After an extended hiatus from tending to this blog, we are happy to return to the friendly confines of Cyberspace to share with you our journey through the many real estate adventures in the Smoky Mountains. While we were away, our attention has been preoccupied with a very good cause. When someone new comes into your life, they become a pleasant distraction from normal routines. For us, that wonderful distraction is Blue, the Wonder Dog, our mascot, greeter in training.
To bring you up to speed, over the past year, our firm has expanded into rehabbing diamonds in the rough around the area, in order to supply quality inventory back into our very short supplied local housing market. The housing shortages in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville have created a serious need for affordable housing in the Smoky Mountains. The wildfires in Gatlinburg in 2016 damaged or destroyed over 2,500 structures across the entire Smoky Mountain region. This tragedy impacted the vacation lodging, long term rental market, and the residential real estate. Forcing folks looking for Gatlinburg real estate availability for vacation investment to seek alternative areas. The Sevierville real estate market has become compressed as people found themselves seeking a permanent residence to replace the home they lost in the fire. A similar compression effected the Pigeon Forge real estate situation. Compounding the problem is a serious shortage of rental homes to house the many dutiful service employees that comprise the hotel, restaurant, and entertainment/attraction industries. This has forced honest, hard working people to seek shelter for themselves and their family in surrounding areas, adding an additional economic impact on families already in a tight budget condition. Recognizing the problem, we made a commitment to finding existing homes within the Smoky Mountain real estate area to rehabilitate, re purpose, and restore for the community. On one such project we stumbled upon a stray puppy, desperately clinging to life, curled up under a dumpster at the job-site.
Our hearts were broken by the pitiful suffering this helpless creature of God’s making had endured. Blue instantly became our treasured labor of love. We immediately employed all the resources we could muster toward getting Blue healthy, and happy. After multiple trips to the Vet, someone who is most likely not on Blue’s Christmas card list, he is well on his way to achieving that goal. The impact of his humble beginnings are both emotional and dietary. While Blue will argue with you that sharing your juicy quarter pounder with cheese is absolutely no problem, he is on a very strict vegetarian diet, as his digestive system will not tolerate anything more. Our intention when we brought him on board was to commission him into service as a mascot/greeter dog, which is very much a work in progress. While his natural protective instincts compel him to “Stranger Danger” tendencies, he is gradually improving his demeanor with newcomers. Obviously he loves our receptionist Kay!
The good news is Blue’s life is in a much happier place now, and a very valuable asset to our real estate firm. So now, after reviving this blog, he will be a contributing correspondent from the field on occasion. I certainly hope that while we were away all of you have had a prosperous and blessed year. We here at All Pro Realtors look forward to bringing you the good news going on with our firm, and it’s canine Editor-In-Chief…