They call it "Buschwacking"... - 04/25/10 11:45 PM
The series isn't called Busch Grand National anymore.  It hasn't been for a few years...  But the name has stuck to the controversy like sticky tires on a track... 
Buschwacking...
What it boils down to is that many of the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) regulars are also NASCAR Sprint Cup (NSCS) regulars.  In fact, of the top 10 NNS drivers in the standings today, 7 are also racing in the NSCS.  Four of the top five. 
Why shouldn't they dominate the standings?  Aside from not making it to several races each season because they are at different venues on the same … (7 comments)

KuBu said a Dirty Word... - 04/25/10 10:06 PM
Today was a NASCAR kind of day.  My Friend Pat Johnson, of Rugged Ridge, had a spare ticket (provided by one of his customers, Jack Lancaster, owner of Tellico 4x4) for the race at Talladega Super Speedway.  We did a fairly fast road trip/race day...  On the way about 7:00 this morning and back home by 10:00 this evening. 
But all of that is only to set a stage... 
During the race, we were listening to the race communications between some drivers and crews.  It is really fun to hear what is going on behind the scenes.  It is also traditional … (0 comments)

53 Cool Concept Cars... Part II - 04/25/10 09:27 PM
 
Image by Chad Horwedel via Flickr I am NOT a Corvette guy… that said, I love the 63-67 Vettes.  I love the looks of both the convertible and the coupe… and the performance is pretty reasonable for the era.  But of course, car guys want more performance.  And as technology advances, more power gets squeezed out of the engines.
The performance of the current generation of Corvette has astounding performance.  The ZR-1 can run with just about anything… even cars that cost 4 or 5 times as much.  Ferraris and Lamborghinis have to watch the rear-view mirror for ZR-1s…
But … (2 comments)

Sellers at the Buyer's Inspection? - 04/24/10 11:01 PM
I was pondering this, while my buyer's inspector was prodding around a property.  Moments before, I had talked with the sellers briefly as they packed up their child in order to disappear for a while.
The sellers were very nice people, and I'm sure we would have had fun hanging out and talking about our kids and such while the inspector visited parts of their home they had never likely seen themselves.  But they had alternate plans for the morning... and that was cool, too.  I knocked out a few emails... and pondered. 
Should Sellers attend the Buyer's Inspection?
There are … (106 comments)

A little more about an Atlanta rebarcamp - 04/23/10 12:17 AM
I still haven't kicked this idea. 
But that doesn't mean it is a certainty, yet.  There are a lot of details to be worked out, such as venue, if there will be a cost and the exact date.  Of course, there also needs to be a team to make it happen. 
But before we put together a team and start scouting venues and getting all of the details in place, there are about 3,572 questions.  Here are the first 8... 
Loading... 
Thank you for taking a moment to fill out the questionaire... you did fill it out, right? 
We'd love for … (3 comments)

Tax Credit Mix - 04/22/10 11:30 PM
The First Time Home Buyer & Move-Up Buyer Tax Credits are slated to end unless a property is under contract two weeks from tomorrow.  I don’t see another extension this time.  Even the NAR isn’t pushing for it this time. (Active Military have an extra year to get the credit…)
Image by Steve Kay via Flickr Because there is still a little time, I thought I would share a few posts about the tax credits… and a couple of other cool programs available.
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit… Extended and Expanded
Groovy Site for First Time Home Owners…
Is this … (4 comments)

Wayback... My Garage Wish List - 04/22/10 11:26 PM
Image by  lane.bailey via Flickr A couple of years ago I wrote a post about my wish list for garages.  This stuff isn’t rocket science, but it also seems to escape most builders…  There are a few out there that hit a few of these things, but it is a rarity to see a garage in a newer home that has all of these touches.
I’ve actually written a lot of posts about making garages better, both for builders and renovators.  (Keep in mind that I’m not a builder… I’m a user.  I USE my garage, like many of my clients).
… (6 comments)

Should Atlanta have a reBarCamp? - 04/20/10 09:44 PM
The Atlanta market is the home to REtechSouth, the premiere real estate technology conference in the Southeast.  It draws some of the best experts in Technology and Social Networking for real estate in the country.  I'm not going to even try to name all of the incredible speakers that come to RETSO, because I would miss a favorite... 
Several hundred real estate professionals came from all over the Southeast... and beyond... to learn the latest in tech and touch.  It was two amazing days of learning and networking.  I have been to all three RETSO events, and hope to make it … (6 comments)

Style Points - Revisited - 04/18/10 11:46 PM
I wrote a post a couple of years ago this week about my son and his ice skating lessons.  He was having issues bending his knees... which had been brought about partially by the type of skates he started with.  When he changed from rental figure skates to hockey skates, he was keeping the old (bad) habit he had relied upon.
Image by lane.bailey via Flickr It wasn't working out for him.  He had to unlearn the bad habits and learn a new way to skate.  Eric Bolton of the Atlanta Thrashers gave him some tips each week, and loads of … (0 comments)

Keeping up with the Joneses... - 04/18/10 11:42 PM
Partially inspired by a comment from my friend Jason Crouch on another post, I thought I would talk about a little of my "car upbringing". 
Jason commented: "Lane - I've never been a car guy, mainly because I never had anyone to teach me about cars when I was growing up. Wanna be my dad?"
My dad wwasn't a car guy... I actually pushed him in the right direction though, and we restored a couple of Thunderbirds together (a '62 and a '66), but he didn't start out that way.  It took me until college to get him that far. 
But … (0 comments)

Social Media Breakfast - Atlanta, April 22nd - 04/18/10 11:09 PM
It's the sensation that is sweeping the nation... OK, it is just sweeping Atlanta's northern arc...
Social Media Breakfast - Atlanta. 
Each month, on the 3rd and 4th Thursday, we get together to talk about responsible and ethical ways to leverage social networking for business.  From FaceBook Fan pages to Twitter, Foursquare and Posterous, we are touching on all of the newest and best ways to connect with our clients and customers. 
Northwest...
Ken Cook leads the Northwest crowd on the 3rd Thursday in Cobb County.  For April, FourSquare was on the menu, and James Ball (Hello North GA) was … (0 comments)

53 Cool Concept Cars... Part I - 04/18/10 10:34 PM
I couldn't help myself... I've been kicking this one around for a while now.  Video Sunday has become kind of boring... video is everywhere... it isn't new anymore. But these cars aren't old... ok, some of them might be old, but they haven't been floating around.  In fact, they may only exist in my head.  It would be fun to be able to just build street rods, off-road rigs, resto-mods and concept cars all of the time.  Not 'customer cars', fitting THEIR ideas and desires, but my own.
So I'm going to do it, if only in writing.
For my First … (0 comments)

Norcross, GA Market Report, February 2010 - 04/17/10 10:38 PM
Market stats for Norcross, February, 2010 indicate that there were 321 properties on the market. Overall, there is about a 9 month supply of properties, with sales remaining fairly steady...  Last February there were 38 sales, and there were 36 this time around.
In the sub-$200k arena, there were 157 listings, with about 6.7 months supply.  It may be the strongest market segment in Gwinnett County. Last month I was worried about the February showing, but it wasn't too bad.  It wasn't as strong as November (which dropped off) but better than I expected.
Between $200k and $400k, there were 109 … (0 comments)

Buford Market Report - February, 2010 - 04/17/10 10:19 PM
Market stats for Buford, February, 2010 indicate that there were 609 properties on the market. Overall, there was about an 15.5 month supply of properties, with sales slowing.  Oct/Nov were up dramatically, Dec was steady and January was down dramatically from last year.  February was down even more.
In the sub-$200k arena, there were 250 listings, with over 11.4 months supply.  Sales are definately slowing, with Absorption Rates moving out of the 5s to the 11s in the last couple of months.
Between $200k and $400k, there were 287 listings for sale, and just over 18 months of supply.  In December, … (0 comments)

Making Headway on my Fan Pages... - 04/16/10 11:38 PM
OK, on one of my Fan Pages...  GarageHomes
I'm not asking everyone to become a fan... I have enough fans for the 'vanity URL', so I'm not pushing it to get more fans (If you'd like to 'Fan' the page, that is cool, too...).  Instead, I just wanted to give a little credit to Mary McKnight.  She posted up a free template that was developed along with HomeGain. 
Here is a link. 
It is free, designed for real estate agents and reasonably cool.  I know that she is saving her best stuff for the paying clients, but this is a pretty … (9 comments)

Home Buyer Tax Credit isn't Gone... Yet... - 04/14/10 10:28 AM
Don't drag your feet. 
If you are planning on taking advantage of the Home Buyer Tax Credits (either the $8,000 First Time or $6,500 Existing Home Buyer Tax Credit), time is running short.  The credit expires for buyer not under contract as of Saturday, 30 April, 2010. 
That means that you HAVE to be UNDER CONTRACT... not just have an offer...
I have had a couple of buyers think that they could put in an offer and then negotiate it in May...  No.  There has to be a Binding Agreement on or before 30 April, 2010 (unless you are Active … (5 comments)

Racing to Meet the Deadline....What Constitutes a 'Binding Sales Agreement' when Your Short Sale Approval Occurs AFTER April 30th? - 04/12/10 10:55 PM
 
This is an interesting question...  And I asked another in the comments. 
If a short sale contingency means that there isn't a "binding contract", does that mean any other contingency... or even a Due Diligence period... means the contract isn't truly binding?
We fill out the Binding Agreement Date when both the buyer and seller have agreed on the terms.  Should the contract not bind until the bank signs off?
This is a very interesting dilema.  And I think there are a lot of points to be made for either side. 
Thank you, Lola, for posing this interesting question.
 
… (3 comments)

Sugar Hill Market Report - February, 2010 - 04/11/10 11:56 PM
Market stats for Sugar Hill, January, 2010 indicate that there are 202 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 9 month supply of properties, with sales remaining steady, although February was much weaker than the year prior.  It is one of the few markets to show more strngth in the last three months than in the last six.
In the sub-$200k arena, there are 115 listings, with under 10 1/2 months supply.  This segment has been slowing until the last couple of months...  January and February were both up from last year.
Between $200k and $400k, there are 80 … (2 comments)

Suwanee Market Report - February, 2010 - 04/11/10 11:50 PM
Market stats for Suwanee, January, 2010 indicate that there are 566 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 12.3 month supply of properties.
In the sub-$200k arena, there are 121 listings, with under 8.3 months supply. This is stronger than most of the rest of the county, but not as strong as it was in November (less than 4 months supply).  Part of that is because of the increase in listings... and half the sales, although February was looking up.
Between $200k and $400k, there are 271 listings for sale, and under 11.5 months of supply. Sales dropped off … (0 comments)

Duluth Market Report - February, 2010 - 04/11/10 11:38 PM
Preliminary stats for Duluth, January, 2010 indicated that there were 568 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 13.4 month supply of properties, with a marked deceleration in sales.  Sales in January were 45, compared to 48 a year earlier.
In the sub-$200k arena, there were 162 listings, with about a 8.7 month supply.  But that shows a slowing.  The Absorption Rate had gotten down into the high 4 month realm... and as recent as December, was in the low 5s. 
Between $200k and $400k, there are 170 listings for sale, and about 13 months of supply.  Sales dropped … (0 comments)

Lawrenceville Market Report - February, 2010 - 04/11/10 11:19 PM
Market stats for Lawrenceville, January, 2010, indicate that there are 1495 properties on the market. Overall, there is about an 10.5 month supply of properties, with a slight deceleration in sales.
In the sub-$200k arena, there are 1070 listings, with about a 9 month supply of homes. Sales accelerated through November, but then fell off as the first tax credit was slated to end... and the Holiday slowdown hit.  Sales have picked up for both January and February.
Between $200k and $400k, there are 375 listings for sale, and about 18 months of supply.  Sales have slowed dramatically since December, right … (1 comments)

Lilburn Market Report - February, 2010 - 04/11/10 11:04 PM
Market stats for Lilburn, January, 2010, indicate that there are 390 properties on the market (as of February 28th). Overall, there is about a 15 month supply of properties, with a slight acceleration in sales during October and November, but slowing in December and January, flat in February.
In the sub-$200k arena, there are 226 listings, with about an 11.5 month supply. The same pattern holds, that sales accelerated through October and November and slowed after that, but bumped slightly in February.
Between $200k and $400k, there are 147 listings for sale, and about 26 months of supply. This segment has … (0 comments)

Put on the Kid Gloves - 04/11/10 11:55 AM
The bigger one REALLY wants to work in the garage with Dad...  For the last few months, there hasn't been much work going on, but there has been some planning.  One of the plans has been to try to find a pair of work gloves that would fit a kid... 
We tried Mechanix Wear, but they had discontinued their kids gloves.  They don't have a plan to bring them back...  That was my first choice... I have several (at least 10) pairs of their gloves, and I really like them.  They keep me from chewing up my hands while working on … (4 comments)

They Name Houses... don't they? - 04/08/10 11:32 PM
Greg Nino had a fun post I saw earlier this evening.  He is a real estate agent in Houston, and he was sharing some of the crazy things he's seen while showing homes. 
Most agents have stories like those... and I was reminded of a few of mine. 
Here are some of mine...
Dead Guy House We called for an appointment, and showed up at the alloted time...  After spending about 15 minutes upstairs, we decided to take a look at the basement.  The dogs were loud, but they were supposed to be friendly.  The gang leader was a beagle...  … (17 comments)

Mud 4 Blood 7 in Kennesaw, GA... - 04/06/10 02:59 PM
May 1st is the day, Hooters of Kennesaw is the place.  The event is Mud for Blood 7.  It has grown to be one of LifeSouth's biggest collection events each year. 
Each year, many of the local Four Wheel Drive clubs get together to donate blood and support regional charities.  In addition to the blood donations there is also a truck & car show, silent auction and door prize drawing for donors.  Some vendors also sponsor special deals for the day.  In the past, Omix-Ada has allowed Mud4Blood to host their annual "Scratch and Dent" sale with returned merchandise and stuff … (1 comments)

Smokerise Baptist Church Car Show - May 1st - 04/06/10 08:43 AM
It is time again for the Smokerise Baptist Church Car Show.  This will be the 12th annual show; it started in 1999. 
Last year, despite weather that was challenging (causing the show to be delayed a week, and still raining at various times through the day), some very cool vehicles came out for the show.  In addition to cars and trucks, there were some cool vintage motorcycles. 
Here is a little taste of the action from 2009. 
 
Registration is from 9am until noon.  Judging runs from noon until 3pm.  The awards ceremony is at 3pm.  The vehicles are available for … (2 comments)

A "Wayback"... Houses and FREE Cars... - 04/04/10 11:03 PM
A couple of years ago this week, I wrote about a (then) new marketing move I had been seeing.  Both new home developers and owners of existing homes were offering free cars to buyers. 
Image via  Wikipedia From that time to this, I have seen this offer in a variety of ways…  I’ve seen builders offer leases on expensive cars, like BMWs and Jaguars (both to agents and to buyers), or inclusion of less expensive cars, like Hondas and Toyotas.  I have seen private sellers offer up new Fords, Toyotas and others… and even include used cars.
But… there is a … (1 comments)

7 Things the Builder forgot to put in Your Garage... - 04/04/10 10:56 PM
Even the best new construction garages I've found are lacking... but one day a builder will come along and turn out a proper garage.  In the mean time... until builders start coinsulting me about these things... here is a list of things that you should be ready to correct. 
Electrical outlets - Three is not enough.  For some reason, many builders seem to want to put one outlet on each wall.  That isn't enough for ANYONE that is going to do anything in the garage.  For a two car garage, seven 110V outlets would be better (two on each side wall … (37 comments)

A New Video Resource... Video Connector - 04/04/10 09:26 PM
I recently subscribed to the Video Connector.  It is a cool new service from MY video provider. Tara Jones and TJ Hedges, the folks behind the Video Connector, are friends of mine.  they are also the folks I turn to in order to provide video for my listings. 
Reel Productions has grown to be one of the best real estate video companies in the country.  They have travelled coast to coast for big national brokerages.  They have had agents fly them all over and charter helicopters for them to do property or neighborhood profiles.  They have presented at major conferances ranging … (0 comments)

5 Steps to make your Garage Cool... - 04/02/10 11:03 PM
The garages in most homes are less than spectacular.  In fact, a lot of them (including mine... excuse soon) won't even hold a car.  They seem to collect all sorts of things, from Christmas decorations to sports equipment.  All of that is in addition to tools, lawn equipment and the bulky stuff that won't go elsewhere. 
But, most garages are pretty close to being back into 'show shape'.  Here is a good place to start...  Let's get started. 
 
Step 1.  Clean out the 'Not-Garage-Stuff'.  Get the Christmas decorations up to the attic or down to the basement.  Find a closet … (16 comments)

Spring has Sprung in Lilburn, GA... - 04/01/10 10:34 AM
Spring is busting out all over Lilburn, GA.  The usual signs are plain to see, and if you are missing them, the pine pollen will be here soon to make sure you see spring everywhere... 
Of course, there are a few things that you need to do in order to prepare for spring. 
Change the Smoke Detector batteries if you didn't do it with the time change.  Change the air filter on your HVAC.  Depending on your filter media, it usually needs to be changed at an interval between 30 days and 30 months.  The 1" thick (often blue) filters need … (3 comments)

 
Dscn1453 Ambassador_large

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy

Suwanee, GA

More about me…

Century 21 Results Realty

Address: 2209 Sharon Rd, Suite 250, Cumming, GA, 30041

Office Phone: (678) 679-1393

Cell Phone: (678) 200-5895

Email Me

GarageHomesUSA Logo

Get great free widgets at Widgetbox! Clicky Web Analytics

Clicky



Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog

Find GA real estate agents and Suwanee real estate on ActiveRain.