Archive for May 2009

A great Sandy Springs sandwich shop

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Friday, May 29th, 2009

I had a great casual lunch with my family today at a deli in Sandy Springs. The restaurant is called R/J Casuals and it’s in a strip mall at 8540 Roswell Road. It’s right next door to where the old Diggers sports bar used to be.

The strip mall and deli are very nondescript. The inside is utilitarian, just the basics, but a great spot for a quality sandwich. To be honest, I would never have noticed the place had I not been to the mall for other reasons. I saw a bunch of Sandy Springs cops eating there and figured they would know about the good eats.

It’s one of the best sandwich shops in metro Atlanta. I think what makes the spot is the fact one of the partners is a professional baker and the other does the cooking. They make all their own bread and roast a lot of their own meats. I really like the fact they had Portuguese roles. That coupled with high quality meats makes for some great sandwiches. They also have some awesome desserts. There is a true homemade vibe that permeates the place.

I had the turkey melt on focaccia bread which was outstanding. My husband had some homemade roast beef on a fresh baked Portuguese roll which he said was really great.

If you’re up in Sandy Springs check it out sometime.

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Categories : Around Buckhead
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Update on Buckhead foreclosure

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Monday, May 25th, 2009

We are still going through renovations at our home. We closed on a Buckhead bank owned property April 9th and things are going a little slower than anticipated. The biggest unanticipated expense was the family of rodents living in our attic. The home was vacant for 12 months so there is nothing like rodent feces and urine piled up in 100-degree attic to make for a toxic environment.

Arrow exterminators charged us $7,000 to have all the insulation removed and attic sanitized. The men went up in “hazmat” suits and respirators to perform this task. Oddly enough, it’s one of the few jobs where I didn’t get multiple quotes. It’s a regret, as I don’t know if it was a reasonable price or not. I guess it was unanticipated, and I just wanted to get the attic cleaned – quickly. I suppose I need to crawl up into the attic and check out their work. We think we got a good deal on the foreclosure, and I knew when we made the offer there would be unanticipated costs, but you can’t think about the cosmetic improvements that could have been made for $7,000.
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Categories : Around Buckhead, Improvement Home
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Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Freddie Mac reports a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.82 percent during the week ended May 21 from 4.86 percent the prior week. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate dipped to 4.5 percent.

The Federal Reserve is working to hold down rates by purchasing upwards of $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in Treasuries. Mortgage rate premiums have declined substantially over the last couple of months even as Treasury yields climbed.

Source: Investor’s Business Daily (05/22/09)

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Categories : Financing Mortgage
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April Buckhead REALTOR of the Month

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Congratulations again to Erika Eaton for being Buckhead Agent of the Month two months in a row. With over 200 REALTORS in the Harry Norman, Buckhead Northwest Office, she had the most dollar volume for the month of April!

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Categories : Around Buckhead, Atlanta Homes Sale, Buckhead Homes
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Atlanta Farmers Market Landscape and Garden Supplies

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 14th, 2009

It’s also called the Georgia State Farmers Market, the Atlanta Farmers Market or just the Farmers Market. While it’s not exactly in Buckhead, the 20 minute drive is close enough. You’ll see it has some of the best prices and selection of gardening and landscaping plants in the metro Atlanta area. The Atlanta Farmers market is located right by Hartsfield-Jackson Airport at 16 Forest Pkwy, Forest Park, GA 30297. Just take I-75 south from Buckhead. It’s the second exit south of I-285 and the exit is labeled “Forest Park / Farmer’s Market”. You’ll see the ratty, maroon sign high up in the air. When you get off the exit, make a left on Frontage Rd and an quick right into the garden area of the Farmers Market.

The official website to the Atlanta State Farmer’s Market is really bad. It offers virtually no help to a typical person wanting information about this hidden gem. My goal is to provide information on the landscaping / garden / nursery area. There is a much larger portion dedicated to locally grown food and fresh produce, but it won’t be a focus on this webpage. I also recommend the farmers market for it’s great selection of Christmas trees, garland, etc.. during the Christmas season.
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Categories : Uncategorized
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Bernanke Cites Improving Housing Data

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

While it’s somewhat geographically anecdotal, I’m getting the feeling that the housing market is improving in Buckhead.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the economy appeared to be stabilizing, but warned that a real recovery is still months away.

“We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year,” Bernanke told the congressional Joint Economic Committee, according to a prepared statement.

Bernanke cited improved sales of existing homes as evidence that things are improving. He said sales have been “fairly stable” since late last year, in part because moderating prices have made homes more affordable.

Bernanke also said credit markets have stabilized in recent weeks, allowing homeowners to refinancing mortgages, which is a good sign for future stabilization.

Source: The New York Times, Edmund L. Andrews (05/05/2009)

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Categories : Atlanta Homes Sale
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Really crappy marketing photos

By Chuck · Comments (1)
Monday, May 4th, 2009

I see a lot of awful internet home photos, but the ones from this Buckhead listing especially irritate me:

Are you kidding me! This home is listed for $525,000 with a 6% REALTOR commission. So some poor soul, who probably really wants to sell her home, is paying a lot of money for a few barely discernable photos. I honestly feel sorry for the owners. They are probably receiving very little showing activity.

With over 84% of buyers utlizing the internet in their home searches, it’s the first, and many times the only, impression a home has on the marketplace. When buyers are scanning through hundreds of listings on the internet, they are looking for reasons to eliminate homes from their search. Bad pictures are as good of a reason as any to narrow a list of 300 homes to 30.

I can’t stress enough how important a proper internet marketing strategy is in getting a home sold quickly for its maximum value. When I take pictures for real estate listings, I use a tripod with a remote control, to allow for longer exposure times and more natural light in the photo, and I interchange three different lenses, ranging from a zoom to a wide angle. The photos are then submitted to the owners for review and I will retake shots as needed – it’s that important.
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Categories : Sell My House
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The one sided real estate contract

By Administrator · Comments (0)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

I’ve been blogging about my personal experience in buying a Buckhead foreclosure here in Atlanta, Georgia. There is so much to write about, it’s hard to know where to begin.

When we finally went under contract on a bank-owned foreclosure, it was just the beginning of our journey into the depths of anxiety. The bank stated that our offer had been accepted, but we were not under contract, and then faxed us a 25 page addendum, that was five times as large as our original contract. It’s the most one-sided thing I ever read in my life (other than the other bank-owned real estate transactions I have worked on). Their addendum could have been much smaller with one simple sentence, “Absolutely anything we say goes, which is, but not limited to your name, your place of birth, the planet you live on, and what you believe to be reality.”
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Categories : Atlanta GA Foreclosure
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