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 … [Read more...]
What exactly is “culture” in a real estate office?
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...]
The secrets to finding a buyer in the Intown Atlanta real estate market
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...]
Committed to Parkview, 30317
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 … [Read more...]
Miss Ann’s Ghetto Burger Makes Her the $1.5 Million Woman
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 more...]
The Prettiest House in Kirkwood 30317
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 … [Read more...]