By Deborah Huso
What’s your dream? Maybe it’s a picture-perfect English manor. A breathtaking mini-estate home site. A gorgeous lake getaway. If that’s your dream, nothing says it can’t come true. Believe me. Almost anything is possible in today’s real estate world. Just get your imagination in gear to look at these 10 deals. And the reason they’re such great buys.
Underpriced Rustic Craftsman House
Big Canoe, Jasper, Ga.
This 3,600-square-foot home sits on a wooded lot with mature landscaping and features large, open interior spaces, including a great room with wood-paneled cathedral ceiling, river-stone fireplace and a wall of windows providing serene views of the surrounding forest. Hardwood floors and stain-grade trim throughout the home give it a warm, rich feel. The kitchen, which opens onto the great room, has custom cherry cabinetry and granite countertops.
The residence’s master suite is located on the main floor, and the home has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, one of which is a spacious master bath suite. A family media room features custom- designed built-in cabinetry, and the outside is enhanced by a vaulted screened porch for lounging and entertaining.
List price: $469,000
Why It’s a Deal: The owner of this residence has just completed a new home and is anxious to sell. The price represents a temporary discount of $100,000 for a buyer willing to purchase by October 31.
Listing Agent: Mike Rhodes, 866-244-2266, bigcanoe.com
Paradise For Horse Lovers
Bundoran Farm On Lily Lane,
Charlottesville, Va.
Situated in a serene landscape of open pasture with panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding forest, this 24.5-acre parcel in the preservation community of Bundoran Farm in Albemarle County has an existing four-bedroom cottage as well as another designated home site. A perfect option for equestrian owners, the parcel can accommodate horses. The primary home site is sheltered by mature red maples and has lovely views to the south of Hightop Mountain.
The community of Bundoran Farm is located 15 minutes outside Charlottesville and consists of 2,300 protected acres of working farm, managed forests and producing orchards with more than 16 miles of hiking and equestrian trails.
List Price: $615,000
Why It’s a Deal: With substantial acreage, a beautiful home site, as well as an existing cottage – all with access to the benefits of the Bundoran Farm community – this property is an excellent value, especially in the steeply priced real estate environment of Virginia’s Albemarle County.
Listing Agent: Steve McLean, 434-981-1863, smclean@mcleanfaulconer.com, bundoranfarm.com
Home Amid The Trees
Echota, Boone, N. C.
With 3,000 square feet of living space, this spacious home at the popular High Country community of Echota has three bedrooms and three- and-a-half baths. Two fireplaces as well as a kitchen island of stacked stone provide a comfortable mountain ambience, while two large decks offer plenty of outdoor living space under the shade of mature
trees.
“You really feel like you’re up in the trees when you’re in this house,” says Echota’s Vice President of Development Will Sears. “To have that privacy plus the nice mountain view makes this home a great value.”
The home also features oak hardwood floors throughout, granite countertops in the kitchen, a finished basement and an expansive loft area. The owner of this mountain tree house will also have full access to all completed amenities of the Echota community, including indoor and outdoor pools, fitness centers, riverfront park and clubhouses.
List price: $589,000
Why It’s a Deal: A similar floor plan to this one only a quarter-mile away is listed in the mid $700,000s, and at Echota, there are no membership dues to pay for access to all community amenities.
Listing agent: Will Sears, 800-333-7601, will@foscoecompanies.com, echotanc.com
Timberframe In Rich Tradition
Elk Creek Mountain, Todd, N. C.
This stunning 2,784-square-foot mountain home is located on a 1.49- acre lot in the beautifully secluded community of Elk Creek Mountain at Todd. The open floor plan and exposed timber trusses in the great room give this home a spacious feel, while its cedar board-and-batten siding combined with cedar shakes and poplar bark accents provide a historic Appalachian ambience to the residence. Among this home’s special features are an outdoor fireplace, four-panel solid wood interior doors, unique bark accents in the great room and loft, and wormy chestnut kitchen cabinets.
The house is located in the rolling rural landscape of a 284-acre community designed to appeal to outdoor lovers. Owners have access to
55 acres of common green space, a riverfront park with fishing access and a community pavilion. Elk Creek Mountain is only minutes from the historic village of Todd with its Friday night jamborees and river recreation.
List price: $799,900
Why It’s a Deal: A similar custom home at Elk Creek Mountain recently sold for $1 million, and other homes in the community are listed at
$1.2 to $1.6 million.
Listing Agent: Billy Campbell, 828-963-7600, elkcreekmountain.com
Antique Shepherd’s Cottage
Homestead Preserve, Hot Springs, Va.
Built of centuries-old reclaimed antique oak logs, Shepherd’s Cottage is the first of Homestead Preserve’s new antique log cabin series. At 2,200 square feet, it features a two-story native fieldstone fireplace, bluestone kitchen and bath floors, two bedrooms, a sleeping loft and a beautifully landscaped wooded setting within walking distance of The Homestead and the Old Course. The purchase price includes membership in The Homestead Golf & Tennis Club, and the cottage comes fully furnished.
Homestead Preserve Director of Sales Ian McIlvaine says the Shepherd’s Cottage reflects the primary commitments of Homestead Preserve – to build homes that blend into the surrounding landscape and reflect the rich architectural history of the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia.
“The antique log cabin style gives us the opportunity to pay homage to the pioneers who first settled Bath County,” he says, “while also allowing us to continue our environmental commitment through reusing already existing lumber and native materials.”
List Price: $1.57 million
Why It’s a Deal: The Shepherd’s Cottage comes with a leaseback offer of $6,000 a month for 36 months from Homestead Preserve. The new owner of the cottage would receive 15 days a month of use, while Homestead Preserve would receive 15 days a month also.
Listing Agent: Ian McIlvaine, 877-213-6491, imcilvaine@homesteadpreserve.com , www.homesteadpreserve.com
Cabin Studded with Architectual Elements
Mountain Air At Waterfall, Burnsville, N. C.
With the sounds of a mountain stream just outside its doors, this rustic 2,901-square-foot cabin highlights beautifully handcrafted Appalachian architectural elements, including eaves of bark shingle siding, porches with rhododendron pickets and hand-peeled locust rails, and dry-stack stonework. Featuring four bedrooms and three-and- a-half baths with ceramic tiled showers and even a clawfoot tub, this wooded hillside home provides plenty of space for hosting family and friends.
The home is completely and professionally furnished with special features such as reclaimed timber mantelpieces and a hand-peeled pine staircase. The cabin is located a short walk from Creekside Park.
List Price: $1,125,000
Why It’s a Deal: The cabin’s sale price includes $40,000 to cover the initiation fee for social membership at the Mountain Air Country Club
along with two years of membership dues (more than a $10,000 value).
There is also a model leaseback agreement available.
Listing Agent: Ken Maxwell, 800-247-7791, mountainaircc.com
English Manor Estate House
Rarity Pointe, Lenoir City, Tenn.
Constructed in the style of an English manor, this 5,000-square-foot estate home at Rarity Pointe in the lake country of the Tennessee foothills overlooks the community’s 14th golf fairway. Located on a wooded site, the home’s cedar siding and stonework blend into the surrounding landscape. From the home’s expansive windows, one has views of the golf course, as well as Lake Tellico and the distant Great Smoky Mountains.
The home features five bedrooms with ground-floor master suite, as well as a large family room, office, wide deck and screened porch that offer ample space for outdoor entertaining. Equipped with such extras as a media and exercise room, the property is only minutes from I-40 and I-75.
List price: $799,900
Why It’s a Deal: The price on this estate home has been substantially reduced. It was originally listed at $1.2 million. At Rarity Pointe, the cost to build is typically $150-$225 per heated square foot, whereas this residence, with all of its custom craftsmanship, is selling for only $120 per square foot after deducting the $200,000 value of the home site.
“This value illustrates why this estate home is an extraordinary bargain in today’s climate,” says Rarity Communities agent Luke Noe.
Listing Agent: Luke Noe, 800-864-6233, raritycommunities.com
Combination Home And Lake Home Site
Reserve At Lake Keowee, Sunset, S.C.
This home and home site feature a 1.3-acre waterfront site close to The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Village Center. Designed with sweeping
picture windows to take in the lake views, the 3,500-square-feet
three-bedroom home will feature exposed beam work in the entryway and great room, a natural stone fireplace and kitchen with custom cabinetry and granite countertops.
Among other special features are a three-car garage, mahogany exterior doors, James Hardie and cedar shake siding, beautiful and long-lasting ironwood decking, a screened porch and outdoor wood-burning fireplace.
Also included will be a private covered boat dock.
List Price: Starting at $1.35 million depending on the owner’s selections.
Why It’s a Deal: The location: Lake Keowee is one of the purest lakes in North America, and The Reserve has more than $100 million in completed family amenities. “For perspective, we have waterfront homes here up to $4.5 million,” says Mike Agee, director of marketing at The Reserve at Lake Keowee.
Listing Agent: The Reserve at Lake Keowee Real Estate office, 877-922-5253, reserveatlakekeowee.com
Gorgeous Mountain-View Site
Versant, Asheville, N. C.
With stunning views of the Blue Ridge skyline, this 1.55-acre home site is situated only seven miles outside Asheville, yet offers an atmosphere of complete seclusion on a wooded ridge above the city.
Located in the 400-acre gated community of Versant at 3,000 feet, the site enjoys uninterrupted views into the wild and undeveloped landscape of the Pisgah National Forest.
Community amenities include a series of hiking trails that wrap around the development, through forest and alongside mountain streams and convenient access to Asheville’s thriving downtown district and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
List Price: $249,000
Why It’s a Deal: Prices at Versant have dropped up to 60 percent in the last year and a half, and this home site is one among several that offer incredible vistas and building sites at a fraction of original value, making for an excellent investment opportunity.
Listing Agent: Paul Heitmann, 866-856-1799, versantasheville.com
Spacious Lakefront Family Home
The Water’s Edge, Penhook, Va.
This new home on the shores of Smith Mountain Lake has more than 5,000 square feet of living space, plus its own private boat dock. The home offers sparkling lake and mountain views from its many windows, as well as from its upper deck and lower patio. Set in a prestige lake community, this residence on a half-acre wooded home site has four bedrooms and three and a half baths, a full walkout basement and attached garage. Purchase of the home also includes a Searay Bowrider Boat and an eight-foot square hot tub.
Why It’s a Deal: Last September this lakefront residence was appraised at $1.7 million and has over $1.5 million invested in its construction costs.
List Price: $1,499,000
Listing Agent: Hope Moore, 540-721-8659, hmoore@smithmtnlake.com, smithmtnlake.com
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