Lane's Blog - Looking out from the garage

Taking Real Estate Pictures, Part I… Getting Started

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:44:03 -0500

In real estate photography, there are three ways to go about showcasing listings.

Hire a professional photographer to capture the images
Do it yourself
Skip that whole thing and list it without pictures

In this series, we'll be talking mostly about doing it yourself. However, in many cases, it would be advantageous to hire a photographer. If you are so busy with other parts of your business that you don't have time to do it right, get a pro. If you don't have the skills (and/or you aren't willing to take the time to learn them), get a pro. If you don't want to dedicate the time to get it right, get a pro. These aren't meant to be mean... but to let you know that the pictures on a listing are one of, if not THE most important marketing tool you have.

There is no shame in hiring a pro... I have better than a decade in professional advertising photography behind me, and I have hired photographers to shoot some of my listings. I did, however, go back and shoot more supporting images. And that is a GREAT way to transition from hiring out the photography to handling it in-house. Bring in a pro to shoot the major scenes, then shoot the details yourself. It will save a little money, and not compromise the marketing of the listing.

There are a few things that you need to know in order to get started in handling your own photography for your real estate listings. Over the next few weeks, we'll be covering them in more detail, individually...

Cameras (you don't NEED to have a big, expensive camera to shoot great pictures, but it doesn't hurt)
Lighting (this is where the action is)
Aperture and Shutter speed combinations (the mechanics of taking pictures)
Composition (framing it up to make it work)
Tricky Details (those little things that catch us off-guard)

Photography isn't hard, but it does require attention to detail. The techniques are all pretty basic, but stacking things on top of each other is where things can get a little tricky... for example, combining flash and ambient lighting, or balancing inside and outside light. And one of the greatest aspects of modern digital photography is the ability to see immediately the results... in time to correct the images BEFORE breaking down and going back to the office.

I will try to get specific as often as I can, and the tips will be related to shooting real estate. Of course, some of them might also jump over into your vacation shots and family pictures. Stay tuned...

Unusual Sunset Shoot: Indoor Photography (dashamones.wordpress.com)
Top real estate photographer of 2011 awarded (agbeat.com)
Take More Photos - Keep Less (digital-photography-school.com)
Lighting Guidelines For Photography (tfollowers.com)
Photography 101- Aperture (stoneandrose.com)
Photography: Just Like Flying (captainkathymccullough.wordpress.com)
A Basic Look at the Basics of Exposure (nikonusa.com)
Zoom Lens Maximum Aperture: Fixed and Variable Apertures (nikonusa.com)

via LaneBailey.info

I'd love to hear from you...

How Good Are YOUR Market Reports?

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:51:50 -0500

I ask myself all of the time...

How good are my market reports?
Are they compelling?
Why should a buyer or seller read MY market report instead of one of the hundreds of other reports out there?
Am I providing value?
What do consumers want in a market report?

I am specifically NOT leaving a link to one of my market reports in order for everyone to grade it. Rather, I would love to hear about what YOU think makes a great market report... whether you are an agent, broker, consumer or vendor.

What makes a great market report?

I'd love to hear from you...

rebarcamp Atlanta, 2011... Coming up SOON!

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:32:06 -0400

Less than 10 days from now, Atlanta will have its second rebarcamp event.

If you haven't been to one of the rebarcamp (rebc) events around the country, you REALLY need to change that. rebc events are billed as the "unconference". Unlike a traditional conference, there aren't a bunch of vendors running sessions that are thinly disguised sales pitches... and sometimes they aren't even thinly disguised. If you've ever been to the NAR Convention, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It seems like every "education" seminar ends with "and you can get my DVD set at booth 347, for just $199."

At rebarcamp, you talk with other real estate professionals about things that each of you are doing to build your businesses. Small groups get together and share ideas around specific topics. There aren't any "presentations" or lectures, but rather crowd sourcing solutions.

One of the coolest things about the rebc movement is its flexibility. Unlike a traditional seminar, the schedule isn't preset. It makes it seem a little crazy at first, but there is a HUGE advantage. Participants come in with needs and questions, and they have a much better chance at finding solutions and answers.

We are bending the "normal" rebc conventions a little bit. The first round of sessions in the morning will be set before the event, but after the first hour, anything goes. When we have the opening remarks, we will call for ideas on sessions. They could be anything from "Better Leveraging FaceBook Pages" or "Twitter for Non-Twits" to "Short Sale Disaster Avoidance" and "How Should I Spend My Advertising Budget... like I actually have one".

rebcATL2011 is only $17.50... for a FULL day of learning and networking. This year's event will be held at the Mansour Center in Marietta, GA.

Check out the website for more info. If you want to go straight to the ticket page, you can do that, too...

I'd love to hear from you...

Just thought I would share...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:30:39 -0400

Those of us that live in the Atlanta Metro area are all pretty familiar with Buckhead. And I have lived here for a little over 22 years... but I have a connection that goes back WAY before that.

I lost my father in 1997, and he never lived here... but he did visit Buckhead... LONG ago. He visited me several times after I moved to Atlanta in 1989, but when he was still a kid, he was passing through Buckhead with a few teammates. He was a student at the Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, TN, and on the Rifle Team. They had just completed a competition in South GA, and were passing through on the way back to school. It would have been around 1946... and my father would have been around the tender age of 14.

The driver of the car stopped in Buckhead for a short break. While he was out of the car, my father made a quick run into one of the local bars (yes, there were bars there then, too...) and bought a beer. He was in his Military Academy uniform, and the bartender probably assumed that he was a soldier...

So my dad had his first beer in Buckhead.

True to his nature, we drove down to Buckhead one day... probably around 1995 or so... and he was able to show me the exact place that they were parked, as well as the bar where he got the beer. It wasn't a bar then, and now it doesn't even exist as a building, but we found an old picture... and he was right on point.

Oddly, my dad was never really a beer drinker. He joked that if he'd bought a 6-pack at that time, it might have been a lifetime supply.

I'd love to hear from you...

So, A Real Estate Blog Should Be About Real Estate, Huh?

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:17:01 -0400

But what about social networking?

A few days ago I posted that (in my humble opinion) real estate blogs should be about real estate... not movie reviews, restaurant reviews, not recipes... Real estate. That is what the audience is tuning in for, give them what they want. I gave a few examples of what I see from my traffic patterns, and generally tried to support my opinion.

But, real estate agents that are marketing online (should) have a LOT more channels aside from their real estate blog. And I DO believe that there is a place in some of those other channels for items with less focus. First, let's run down a few options:

YouTube
Posterous
Twitter
FaceBook (Business) Page
Delicious (Link sharing)
Flickr (Photo Sharing)
FourSquare (Location Sharing)
Community Websites
More...

With the exception of the community websites, EVERY one of those items listed is FREE. Community websites might be free, might cost a few bucks a year, or might cost as much as $100 (if you have to have someone set it up). But there is something that they ALL have in common, too. They can all be support systems for your real estate website. And they can all send links to your real estate website... they are all outposts, providing information and hopefully send a few people trotting off to visit your cyber-office. A community website is the absolute toughest to get going... and has the most reward if you get it right.

Video is hot. You should have video of testimonials, communities, local events, YOU and likely a plethora of other things. Host them on YouTube, embed them on your site (the ones that belong) and let them pull in a little traffic. Flickr is much the same... but with pictures instead of video.

Posterous is COOL. It is a great way to get some of the content to the other sites... and also share news and tidbits about things that are happening in the community. Grab an RSS feed from your Posterous site and let it run on the sidebar of your blog. Pull in calendar entries from local events, interviews with local politicians or business-people, news items, reviews or local places, etc. Don't make it the focus of your website... let it stand on its own, while contributing a little to your website. Better yet, make it community specific, and find people in the community that want to load THEIR content onto it. Be the publisher...

A great source of news is Twitter. I have come to see Twitter as "broadcast media" rather than as person to person social networking. Some will disagree, but I look at Twitter the same way as I look at the "newswire services". Filter it down to what is important, and then share that in a news feed on your site. It isn't terribly difficult in a geographic specialty... but a bit tougher with a lifestyle specialty.

Delicious is a link sharing site. Instead of having a giant blogroll of all of the people you might know, share the links through Delicious... they can be tagged and categorized to make finding resources easier for your reader. Again, publish a feed to your sidebar.

On FourSquare, do those reviews (in the "Tips" section of the location). Have a great profile and point it back to your website. If there is someone out there that will buy a house from you based on your incredible writing about an ice cream cone... they can still find you.

FaceBook could be 20 posts all by itself. But, the basic idea is to make a Page about a community and then get the community to give it life. You should be there to nurture it, cull out the junk (and competitors) and keep it moving along. Talk about the parks, restaurants, movies, local parades and a zillion other things. Let it be a virtual Town Square where people can gather at 4am in their underwear without being laughed at (nobody has to know).

The bottom line is that there IS a place for all of that other content we want to use to show everyone how connected we are to the community. It just might not be the main real estate website.

What do YOU think?

HOW TO: Create a Foursquare Page for Your Nonprofit (nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com)
Neybor Introduces New Lead Generation and Conversion Solution at Inman Connect Real Estate Conference (prweb.com)
Foursquare: More Than Fun & Games, A Potent Local Search Tool (searchengineland.com)
Groupon & Foursquare Partner Up for Real-Time Deals (blogworld.com)
8 Tips to Creating a Branded Foursquare Page (socialmediaexplorer.com)
Atlanta Real Estate Forum Celebrates Fourth Anniversary (prweb.com)
Real Estate Internet Marketing Expert Launches New Twitter Marketing Blueprint (prweb.com)

from LaneBailey.info

I'd love to hear from you...

I'm Going to Post RE Blogging Heresey...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:14:43 -0400

Image via Wikipedia

I have been blogging about real estate since 2008... so over three years. I can say proudly that I have a few thousand posts. Of those, there are a lot that were NOT about real estate, but that appeared on my real estate blog. Some were about cars (I just started a car blog JUST for those posts). Others were about local news. Still others were about local businesses, entertainment venues, parks and recreational opportunities.

As long as I have been blogging, the mantra has been to "Be the source of information about EVERYTHING in the community".

But after years of blogging, and looking over my blog posts and traffic patterns... I'm not so convinced any more. I see where my traffic is coming from, and I see which posts are the popular entry (and exit) posts. BUT, I also talk to the people that call, email or contact me in other ways... and I ask them what made them make the call.

Let me make a few points...

Almost without exception, my most read posts are NOT real estate related in any way.
My most read posts are NOT about local issues, businesses, personalities or events.
The post types that causes the most direct contact from consumers are market reports.
I've NEVER had someone say they wanted to work with me because of a review of a local business.
Most of my local name recognition has come from local event and local issue posts... but I can't say one has ever brought me business.

Keep in mind, this is specifically about real estate blogging...

Here are the take-aways that I see from the above points.

A real estate blog needs to be focused on real estate. There is plenty of room for reviews, lists of area attractions and other local interest items, but they should not be the focus of the blog.
Hyper-local news DOES belong on a good real estate website. It shouldn't be the focus, and even a "curatorial" style might be enough (rolling links to a variety of hyper-local news stories, for example... like a Twitter based local news feed).
Market Reports are one of THE most important things to have on a real estate website. Consumers want to understand the real estate market, whether they are buying or selling.
Market Stats are nice... but people want interpretation of the stats. They want to know your professional opinion is about the direction of the market... up or down.
Community profiles are VERY in demand. Buyers want to know about the communities and the schools that they are considering. They might like to know about the history, school performance and local culture... but they REALLY want to know about prices, styles and economic outlook. All of those items belong in the community profile, but some might be links to specialty sites, like GreatSchools.net or sections of a city's website.
Daily updates are overkill... but a good real estate blog needs to have depth. After you have 40 or 50 solid posts, posting up 2-3 times a week might work... assuming that will cover the areas you need to cover.
Helping real estate "Do-It-Yourselfers" is good business. Give them your best tips for promoting their property, warn them of the most common pitfalls they may face (Fair Housing laws, for example) and give them the steps for a smooth transaction. But don't talk down to them.

Is this a sure-fire path to success? No. But it might help. Don't forget, though... it's just my opinion. Look for a related post coming up about Social Networking.

Lane's Newest Toy... CCotD (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

from LaneBailey.info

****Post-script... I just added the next part of this series to Active Rain. I had it up on LaneBailey.info yesterday (for those that wanted to jump ahead...). Here is a link.

I'd love to hear from you...

Lane's Newest Toy... CCotD

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:43:12 -0400

It is NO secret around here that I am a Car Guy. I guess that would be why I am THE Garage Guy, too. For the last 4+ years one thing I have had NO problem being transparent about is my love of things automotive. Here on this blog, as well as my blog, LaneBailey.com, and my website, GarageHomesUSA.com, I have written numerous posts about cars, garages and cool tools.

Recently, I started a blog solely targeted to other car lovers. It is called CoolCaroftheDay.com. And because I seem to be a glutton for punishment, I also created a network of supporting sites:

Cool Car of the Day on FaceBook
Cool Car of the Day on YouTube
Cool Car of the Day on Twitter
CoolCaroftheDay.mobi on Posterous

Blogging here on Active Rain and meeting so many influential and successful bloggers has taught me a LOT about creating content and delivering it. I've tried to take some of that knowledge in a new direction.

I still enjoy blogging about real estate... but I have also written around 2000 posts. I have 1780 posts here in the Rain, and there are around 1600 on LaneBailey.com... there is certainly a lot of crossover between my blogs. I am slowing down a bit on real estate. I have trimmed back from 7 days a week on LaneBailey.com down to 3 days a week.

The new blog has been up around a month. There have already been some really cool cars... and there are more coming.

Road Atlanta preview

I'd love for you to check it out...

I'd love to hear from you...

The Gwinnett County Market is a Little Weird Right Now...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:16:41 -0400

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

I have been pulling Gwinnett County Real Estate Market Data, and I'm not done with it yet. But, I have been seeing a few things.

Listings are down markedly from where they would normally be. This can be either a positive or negative, depending on your outlook.
- On the Plus Side, fewer listings means that Absorption Rates are better. There is less inventory to get sold... it tilts the table back toward sellers. It has been largely tilted toward buyers for quite a while.
- On the Minus Side, it shows that there is pessimism in the market on the side of sellers. They aren't confident about the market. That lack of confidence has carried over to buyers... sales are also slowing.
Sales are down... like I just mentioned. Even though Absorption Rates make the market look better... the sales just aren't there.
Results are mixed. There are a few cities that are doing well... and there are a few price segments that are doing quite well. Others are VERY weak.

Norcross, GA, Market Report, April 2011 (lanebailey.com)
Buford, GA, Market Report, April 2011 (lanebailey.com)
Lawrenceville, GA Market Report, April 2011 (lanebailey.com)
Sugar Hill, GA, Market Report, April 2011 (lanebailey.com)
Let's take a break from Market Reports in Gwinnett County, GA (lanebailey.com)

from LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Wayback Wednesday... Car Show THIS Weekend...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Thu, 05 May 2011 00:33:46 -0400

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Kind of odd that for a "Wayback" post I would talk about an upcoming car show... But the show happens around the first Saturday in May each year... and so THIS Saturday is the day.

Smokerise Baptist Church is having their 11th Annual Smokerise Car Show on Saturday from 9am until 3pm. Registration runs from 9am until Noon... so there might be a few cars that don't show up until late. Judging runs from Noon until 3pm.

And check out this link for pictures from last year's show. There were some pretty cool rides on hand... and that was with showers threatening all day.

BTW, the other car show mentioned in that post, Mud4Blood, will be on May 28th. That one promises to rock, too...

I'd love to hear from you...

Dear Builder... I've NEVER heard...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:55:24 -0400

Image via Wikipedia

Dear Builder,

I've NEVER had a buyer client tell me that they thought the garage was too big. Granted, most of my buyers are "car people", so the deck is a bit stacked, but not all of them are. In fact, I've had clients with little interest in cars... and they still wanted a garage that was just a little bigger.

You see, lots of people use their garages for a lot of different things. Many of my clients like to build cars or weld something back together in their garage, but others just want to be able to fit two cars and their riding lawnmower. Some people might want to move the cars out and build a nice piece of furniture. Others need a place to store their camping equipment while they are back in civilization.

Of course, square footage is valuable, especially as margins are squeezed, but homes with more generous garages might also sell a bit quicker. And that helps the margin, too. Turning over inventory faster lowers carrying costs. And while we're at it, can we have a couple more outlets in the garage? I've seen too many garages lately that only had one outlet (aside from the one for the garage door opener). One. Even my 40 year old house has four outlets...

Photo Friday... What are YOUR Garage Needs? (lanebailey.com)
Wayback Wednesday... The Builder Forgot to Add ___ (lanebailey.com)
Wayback Wednesday... Make YOUR Garage Cool... (lanebailey.com)
Some Cool Garage Homes in Gwinnett County, GA (lanebailey.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

$34M for a Royal Wedding? What Does That Get in Gwinnett County GA?

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:13:35 -0400

Cover of Royal Wedding

Are you "Royal Wedding"ed out yet? Honestly, I was a bit over it a week ago. I appreciate the historic significance of the event, but knowing what type of diapers Kate and William wore as infants and interviews with people that saw them in the hallways at grade school is a little much.

And then I heard that the estimated cost of the event was between $34M and $60M (British Tax Payers shelled out about $30M for security in addition to the cost of the nuptials...). And I got to wondering...

What kind of Real Estate would $34M buy in Gwinnett County, GA?

Honestly, that would be a REALLY generous budget around here. The most expensive house listed in the county right now is "only" $6,750,000. It is lovely 8 bedroom, 10 full/2 half bathroom home in the Sugarloaf Country Club (and it you want to buy it, I would be GLAD to help you out... Proof of Funds are required for showings).

There would even be a nice chunk of change left over to buy a warehouse to keep the toys in... and there would be a pretty nice toy budget in there, as well.

What about a nice lake house on Lake Lanier?

Well... I happen to know of one. it is a mere $4,500,000 and has 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths and 2 half baths. There is also a 6 car garage and just over 6 acres of grounds... with 750 feet of lake frontage. Lake Lanier is just north of the Atlanta Metro area, between Gainesville and Cumming, GA. It borders Gwinnett, Hall and Dawson Counties.

There are some homes in Buckhead and a few other areas around here where there are homes between $10M and $20M... but these are pretty interesting homes. And $34,000,000 is a LOT of money. In fact, ALL of the homes sold in Lilburn, GA, during the 1st Quarter of 2011 totaled up to about $16,800,000. That is a lot of coin...

I'd love to hear from you...

53 Cool Concept Cars... Part L...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:52:37 -0400

I have been busy over on my other blog, plugging away writing 6 posts a week... And I have been working on this series for about a year. There are only 3 more to go (L = Roman Numeral 50). Come on over and see what I'm up to over there...

Image via Wikipedia

I previously wrote about a diesel-electric RV... and the natural extension from that would be a diesel-electric semi. After all, it is the power supply of trains.

Yep... diesel powered trains are actually hybrids, and they always have been. The diesel engine powers a generator producing electricity. At the axles, there are electric motors that provide the actual motive power. The advantage is that the diesel engine can be tuned to run under a more specific RPM range... basically tuned for maximum efficiency. Instead of the engine speeding up and slowing down with the speed of the truck, it only needs to react to the needs of the generator.

In the case of a semi, they already weigh a lot. So, the addition of some battery packs wouldn't have as much of an impact. And since the size (and weight) of the engine could be reduced, the generator package shouldn't add that much weight either.

It sure would be an interesting hybrid. And since tractor-trailers spend all of their time on the road, often running well over a million miles, they should be able to actually pay back the increased cost of the hybrid system. (Just guessing about that...)

It would be pretty cool, though.

53 Cool Concepts... Part IL (lanebailey.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

Wayback Wednesday... Property Tax Valuations...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:23:53 -0400

Image by epSos.de via Flickr

It's that time again. Last week we got our tax valuation reassessed. For us, it wasn't a bad thing and honestly, it hasn't been for the folks I have talked with. Let me qualify that... for the amount of tax we pay, it wasn't a bad thing.

Two years ago, Gwinnett County re-assessed our home. The jacked us up by about 12%, even though there was NO justification in the comps. They got away with it because it wasn't worth the fight for us to carry on. We disputed it a couple of levels, but eventually dropped it.

Oddly, this was almost exactly two months after the State of Georgia passed a law requiring the counties to consider foreclosures and short sales in the valuation process. I think it might have been their "last hurrah" before having the valuations that were based in reality.

As mentioned, we got our valuation last week. And it went down... way down. in fact, it dropped by more than twice as much as it went up... we were down over 25%. Good news for the house payment. Bad news for the value of our house. Bad news for Gwinnett county... the budget is not going to be happy with all of these lower valuations.

Wayback Wednesday... The Lilburn CID (lanebailey.com)
Wayback Wednesday... Let's Freak Out Some Counties! (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

Yeah... I've been kind of absent lately...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 21:02:55 -0400

But don't worry, everything is fine. I've been blogging on my regular site, LaneBailey.com... and sometimes on LaneBailey.info, which is more about social media. I just haven't had much time to spend here commenting or posting special content for my A|R Blog. I'm going to change that a bit... I'll bring some of my content from the other sites, as well as some specific content for here... Obviously, the points aren't my main concern anymore.

There are a lot of things going on... Social Media Breakfast Atlanta (not getting as much of my time as I think it needs), reBarCamp Atlanta, my Junior Achievement volunteer time (and check out the kids in those links...), Cub Scouts (I'm a Den Leader and active in Pack Leadership), building a Jeep from the ground up and life... oh, and selling some real estate.

One of the things that has pulled me back to post on Active Rain is the incredible community. I have had calls from several folks I "know" through the site. Some that I have never met, and others that I likely wouldn't have met had it not been for AR. It is great to know that I am part of such a wonderful community. And it is even better to know that others have noticed my absence and even taken a moment to worry about me.

I'm fine... And thank you. Thank you very much.

BTW, I am working on a couple of other projects which may find their way onto Active Rain in the not too distant future, but I can't release any details on those yet.

And for those coming ot REtechSouth at the end of March, I will be there. I'm going to be hanging out and enjoying the opportunity to learn some new skills and reconnect with some of my Active Rain peeps... I hardly get to see some folks.

I also my be involved with Xplode - Destin, FL, which is part of a series of real estate technology events outside of the Atlanta market. I'll have to see what happens with that... but Matt Fagioli and I are talking.

Geez... I almost forgot that my 4wd club is hosting a blood drive at the end of May. We want YOUR blood. We want to retake the #1 spot for 1 day blood drives with LifeSouth. We were #1 for a couple of years, and then got kicked all of the way to #3. Our little 40 member family club had to take a back seat to a 2,000 member church congregation and a 1500 member alumni group. We want our title back... ;^ )

Life is busy, but I haven't forgotten about my Active Rain friends, and I will spend a bit more time here.

I'd love to hear from you...

53 Cool Concepts... Part XLII

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:28:52 -0500

It is a time honored tradition among car companies... and it makes a lot of financial sense. Build cars with similar components. If they can dive into the parts bin instead of designing a new piece from the ground up, they can save a lot of money. Everything from floor architecture to minor switchgear may be shared among cars.

Image via Wikipedia

A great example of this is with Chrysler. The Charger, Magnum, 300 and Challenger all have the same underpinnings... suspensions, brakes, steering... and also (with a few exceptions) the same engine and transmission offerings. In the case of the Charger, Magnum and 300, the front clips could be interchanged... although it wasn't a direct bolt-up.

And then there are cases like the Toyota MR2, where a common front wheel drive powertrain was relocated behind the driver to build a mid-engine, rear wheel drive car.

So... what can we do with that?

Ford has the Taurus SHO. It is a higher powered version of a reasonably boring, but competent car. There aren't that many front wheel drive 365hp powerplants floating around.

Image via Wikipedia

Twenty years ago, Ford took the SHO powerplant and transplanted it into a Fiesta... the result was the SHOgun. Nasty powerful and incredibly twitchy. A wolf in econobox clothing.

What they really need to do is make a Ford GT for the rest of us. Perhaps a 2 seat, mid engine car, maybe weighing under 2400lbs. Back it up with a 6 or 7 speed transmission and a limited slip differential. I would bet that it could stretch 30+mpg on the highway. The Taurus weighs in at almost 4400lbs. Dropping a ton and reducing the frontal area would rock the mileage, even with a sporty tune. The Taurus SHO is rated for 25mpg on the highway. The SHO kicks out around a 5.5sec 0-60 time and a 13sec 1/4 mile. I would expect that a 2400lb mid-engine car with good traction could drop that time under 4sec for the 0-60 and 11.5sec for the 1/4.

Fun...

2013 Ford Taurus SHO To Get Horsepower Bump? (ridelust.com)
53 Cool Concepts... Part XXXII... (lanebailey.com)
53 Cool Concepts... Part XXVIII (lanebailey.com)
53 Cool Concept Cars... Part XXXVIII (lanebailey.com)

Cool Concept Cars on LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Photo Friday... This Little Piggy Went to Market

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:00:51 -0500

Looking over the wares

Last summer, Lilburn, GA, began a weekly Farmer's Market every Friday from 4-8pm. Booths were set up on Railroad Ave., next the the Police Station and City Park. We made it out a few times with the kids to pick up some fresh treats... and see some neighbors. One of the things that makes Lilburn seem like a small town is that we run into our childrens' schoolmates, fellow Cub Scout Parents, our neighbors and other folks we know in the community... seemingly everywhere.

It looks like the Lilburn Farmer's Market will be back again this year. It should be starting around June 3rd. That is just me guessing, though...

If you'd like to live in a community like this, I'd love to help you find the perfect home for you. We have great people, great schools, and excellent access to all that the Atlanta area has to offer.

Lilburn, GA Market Report, December 2010 (gwinnettgarageguy.com)
Flashback Friday... Where in the World is Lilburn? (gwinnettgarageguy.com)
Photo Friday... Where in the World? (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

Lilburn Happenings on LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Local? Hyper-Local? National? What IS the Market?

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:39:09 -0500

I love watching the news... but when they talk about the real estate market, I cringe. I like to hear the national numbers, but I also know that they are just a framework for a smaller discussion. Yep... a smaller discussion.

It matters what the overall market is doing, but it's not nearly as important as what is happening in your neighborhood. It matters what is happening in Georgia, and the Atlanta Metro market, but not nearly as much as what is happening in your specific city. Real estate prices and demand react to specific local issues much more than to national trends. In fact, the national trend is just a compilation of local and hyper-local trends. What the national market does is create a headwind or a tailwind. That's about it.

Here locally, we look at things like...

changing employment statistics
companies relocating into or out of the area
school performance and trends
tax burdens
quality of local governmental services
proximity to recreation and entertainment
ease of movement (commuting, shopping, etc)

As we see these things change, we see the market move in one direction or another. A prime example at the moment is the City of Atlanta schools issue. It is possible that the Atlanta City Schools could lose their accreditation. If that were to happen, it would drive down the price of most of the homes served by those schools. The price would be driven down because there would be a lack of demand on the part of buyers, combined with an increase in supply as sellers seek to move to districts without the same problems.

Gwinnett County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Georgia, below the national average. But there is also a tremendous overhead of foreclosure action. We also have one of the highest performance school systems in the region... and reasonably low tax rates.

The market in Miami or Las Vegas doesn't have an effect on what is happening in Georiga, much less what is going on with real estate in Gwinnett County.

Explaining Market Reports on LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Wayback Wednesday... Still Boring?

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:51:21 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

Two whole years ago... Wow, time flies.

I wrote a post about the Top 10 Most Boring Cars. It is one that got a lot of attention off of my blog. I have had a few people comment to me personally about my choices. I still don't know how someone can defend the Camry as being 'non-boring.'

That was a fun list to write. I like writing car posts... There are days that I think I would like to make this whole blog about cars and do my real estate writing elsewhere. I've done a few car posts, and they have generally been popular. My Top 10 Nastiest Vehicles You've Never Heard Of post has been one of the most read posts I've done. I can count on it to get 30 or 40 hits a week now... even after three years.

I'd love to hear about cars you think are exceptionally cool... or cars you think are exceedingly boring.

Boring Cars on LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Cheap Tips #3... Making a First Impression in 6 Steps

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:31:18 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

We all know that there is no second chance to make a first impression. That saying almost couldn't be more overused. But it is still true. I drive up to homes for the first time with buyers on an almost daily basis. I listen to them as we approach the house. I listen to them as we park in front or in the driveway. I listen to them as we walk up to the front door. I listen to them as I access the lockbox and open the front door for the first time.

I hear a lot of the same comments... It doesn't cost an arm and a leg to freshen up the outside of the house, but you do have to be strategic. These are the things to concentrate on.

Driveway. Clean it up. If you have a pressure washer, it might be a good way to spend a Saturday morning. If there are oil stains, there are a few tricks you might try. I have also had success with a paste made out of powder laundry detergent. I wet the area, apply the paste, letting it sit for a while. I use a stiff pushbroom to scrub it in... then rinse it off with a LOT of water.
Image via Wikipedia

Keep the Grass Cut. So easy, and it is something that about half of the foreclosures I see don't have done enough. Since it is something you should be doing anyway.... it really isn't costing more. And you never know when the right buyer is going to show up. It is an easy way to seperate your home from the foreclosure up the street.
Pinestraw, Mulch and Edging. A few bales of pinestraw or bags of mulch can really make the landscaping look fresh. Keeping the lawn neatly trimmed, with nice edging goes a long way. A few fresh flower plantings can push it over the top.
Front Door. Make it the best it can be. If it is painted, a fresh coat of paint is cheap and VERY important. If it is stained wood, clean it up and consider refinishing it. Buyers, and their agent will be standing outside of the front door for a couple of minutes while the agent opens the lockbox to get the key. The buyers WILL be looking at the house while they stand there.
Clean up Outside. There are places that we never think about... spiderwebs under the eaves, junk in the HVAC Outside Unit, junk in the gutters, keep the rear deck or patio swept.
Last thing... Clean the outside of the Windows. Windex makes a sprayer that screws onto your garden hose. Clean out the spiderwebs and get rid of last winter's grunge... it will brighten the inside, too. Buyer love that.

It isn't about creating perfection, just making sure that your home is seen in its best light. Everything here can be done on a Saturday. Of course, some of it is continuing maintenance. But, if you can sell quickly, then it will be worth it.

Cheap Tips #1... Getting Ready to Sell. (lanebailey.com)
Simple Tips for Preparing Your House for Sale (quazen.com)
The Benefits Of Home Staging (mydecorarticles.com)
Garden Tips: Get rid of weeds before they start to germinate (commercialappeal.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

Terra Sol by Pulte near Lilburn

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:57:02 -0500

A few years ago this property was started. One home was built, along with the future clubhouse. The tennis courts were installed and the swimming pool was roughed in. Some of the streets had been laid, and many of the homesites had been prepped.

And that is how the property had sat for the last several years. It just wasn't worth building out during the worst of the real estate meltdown.

Apparently that has changed now... Pulte has begun construction on the project again. The actually tore down the house that had been built onsite, cleaned up the entrance and begun building in more infrastructure.

It's really nice to see activity on this project again.

Pulte's Loss Widens (online.wsj.com)
Lilburn, GA Market Report, December 2010 (lanebailey.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

53 Cool Concepts... Part XLI...

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:32:01 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

If you aren't familiar with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, it is Jeep's best performing off-roader. When it was introduced, it became an instant hit with the enthusiast community. The option list read like the first mods a Jeeper would want to order up:

Dana 44 axles front and rear
Selectable, air-actuated locking axles
4:1 low range transfer case... heavy duty, too
Heavy duty skid plates
Bigger, more aggressive tires
Nerf bars to protect the sides

And then there is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has been Jeep's most luxurious vehicle since its introduction... and a pretty good performer in the dirt in its own right. The Orvis Limited, only built for a couple of years, even featured a slight lift, tow hooks and the most aggressive tires ever put on a Grand Cherokee. Unfortunately, that was it...

What if?

Image via Wikipedia

Many of the components that make the Rubicon cool all but bolt-on to the Grand Cherokee. The axles, the transfer case, the tires... Everything else would be pretty simple. A couple of inches of suspension lift, rocker protection, beefier skid-plates.

With the Hemi V-8 available in the Grand Cherokee (which a LOT of Wrangler owners would LOVE to have), coupled with the hard-core off-road equipment from the Rubicon, wrapped up in a luxurious package, Jeep would have a major winner. If nothing else, it would get the journalist tongues wagging and a lot of attention for the brand.

Isn't that the purpose of concept cars?

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo X 4×4: RideLust Review (ridelust.com)
All-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Named 'SUV of Texas' by Texas Auto Writers Association (prnewswire.com)
SEMA 2010: Jeep Grand Cherokee gets low-rider, off-road treatment (autoblog.com)
Jeep Teases SEMA Concepts (ridelust.com)

Cool Concept Cars on LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Cheap Tip #2... Tip-Top Shape in 5 Steps

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 22:22:40 -0500

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

You are NOT a bank. Your home isn't a foreclosure. Hopefully it isn't on its way to a foreclosure. You need to maximize the price your home fetches on the market, and minimize the time it is on the market. The problem is those foreclosures that your house has to compete against. Foreclosures often have price going for them. That is a VERY powerful tool. It can overcome a lot of issues. But, you have to find a way to overcome the prices that banks are asking for their properties.

You are not a bank... so you probably don't have a pile of money to toss at your home to get it sold. Even if you did, it likely wouldn't really pay back for you. On average, renovations pay back half or less of their cost. Throwing a few thousand dollars at your house, while trying to sell it, usually isn't a great move. But that doesn't mean that you just pack it in and give up... It means that you have to be smarter than the banks.

Paint. There is NO better, cheaper way to REALLY affect the look of your house than with a coat of paint. Especially on the interior. The foreclosure up the street likely won't have fresh paint and clean walls. Use neutral colors that fit with the personality of the home. If in doubt, talk with a Stager about specific colors.
Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Shampoo Carpets. Unless they are in really bad shape, it should be worth it to get them cleaned. A professional cleaning would be the way to go, but even renting a cleaner at the store and doing it yourself would be better than skipping this step. Remember, the foreclosure up the street is likely to have stained or worn carpets.
Clean EVERYTHING. And clean it well. And keep it clean. If you read Cheap Tips #1, you should already be in the process of getting rid of stuff and getting rid of clutter and extra stuff. That means it is a great time to clean everything that is left. Again, it isn't likely that the foreclosure up the street will be terribly clean. My wife has been known to hit the sanitizer pretty hard after a cheap foreclosure.
While you have the paintbrush in hand, you might consider painting cabinets. If they are a nice wood, especially a lighter wood, I would probably advise against it. But, if they are painted, dull or dated, it might be a great way to freshen up the whole kitchen or bathroom for less than the cost of a nice dinner.
Drawer Pulls, Knobs and Hardware. For under a couple hundred dollars it can be the crowning touch on a kitchen or bath... especially the kitchen. Oil-rubbed bronze, satin nickel and pewter are the finishes that are currently popular with buyers. Don't go wild, but don't cheese out, either. And keep in mind that the foreclosure around the corner is probably missing some of the pulls and knobs, especially if they were nice.

Image by lane.bailey via Flick

Cheap Tips #1... Getting Ready to Sell. (lanebailey.com)
The WRONG Top ten List to be on... (lanebailey.com)
Renovation RoI Revisited... (lanebailey.com)
Wayback Wednesday... Let's Freak Out Some Counties! (lanebailey.com)
Wayback Wednesday... The Price IS Right (or it should be)... (gwinnettgarageguy.com)
13 Surprising Cities Wracked By Foreclosures Last Year (huffingtonpost.com)
Foreclosure activity rose in 2010 in most U.S. cities, but not Memphis (commercialappeal.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

Photo Friday... Where in the World?

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:33:27 -0500

Who would have thought that the largest Hindu Temple outside of India would be in Lilburn, GA? I live here and love this area, but I was surprised to find out that little tidbit.

When it was under construction, many of us were wondering what was going into the spot at the corner of Lawrenceville Hwy and Rockbridge Rd. There was a giant gantry crane and more concrete that one could almost imagine.

Before the temple was complete, hundreds of volunteers spent thousands of hours making everything perfect. As we toured it, we could see thousands of figures carved into the building, inside and out. EACH of these was polished to a gleam, by hand.

The temple is available for tours. It is well worth it to see.

There is a new City Hall coming to Lilburn, GA... (lanebailey.com)
Flashback Friday... Where in the World is Lilburn? (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

Things in Lilburn GA on LaneBailey.com

I'd love to hear from you...

Gwinnett Homestretch Program

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:16:58 -0500

Ken Cook and I are working with Gwinnett Homstretch Down Payment Assistance. As a buyer, you need to have $1000 going into the purchase, but Gwinnett Homestretch may contribute up to $7,500, if you qualify. There are a few things to keep in mind:

It is paid as a 0% loan, which will be forgiven after 5 years of using the property as your principal residence. In effect, that makes it a grant... there are no payments due during the 5 years.
You will be required to complete an 8-hour counseling class from a HUD approved Housing Counseling Agency.
Total household income must not exceed HUD lmits, based on household size. Households range from 1-8 people.
- 2 people - HUD max is $46,000
- 4 people - HUD max is $57,450
- There are different income maximums for other household sizes.
Investors are NOT eligible for this program.
The home MUST pass an inspection by Gwinnett County PRIOR to closing.
Purchase Price may NOT exceed $200,000.

There are other requirements, such as being able to qualify for a mortgage. Contact Ken and I for details.

First Name *
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We'd love to help you buy a home. There are great deals on the market right now, and interest rates are exceptional.

For more info, click here. There are other Down Payment Assistance programs available around the Metro Atlanta area.

Gwinnett County GA Overall Market Report... November, 2010 (lanebailey.com)
Gwinnett County Schools Get $1M Scholarship (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

Wayback Wednesday... Let's Freak Out Some Counties!

Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:12:14 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

Two years ago I wrote a post about a bill in front of the GA legislature that would require cities and counties to use the values of foreclosures when calculating tax assessments.

It passed... and it was signed... and it became law.

Honestly, I was hoping that there might be some noise from some counties by now, but there really hasn't been. Sure, they are complaining about having enough revenue, but they complain about not having enough revenue when they are flush with cash and funding truly stupid projects. Of course, the other part of it might be that many metro counties re-assessed a LOT of property just before the new law went into effect.

I still think that there will be some background whining from some local governments... We'll see.

Wayback Wednesday... Case-Shiller Index (lanebailey.com)

I'd love to hear from you...

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