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?FSBO & Discount Brokers?
2007-02-28 16:32:03
I recently received a question from a recent visitor to my site and he asked/stated “I currently own a home in ABC Community and am planning to put it up for sale very shortly. I am planning on using XYZ For Sale by Owner Company. Please reply with the reasons why I should use a full service agent” (names were changed to avoid litigation). After spending much time crafting my response, I realized it could actually be a valuable post that I could share with everyone. Below you will find some of the many reasons for hiring a full service Realtor to sell your home: I’ve never dealt with XYZ For Sale by Owner Company so I don’t really know all the details about their system. What I can share with you is some cold hard facts collected from the National Association of Realtors: Based on the most recent compiled data, only 13% of residential transactions were completed in a for sale by owner (FSBO) capacity…of the 13% that sold by owner, 5% knew the buyer. ...
More About: Brokers , Broker , Count , Disco , Discount

?Why Paces Ferry Realty?
2007-02-28 16:32:03
After spending 4 very successful years at Coldwell Banker, all of my friends and family have asked me “Why switch companies” and "why Pace s Ferr y Real ty?" I recently left a company with a world-wide brand name, 2000+ agents in the Metro Atlanta Area, and about 100 agents in the office I was in (Buckhead) to go work for a company that is less than a year old, has just over 30 agents, and one office. Before I tell you about my motivations to switch companies, let me tell you a little bit about Paces Ferry Realty . Paces Ferry Realty opened their doors on February 16, 2006 at Two Buckhead Plaza (next to Chops) after Childress Klein Properties and The Columns Group partnered to create a residential brokerage company that could provide a first class resale offering and also focus on new construction and development projects. The Columns Group is an award-winning firm focused on commercial and residential real estate acquisition, development, brokerage and marketi...

?New Construction and Atlanta Road?
2007-02-28 16:32:03
If you have not been living in a cave for the past few years, you probably have noticed a huge explosion of new construction along Atlanta Road and near the Smyrna Market Village over the last year. Atlanta Road has seen its fair share of new communities built since 2000 but the latest new homes have seen prices from the high $500s to the $700s. I often have people ask me “With all these homes being built, is anyone buying them?” Let’s take a look at some of the numbers from FMLS to answer this question. Running a search of new construction homes in 30080 priced over $450K, I found (search results on 2/11/07): - 86 homes currently available - 3 under contract - 36 closed transactions since January 1, 2006 A few things to keep in mind when looking at these numbers is that not all homes that area available are listed in FMLS (some builders wait until their homes are substantially completed before listing them or will only list a representative selection of the h...
More About: Construction , Const , Cons

?Townhomes as far as the eye can see!?
2007-02-28 16:32:03
Well not really but the Smyrna Vinings area has seen a huge increase in new townhome production over the last few years. It started around 2002 with MDC building Longleaf (about 140 units inside 285 near Atlanta Road), then Pulte built Chadsworth across the street (about 200 units) and Beazer built Highlands View (roughly 180 units off Highlands Parkway outside of 285). The next thing you knew Oakdale (between Highlands Parkway and Veterans Memorial), South Cobb, the East-West Connector, and Atlanta Road were full of new townhome communities with Ashton Woods, Pulte, Beazer, Centex, John Wieland, and a few others wanting a part of the action. A lot of people ask me if I think the number of new townhomes is going to negatively affect the resale market for older townhomes. I think the answer to that is IT DEPENDS. I know this is a lame answer but it is the truth. Take Chadsworth for example. Pulte decided to build a very similar product (slight floor plan tweaks, different front ele...
More About: Home , Homes , Town , Townhome , The Eye

?Belmont Hills Redevelopment?
2007-02-28 16:32:03
As many of you already know, Jack Halpern has been seeking redevelopment approval and more importantly Tax Allocation District (TAD) approval for the Belmont Hill s shopping center located at the corner of Atlanta Road and Windy Hill Road. The existing shopping center has not seen capital improvements in years, has a low occupancy rate, and has only a few short-term tenants. Last year, the center?s anchor tenant, Sears Appliance Outlet, closed their doors in anticipation of the upcoming redevelopment. Last year the redevelopment plan met significant opposition when the proposal called for a mixed-use development with a focus on a large retail center anchored by big box tenant Super WalMart. Needless to say, Smyrna residents were not too enthusiastic about the plans and opposition stopped the plans from getting the TAD approval. Last night at the bi-monthly Smyrna City Council meeting, Jack Halpern presented the latest redevelopment plan for Belmont Hills and once again asked for T...
More About: Development , Men , Redevelopment

New Site Name
2007-02-28 16:32:03
You have probably noticed that the site name recently changed and the link to your community home page might not be working. I recently got a letter from the National Association of Realtors saying that the use of SmyrnaRealtor.com is trademark infringement and I need to cease the use of it anywhere on my site. I am a Realtor and I can use it in my title but the use of Realtor and a specific geographic area are prohibited by NAR. I have no desire to fight with them on this one so I have transitioned the site over to www.SmyrnaBlog.com instead. If you tried to go to a bookmarked page, it probably isn’t working for you since the name changed. I also reorganized the neighborhood pages and modified the appearance of the entire site. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you…I can assure you that the transition has been a real headache for me. To help you find a neighborhood page you might have been looking for, you have two easy options for finding it: ...
More About: Site , Name , New Site

?Avoid Being Scammed!?
2007-02-28 16:32:03
In case you missed this article from the Cobb AJC RSS Feed (located on the left sidebar) the other day, you can view it in its entirety at their site. To sum it all up, across the United States and recently in Cobb County by a company called National Deed Services, marketers are sending official looking letters to homeowners stressing the importance of having a certified copy of their warranty deeds. After your closing, you should have received a copy once it was filed with the Cobb County Superior Court. While it is a good idea to have a certified copy of your warranty deed, it is not necessary to pay the $59.50 they are charging to provide you one?you can obtain one from the clerk?s office for just $2.50. If you would like to pull up a non-certified deed for any property in Cobb County, you can it at their web site. While there is nothing illegal about this marketing offer, consumers can save a lot of money by going straight to the source.
More About: Scam , Bein , Being , Avoid