I spend most of my time at City-Data in the Western North Carolina forum, where a common question is "What are the schools like?"

We realtors are encouraged not to characterize school quality, as that has been used in the past as a means of "redlining" or steering clients to or away from certain neighborhoods for socioeconomic or racial reasons. Plus, how to define a "good" school varies from person to person. What's good for my family might not be for...

First things first: My name is Matt Barker and I'm a real estate broker with Preferred Properties in Asheville, NC.

I work with my wife, Ginny, and together we enjoy helping home buyers and sellers accomplish their real estate goals.

We have four kids, ranging in age from 18 down to 12. Girl, girl, boy, girl. They are a fun bunch, and there's never a dull moment around our house.

Our house is in Swannanoa, between Asheville and Black Mountain. We moved here...

It's nice to find out what I can do at City-Data. Today I discovered this blogging thing. I'll have to see if I can make use of this.

So, as a journey begins with but a single step, here I go!