I really hope y’all are enjoying your summer on Lakes Keowee and Jocassee. For those of you who are enjoying your summers elsewhere, what is wrong with you? I know you think you’re having fun and that’s all well and good but let’s face it, the fun is at..Lake Keowee! It’s just too hard to beat the beauty, amenities, excitement, etc., these lakes have to offer. I know, I know, some of you folks are beach people. I like the beach, too, but, you know, um, sharks? Jellyfish? Sticky sand and salt water, etc. etc.? (That takes me back to my summer days in North Myrtle beach when they had the Budweiser festival on the beach during Spring Break. Those were some good times, the kind of times you don’t talk about in polite company. So good in fact they don’t do it anymore (probably a good thing). So the beach has one less thing over Keowee and Jocassee.) And just the mass of people, parking problems and traffic are enough to send you the other way down the road in a hurry. I am well aware that I’m biased, but really some of this stuff has to hit home.

The good news for us is there are plenty of folks who are in the know and agree with me wholeheartedly on where to spend their summer. This has led to a pretty good week of real estate for us Top Guns. We were able to put a waterfront lot under contract, a 1.4 million dollar home under contract, and are getting close to putting another half-million dollar home under contract. We’ve also listed a beautiful Reserve waterfront lot, an interior lot in Waterford with a dock slip in the community docks area and access to the lake from the back of the lot, and two waterfront homes under $600K. That’s kept us busy pumping out videos, running back and forth to the copier and getting lots of things signed. As I’ve said over the last few blogs, this is the height of the season.

Fortunately we feel we can do even more this summer and will continue to press to get more accomplished. This is no time to sit back and watch the waves roll in (not that you’d want to at the ocean).

29 Essential Tips That Get Homes Sold Fast (And For Top Dollar)

Tip #9! One of my favorites. Maximize your homes’ sales potential.

Each year, corporate North America spends billions of dollars on product and packaging design. The lesson here is that appearance is critical – and it would be foolish to ignore this when selling your home.

You may not be able to change your home’s location or its floor plan, but you can do a lot to improve its appearance. And you should. The look and “feel” of your home generates a greater emotional response than any other factor. You may price your home to sell, but a prospective buyer reacts to what they see, hear, feel and smell.

Lake Keowee area Summer News!

Botanical Garden to celebrate summer solstice

Botanical Garden to celebrate summer solstice

Rebecca Smith is set to perform Tuesday at the Summer Solstice Family Supper Picnic at the S.C. Botanical Garden. Below, Smith leads the Melody Garden program, which are interactive children’s activities held at the garden. Summer!

Find ‘air-conditioned’ water to catch summertime fish

Find air conditioned water to catch summertime fish

Anglers who understand how fish relate to the rapidly changing temperature zone known as the thermocline will have a much better chance at catching fish during the summer.

New signs across county to help visitors, residents

New signs across county to help visitors residents

Destination Oconee Manager Janet Hartman gives Oconee County Council’s planning and economic development committee members an update from the Oconee Economic Alliance.

Minor earthquake recorded at Jocassee

Minor earthquake recorded at Jocassee

An earthquake Monday at Lake Jocassee in northern Pickens County was the strongest of several earthquakes that have been recorded around the area over the past year.

City of Seneca planning director Ed Halbig, left, and utilities director Bob Faires are seen on a bridge over the Toxaway River along the Foothi8lls Trail last fall. The duo recently completed the Foothills Trail – a nearly 77-mile trek that stretches from Table Rock State Park in Pickens County to Oconee State park.

Upstate dominates lake house market

Lake Keowee Real Estate Expert Video Update May 2018