Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
November 1, 2007 issue
Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc.—Helping Newcomers and Locals Find a Perfect Housing Fit for 26 Years
Story by Sam Calhoun
When the pager goes off at 2:00 a.m. from a customer with a broken water heater or a clogged drain, it’s not a maintenance team that handles the call—it’s either Diane Martin, owner of Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc., or Hope Harvey, senior sales broker.
Usually, they don’t even have to leave the house, as both know each of their vacation and residential rental properties like the backs of their hands.
“We answer all of our pages and we know where every water cutoff is [in all of our rental houses],” said Harvey. “You’ve got to know your properties.”
But the team at Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. that also includes Sales Broker Anna Wilson and Administrative Assistant Jennifer Butler knows more than just where every water cutoff is—they also know the High Country’s residential and vacation rental market, as well as how to please both renters and owners.
Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. handles residential and vacation rentals—85, to be exact—as well as real estate sales, including time shares, in Sugar Mountain, Seven Devils, Banner Elk, Newland, Land Harbor, Jonas Ridge and Linville Falls.
“We are a very healthy real estate sales company and I think we have stayed strong in the sales area because of the leads generated from our vacation and residential rental program,” said Harvey.
Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. turns 26 this year.
Martin’s expertise as the owner of Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. stems from her more than two decades of service and experience in the rental industry.
Martin’s company began in 1981 when she took over the management of three rental properties in the present-day Inverlea neighborhood—formerly the Adam’s Apple neighborhood—on Highway 105 outside of Foscoe, and became licensed to be a real estate broker. She worked from her home in the neighborhood and began to learn the ropes of balancing homeowners’ concerns and the concerns of renters.
Martin came to Boone eight years prior, attending ASU and majoring in anthropology.
In 1991, Martin left Adam’s Apple and started out on her own, still working from home.
By 1993, she had accumulated enough referrals from happy customers that her rental base was growing and she moved into her current location at 4840 Highway 105, Suite 3, in Banner Elk.
“I really almost fell into the business,” said Martin, whose rental clientele grew with the added storefront exposure at her new location.
In 1995, Hope Harvey, the current Avery-Watauga County Association of Realtors REALTOR of the Year and senior sales broker for Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc., jumped on board with Martin, and the rental base as well as the real estate side of the business continued to grow.
In May 2004, Martin doubled the size of her office and hired an administrative assistant. In September 2007, she added a new broker to the all-female team.
Martin has come a long way since 1981, and her success is due to how she handles the stresses of her daily business life.
“You have to know how to make the homeowners happy while still meeting the tenants’ needs,” said Martin. “You have to know how to strike a balance.”
An example is maintenance. Martin does not have the authority to conduct maintenance on their rental properties, so she must continually decide who is responsible for the repair, the homeowner or the tenant and mitigate the outcome.
“Where we might see something that needs to be done, we have no authority to do it,” said Martin.
Martin picks her properties well and constantly streamlines her property inventory to only include well-maintained units.
“I keep a high standard for vacation rentals. I wouldn’t manage anything that I wouldn’t want to rent myself,” said Martin.
Martin also looks out for her customers far beyond the home she offers them.
Martin and Harvey encourage all newcomers to the High County to rent for one year before making a house purchase.
Martin and Harvey think that renting first helps customers become acquainted with the area, pick a school district and “to basically know the difference between Meat Camp and Matney,” said Harvey. “We want people to be educated buyers, because educated buyers are happy buyers. We want them to learn the area.”
Martin primarily sells and rents homes to people who come to the High Country to work and live—seasonal workers at the ski slopes, new residents, working people of all ages and a few students. She also helps many people who are between homes and need short-term rentals. Most of her properties are unfurnished.
Martin also works with other area brokers and works to maintain good relationships. When an area broker sells a home and refers the homeowner to Martin for rental services, Martin makes sure to refer the homeowner back to the original broker when s/he is ready to sell.
When asked if the plunging real estate market woes are affecting the business of Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc., Harvey said that the number of people renting versus buying has not increased in the last year.
“There’s a steady population that can only rent because of the [high] prices in the area,” said Harvey.
And those people have a friend in Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc.
Not only do Martin and Harvey work hard during the day—they hardly get any vacation at all, admittedly—but they are both also active in community service.
While not working for themselves or the community, Harvey is a local singer in the longstanding band The Whip Daddies—she plays this Friday night for a Halloween party at Nick’s Restaurant and Pub in Tynecastle—and Martin is an experienced chef, often cooking up delectable lunch treats for the staff or inviting friends over for a weekend feast.
As for the future, Martin is excited about watching her business grow, especially since she just hired a new broker. But she has no plans to leave the High Country.
“This is home,” said Martin.
Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. is located at 4840 Highway 105, Suite 3, in Banner Elk. The office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday and by appointment on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 828-963-6325, 1-800-819-7647 or click to www.ncmountainretreats.com.