Bremen GA Real Estate Expert

Why Bremen is the Best Kept Secret in Georgia

2008-07-13T13:55:04Z

Bremen GA is located in the westernmost part of the state about 50 miles west of Atlanta and very close to the Alabama line. What makes Bremen unique?

In this time of economic uncertainty, scary gasoline prices and a crazy home market Bremen stands apart as an oasis away from the critical problems of the day. Not that these problems don't exist in Bremen, but they exist at a somewhat lesser degree.

Economically, the entire West Georgia area has available jobs. As a real estate agent, I'm finding that many Buyers are relocating because jobs are far more plentiful here than in many northern states.

Gas prices are still terrible, but being located equidistant from Atlanta, Birmingham, Chattanooga, and Lagrange/Columbus allows for every cultural, medical, historical, sports and career opportunity to be available at a short distance from Bremen. That maintains lifestyle by stretching the travel dollar. And, no, you won't have to live in a big city to take advantage of all these wonderful things. You'll be living in a small town of about 5000 people. It's such a pleasure to enjoy the many things the big cities have to offer and go home to no traffic, little crime, and a quiet community that's very family oriented.

Housing is available at great prices and property values remain stable. New homes and renovated vintage homes are favorites. We don't have the numbers of foreclosures in Bremen seen in many other areas. Most of our home owners are stable because of their employment and the availability of desirable affordable housing. People in Bremen tend to stay here. That adds to the stability of the housing market with families able to build equity.

The western part of north Georgia boasts the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, lush forests, striking hills and valleys, stunning scenery, sunny skies, good roads and wonderful people. Bremen takes full advantage of the area with hiking, hunting and country drives being cherished activities. That great universal hobby, shopping, is enjoyed locally and in the nearby cities.

Bremen also boasts one of the finest school systems in the state of Georgia. Check it out online at www.bremencs.com. You'll be impressed with the statistics, but there's more you need to know. Bremen City Schools is a small system, much like a private school, that employs incredible teachers. Sports and literary accomplishment is high priority in Bremen schools. Children get to participate in field trips everywhere from Williamsburg, VA to the coast of Georgia. The 8^th Grade week long Studycade covering the state is one field trip that is always much anticipated by students. Academic achievement is well balanced with these other activities as you'll see on the web site.

As for higher education, The University of West GA is 12 miles from Bremen and West Georgia Technical College is 2 miles away.

Remember that this is a small town.........really small. Citizens of Bremen enjoy a laid back, quiet lifestyle among families that cherish schools and friends. It's a true rare jewel in a perfect spot in the world. I'm telling you how wonderful it is, but please don't tell anyone else. We want to keep Bremen a secret. If you'll contact me, I can tell you many more reasons why you want to live here, just don't spread that around! We want to keep the secret of Bremen all to ourselves!

Remember to call me when you are ready to come our way. Ann Hobbs 770-365-2935

Ann Can! ASSURE DYNAMITE SERVICE, DAZZLING RESULTS! .

Thus, the new energy crisis.......

2008-07-03T15:45:05Z

Once upon a time, in an oval office far, far away, President Carter said,

"We are having an energy crisis."

The people gathered around TV sets, turned the car radios up and said

"Alas, what shall we do?

There will not be enough gasoline to drive our cars!

There will not be enough fuel oil to heat our homes!

Alas, what shall we do?"

The talking heads on television, radio, cable and satellite said,

"President Carter scares you with these untruths!

Do not listen. Do not look for alternative fuels!

Do not lessen our dependence on foreign oils!

Do not drill in the U.S."

President Carter, wearing a sweater as he sat in the chilly oval office, said,

"Verily I say unto you,

This indeed is true and each and every one of us can help get through the crisis.

We shall lower the speed limits on the highways.

We shall turn our thermostats down in the winter

And up in the summer.

We shall suffer, but it shall give us inspiration to solve our crisis!"

And then a thunderous roar was heard throughout the land.

And the Congress said,

"Yes, people, do your part. Suffer temperature discomforts,

Drive slower and arrive later.

And because you are doing all this

We shall do NOTHING to solve our crisis and it will go away!

Be angry with President Carter.

Ignore his silly predictions that our children will have this problem to deal with.

We shall all prosper, drive more and be toasty warm."

And so it came to pass that what President Carter said was true.

We did not listen and the Congress did not listen.

Now, here we are, in a worse situation now than then.

Somewhere in a galaxy far, far away floats the chilling scene

That no airwave will ever broadcast,

President Carter, wearing a sweater, saying

"I told you so."

Alphabet Soup

2008-05-28T11:08:42Z

As agents we often get really hung up on adding all those letters after our names. Does the agent with the longest alphabet win? Some of us think it looks pretty impressive to string the alphabet out as far as we can. Actually, we know those letters indicate certain designations and certifications we've worked hard to get. But do they really mean anything to the public?

REALTORS® must have hours of continuing education to stay apt with developments in our industry. We stay educated to better serve our clients and customers. Our clients and customers generally don't have a clue what all those letters stand for: ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, etc. Our job is to be sure our clients and customers know what those letters mean.

All those letters mean that a REALTOR® is educated and on top of her game. Those letters mean a client or customer is getting the best the real estate industry has to offer. Those designations and certifications mean that an agent has made it her business to have an edge on the real estate market. They are valuable because they mean that an agent has learned things beneficial to clients and customers.

If you are a Buyer or a Seller, don't be intimidated by the alphabet soup strung out after your agent's name. Feel confident that your REALTOR® has taken a lot of time to be continually educated so she can be the best REALTOR® you can get. Your purchase or sale will be smoother, easier, faster and more pleasant with a REALTOR® who's full of alphabet soup.

A Day with the Great Smartphone Master

2008-04-24T22:09:56Z

What a day! My board was fortunate enough to have Dick Betts all day on Wednesday. It was a wonderful day full of more information than I ever dreamed could be spewed forth in one day from just one guy. Let me tell you how all this came about.

I started reading about the pros and cons of various smartphones a year or so ago and came across blogs, articles and comments on RealTown and ActiveRain. There was Dick Betts all over the place. It didn't take long to figure out he was the go-to person on that subject. I e-mailed him with a couple of questions which he graciously answered. I spent time on his web site gleaning tidbits and morsels of information that I felt I had gathered surreptitiously just for my benefit. The secreted tips were so good I couldn't help but think I had sneaked them over to my arsenal of professional weapons without anyone else getting them! I wanted more and devised a plan to talk Dick out of all his special tricks... all for me! My plan was to get Dick Betts to come to lowly Carrollton GA to spend a day with me. And I wanted him for FREE. I convinced a favorite attorney and lender to foot the bill and, voila! I (and a few dozen of my closest friends and board members) got a day with Dick Betts at our board classroom! They paid and we listened, and listened.........and listened.........and listened......... until our brains were full to bursting.

It was a shock to my colleagues that Dick actually did give away all kinds of information, and not just to me. It's free for the taking off the website and straight from the horse's mouth on his blogs and in his articles. To have the Great Smartphone Master impart his wisdom in person was a wonderful opportunity we all were surprised to have.

All foolishness aside, Dick Betts is a great trainer. He's entertaining, unbelievably knowledgeable and generous with that knowledge. He gave all of us who took advantage of the day he spent with us an edge over everyone who wasn't there. Business has been a bit tight the first quarter of this year. Dick truly has made it his business to offer ways to work smarter, not harder. Thanks to Dick, I'm smarter and have an edge over the competition. Those of us who spent the day with Dick Betts are prepared to make the most of the rest of the year.

Thank you, Dick! I hope we can have you back again next year for a fresh shot in the arm.

Big Mistakes!

2008-04-09T13:50:53Z

I have a pet peeve: I really turn my nose up at e-mails, texts, blogs, web information or whatever that have grammatical or spelling mistakes in them. Why I would never let any sentence leave my computer for unknown cyber space with an error in it! It's annoying. It bespeaks of a lack of education which in turn looks like a lack of professionalism. I am so much grander than that. I am so careful and I proofread.......several times. Well, guess what?? I am one of the terrible offenders who offend me! With the best of intentions I type up e-mails, web fliers, texts, blogs, web site information and all kinds of things, proofread them and off they go. Once they are "out there" and I see them again (in public print), I suddenly see the mistakes! The typos (really they are typos, I can actually spell), the left out words, the "ofs" instead of "ifs", the "heres" instead of "hears", the misplaced or incorrect punctuation (do you put those commas and periods inside the quotation marks or outside?)........pretty much everything you can think of that makes me come off as unprofessional and uneducated is suddenly plain as day. Well it's your mistake (and mine when I'm reading your stuff) to think of me as a lesser agent. These things aren't unprofessional. They are the mark of a busy, on top of everything, go-getter real estate agent who is anxious, and obviously in a hurry, to connect with buyers, sellers and all of you.

I have decided to forgive us our little bitty grammatical, symantic and spelling transgressions. We are entirely too involved in the business of real estate to pick on each other for this nonsense. After all, if we know we are incredibly professional and are educated to the teeth with all the important things, who cares what people like me think?

Let's just keep on connecting in cyber space by whatever means we can!

Are You Working Hard?

2008-01-28T11:57:04Z

Here we are close to the end of January. I am so busy! There is real estate stuff going on every minute. I hardly have time to organize what I have to do. BUT, I'm not producing much income. There is a fine line between working hard to further the cause of real estate and spinning your wheels.

I don't think my busy work is in vain, but it is apparent that I am working 3 times harder for every deal. Yes, I read all the articles that suggest we work smarter, not harder. After almost 20 years I think I get what that means but it does not alter the fact that in this market we do indeed have to work harder. I'm now beginning to see that I am way too focused on business and I'm losing touch with my "real life."

I have the time to be all business and I don't need to be all business. So, agents, here's my advice: As hard as this is, STOP. Get out of the office, take a weekend off, go shopping in the middle of a weekday, start a class having nothing to do with business, obssess over a hobby, obssess over a person...... whatever, just do something other than business! If we refresh ourselves a little, it's easier to work really hard during those hours we choose to devote to real estate. Working hard is great as long as we know when to stop.