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Best Time To Buy
Posted at 1:47 PM, Mar. 2, 2008
by...Leisel Caldwell
Prospective buyers ask me all the time, "When is the best time of the year to buy a home on Lake Wedowee?" The answer becomes obvious when considering supply and demand. A limited number of lake-front properties are available or will ever become available. Of those for sale and an even more limited number meet the needs of the prospective buyer. When is the right time to buy? As soon as you find the home you desire. The one that fits your lifestyle may come along only once in a lifetime
The Media's focus on nation-wide foreclosure rates and tightening mortgage requirements has lead to some prospective buyers hesitancy to buy because of what they refer to as "current market conditions." Some are less confident in their ability to get financing on second homes and lake lots. Contrary to common perception, many buyers are enjoying better mortgage options and rates than ever before, and they have more properties to choose from. The national downturn and the hesitancy for some prospective buyers, presents a perfect buying opportunity for smart investors.
Lower pool offers buyers greater insight
While some buyers may complain about low lake levels, it is really good to see lake homes and lots when the lake is down. It provides buyers with an unrestricted view of the property and the lay of the lake. Is a dock placed far enough out in the water? Is a quiet and peaceful cove affected by drought? Is the new beach, revealed by the low water level, gently sloped, perfect for children? How does the lake front compare community by community? Observing property at lower water levels provides purchasers with an exceptional opportunity to see what is otherwise easily overlooked in a quick tour of the lake and home.
I cannot remember a better time to buy real estate on Lake Wedowee, taking advantage of choice, opportunity,and special insight, during this prime real estate buying time. If you are currently looking for Lake Wedowee real estate please give Kelly or me a call. We will work very hard to find you the perfect lake front property.
The plot thickens on Lake Wedowee
Posted at 8:40 AM, Aug. 20, 2007
THE
PLOT
THICKENS...
I guess someone with "Linger Longer" connections received our little email.
All the links mentioned www.LingerLongerLakeWedowee.com, www.ReynoldsLakeWedowee.com,www.LakeWedoweeGolf.com are no longer showing the blond girl with those important key words. Now it shows "This page can not be displayed."
With this new development, some people may question my credibility, for those that do, I understand. It could be a big misunderstanding, but odds are strong I am on to something. You can still discover the website addresses above have been bought if you go to www.GoDaddy.com and type in one of the above mentioned sites. It will say it is already taken. You can also see when it was purchased (July 7 through 9 of this year depending on the website), but the buyer has asked to remain private. Those sites also still appear in Google search results. You just have to dig a little deeper to find them. So the top 10 reasons still hold true.
We are constantly searching for information about Lake Wedowee so we can keep our customers and clients informed. We are very excited about the possibility of such a major player coming to our market and what it could mean for Lake Wedowee.
If you know any scoop on this matter, let's linger on it a little longer together. You can email me directly, or you can put your comments on our blog at www.LakeWedoweeNeighbors.com.
We know that this may have been forwarded to you by a friend, so if you would like to directly receive our e-newsletter "Lake Wedowee News & Views click here to sign up. Please be assured your email address will not be shared with any other parties.
Full House for 1st Lake Wedowee Poker Run
Posted at 11:30 AM, Jul. 11, 2007
The luckiest day of the century, July 7, 2007, turned out to be just that for Jane Patterson of Wedowee.
In front of a full house at the Chow House, Patterson won the grand prize of $777 with a full house in the first-ever Lake Wedowee Poker Run Open House.
“I had a lot of fun with it,” Patterson said. “I have been here for a while, but I didn’t know a lot about the lake. I thought this would be a fun way to learn what Lake Wedowee has to offer.”
To have the winning hand, Patterson visited seven homes on Lake Wedowee which are currently for sale. Four real estate companies joined forces to make this event a success.
“There is no local board of REALTORS in Randolph County and when my daughter and I were at a real estate conference in Las Vegas earlier this year, we came up with this idea as a way to get some area companies to work together in a fun atmosphere,” Leisel Caldwell, broker of Advantage Realty, said. “It took a lot of work, but the full house that we saw Saturday made it worth it.
The Poker Run began at Chimney Cove’s new Club House where people received a map showcasing the seven homes on the tour.
“I was really excited to have a lot of visitors coming to Lake Wedowee from all over,” Eddie Duffey of Chimney Cove / Duffey Realty, said. “We, in particular, were very happy to introduce Chimney Cove’s new club house to the pubic through this event.”
More than 70 people toured the homes gathering playing cards along the way.
“We had a great turn out, a lot of fun and most importantly a lot of exposure for Lake Wedowee real estate,” Laurie Bloomfield, broker for ReMax Lakefront, said.
The players ended the tour at the Chow House where Roger Hammett, David Johnson and Mark Lyle played for the crowd. More than 50 door prizes were given away including tickets to a Braves game, gift certificates to local businesses and lake oriented gifts.
Advantage Realty, Duffey Realty, Home Town Realty at Lake Wedowee and ReMax Lakefront organized the event and asked more than 20 other area businesses to help sponsor or donate door prizes for this one-of-a-kind open house.
“We appreciated the sponsors who helped with this event,” Dawn Floyd, broker of Home Town Realty at Lake Wedowee, said. “Without them, this would not have been possible. Not only did we promote our lake homes and real estate companies working together, we also gave back a portion of what we have been blessed with. It seemed that everyone had a great time and we look forward to having it again next year!”
The monetary sponsors other than the four real estate companies, which made the event possible, included:
Aliant Bank, Lake Wedowee Find A Home, Bank of Wedowee, Small Town Bank, Detailed Property Inspections, Docks By Katelin, PIB Mortgage, State Farm Insurance, Chad Lee Attorney at Law, Randolph County Concrete, Cheaha View Marine and Main Street Coffee House.
Lake Wedowee Poker Run
Posted at 6:47 AM, Jun. 25, 2007
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
Drought not helping lake levels
Posted at 10:19 AM, Jun. 12, 2007
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.
May Cookbook Winner
Posted at 9:53 AM, Jun. 7, 2007
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!
Some tragedies can be prevented
Posted at 12:42 PM, May. 29, 2007
Memorial Day weekend is to remember those brave men and women that gave their lives for our freedom. That's the dictonary definition if you will... (Don't go looking it up expecting to find that exact wording) But, ever since I can remember it has been the unofficial kickoff to summer.
I have been to beaches in the past, but this weekend I chose to stay on Lake Wedowee. (It might be due to my profession as a real estate agent.) Anyway, even though the lake is down about 3 feet there were still a great deal of people on the lake this weekend either boating or riding a personal watercraft. There weren't (to my knowledge) any serious accidents on Lake Wedowee this weekend, but there was at least one fatality most people might have heard about by now. Marquise Hill, NFL football player, drowned after an apparent jetski accident on Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana Sunday. It has also been reported he was not wearing a life jacket.
My sincere condolonces go to Mr. Hill's family during this sad time. But, it can also be a learning lesson. Wearing a life jacket is essential to riding a personal watercraft. It doesn't matter if you are an excellent swimmer or you are going just a little ways. ACCIDENTS HAPPEN. I am sure Mr. Hill did not go out Sunday with the intention of having an accident but his death could have been prevented if he would have just thought about what could happen.
I have seen a few of my neighbors ride PWC's without lifejackets and every time it makes me nervous. I am glad no major accidents happened on Lake Wedowee this holiday weekend, but don't think you are bulletproof when it comes to not wearing your life jacket because you could end up like Mr. Hill. By the way, it is illegal to ride a jetski, seadoo, or other PWC without a lifejacket.
Until next time,
Kelly
New Ruralism
Posted at 10:00 AM, Apr. 30, 2007
"New Ruralism" Brings Homeowners Closer to Nature
(NewsUSA) - Are nearby golf courses and swimming pools the stuff of an ideal vacation home? Not for a growing number of Americans. While these amenities are still important luxuries to many vacation and second-home owners, some real estate industry experts say that there’s an influx of homebuyers now purchasing properties that offer them the opportunity to live closer to nature.
According to Dan Camp, vice president of Cousins Properties, a Georgia-based real estate developer, the Concept of “new ruralism” is a fast-growing trend in the United States. A 2006 report by the National Association of Realtors found that as many as 31 percent of vacation and second-home owners want to be close to natural attractions. Catering to those who seek a renewed connection with natures and the simple pleasures of rural life, some developments are featuring sprawling forests in Lieu of 18-hole golf courses and fish-stocked lakes instead of tennis courts.
Cousins Properties, for example, is developing a community of 399 luxury homes spread amid 3,000 wooded acres, nearly half of which are devoted to thepreservation of wild life as well as community recreational use. The development, called Blalock Lakes, is located in Newnan, GA., about 45 minutes from Atlanta, and will boast courses for clay shooting and quail hunting in addition to three creek-fed lakes. It will also feature an equestrian center with ready access to multiple nature trails that wind through the property. A rustic country store and post office will be built just outside the entrance, for a true rural feel.
“Places like Blalock Lakes are a look and leave escape, close to home, where the kids can run without supervision, adults can truly relax and families decide how much or how little they want to socialize,” said Camp. “It’s a getaway to the farm or plantation with out the up keep.”
For decades, the land was owned by the Blalock family, which used the site as a retreat for fishing, skiing, Hunting and relaxing. Today, Blalock Lakes and other such high-end communities are striving to achieve that same kind of retreat to ruralism, one filled with peace, quiet and not a single golf or tennis ball.
For more information, visit www.blalocklakes.com.
Wet-Dry Referendum
Posted at 12:55 PM, Sep. 28, 2006
By: Leisel Caldwell
More rumors to report on the Wet - Dry Referendum for Randolph County: according to our sources the Randolph County Probate Judge had issues with the way people signed the petition. Many signers choose to print their name to make it more legible. This was not acceptable to the Judge. The signers who printed their names were thrown out as well as illegible signatures. As a result the petition came up short for the needed number of voters' signatures.
The story is not over, not yet anyway. It has been reported that a couple of the organizers of the petition have headed to Montgomery. They are looking for help in overruling Randolph County's Probate Judge. Will the voters of Randolph County be allowed to vote on the sale of alcohol in this county in November? Stay tuned because just like in soap opera world the story continues.
Lake levels are a cha- cha- changing
Posted at 12:27 PM, Sep. 19, 2006
 By Kelly Caldwell
If you were at Lake Wedowee for Labor Day weekend, you surely noticed how low the lake was. According to Alabama Power Company’s website, the lake level was recorded as 787.8 which was 5.2 feet below full pool. Several boats were beached and several more docks were dry.
The reason, according to Alabama Power, for the lower than normal lake levels was the dry conditions the area has experienced all summer.
“Drought operations were anticipated in mid-May and all hydrogeneration was reduced to conserve water for use later in the year, should it be needed,” the press release said. “Over the past four months, the water released from Alabama Power reservoirs has been reduced to the minimum amounts required by the company’s federal hydroelectric project licenses.”
Lack of rain has played a part in the lower lake levels across the state and since Labor Day the area has received more rain than typical at this time.
As of Sept. 19, the lake level is 789.3 feet, a level the lake has not seen since Aug. 10. While it is still a ways from being at full pool if the rain continues, we might still have several months of playing on the lake. And, it could be worse. Smith Lake near Birmingham is down more than 16 feet as of Sept. 19.
Besides the lake, what’s there to do in Wedowee?
Posted at 10:47 AM, Sep. 12, 2006
By Kelly Caldwell
Having lived in Randolph County for most all of my childhood and teen years, I have pondered that question countless times. We had to go out of town to watch a movie, go shopping, or even go to a chain restaurant that wasn’t fast-food. Not a lot has changed as far as Roanoke is concerned but there is more to do than you might think.
The Art Studio and Gallery in downtown Wedowee is a perfect example. The shop offers a funky and eclectic mix of art, jewelry and even glass wind-chimes. The owner also teaches art to children and offers workshops during the week and sometimes on weekends. Children can pick a craft or project and depending on the time involved can take it home that day.
There is also an abundance of antique shops and a consignment store in the downtown area that provide bargain hunters many hours of entertainment.
As for Roanoke, children of all ages can lace up their roller skates and take a spin at the Roanoke Skate Center. An often asked question of where is the nearest Wal-mart is answered in Roanoke with the SuperCenter located on U.S. Highway 431. There are also two movie rental stores, in the summer “Sno-on-the-Go” can be found serving Hawaiian Shaved Ice in a variety of flavors. Roanoke has two claims to fame. The town is home to the Ella Smith Doll and Megan May winner of the 2001 national Wendy’s High School Heisman. Randolph County is the epitome of small town life covering all the basic needs.
If you are looking for peace and quiet, Randolph County is perfect. If not, the bustle of a larger city is only a half hour drive away.
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