Free parking for my guests. My office is located at 315 W. Ponce De Leon Avenue Suite 100 Decatur, GA 30030. That's in downtown Decatur, at the corner of Ponce De Leon Place, in a tall, white office tower called "Decatur Court." We have free parking for my guests - the spaces marked "Keller Williams Guest" are parallel spaces, along the eastern side of the building - those spaces are accessed by pulling into the driveway that leads to the Wells Fargo teller lines on the Eastern side of the building. If you have trouble finding those spaces, just park and come in - we are located on the first floor. … [Read more...]
The cavalry ain’t coming to your expired Atlanta listing
February 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
But a US Army logistics officer named Lee Taylor is. I met Chris Gardner yesterday – the guy that wrote the book, “The Pursuit of Happyness.” He’s a remarkable man. He says some things in his recently published book “Start Where You Are” that should resonate with Atlanta sellers who really, truly want to sell their houses in 2012, even if their attempts at being ON the market haven’t worked so far. Chris teaches a lesson that should resonate with you if you are among the more than 50% of all listed sellers in the past few years, that failed to sell. Chris learned this lesson from his Mother one night while they were watching an old Western TV show – “The cavalry ain’t coming!” Here’s a further look into what that means, from page 33 of his recent book: “yes, I can speak to factors outside of my control and blame them for the predicament or make excuses about why things didn’t work out like they should have…maybe it’s all true, but that doesn’t … [Read more...]
9.5 ways to protect yourself when buying a home in Georgia
February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
1. read and keep a copy of any signed contract 2. inspect your property, and better yet hire a professional home inspector 3. inspect the neighborhood 4. inspect for wood destroying organisms 5. investigate, test and verify everything about the property and it's improvements 6. get a survey and verify zoning if you have development plans 7. buy an owner's title insurance policy 8. consider obtaining a home warranty 9. establish a fiduciary relationship with a Realtor 9.5 never buy a house in a hole Got that? … [Read more...]
The Harbour Bar and Fish House in Decatur has a 15% Realtor discount!
February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
That’s right – the owner is married to a Realtor, and they are showing love with a 15% discount if you are a licensed agent, when you present your business card. I’ve been twice and it’s definitely worth a visit. It’s becoming a busy restaurant and I expect to see it become a real sunny weather destination restaurant for happy hours and gatherings. From their site: “The Harbour Bar & Fish House is a casual seafood restaurant designed to give our customers a local place where they can come together to enjoy themselves with family, friends, and co-workers. Harbour Bar & Fish House feels like a Coastal Restaurant that you may have experienced while on vacation in Hilton Head, Charleston, Cape Cod or Newport RI. We want you to feel as if you are on a vacation in your own backyard. The interior decor is comfortable and relaxing, accented with natural woods and nautical tones of gray and blue. The exterior has outdoor deck/patio seating, two bocce courts and an … [Read more...]
Hot’Lanta is rekindling
January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Curbed.com’s regional real estate reporting is superb. Their site is interesting and they are really on point with the style of their site. Recently, they reported on a grim forecast that surfaced for Atlanta’s metro economy, bringing up the bad and the ugly that “planners” statewide need to consider. The article cites ““Atlanta's persistent unemployment, traffic congestion, a 29% loss in average per-square-foot housing prices between 2000-2010, and the fact that the city is increasingly offering a lifestyle opposite of that desired by the most desirable workers and companies. The opportunities he sees are also legion, though, and many of them simply involve re-embracing our transit roots: i.e. investments in commuter rail, continuing to capitalize on the power of our airport, making The BeltLine everything it can be and getting T-SPLOST passed.” The AJC reported on the same Brookings Institution report that brought up these findings, stating the following about … [Read more...]
HENSE the name, hence the acclaim
January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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...]