Back in 2009, a fellow from California named Dennis called me and asked me to help him sell a house, a “retail flip” in the Parkview community. Parkview is just across Memorial Drive from my neighborhood, Kirkwood.

We told everyone who had an interest in the eventual $217,000 sale of a gorgeous 4/2/1 in August 2009 that a nifty new shopping center is coming soon to Parkview. Now, it’s real – Parkview Station is coming in the Fall of 2010.

I’ve been hearing about the redevelopment of Parkview Plaza, a rather dilapidated and lowly looking 1960’s built shopping center, ever since I moved Intown in 1998. The rhetoric started to pick up in 2007, and lo and behold the roof is getting a skin over, the front facade is getting a facelift and the whole place will be filled with tenants by Autumn 2010…we hope.

Here’s  a video with a quick look at the project, shot on Monday February 8th.

So, if you’ve read my blog posts before, you know that I take occasional subjective leaps. Here’s another one:

Parkview is also the name of a storied drug and alcohol treatment center that once existed in Nashville, Tennessee.

Country music legend and pioneering television star, Porter Wagoner sang a song that Johnny Cash wrote for him, “Committed to Parkview” on his final LP and here is a video that he cut with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives that offers a haunting interpretation of the lyrics that Mr. Cash wrote – the legend is that both Johnny and Porter were once patients at Parkview and ultimately, they both kicked some demons there…

The players on this shopping center redevelopment are all veterans of nearby redevelopment projects, so with a neighborly heart I want to see them succeed with a bustling shopping center filled with nice stores, bars, restaurants and healthy local businesses.

I took my old friends at The Fresh Market and their broker on an Intown tour back in 2007, and they concluded that the opportunities on Memorial would not work for them. I think that The Fresh Market would be a perfect fit in  our Kroger / Publix / Wayfield / Aldi / Piggly Wiggly world of eastern Dekalb County, but really, I’m selfish and what do I really know about shopping center demography?

I know that the redevelopment team are committed to Parkview Station, but lets hope that they don’t get “committed” to “Parkview” in the risky process of making money in commercial redevelopment nowadays…

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a series of videos that I Flipped on Saturday, January 16, 2010. My client wanted to see 2 properties, and I added lots of color commentary on the way, and at the properties.

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!

Lake Michele is this pretty little lake off of Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain – the neighborhood has a few, classic brick ranches that are within walking distance of a tranquil fishing lake.

It’s pretty – and my friend Kris listed an REO there for just $37,620.00. He received 3 offers in the first 24 hours after listing and one of them was from my client.

My client didn’t get it.

But somebody did, probably for under $50,000.00.

A well built 3 bedroom, 2 bath on an ACRE of land.

If you are looking for a ranch – a traditional or a mid-century modern – and if you are looking for properties with some land mass to them, and if you do not care about public school performance, and if you like the Eastside of metro Atlanta, and if you want a fixer-upper, and if you like lakes, and Stone Mountain, by God…you should be looking in and around the 30088.

I’m not talking about an investor flip – I’m talking about smart primary residence buyers buying these type of properties, fixing them up and living in them.

Seriously.

Read this IRS publication #523 – it is all about “Primary Residence” taxation and it has an explanation on “excluding the gain.”

Fix ‘em up, and move out in a few years – either rent the property and get a nice positive cash flow, or sell them for a profit!

If you do this over the next 5 – 10 years, then you will probably be able to locate properties just like these, for under $100,000, all over this submarket.

The capital gain “upside” is remarkable.

The fact that the gain is not “income taxed” if the gain is less than $250,000 and if you live in the property for at least 24 months … well,  that fact is just the biggest bonus plan in the United States today.

Prices are increasing on average in this submarket. Get ‘em while their still under $50,000…

First take about 7 minutes and you’ll see a tour that takes you from Kirkwood’s Bessie Branham Park over to the prettiest house in Kirkwood.

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!”

“This graph compares the NAHB HMI (left scale) with single family housing starts (right scale). This includes the December release for the HMI and the November data for single family starts.

This shows that the HMI and single family starts mostly move in the same direction – although there is plenty of noise month-to-month.

I know I’m a broken record, but residential investment is one of the best leading indicators for the economy, and the best indicators for RI are the NAHB HMI, housing starts, and new home sales.

And these indicators are moving sideways (at best).”

More from the savvy economic bloggers at Calculated Risk – here.

This leading economic indicator, over in Dekalb County just off of Brockett Road, shows that the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association is trying to get out of their headquarters building…

Moving sideways, and in the case of our local home builders’ association, slightly downward … thanks to Greg Ruis for seizing the excellent photo opportunity.