March 27, 2025 • 28 mins
When disaster strikes in the midst of a real estate transaction, what happens next? This powerful episode confronts the rare but all-too-real scenario of a property burning down while under contract, a situation facing our community as wildfires sweep through Henderson County on the heels of Hurricane Helene.
Drawing from firsthand experience with clients who lost their home just weeks before closing, we explain the crucial contract provisions that protect both buyers and sellers in catastrophic circumstances. North Carolina's Offer to Purchase contains specific language addressing property damage before closing, giving buyers options to terminate with full refunds or proceed while receiving insurance proceeds. Beyond the legal aspects, we reflect on the profound human impact and the community's resilience in facing consecutive natural disasters.
Despite these challenges, Henderson County's real estate market shows remarkable strength. With just 422 active single-family listings and steady sales averaging 124 homes monthly at $550,000, demand remains robust across all price points. One-third of transactions are cash offers, revealing a market that continues moving forward regardless of interest rates or economic concerns. Through real examples of pricing strategies—including a $150,000 fixer-upper that received 17 competing offers—we demonstrate how properly priced properties still attract significant buyer interest.
The conversation takes a philosophical turn as we consider Viktor Frankl's insights on finding meaning amid suffering. While we cannot control what happens to us—whether fires, hurricanes, or personal transitions—we can choose our response and find strength in community support. Whether you're facing market questions, considering investment strategies like 1031 exchanges, or navigating life changes that necessitate a move, our team stands ready to provide clarity and solutions without pressure or obligation.
Call us at 828-393-0134 to discuss your real estate needs, or visit our Flat Rock office where we continue serving clients through all of life's challenges and opportunities.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Every Monday at 9 am we have a live radio broadcast
on WTZQ and this week's radioshow is about the local real
estate market.
We cover facts and informationabout what's happening here
locally and I dive into aconversation about artificial
intelligence.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
(00:25):
radio broadcast here on thequeue every Monday morning.
So thankful to be here with youand again sharing with you
positive news about your localreal estate market and community
.
And, of course, the mostpressing real life situation
where our community is facing isthe fires, and certainly our
thoughts and prayers and alsoour support and concern for
(00:46):
everyone experiencing this in areal.
I mean.
There's so much challenges thatwe're facing right now as a
community, especially coming inafter Helene and then to be hit
again with this natural, withthe fires, and, of course,
praying for those, the firstresponders.
We're so thankful for ourfirefighters and our law
enforcement and the localgovernment working to get these
(01:09):
things contained.
There's so much, just so muchto process and to comprehend and
to understand.
And so, again, our thoughts andprayers for those that are in
the line of danger and thosethat are having to evacuate.
Again, that's a lot to processand just wanting to put that out
there and we'll talk about that.
I mean, we actually had asituation where one of our
(01:35):
properties under contract wasburned to the ground just in the
last couple days because ofthese fires and what are the
implications of that?
And we'll talk about that.
And what does the contractallow?
Does the seller?
What is the seller's?
What are the implications ofthat?
And we'll talk about that.
And what does the contractallow?
What are the seller's options?
What are the buyer's options?
And this is a real lifesituation.
I've actually never had thishappen before, but it's
(01:55):
something I've talked aboutbecause there is a paragraph in
our contract that talks aboutwhat happens if there is
something that happens to thehouse before closing, and I will
talk about that.
Before we get into that, I wantto just say thank you for tuning
in this Monday morning.
It's crazy how time flies.
It's already getting towardsthe end of March and I hope for
(02:17):
Henderson County students andhope you had a wonderful spring
break and for the parents too.
And here we go back to reallife, back to getting kids back
to school this morning.
But we're so thankful to behere and there's so much to be
thankful for and even in lightof these incredible losses that
our community is facing hereagain with these fires.
But again, perspective and whatis?
(02:40):
We can't control what happensto us, but we can decide what
things mean and we assignmeanings to things.
And how do we respond to thetragedies of life and things
that happen, sometimescompletely out of our control,
and again, how do we respond tothese circumstances?
But we're thankful to be herewith you here on the queue every
(03:01):
Monday morning right after the9 o'clock hour.
The real estate market continuesto move.
We continue to see demand andwe're going to give a quick
snapshot of the market.
I mean, I like to look over thelast 12 months, but here's a
quick seven-day snapshot.
A quick seven-day snapshot inHenderson County.
Quick seven-day snapshot inHenderson County single-family
(03:23):
homes 46 new listings, 43 pricereductions, and I will talk
about that.
What does that mean?
There's been 34 homes go undercontract in the last seven days
and there's been 30 homes closed.
So the market is continuing tomove.
Right now, as of this morning,there's only 422 active
(03:45):
single-family homes on themarket, and this is
single-family homes.
We're averaging some 124 homesa month selling.
I mentioned that in January andFebruary this year.
We're 6%.
We've had a 6% increase in thenumber of homes sold this
January February versus theprevious January February.
(04:06):
Prices have been staying strongin the sense that we've been
holding around that $550,000range $550,000 average single
family home price range inHenderson County.
This is not talking aboutcondos or townhomes or land.
I like to look at single-familyhomes as a barometer for our
(04:28):
market and again, that's just aquick snapshot Over the last 12
months 124.
We're averaging a month theaverage single-family home price
at $549.
And I will talk about pricereductions.
If you're tuning in for thefirst time ever, the George Real
Estate Group.
We're grateful to serve thecommunity through real estate.
We love facilitating, we loveadvocating, we love being in the
(04:50):
corner of our clients andagents.
We're growing and if you thinkabout a career in real estate,
we'd love to have a conversation.
We've had more agents join ourteam recently and we're looking
to continue to grow.
There's an opportunity to servethe community through real
estate and it's a privilege andhonor.
You can find us online atrealestatebygregcom.
You can also follow us onsocial media, facebook and
(05:12):
Instagram.
We also podcast all of ourradio shows and connect with us
on our podcast on your favoritepodcast platform and then,
ultimately, you can stop by ouroffice.
We're at 2720 GreenvilleHighway.
They're in Flat Rock, onRainbow Row.
Our good friends have come outof hibernation at Hubba Hubba
Barbecue.
They shut down during thewinter and temporarily, but
(05:33):
they're open again, which isexciting.
That means spring's here,crinkled Egg and the Flat Rock
Bakery all our great friendsthere on Rainbow Row, there in
Flat Rock, and we're so gratefulto serve the community through
real estate.
And so stop by, connect with us, call, step in the office.
We'd just love to help you.
(05:55):
If you're curious about whatyour home is worth, if you're
curious about the market, ifyou're curious about interest
rates, if you're curious aboutby the way, we've been working
with a lot of our clients' realestate investments in their
portfolio and whether it's anactive real estate investment or
if it's a passive or maybeyou're considering a 1031
exchange.
(06:15):
I mean, there's solutions outthere.
I've had clients say, hey, I'dsell my house, but I'm looking
at a significant capital gainsevent and, by the way, we have
solutions for that.
We have opportunities.
You can sell your property andmove it into something else and
avoid the capital gains whilestill receiving revenue and you
(06:36):
can go from an active investmentto a passive investment.
There's so many solutions.
There's also opportunities togive and create a legacy.
I mean, we are helping ourclients, whether it's
residential or land ordevelopment or investment, real
estate or commercial real estate.
We'd love to have theconversation.
Give us a call.
828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
(07:01):
We'd love to have theconversation.
There's no pressure, there's nocost, there's no obligation.
You can give us a call at828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
So the market that we're inright now, we continue to see
demand.
The thing that's fascinating tome one in three, one in three
(07:23):
single family homes receive acash offer.
That's how many homes, that'show many cash offers were a
third of our homes sold inHenderson County?
Single-family homes arepurchased with cash.
You know the housing market,the real estate market, the real
estate market is still movingand, of course, you know the
concern with the interest rates,the concern with you know
(07:44):
what's the economy doing, what'sthe market doing?
The market is healthy, themarket is.
It's not what it was, of course, but it's still at a very
sustainable, very sustainablepace.
Like I said, 124 single familyhomes a month selling in
Henderson County.
We have low inventory, we havelow inventory levels, and so all
(08:05):
of this is allowing our marketto move and so we continue to
see demand and the interestrates are the interest rates.
So give us a call 828-393-0134,828-393-0134.
So one in three homes aregetting a cash offer.
We see a lot of people.
We use the term right-sizing.
(08:26):
Maybe you're moving from alarger home, maybe you want to
get something more manageable,maybe you want to have the
freedom to travel, you want todownsize, maybe your kids are
moving out.
We know real estate happensaround life.
It could be a really positivereason why you're buying or
selling.
It could be a challengingreason.
Whatever it might be, we'd loveto help.
(08:50):
I mean, we'd love to have theconversation.
You can call us directly at828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
If you're curious, do you sellbefore you buy?
Do you buy before you sell?
I mean, there's so manydifferent ways to approach the
market and how do you go aboutthat?
And how is the economy?
Certainly, what's going on withthe political?
(09:16):
I mean there's so much that ourcountry is navigating.
Our country is navigating andyet when you look at what's
happening with the housingmarket, it seems to be at a
holding pace and here, locally,when we look at the supply and
(09:38):
demand, the low inventory levels.
That's why homes prices arestaying where they're at.
But guess what?
You can still overprice yourhome and, for example, there was
43 price reductions.
But this is a real-life example.
Sellers they get to decide whatthey want to test the market at
and where they want to pricetheir home.
And at some point, if you'renot getting showings, if you're
(10:00):
not getting offers, the marketis talking back to you.
Showings.
If you're not getting offers,the market is talking back to
you.
And we've said this before andI've not had anybody take me up
on this.
But you cannot underprice yourhome when I say I've not had
anybody take me up on this.
But if your home is, in fact, ahalf a million dollar home but
you put your home on the marketfor a dollar, the market will
(10:22):
bid it up to what it's reallyworth.
When you tell the whole worldit's for sale, it really doesn't
matter what you price the homeat.
If it's underpriced, you'll seethe home get bid up.
Now we had a home that needed alot of work recently and it was
priced in the $150,000 pricerange reflective of the work.
(10:44):
Well, guess what?
There was over 17 offers thatcame in on $150,000 price range,
reflective of the work.
Well, guess what?
There was over 17 offers thatcame in on that property and
guess what it got sold for, whata person thought it was worth,
based on even in the conditionthat it was in.
Another situation is we had ahome that we had to do.
We priced it at a certain place.
It was not getting the activity, it was not getting the offers
(11:07):
and it's so interesting it wasthe price was adjusted and, out
of nowhere, after like sixmonths on the market which again
that was that was been anongoing discussion with a seller
and their approach and how theywanted to do it.
But when the price was droppedout of nowhere, multiple offers
came in.
And you might say, well, how isthat possible?
(11:28):
Multiple offers coming in?
Well, again, when the pricegets to a point where the market
says, oh, that's what it'sworth, that's the value, there
is a demand for homes I mean, weare seeing across all price
points, by the way and whetherit's in the $700,000 range or
$800,000 range, there is healthydemand in that price range.
(11:52):
So it's not like homes aren'tselling, so it's not that your
home is, whether your home's amillion dollars, or whether your
home's a $800,000 home, homesare selling, and so if you
happen to be in the $900,000price range and you're not
getting offers or activity, andguess what, if you were to drop
(12:12):
it, maybe to $850,000 or$800,000, maybe that's not where
you want to go, but guess what?
All of a sudden you startgetting showings, you start
getting activities, you startgetting offers and you still and
we do see you start gettingoffers and you still.
And we do see firsthandexperience, firsthand knowledge.
We do see offers and we do seemultiple offers happening, even
after a property has been on themarket.
(12:33):
But when it gets to what wecall the fighting weight, or we
get to something that's withinthe market speaking back to us,
then the activity happens.
And so of course, we try to.
When we're working with oursellers, we want to advise them
and coach them and ultimatelyit's our seller's decision.
But when the data the data isthe data, we're just the
messenger.
What's that saying?
Don't shoot the messenger.
(12:54):
But we're just trying toprovide clarity and information
to our clients so our clientscan make a decision for clients.
You know that they can decidewhat's right for them and again,
ultimately it's your decisionwhere you want to test out the
market.
But we know the process that wefollow, from the professional
photography professionalphotography, the professional
photography, professionalphotography, the professional
(13:17):
marketing that we do, the socialmedia marketing.
And we know and I'm coming upquickly, I think maybe we have
it pending right now our 1500thclient in my career in the 20
years I've had my broker'slicense coming up on over 1500
families served.
We know what works and there'sno magic bullet to it.
(13:39):
But when we follow a repeatableand duplicatable and proven
process, we have results and theresults are still happening and
the economy is the economy, theinterest rates are the interest
rates, the market's the market.
But if you're curious what yourhome is worth, if you're
curious how you go about it,again we provide clarity, we
provide information and we'rehere to advise and consult our
(14:01):
clients.
Again, if you've made thedecision to sell, what does that
look like?
What is your home worth?
How do you go about it?
And we know we have a provenand predictable process to do
that and we've had a lot ofactivity.
We've already helped morepeople year to date this year
than we did last year and wecontinue to grow and we continue
to serve our clients,regardless of the interest rates
(14:22):
, regardless of the market.
So there's a lot of informationthere.
We are going to take a shortbreak.
You're listening to the GeorgeReal Estate Group radio
broadcast In the second half ofthe show, so stay tuned in.
Group radio broadcast.
I will in the second half ofthe show, so stay tuned in.
I will address what happens,what does happen if a home burns
down while it's under contractand there's actually a provision
in the contract that I'll sharewith you and what are the
(14:45):
options as a buyer, what areyour options as a seller?
This is, and again, our thoughtsand prayers.
I mean, we know our firstresponders and our firefighters
and our law enforcement are outthere right now helping our
community fighting this fire,and so our thoughts and prayers
are for those on the front linesand our thoughts and prayers
for those families that arefacing a loss and those that
(15:07):
have had to evacuate.
I mean, it's just real liferight now and again, just be
kind to yourself, be kind tothose around you.
Real life right now and again,just be kind to yourself, be
kind to those around you.
And again, these things wecan't control what happens to us
, but deciding how we respond,how we're going to show up, how
we're going to process it, andit's a lot to process.
So, again, there's resourcesout there.
Don't be alone.
Of course, reach out to someonefor help and of course, if we
(15:29):
can help, you give us a call.
But to our community, we'rethinking and praying and walking
alongside our community throughthis very challenging moment
again for our community, even onthe heels of the hurricane.
So you're listening to theGeorgia Real Estate Group live
radio broadcast here in thequeue.
So stay tuned in.
We have a second half of theshow coming up right after this
(15:51):
break.
Life has a way of throwing usinto deep waters when we least
expect it.
Dr Robin Hanley Defoe knowsthis firsthand.
One winter day, her car skiddedon ice and plunged into a
freezing river, trapped insinking darkness.
She had seconds to act.
But instead of panicking shereminded herself I can do hard
(16:16):
things.
She stayed calm, found a wayout and survived.
At the George Real Estate Group,we know that buying or selling
a home can feel like that momentOverwhelming, uncertain, maybe
even a little scary.
But here's the thing you can dohard things, things and you
don't have to do them alone.
With decades of experience.
(16:37):
We're here to guide you everystep of the way, turning
challenges into opportunities.
So if you're thinking aboutmaking a move, let's do it
together.
Call the George Real EstateGroup today, because when it
comes to your future, you'restronger than you think.
Good morning and welcome back tothe George Real Estate Group.
Live radio broadcast.
Live radio broadcast here inthe queue every Monday morning.
(16:59):
So grateful to be here with youand just so much to be thankful
for.
And again, continued thoughtsand prayers for those on the
front lines and for those facing.
So much from the you know fromthe.
You know from the from the fireI mentioned to you.
Well, before I get into thatagain, if you're tuning in for
the first time ever, we're theGeorge Real Estate Group,
(17:20):
located in Flat Rock.
We actually serve all ofWestern North Carolina and
upstate South Carolina.
We have agents that live inSouth Carolina and so we have
the ability to serve ourcommunity in both states.
And so if you're thinking ofbuying or selling, or investing,
or even a career in real estate, give us a call 828-393-0134,
828-393-0134.
(17:41):
And we'd love to have theconversation A real life
situation, with a home burningdown with these fires of a
client, the buyer that had thehome under contract.
And so the question is whathappens?
You know, there is a paragraphin the North Carolina Offer to
Purchase paragraph that says andthis is why sellers maintain
(18:06):
homeowner's insurance up untilit's recorded, and actually you
don't want to cancel it untilafter it's recorded and until
it's recorded.
And actually you don't want tocancel it until after it's
recorded and until it's recordedit's the seller's home, it's
the seller's responsibility.
And so there's and I'm going toread what the paragraph says,
there's two paragraphs underitem 11 on the offer to purchase
(18:29):
contract in North Carolina.
But the condition of theproperty at settlement if the
property is not in substantiallythe same or better condition at
closing as on the day of thisoffer, reasonable wear and tear
accepted.
Buyer may terminate thiscontract by written notice
delivered to seller and the duediligence and the earnest money
(18:53):
deposit shall be refunded to thebuyer.
If the property is not in suchcondition and the buyer does not
elect to terminate the contract, buyer shall be entitled to
receive, in addition to theproperty, the proceeds of any
insurance claim filed by selleron account of any damages or
destruction to the property.
Isn't that interesting.
(19:13):
So there's two options thebuyer can terminate, get their
earnest money and due diligencemoney back, and they have the
ability to terminate thecontract in the event that, for
example, in this situation,literally the house burned to
the ground.
The buyer had two options theycan terminate the contract and
get their earnest money and duediligence money back and, by the
way, the buyer, if the buyerchooses not to terminate it, the
(19:38):
buyer shall be entitled toreceive, in addition to the
property, the proceeds of anyinsurance claim.
Now I don't know how that worksout with insurance, but it says
on account in any insuranceclaim filed by the seller on
account of any damage ordestruction to the property.
And then paragraph B of item 11says the risk of loss or damage
(20:00):
by fire or of other casualtyprior to closing shall be upon
the seller.
Sellers advise not to cancelexisting insurance on the
property until afterconfirmation recording of the
deed.
So again, this is in the 20years I've been practicing real
(20:23):
estate and having my real estatebroker's license.
I mean we've talked about whenwe walk through a contract with
clients and I certainly did notsay this lightly, but I've never
had this happen.
But I would say to sellers if,in the unlikely event your house
was to burn to the ground priorto closing, it's on you as the
(20:45):
seller, that's why you maintainhomeowner's insurance and this
is just a never in my career didI expect this to happen to any
of our clients, but it happened.
And again and I'm not making alot, I mean just incredible
tragedy that these sellers butthis is a real life situation
where we had a buyer that had ahome under contract supposed to
(21:05):
close in a couple of weeks andit was just unfortunate and
tragic situation and we're sograteful that the sellers were
able to get out and save theirlives and their pets.
But just ultimate tragedy andwe're so sad for these sellers.
But the logistics and legalaspects of if you're under
(21:29):
contract as a buyer on a homeand it's not in substantially
the same or better condition atclosing, the buyer does have the
right to terminate.
Again, you can be past the duediligence period.
It could be the day beforeclosing and again it's shocking
(21:52):
to say that we've had thisexperience now with some of our
clients and so the buyers havethe right to terminate and get
their earnest money and theirdue diligence money back.
The buyer also has the right tostill buy it, which is
interesting, but the buyer'sentitled to receive, in addition
to the property, they'reentitled to receive the proceeds
(22:13):
of the insurance claim Again,fascinating.
And again, the risk of lossuntil that house is recorded at
the courthouse, anything thatthe seller is responsible for
that property, until it'srecorded.
The moment it's recorded andthis is where it's that again,
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both the buyer and seller areprobably going to have insurance
running on the same day becausethe moment it's recorded it's
now the buyer's responsibility.
But again, this is where thecontract protects both parties.
And of course, never in mycareer did I expect that this
paragraph would have to comeinto use with a risk of loss or
damage by fire.
On item 11, on the NorthCarolina offer to purchase, and
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again, just heavy, and ourthoughts and prayers are for
those that are facing whatthey're facing with the fires.
And again, our community hasbeen hit by so much already.
Again I will say this we can'tcontrol the things that happen
to us.
It reminds me of the book byViktor Frankl, the Man's Search
for Meaning.
Again, it's not about comparingsuffering, and he wrote his
(23:20):
book about his experience in theHolocaust and the horrific
things that he experienced andthe thing that he said they
could never take away from himwas his decision and his ability
to control what he thoughtabout it and what his attitude
was.
Again, he couldn't control thethings happening to him and I
know that's an extreme example,but we can't control the things
that happen to us.
(23:40):
But we can decide what theymean.
We can decide how we respond tothings.
We can control our attitude andin the light of awful
circumstances, in the light ofsituations, whatever you're
facing, in getting to decidewhat they mean and how we, you
know, is there, you know thelooking things to be grateful
(24:01):
for, even in the face of so muchcasualty and loss middle of it
for our community.
And we're praying for those onthe front lines, we're praying
for those that are in the lineof danger, we're praying for
those that have homes that arein the line of fires, and we
just know that our community isgoing to come together and just
face what we're facing.
(24:22):
And so it's a delicatesituation and again it's in our
backyard, literally.
I know it's surprising.
It was all the smoke that got,you know, blown towards
Henderson County.
Now the fire's where they're atright now, again in our
backyard and people we know thathave actually lost homes.
(24:42):
So it's heavy, it's a lot, andagain, be kind to yourself, be
kind to your neighbors and again, in this extraordinary
situation that we're in, ourthoughts and prayers are for
those.
You know, in what we're doingand again what this
extraordinary situation thatwe're in, our thoughts and
prayers are for those and whatwe're doing and again, what we
can do to show up every day andcome alongside our friends and
neighbors through thesesituations and we've been
(25:04):
serving the community.
It's interesting, you know, inthe light of or in the shadow of
the hurricane and people stillrecovering of the hurricane, and
people still recovering.
And then there's also thosethat are still having to move on
with their lives, in the sensethat whether it was a job
transfer or maybe it was a jobloss, or maybe you had a divorce
or a death, or life is stillhappening in spite of these
(25:25):
significant events happening inour community.
We've been walking alongside ourclients, helping our clients
navigate through buying andselling and selling their
investment properties or buyinginvestment properties, or
helping our clients with theirreal estate portfolio.
Again, there's so many thingsthat we're doing and we're
growing and we're helping ourclients with.
You know we have incredibleagents on our team, we have
(25:45):
incredible staff, and so ifyou're thinking of buying or
selling, or investing in realestate or thinking about a
career in real estate, you knowwe'd love to have the
conversation.
Give us a call.
828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
We're in our office all week.
We've been busy.
We're helping people.
If you want to stop by ouroffice there on Rainbow Row in
(26:06):
Flat Rock, if you've not had achance to stop by our office, of
course, call us directly at828-393-0134.
Oh, we had an open houseyesterday that was so successful
.
We had so many people come outto the open house buyers and
sellers.
I mean we are active.
I mean, every single day thingsare happening in regards to our
real estate community and we'rehelping our clients navigate
(26:29):
through the buying and sellingprocess.
And so if you're curious whatyour home is worth, if you're
curious, do you sell before youbuy?
Do you buy before you sell?
Or you want to talk about yourinvestment properties?
You want to talk about your.
If you've heard the concept ofa 1031 exchange and maybe you're
afraid to talk about what kindof tax implications you're going
to have on your investmentproperty, we have solutions, we
(26:51):
have options for you, whetherit's a residential investment
property or commercial propertyor raw land.
I mean, we have solutions.
Maybe you're a farmer and youhave a lot of farmland and
you're wanting to look at whatyour options are.
We're there Again.
There's so many things that wecan have a confidential
consultation about and just beglad to give information so you
(27:14):
can decide what's right for you.
Well, you're listening to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
radio broadcast here on thequeue every Monday morning.
So thankful to be here with you.
Follow us on Facebook, followus on Instagram, give us a call
at 828-393-0134.
And, of course, follow us onour podcast.
We're here every Monday morning.
Have a great day and againpraying for our community.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
The George Real Estate Group has the experience
of selling over 1,200 propertiesand serving over 1,200 families
with their real estate needs inHenderson County and throughout
Western North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Group islocated in Flat Rock, north
Carolina, near Hendersonville inHenderson County.
(28:04):
You can find them online atrealestatebyregcom.
The george real estate groupcan be reached at 828-393-0134
or stop by their office at 2720greenville highway, flat rock,
north carolina.
Tune in live each week onmonday mornings.
Every Monday at 9 am we have a live radio broadcast
on WTZQ and this week's radioshow is about the local real
estate market.
We cover facts and informationabout what's happening here
locally and I dive into aconversation about artificial
intelligence.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
(00:25):
radio broadcast here on thequeue every Monday morning.
So thankful to be here with youand again sharing with you
positive news about your localreal estate market and community
.
And, of course, the mostpressing real life situation
where our community is facing isthe fires, and certainly our
thoughts and prayers and alsoour support and concern for
(00:46):
everyone experiencing this in areal.
I mean.
There's so much challenges thatwe're facing right now as a
community, especially coming inafter Helene and then to be hit
again with this natural, withthe fires, and, of course,
praying for those, the firstresponders.
We're so thankful for ourfirefighters and our law
enforcement and the localgovernment working to get these
(01:09):
things contained.
There's so much, just so muchto process and to comprehend and
to understand.
And so, again, our thoughts andprayers for those that are in
the line of danger and thosethat are having to evacuate.
Again, that's a lot to processand just wanting to put that out
there and we'll talk about that.
I mean, we actually had asituation where one of our
(01:35):
properties under contract wasburned to the ground just in the
last couple days because ofthese fires and what are the
implications of that?
And we'll talk about that.
And what does the contractallow?
Does the seller?
What is the seller's?
What are the implications ofthat?
And we'll talk about that.
And what does the contractallow?
What are the seller's options?
What are the buyer's options?
And this is a real lifesituation.
I've actually never had thishappen before, but it's
(01:55):
something I've talked aboutbecause there is a paragraph in
our contract that talks aboutwhat happens if there is
something that happens to thehouse before closing, and I will
talk about that.
Before we get into that, I wantto just say thank you for tuning
in this Monday morning.
It's crazy how time flies.
It's already getting towardsthe end of March and I hope for
(02:17):
Henderson County students andhope you had a wonderful spring
break and for the parents too.
And here we go back to reallife, back to getting kids back
to school this morning.
But we're so thankful to behere and there's so much to be
thankful for and even in lightof these incredible losses that
our community is facing hereagain with these fires.
But again, perspective and whatis?
(02:40):
We can't control what happensto us, but we can decide what
things mean and we assignmeanings to things.
And how do we respond to thetragedies of life and things
that happen, sometimescompletely out of our control,
and again, how do we respond tothese circumstances?
But we're thankful to be herewith you here on the queue every
(03:01):
Monday morning right after the9 o'clock hour.
The real estate market continuesto move.
We continue to see demand andwe're going to give a quick
snapshot of the market.
I mean, I like to look over thelast 12 months, but here's a
quick seven-day snapshot.
A quick seven-day snapshot inHenderson County.
Quick seven-day snapshot inHenderson County single-family
(03:23):
homes 46 new listings, 43 pricereductions, and I will talk
about that.
What does that mean?
There's been 34 homes go undercontract in the last seven days
and there's been 30 homes closed.
So the market is continuing tomove.
Right now, as of this morning,there's only 422 active
(03:45):
single-family homes on themarket, and this is
single-family homes.
We're averaging some 124 homesa month selling.
I mentioned that in January andFebruary this year.
We're 6%.
We've had a 6% increase in thenumber of homes sold this
January February versus theprevious January February.
(04:06):
Prices have been staying strongin the sense that we've been
holding around that $550,000range $550,000 average single
family home price range inHenderson County.
This is not talking aboutcondos or townhomes or land.
I like to look at single-familyhomes as a barometer for our
(04:28):
market and again, that's just aquick snapshot Over the last 12
months 124.
We're averaging a month theaverage single-family home price
at $549.
And I will talk about pricereductions.
If you're tuning in for thefirst time ever, the George Real
Estate Group.
We're grateful to serve thecommunity through real estate.
We love facilitating, we loveadvocating, we love being in the
(04:50):
corner of our clients andagents.
We're growing and if you thinkabout a career in real estate,
we'd love to have a conversation.
We've had more agents join ourteam recently and we're looking
to continue to grow.
There's an opportunity to servethe community through real
estate and it's a privilege andhonor.
You can find us online atrealestatebygregcom.
You can also follow us onsocial media, facebook and
(05:12):
Instagram.
We also podcast all of ourradio shows and connect with us
on our podcast on your favoritepodcast platform and then,
ultimately, you can stop by ouroffice.
We're at 2720 GreenvilleHighway.
They're in Flat Rock, onRainbow Row.
Our good friends have come outof hibernation at Hubba Hubba
Barbecue.
They shut down during thewinter and temporarily, but
(05:33):
they're open again, which isexciting.
That means spring's here,crinkled Egg and the Flat Rock
Bakery all our great friendsthere on Rainbow Row, there in
Flat Rock, and we're so gratefulto serve the community through
real estate.
And so stop by, connect with us, call, step in the office.
We'd just love to help you.
(05:55):
If you're curious about whatyour home is worth, if you're
curious about the market, ifyou're curious about interest
rates, if you're curious aboutby the way, we've been working
with a lot of our clients' realestate investments in their
portfolio and whether it's anactive real estate investment or
if it's a passive or maybeyou're considering a 1031
exchange.
(06:15):
I mean, there's solutions outthere.
I've had clients say, hey, I'dsell my house, but I'm looking
at a significant capital gainsevent and, by the way, we have
solutions for that.
We have opportunities.
You can sell your property andmove it into something else and
avoid the capital gains whilestill receiving revenue and you
(06:36):
can go from an active investmentto a passive investment.
There's so many solutions.
There's also opportunities togive and create a legacy.
I mean, we are helping ourclients, whether it's
residential or land ordevelopment or investment, real
estate or commercial real estate.
We'd love to have theconversation.
Give us a call.
828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
(07:01):
We'd love to have theconversation.
There's no pressure, there's nocost, there's no obligation.
You can give us a call at828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
So the market that we're inright now, we continue to see
demand.
The thing that's fascinating tome one in three, one in three
(07:23):
single family homes receive acash offer.
That's how many homes, that'show many cash offers were a
third of our homes sold inHenderson County?
Single-family homes arepurchased with cash.
You know the housing market,the real estate market, the real
estate market is still movingand, of course, you know the
concern with the interest rates,the concern with you know
(07:44):
what's the economy doing, what'sthe market doing?
The market is healthy, themarket is.
It's not what it was, of course, but it's still at a very
sustainable, very sustainablepace.
Like I said, 124 single familyhomes a month selling in
Henderson County.
We have low inventory, we havelow inventory levels, and so all
(08:05):
of this is allowing our marketto move and so we continue to
see demand and the interestrates are the interest rates.
So give us a call 828-393-0134,828-393-0134.
So one in three homes aregetting a cash offer.
We see a lot of people.
We use the term right-sizing.
(08:26):
Maybe you're moving from alarger home, maybe you want to
get something more manageable,maybe you want to have the
freedom to travel, you want todownsize, maybe your kids are
moving out.
We know real estate happensaround life.
It could be a really positivereason why you're buying or
selling.
It could be a challengingreason.
Whatever it might be, we'd loveto help.
(08:50):
I mean, we'd love to have theconversation.
You can call us directly at828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
If you're curious, do you sellbefore you buy?
Do you buy before you sell?
I mean, there's so manydifferent ways to approach the
market and how do you go aboutthat?
And how is the economy?
Certainly, what's going on withthe political?
(09:16):
I mean there's so much that ourcountry is navigating.
Our country is navigating andyet when you look at what's
happening with the housingmarket, it seems to be at a
holding pace and here, locally,when we look at the supply and
(09:38):
demand, the low inventory levels.
That's why homes prices arestaying where they're at.
But guess what?
You can still overprice yourhome and, for example, there was
43 price reductions.
But this is a real-life example.
Sellers they get to decide whatthey want to test the market at
and where they want to pricetheir home.
And at some point, if you'renot getting showings, if you're
(10:00):
not getting offers, the marketis talking back to you.
Showings.
If you're not getting offers,the market is talking back to
you.
And we've said this before andI've not had anybody take me up
on this.
But you cannot underprice yourhome when I say I've not had
anybody take me up on this.
But if your home is, in fact, ahalf a million dollar home but
you put your home on the marketfor a dollar, the market will
(10:22):
bid it up to what it's reallyworth.
When you tell the whole worldit's for sale, it really doesn't
matter what you price the homeat.
If it's underpriced, you'll seethe home get bid up.
Now we had a home that needed alot of work recently and it was
priced in the $150,000 pricerange reflective of the work.
(10:44):
Well, guess what?
There was over 17 offers thatcame in on $150,000 price range,
reflective of the work.
Well, guess what?
There was over 17 offers thatcame in on that property and
guess what it got sold for, whata person thought it was worth,
based on even in the conditionthat it was in.
Another situation is we had ahome that we had to do.
We priced it at a certain place.
It was not getting the activity, it was not getting the offers
(11:07):
and it's so interesting it wasthe price was adjusted and, out
of nowhere, after like sixmonths on the market which again
that was that was been anongoing discussion with a seller
and their approach and how theywanted to do it.
But when the price was droppedout of nowhere, multiple offers
came in.
And you might say, well, how isthat possible?
(11:28):
Multiple offers coming in?
Well, again, when the pricegets to a point where the market
says, oh, that's what it'sworth, that's the value, there
is a demand for homes I mean, weare seeing across all price
points, by the way and whetherit's in the $700,000 range or
$800,000 range, there is healthydemand in that price range.
(11:52):
So it's not like homes aren'tselling, so it's not that your
home is, whether your home's amillion dollars, or whether your
home's a $800,000 home, homesare selling, and so if you
happen to be in the $900,000price range and you're not
getting offers or activity, andguess what, if you were to drop
(12:12):
it, maybe to $850,000 or$800,000, maybe that's not where
you want to go, but guess what?
All of a sudden you startgetting showings, you start
getting activities, you startgetting offers and you still and
we do see you start gettingoffers and you still.
And we do see firsthandexperience, firsthand knowledge.
We do see offers and we do seemultiple offers happening, even
after a property has been on themarket.
(12:33):
But when it gets to what wecall the fighting weight, or we
get to something that's withinthe market speaking back to us,
then the activity happens.
And so of course, we try to.
When we're working with oursellers, we want to advise them
and coach them and ultimatelyit's our seller's decision.
But when the data the data isthe data, we're just the
messenger.
What's that saying?
Don't shoot the messenger.
(12:54):
But we're just trying toprovide clarity and information
to our clients so our clientscan make a decision for clients.
You know that they can decidewhat's right for them and again,
ultimately it's your decisionwhere you want to test out the
market.
But we know the process that wefollow, from the professional
photography professionalphotography, the professional
photography, professionalphotography, the professional
(13:17):
marketing that we do, the socialmedia marketing.
And we know and I'm coming upquickly, I think maybe we have
it pending right now our 1500thclient in my career in the 20
years I've had my broker'slicense coming up on over 1500
families served.
We know what works and there'sno magic bullet to it.
(13:39):
But when we follow a repeatableand duplicatable and proven
process, we have results and theresults are still happening and
the economy is the economy, theinterest rates are the interest
rates, the market's the market.
But if you're curious what yourhome is worth, if you're
curious how you go about it,again we provide clarity, we
provide information and we'rehere to advise and consult our
(14:01):
clients.
Again, if you've made thedecision to sell, what does that
look like?
What is your home worth?
How do you go about it?
And we know we have a provenand predictable process to do
that and we've had a lot ofactivity.
We've already helped morepeople year to date this year
than we did last year and wecontinue to grow and we continue
to serve our clients,regardless of the interest rates
(14:22):
, regardless of the market.
So there's a lot of informationthere.
We are going to take a shortbreak.
You're listening to the GeorgeReal Estate Group radio
broadcast In the second half ofthe show, so stay tuned in.
Group radio broadcast.
I will in the second half ofthe show, so stay tuned in.
I will address what happens,what does happen if a home burns
down while it's under contractand there's actually a provision
in the contract that I'll sharewith you and what are the
(14:45):
options as a buyer, what areyour options as a seller?
This is, and again, our thoughtsand prayers.
I mean, we know our firstresponders and our firefighters
and our law enforcement are outthere right now helping our
community fighting this fire,and so our thoughts and prayers
are for those on the front linesand our thoughts and prayers
for those families that arefacing a loss and those that
(15:07):
have had to evacuate.
I mean, it's just real liferight now and again, just be
kind to yourself, be kind tothose around you.
Real life right now and again,just be kind to yourself, be
kind to those around you.
And again, these things wecan't control what happens to us
, but deciding how we respond,how we're going to show up, how
we're going to process it, andit's a lot to process.
So, again, there's resourcesout there.
Don't be alone.
Of course, reach out to someonefor help and of course, if we
(15:29):
can help, you give us a call.
But to our community, we'rethinking and praying and walking
alongside our community throughthis very challenging moment
again for our community, even onthe heels of the hurricane.
So you're listening to theGeorgia Real Estate Group live
radio broadcast here in thequeue.
So stay tuned in.
We have a second half of theshow coming up right after this
(15:51):
break.
Life has a way of throwing usinto deep waters when we least
expect it.
Dr Robin Hanley Defoe knowsthis firsthand.
One winter day, her car skiddedon ice and plunged into a
freezing river, trapped insinking darkness.
She had seconds to act.
But instead of panicking shereminded herself I can do hard
(16:16):
things.
She stayed calm, found a wayout and survived.
At the George Real Estate Group,we know that buying or selling
a home can feel like that momentOverwhelming, uncertain, maybe
even a little scary.
But here's the thing you can dohard things, things and you
don't have to do them alone.
With decades of experience.
(16:37):
We're here to guide you everystep of the way, turning
challenges into opportunities.
So if you're thinking aboutmaking a move, let's do it
together.
Call the George Real EstateGroup today, because when it
comes to your future, you'restronger than you think.
Good morning and welcome back tothe George Real Estate Group.
Live radio broadcast.
Live radio broadcast here inthe queue every Monday morning.
(16:59):
So grateful to be here with youand just so much to be thankful
for.
And again, continued thoughtsand prayers for those on the
front lines and for those facing.
So much from the you know fromthe.
You know from the from the fireI mentioned to you.
Well, before I get into thatagain, if you're tuning in for
the first time ever, we're theGeorge Real Estate Group,
(17:20):
located in Flat Rock.
We actually serve all ofWestern North Carolina and
upstate South Carolina.
We have agents that live inSouth Carolina and so we have
the ability to serve ourcommunity in both states.
And so if you're thinking ofbuying or selling, or investing,
or even a career in real estate, give us a call 828-393-0134,
828-393-0134.
(17:41):
And we'd love to have theconversation A real life
situation, with a home burningdown with these fires of a
client, the buyer that had thehome under contract.
And so the question is whathappens?
You know, there is a paragraphin the North Carolina Offer to
Purchase paragraph that says andthis is why sellers maintain
(18:06):
homeowner's insurance up untilit's recorded, and actually you
don't want to cancel it untilafter it's recorded and until
it's recorded.
And actually you don't want tocancel it until after it's
recorded and until it's recordedit's the seller's home, it's
the seller's responsibility.
And so there's and I'm going toread what the paragraph says,
there's two paragraphs underitem 11 on the offer to purchase
(18:29):
contract in North Carolina.
But the condition of theproperty at settlement if the
property is not in substantiallythe same or better condition at
closing as on the day of thisoffer, reasonable wear and tear
accepted.
Buyer may terminate thiscontract by written notice
delivered to seller and the duediligence and the earnest money
(18:53):
deposit shall be refunded to thebuyer.
If the property is not in suchcondition and the buyer does not
elect to terminate the contract, buyer shall be entitled to
receive, in addition to theproperty, the proceeds of any
insurance claim filed by selleron account of any damages or
destruction to the property.
Isn't that interesting.
(19:13):
So there's two options thebuyer can terminate, get their
earnest money and due diligencemoney back, and they have the
ability to terminate thecontract in the event that, for
example, in this situation,literally the house burned to
the ground.
The buyer had two options theycan terminate the contract and
get their earnest money and duediligence money back and, by the
way, the buyer, if the buyerchooses not to terminate it, the
(19:38):
buyer shall be entitled toreceive, in addition to the
property, the proceeds of anyinsurance claim.
Now I don't know how that worksout with insurance, but it says
on account in any insuranceclaim filed by the seller on
account of any damage ordestruction to the property.
And then paragraph B of item 11says the risk of loss or damage
(20:00):
by fire or of other casualtyprior to closing shall be upon
the seller.
Sellers advise not to cancelexisting insurance on the
property until afterconfirmation recording of the
deed.
So again, this is in the 20years I've been practicing real
(20:23):
estate and having my real estatebroker's license.
I mean we've talked about whenwe walk through a contract with
clients and I certainly did notsay this lightly, but I've never
had this happen.
But I would say to sellers if,in the unlikely event your house
was to burn to the ground priorto closing, it's on you as the
(20:45):
seller, that's why you maintainhomeowner's insurance and this
is just a never in my career didI expect this to happen to any
of our clients, but it happened.
And again and I'm not making alot, I mean just incredible
tragedy that these sellers butthis is a real life situation
where we had a buyer that had ahome under contract supposed to
(21:05):
close in a couple of weeks andit was just unfortunate and
tragic situation and we're sograteful that the sellers were
able to get out and save theirlives and their pets.
But just ultimate tragedy andwe're so sad for these sellers.
But the logistics and legalaspects of if you're under
(21:29):
contract as a buyer on a homeand it's not in substantially
the same or better condition atclosing, the buyer does have the
right to terminate.
Again, you can be past the duediligence period.
It could be the day beforeclosing and again it's shocking
(21:52):
to say that we've had thisexperience now with some of our
clients and so the buyers havethe right to terminate and get
their earnest money and theirdue diligence money back.
The buyer also has the right tostill buy it, which is
interesting, but the buyer'sentitled to receive, in addition
to the property, they'reentitled to receive the proceeds
(22:13):
of the insurance claim Again,fascinating.
And again, the risk of lossuntil that house is recorded at
the courthouse, anything thatthe seller is responsible for
that property, until it'srecorded.
The moment it's recorded andthis is where it's that again,
(22:33):
both the buyer and seller areprobably going to have insurance
running on the same day becausethe moment it's recorded it's
now the buyer's responsibility.
But again, this is where thecontract protects both parties.
And of course, never in mycareer did I expect that this
paragraph would have to comeinto use with a risk of loss or
damage by fire.
On item 11, on the NorthCarolina offer to purchase, and
(22:56):
again, just heavy, and ourthoughts and prayers are for
those that are facing whatthey're facing with the fires.
And again, our community hasbeen hit by so much already.
Again I will say this we can'tcontrol the things that happen
to us.
It reminds me of the book byViktor Frankl, the Man's Search
for Meaning.
Again, it's not about comparingsuffering, and he wrote his
(23:20):
book about his experience in theHolocaust and the horrific
things that he experienced andthe thing that he said they
could never take away from himwas his decision and his ability
to control what he thoughtabout it and what his attitude
was.
Again, he couldn't control thethings happening to him and I
know that's an extreme example,but we can't control the things
that happen to us.
(23:40):
But we can decide what theymean.
We can decide how we respond tothings.
We can control our attitude andin the light of awful
circumstances, in the light ofsituations, whatever you're
facing, in getting to decidewhat they mean and how we, you
know, is there, you know thelooking things to be grateful
(24:01):
for, even in the face of so muchcasualty and loss middle of it
for our community.
And we're praying for those onthe front lines, we're praying
for those that are in the lineof danger, we're praying for
those that have homes that arein the line of fires, and we
just know that our community isgoing to come together and just
face what we're facing.
(24:22):
And so it's a delicatesituation and again it's in our
backyard, literally.
I know it's surprising.
It was all the smoke that got,you know, blown towards
Henderson County.
Now the fire's where they're atright now, again in our
backyard and people we know thathave actually lost homes.
(24:42):
So it's heavy, it's a lot, andagain, be kind to yourself, be
kind to your neighbors and again, in this extraordinary
situation that we're in, ourthoughts and prayers are for
those.
You know, in what we're doingand again what this
extraordinary situation thatwe're in, our thoughts and
prayers are for those and whatwe're doing and again, what we
can do to show up every day andcome alongside our friends and
neighbors through thesesituations and we've been
(25:04):
serving the community.
It's interesting, you know, inthe light of or in the shadow of
the hurricane and people stillrecovering of the hurricane, and
people still recovering.
And then there's also thosethat are still having to move on
with their lives, in the sensethat whether it was a job
transfer or maybe it was a jobloss, or maybe you had a divorce
or a death, or life is stillhappening in spite of these
(25:25):
significant events happening inour community.
We've been walking alongside ourclients, helping our clients
navigate through buying andselling and selling their
investment properties or buyinginvestment properties, or
helping our clients with theirreal estate portfolio.
Again, there's so many thingsthat we're doing and we're
growing and we're helping ourclients with.
You know we have incredibleagents on our team, we have
(25:45):
incredible staff, and so ifyou're thinking of buying or
selling, or investing in realestate or thinking about a
career in real estate, you knowwe'd love to have the
conversation.
Give us a call.
828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.
We're in our office all week.
We've been busy.
We're helping people.
If you want to stop by ouroffice there on Rainbow Row in
(26:06):
Flat Rock, if you've not had achance to stop by our office, of
course, call us directly at828-393-0134.
Oh, we had an open houseyesterday that was so successful
.
We had so many people come outto the open house buyers and
sellers.
I mean we are active.
I mean, every single day thingsare happening in regards to our
real estate community and we'rehelping our clients navigate
(26:29):
through the buying and sellingprocess.
And so if you're curious whatyour home is worth, if you're
curious, do you sell before youbuy?
Do you buy before you sell?
Or you want to talk about yourinvestment properties?
You want to talk about your.
If you've heard the concept ofa 1031 exchange and maybe you're
afraid to talk about what kindof tax implications you're going
to have on your investmentproperty, we have solutions, we
(26:51):
have options for you, whetherit's a residential investment
property or commercial propertyor raw land.
I mean, we have solutions.
Maybe you're a farmer and youhave a lot of farmland and
you're wanting to look at whatyour options are.
We're there Again.
There's so many things that wecan have a confidential
consultation about and just beglad to give information so you
(27:14):
can decide what's right for you.
Well, you're listening to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
radio broadcast here on thequeue every Monday morning.
So thankful to be here with you.
Follow us on Facebook, followus on Instagram, give us a call
at 828-393-0134.
And, of course, follow us onour podcast.
We're here every Monday morning.
Have a great day and againpraying for our community.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
The George Real Estate Group has the experience
of selling over 1,200 propertiesand serving over 1,200 families
with their real estate needs inHenderson County and throughout
Western North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Group islocated in Flat Rock, north
Carolina, near Hendersonville inHenderson County.
(28:04):
You can find them online atrealestatebyregcom.
The george real estate groupcan be reached at 828-393-0134
or stop by their office at 2720greenville highway, flat rock,
north carolina.
Tune in live each week onmonday mornings.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com