Tired of mooching, couple looks for place of their own

Mangums Pride, Blue Ridge

Cliff and Kathy Wheeler were introduced to the idea of having a second home by their son’s future in-laws, who live in Florida but own a vacation home in the mountains. After years of visiting that home, the couple decided to purchase one in north Georgia.

Why Blue Ridge: "They always said, 'Oh, you could come stay in our cabin whenever you want. We did that. We finally decided, enough mooching off of them, let's start looking for a place of our own," said Kathy, 56, an artist. "We just love it up here." While visiting Blue Ridge one day, they stopped into a Harry Norman, Realtors office and met agent Sidra McCain Dinco. "We would come up here and look at six, seven, eight houses at a time and they were generally in the ballpark of what we were looking for," Cliff said. Kathy and Cliff visited about 30 homes, in addition to a expansive online search. The home they chose is 4.2 miles from the future in-laws' cabin (the wedding is set for December).

Their home: A furnished three-bedroom, three-bath cabin built in 2008 on an acre, with a view of the Cohutta Mountains. A large family room and eat-in kitchen were a priority. "A lot of the homes that were built prior to 2005 pretty much all looked the same to us. I think we were a little spoiled because Amy's parents' cabin has been renovated and had an addition. It has a huge eat-in area where everybody gathers," Kathy said. "A lot of the cabins that were newer had that feel." The interior has tongue and groove pine walls and maple floors, and it came furnished, down to the linens, a pool table, hot tub, flat screen TVs and a four-wheeler. The exterior also had some important features, including low yard maintenance, a new metal roof, a wraparound deck and room to park up to nine cars. "One of the things we want to be able to do here is bring people up and entertain," said Cliff, 54, who works for KIND, a brand of all-natural whole nut and fruit bars. Kathy added: "When we were driving home, we both said, 'There is not one thing about this cabin that we do not like.' We knew this was the one."

How far from home: 82 miles from Suwanee.

How often they're there: At least twice a month.

What they love about it: "It's easy for us to get here, and it's such a change in the weather," Cliff said, noting that temps were about 10 degrees lower than Atlanta in the summer. "It makes it a nice place to try to escape to."

What they do when they're there: Visit towns such as Blue Ridge and Ellijay. Spend time with their children (son Chuck and his wife Kim, Cole and fiancee Amy, University of Georgia student Lyndsay, and Annie, a senior at North Gwinnett High School) and their friends, as well as Cliff's parents, who live in Florida.

How the market helped them: The couple purchased the home, originally listed for $319,000, from a builder, and negotiating the price took about a day. The buyer's market worked to their benefit. "Two years ago, we were talking about doing this and weren't willing to move at that point in time, and I'm glad we didn't," Cliff said. "It's just a marketplace that's pretty well crowded at this stage of the game."

At a Glance

Cliff and Kathy Wheeler's cabin, built in 2008 in the Mangums Pride neighborhood, has three bedrooms, three baths and about 2,550 square feet of livable space. They purchased it in June.

Community Overview

Mangums Pride is in Blue Ridge, next to the Cohutta Wilderness and Chattahoochee National Forest. The neighborhood has a rugged and natural feel due to features such as mature hardwoods and towering hemlocks, said Sidra McCain Dinco, an agent with Harry Norman, Realtors. "You feel like you are going camping in the forest," she said. She estimates there are about 75 old and new cabins in the subdivision, listed from the high $100,000s-high $300,000s. Many of the homes have basements and features such as fireplaces and jetted tubs. The westerly views reach up to 90 miles, on a clear day. Hiking trails connect to the community, and frequently seen wildlife include bears, fox, turkey and deer, she said.

Info

Fannin County Chamber of Commerce

www.blueridgemountains.com

Fannin County government

www.fannincountyga.org

Sidra McCain Dinco

www.SidraMcCain.com

Getting there

Take I-75 north to I-575, which turns into Ga. 515. At the intersection of Ga. 515 and Ga. 5 (at the McDonald's), travel north on Ga. 5 for about 4 miles. Turn left onto Ga. 2. Travel about 5 miles and turn left onto Wehunt Road. Follow Wehunt Road to the "Y" in the road and stay right. You will be entering Magnums Pride.

For sale

$274,900: 610 Magnums Trail, Blue Ridge 30513. A three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home built in 2007 on 3.4 acres with a covered front porch and a year-round mountain view.

Recent sale

$185,000: 190 Prides Ridge Road, Blue Ridge 30513. A three-bedroom, two-bath home built in 1999 on 1 acre with a hot tub and a covered porch.

$260,000: 54 Raintree Bend, Blue Ridge 30513. A three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home built in 2007 on 4.3 acres with a finished basement.