George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

Fire and Real Estate: When Disaster Strikes Your Property Deal

• George Real Estate Group

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When disaster strikes in the midst of a real estate transaction, what happens next? This powerful episode confronts the rare but all-too-real scenario of a property burning down while under contract, a situation facing our community as wildfires sweep through Henderson County on the heels of Hurricane Helene.

Drawing from firsthand experience with clients who lost their home just weeks before closing, we explain the crucial contract provisions that protect both buyers and sellers in catastrophic circumstances. North Carolina's Offer to Purchase contains specific language addressing property damage before closing, giving buyers options to terminate with full refunds or proceed while receiving insurance proceeds. Beyond the legal aspects, we reflect on the profound human impact and the community's resilience in facing consecutive natural disasters.

Despite these challenges, Henderson County's real estate market shows remarkable strength. With just 422 active single-family listings and steady sales averaging 124 homes monthly at $550,000, demand remains robust across all price points. One-third of transactions are cash offers, revealing a market that continues moving forward regardless of interest rates or economic concerns. Through real examples of pricing strategies—including a $150,000 fixer-upper that received 17 competing offers—we demonstrate how properly priced properties still attract significant buyer interest.

The conversation takes a philosophical turn as we consider Viktor Frankl's insights on finding meaning amid suffering. While we cannot control what happens to us—whether fires, hurricanes, or personal transitions—we can choose our response and find strength in community support. Whether you're facing market questions, considering investment strategies like 1031 exchanges, or navigating life changes that necessitate a move, our team stands ready to provide clarity and solutions without pressure or obligation.

Call us at 828-393-0134 to discuss your real estate needs, or visit our Flat Rock office where we continue serving clients through all of life's challenges and opportunities.

Speaker 1:

Every Monday at 9 am we have a live radio broadcast on WTZQ and this week's radio show is about the local real estate market. We cover facts and information about what's happening here locally and I dive into a conversation about artificial intelligence. Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning. So thankful to be here with you and again sharing with you positive news about your local real estate market and community. And, of course, the most pressing real life situation where our community is facing is the fires, and certainly our thoughts and prayers and also our support and concern for everyone experiencing this in a real. I mean. There's so much challenges that we're facing right now as a community, especially coming in after Helene and then to be hit again with this natural, with the fires, and, of course, praying for those, the first responders. We're so thankful for our firefighters and our law enforcement and the local government working to get these things contained. There's so much, just so much to process and to comprehend and to understand. And so, again, our thoughts and prayers for those that are in the line of danger and those that are having to evacuate. Again, that's a lot to process and just wanting to put that out there and we'll talk about that. I mean, we actually had a situation where one of our properties under contract was burned to the ground just in the last couple days because of these fires and what are the implications of that? And we'll talk about that. And what does the contract allow? Does the seller? What is the seller's? What are the implications of that? And we'll talk about that. And what does the contract allow? What are the seller's options? What are the buyer's options? And this is a real life situation. I've actually never had this happen before, but it's something I've talked about because there is a paragraph in our contract that talks about what happens if there is something that happens to the house before closing, and I will talk about that.

Speaker 1:

Before we get into that, I want to just say thank you for tuning in this Monday morning. It's crazy how time flies. It's already getting towards the end of March and I hope for Henderson County students and hope you had a wonderful spring break and for the parents too. And here we go back to real life, back to getting kids back to school this morning. But we're so thankful to be here and there's so much to be thankful for and even in light of these incredible losses that our community is facing here again with these fires. But again, perspective and what is? We can't control what happens to us, but we can decide what things mean and we assign meanings to things. And how do we respond to the tragedies of life and things that happen, sometimes completely out of our control, and again, how do we respond to these circumstances? But we're thankful to be here with you here on the queue every Monday morning right after the 9 o'clock hour.

Speaker 1:

The real estate market continues to move. We continue to see demand and we're going to give a quick snapshot of the market. I mean, I like to look over the last 12 months, but here's a quick seven-day snapshot. A quick seven-day snapshot in Henderson County. Quick seven-day snapshot in Henderson County single-family homes 46 new listings, 43 price reductions, and I will talk about that. What does that mean? There's been 34 homes go under contract in the last seven days and there's been 30 homes closed. So the market is continuing to move. Right now, as of this morning, there's only 422 active single-family homes on the market, and this is single-family homes. We're averaging some 124 homes a month selling. I mentioned that in January and February this year. We're 6%. We've had a 6% increase in the number of homes sold this January February versus the previous January February. Prices have been staying strong in the sense that we've been holding around that $550,000 range $550,000 average single family home price range in Henderson County. This is not talking about condos or townhomes or land. I like to look at single-family homes as a barometer for our market and again, that's just a quick snapshot Over the last 12 months 124. We're averaging a month the average single-family home price at $549. And I will talk about price reductions.

Speaker 1:

If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group. We're grateful to serve the community through real estate. We love facilitating, we love advocating, we love being in the corner of our clients and agents. We're growing and if you think about a career in real estate, we'd love to have a conversation. We've had more agents join our team recently and we're looking to continue to grow. There's an opportunity to serve the community through real estate and it's a privilege and honor.

Speaker 1:

You can find us online at realestatebygregcom. You can also follow us on social media, facebook and Instagram. We also podcast all of our radio shows and connect with us on our podcast on your favorite podcast platform and then, ultimately, you can stop by our office. We're at 2720 Greenville Highway. They're in Flat Rock, on Rainbow Row. Our good friends have come out of hibernation at Hubba Hubba Barbecue. They shut down during the winter and temporarily, but they're open again, which is exciting. That means spring's here, crinkled Egg and the Flat Rock Bakery all our great friends there on Rainbow Row, there in Flat Rock, and we're so grateful to serve the community through real estate. And so stop by, connect with us, call, step in the office. We'd just love to help you.

Speaker 1:

If you're curious about what your home is worth, if you're curious about the market, if you're curious about interest rates, if you're curious about by the way, we've been working with a lot of our clients' real estate investments in their portfolio and whether it's an active real estate investment or if it's a passive or maybe you're considering a 1031 exchange. I mean, there's solutions out there. I've had clients say, hey, I'd sell my house, but I'm looking at a significant capital gains event and, by the way, we have solutions for that. We have opportunities. You can sell your property and move it into something else and avoid the capital gains while still receiving revenue and you can go from an active investment to a passive investment. There's so many solutions. There's also opportunities to give and create a legacy. I mean, we are helping our clients, whether it's residential or land or development or investment, real estate or commercial real estate. We'd love to have the conversation. Give us a call. 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. We'd love to have the conversation. There's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. You can give us a call at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.

Speaker 1:

So the market that we're in right now, we continue to see demand. The thing that's fascinating to me one in three, one in three single family homes receive a cash offer. That's how many homes, that's how many cash offers were a third of our homes sold in Henderson County? Single-family homes are purchased with cash. You know the housing market, the real estate market, the real estate market is still moving and, of course, you know the concern with the interest rates, the concern with you know what's the economy doing, what's the market doing? The market is healthy, the market is. It's not what it was, of course, but it's still at a very sustainable, very sustainable pace. Like I said, 124 single family homes a month selling in Henderson County. We have low inventory, we have low inventory levels, and so all of this is allowing our market to move and so we continue to see demand and the interest rates are the interest rates. So give us a call 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. So one in three homes are getting a cash offer.

Speaker 1:

We see a lot of people. We use the term right-sizing. Maybe you're moving from a larger home, maybe you want to get something more manageable, maybe you want to have the freedom to travel, you want to downsize, maybe your kids are moving out. We know real estate happens around life. It could be a really positive reason why you're buying or selling. It could be a challenging reason. Whatever it might be, we'd love to help. I mean, we'd love to have the conversation. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134.

Speaker 1:

If you're curious, do you sell before you buy? Do you buy before you sell? I mean, there's so many different ways to approach the market and how do you go about that? And how is the economy? Certainly, what's going on with the political? I mean there's so much that our country is navigating. Our country is navigating and yet when you look at what's happening with the housing market, it seems to be at a holding pace and here, locally, when we look at the supply and demand, the low inventory levels. That's why homes prices are staying where they're at. But guess what? You can still overprice your home and, for example, there was 43 price reductions. But this is a real-life example.

Speaker 1:

Sellers they get to decide what they want to test the market at and where they want to price their home. And at some point, if you're not getting showings, if you're not getting offers, the market is talking back to you. Showings. If you're not getting offers, the market is talking back to you. And we've said this before and I've not had anybody take me up on this. But you cannot underprice your home when I say I've not had anybody take me up on this. But if your home is, in fact, a half a million dollar home but you put your home on the market for a dollar, the market will bid it up to what it's really worth. When you tell the whole world it's for sale, it really doesn't matter what you price the home at. If it's underpriced, you'll see the home get bid up.

Speaker 1:

Now we had a home that needed a lot of work recently and it was priced in the $150,000 price range reflective of the work. Well, guess what? There was over 17 offers that came in on $150,000 price range, reflective of the work. Well, guess what? There was over 17 offers that came in on that property and guess what it got sold for, what a person thought it was worth, based on even in the condition that it was in. Another situation is we had a home that we had to do. We priced it at a certain place. It was not getting the activity, it was not getting the offers and it's so interesting it was the price was adjusted and, out of nowhere, after like six months on the market which again that was that was been an ongoing discussion with a seller and their approach and how they wanted to do it. But when the price was dropped out of nowhere, multiple offers came in.

Speaker 1:

And you might say, well, how is that possible? Multiple offers coming in? Well, again, when the price gets to a point where the market says, oh, that's what it's worth, that's the value, there is a demand for homes I mean, we are seeing across all price points, by the way and whether it's in the $700,000 range or $800,000 range, there is healthy demand in that price range. So it's not like homes aren't selling, so it's not that your home is, whether your home's a million dollars, or whether your home's a $800,000 home, homes are selling, and so if you happen to be in the $900,000 price range and you're not getting offers or activity, and guess what, if you were to drop it, maybe to $850,000 or $800,000, maybe that's not where you want to go, but guess what? All of a sudden you start getting showings, you start getting activities, you start getting offers and you still and we do see you start getting offers and you still.

Speaker 1:

And we do see firsthand experience, firsthand knowledge. We do see offers and we do see multiple offers happening, even after a property has been on the market. But when it gets to what we call the fighting weight, or we get to something that's within the market speaking back to us, then the activity happens. And so of course, we try to. When we're working with our sellers, we want to advise them and coach them and ultimately it's our seller's decision. But when the data the data is the data, we're just the messenger. What's that saying? Don't shoot the messenger. But we're just trying to provide clarity and information to our clients so our clients can make a decision for clients. You know that they can decide what's right for them and again, ultimately it's your decision where you want to test out the market.

Speaker 1:

But we know the process that we follow, from the professional photography professional photography, the professional photography, professional photography, the professional marketing that we do, the social media marketing. And we know and I'm coming up quickly, I think maybe we have it pending right now our 1500th client in my career in the 20 years I've had my broker's license coming up on over 1500 families served. We know what works and there's no magic bullet to it. But when we follow a repeatable and duplicatable and proven process, we have results and the results are still happening and the economy is the economy, the interest rates are the interest rates, the market's the market. But if you're curious what your home is worth, if you're curious how you go about it, again we provide clarity, we provide information and we're here to advise and consult our clients. Again, if you've made the decision to sell, what does that look like? What is your home worth? How do you go about it? And we know we have a proven and predictable process to do that and we've had a lot of activity. We've already helped more people year to date this year than we did last year and we continue to grow and we continue to serve our clients, regardless of the interest rates, regardless of the market. So there's a lot of information there.

Speaker 1:

We are going to take a short break. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group radio broadcast In the second half of the show, so stay tuned in. Group radio broadcast. I will in the second half of the show, so stay tuned in. I will address what happens, what does happen if a home burns down while it's under contract and there's actually a provision in the contract that I'll share with you and what are the options as a buyer, what are your options as a seller?

Speaker 1:

This is, and again, our thoughts and prayers. I mean, we know our first responders and our firefighters and our law enforcement are out there right now helping our community fighting this fire, and so our thoughts and prayers are for those on the front lines and our thoughts and prayers for those families that are facing a loss and those that have had to evacuate. I mean, it's just real life right now and again, just be kind to yourself, be kind to those around you. Real life right now and again, just be kind to yourself, be kind to those around you. And again, these things we can't control what happens to us, but deciding how we respond, how we're going to show up, how we're going to process it, and it's a lot to process. So, again, there's resources out there. Don't be alone. Of course, reach out to someone for help and of course, if we can help, you give us a call. But to our community, we're thinking and praying and walking alongside our community through this very challenging moment again for our community, even on the heels of the hurricane. So you're listening to the Georgia Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue. So stay tuned in. We have a second half of the show coming up right after this break.

Speaker 1:

Life has a way of throwing us into deep waters when we least expect it. Dr Robin Hanley Defoe knows this firsthand. One winter day, her car skidded on ice and plunged into a freezing river, trapped in sinking darkness. She had seconds to act. But instead of panicking she reminded herself I can do hard things. She stayed calm, found a way out and survived.

Speaker 1:

At the George Real Estate Group, we know that buying or selling a home can feel like that moment Overwhelming, uncertain, maybe even a little scary. But here's the thing you can do hard things, things and you don't have to do them alone. With decades of experience. We're here to guide you every step of the way, turning challenges into opportunities. So if you're thinking about making a move, let's do it together. Call the George Real Estate Group today, because when it comes to your future, you're stronger than you think.

Speaker 1:

Good morning and welcome back to the George Real Estate Group. Live radio broadcast. Live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. So grateful to be here with you and just so much to be thankful for. And again, continued thoughts and prayers for those on the front lines and for those facing. So much from the you know from the. You know from the from the fire I mentioned to you. Well, before I get into that again, if you're tuning in for the first time ever, we're the George Real Estate Group, located in Flat Rock. We actually serve all of Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. We have agents that live in South Carolina and so we have the ability to serve our community in both states. And so if you're thinking of buying or selling, or investing, or even a career in real estate, give us a call 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. And we'd love to have the conversation A real life situation, with a home burning down with these fires of a client, the buyer that had the home under contract.

Speaker 1:

And so the question is what happens? You know, there is a paragraph in the North Carolina Offer to Purchase paragraph that says and this is why sellers maintain homeowner's insurance up until it's recorded, and actually you don't want to cancel it until after it's recorded and until it's recorded. And actually you don't want to cancel it until after it's recorded and until it's recorded it's the seller's home, it's the seller's responsibility. And so there's and I'm going to read what the paragraph says, there's two paragraphs under item 11 on the offer to purchase contract in North Carolina. But the condition of the property at settlement if the property is not in substantially the same or better condition at closing as on the day of this offer, reasonable wear and tear accepted. Buyer may terminate this contract by written notice delivered to seller and the due diligence and the earnest money deposit shall be refunded to the buyer.

Speaker 1:

If the property is not in such condition and the buyer does not elect to terminate the contract, buyer shall be entitled to receive, in addition to the property, the proceeds of any insurance claim filed by seller on account of any damages or destruction to the property. Isn't that interesting. So there's two options the buyer can terminate, get their earnest money and due diligence money back, and they have the ability to terminate the contract in the event that, for example, in this situation, literally the house burned to the ground. The buyer had two options they can terminate the contract and get their earnest money and due diligence money back and, by the way, the buyer, if the buyer chooses not to terminate it, the buyer shall be entitled to receive, in addition to the property, the proceeds of any insurance claim. Now I don't know how that works out with insurance, but it says on account in any insurance claim filed by the seller on account of any damage or destruction to the property. And then paragraph B of item 11 says the risk of loss or damage by fire or of other casualty prior to closing shall be upon the seller. Sellers advise not to cancel existing insurance on the property until after confirmation recording of the deed.

Speaker 1:

So again, this is in the 20 years I've been practicing real estate and having my real estate broker's license. I mean we've talked about when we walk through a contract with clients and I certainly did not say this lightly, but I've never had this happen. But I would say to sellers if, in the unlikely event your house was to burn to the ground prior to closing, it's on you as the seller, that's why you maintain homeowner's insurance and this is just a never in my career did I expect this to happen to any of our clients, but it happened. And again and I'm not making a lot, I mean just incredible tragedy that these sellers but this is a real life situation where we had a buyer that had a home under contract supposed to close in a couple of weeks and it was just unfortunate and tragic situation and we're so grateful that the sellers were able to get out and save their lives and their pets. But just ultimate tragedy and we're so sad for these sellers.

Speaker 1:

But the logistics and legal aspects of if you're under contract as a buyer on a home and it's not in substantially the same or better condition at closing, the buyer does have the right to terminate. Again, you can be past the due diligence period. It could be the day before closing and again it's shocking to say that we've had this experience now with some of our clients and so the buyers have the right to terminate and get their earnest money and their due diligence money back. The buyer also has the right to still buy it, which is interesting, but the buyer's entitled to receive, in addition to the property, they're entitled to receive the proceeds of the insurance claim Again, fascinating. And again, the risk of loss until that house is recorded at the courthouse, anything that the seller is responsible for that property, until it's recorded. The moment it's recorded and this is where it's that again, both the buyer and seller are probably going to have insurance running on the same day because the moment it's recorded it's now the buyer's responsibility. But again, this is where the contract protects both parties. And of course, never in my career did I expect that this paragraph would have to come into use with a risk of loss or damage by fire.

Speaker 1:

On item 11, on the North Carolina offer to purchase, and again, just heavy, and our thoughts and prayers are for those that are facing what they're facing with the fires. And again, our community has been hit by so much already. Again I will say this we can't control the things that happen to us. It reminds me of the book by Viktor Frankl, the Man's Search for Meaning. Again, it's not about comparing suffering, and he wrote his book about his experience in the Holocaust and the horrific things that he experienced and the thing that he said they could never take away from him was his decision and his ability to control what he thought about it and what his attitude was. Again, he couldn't control the things happening to him and I know that's an extreme example, but we can't control the things that happen to us. But we can decide what they mean. We can decide how we respond to things. We can control our attitude and in the light of awful circumstances, in the light of situations, whatever you're facing, in getting to decide what they mean and how we, you know, is there, you know the looking things to be grateful for, even in the face of so much casualty and loss middle of it for our community.

Speaker 1:

And we're praying for those on the front lines, we're praying for those that are in the line of danger, we're praying for those that have homes that are in the line of fires, and we just know that our community is going to come together and just face what we're facing. And so it's a delicate situation and again it's in our backyard, literally. I know it's surprising. It was all the smoke that got, you know, blown towards Henderson County. Now the fire's where they're at right now, again in our backyard and people we know that have actually lost homes. So it's heavy, it's a lot, and again, be kind to yourself, be kind to your neighbors and again, in this extraordinary situation that we're in, our thoughts and prayers are for those. You know, in what we're doing and again what this extraordinary situation that we're in, our thoughts and prayers are for those and what we're doing and again, what we can do to show up every day and come alongside our friends and neighbors through these situations and we've been serving the community. It's interesting, you know, in the light of or in the shadow of the hurricane and people still recovering of the hurricane, and people still recovering. And then there's also those that are still having to move on with their lives, in the sense that whether it was a job transfer or maybe it was a job loss, or maybe you had a divorce or a death, or life is still happening in spite of these significant events happening in our community.

Speaker 1:

We've been walking alongside our clients, helping our clients navigate through buying and selling and selling their investment properties or buying investment properties, or helping our clients with their real estate portfolio. Again, there's so many things that we're doing and we're growing and we're helping our clients with. You know we have incredible agents on our team, we have incredible staff, and so if you're thinking of buying or selling, or investing in real estate or thinking about a career in real estate, you know we'd love to have the conversation. Give us a call. 828-393-0134, 828-393-0134. We're in our office all week. We've been busy. We're helping people. If you want to stop by our office there on Rainbow Row in Flat Rock, if you've not had a chance to stop by our office, of course, call us directly at 828-393-0134. Oh, we had an open house yesterday that was so successful. We had so many people come out to the open house buyers and sellers. I mean we are active. I mean, every single day things are happening in regards to our real estate community and we're helping our clients navigate through the buying and selling process.

Speaker 1:

And so if you're curious what your home is worth, if you're curious, do you sell before you buy?

Speaker 1:

Do you buy before you sell? Or you want to talk about your investment properties? You want to talk about your. If you've heard the concept of a 1031 exchange and maybe you're afraid to talk about what kind of tax implications you're going to have on your investment property, we have solutions, we have options for you, whether it's a residential investment property or commercial property or raw land. I mean, we have solutions. Maybe you're a farmer and you have a lot of farmland and you're wanting to look at what your options are. We're there Again. There's so many things that we can have a confidential consultation about and just be glad to give information so you can decide what's right for you. Well, you're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning. So thankful to be here with you. Follow us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, give us a call at 828-393-0134. And, of course, follow us on our podcast. We're here every Monday morning. Have a great day and again praying for our community.

Speaker 2:

The George Real Estate Group has the experience of selling over 1,200 properties and serving over 1,200 families with their real estate needs in Henderson County and throughout Western North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, north Carolina, near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebyregcom. 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 monday mornings.