Looking for a retirement home in the North Georgia Mountains (Atlanta: for sale, real estate)

[60641]

Every weekend for the last month, I traveled to the NE Ga Mtns trying to find the perfect 2 bedroom cabin w/a mountain view under $180K. I've been to Cleveland, Helen, Clayton, Rabun, and Dillard but have yet to find the right place. Are the NW Georgia Mtns more reasonable? If so, what areas should I search?

[movingwest]

Have you tried Banks County...I happen to have a friend with 3 acres and a MH for sale in that county...very close to the MTS

[Mabey]

About 7 years ago I purchased an 8 acre bluff lot in what I feel is one of the most beautiful areas of north Georgia. It is located in Rising Fawn, on Lookout Mountain, overlooking Trenton, GA and the Tennessee Valley divide. It's only a half hour drive (17 miles) from Chattanooga. Property in the area still seems to be an excellent value/investment, and as the City of Chattanooga continues to improve, I can only see the property values increasing in the future. If interested, you might specifically look in the Cloudland Canyon area off of GA 136. There are a few great finds just past the Canyon on GA 136, then left on Sunset Drive. Travel about a mile down Sunset and you'll find a number of quaint cabins overlooking the valley on the right side of the road. Last time I visited, a couple of them were for sale. Undeveloped lots were available as well. Good luck!

[resolute]

Try the Fannin County area (Blue Ridge/McCaysville GA) area or right over the line into Polk County Tennessee - town of Copperhill/Ducktown- its an undiscovered secret thats just beginning to be noticed. Beautiful Mountains, recreational opportunities (where they had the 1996 Olympic Whitewater events) and your only about 1 hour from the northern Atlanta suburbs OR Chattanooga and its airport and downtown. About 90 minutes to downtown Atlanta. Blue Ridge, GA is growing fast, but come a bit north and the prices go down and you can still get more for your money with all the mountain stuff as well. Plus Tennessee has a lot of tax advantages versus Georgia (like no state income tax..). Let me know if you have questions as I live in the area.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by 60641

Every weekend for the last month, I traveled to the NE Ga Mtns trying to find the perfect 2 bedroom cabin w/a mountain view under $180K. I've been to Cleveland, Helen, Clayton, Rabun, and Dillard but have yet to find the right place. Are the NW Georgia Mtns more reasonable? If so, what areas should I search?

Any reason you did not like Clayton, Rabun, and Cleveland White County?

[sarahegillespie]

I just noticed your post and wanted to reply.

I'm a native of Rabun County and know the area quite well.

I understand that you hope to find a 2 bedroom, 1 bath cabin with a mountain view. There are so many properties to choose from in a given area that I'm sure it can get frustrating.

What are some other criteria that you would prefer to have?

Would you prefer an older or newer cabin?
Do you want to be close to town or would you prefer to be in a more remote setting?
Do you garden or would you prefer a more heavily wooded area?
[cut]

Warmest regards,

Sarah

[CabinFever]

More and more people are looking to buy in the north Georgia mountains.Prices of homes and land are going up every day.I don't know if you can find a cabin with a mountain view for less than 200thou.Good luck.

[Prichard]

I don't know if you can find a cabin with a mountain view for less than 200thou

For the most part, you can't. I spent over a year looking all across North Georgia for the same thing. Finally purchased a place just outside of Clayton, but spent way more than I originally planned. You can find raw land, but if you're not an engineer, you really don't know what you're looking at. And, the price of building a nice 3/2 "cabin" is going to be more than $100,000 when all's said and done.

It is really hard to tell what you're looking at from internet pictures. Over about one and a half years I looked at countless properties in and around Clayton, Dillard, Rabun Gap, Tiger, Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Morganton, Mineral Bluff, and Lookout Mountain areas. You will find that you really do get what you pay for.

From my experience, some properties that looked great in pictures turned out to be right on major highways, near really trashy or industrial areas, or the land didn't "lay out" very well. After learning more about the mountain topography, access, wells, septic, etc., I quickly decided against buying raw land and looked at only places with structures on them. This jumped the price up significantly. Also, I wasn't interested in anything less than 4 acres. This eliminated about 70% of the listings.

I saw cabins that were so old that they were breezy inside; one house that looked like it was built for a family of midgets; another cabin that was 1/2 gutted and designed like a dormatory loft; and one nice house that had a stud farm on one side and the redneck yard of the week on the other side - junk cars, booze bottles, clothing and trash stroon about. Some of what I saw was really nice - TOO nice as in way out of my price range. I also found some good deals, like a nice house near Clayton on about 5 acres with a large detached office / warehouse that was used for a/c duct fabrication. But, it didn't have a view, and unless I was moving up there to start a new business, it just wasn't a good fit.

My advice is for any non-local who is serious about purchasing land in the Ga Mountains is the following:

1. Don't be too eager, but be aggressive! By aggressive, I mean scheduling trips to specific locations and focus 100% of your attention on looking at properties with a real estate agent. I would look at up to 12 properties in a day sometimes. Often looking at a property requires only a drive-by to know you are not interested. Don't mess around thinking you can do this on your own without a local real estate agent. It's impossible.

2. Know what it is in an area that you are looking for. For me, I wanted mountains, rural environment but not far from a small town and near a major river or lake.

3. Take digital photos of all properties you look at so you can review them at the end of the session.

4. Don't spend 1/2 your life looking for the "perfect" property - life and opportunity will pass you by. BUY SOMETHING!

5. Don't be afraid to make reasonable offers when you find something you really like and it is in, or perhaps just outside of your price range.

6. It helps to get acquainted with Georgia real estate laws so that you don't get snowed by realtors, and you don't waste time by trying to cram an unreasonable contract by local standards on a Seller. Know the customs and gauge your offer accordingly. You catch more flys with honey.

7. Don't be afraid to walk away when you don't get it for the price you want. I made a really good offer on a cabin in Morganton, but the Seller was holding out for top-top dollar. So I walked and eventually found a place I liked much better. You will find "investors" selling cabins and renovated cabins who are seeking top-dollar from non-locals.

8. Keep in the back of your mind what John Q. Public would want because you might not want to live there forever.

[irish17020]

Hi 60641
Pritchard was exactly right in his advise. I am a realtor, though in Boone, NC, so too not familiar with GA mountains, but his advice is "on the money" just about anywhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
And a realtor really can make the entire process simple in comparison to what you would have to seek and discover on your own.
The most property we have shown to one client totaled 94 sites until they found that perfect place. Though usually it's more in the range of 20 to 30 properties. We listen to our clients as most GOOD Realtors do, and save them time and angst by taking them/you to just the spots that best suit their needs. Without scouring the edges of the county for property that is cheap but offers nothing in the way of suitability to their specific needs or resale values. Be sure to tell your realtor the highest price you can afford and not to go over that. Properties here sell within 4% of asking price so that's not much dicker room. And it's a total waste of a client's time to show $400,000 properties to a client who is not comfortable above $250,000. So be sure they are listening to YOU! And the $250,000's are out there and a good realtor can find them for you.
We are primarily in the secondary home market here in Boone and Blowing Rock, and Prichard's comment about "you get what you pay for" is ON TARGET as well!
Recently we had a couple of gentlemen who wanted a $400,000 cabin on 4 acres close to Blowing Rock. Once they saw that it was not available, we slipped up to $500,000, and found the perfect place for them. In this market, you can go a bit out of town and find a tremendous difference in the pricing, for instance that same property, lay of land view and size in a GOOD (no trashy trailers and with protective restrictions) about 35 miles from Boone for $250,000.
In our area we depend upon areas with restrictive covenants, ALWAYS, as with no restrictions, tomorrow you could have a shack erected right in your view path.
Our area is also mostly above 3333 feet. Up to 5,500 at Sunalei Preserve. You can depend upon a difference of about 5 degrees per thousand feet of elevation around here too. So keep the elevation in mind when you search, especially if you are looking for cooler summer climates. And if you search on your own, be sure to investigate the area so that the view you have today will not have a factory in the middle of that space tomorrow..
Take care and the best of luck t you in your search and call a good realtor!!!
Irish

[Ngmtns]

Wesley Mountain Village in Blairsville Georgia is a Great community. Check it out!