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?Beware of Builders in a Depressed Market?
2007-06-14 20:13:00
In a market like todays?, you are likely to find builders offering all kinds of incentives to attract buyer?s to purchase in their community. I?ve seen gimmicks including a free lease on a Mercedes or no mortgage payments for 6 months. While these incentives might seem attractive, you should also view them as ...
More About: Market , Construction , Cobb County , Builders , Beware

?TAD Video / Educational Program to Play on Channel 19?
2007-06-12 03:00:00
Thanks to Jennifer Bennett for sending me the following information to share with the rest of the Smyrna community: There is a schedule posted on the City of Smyrna website (www.smyrnacity.com) for an Educational Program on Tax Allocation Districts to begin playing on Channel 19 on Charter Communications next week. The first time it ...
More About: Video , Play , Development , Cobb County

?No More U.S. Auto?
2007-06-08 04:28:00
If you?ve driven through the intersection of Spring/Concord Road and Atlanta Road in the last week, you might have noticed that the U.S. Auto used car lot located on the southeast corner is now vacant. I did a little research and found out the property was sold on April 25th for a staggering $1,579,000. ...
More About: Development , Cobb County , Redevelopment

?New Update for Jonquil Village?
2007-06-07 16:51:00
Last week someone passed along a rumor that A.G. Armstrong had sold their development rights to Century Retail. If you have noticed the lease information signs that recently popped up along Atlanta Road and Spring Road, they have the Century Retail phone number for their leasing contact. The other day, I placed a phone call ...
More About: Development , Cobb County , Smyrna , Update , Redevelopment

?Price Your Home Right ? Don?t Let This Happen to You!?
2007-06-05 04:57:00
A number of factors can contribute to the length of time it takes for a home to sell: not preparing the home for showing traffic, not making it easily accessible for agents to show, not adequately marketing the property, etc, but the biggest contributing factor is overpricing a home when it first comes on the ...
More About: Home , Price

?Smyrna?s Most Eligible Bachelor?
2007-06-05 04:49:00
I wanted to share our good news with everyone. On Sunday, Chrissy and I became parents with the birth of our son Trey (Frank Mason Eldridge, III). Trey arrived exactly on his due date, weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces, and measured 19 ¾ inches long. We are so excited to have him ...
More About: Smyrna , Bachelor , Bach , Chelo

?State of the Market Address ? May Condo/Townhome?
2007-06-01 15:54:00
I recently updated the a Single Family Sales Report and the Condo /Townhome Sales Report (these reports can regularly be found under the ?Market Activity? link at the top of your screen in Areas 71 & 72 and wanted to give you a brief overview of what the data shows us. Today I ...
More About: Construction , Cobb County , Smyrna

?May State of the Market Address ? Single Family Homes?
2007-05-31 16:41:00
I recently updated the a Single Family Sales Report and the Condo/Townhome Sales Report (these reports can regularly be found under the ?Market Activity? link at the top of your screen in Areas 71 & 72 and wanted to give you a brief overview of what the data shows us. Today I ...
More About: Cobb County , Smyrna , Homes

?Why is TAD Needed for Belmont Hills??
2007-05-30 16:04:00
In the previous post ?Don?t throw out TAD baby with bathwater? written by Smyrna Resident Teri Anulewicz, Chris commented with the following question: ?Why is the TAD needed to develop this property?? I thought it would be best to address his question in the following new post: Chris, Your question is probably one of the most ...
More About: Development , Construction , Cobb County , Windy Hill

?Cottages at King Springs - Homesite 8?
2007-05-29 16:40:00
On occasion, I?ll use this blog as a marketing tool for one of my listings?this is one of those times. Before you click on something else, I?d like to invite you to view this exceptional home within walking distance of the Smyrna Village (virtual tour link). Hatcher Homes has been building in Smyrna for over ...
More About: Cobb County , King , Ages

?Jonquil Village Update?
2007-05-27 00:40:00
I’ve attempted to get any information I can out of my friend involved with the Jonquil Village project but he is not giving up anything. Thanks to one of our visitors named Bryan for bringing the following MDJ article to our attention: “Cobb judge drops lawsuit against Jonquil Plaza project” Friday, May 18, 2007 1:37 AM ...
More About: Development , Construction , Cobb County , Smyrna , Update

?Smyrna Downtown Development Authority?
2007-05-27 00:28:00
Did you receive a large marketing piece in the mail yesterday from the Smyrna Downtown Development Authority? I received a card stock tablet-sized (18? x 11?) piece that has the following: ?For a community of tomorrow?we must act today! Redeveloping Belmont Hills ? what would it mean? To Smyrna ? Create a dramatic new gateway to the ...
More About: Construction , Cobb County

?Brinkley Park Expansion?
2007-05-14 01:21:00
Many of you have probably been wondering about the “Future Smyrna Park ” sign located near the corner of Concord Road and King Springs Road. The land has been covered with kudzu for a while now and what you can’t see is a stream that runs through the property. I contacted Steve Ciaccio, Director ...
More About: Cobb County , Redevelopment , Sion

?Don?t throw out TAD baby with bathwater?
2007-05-09 21:31:00
After so many anti-TAD articles in the MDJ, it is good to see that they finally publish a pro-TAD editorial written by my neighbor Teri Anulewicz. This article ran in yesterday’s edition of the Marietta Daily Journal…way to go Teri!: What’s that saying about the baby and the bathwater? Having closely followed the Tax Allocation District ...
More About: Baby , Development , Construction , Cobb County , Smyrna

?Changes Coming to Concord Road?
2007-05-09 17:04:00
One of my subscribers just brought a developer’s web site to my attention. They are planning to develop the NE corner of Concord Road and Dunton Street (undeveloped parcel next to Laurel Hill townhomes) with a 2-story, 10,000 s.f. office/retail building that they are calling Laurel Commons I. They also have plans to ...
More About: Development , Construction , Cobb County , Smyrna , Redevelopment

?But wait - there?s more!?
2007-05-04 23:37:00
Here is another email I just got from Teri: If you haven?t had enough redevelopment fun yet, we have an opportunity to make sure the School Board knows that Smyrna does indeed want the Belmont Hills TAD to go forward at the next School Board meeting this Wednesday, May 9, at 8:30 AM. All board ...
More About: Development , Cobb County , Here , More

?Do you want Belmont Hills to be redeveloped??
2007-05-04 20:51:00
Here is an email I just received from one of my neighbors Teri Anulewicz: Do you want Belmont Hills to be redeveloped? If you do, then please call Governor Perdue?s Legislative Director to let him know that you support Senate Bill 225! SB 225 clarifies what is already implied in the state?s TAD statute: that rather than the ...
More About: Development , Cobb County , Smyrna , Windy Hill , Jack Halpern

?What?s up with Uncle Bud?s??
2007-04-18 20:30:00
I recently got the following inquiry from a visitor to the site: ?What s going on with the old Uncle Buds location?? For those of you not familiar with it, Uncle Bud?s at 725 Concord Road (just west of the intersection of Concord Rd. and S. Cobb Dr.) was famous for their fried catfish, hushpuppies, and iced tea ...
More About: With , Hat , With U

?Belmont Hills ? 4/10/07 Halpern Meeting?
2007-04-11 21:34:00
Last night I attended the information session on Belmont Hill s that was presented by Jack Halpern and I can say that I was further encouraged by the information presented in the meeting. While the content presented was nothing new or groundbreaking, it did raise my comfort level that Halpern is interested in working with ...
More About: Hills , Meeting , Mont

?Belmont Hills Update?
2007-03-28 17:06:00
I have heard an unofficial rumor about Belmont Hill s that I have not been able to confirm anywhere. Here is the update: Jack Halpern, the owner of Belmont Hills Shopping Center has offered to meet with local residents to present the final plans for the long awaited redevelopment of that property. The meeting will be at 7:00pm, ...
More About: Update , Mont

?Tractor Trailer No Match for Train?
2007-03-28 16:18:00
Sorry for the short hiatus but business has been busier than ever for the past two weeks. I?m not sure if you were around last Wednesday or heard on the news, but a quarter-mile long train traveling northbound through Smyrna collided with a tractor trailer a few blocks north of the Market Village at ...
More About: Trailer , Rain , Train , Match , Rail

?State of the Market - March Condo/Townhome?
2007-03-16 23:16:00
Every month I prepare a Single Family Sales Report and a Condo /Townhome Sales Report (these reports can regularly be found under the ?Market Activity? link at the top of your screen). Yesterday in my post title “State of the Market - March Single Family Home s” we looked at the monthly market update ...
More About: Ondo

?State of the Market Address ? Single Family Homes?
2007-03-15 16:51:00
One of the most commonly asked questions I get asked is how?s the real estate market doing? Everyone who owns a home is always interested in knowing how their passive investments are doing. For your benefit, I created and uploaded two reports to this site every month: a Single Family Sales Report ...
More About: Market , Home , Dress , Homes

?Then and Now?
2007-03-13 21:12:00
After writing the article ?Should I spend the money to renovate/upgrade my ______?,? I started thinking more about the explosive growth of townhomes around Park at Vinings. I looked around on the internet and found two satellite images of the area around Park at Vinings. In the first photo, Park at Vinings is ...
More About: Then

?Should I spend the money to renovate/upgrade my ______??
2007-03-13 02:43:00
I often get this question from a lot of my clients and like many things, the answer depends and it is largely based on your circumstance. I think a few statements are universal as they apply to all circumstances: ? If you plan on staying in your home for a long time and will get enough ...
More About: Money , Should , Nova , Reno

?Why Owning a Home is the American Dream?
2007-03-08 22:40:07
People in America own their homes for many different reasons. Today I will look at three of the predominant reasons people elect to own their home?if you are still renting, look at this as food for thought: Home ownership is the best investment: ? Most homeowners cite wealth accumulation as the main motivating reason behind owning a home. First-time buyers moving from an apartment or rental typically cite that they no longer want to ?throw their money away? on rent. When home prices outpace the rate of inflation, homeownership is an obvious decision. Probably the most attractive draw of homeownership is that you can benefit significantly by leveraging someone else?s money. With the abundance of 95% and 100% loan programs available to today?s buyers, homeowners can potentially purchase a home without putting any of their capital at risk. On the same token, they will receive all the financial gain when the home?s value increases. Homeownership is a source of pride: ? I remember t...
More About: The American Dream , American , Dream

?Dr. Dolittle for Mayor??
2007-03-07 10:39:05
After reading yesterday?s AJC news article and hearing Alex Backry?s claim that he was going to raise an issue of a conflict of interest with Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon?s position at Northwest Exterminating, I had to attend the Smyrna City Council Meeting last night. Although this was only the second city council meeting I have ever attended, I was quickly reminded why I haven?t attended more. If I had a baby with me, it probably would have been kissed 6 or 7 times before the meeting started as the Mayor and council members made their way through the audience to shake hands and thank everyone for their attendance. The 75 minutes included discussion at great length about a homeowner who wanted a variance for his rear building setback and another hearing for a beer pouring license request for a proprietor of a Mexican/Chinese restaurant on S. Cobb Drive. The license request seemed to provide the city council the comic relief necessary to make it through the long meeting as there was ...
More About: Little , Litt

?Mayor Bacon Under Attack?
2007-03-05 22:38:02
I just saw the headline “Smyrna mayor’s job bugs rival” pop up under the AJC Cobb feed on the sidebar of my site. Combine living in the same city for 58+ years, running it as the mayor for 22+ years, and then throw in a personality as big as Max’s, you are bound to have a few people that you don’t get along with. To summarize things, last year Max Bacon took a part-time job (about 20 hours a week) with Northwest Exterminating as the Director of Government Affairs to represent the company at Chamber of Commerce functions and business association meetings. Northwest Exterminating, located less than a mile from downtown Smyrna and one of Metro Atlanta’s largest pest control companies, has held the city’s pest control contract for over 20 years. Alex Backry, a former Smyrna animal control officer and defeated opponent to Bacon in the last mayoral election, feels that the position with Northwest is a conflict of interest and plans to raise the...
More About: Mayor , Under , Attack , Atta

?What is a TAD? - Explaining Tax Allocation Districts?
2007-03-04 22:37:02
Many people have asked what a Tax Allocation District is or more commonly referred to as a TAD. You might have heard of them referred to as a Tax Increment Financing area or TIF in states other than Georgia. TIFs are used in 44 states to stimulate development and redevelopment. In a nutshell, TADs and TIFs are tools used by governments to provide financing for infrastructure and other improvements needed to improve a blighted area in a municipality. The financing for these improvements comes without having to raise millage rates?by increasing the property value of the blighted area, the government will collect enough additional tax revenue from that area to pay back the money issued for the improvements. TADs are not the same as abatements where the property owner doesn?t pay taxes or pays an incremental amount of property tax for the first 10 years as an incentive to purchase in a blighted area. I?ve found that the Marietta Redevelopment Corporation has the best overview of TADs...
More About: Cat , Plain , What , Hat

?St. Patty?s Day in the Market Village?
2007-03-01 04:33:03
You only have one day left to pre-purchase discounted tickets to the Smyrna Mark et Village ’s St. Patty’s Day Celebration. If you plan on going, you’ll definitely want to purchase your tickets in advance…last year more than 3000 people showed up at Metro Atlanta’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Tickets are $10 in advance (on or before March 1st.), $15 after March 1st., and $20 at the gate. This years activities include: - Annual Dying of the Fountain with Mayor Bacon - Live Music - Redhead contest - March Madness broadcast of games from inside Atkins Park, Vintage Square, and Zucca - Irish food specials including corn beef and cabbage, lamb stew, and shepard’s pie - $4 Guinness and Harp drafts If you have never been to one of the Market Village events, West Spring Street is closed off between Atlanta Road and The Village Gourmet Sushi restaurant to provide an enjoyable pedestrian environment between Atkins Park and Zucca. Ticket pr...
More About: The Mark