Sheron and Beverly Pass make their home in Gainesville, but decided to find a place in the North Georgia mountains so they’d be closer to two of their three sons and their first grandchild.
The Passes were looking for a foreclosure, something they could get at a good price since they’re retired and on a fixed income. But that didn’t mean they were willing to settle for just anything. They saw lots of properties before they found the right one.
“When our agent, Rachel Callihan, called us to look at this little house, it was love at first sight. We liked its simpleness and the fact that the property included a three-car garage,” Sheron said. And it was indeed a foreclosure.
One of the difficulties with a foreclosure: The bank accepted the Passes’ offer quickly and set a closing date in September. Then the bank stopped all foreclosure proceedings when the national news broke of problems with how foreclosures had been handled. The Passes waited patiently for two months before they finally got to the closing table.
Some remodeling: New flooring and a completely remodeled kitchen are just a few of the changes the couple is making to the 1970s structure. They've added a dishwasher and reorganized the kitchen layout, including adding an island on wheels. Sheron is building the top for the dining room table.
More work than play right now: They bought the house in November and have been getting up there for a few days at a time at least every other week. It's not so relaxing at the moment because they're doing much of the remodeling themselves, like tearing out the old floors and kitchen cabinets. The drive from Gainesville is about an hour and a half.
The man cave: Beverly laughed as she referred to the three-car garage as a "man cave." They've already got a car in the garage, ready for Sheron and his sons to start tinkering with. "We're going to build this car into a hot rod," Sheron said.
When there's time to play: "We're close to the Toccoa River and I plan to do some serious trout fishing," Sheron said. "We're looking forward to ... when the house will be livable and we can get up there and just relax."
At a glance
The Passes’ home has a cottage feel on the outside, with its vinyl siding exterior, but inside the tongue-in-groove pine paneling extends up the walls and onto the ceiling, tying it more closely to traditional mountain cabins. The two-story, three-bedroom, two-bath home has two levels of deck on the side with mountain views and a covered porch. The master suite is on the main level, with the other two bedrooms and bath on the top floor.
Getting there
From downtown Atlanta: Take I-75 north to Exit 268 (I-575/Ga. 5 North). It’s about 70 miles to Blue Ridge from this point.
Community overview
“Access to great fishing is one of the biggest attractions of this area,” said Rachel Callihan of Harry Norman, Realtors in Blue Ridge. The Toccoa River and its tributary streams are full of rainbow and brown trout, stocked annually by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Rainbow and brown trout average 10 to 12 inches, and the department reports that a 14-pound male brown trout was caught in the fall of 2009.
“If you don’t find a property with a trout stream on it, there are four public access points in the area that provide great trout fishing,” Callihan said.
Information
www.harrynormanblueridge.com
www.blueridgemountains.com
For sale
$367,500: 130 Dixie Lane, Morganton. Six acres of property with 3,400 square feet of living space in a four-bedroom, three-bath home. Two-car garage with bonus room above, fenced backyard, screened porch, detached guest house with full bath and partially finished basement.
$115,000: Lot 4D Toccoa Camp, Mineral Bluff. Wooded lot with frontage on Hot House Creek, just over 1 1/2 acres. Last available lot in Toccoa Camp community.
Recent sale
$725,000: 591 Toccoa Camp Trail, Mineral Bluff. Originally listed at $1.25 million, this two-plus-acre property has frontage on both the Toccoa River and Hot House Creek. The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home is EarthCraft certified and is about 5,000 square feet. Sold in January.
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