended Southern Union State Community College before going to Jacksonville State University where she is a communications major.

Langley will represent the state of Alabama in the Miss America pageant later this year.

May Cookbook Winner

Congratulations to our May Cookbook Winner - Babs Hanniford!  Advantage Realty holds a monthly Cookbook Contest in which you either enter online or by coming into the office. Enter today for your chance to win Junes cookbook Speedy Suppers for recipes easy to cook in less than 30 minutes!