Brevard North Carolina Real Estate Blog

If you're looking for ways to save money.... get your groove on with Groupon!

These days, I'm all about finding ways to save money any way I can. So I was intrigued when I started hearing about Groupon.  I'm still learning my way around the site and the concept, but Groupon is a free email subscription that sends you great deals on restaurants and services in your area. In the last few weeks I've received notices about discounts to a variety of area restaurants including one today that was a "groupon" of $15 for $35 worth of Tapas at Zambras, a restaurant in Asheville, NC. The other day I received one for a service that delivers organic foods to your home. In that case, I would pay $35 for $75 worth of organic food. Not a bad deal! There is a full description of the product or service and a limited about of time for you to claim your "Groupon". You can even buy a "groupon" for a friend as a gift. Refer a friend and you get free Groupon Bucks!

According to their website, the concept is really simple:  "Groupon negotiates huge discounts—usually 50-90% off—with popular businesses. We send the deals to thousands of subscribers in our free daily email, and we send the businesses a ton of new customers. That's the Groupon magic." You can personalize the type of deals you want to get and you can be notified a variety of ways including on your mobile phone.

Check it out today! See where you could be saving $$ in your area.

Sometimes, nothing will satisfy like a big juicy hamburger hot off the grill, spilling over with all your favorite toppings. That is certainly the case with my new favorite hamburger place -  Five Guys Burger and Fries.

These days, when you can find a fast food hamburger on every corner, you have to wonder how a place like Five Guys can survive. They survive quite well and with good reason -  The menu is simple and the food is fresh, full of flavor, and every burger is made to order...just for you. Truth is, Five Guys could teach Burger King a thing or two about how to "have it your way". According to the company website, there are 250,000 possible ways to order your burger. There are the basics like lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, and mustard. From there you can add cooked onions, sauteed mushrooms, jalapenos, bbq sauce, A-1 sauce, green peppers, pickles, relish, or all of the above. Have one topping..or have it all, price is the same. Their burgers are made fresh, never frozen, and heck...even their hamburger buns are made fresh at selected bakeries. I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to burgers so I ordered the Little Burger (which isn't so little and weighs in a 1/4 lb) with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and relish. Robert went out on a limb with the Big Burger added BBQ sauce to his. The toppings were plentiful and the burgers hot and juicy and required lots of extra napkins.

When you order, do not...I repeat... do not skip the fries. Especially the cajun fries. A regular order is plenty enough to share. And like the burgers, these fries are made fresh. According to their website, the company went thoroughly nearly 69,000,000 pounds of potatoes in 2009. When we stopped in at the Asheville, NC location this weekend, there was even a sign on the wall that let us know where the potatoes came from that particular day.

While you wait, there is a help yourself pile of roasted in the shell peanuts to munch on.

Five Guys started in Arlington, VA and is now in 625 locations in 40 states and 4 Canadian provinces. But trust me when I tell you that this is not your run of the mill fast food burger and I'm real glad they are in nearby Asheville, NC.

The next time you're looking for places to eat in the Brevard, Hendersonville, or Asheville area of western North Carolina stop in at Five Guys Burger and Fries over on 1838 Hendersonville Rd in Asheville. They're in the Gerber Village shopping center.

Tell 'em the Clay Team sent you! We give Five Guys our Four Spoon Salute!

If you're in the Asheville area today on St. Patrick's Day, "living green" isn't about saving the environment...at least not today. Today it's all about getting your Irish on and there's no better place than Jack of the Wood, which was once again voted WNC's People's Favorite Pub.  Starting at noon there will be live Celtic music throughout the day, with a live performance by The Red Wellies starting at 7 pm.  

Whatever you do, don't miss out on the Green Man Brewing and Tasting Room where you can sample some of the most popular and unique microbrews in the region.

In the meantime....

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

This is a wonderful, historic 1930 Arts and Crafts bungalow in Asheville, NC. It's been loved and well cared for over the years but it is about to become another victim of our down economy. If you appreciate the warmth and character of an older home, this is your opportunity to buy at a greatly reduced price!

The home sits on a 1 acre lot and is also zoned CB1 so it can be used for residential or commercial use. With over 2,000 sf, it's perfect for a family or a myriad of business uses.  Inside you'll find original hardwood floors throughout, an updated and cozy country kitchen, updated baths throughout, and many other updates. There is an additional outbuilding that could be used as an art studio, storage, or fitness room. 

Originally listed at $415,000, it is now available for $299,900!

For more information, call Robert Clay at 828-551-6291 or Carol Clay at 828-551-6290. Hurry!! Foreclosure date is August 5, 2009.

Clay Team - BrevardNCProperty.com