Everyday, I read certain blogs and so do you, right?

I would not know that we have a National Blog Day unless I read Chris Brogan’s daily posts - Chris is a “Social Media Business Strategist.” I think I read about Chris at Guy Kawasaki’s blog, and ever since I’ve found his insights on today’s marketing to be on point and ahead of the curve. If Guy is reading Chris everyday then that is example enough for me.

Chris celebrated National Blog Day 4 (yes, it’s newish..) by encouraging his readers to do what Nir Ofir encouraged him to do - “to reach out and identify five blogs that you might not yet be reading. It’s his way of showing how wide a world it is and how interesting things can be out there in the blogosphere.”

Nir Ofir? This dude founded Blog TV and is developing I Am News. If he’s not a web heavy then I don’t know who is.

Getting back to Chris’ challenge - and you can read his 5 blog recommendations here - I wrote a short list of 10 websites that can all be found on my “Official Georgia Pecan Blogroll.”

I narrowed the list of 10, down to these 5:

1. Seth Godin - I call Seth the Headmaster, because I am always finding his writing and speaking to be the most insightful, most authentic and most relevant idea generator for me and my business. I’ve read almost all of Seth’s books and if you want to start somewhere, go buy “The Dip.” I saw him at the Keller Williams Realty Family Reunion in February here in Atlanta and I can’t say enough about how cool this guy is.

2. Zen Habits - “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit” said Aristotle. Good habits are so hard to develop, especially in our complex world of interruptions and noise. “Leo Babauta, is the author of Zen Habits. “Zen Habits is one of the top blogs on the Internet, and covers: achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits.” He just might be the coolest guy on the planet (now that John Lee Hooker and James Brown have passed away) and he lives on Guam with his lovely wife and 6 children. Digest Zen Habits - he is on to something.

3. Get Rich Slowly - J.D. Roth has identified a 12 point set of rules for sound financial living and he is recognized worldwide for his authentic, tried and true, very human approach to helping others “get rich slowly.” He describes his blog: “I’m just an average guy who found himself deep in debt. When it finally became too overwhelming, I began reading personal finance books, hoping to find answers. I wanted swift solutions to my problems. My research revealed that few people get rich quickly, but almost anyone can get rich slowly by patiently following some simple rules.” I read his advice everyday, I just don’t apply it as forthrightly as I should!

4. Go Green Intown - The folks at Atlanta Intown magazine have a superb blog series, and this one contains regular news, advice and tips that are are near and dear to many of my clients and neighbors. How to live eco-friendly in Intown Atlanta - cool concept!

5. Chris Martenson - Take Chris’ CRASH COURSE and learn everything that you need to know about the economy in 2 hours. One of the coolest thinkers, with a remarkable sense of humor that I know is Rusty Umphenour. I can not resist utilizing his current Facebook profile photo, just to keep this post as lively as possible.

Rusty told me about the Crash Course and if you take it, you will open your eyes widely to what is going on in our world. Consider that Chris conceptualizes “the end of money” as just one small part of his ethos and consider how completely convoluted the US economy has become, and you will not want to miss a chance to take the free CRASH COURSE.

So, there are my 5 - I hope that some of you get something out of this little discourse. We’ll reconvene on this subject next year!

I love modern architecture. I love luxury. I am thrilled that Buckhead is transforming into a more remarkable, more densely populated luxury address. This is good for Atlanta. People have been talking about Sovereign for 2 or 3 years now.

I’ve been talking about how the absolutely delicious Ivanka Trump is a bellwether for Atlanta, ever since I started the Intown Insider…

Ivanka...again

Sovereign is a bellwether too. A major bellwether. I would appreciate the opportunity to help you purchase one of the 82 residences located at Sovereign - we can go look at the $1 Million units, but I’m encouraging you to be your own bellwether and be the $11 Million purchaser of the mega-luxurious penthouse…

Sovereign is a super cool looking building - I saw it getting poured and framed in early 2007 when my client Michael Matassa purchased a condo at Realm that faced in the direction of Sovereign - looking northward to Lenox.

Sovereign’s tagline is “At the intersection of art, architecture and life.” That’s where Piedmont and Peachtree truly is nowadays - as soon as the Buckhead brainstormers get a conclusive idea of how to make a higher and better use of the property that houses the Container Store and Orvis, that “intersection” is bound to get even more artful, more architecturally significant and more lively.

All in due time.

For now, if you seek a distinctive address, then it doesn’t get any better than this in Atlanta  - take that Ivanka! Here’s the latest press release: Read the rest of this entry »

John Mauldin gets cited here at Intown Insider quite often.

I read his Thoughts From The Frontline weekly newsletter. If you are reading this then click on the link and sign up for his insightful advice.

His recent letter from last week includes some cogent, immediate and disturbing analysis - it begins with the following:

“We also (sadly) re-visit Freddie and Fannie and examine the risks that they put into the markets. Risks, by the way, that were sanctioned by regulators and encouraged by a Congress that took in hundreds of millions in campaign contributions and lobbying fees. We (the US taxpayer) have taken on a huge risk and potential loss for that paltry few hundred million. Sadly, those who encouraged that risk will by and large be voted back into office rather than ridden out of town on a rail (an old US custom, rather barbaric, but one which should maybe be revived for this purpose).”

I am very concerned about this intricate problem. As John says, it’s all about the “spreads.” Margins and profitability at banks have been smacked down hard. John writes:

“Warren Buffett has stated that Freddie and Fannie are toast, as have many establishment analysts. Buffett told CNBC that the firms had no net worth and would need tens of billions of capital to shore up their balance sheets. Since their combined capitalization is less than $6 billion, it is unlikely that there is any way they could get even a sovereign wealth fund to come to their aid in the form of stock.

Congressional oversight committees estimate losses for Fannie and Freddie to be $25 billion, given current housing values. As home values drop, those estimates keep going up. Also, as the economy gets worse, those losses will increase. Independent estimates are double that or more. If only that were the extent of the problem…”

Damn. There’s about 8 pages of this at Thoughts From The Frontline, so check it out.

If you want to know more about what is going on, then John is your weekly sage.

Thanks John for doing what you do.

OK, I shall setlle the argument right here and right now. I’m attracted to the legendary ladies of Fanny, but Freddy’s legacy is beyond compare.

I’m not talkin’ mortgage crisis stuff here, I’m talkin’ rock and roll.

Fanny are the Godmothers of Chick Rock. That’s right - read about ‘em here…

The Godmothers of Chick Rock

OK - you know Freddy. Freddy Mercury. His band Queen were the top performing live act worldwide in the 1970’s. They kept it going in the ’80’s too, until that Flash Gordon soundtrack came along. Personally, that’s when I quit listening, then I returned to their classics…I still love this band - I saw the redux version with Paul Rodgers 3 years ago and they certainly rocked.

In the current mortgage controversy, neither Freddie nor Fannie is a winner. However, today - you win because you are watching obscure rock videos on a real estate website … A welcome break.

Sellers in Intown Atlanta and Decatur paid some, or all, of their Buyer’s closing costs in 71% of the transactions through June, 2008, which is nearly the same as in the last two years…

Seller Paid Closing Costs

1. Ansley Park and Morningside southward to Inman Park and Reynoldstown - that includes Midtown and VAHI

2. Eastside Atlanta Dekalb - the neighborhoods East of Moreland and Briarcliff, plus Johnson Estates and southward to Edgewood and Kirkwood - all North of I20

3. Southside Atlanta Fulton - Grant Park, Summerhill, Boulevard Heights, Ormewood Park, EAV

4. Greater Decatur - South of Mercer U, down to I20 at South Dekalb Mall

Based on my experience, these numbers seem even higher  - like 90% of the time or more. That being said, I’ve also experienced two transactions this Summer where appraisal almost caused the deal to fall apart and the Buyers ended up paying their own closing costs, among other concessions, in order to make the deal work.

It’s business as “unusual!”

Here’s another eye opener…we’ve seen this trend for a long, long time - at least since The Rootdown Group got started in April 2004…but…in Intown Atlanta, which we define thusly:

1. Ansley Park and Morningside southward to Inman Park and Reynoldstown - that includes Midtown and VAHI

2. Eastside Atlanta Dekalb - the neighborhoods East of Moreland and Briarcliff, plus Johnson Estates and southward to Edgewood and Kirkwood - all North of I20

3. Southside Atlanta Fulton - Grant Park, Summerhill, Boulevard Heights, Ormewood Park, EAV

4. Greater Decatur - South of Mercer U, down to I20 at South Dekalb Mall

…We see, that for the first half of 2008:

1. The median of the sales price as a percentage of the original list price dropped to its lowest level in three years during 1Q 2008 and, although higher than in 1Q, remained historically low through 2Q 2008

2. The 2Q 2008 percentage is nearly the same as in the greater metro Atlanta area

So, at 92.6% of original list price most listing agents and sellers are missing significant sales by overpricing - overpricing by over 7% on average.

Median Sales Price as a %age of Original List Price

Does your Realtor get this?