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!

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…”

Keller Williams Realty continues to rank number 2 in total sales of Condos, Townhomes and Single Family Detached Residences across Intown Atlanta.

Have you noticed how solid KW has become in just 10 years?

If you think it’s because of the special Kool-Aid that we drink, then you should try some.

Thanks to professionals like The Red Robin Group, Matura Homes, the C Group, Chuck and Marshall, Rick Hale, Rob Damman, and lots of other cool agency teams who work for KW’s Intown market centers, KW has done a remarkable thing with it’s Intown presence in just 10 years.

Look at Solid Source as an up and coming #5, up against Dorsey Alston, the remarkable Sanctuary, the stalwart Nine Mile Trolley, the always good Realsource, 14 West, Sotheby’s, Jenny Pruitt is still in business too … you name the boutique agency and you’ll find quite a few solid agents. There are too many good real estate agents Intown to mention them all.

CB and HN have fallen consistently for years, but they have some dominant agents in some submarkets, like Vijay Patel and Patty Junger and Travis Reed.

Altogether, check the activity, check the references, listen to the stories and you’ll find a large cadre of real estate professionals Intown who see structure, stability and strength in the Intown neighborhoods.

Just like we do at Rootdown.

We are charter members at Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, and we get a lot of our strength from our association with this classy outfit.

This office chartered in 1999, the first KW market center in Georgia and the #1 performing real estate brokerage office in all of metro Atlanta this Summer.

There are certainly street by street, school district by school district, immediate neighbor by immediate neighbor comparisons to be made, but if you select the right realtor, then you know that you won’t have reasons to lose sleep at night on one of our lovely Intown streets…

At Rootdown, we can help you with cash investing, first time home buying, FHA financed purchases for up to $358000, mortgage financed purchases at all price points, selling all types of property, complicated flips, smartly staged showhomes, condos, lofts and townhomes and lots of them, site selection, construction and design projects with land, and lots of other simple stuff like opening lockboxes, doing market analysis and engaging in snappy conversation.

Intown is where it’s at for the next two decades – the suburbs will not see the demand that we will see in Intown Atlanta and Decatur for employed people under the age of 40 – those people will want to live in our best Intown school districts and neighborhoods and they will want to commute as little as possible.

Stay tuned for the latest intown charts in our forthcoming posts, or go back and read some old posts and make comments.

Remember this one called “My Card Says Real Estate Agent, Not Fortune Teller” from last week – here’s 3 highlights:

* June stats=30277 actives, 3125 sold, 9.7 months supply

* Correctly priced = 96.8% of list and sold in 24 days on market.

* Of the 41 sold out of 100, 31 only sold with a reduction, therefore 90 out of 100 listings are overpriced.

Will KW ever become #1 over Re/Max in Intown Atlanta? Agent populations have shifted and shrunk recently, so I say give it another 10 years and we’ll see if Solid Source is a true player, and if Re/max’s business model is still as popular as it has been since the 1970’s…

I am enamored with the real estate marketing power of Trulia.com…I always give Trulia.com a big “thumbs up” but take a look at a few “thumbs up” that I’ve received from real estate consumers on Trulia.com …

2 Thumbs Up for my answers to this question:

How long you should go without contact from your agent? I recently viewed several properties with my agent and she said she would get back to me with information on other listings we found…that was 22 days ago!

2 Thumbs Up for my answers to this question:

My husband and I want to purchase rental property in the Atlanta area. We reside in Louisiana. What areas should we consider to increase the chances that the home is rented out most of the time? We can only spend about $30,000. We are looking at predominantly foreclosed properties, but just aren’t sure which area to choose?

3 Thumbs Up for my answers to this question:

Area Around Bessie Branham Park – Good Kirkwood Neighborhood? I’m interested in buying a home in Kirkwood and from my knowledge it’s really a street-by-street comparison process. I’m currently looking at the area around Bessie Branham park and specifically several streets next to it (Delano Dr, Norwood Ave, Bates Ave, Ridgedale Rd, Kirkwood Rd). I’m wondering if anyone can provide some insight on these streets in terms of desirability, crime, neighbors, etc, compared to other Kirkwood streets and nearby neighborhoods such as Oakhurst and Decatur. I drove by those streets yesterday and they seem really nice with people busy renovating their houses, etc. Any opinion will be appreciated.

Every week I answer questions on Trulia Voices, particularly questions about Intown Atlanta and Decatur real estate – in less than 2 years, I’ve answered 461 questions, I have 226 “Thumbs Up” and quite a few of my answers have received “Best Answer.”

You can lend your expertise, ask questions particular to your real estate goals, read through tens of thousands of other questions in a searchable database, and meet cool people, all on Trulia Voices.

I’ve been a Trulia Voice since December 17, 2007, and I get more web traffic for my listings on Trulia.com than I do at realtor.com or at any of the 40 + other websites where I list property.

Thanks to all of you who gave me a thumbs up. Thanks to all of my clients and my friends and family who refer business to me. And, thanks to Trulia.com for introducing me to so many cool people.