Local Real Estate Comments and Ramblings

This Saturday, Oct 4, is the fall yard sale for Country Walk Subdivision in Powder Springs.  We already have 35 homes signed up and more are joining each day.  You will find just a little bit of everything for sale.

There will be "treasure maps" available at each subdision entrance.  Chef Rian MacDonald will be cooking lunch at 3266 Country Walk Drive.  The sale officially starts at 9 a.m. but many people will be set up before then.

For maps and more info click here

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Click Here - To see current homes for sale in Country Walk

To see other Homes For Sale in Powder Springs please visit:

www.PowderSpringsHomes.info

My wife and I were watching the news for most of the morning today.  We saw the candidates, the President, Chairmans of the Fed and Treasury, etc.  The essence of todays news is that somehow or another the government is going to "buy" the inventory of bad loans from troubled banks.  I guess similar to the Resolution Trust from the late '80's.

While my statement may not be 100% factually correct .. that is the essence of it to the tune of hundreds of BILLIONS  of dollars.  In government terms that will probably not be billions when they are done but will actually be trillions.

So my wife made a comment and I had to think about it for a minute and then I thought  .. why not?  her comment was , "Why don't they just give the money to qualified buyers to help them buy homes?  Maybe in the form of a (temporary?)rate buydown instead of a down payment".

So maybe the buyer have to come up with 3% down for an FHA loan and then they qualify at todays rate of 6% or so.  But then the payment is bought down to say a rate of 3% or 4% and maybe even have the rate slowly graduate up to the full rate over a period of years so there are no huge adjustments or payment shocks.

Think about it.  At some point all of the homes need to be sold anyway.  Don't use the money for down payment assistance, use it to make the homes more affordable and then let the banks continue to sell the homes themselves.  This would increase home ownership, and dramatically stimulate the housing and construction industries. The banks get out from under the loans, although not as quickly as they would in a gov't buyout.

All of this is just sort of my first gut reaction, and I would rather the gov't not get involved at all.  At this point however, I don't think that there is any avoiding gov't intervention anyway.

In my gut I think it would be better to give the money directly to the public rather than to create another government entity.

Have I totally lost it? Or am I on to something?  Tell me your ideas.

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

Its that time again! I love the North Ga State Fair!  Carnival rides, corndogs, concerts, freak shows, alligator wrestling and so much more.  What can be more fun than that? 

I have gone every year for the last 20 or so years and here are a few tips for you if you're thinking about going.

• Arrive early - traffic and parking can be pretty grueling
• Check out the website for daily promos and concert schedules www.northgeorgiastatefair.com
• FOOD- Here is my best tip. In the area behind the arena, between the midway and exhibit halls there is a "food court" The are manned by local non profit groups and you get real food prepared by human hands and the money raised goes right back here in local area. My personal favorite?- Stop by the booth for the Ga Jaycees Camp Dream Foundation. I was on the Camp Dream board for many years and the money you spend will help send a disable child to summer camp.  http://www.jayceescampdream.org/Events_frm_set.htm

76th Annual  North Georgia State Fair

When:

Saturdays 10 a.m. to midnight, and Sundays 12:30 to 7 p.m.

Where:

five miles until Windy Hill Road dead ends, and turn left on Austell Road.

Turn right on Callaway Road. Jim R. Miller Park is on the right.

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

Dear Cobb County Home Buyer,

The decision to purchase your home is an important one. I want you to know that I appreciate you contacting me to help with your home search.

As a buyers representative, here are a few of the things that I can do all at no cost to you.

• Email you the newest home listings that match your home search criteria - such as price range, bedrooms & bathrooms, location, schools, etc.
• Provide you with information on any home you see for sale, whether its listed or not by any company.  Just call or email with the address or listing number.
• Since I represent you and not the home (as the sellers representative would), then I would point out the good and bad points of the homes that we look at together.
• Help you find a lender with a loan program that meets your particular needs getting you pre-approved before any negotiating begins.
• Expertly represent you through the negotiation process so that you don't overpay for your home.
• Counsel with you in regards to the results of the home inspection and negotiating needed repairs from the sellers.
• I will make sure that you receive the peace of mind of a home warranty with your purchase.
• Coordinate all aspects of the closing and attend closing with you.
• Keep in touch after the sale and provide updated comparitive market value on your new home.

If you are interested in this type of representation, we can meet to discuss your needs and goals and to plan the search for you home. I will also show you my 20 point Buyer Services Guarantee. 

Please feel free to visit my real estate website any time to search for homes or if you need questions answered.

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

 Did any body see the troubles with with Fannie and Freddie coming? 

The "Federal Housing Enterprise Reform Act of 2005" was voted down by the Democratically controlled Senate. 

"....For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation."

Senator John McCain May 25, 2006  See link to the congressional record here

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga

According to wikipedia  "The first usage of the term may have been when conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer used the term in February 2001 to refer to the president's unilateral approach to national missile defense well before September 11^th"     

Read the entire wikipedia article here

That's right.  The term was coined before the attacks of Sept 11 and before the policy of anticipatory defense. According to both wikipedia and to Charles Krauthammer there have been several different variants of "Bush Doctrine".  the idea of anticipatory defense is only one of them and not the most recent.  Read Charles Krauthammers article about Bush Doctrine and Charlie Gibsons gaffe here.

So when Charlie Gibson asked Her about "Bush Doctrine", Gov. Palins response of "in what respect Charlie?" Was the 100% correct answer since there would have been several different answers depending on which variation of Bush Doctrine you are asking about.

When Mr Gibson smugly explained the policy of anticipatory defense thinking he had her cornered, he was really just exposing media bias once again.  Thanks Charlie!

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

Here is a link to an article on Realtor Magazine online and first published in "Business Week" .  It lists the top 10 fastest selling zip codes in the entire U.S.

To be in the top 10 the average days on market would need to be 91 days! So where do people get this idea about a 90 day listing being average or normal?  I'm not sure.  Our local mls requires a minimum of 90 day listing period to even input the home into the mls.

So is 90 days a reasonable time frame? Not according to this article (unless you happen to live in the top 10). Of course this represents an average so there is always a chance that your home could sell in side of 90 days.  However as a professional I don't like to take chances.  If you want to insure that your home sells in 90 days or less it will need to be priced below market and it it needs to be in tip top condition.

If you are not prepared to lower the price according to todays market then be prepared to be on the market for the long haul. 

Here are a few tips for sellers in todays market.

1. Understand that the market will set the ultimate selling price for your home- not the lisitng agent. When you are interviewing agents look at how well they will promote your home and how well they understand your local market. DO NOT list with an agent just because they they tell you they can sell your home for more money. You will be dissapointed in the results and penalizing the honest agents who tried to tell you the truth instead of "buying" your listing.

2. Price the home to sell.  If you  price it higher thinking - well if they like it they can make an offer, the offers won't come.  They will make offers on the homes that are priced lower because they can just as easily make an offer on those as they can on yours.

3. Make it easy for the buyers to pick your home.  Have the home professionally staged, do a pre listing appraisal, and a pre listing home inspection.  In todays market the buyers are nervous about values.  Once they fall in love with your home (staging) help them be comfortable in the fact that they are getting a good home for the money (inspection and appraisal). Removing the uncertainty will make it easier to pick your home.

4. Do the needed repairs.  Don't go crazy doing any large scale projects but absolutely make sure that he home is move in ready.  If your home needs repairs you are going to pay for them sometime.  I believe it is better to make the repairs before the home hits the market so they don't become negotiating points later.  If you do the repairs now, you have contol over the cost of the repairs.  If you don't do the repairs you are inviting low ball offers. Your cost in the end will likely be much higher.

I'm sure that some of you will have comments or questions .... let me know what you have to say!

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram, Cobb County, Paulding County, Douglas County, North Fulton County, South Cherokee County

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

I was just reading Susan McQaudes article "Election-Projection-269-269" .  If you haven't seen that one yet, you can read it here.  She quite accurately points out that there are a few reasonable scenarios where we can end up in an electoral tie.

After the election of 2000, where Al gore won the populat vote but lost the electoral vote the question has been asked "Why don't we just do a popular vote?"

In their great wisdom our founding fathers established the electoral process to keep any one or two states from having too much of a say on the national elections. 

Imagine this scenario.  It is the election of 2000, which by every account was an extremely close race. Al Gore wins 49 states by a clear but narrow margin of 10,000 votes.  That would be an average.  some states he wins by more and some by less.  But after counting those 49 states Al gore leads by 490,000 votes.

But wait ... George Bush is the Governor of the highly populated state of Texas.  His actual winning margin in Texas in 2000 was over 1,000,000 votes!   If that scenario would have played out then George Bush would have won the popular vote and Al Gore goes back home after winning a majority in 49 states.

The reality is that it would never play out exactly like that, but hopefully you get the picture. 

If you are interested you can see electoral map projections based on data from multiple polls at RealClearPolitics.com.

Here is the link to the poll showing toss up states   http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/

Here is a link showing the electoral map if you take the polls straight up without factoring toss ups  http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=10

On the second map you can also go in and create you rown map by changing any state to vote for the other candidate. Hint: John McCain has always done very well in Hew Hampshire.  Change the outcome in NH and see where the electoral vote is!

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Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc.Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram, Cobb County, Paulding County, Douglas County, North Fulton County, South Cherokee County

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

The morning of 9-11-2001 I was planting pansies in the front yard of our powder Springs home when I heard about the attacks.  I'm not a gardener or anything, we just wanted to dress up our front yard a littel bit. My wife arrived home after dropping our son at the church pre-school.

"A plane just hit one of the World Trade Center Buildings"

I figured it was just some cook in a Cessna or something - maybe he lost control or it was grandiose suicide.  So I continued planting until it was time to get ready for work.  I was still selling cars and was scheduled to work starting at 11 am.  When I went inside and turned on the TV I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I remember yelling to her "They were big planes ... They've hit more buildings.... OMG this is a war!"

The church and pre school were on my way to work so I stopped by and say "hi" to my son and stopped by the sanctuary to pray.  I prayed for all the victims.  I also prayed that God would touch and lighten the hearts of those who could perpetrate something so terrible.

9-11-01 may we all never forget

I have collected the sales data for Country Walk Subdivision in Powder Springs Georgia for the 12 months period ending with July 31 for each of the last 3 years.

Both the average sales price and the sales volume have decreased fairly significantly.  While nobody likes to see declining home prices, these numbers are not really out of line with the surrounding market area.

See the entire reports here Country Walk Price Meter

See Country Walk Homes for sale at www.MyCountryWalkHome.info

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Would you like market reports for another neighborhood? Just let me know, I'll b eglad to prepare and post those for you.

Bob Southard, e-ProRealtor®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy or sell a home in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram, Cobb County, Paulding County, Douglas County, North Fulton County, South Cherokee County

Visit my website www.AgentBobSells.com

Search Powder Springs Homes For Sale

Search All Metro Atlanta MLS Home Listings

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved