News

Ask Matt ... who's buying houses?

By Bill Moss, Published: August 9, 2015

Q. I have seen signs posted around the county that say “We Buy Houses” and list a phone number. What’s up with that?

I called the number on your road sign and spoke with Paul Jones from Asheville who told me those were his signs. Jones is not a licensed realtor but said he once sold real estate. He said he offers his services to those who are motivated to sell their home. “We buy homes from sellers who need cash. It may be because of divorce, job transfer, or just a case where the home has been abandoned, but immediacy is the key,” said Jones. He often fixes up his acquisitions before he flips the home or resells it to an investor.
I pitched the sign question to Tim Ertzberger, president of our local board of realtors. He was keenly aware of the practice of acquiring what he called “distressed properties” for quick resale. He stated that the job of a Realtor is to protect the consumer and said that professional Realtors know the buying and selling regulations and can easily connect sellers with those who do financing. “A realtor could lose his or her license if they knowingly undervalued a property and then purchased it for personal gain,” said Ertzberger.
I didn’t ask Jones about putting the signs along the road, but he did share that he had been contacted by the code enforcement people and he was “getting them up.”

Q. What are they doing to that plowed up area along the walking path at Flat Rock Park? It looks unfinished.

According to Village officials this is a reforestation project by Flat Rock and the N.C. Forest Service. The soil was prepared last spring and 1,500 native variety seedlings were planted. The larger trees were planted to add height variation. The prepared areas will look a little rough until the seedlings take hold. The plantings appear close together because the Forest Service experts anticipate many won’t make it. In time, we’ll never know it was all once a golf course.

Q. Last year the fountain on Main Street had green plants growing in the lower basin. Why not this year? They really added a finishing touch.

According to Hendersonville City officials, the plants did not survive last winter’s sub-freezing temperatures. The fountain was designed to accommodate water plants and there may be another attempt to replant sometime in the future. Until then, I suspect that there is more room for those pennies and nickels. For now, though, there's no water in the fountain. The city turned it off because of the water use restrictions.