I was at an Atlanta Falcons tailgate party about three years ago, down in “The Gulch.” “The Gulch” is going to be the subject of another blog post soon, but in the meantime – if you don’t know about “The Gulch” and want to know exactly what it is – click here.

I looked up, and saw that on the very top of an old, decrepit building that sits at the edge of the US federal government buildings was a massive graffiti name tag  – actually two tags – quite an accomplishment, and because of the limited and probably dangerous access, quite an effort just to get the names up there.

Those nicknames, HENSE and BORN have been tags that I have seen for years around town. I have immense respect for the staying power of GREAT graffiti artists.

I have immense disrespect for those who vandalize, and I tried to run off untalented taggers when I was living in Inman Park – so to me, the HENSE and BORN tags on top of the dilapidated building are artistic, cool and worthy of respect – they are an improvement to the building.

So, when the Rocky Ford Road and Arizona Avenue underpasses were recently improved with beautiful new artwork that covers the depth and breadth of the walls, I was quite happy – these displays are not likely to be painted over with stupid, unskilled tags, cursewords and generally weak, eyesore sprays from amateurs.

I found this photo of the lovely artwork at the Arizona Avenue MARTA bridge on HENSE’s website – great artists can turn an eyesore into a street level, free gallery. I write this post to say thanks to HENSE for doing cool work and to anyone else involved in enabling these improvements. Read more about HENSE and this particular piece, here.

He calls it Float – “The public works are roughly 18×100 feet and painted with exterior latex enamel and aerosol on concrete. The pieces were funded with a grant awarded by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. These murals are now an asset of the City of Atlanta and will be included in the permanent collection of public art.”

Lets see more of this! The Beltline is leading the way…stay tuned, and maybe, just maybe, the punkass, untalented taggers will remain on the sidelines and away from our beautiful Intown neighborhoods…

It’s a pleasure to know Hank and to rely on him as my northern counties expert for years. He is also the best appraiser in Georgia, and between Hank and I, we have managed to stay on the top of the Trulia Voices charts since 2007. This is a direct quote from Hank’s June 11 post – this is Hank’s promise of the real…

“I think we can dispense with the notion that any economic recovery is underway, that nonsense pushed on the nation that the recession is over was a total steaming pile of…things are clearly not good. Real estate and manufacturing are typically what lead the recovery, both are DOA in the current environment. Manufacturing isn’t my bailiwick, real estate is.

Several real estate “truths” that any logical person already knows are being reinforced:

Not everyone should own a home.

Homeownership isn’t a right, it’s a privilege.

Buying a home requires financial stability.

Owning a home requires financial stability.

Homes are not guaranteed profit machines nor are they ATMs. In this market, many people will suffer cataclysmic financial losses. Also in this market, a few people will position themselves for significant financial gains.”

Now, it doesn’t get any more real than that…unless…

…you know who Lukas Nelson is. Watch the video below and realize that he is the 22 year old son of Willie Nelson. I saw him live in Greenville, SC last Friday. He and his Daddy are as real as it gets. Lukas Nelson’s band is called Promise of the Real…

On Friday, January 22 I filmed this quick look at the Home of the World Famous Ghetto Burger.

I saw that the property is listed for sale in my multiple listing service, so I decided that it was time for a couple of quick videos – this snack bar is a very successful “sole proprietorship.”

I like to call it a “soul proprietorship” because Miss Ann is the heart, and soul of her little place at 1615 Memorial Drive Kirkwood, ATL, Zone 6, GA 30317.

I’ve eaten here twice and waited for over an hour in a standing room only crowd, and left the premises, unfed, three times…

The burger is everything that “they” say that it is. They starts with the Wall Street Journal, and many other media mouthpieces and food-aholic burger-eaters.

But I’m not writing about burgers, I’m writing about Intown Atlanta real estate.

Here is a paraphrased version of  the listing agent’s public remarks:

“A snack bar – home of the Ghetto Burger. After 37 years, Ann is ready to sell.

Ann will agree to to stay for a period of time with the new owner.

The Ghetto Burger was named the “Best Burger in America” by the Wall Street Journal.”

If you watched the first video, then you saw my 2 minute, exterior review of the premises. As my friend Alex says – “it’s just a snack bar, right?”

Yes, a snack bar is exactly what it is. And, I’ll bet that the property is about 1/2 acre, with a little less than 100’ of Memorial Drive street frontage. Somebody built a sturdy little snack bar here in 1969, the listing agent advertises 20 parking spaces but I only count 5 or 6, and Miss Ann had property taxes last year of just $597.00…

I filmed this next video of the immediate commercial real estate neighbors nearby – certainly, this area is loaded with traffic, and if we get 2 more grocery stores “re-installed” within a mile of each other on Memorial by 2013, which is my prediction, then the traffic will get even heavier.

A grocery store and other decent retailers, are about to load up the Parkview Plaza, about 1/2 mile to the east, this year.

Right now the biggest driver of traffic on east Memorial Drive is Miss Ann.

How much is her $1.5 Million offering worth, without her?

If you are a serious buyer in the 30032 or 30034, and if you either need exclusive or non-exclusive brokerage assistance, then call me.

There are some intriguing opportunities over here for the savvy, single family residence buyer.

The capital gains advantages of moving from house to house every 2 –4 years for the next 10-20 years is about as remarkable a bonus plan as there is in these United States.

Starting at less than $50,000, investor cash capital is bolstering this submarket.

Starting at less than $50,000, savvy primary residence buyers should be all over this. Big brick ranches on 1/2 acre + land parcels are remarkable investments in 2010.

Check out these videos.

This neighborhood is loaded with unique, well-crafted mid-20th century ranches on large lots.

This house would make a sweet bachelor pad and could be finished with a privacy fence and pool for maximum effect.

This house sits of a full basement and it has 3 beds and 2 baths up the split living level – HUGE, and really well built.

Bob Dylan on the radio, driving on Columbia southward to Rainbow. Lots of real estate comments after the second minute.

Driving into Leisure Woods, Southwest of Wesley Chapel.

The perils of deferred maintenance. My client passed on this property – deferred maintenance was not the primary reason.

My client passed on this property not because of the deplorable, stripped interior, he passed on this property for one reason – the spiral staircase.

Spiral staircases are an interior construction stigma in most cases – many folks will disregard a house if the house has a spiral staircase, so resale demand will be impacted.

This video, for 1969 One Hit Wonders “The Spiral Starecase” is a reminder to you that not all spiral staircases are stigmatized. This is certainly one of the greatest songs in pop history.

You got all that?

Call me if you think that I can help you.

Leave a comment if you can testify that you watched every single one of these videos!

Along the way, you’ll see the edges of Hawthorn Park’s 6 acre greenspace and you’ll see all 47 of the houses in Hawthorn Park, an island in the middle of Kirkwood.

You’ll see one of my competitors signs, leaning and lacking erection too – I always get a kick out of that, especially when the sign has only been in the ground for 18 hours.

But I digress…check this out – it even features an MLK Day civil rights music soundtrack with Stevie Wonder singing “Heaven Help Us All.”

Now, here’s the prettiest house in Kirkwood – from my perspective. It is impeccable. It’s priced under the recent average price for a new or newer 3 bedroom 2 and 1/2 bath property in 30317. It’s loaded with extras – check this video out. I start the video in the custom Master Bedroom closet…

If you want to study some photos and contemplate this house a little longer, please click here for the virtual tour.

Just $395,000!

Thanks for watching! Call me if you want to see “The Prettiest House in Kirkwood!”

There is something about Diamond Dave and this band in 1980 that is simply hard to watch, especially when they are lip synching, but I am strangely drawn to it.

Hearing this song today inspires a segue into a conversation about where we are today in America.

The song is about a kid growing up and “being a disappointment to his parents, I would guess it’s nothing more than a symbol of a childhood gone astray. Like in a rocky childhood or a rocky relationship. It just didn’t turn out as good as the parents were hoping.”

Is the “next generation” ready to rock?

They better be.

Because it just didn’t turn out as good as the parents were hoping.

And, hope is not a strategy.

So, if you do not rock, then you had better start fixin’ to rock.

My daughter is ready to rock. She will change the world – she already has.

“And the cradle will rock. And I say rock on…”

Last year, we featured a video mix with James Brown, Lynn Anderson and Eddy Arnold and Heart.

This year, here’s my favorite Father’s Day inspired Video … featuring the incredible Waylon Jennings, and a band of groovy cats, on Hee Haw, circa 1969…

May all of us be this inspired and this remarkable. In spite of incredible odds against us in 2009, I hope that you wake up in the morning inspired to make a difference and to be positive. If you don’t, then watch this video every night before you go to bed for the next few weeks, OK?

THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR.

Much love to all Mothers, and especially to my wife, the lovely Laura!