pickens county: Happy Endings - 05/18/13 05:58 AM
Every now and then, there is a deal that comes my way that makes all the negative in this business seem worthwhile! Anyone who says they enjoy handling foreclosures and short sales has a morbid sense of humor or a masochistic approach to life, in my humble opinion. Most closings lately are fraught with tension, anxiety, acrimony, and all the other things most people try to avoid in life.
Last week I had a closing where I listed a little farm of 40 acres for a couple. He is now 85, but can keep me hustling to keep up with him … (2 comments)

pickens county: Be Respectful of Others - 04/28/13 06:19 AM
I have been in this business of opening doors and walking into people's homes for a long time, and I still can't get used to the feeling. I was taught when I was small that you did NOT enter someone's home without permission. Now, I compensate for that by recognizing my job requires me to do that, but it still gives me the creeps to open doors, and pull open cabinets to see the quality of the construction or another legitimate reason.
Another thing I was taught is to return borrowed items in the same or better condition as you received them … (3 comments)

pickens county: The "A's" Are Coming!!! - 04/19/13 05:15 AM

Tomorrow the Model "A" Car Club will be on hand at Jasper ArtFest from 11 AM to 3 PM. The location is South Main Street, and will be in conjuction with the "Flapjack Run" by the Optimist Club, the Biergarten at the Woodbridge Inn, and the juried art show, which will also run on Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM. There will be live music both days. Come to the mountains for a little fun! For information go to www.JasperArtFest.org.
… (1 comments)

pickens county: Radon - The Story Continues - 04/16/13 04:59 AM
Had a contract on a home around Christmas. Everything went well until the buyers requested a radon test, which turned up barely positive. The buyers freaked out and terminated the contract.
Obviously we had to remediate, even though it was only .1 over the maximum reading, but first we retested to make sure the original readings were accurate. They were, so the remediation was completed.
In the meantime the listing expired, and as sometimes happens, the seller blamed me for the problems and listed with someone else, but promised to honor the origninal listing if the property was purchased by our … (3 comments)

pickens county: Jasper ArtFest Next Week - 04/13/13 04:41 AM
If you're looking for something to do in North GA next weekend, check out Jasper ArtFest in Jasper, GA on Saturday and Sunday. Examples of some of the great artwork that will be on display and for sale is included below. Hours are 10 AM to 5 PM Saturday, and 10 AM to 4 PM Sunday. There will be a Plein Air painting competition all day Saturday, with awards given away that evening.

… (0 comments)

pickens county: Ultimate Friendship Test - Buying a Home Together ... - 03/05/13 05:42 AM
Friends often share holidays, vacation together and are there for all the important moments in life. So, why not buy a home together?
            An increasing number of consumers are considering joint ownership. Such as transaction makes sense, as it can help those who may not have been able to afford a home on their own, it gives each owner a real estate investment, and it can even strengthen the friendship.
            But the opposite could happen as well. Friends can feud over the most trivial of things, placing the long-term housing investment at risk.
            Here are some tips … (0 comments)

pickens county: Call for Artists – ArtFest 2013! - 02/15/13 05:20 AM

 
We are counting down to Jasper ArtFest 2013, and there are only a few weeks left!
 
It’s hard to believe that we are into the Third Annual Jasper ArtFest, when it seems like just yesterday we had an idea to try a downtown art festival. It has been a somewhat surprising success from day one. Last year we had no luck with the weather, but managed to have a good turnout of artists and guests anyway.
 
As always, we are trying a couple of new things this year to make it even better.
 
Local artist … (0 comments)

pickens county: Earnest Money Is Serious! - 02/13/13 12:42 PM
Most homebuyers today understand they need a sizeable down payment and a strong credit score to secure a conforming home loan. Buyers also must hold liquid funds for another financial obligation – an earnest money deposit – to be paid when they make an offer on a home.
In short, earnest money is handed over to the seller’s agent or the title company when a purchase contract is signed. This demonstrates that the buyer is serious about the transaction and is backing it up with cash.
Without earnest money, buyers could simply make offers on many homes, essentially taking … (0 comments)

pickens county: Vince Would Have a Cow! - 02/04/13 05:53 AM
Watched the Super Bowl last night. I can actually remember the first ones. They were afraid no one would come. The Packers pounded the Chiefs and Raiders the first two years. The big game was still the NFL (before the merger and AFC/NFC) Championship.
It was all pretty sedate, then Joe Namath came along, with his fur coat and bottle of Johnny Walker Red, and changed the whole thing forever.
It is now the biggest sporting fiasco in history, complete with music, dancing girls, clowns, faux drama, stupid (if not vulgar) ads, and a little football in the mix, when they … (0 comments)

pickens county: "Got them Radon Blues" - 01/30/13 05:33 AM
I've been in real estate for eleven years. Have heard about radon gas just about the entire time. Live in an area that is suspect because of the way the rocks form our eastern mountains. Never had a radon test that was positive ... until now.
The home had been previously inspected and showed trace amounts of radon. The floor plan is open with open stair wells and plenty of ventilation. However, there was a crack in the basement floor. The buyers had a previous bad experience selling a home with radon problems requiring remediation, so they would be concerned about … (2 comments)

pickens county: Relo Blues - 01/20/13 06:16 AM
It has been my experience that many relo agents work too fast with quantity in mind rather than quality. The idea seems to be they're only in town a short time, so let's show them as many houses as we can before they leave.
I got a call from an agent a couple of days ago. He was inquiring about an equestrian listing I have for a relo client. The price of the piece is $490,000, but it's one of five parcels totalling $1.3MM. It has no home, but has a large equestrian barn with living quarters for a caretaker. Very nice … (4 comments)

pickens county: Negotiating the Gates of Hell - 01/10/13 06:10 AM
Just got through the negotiation from hell and came home emptyhanded ... ugh!
Buyers came in with a 95% offer in a market where 85% is common, and my client turned it down! Not exactly sure what is going on in her brain, but she was within $1500, the prorated return of the HOA dues would have been $1450 at closing, and she refused to budge.
On the other side, the selling agent and I offered to split the shortfall to complete the deal, but the buyers decided to withdraw and look some more???? Perhaps they think my seller is as … (6 comments)

pickens county: Those that Can Do ... Those that Can't ... - 01/09/13 05:31 AM
When I was in school, I first heard the phrase "Those that can do, and those that can't teach". While that is not always true in any field, it does have a fair amount of application, especially in real estate.
We've all faced the evil former agent monster at some point. They were in real estate in 1989, and although they failed, and nothing they did in those days is relevant to anything in the business today, they went to school so they know it all. Anyone in the business for five years, and in many cases less, will tell you … (2 comments)

pickens county: Fiscal Cliff ... One Thing I Like a Lot - 01/08/13 07:55 AM
The deal to avoid the socalled "fiscal cliff" is overall pretty disappointing to me. It's really just kicking the can down the road and indicates the true seriousness of the problem we have in Washington with BOTH parties.
However, the one thing I was happy to see, both from a business and personal point of view, was the extension of the moratorium on "phantom income". To me, it is ridiculous to think that dropping a price constitutes income. It is even more ludicrous to beat people who are already on their last leg over the head even more. It should, in … (2 comments)

pickens county: Spring Is Just Around the Corner ... Get Ready! - 01/06/13 06:33 AM
The basics of staging a home for sale are pretty much the same throughout the year. However, there are ways to tailor your approach to the seasons. Spring is usually the most fun for staging since we just got through the cold dreary months, and we look forward to all the color.
For spring, there are a number of things you can do both inside and outside to take advantage of the beautiful weather.
You can try adding splashes of color to your porch with potted flowers. Larger pots placed on each side of the front door bearing tulips or daisies … (0 comments)

pickens county: Don't Bother to Call the Office - 01/05/13 07:47 AM
In this day and age, why would anyone call a real estate agent at the office? I always hand out my card (which some say is also becoming antiquated), but I tell them not to call the office because I'm rarely there.
We nearly all have smart phones and/or tablets. I pay about $160 a month to make myself reachable at just about anytime and place (can you hear me now?), even in the mountains most of the time. Yet people still call me at the office like I'm supposed to be there. Times have changed. There was a time when … (4 comments)

pickens county: "Nothing Happens During the Holidays!" - 12/28/12 09:09 AM
I am working desk duty today, the last day we are "officially" open in 2012.
Of course, everyone thinks I'm crazy, since "no one buys anything between Thanksgiving and New Years Day".
I wrote my first contract at 11:00 AM on New Years Day. I have since contracted or closed a significant amount of business when no one buys anything. I actually look forward to that period when many people can't find an agent to represent them. It is something I rarely share with new agents until I think they can handle it.
The truth is that many people don't want to … (4 comments)

pickens county: Eliminating the Mortgage Deduction - 12/22/12 05:40 AM
Like most people, I hate it when the government tries to fix something they screwed up to start with, and I feel like I'm defenseless in dealing with them.
The mortgage interest deduction is a perfect example. They totally ignore the fact that real estate is local, like we're taught in the first day of license education. Once again, they are focused on the folks who pay the most taxes, and try to take rape them for some more.
Any proposal I've heard penalizes those in high end markets more than others. I do not happen to live in one of … (1 comments)

pickens county: They're Back ... New Short Sale Rules - 12/13/12 04:40 AM
Among the things that are probably going to be bad if we go off the "fiscal cliff" is the foregiveness of "phantom income" derived through short sales. It's really not income at all, but because of their dogmatic approach to collection rules, the IRS thinks that if the market shifts backward, they somehow lost capital gains tax income from the sale. How ridiculous in the first place, but they refuse to clearly interpret the code. Instead, they do us all a "favor" by looking the other way like the seller stole something.
I also understand that HAFA rules will be changed again. I … (2 comments)

pickens county: Be Thankful It’s 2012 - 11/21/12 05:04 AM
As I write two days before we carve the bird, I am pondering the things I should be thankful for that happened this year. I survived back surgery, have generally good health, and feel better than I have in a long time. I have a great family and a lot of friends to share life and bring me happiness. There is much more, but let me get to how our real estate market “is doing”.
 
I went back to October of each year since 2007, which is when the market bombed. The findings are almost frighteningly good! The accompanying chart … (0 comments)

 

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