George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

Jake Jarvis is moving 10,000-pound rocks to save homes.

• George Real Estate Group

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Nearly six months after a devastating storm ravaged Henderson County, many residents are still struggling with what local hero Jake Jarvis calls "day one issues" - homes filled with mud to the ceiling, properties inaccessible without makeshift bridges, and elderly couples living in donated campers after losing everything.

Jarvis, owner of Precision Grading Company, has dedicated the past 160 days to helping storm victims without charging a penny for his services. Despite operating $3,500 worth of heavy equipment daily, he maintains a growing list of around 50 people in the Bat Cave area alone who desperately need assistance. "A lot of them have health issues, they're elderly... because there's a lot of retirement people in that area," Jarvis explains, noting that many humble residents insist others need help more than they do, even as they remain homeless.

The contrast between recovering areas and devastated zones is stark. While downtown areas may appear normal, just ten miles away, Jarvis and his team are moving 10,000-pound boulders to prevent homes from collapsing into rivers, building temporary rope systems for residents to transport groceries, and shoveling mud from houses where it reaches the ceiling. One elderly couple had invested their entire life savings into their dream home less than a year before it was nearly destroyed - a heartbreaking situation repeated throughout the area.

Though media attention has faded and donations have decreased, the need remains critical. For those who want to help continue this extraordinary grassroots recovery effort or for residents still needing assistance, contact Jake Jarvis at 828-458-0017 or through Precision Grading's Facebook page. After 160 days of tireless work, his commitment to his neighbors proves that when traditional systems fall short, community heroes rise to fill the gap.

Speaker 1:

The George Real Estate Group radio broadcast is celebrating 10 years on WHKP. The George Real Estate Group is celebrating 10 years on the radio live every Thursday morning at 10.05 on WHKP 107.7 FM and AM 1450 and streaming online at WHkpcom. Each Friday morning at 845,. The George Real Estate Group presents the Hometown Hero Award to someone in our community who goes above and beyond to make our hometown a better place to live. Here's this week's Hometown Hero Show. It's 845 and it's time now for our George Real Estate Group Hometown Hero Salute and we say happy Friday to Noah George. Good morning, Noah.

Speaker 2:

Good morning and it's so grateful to be here. It's the highlight of my week here. Every Friday morning, the Hometown Heroes series.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's good to have you every week, and every week we get to meet some of the finest in our community and we also get to talk a little real estate. Tell us about how the market is continuing to evolve in spring.

Speaker 2:

Here I mean, it's still moving and just to give you a quick snapshot, literally over the last seven days there was 45 new listings. There was 38 homes go under contract in just the last seven days and this is specific to Henderson County and single-family homes. Of course there's condos and townhomes on land but we look at single-family homes as a barometer. But the month of January in Henderson County there was over 100 single-family homes sold this January. When you look at the last two Januaries, that was in the 80s. But overall, if you look at a 12-month, rolling 12-month, we're averaging about 120-some single-family homes a month selling, which you know. Obviously it's down significantly from. You know, back in 2022, it was some 2,000 plus homes sold, 2,200 homes sold in Henderson County for the year and then in 20, that was in 21. And then 22, it dropped down to 1,700. But 2023 and 2024, we've been averaging around 1,400-some homes a year. And that's funny to say because I talk to agents all over the country and in some markets there's 1,400 homes selling a month A month. But you know it's relative to our community. But the average single-family home price in Henderson County remains strong. We're still at $551,000 as an average single-family home price in Henderson County. And that's even in light of these interest rates, that's in light of the economy and the politics, the storm, I mean you name it. But the point is real estate happens because life happens and, by the way, I've shared this before on the radio.

Speaker 2:

U-haul released their report from 2024. North Carolina is now the number three most incoming migration uh State. It passed Florida, um, and so North Carolina is number three now and and that's. I think that's indicative and and and telling of where we're going in our community. I mean, like the continued demand, quality of life, the, the four distinct seasons, for all the reasons that and I tell people I I'm biased I think we live in one of the most amazing places in the in the world, and and because seasons. For all the reasons that and I tell people I'm biased I think we live in one of the most amazing places in the world and because of, for all the reasons, and then, not to mention the incredible people that are here. I mean that's the number one thing, but the market's strong. Low inventory levels only 300, some 80 single family homes in the market. Demand is strong, Even with these interest rates. Still, some 30 percent of our sales are cash. So there's the the just a quick down and dirty market update yeah, but it's.

Speaker 2:

We are so busy. We've had new agents join our team. We're growing yeah yeah, and we're, and we're so thankful for that opportunity to serve the community through real estate and you guys are located in flat rock, but you do business all around the region.

Speaker 2:

Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. We have agents in both states and we do serve the community. We are located in Flat Rock. Find us online at realestatebygregcom. Give us a call directly at 828-393-0134. We podcast all of our radio shows and we just love to connect any way we can.

Speaker 1:

Well, noah you and I are tickled to death to get to welcome back Jake Jarvis from Precision Grading Company. He was here with us right after the storm and, jake, I've been wanting to get you back in here because I've been keeping up with you on the social media pages. Yes, sir, you haven't stopped. Good morning to you. Good morning.

Speaker 3:

How are?

Speaker 1:

you. I appreciate I'm fine. Thank you, and I appreciate you stopping long enough to come in here and visit with us. You, you are a busy, busy guy. All of the work that you've been doing, you continue to do to help folks recover from the storm. So give us an update on how things stand with you.

Speaker 3:

We're still running a long list. We work down the list every day, but that list grows every day, so sometimes it's hard to feel like you're making progress. I bet I think we're still in the 50s on the amount of people that we have on our list to help 50 people in the pipeline to. Yes, and that's mostly in the areas we're working. You know, right now we're in bat cave, so that's mostly 50 in bat cave. There might be a few that aren't but wow, you said yesterday.

Speaker 2:

Yesterday was 160 days of giving it all you have.

Speaker 3:

Yes, sir 160 days and and a lot of the issues we're still dealing with are day one issues. We have a couple priorities on the list at the moment that you know their. Their house is knocked off its foundation. They're still not able to live there. Um, you know a lot of them.

Speaker 3:

They have health issues and they you know, they can't, they're elderly or because, you know, there's a lot of retirement people in that area. Um, because it's a it was a beautiful area, still is. Yeah, it's a lot of retirement people in that area because it was a beautiful area, still is.

Speaker 2:

It seems a lot of work. And that's just the reality and I'm so grateful for all you've done and we're grateful to have you back here. We're coming up on six months since the storm and I think it's important for our community to realize. You said there are still day one issues.

Speaker 3:

There are.

Speaker 2:

And a lot of people are. You know, so many people are like quote, unquote, back to normal, but it I feel like it's so important to have this conversation to remind our community there's so many people still recovering and and just trying to make sense of of the devastation that they faced yeah, what we run into often is people ask you know where we're working now and we tell them're saying, well, there's still stuff to do down there.

Speaker 3:

I mean, they have no idea. No idea If you look outside the station here you know everything looks normal. But you go 10 miles that way and it's just—.

Speaker 2:

It's ground zero still.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean, the roads are closed. They're one lane. We still run into people with no access. They're one lane. We still run into people with no access. We still run into people that are homeless because their home is sitting there crooked in the mud. Recently we had a, and less than a month ago we helped an elderly couple and he found me on a bridge. I was building and came down and, you know, asked me if maybe I could take a look at his, because somebody had told him that I might be able to help him. Well, we went up there and he's homeless. The house was full of mud.

Speaker 1:

Oh gosh.

Speaker 3:

You know a landslide had hit it hard and you couldn't even walk in it because I would have had to duck way down. I mean, it was that full of mud and it's been there since the storm and you know he kept telling us he's like, well, because I immediately made it a priority, it actually brought tears to my eyes you know, because they're so nice people.

Speaker 3:

But he told me, he said well, you know, there's people that need help more than me. No, and you know, I mean there's so many kind elderly folks out there that feel like they don't need it as much as somebody else, but they need it horribly.

Speaker 3:

Yes, we were able to get him a camper set up and also I put on my page that we needed volunteers and we had a lot of volunteers show up. We shoveled the inside out, um took the machines and cleaned the outside. You know it was six, eight feet deep and it was extreme mud. Anyway, we got it all opened back up, but there's a lot of people out there like that, that you know they're, they're country folk and they don't like to ask for help.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, you know honestly, if my house burned down, I wouldn't ask for help. I understand, you know, it's just the way a lot of us were raised and yeah, and we I would like to reach anybody, you know, if they need help, uh at all, even if they think it's not a priority. Let me, let me look at it and make sure it's not something like that.

Speaker 1:

I can imagine that you have felt some really strong emotions from people who you've helped.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I feel goosebumps right now just talking about that particular one and worrying about who else is out there like them, that I haven't met, people who have not been able to uh actually get to their homes. They've been trapped there yes I've seen you build hiking and, yeah, climbing ropes courses and across the river to carry groceries yeah, to get to their house

Speaker 3:

that's their daily life right now and these the people I just spoke of. They didn't have social media. He doesn't read or write, even though he's a very successful plant worker all his life right I've had other people reach out since I mentioned his name, that you know that, how nice of a man he was and they'd known him, worked with him for years.

Speaker 2:

But but they didn't realize he was suffering like yeah, because they don't have social media.

Speaker 3:

He, you know they're not. They just don't have the resources if to find people like me out there to to give them a hand and people like you with your equipment.

Speaker 1:

It's amazing the things you've done, the big rocks that you move with your equipment.

Speaker 3:

Yes, sir, yes, sir, yesterday I was moving, moving rocks, you know, and they were 10 000 pounds a piece, trying to stack it's amazing a border wall between a home that was falling in the river and give it some protection in the future.

Speaker 2:

So okay I just want to acknowledge how extraordinary this is again. You as an individual border wall between a home that was falling in the river and give it some protection in the future. I just want to acknowledge how extraordinary this is Again. You as an individual. You come across someone that's suffering like they are. You put it out there and then you've had people step up from the volunteers to the financial support, to getting a camper donated.

Speaker 3:

I mean like that was our 12th camper we've had. And a lot of them came out of Missouri and they were donated. You know, they saw that we needed campers and they reached out to us and deliver them from Missouri, bring them all the way here and have been dropping them off in Saluda and then we, you know, usually end up taking them to whatever location because it's hard to get to.

Speaker 2:

But it's just, it's incredible. It's amazing. But it's the person, it's the one-on-one, it's the you know again, neighbors helping neighbors, but it's not these big organizations out there. I mean there's the no red tape. I mean you see a need, you're addressing it, you're putting it out there and the people are stepping up. Yes, they have People are stepping up.

Speaker 3:

Yes, they have. It really gave me faith in the American culture again.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but this is not inexpensive. Can we put some context on like just, is it okay to say how much it costs a day just to run your equipment?

Speaker 3:

If we're running a full crew and all the equipment which is most days. You know, we have three dump trucks and two dozers, two large excavators, three large excavators you know everything. Together, plus the employees, it's roughly $3,500 a day.

Speaker 2:

That's just the cost. Yes, that's what it costs to go to work, just to show up, and again, you're not charging anything. I haven't charged anybody.

Speaker 3:

We've worked for one penny and you can ask anybody we've worked for. A lot of them have tried to pay me and I'll refuse it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, or tell them if they want to make a donation and we'll use it either for theirs or for the next one, yeah, and so there's still an opportunity for our listeners to still participate, to give, follow you guys on social media. Yes, I mean you've been we desperately.

Speaker 3:

You know, the donations have obviously fallen off because we're 160 days in and you know people are forgetting and don't realize that the needs are still there like they are, but they're major needs out there and and just I mean it's no minimum.

Speaker 2:

I mean 50 people right now are on that list right now that need help.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and it grows daily. I'll knock two off the list and it seems like we get four on. I mean it's because as you move from job to job or I call them jobs, but you know what I? Mean project to project, somebody will walk from next door and you know, hey, I haven't been able to get to my house either. Do you think that there's a way we could figure? You know, because we've been walking half a mile or a quarter mile, literally.

Speaker 2:

People cannot access their homes because of All over the place.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and there's still quite a few houses that are not even livable, that need to be demoed and the site needs to be prepped so they can get some sort of living arrangements back, whether it's a camper or build another house, whatever but you know they don't have flood insurance. The particular house we're working on right now is a very large house. It's pretty, but the people that live there are 80 years old a piece and they've got some health issues One of them, the husband husband especially and they spent their entire life savings on that house. Um, they they were self-employed, so they don't get a lot of social security. They went through a bad builder and had to spend 80,000 more than they planned to fix it right and they basically spent everything they had to build the house and then the storm hit less than a year after the house.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's heartbreaking, yeah, so then you know they're not.

Speaker 3:

Even though the house is fancy and nice, they don't have any money because they spent it all trying to build that house. They're eight years old. They thought that was going to be their forever. Yeah, you know. Final resting place, and then the storm comes through and you know, now we're, we're doing a ton of work for them, in particular because that house was about to fall 50 foot to the river. I mean, it was literally foundation hanging on one corner.

Speaker 1:

I saw the pictures and what you're doing there to restore their way of life is amazing. Like 40 truckloads of dirt you moved yesterday and yesterday the wind was blowing so hard and and you guys were working you came close to catastrophe there yeah, a tree blew down uh, right in front of our dump truck as it was being loaded, and you know I had an employee in it wow so, uh, he said it.

Speaker 3:

It landed 10 foot in front of the truck it would crush the cab if he had been moving forward a little bit jake, we got a run and we could talk all day, but how do people get in touch with you?

Speaker 3:

My phone number is 828-458-0017. Text is best if they need help and Facebook Precision Grading. You know, follow there, yes, sir, because you're really good about giving us pictures and you can also message on Facebook. I a lady that that just monitors that for you messages, right yeah, be sure to follow a precision grading on facebook.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, updates thank you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for what you've done and continue to do. Thank, you guys for having me, thank you you bet jake jarvis from precision grading, noah george from george real estate group. Y'all have a great weekend. Thank you, you bet Jake Jarvis from Precision Grading, noah George from George Real Estate Group. Y'all have a great weekend everyone.

Speaker 2:

The market changes. Interest rates rise and fall. Headlines tell a different story every day, but here's what hasn't changed People still need to buy and sell homes. At the George Real Estate Group, we've been navigating the ups and downs of the real estate market for over 20 years. We've seen it all and we know what it takes to sell your home for top dollar, no matter the conditions. Buyers are still out there and with the right strategy, marketing and negotiation, your home can sell faster and for more than you might think. Your home can sell faster and for more than you might think. If you've been waiting for the perfect time to sell, it's now. Let's sit down, talk strategy and make a plan. Call the George Real Estate Group today at 828-393-0134 and find us online at realestatebygregcom. And don't forget to connect with us on social media and follow our podcasts.

Speaker 1:

The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, north Carolina, near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygregcom. The George Real Estate Group can be reached at 828-393-0134 or stop by their office at 2720 Greenville Highway, flat Rock, north Carolina. Tune in live each week on Thursdays at 10.05 am on WHKP 107.7 FM and 1450 am, or stream online at whkpcom or download these podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. The george real estate group brings you the whkp hometown hero series every friday morning at 8 45.