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Intown Atlanta’s #1 crime

April 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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I moved to Euclid Avenue in Inman Park in 1998 and I have lived in Kirkwood and now Decatur. Ever since I moved Intown, the #1 property crime has always been the “auto break in.” For the first time ever, this particular crime affects me. It sounds like there is a coordinated wave happening too, according to an APD article about a recent arrest. I am the victim of a car break in in the parking lot at 27 Waddell, last night around 9pm. It’s the lot at my daughter’s pre-school. It’s the lot that Yoga Samadhi and Sauced use. I'm really angry about this, and I want this to be the last break in our lot. It sucks to have this happen. It sucks that is it probably going to happen in 30307 about once every 60 minutes almost every night of the week...it really sucks that it happened in our lot, twice in two days. This is my first "car break in." I'm 46. I know that this is the most frequent and quite frankly the easiest crime to commit in Zone 6. I know that enough to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ATL Culture and Events, Eastside, Fun Facts, General Information, Inman Park

What exactly is “culture” in a real estate office?

January 24, 2012 By 2 Comments

Concentricity. Ever heard that word? It means “to have a common center.” I just learned that in the world of fiber optics, the definition of concentricity is about being “well-centered.” At any given real estate brokerage office with more than a few agents on staff, even the most free-wheeling and independent agents are part of the culture – the good, the bad, and the ugly. At my “market center” in Decatur, Georgia – we live up to the title of market center. We sit in the center of our core submarkets and we dominate the numbers in FMLS Area 52 – the “Greater Decatur” submarket. We also have significant market share in the nearby areas both inside and outside the perimeter. How do we do it? Well, pretty much just like other successful, mature Keller Williams market centers do it. 1. provide the The Best Technology tools to our agents As technology continues to transform the ways in which buyers search for homes and real estate professionals … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ATL Culture and Events, Cabbagetown, Candler Park, Druid Hills and Emory Area, East Atlanta Village, East Lake, Eastside, Edgewood, General Information, Greater Decatur, Inman Park, Kirkwood, Lake Claire, Midtown, Oak Grove, Oakhurst, Old Fourth Ward, Poncey Highland, Reynoldstown, Virginia Highland

A is for Atlanta, D is for Decatur and KW is #1

December 31, 2011 By 2 Comments

2011 ends with one or two real estate brokerage surprises that I did not see coming 365 days ago. Kind of a turbulent year for some in the real estate brokerage business. And 2012 is going to bring a big surprise to some real estate players, but to real estate business folks like me, we won’t be surprised. My company President, Mark Willis, claims that Keller Williams Realty is poised to be the #1 real estate company in the world next year. On 12/31/2010, I did not even speculate that one of the world’s largest Re/max franchisees, Re/max Greater Atlanta, would evaporate and scatter its agents far and wide by Spring 2011. A sad, broken business model. Ran out of money. I also did not consider that one of Atlanta’s most formidable boutique brokerages, Sanctuary, was struggling too. I got my real estate salesperson’s license in Georgia in 1999. Back in 1999, when I became a Charter member of Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, I became a “blueprint buyer,” for Keller … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ATL Culture and Events, Eastside, Fun Facts, General Information, Greater Decatur, Inman Park, Market Analysis, Really Great Real Estate Marketing

One year later, in downtown Decatur

October 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Hearth, with Basho early January 2011

I bought my downtown Decatur townhouse one year ago today. My purchasing power was amazing - VA Loan, 100% financing and a 4% APR. Who was thinking that we would be seeing rates lower than that one year later? Not the Mortgage Bankers Association...but I digress. I completed the renovations months ago, but it is still a work in progress - Decatur is a fantastic place to live (and walk to work), my real estate agency business at Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta is terrific, and life is extremely good - in a world of complaint, misery, woe and confusion,  I know what I know and I know that I am blessed... My daughter is asleep upstairs, as I write at 700 this morning. She likes the fact that my townhouse is next to the dog park, and within walking distance of the Snoball Cafe'. I am going to use my townhouse as an example for the rest of this post - an example of advice that I offer to my clients everyday. I like to distinguish the fact that real estate purchases - … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eastside, Greater Decatur, Inman Park, Market Analysis

The secrets to finding a buyer in the Intown Atlanta real estate market

July 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Many different features attract buyers to a real estate purchase, but the seller only has control over two of them. Sellers can still get the highest possible list-to-sell ratio and sell their homes as quickly as possible if they are willing to put their trust in two time trusted principles of real estate: condition and price. Since 72% of all sales transactions are “equity” transactions – not distressed, not some odd luxury transaction and not an estate sale, the chances are favorable for sellers who “get it.” Here are the the top ten features that attract buyers according to the Keller Williams Realty International survey conducted for our 2011 Market Navigator booklet. 1. Location – favored by 69% of buyers 2. Neighborhood – favored by 55% of buyers 2. Floor plan – favored by 37% of buyers 3. Updates to the house – favored by 36% of buyers 4. Curb appeal – favored by 30% of buyers 5. Square footage – favored by 28% of buyers 6. Back yard – favored … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Adair Park, Capitol View, Sylvan Hills, Bankhead, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Cabbagetown, Candler Park, Castleberry Hill, Chamblee, Collier Heights, Downtown Atlanta, Druid Hills and Emory Area, East Atlanta Village, East Lake, East Point, Eastside, Edgewood, Fort McPherson Area, Fun Facts, Grant Park, Greater Decatur, Home Park, Inman Park, Kirkwood, Lake Claire, Lakewood, Loring Heights, Market Analysis, Mechanicsville, Midtown, Northside, Oak Grove, Oakhurst, Oakland City, Old Fourth Ward, Ormewood Park, Peoplestown, Poncey Highland, Really Great Real Estate Marketing, Reynoldstown, Riverside and Bolton Area, Sandy Springs ITP, Sandy Springs OTP, South Dekalb, Southside, Southwest Atlanta, Summerhill, Underwood Hills, Vine City, Vinings, Virginia Highland, West End, Westside

The distinction and value of a lakefront lot

June 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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This is another story where the value of knowing Hank Miller comes in handy. I represent some folks who wanted to buy a house on a lakefront. More like a pond front, but we’ll call it a lakefront. Not Lake Altoona or Lanier – a small suburban lake. Well, the buyers didn’t think that the seller and the listing agent were realistic with their pricing. The property had about 100’ of lakefront. So, I talked to this listing agent and she encouraged me to consider the value of lake frontage - she lives on lake frontage - she's sold many lake fronts  - she told me that they always have to be “comped” against other lake lots and she told me that appraisers routinely will go outside of distinct zip code and school district level geographic parameters in order to make an accurate comparable for a lakefront property. She encouraged me to look at lake lots all over and to go back further than 6 months of sales - she states that appraisers will routinely adjust for the sales … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buckhead, Eastside, Inman Park, Market Analysis, Northside, Southside, Westside
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