You Gotta know when to hold em and when to fold em !!

Former Estate of Kenny Rogers Hits the Market for $20 Million

Courtesy of Jordan Blakesley of Voca PR

Beaver Dam Farms, built and designed by country music legendKenny Rogers, is an expansive 973-acre private estate tucked away in the rolling foothills of Athens, Georgia, on the original site of one of the state’s grandest plantations. Just listed for $20 million, this luxurious, fully-furnished estate features a 12,000 sq. ft. main house complete with two gyms, a movie theater, a billiards room, and an Italian marble wraparound porch. For guests, the estate also offers a six bedroom guest home, a four bedroom guest home, and four one bedroom villas. Purchased from Rogers by the Wes Adams family in 2003, Beaver Dam Farms still includes Rogers’ (an accomplished interior designer and one-time partner in an Atlanta design firm) one-of-a-kind design and many of his original furnishings.

The centerpiece of Beaver Dam Farms is a private (as in, only for the owner - there are no members), 6,285 yard, 18-hole executive championship golf course that Rogers designed after years spent traveling to play some of the world’s best, and is often compared to world-renowned Augusta National. The course has played host to golfing greats Payne Stewart, Lanny Wadkins and Ray Floyd, as well as many of Rogers’ celebrity friends. The estate also includes a clubhouse, a 90,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art equestrian and multi-use facility, two barns, a lake house, two swimming pools, clay tennis courts, a spa, conference center, various outdoor entertaining venues and three fish-stocked lakes.

Wells Fargo Stops Reverse Mortgage Loans Wells Fargo Home Mortgage announced that it will stop taking applications for new reverse mortgage loans by the end of the month due to the unpredictable nature of home values.  Reverse mortgages generally are sold to those over age 62 who want to tap into their home equity to pay for personal expenses like medical bills. Reverse mortgages don't have to be repaid until the home owner sells the property or passes away, which is how it differs from home equity loans.  The company will continue to service customers who already have existing reverse mortgages, but will no longer take new applications as of June 30.  Wells Fargo joins a growing number of banks that are getting out of the reverse mortgage origination business due to the sluggish real estate market, which has made it more difficult for banks to determine home values and how much they should lend in the reverse mortgages. Bank of America announced in February that it also would stop processing new reverse mortgage loans.  Source: "Wells Fargo Home Mortgages Halts Making Reverse Mortgages, Cites 'Unpredictable' Home Values," The Associated Press (June 16, 2011) I say good bye, adios, so long, far well and not sad to see you go to reverse mortgages and the banks who have preyed upon the desperate and sometimes Naive home owners. This is probably the only upside to the collapse of the housing market. I personally have no sympathy for the big banks who invented but another way to prey upon the elderly. I hope these Banks loose every last dime on every reverse mortgage they originated. Maybe next time they will think twice. If you see an upside or a positive to reverse mortgage I WOULD LOVE to hear about it, feel free to post

Top 10 things you will NEVER hear a Syringa Realty agent say

1. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
2. What do we have to do to get you into a house today
3. Hmmm Never seen that before
4. Hey I just got my real estate license
5. You know it just so happens that I also sell insurance
6. Don't worry it will work itself out
7. I am on the work release program
8. Lets not put it in writing
9. Thanks for the listings, talk to ya in 3 months
10. I cant sell your home

Real Estate is "local" and I dont mean crazy

After several months of strong job growth, hiring slowed sharply in May, raising concerns once again about the underlying strength of the economic recovery.

The Labor Department reported on Friday that the United States added 54,000 non farm payroll jobs last month, following an increase of 232,000 jobs in April. May’s job gain was about a third of what economists had been forecasting.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 9.1 percent from 9.0 percent in April. Home prices won't rebound until jobs come back. But jobs won't come back until the housing mess gets fixed.

That's a problem because both the housing market and the broader economy are having trouble getting back in gear. Hiring is losing steam, and after home values hit a post-boom low, many are projecting further price declines.
Even with all the negative news, one thing to remember is people must have a place to live- a house- an apartment -a condo.  The housing demand will always be there it is just a matter of at what price.

Real estate is local and therefore different than other investments, like stocks or bonds. A home in Idaho may be worth twice as much as a similar style and size home in Indiana.
It is important to remember that local economic conditions will affect local real estate more than national economic conditions. Don't get me wrong it is still important to track nation statistics and indicators just not as important as local.
Jobs are local, schools are local, factories are local, government is local and all have a different economic impact, positive or negative for different areas of the country.

Since real estate is a local investment it is important to work with a real estate professional who is also local and familiar with the areas economic conditions and indicators. Work with a well educated agent who is connected to the community and can give you some insight on areas past, present and future economic performance.
Don't let the national news affect your decision to invest in an area you feel safe, after all you have to live somewhere, just be sure it is somewhere you enjoy



Syringa Realty requires all of our agents to have a bachelors degree or a profession real estate designation in order to work for the firm so our clients can be assured that they are working with the some of the most knowledgeable and passionate agents in the country. 
Check back as we talk about the local Idaho economy and some for my predictions for the real estate market ahead.
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