Here is a comical twist on the Jay-Z song Empire State of Mind song about Georgia and Atlanta. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbg8-DwNDwM

Enjoy the last day of 2009! Hope you have a great New Years.

Thanks for making it another great year of real estate for me with over 30 houses sold again this year!
Cheers to 2010 and the Tax Credit Extension for First and Repeat Buyers.

New Listing in Berkeley Park… Come Be my Neighbor!

796-holmes-street-flyer2

First time buyers this is YOUR YEAR! With interest rates at all time lows, amazing tax credits (federal up to $8,000 and state up to $1,800), as well as the increased amount of inventory make this the ultimate Buyer’s Dream. You could take advantage of this unusual time if you close on your first home by November 30, 2009. Wish I could start all over to reap these benefits. Take a look at the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or give me a call to see if this is the time for you to buy!

Every good house hunter has spent at least a few hours in front of an HGTV show captivated by their quick fixes and cheap makeovers. For some reason, it gets us hooked every.single.time from Property Virgins to Flip this House. With so many shows to produce, HGTV was bound to film in Atlanta at some point. 2009 was my year to experience reality house tv first hand. When I got the invitation to come to the filming of Designed to Sell I immediately saw my name in bright lights… I was going to be a TV star, the Real Estate Superwoman, the ultimate advisor for all distraught sellers. Unfortunately, when I showed up to the house they had a mix up and I was only on the guest list and not the appearance list for which I had spent a week dreaming about. While the episode will air this summer and you will not see me give all of my “Ooohs” and “Ahhs” at the design teams handy work, I did have a friend see me on the photographers website who did the shoot. Maybe I can gain a little reality fame somehow!

Take a look at these great pictures from behind the set taken by the talented Michelle Lapid.

 After being triggered in the Realist tax record information with a yellow Auction flag, my client asked if we could take a visit to the Fulton County Courthouse steps December 2^nd. According to our documentation the auction would begin at 8:30 am at 136 Pryor Street… think again!

I set out bright and early, bearing the cold weather and wind at my face (not to mention finding good on-street parking downtown) to discover no one standing outside on the courthouse steps. Once my client and I waited through the security check point line (NB: they do NOT allow cameras at the courthouse) and got through the metal detectors we asked numerous security officers where the auction was, what time it started, and where we could find a schedule. All we received were mumbled and unsure answers with no conclusions. All we could deduce was that once the auction began, you would know. We decided to take matters into our own hands.

Wandering the hallways for a few minutes, we thought we should occupy some time for the sun to warm the temperatures outside and for the activity to start by going to the ground floor to the County Records Office to see if we could do some title research on the house my client was interested in. It was there that we met Cindy, our gateway into the auction process. Cindy has worked for the county for 10 years and previously did title searches. She promptly showed us the computer system and how to pull up different records and the history of the security deeds. This is a very labor intensive task and worth every penny for the closing attorneys to do in my opinion.

Cindy escorted us around the building to obtain the Daily Report publication which shows which properties are being auctioned, introduced us to the McCalla Raymer auctioneers as well as took us to the steps when the auction commenced.

From the few hours of chaos we were able to pull some important tidbits of information about the foreclosure auction process:

-The auction is always held the first Tuesday of every month at the Fulton County Courthouse

-It will begin around 10 am and go until 4 pm

-You will never know when a property is being auctioned off, they will not post a schedule, you just have to wait. Apparently lawyers were being sued for not showing up at the exact time they were supposed to in the past.

-Each bank will have their particular law firm send a “crier” to announce their properties so it is mandatory to know exactly who to look for (both the law firm AND the person) because different people will be calling out properties all at the same time

-If you are really interested in the foreclosure auction as a piece of your business it would be vital to subscribe to your county’s DAILY REPORT publication to see which properties will be auctioned off

-And last but not least, NEVER purchase a property at the courthouse steps!

The bank will have a “plant” there to bid out the minimum bid as a starting point and they (from our understanding) never allow it to be sold for less than they have in it. It is much preferable to wait (approximately one month) for it to go back on the market as an REO property so that you can have clear title, have time to do a thorough inspection as well as get a better market value price

Formerly a very industrial area with the City waterworks, Inman Train yard, Bellwood Quarry, etc, the westside is quickly growing and revitalizing residentially! Joel and I decided to move over to the Westside for many reasons but namely to be a part of a local faith community dedicated to serving our neighbors and friends. After two months (and many months haitus on the blog) we are settled and back in the swing of regular day-in and day-out life. Here is a picture of our new home…

Believe it or not last Sunday I was able to participate in a radio talk show all about green building and being an EcoBroker on the new Oldies 106.7 station (yes, this is the former country music station). Thanks to the radio element you could not see how nervous I was answering questions and trying not to make excruciating facial expressions as I jumbled my words. Here is a link to the mp3 so you can listen to the talk show! 

Check out my latest listing at 787 Martina Drive. This house is a gorgeous renovated home, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. If you want to be close to Buckhead but tucked away in a hidden neighborhood check this house out. Virtual Tour