When looking at real estate in the mountains, its not unusual to put a lot of miles on the vehicle. This is especially true when it comes to homesteads or prepper properties. The unique nature of these properties naturally reduces their number and thus proximity to each other is increased. Add to that the winding twisting mountain topography and it takes a while to get from one to another. Its not like looking at suburban homes in town.
In the past week, I spent two days with a family of four traveling through Buncombe, McDowell, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison and Haywood Counties to visit just seven properties. Yes, it took us two days to only visit seven properties. With sometimes more than an hour drive time between properties, its easy to understand why. Total miles driven? Five hundred thirty miles in two days. All in a day’s work for me. Its not uncommon for me to drive 200 miles in a day.
When one stops to think about it, its rather amazing. I’d spoken with the parents a few times on the phone and corresponded via emails, but I had never met them before that first morning. But there we were, sitting next to each other in my vehicle for hours on end making conversation and sharing my knowledge of the area. These conversations can cover a very wide range of topics and are almost always enlightening. Fortunately in this case, the kids were very well mannered and we all got along great (kudos to the parents). By the end of our time, we knew a lot about each other and that’s all part of the process of a real estate purchase. Almost always, these outings turn out good and I’ve only had one or two instances wherein I was glad to see them hop back in their own vehicle. Perhaps they thought the same about me? Nah, my mom says I’m a really nice kid! Thanks Mom!
