Around the Bend

Stockbridge Bypass Coming Soon!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:15:16 -0500

For almost as long as I can remember driving through the City of Stockbridge, Georgia has been a dreaded chore, but until recently there has been no better way to get to some of the eastern portions of Henry County if you were coming from parts of Clayton County or Interstate 675.

Soon, that all will be changing. A new bypass is planned running from East Atlanta Road north of Stockbridge to U.S. Highway 42/Georgia Highway 138 east of the city, circling northeast of the City.

The new roadway will begin at East Atlanta Road at its intersection with Valley Hill Road. Valley Hill Road leads to Highway 42 between Stockbridge and I-675. It will end at Highway 42/138 at their intersection with Rock Quarry Road, east of the City. (See the graphic for a depiction of its proposed approximate location.)

The combination of Valley Hill Road, the Stockbridge Bypass, Rock Quarry Road and Patrick Henry Boulevard will provide a thoroughfare from U.S. Highway 42 north of the City straight to Jodeco Road just east of I-75 crossing Highway 42/138 and Eagles Landing Parkway in its path.

I understand the roadway is still in the engineering stage at this point. To my knowledge, no land has yet to be acquired. But, once completed this new roadway will significantly increase access to parts of Henry County which has previously been difficult to reach.

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The sale of your commercial property, land, multi-family property or other real estate investments is an important step towards your future. You deserve to have someone that is willing to work on your behalf, who is aggressive and will negotiate to make sure you're getting top dollar for your property. You should expect to be a priority, receive weekly updates and know your property is being marketed in a manner that can get a SOLD sign on it. Our market is changing daily; you deserve the knowledge and experience of a well-rooted company that can get your property SOLD.

Call Chris Bradford today at 770-961-5520 to buy or sell commercial real estate in south metro Atlanta, Georgia including Clayton County (College Park, Conley, Ellenwood, Forest Park, Lake City, Lovejoy, Morrow, Rex or Riverdale); Henry County (Ellenwood, Fairview, Hampton, Locust Grove, Rex, McDonough or Stockbridge); Fayette County (Brooks, Fayetteville, Peachtree City or Tyrone); Spalding County (Griffin, Orchard Hill or Sunnyside); South Fulton County (Atlanta, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Hapeville, Lakewood Heights, Palmetto or Union City).

Are You Operating an Illegal Inert Waste Landfill in Georgia?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:03:43 -0500

Wow! The things you run across in the real estate business.

"Hey Maw! Let's just dig a big hole in the back yard (or the back 40) to toss those leaves in that we rake up every fall. When it is full, we can just cover it up. They turn to dirt anyhow."

This or something like this has certainly been said thousands of times across the state. The problem is that it is probably illegal. According to a representative of the the Land Protection Branch of the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this is called an Inert Waste Landfill Disposal Facility (see below).

In order to bury those leaves there are a number of rules you will likely have to abide by including, but not limited to:

You will have to notify DNR when you being depositing the leaves.

You can not bury them any closer than 100 feet from any building or property line.

You will need a surveyor to make a legal description of landfill (burial) site.

All wastes deposited in the landfill must be measured and reported to DNR.

When the hole is full and you cover it up you will need to notify DNR.

The landfill must be gated.

When you sell your property you must indicate in the deed a notice of the landfill operations, the date the landfill operations commenced and terminated, an accurate legal description of the actual location of the landfill and a description of the type of solid wastes deposited in the landfill.

Would you buy a property if it indicated on the deed that it was once a landfill, inert or not? Many would assume that if it is important enough to be noted in the deed in such detail, it must be bad!

This is an issue which can affect all types of real estate including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural properties. (Landlords, do you know what your tenants are doing?)

I understand the basis for this law (which passed in 1992) was problems with builders burying waste construction materials in trash pits in the back yards of homes they were building. Ten or fifteen years later the trash would rot and the burial site would sink, leaving a hole in the yard. Also, during the rotting process methane gas would be produced which would sometimes seep into homes. So, the State came up with this law and amended it (I think in 1997) to include the 100 foot buffer area, making it impossible to legally bury anything on the typical single family residential lot.

But leaves are not all that is covered, inert materials include trimmings, rocks, bricks, and concrete even DIRT.

According to the law, you can't even bury DIRT without an inert waste landfill permit! If it is not included in the definition of Inert Waste Landfill (below) it is probably NOT inert and must be hauled to a Municipal Solid Waste Landfill.

If you bury non-inert materials on your property you probably fall under the laws regarding Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (The word "municipal" does not prevent theses landfills from being privately owned) which opens up a whole different can of worms.

For example: According to the DNR representative you can not legally bury your child's pet hamster in the back yard (I asked this specific question.). Instead, they have to be deposited in a Municipal Waste Landfill or pet cemetery. (Grab a shovel Junior, we gotta move your hamsters Ben & Jerry (see below) to the trash can so they can be given a proper burial!)

"So, I have to get a Inert Waste Landfill permit to bury a rock in my back yard, and even then I can not bury it closer than 100 feet from my house or any property line and have to put a notice of its burial in my deed?", you might ask. According to the DNR representative, you are right (again, I asked this specific question)

I complained about the law being so vague and the representative informed me that it was not. That essentially, if a purchaser of a piece of property would want to know that inert wastes were buried on a property it had to disclosed in the deed as an Inert Waste Landfill.

This brought up a whole new set of questions. What about site preparation? Developers are moving dirt and rock around all of the time to level out sites for development, is this an Inert Solid Waste Landfill?

And what about landscaping? How many homes have bearms and other filled areas to improve the aesthetics of the property? Are these Inert Solid Waste Landfills?

What about the back-fill around the foundations of houses and buildings? Are these inert landfills?

According to the representative of the DNR if you obtained a permit from your city or county to do the work as part of site development or construction and you performed the work as permitted, it is not an Inert Waste Landfill. She also indicated that work done as landscaping was not considered an Inert Waste Landfill, provided the materials buried were inert. I asked her to point out these exclusions within the law and she was unable to do so.

Then it struck me. The exclusions fell under the definition of Solid Waste (see below).

Burying rock on a site as part of the site development process is not discarding the rock. It is being utilized for a legitimate purpose in the site development process. Filling in behind a retaining wall with leaves and tree limbs covered with a few feet of soil to create a landscaped island is not discarding material, it is being used as part of landscaping. Since the fill was being done as part of a legitimate construction or development project it was not waste, it was recycled building materials! Now it was is beginning to make more sense.

The law is still extremely vague and its enforcement of the gray areas is going to depend on the mood of the DNR representative and sadly, the courts. Even local governments do not fully understand the law as one local county has in their land development guidelines the following language.

"When using significant amounts of broken concrete, cured asphalt or similar materials as fill, the site may require an inert landfill permit from the State Environmental Protection Division."

According to my interpretation of the law, if this county issued a development or construction permit no Inert Landfill Permit is required because the material is not waste, it is being used for a legitimate purpose.

As one local builder/developer said "THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IGNORED & LEAST UNDERSTOOD LAWS ON THE PLANET!".

Oh, about the hamsters Ben & Jerry: they are fertilizer, not landfill. They were not discarded. Instead they were recycled for a useful purpose.

Now, if you have Bambi strapped to the hood of your truck and wondering what to do with her carcass after your tantalizing meal, you may want to read the DNR's web page Deer Processing Waste.

All of this has been my layman's opinion... not legal advice. If you want more information concerning what is considered a landfill in Georgia and what isn't, or how to handle your specific situation call an attorney or contact the DNR at:

Land Protection Branch
Environmental Protection Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
4244 International Parkway, Suite 104
Atlanta, Georgia 30354
404-362-2692

The DNR representative did inform me that you can write in and ask if your specific situation would be deemed an Inert Waste Landfill and they would be happy to send you back an opinion (and probably create a real thick file on you).

My advice to you is DO NOT BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND (It is probably illegal). If you plan on burying anything on your property that is not part of a permitted development or construction project, get DNR's approval in writing!

Definitions:

"Inert Waste Landfill" means a disposal facility accepting only wastes that will not or are not likely to cause production of leachate of environmental concern. Such wastes are limited to earth and earth-like products, concrete, cured asphalt, rock, bricks, yard trimmings, stumps, limbs, and leaves. This definition excludes industrial and demolition waste not specifically listed above.

"Disposal Facility" means any facility or location where the final disposition of solid waste occurs and includes, but is not limited to, landfilling and solid waste thermal treatment technology facilities.

"Solid Waste" means any garbage or refuse; sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; and other discarded material including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations and from community activities, but does not include recovered materials; solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage; solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges that are point sources subject to permit under 33 U.S.C. Section 1342; or source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923).

"Ben & Jerry" means deceased rodents which rather than being discarded in an illegal municipal solid waste landfill have been recycled for use as nutritious fertilizer. The tombstones are simply landscaping ornaments and do not represent grounds falling under the jurisdiction of the Georgia Cemetery Act.

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Is This The Bottom? Market Report: Clayton County: Fayette County: Henry County

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:42:00 -0500

Mixed Reviews for Single Family Residential in April and May of 2008.

In May, average sale prices in Fayette County, Georgia, ended at a low point just below their February 2008 levels, and Clayton County was at a new low just below their April 2008 level. Henry County was up a fair amount.

While overall, the local market continued its downward trend, graphed, it appears much different than 2007. Are we at the bottom yet? Out of pride, I hope so. I had been predicting the local housing market would hit bottom in spring or summer of this year I don't like to be wrong, but the number of house sales occurring is disturbing.

Number of Home Sales Way Down too!

During our investigation this time we compared the number of sales which have occurred each month during 2006, 2007 and 2008 (as reported by GaMLS) in Clayton County, Fayette County and Henry County. While we were not surprised by the numbers, they did give us pause.

For example, in the month of May 2006 there were 616 detached single family residential home sales in Clayton County. During the same month in 2007 there were 571 such sales. 2008 yielded only 229 such sales. Fayette County and Henry County experienced similar reductions in the number of sales. All three counties are experiencing sales levels of 30% to 50% of what they were in 2006, with the greatest decline occurring since the first of 2008. Of course, the numbers in Clayton County are skewed by the school system problems.

For the last couple of years, May has been the annual high point in the number of sales occurring. In Clayton and Henry Counties this year it is the low point thus far. The question is will this low number of sales translate into even lower sale prices in the months to come?.

Construction and Development Notes

We also caught wind of two more fair-sized local developers reportedly filing for bankruptcy protection. We do notice a few new homes being built here and there, but primarily in very low volumes.

Nations Building News (NBN), the publication of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported on June 2, 2008, that lenders are now demanding that a high number of builders and developers pay down their loans and/or increase their collateral. Although this helps reduce the lender's exposure it may also increase foreclosures if a builder or developer is unable to produce the necessary cash or collateral.

HousingEconomics.com, a service of NAHB, reports that single family residential building permits year-to-date as of April are down 50% from last year's numbers for the State of Georgia.

Commercial is in a Stall Pattern

From the commercial end, sales are occurring but at a slower pace. We do note some continuing softening of the marketplace. This is readily evident in the number of new and almost new strip retail centers sitting vacant or almost vacant. A few years ago they would have filled up in a heartbeat.

Like with residential, the commercial market stalls before it drops. Prices remain stable for six months or a year as vacancies increase until the owner is faced with lowering the rents to attract tenants. In response to the higher vacancy rates and lowering rents investors begin demanding higher capitalization rates which also depresses sale prices.

Lower rents and high vacancies reduces income and sometimes leads an investor into default as such properties are often over-leveraged. The resulting resell of a foreclosed commercial property further serves to depress the commercial marketplace. The result is a downward spiral very similar to the one faced by the single family residential marketplace.

C-Store Invasion

Surprisingly, we have noticed a significant number of new c-stores/fueling stations under construction. With the high price of gasoline you might think this would be anticipated... more folks trying to reap the windfall profits made by the oil companies. But that is far from the truth. The percentage profit earned by oil companies are no greater than most other businesses of similar size, although it is a lot, and I mean a LOT of dollars.

Station operators make very little off each gallon of gas they sell. (If you question this statement, note that CoStar reports that Uni-Mart/Choice Gas C-store operators just filed for bankruptcy protection citing, in part, the high cost of fuel as the reason for their lack of financial performance.) Most C-Store operators will tell you their money is made off the items sold inside their convenience stores. Last year, one regional chain store manager told us that well in excess of 50% of the profits earned from her store were earned from the sale of tobacco products alone.

With the increasing gas prices many c-store owners are reporting a corresponding drop in inside sales and a disproportionate drop in overall profits. People only have so much money to spend and when faced with deciding between getting to and from work verses getting candy bars and Cokes for the kids there really is no choice.

Prices for Small Multi-Family Appears to be Holding, for now.

According to GaMLS, there were 48 sales of multi-family properties (typically small multi-family like duplexes, triplexes, quads and small apartment buildings) in Clayton, Fayette and Henry counties between January 1st 2007 and May 31st, 2007. For the same period of time this year there has been only 10 such sales.

Even with the reduced number of sales, it appears that Gross Rent Multipliers (the relationship between rent and sales price) are running about the same as they did last year. But, we do not expect that to hold since there are in excess of 80 such properties now on the market in the tri-counties.

In regards to larger apartment communities NAHB reports that confidence in the rental market is weakening and that demand was lower for all classes of apartments in the first quarter of 2008, but in what appears to be a contradiction NBN reports that "Outlook for Rental Housing Strengthens as Condos Sag". So, the news is mixed - even coming from two arms of the same organization.

HousingEconomics.com, a service of NAHB, reports that multi-family residential building permits year-to-date as of April are down 62% from last year's numbers for the State of Georgia.

We have noted some very high apartment land sale prices of late in Henry County. We will continue to monitor this closely.

Summary:

The detached single family residential (houses) market is really suffering However, although the number of sales are extremely low the residential market appears to be starting out better than last year in regards to trends, at least in Fayette and Henry Counties. These two counties do not show as severe of a downward trend as they experienced last year, but that could change.

It would be interesting to know how Clayton County would have done were it not for the actions of the Clayton County School Board (elections coming soon).

At this point my major concern with the house marketplace is the low volume of sales. Will this translate into lower prices in the future?

The commercial market is well past its peak, having stalled and began its downward spiral. We shall see where that leads.

The multi-family marketplace is teetering in stall. Small multi-family properties still retain their value although there are few sales. Values of larger properties are still holding their own but the financing crisis is expected to take its toll.

As we have said in recent months, with single family residential it remains a strong buyers market. With most other property types it is quickly becoming a buyers market. If you are wanting to buy a house, residential lot, or acreage tract, buy NOW. If you are considering selling anything else (with a few exceptions) place it on the market TODAY at a reasonable price or plan to wait several years.

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Fleet Remarketing to Relocate to Lake City, Georgia

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:59:29 -0500

Fleet Remarketing Services just purchased a site on the Forest Parkway in Lake City. Fleet, who specializes in the sale and remarketing of heavy trucks, trailers and equipment, is planning on constructing offices on the property for the expansion of their business.

Currently located at 5020A Highway 42, Ellenwood, Georgia (the southeast corner of Highway 42 and Campbell Boulevard) Fleet has been leasing space in a multi-unit facility.

The industrially zoned site acquired by Fleet has dual frontage, fronting on the Forest Parkway and backing up to North Lake Drive. It is currently occupied by a dilapidated house which Fleet reportedly plans to remove from the site rather than restore.

The location is a strategic location for any trucking related operation as the Forest Parkway intersects with Interstates 75, 285 and 675 and provides easy access to the Atlanta Airport and numerous trucking related business along U.S. Highway 42 (Moreland Avenue).

The transaction was brokered by Bradford Realty Group who represented the seller. Fleet was unrepresented.

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How to Renew Your Commercial Leases at the Highest Possible Rents

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:13:16 -0500

In south metro Atlanta the commercial rental market is showing some significant signs of deterioration. Vacancy rates, particularly in office and retail space appears to be on the increase and multi-tenant retail buildings which have been completed for months are sitting vacant.

In times like this, each tenant is precious as there may not be another standing in line to take over a vacant space. Even during good times, vacancies are expensive. Here are a few tips which may help you retain your tenants when their lease comes up for renewal.

TIP NO. 1: Check Competing Rents

Before entering into renewal negotiations with a tenant you must first be aware of the existing marketplace. How much is being asked for similar space in the area?

This is very easy to accomplish as all you need to do is make note of other available properties and give them a call. When inquiring be sure to ask about common area maintenance and other charges which a tenant might be required to pay in addition to the base rent.

When considering the competition, be sure to compare total gross rent, not just the quoted base rental. It is common practice in some areas for landlords to quote a lower base rent but to have higher pass-through charges.

If this comparison places you property in a positive light, share it with your tenant. If your property appears over-priced at least you gain power by the knowledge and can take steps to justify the high rent.

TIP NO. 2: Check out Your Tenant

You already have a signed rental application from your tenant, so before you enter into lease negotiations with them, check them out again.

This knowledge can be very powerful. An exceptionally financially sound tenant may be more likely to move out of principle than a typical tenant and a struggling tenant may not be able to afford a higher rent. This research may well provide you with the ability to gain the most while retaining your tenant.

If a tenant is struggling, consider abating a month or two rent at the beginning of the renewal term in exchange for a higher per-square foot rent. This allows you to use the higher per-square foot rent as the basis for your next renewal.

If a tenant is successful, point out to the tenant that much of their success is due to this specific location and that they would be taking a risk relocating anywhere else.

TIP NO. 3: Point Out Positive Locational / Economic Factors

Before entering into negotiations over a lease renewal familiarize yourself with current, past and future changes in the location which have a positive influence on the property.

Has the roadway been widened or are there plans to add additional lanes? Has a major new business opened up in the area or making plans to locate nearby? Have there been a change in the local political climate to a more pro-business attitude?

Investigate these issues through your local Chamber of Commerce, city or county department of transportation, zoning department, development department, county or city manager and anyone else who may have knowledge of changes.

Use this information to reveal to the tenant why this location will only get better and any move might be penny-wise but pound-foolish.

TIP NO. 4: Play-Up the Cost of Moving:

Moving a business is not cheap. It can cost thousands of dollars in direct expense to move a business and an untold amount of money in lost business due to past customers and new customers responding to old advertising with the incorrect address being unable to locate the tenant.

Much of the value of old advertising is lost due to it having the wrong address and possibly the wrong phone number. Existing Yellow Page ads become ineffective and must be paid for until the new book comes out, even though they list the wrong location. All of those business cards handed out during the expiring lease term are now ineffective.

The wise commercial landlord is aware of these costs and is certain to make the tenant aware at lease negotiation. In many cases the tenant will find it is cheaper to pay a slightly above market rent than it is to move.

One subtle way to make the tenant aware is to provide the tenant with a moving checklist at the time of notifying them of the pending lease expiration. By doing this you can disguise your negotiating tactic as a helpful service. Download our sample business moving checklist (Adobe Reader required) as a guide.

TIP NO. 5: Determine the Needs of Your Tenant:

When renewing the lease for a pawn shop, one local landlord did his homework. He knew that pawn shop licenses were difficult to obtain and limited in number. He also knew that the pawn shop he was leasing to was very successful in their current location, so they would want to remain within the city.

He also knew they were using every bit of space they had and if they were to move they would want a similar or larger sized unit. So, when it came time to renew the lease he searched the city for similar sized or larger space in a similar location. He found none available and none which he felt would be coming available in the coming months.

Knowing that the tenant had nowhere to go, he used this to his advantage and negotiated a multi-year lease at higher than market rents.

While some tenants requirements may be so flexible that they can easily adapt to almost any space others have specific requirements which must be met. Give some thought to your tenants and their specific needs which might not be met with a competing property and use this to your advantage.

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Buying Foreclosed Properties: Know the Risks: Part II

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:36:09 -0500

Buying Foreclosed Properties: Know the Risks
Part II

READ PART 1

With foreclosures, the purchase agreement is usually in the lender's favor.

When buying from a lender the contract for the purchase of a foreclosure is often much different from that for a typical purchase. You may make the offer and even negotiate using a "standard" contract, but just when you think you have a deal the lender will often present an addendum to the contract which significantly alters the transaction.

The lender's addendum can be several pages long, we have seen them as along as 10 or more legal size pages. They are often very detailed; giving the lender the greatest advantage possible.

Upon reviewing the addendum you may find that the time limits imposed in the original contract are completely ignored and replaced with time limits more favorable to the lender.

You may also find that the contingencies in the original contract have been altered. For example, the "due diligence" period in the original contract which may have essentially given you a free look at the property now requires you to provide to the lender a copy of any inspection reports along with your statement to the objections and giving the lender time to correct the problems. Thus, you no longer have a "free look" period which allows you to back out for any reason for for no reason.

In the addendum the lender may impose a per diem (daily) charge should you fail to close in a timely manner but not agree to any such charge in the event they fail to close in a timely fashion.

The lender may also reserve the right to sue you for specific performance (trying to make you buy the property if you crap-out on the contract), but require you to waive the right to sue them for specific performance should they crap-out.

While the lender wants you obligated to the contract, the lender will be able to terminate the agreement for almost any reason imaginable. The end result is that you have no way out, yet the lender has many.

And the list goes one. The bottom line is that, often, the lender's addendum to the sales contract of a foreclosed property can be the most one-sided document you will ever encounter, and they like to sneak attack you with the addendum after you have already spent considerable time and effort negotiating the contract through their agent.

Will the lender negotiate off what is in their addendum? Maybe.

By now, you probably understand that buying a foreclosed property is not always such a great bargain, but it can be. Just be aware that any reduction in price is not just because the lender wants to sell the property quickly. Much of the reduction in price is because of the additional risk you are assuming and the one-sided terms and conditions of the purchase contract.

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Home Security Checklist!
Visit: http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com/dept/136/a/

Are you uncertain how much of a discount is appropriate for the additional risk assumed? How much of a discount would you expect if a car dealer offered a new car with no warranty whatsoever? If you were buying a new wide-screen television, how much of a discount would you expect if the retailer offered it with no warranty whatsoever?

Cars and televisions are not real estate, but you get the idea. Increased risk decreases value.

Even with all of the risk involved, buying a foreclosure can still be financially rewarding. You just need to go into the transaction with your eyes wide open knowing that more due diligence is required than with the typical sales transaction.

The good news is there are certain steps you can take to help protect yourself and reduce some of your risk when buying a foreclosure. Here are some of the most common.

Buy Title Insurance: This can help protect you in the event a title problem does arise in the future. Make sure you obtain an owner's title policy in addition to the policy issued to your lender at closing.

Get an Inspection: Have the property inspected by a professional building/home inspector. They can spot problems that you might miss.

Get a Survey: Even if there is a recorded plat of the property, it does not show any changes which may have been made since the survey was made. Be sure the survey depicts all improvements on the property and any easements.

Get an Appraisal: Even if you are paying cash for the property an appraisal can give you invaluable insight. If the property needs rehabilitation, ask the appraiser to appraise the property "as is" and "as if repaired".

Purchase a Home Warranty: Home warranties are not the best thing since sliced bread but they are often better than nothing and purchasing one may prevent you from having to pay a lot of money to have a major system replaced.

Talk with the Tenants: If the property is tenant occupied, ask them about the property. Ask detailed questions and get as much information as you can.

Talk with the Neighbors: Neighbors can be a great source of information. They sometimes know more about their neighbor's business than they do their own. Go door knocking and introduce yourself.

Check with the County Health Department: If there is a septic tank on the property, check with the health department or other agency regulating such items and see if there has been any reported problems.

Check with the City or County Code Enforcement Office: The code enforcement office will have a record of any known code violations with the property. Often, they will even know something about the prior property owner and their situation.

Check with the City or County Zoning Office: Make sure the property conforms with current zoning codes or is a legal non-conforming use. Just because the prior owner operated a auto-body shop out of the property does not mean you can do the same.

Check with Water/Sewer Department: Check to see if the property is actually hooked up to sewer and water services and inquire about any known problems with the property and the delivery of such services.

Obtain Copies of Protective Covenants and Deed Restrictions: You can find these at the county court house. These may be lengthy documents or simple notes on the side of the recorded plat. Read them thoroughly.

There are many other steps you can take to reduce the inherent risks of buying foreclosed properties. Understand that many buyers of foreclosed properties experience few or no significant problems with their transactions. By doing your homework you can greatly increase your odds of a successful and financially rewarding transaction.

Should you be interested in purchasing foreclosures in Clayton County or Henry County, Georgia, contact my wife Brande or myself. We will be happy to serve you.

Part 2 of 2

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This document is intended for illustrative purposes only and is not to be construed as legal or tax advice. Bradford Realty Group and/or its agents are not engaged in the practice of law, the rendering of legal advice or the rendering of tax advice. The reader is advised to seek legal and tax advice from a qualified legal and tax professionals. If your property is currently listed with another broker, please disregard this solicitation.

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Buying Foreclosed Properties: Know the Risks: Part I

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:35:35 -0500

Buying Foreclosed Properties: Know the Risks
Part I

Do you want to find your absolute best deal in real estate? A foreclosure may be the best way to go. But, before you start looking know that when buying foreclosures you are buying something much different than if you purchased the same property from a typical seller.

When purchasing a property from a typical seller, even if the property is sold "as is", you usually have some protection. The seller has owned or occupied the property for some time and they know some of its history. Even if no Seller's Property Disclosure is offered, state laws usually dictates that should the seller be aware of a significant problem that they disclose the problem to the buyer.

With the sale of foreclosures from lenders, the same laws usually apply. The difference is that the lender usually knows absolutely nothing about the property other than what is contained within the appraisal report from when they first made the loan. They have never occupied the property and may even never have actually seen the property, and they are not required to reveal what they don't know (or should have known).

FREE REPORT
Nine Crucial Things Every Home Buyer Should Do Immediately After Making
Their Purchase.
Visit: http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com/dept/136/

Assume a typical seller does not provide a disclosure form and immediately after purchasing the property you find that the septic tank was backing up. If you check with the neighbors and confirm that this was a problem which existed prior to the sale you may have recourse against the seller, since the seller knew or should have known about the problem and did not disclose it to you. With a foreclosure, you will usually have no such recourse against the lender.

The same condition exists with almost every aspect of the home including the mechanical (heating/air) system, electrical system, plumbing system, and any other physical aspect of the property.

The risk of purchasing a foreclosure extends far beyond the physical aspects of the property.

In Georgia, lender's often transfer property utilizing a Limited Warranty Deed and sometimes a Quit Claim Deed, instead of the typical Warranty Deed. What is the difference?

In layman terms: a Warranty Deed is just that. It is a deed where the title is warranted. If a title problem crops up from 50 years ago, the seller is warranting the title. You probably have some recourse against the seller.

A Limited Warranty Deed usually warrants the title for only that period of time which the property was owned by the seller. If a title problem crops up based on something that happened when the seller owned the property, the seller may have some responsibility. But if the event which caused the title problem occurred at any other time the seller probably has no responsibility.

A Quit Claim Deed typically states that the seller is transferring any and all rights, title and interest they have in the property to you. However, the deed offers no warranty that the seller actually has any rights, title or interest in the property nor does it offer a warranty against title problems.

A person does not have to own a property to give a Quit Claim Deed. It just releases the property from any claims that person might have against the property. Quit Claim Deeds are most often used to correct title defects and to transfer properties between related parties, not to transfer properties under arms-length transactions.

When buying a property in Georgia, a Warranty Deed is best, a Limited Warranty Deed is common, and a Quit Claim Deed is the least desirable.

Also consider this: leases run with the land. Is any or all of the property leased?

Just because the property is vacant does not mean it is not leased. A lease may not require that the lessee (tenant) actually occupy the property. Instead, it may just give the lessee the right to occupy or use the property.

Depending on the language in the note, deed to secure debt, and/or lease, leases may or may not be wiped out when a lender forecloses on a property. If a lease should later crop up, it may or may not be ruled invalid by the courts and you will probably have to spend a good bit of money in legal fees to present your case. Is this problem common with foreclosures? We don't think so. Has it actually happened? We feel certain it has.

These are just a couple of the many legal issues which must be considered when buying a foreclosure.

READ PART 2

Part 1 of 2

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The Sky Is Not Falling

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:09:36 -0500

The Sky Is Not Falling

The recent woes of the sub-prime mortgage market and the decline of the stock market seems to have everyone singing the blues. "THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING!" the naysayers are chanting. But, in reality, the sky is not falling. Instead, the current economic situation needs to be looked at in a more realistic light.

I remember the early 1970s with interest rates bouncing around in the high teens and people standing around in lines to buy gas.

I remember the S&L Crisis of the 1980's. It was all gloom and doom then, too. Bookshelves of new regulations and the forced licensing of the appraisal industry did little to prevent today's economic climate. (Maybe they should have looked at loan originators a little harder?)

I remember the slow-down of the early 1990's, hardly a wrinkle in the economic fabric of our country.

In each case, the economy eventually turned around. Did some people get hurt financially? Certainly they did... but only a relatively few. A lot of people also prospered during those times. Especially those smart enough to take advantage of the depressed real estate and financial markets.

Remember the No. 1 rule of making money? Does "Buy cheap and sell high" sound familiar? From now through next year will be the time when the smart are buying cheap. Those with the cash to hold a under-performing property until the economy turns around may make a fist full of money.

Historically, when the economy comes back, it bounces back. There is a steep surge in growth and prices as the pent up demand is unleashed. It is during the bounce back period that some the highest returns can be gained.

What does this mean for participants in the real estate market today?

For Sellers: Real estate will still sell. Sales will be slower and it may not be possible to get the price you were expecting, but we are still moving properties! Expect to be more flexible with your pricing and expect it to take longer to market your property.

For Buyers: Start looking now! We are entering the phase of the economy which you will be able to find the best buys and, upon recovery, you may be able to reap significant financial rewards.

People tend to shy away from an declining real estate market when they should do just the opposite. When the market is down is when you should jump in with both feet so you can reap the benefits of recovery. If you have ever thought of buying, the next 12 to 18 months is probably one of your best opportunities to do so.

For homeowners which must relocate: You may not get what you were expecting from the sale of your existing home, but remember, the seller of the house you are buying is selling under the same economic conditions. When the economy turns around your new home should benefit from the recovery.

Everyone should remember that the real estate market is cyclical. It goes up and it goes down. However, historically, the long haul trend is always UP, Unless something happens to significantly reduce the population of the U.S. (i.e. Bird Flu) or to curb population growth, the demand for real estate should continue to increase. So, just hang on. The sky is not falling, the naysayers just want you to believe that it is.

Oh, a note for the investor. With all of the foreclosures going on, where do you think the former homeowners are moving to? If you answered rental property, you win the brass ring. We feel that residential rentals should do very well in the coming years.

Elbow Grease Opportunity

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:04:37 -0500

Elbow Grease Equity
5962 Meadowview Road
Rex, Georgia 30273

There are plenty of things around this home to keep the most dedicated handyperson busy for a while! Enjoy your nights and weekends tinkering around the house with more home projects than you can possibly imagine.

You may not know how to lay carpet, but painting, light carpentry, and general repairs are a real handyperson's dream! Create the home you want instead of just buying someone else's house.

Turn this lump of coal into your own personal diamond... something you will be proud of!

Spread out in this three bedroom, one and one-half bath centrally heated and cooled home, or entertain your friends in the spacious family room before putting them to work helping you accomplish those odd jobs around the house.

Afterwards, take a break from your labor and relax in the cool shade of your private back yard or visit the Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center and Rex Park, just around the corner.

To help you get started with your project, the seller is willing to give you $4,000 to spend as you wish. Want to start with the paint? You have the money! How about the carpet? With the owner's contribution, it is as simple as writing a check!

If the house were in good condition, the owner would be asking a whole lot more for it. Because the owner does not want to bother with the repairs you reap the savings!

But, there is more!

This four-sided brick ranch is located in the Rex community in eastern Clayton County, Georgia. In times which live in the memories of only a few, Rex was once a thriving country town with the only bank in Clayton County. Less than a mile east of your new home the old brick bank building still stands overlooking the one-lane steel bridge crossing the Big Cotton Indian Creek. A few old buildings lining Rex Road is all that remains of the downtown area. The stone dam for the mill was breached a decade or so ago, but remains as a beautiful testimonial to the engineering genius of those who lived in a world before computers... or even calculators.

Just off the north side of the bridge is the historic Rex mill. For many years, this mill supplied fresh ground corn to the entire region.

My father, as a child, rode a mule drawn wagon with his father from Lakewood Heights (now part of the City of Atlanta) to bring their corn to the mill. A full day ride at the time. Old timers all over still talk of the yellow corn grits ground at the old Rex mill.

Today, a new bridge is planned across Big Cotton Indian Creek, but the old one-lane steel bridge will remain for area residents to stroll across on lazy evenings wondering about the lives of those who used to work and live around the old Mill in decades past.

Just west of Rex is Stagecoach Road, so named because it was once the main route for stagecoaches from Atlanta to what is now known as the City of Stockbridge. Over time, the area has grown but you can easily imagine the beauty witnessed by stagecoach riders in the 1800's.
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If you look close, you may even find the old Rex train station nestled behind a house on Rex Circle, moved there from it's original location at the tracks just down the hill.
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All this charm is not coupled with inconvenience. U.S. Highway 23 is about a mile to the west, just past Interstate 675. The City of Stockbridge is only minutes to the south and the City of Atlanta is only a short commute to the north.

Hungry for food, shopping or an entertainment experience?

Visit Southlake Mall, only about 15 minutes to the west or the Highway 138 commercial district, roughly an equal distance to the south. You can travel another 15 minutes to the south and be at the Jonesboro Road commercial district in Henry County. You will also find two movie theaters within just a few minutes drive, including an AMC 24 screen GIANT! Between these three commercial districts, if you can not find what you want it probably isn't available.

Five Wal-Mart Supercenters are within a 30 minute drive, with a 6th planned! The Olive Garden, Chili's, Longhorns, Outback, TGI Friday's, Applebee's and Ruby Tuesdays are just a sampling of the dine-in restaurants only minutes away. Only about 30 minutes and five turns will take you to the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for employment or travel.
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Need easy access to everywhere?

Clayton County boasts some of the best interstate access anywhere. I-75, I-85 and I-75 all transverse the county. Residents of Clayton County can jump on Interstate 75 and be at either the Florida State line or Nashville, Tennessee in about four short hours.

You can hop on Interstate - 85 and be in Greenville, South Carolina or Montgomery, Alabama in about three hours or so.

You can take I-285 to I-20 and be in Columbia, South Carolina in about three hours or Birmingham, Alabama in about two hours. All of Metro Atlanta is easily accessible via Interstate 285 and the network of other interstates.

The county is also bisected by several four-lane to six-lane state and federal highways, including U.S. Highways 23 (part 2-lane) and 41, and Georgia Highways 3, 54, 85, 138, 139, and 279.

Atlanta is known as the transportation hub of the southeast, and Clayton County is the heart of Atlanta's transportation system. If you want to live in a place that is close to everything Clayton County is the place to be.
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Turner Field, the Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena, Grant Park Zoo and the Lakewood Amphitheater are all located on the south side of Atlanta allowing you to be at your favorite sporting event (Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks), concert or other entertainment event in just minutes. And let's not forget about the Conyers Horse Park and Six Flags Over Georgia, both about 30 minutes away.

From your home in Clayton County you choose between Lake Altoona, Lake Jackson, Lake Lanier, Lake Oconee, Lake Sinclair, or West Point Lake for your weekend activities, all of which are within a two hour drive. State Parks within an hour of Clayton County includes Indian Springs, High Falls, Panola Mountain, Hard Labor Creek and Stone Mountain, among others, or you can chose to fish at one of the several reservoirs operated by the Clayton County Water Authority.

If you are handy around the house and need a close in location in a country setting this may be the home for you! Call me today for complete information or to schedule your tour of this remarkable home. At only $104,000, you had better act fast!

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	Chris Bradford 770-961-5520 \| CONTACT ME \| Bradford Realty Group 1115 Morrow Road STE D Morrow GA 30260 770-961-5520 http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com	Offering Real Value in Real Estate
Read The Whisper of Clayton County, Georgia - Real Estate Blog Visit my Active Rain Real Estate Site
The information provided herein is for illustrative purposes only and is subject to error, change, omission, prior sale or lease, and/or withdrawal from market. Dimensions and sizes are approximate. Income & expenses are estimates. You should independently verify all statements of fact prior to obligating yourself to purchase or lease. If your property is currently listed with another broker, please disregard this solicitation

Riverdale, Georgia: Taking Bold New Steps

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:41:24 -0500

Riverdale: Taking Bold New Steps

On Wednesday evening, July 18th, the City of Riverdale, Georgia, held it's second in a series of meeting promoting a bond referendum which would allow the city to develop a new downtown area. Brande and I attended this meeting.

Riverdale grew up along railroad tracks which many years ago ran pretty much along the route of Georgia Highway 85. All that remains of what we assume to be its old downtown area are a couple of old buildings on the south side of Main Street. At least since my childhood, Riverdale has lacked a geographic area which its citizens could consider to be the heart of the city.

The meeting had an overflow crowd with some standing out in the hallway almost out of hearing distance and certainly out of seeing distance. The attitude of the crowd was surprisingly positive. We had expected some disagreement over even a modest proposal. For a proposal this size we would have expected some shouting and veggie tossing. It seems that almost everyone attending was wholeheartedly in support of the proposal.

The new Downtown Riverdale is to be located on a tract of land, over 60 acres in size, behind the Home Depot and fronting on Lamar Hutcheson Parkway. The proposed development is to include a $4,200,000 multi-story city hall building, an amphitheater, community building, retail and office uses, condominiums, townhomes and single family residential dwellings among other uses. Development is hoped to begin early next year. (Continued below image.)

We applaud the public officials of the City of Riverdale and their staff for being forward thinking and trying to come up with a way to make a real difference in the city.

Brande and I felt the presentation left out significant facts any reasonable person would want to know before voting on a bond issue of this magnitude. Of course, this is to be expected at any meeting solely intended to promote a specific point of view. No project of this size goes without opposition and investigation, so we feel certain the details will eventually come to light.

If this proposal has been diligently researched and sufficient market demand has been established by parties knowledgeable in such matters, and should the financial risk not be such that failure would result in an undue hardship being placed upon the citizens and business owners of Riverdale, we would wholeheartedly support the proposal. This development could be a great turning point in the history of Riverdale.

We must mention what impressed us far above and beyond everything else at the meeting was the citizens. We were in awe over the deep concern the citizens of Riverdale exhibited over the future of their city. That group of citizens in attendance certainly had honesty in purpose. They all want Riverdale to become a better place to live.

Even if this project proves to be unfeasible, it is well apparent that there is sufficient motivation in the citizenship to make great things happen in the City of Riverdale

The next meeting is at 7:00 PM on August 20, 2007, at City Hall. The special election is to be held on September 18, 2007.

Brande's New Mascot

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:51:11 -0500

Brande's daughter, Megan, gave her a shihtzu puppy for a belated Mother's Day present. Actually getting the dog is a story of its on, but Brande finally picked it up Friday. Brande has a certain affection for these dogs as her parents raised them when Brande was a child.

Megan's one request was for Brande to name the dog something that reminded Brande of her. Megan has been in Army Boot Camp for several weeks so, Brande decided to name the dog G.I. Jane or, more easily pronounced "G-G".

Brande has joked about the dog being her mascot for several weeks. She has told me stories about if the dog did not bark at a house, she would not list it; how the dog would ride with her every day, sitting in the passenger seat with her hair tied up with a little bow; and how the dog would even sleep with us at night.

Now, I can see a marketing opportunity here, Brande having her picture posted all over town with this this rat sized bushy haired beast. But I feel her choice of names is unfitting. (I named the first dog, a beagle, I got for the kids "Speedbump" because that is what he was gonna be if he ever wandered into the road.)

After giving this matter due consideration, I feel the most appropriate name for the dog is Myrat. After all, the dog is and will remain almost rat size, although a very beefy one. But more importantly, think of the fun that could be had with such a name.

Brande could tell prospective clients "I can not list your house unless Myrat likes it."

Or, after an open house: "I am sorry, but Myrat pooped on your kitchen floor."

She could ask a closing attorney "Is it o.k. if Myrat attends the closing with me?"

A prospective buyer would certainly understand when Brande asks "Is it o.k. if we move that showing back to 4:00 instead of 2:00? I am supposed to drop Myrat off at the pet groomer at 3:00 to get her hair done and toenails trimmed".

Imagine during intense phone negotiations with a prospect when the prospect suddenly hearing Brande exclaim "OUCH!! I am sorry, but Myrat keeps chewing on my toes."

Over the course of the next few days I will be encouraging Brande to make the name change. Wish me luck.

Your House Hasn't Sold Because it is in Clayton County

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:27:39 -0500

"Your house hasn't sold because it is in Clayton County." is what the homeowner (we will call her Ms. Smith) said her agent used as an excuse for her house not selling. Brande had contacted Ms. Smith because the listing for the property had recently expired. If this agent has such negative feelings against Clayton County, they should not be listing property here.

Between June 1^st, 2006 and May 30^th, 2006 there were 3,815 sales of homes in Clayton County, Georgia. Like Ms. Smith's house, they are all located in Clayton County. If being in Clayton County prevented Ms. Smith's home from selling, why did it not prevent these thousands of other homes from selling?

If the agent utilized recent comparable sales within the neighborhood to establish the asking price those sales should also reflect any influence being in Clayton County, good or bad, has on the value of Ms. Smith's property.

Being in Clayton County had nothing at all to do with Mrs. Smith's house not selling. This was just an excuse by the agent. There are two things that usually prevent any property from selling. Those are price and marketing.

For the moment, let's assume the property was marketed properly. Why then would it not sale? Price.

If the location is inferior the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If the physical condition is inferior, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If there are title problems, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If it is an ugly color or with ugly colored carpeting, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If the neighbor's house looks like crap, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If the owner has not cleaned her house since 1973, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If the house smells like animal urine, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If it is a buyer's market, the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

In some cases, instead of adjusting the price the owner can correct the negative factors. These correctable factors include primarily the physical structure and lands. The house can be repainted, carpet can be replaced, repairs can be made, a dead tree can be cut down, and the grass can be mowed. However, someone will have to make the decision whether the cost of correcting the problem will equal or exceed the amount the price needs to be adjusted if the problem is not corrected.

If the cost of correcting the problems meets or exceeds the amount of price adjustment, the price needs to be adjusted. If the property owner does not have the available funds to correct the problems, the price needs to be adjusted.

Of course, it is possible that the agent over-estimated the value of the home at the time of listing or that the owner demanded a certain price that was unrealistic. In either event, the sales within the neighborhood need to be checked again and the data considered with an objective mind.

Finally, the owner needs to ask the agent exactly what has been done to market the property. If the agent's marketing strategy is simply to put a sign on the property and stick it in MLS, the owner needs to consider listing the home with an agent who will market the property. But, if the agent has made a reasonable attempt to sell the house, pricing must be revisited.

Don't accept this kind of excuse for your property not selling. Look at your property objectively. Correct those problems which are financially feasible to correct and adjust your price for those items which are not correctable. Above all, make a realistic comparison between your house and those which have sold in the neighborhood.

Don't Tell Them We Are Married!

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:10:10 -0500

I operate under some very tight deadlines sometimes, but so does many others in my office. Over the years I have become the goto guy when someone needs advice a tough situation handled. When under pressure I can be very demanding and today was one of those days.

Brande has a couple of closings scheduled for Monday. These transactions have been troublesome from the get-go, but I will save that for another rant. While reviewing the documents in preparation for closing Brande noticed that the Power of Attorney (POA) from one seller to the other who will be attending the closing, was expiring today and a new one had to be prepared before Monday. This was no problem, the sellers get along well and it can easily be handled this weekend.

Several weeks ago Brande had faxed the POA to the lender requesting approval. We do this as a standard course of business to help avoid last minute problems. The lender had approved the POA. Although the lender was selected several weeks ago, the closing attorney was only selected yesterday and we were notified who they were to be today.

As a courtesy, Brande called the closing attorney's office today to let them know about the POA and to fax them a copy. She explained the POA was to expire today and that we would have another one signed this weekend by the seller who would not be attending the closing. This is when the problem arose.

First, the POA contained the legal descriptions of multiple properties, including that of the property being sold under this transaction. The attorney's office wanted it to include only those properties being sold under this specific transaction. This is no big deal, we can change that in a heartbeat, although I felt the request was a little silly.

Second, they wanted the street address included in the legal description. That was fine too, although in Georgia, street addresses can change from time to time so we do not consider them to be "legal descriptions". But, I can understand the request... it being in the legal description can make things a little clearer. So, Brande agreed to make that change.

They Want What?

In almost 30 years of participating in the real estate industry handling transactions involving investment properties whereas a very high percentage of the transactions have involved the use of a POA I have never had a closing attorney make either of these requests. I guess I have been lucky. But the next request was the kicker.

The closing attorney demanded that the POA be notarized by another attorney and not simply a notary public. To be notarized by anyone else was unacceptable. When Brande told me this, I lost it. So I made a phone call.

First, I spoke with the closing assistant. After demanding answers she was not able to provide, she suggested I speak with one of the law partners who was unavailable at the moment. I told her I did not mind holding as long as it took. The law partner was on the phone in less than a minute.

I really do not recall much of my conversation with him. I just remember he could not give me a valid reason for this requirement, and he suggested I speak with the senior law partner who he also referred to as the "owner of the firm". It seems the senior partner had taken the afternoon off, but the junior law partner kindly agreed to get in touch with the senior law partner and have him contact me immediately.

The senior law partner was full of himself. I feel that in his eyes he was the all knowing lawyer and I was the dumb real estate guy. I admit, I ain't the smartest nut on the tree but I ain't dumb as a rock either.

I explained that the lender had already approved the POA several weeks back, and with no changes whatsoever. However, it was expiring today and we were planing on getting a new one signed this weekend. Because of the lender's prior approval, I did not see why we should have to wait until Monday morning to have it signed and get an attorney to notarize it when it can be notarized at a bank easily tomorrow morning.

You Can Teach an Old Dog a New Trick

"What do you mean the POA is expiring today? I have never head of one expiring." said the attorney. I explained that it had been my experience that in most cases when a POA was to be used at a closing the attorney would send over a General Power of Attorney for the transaction participant to sign. In essence, this gave the Attorney in Fact the power of a god over the entire life of the Grantor until it was revoked by the Grantor, which most Grantors never remember to do.

As a protective measure for those I represent I demand Specific Power of Attorneys granting Attorney in Fact privileges only in regards to the specific property and I demand an expiration date on all POAs so that should the transaction fail to close there is no need for the Grantor to later revoke the POA. It will automatically expire on the date indicated. Usually, we build in plenty of time to close the transaction, but in this case we underestimated. This is one of the pitfalls of trying to do everything you can to protect your client.

"I think that is a great idea" said the attorney. "But, listen, the lender is insignificant...." I could not help but interrupt and ask how the lender could be insignificant when it is them who was loaning the money and taking the risk? His response was that it was he who was insuring the title, not the lender. This was not right either. I doubted that he was personally insuring the title, but who knows? (Yeah, to a degree he is, but that is what insurance is for.) So, I asked.

His response was almost incoherent, so I took it as a "no". I asked: "The bottom line is that the title insurance company who you are writing a policy on behalf of and getting paid a commission to do so will not accept a POA unless notarized by an attorney?"

His response was "What I am telling you is that title companies have their own set of requirements for POAs which has nothing to do with the lender."

After asking who the title insurance company was, I asked "Ok, so you are telling me that [name of company withheld] will not accept a POA unless notarized by an attorney?" (I already knew the answer or I would not have asked.)

"No", he responded. "What I am telling you is that anyone can become a notary public. With all of the fraud going on there has been a lot of cases of notary publics notarizing documents they did witness being signed."

"I am sure that is the case.", I replied, "But, are you trying to tell me attorneys as a group are any more honest?" Ok., so I did insult him, but he had been trying to mislead me and I was tired of it.

"No, I am not, he replied. "But a notary public can not tell if the person signing the document is legally capable of signing. They can not tell if the person is really coherent!".

"Oh, so an attorney is qualified to make a psychological analysis?', I asked.

Then he mentioned how a notary pubic can not tell if the person signing the document is really the person that they represent themselves to be. To this I asked how the attorney would know any better, since the attorney would have to rely on the same identification documents that the notary public would?

The Truth Comes Out

The discussion went on for a while, with the attorney never providing what I considered to be a reason that justified his unusual demand. Finally, the attorney admitted that he was scared of POAs because he was being sued at the moment by someone who claims they did not personally sign the POA which he had relied upon to close a piece of property five years ago.

Now, he tells the truth! If he had told me that up front it would have saved us both an argument. In this case, the only reason we were using a POA was it has been our experience that the fewer people at the closing the better. Closings go much faster with less chance of problems when there is only one person representing multiple buyers or sellers, so we try to reduce the number of attendees through the use of POAs..

If this attorney had been up front and honest with me in the beginning, we could have saved all of the high tension crap. I would have either agreed to his request or provided him with sufficient information that he would be very comfortable with accepting the POA. Because of the way he and his firm handled the issue, I was not in the mood to cooperate with him in any way whatsoever.

In the end he agreed to accept the POA from Brande's seller, notarized by whoever we would find to notarize it.

Rain on my Parade

After it was all over, with my chest puffed out in pride and a big smile on my face I stepped into Brande's office to tell her the outcome. "I already know", she said. "I could hear you all the way down the hall. You are such a butthole sometimes. When you get that way I wish you would not tell them we are married! You get them mad at you and I am the one that has to show up at the closing!"

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you lose because you won.

Termites... Eating Away at More than Wood

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:17:44 -0500

With residential sales, one of the things Brande and I dread the most is getting the termite inspection back. Regardless of which pest control company is called, or how highly they are recommended by friends and associates, it seems termite infestations are reported far too often.

Maybe due to the use of less potent chemicals termites have became much more prevalent recently. But, I do not feel that is the case. Of course, if there really is a problem it should be corrected. However, I can't help but wonder how many times the seller is paying for unnecessary treatments.

The Seller's Disadvantage

The termite inspector has the seller at a disadvantage. The inspector is the all-knowing expert. But this expert has almost every reason to claim a house has termites and almost no reason to say it doesn't.

If the termite inspector says a home has no termites when it fact it does, the inspector's company may be responsible for any subsequent damage to the home if there is in fact an infestation. The safe bet is to report an infestation.

Should the inspector report an infestation, they often receive a nice commission from their company and may, over time, earn bonuses and promotions. Sales managers usually do not reward inspectors for performing a high number of inspections. What they demand is that the inspector makes sales. Termites or not, the inspectors are under constant pressure to make the sale.

In almost every instance, the termite inspector is better off to report an infestation whenever possible.

Many other industries are much alike. If you call them out for an inspection, say a plumber or an electrician for an inspection called for by a home inspector, their main goal is to usually make the sale. The difference is that they are not called out on every house. If an inspection by a licensed electrician or licensed plumber was required on every house their professions might also be the spotlight of an article such as this.

Many Honest Inspectors No Longer Do Inspections

Not every inspector is dishonest. I have known some very good ones, many of which now refuse to make termite inspections because they can not charge enough to make the inspection worth their while and cover their risk. It seems they are undercut by those companies who are willing to almost give the inspections away in order to get the opportunity to sell a treatment.

For the record, my definition of a good termite inspector is one which finds termites when there really is a problem instead of every inspection they are called out on. It has been our experience that it is fairly often that when second opinions are sought (the second company is not informed a previous inspection was made), it is hit or miss whether an infestation is found.

I really don't know what a good solution might be. Off the top of my head I think that if home inspectors would also begin offering termite inspections you would receive a more honest and less biased opinion. Even though the licensing requirements in most states would preclude all but a very few from offering these services, it may be possible for them to associate with a pest control company which would agree to provide inspection only services.

We leave it to the responsible party (buyer or seller, depending on the contract) to contact a pest control contractor of their choice, but it does not lessen the hole in the gut we feel when we get the report back. After all, if the buyer orders the report and it states termites are present, should the seller get a second opinion that reports no termites are present, who is the buyer going to stand behind when it will cost the buyer nothing to have the home treated?

A Possible Solution

One possible solution that we are considering is finding several pest control operators who would be willing to make inspections with no possibility of selling a termite treatment. Should termites be found, a different company would be called in to and actually perform the treatment. We would provide this list to sellers along with a list of other pest control contractors and explain to the seller our reasoning, leaving it up to them to decide which way to proceed and which company to use. Of course, they would be welcome to contact any company, whether on our list or not. (Standard disclaimers, etc...)

By doing this, the inspection fees might be a little higher, but I can't help to feel we would be more likely to get an unbiased opinion.

Update

As usual, I wrote this article and let it sit a week or two. We had a company meeting the other day to discuss just this problem. We decided to try to find some termite inspectors which would be willing to do the inspections with no opportunity to do the subsequent treatment.

We have not made the calls yet because of our schedule, plus I needed some time to give some more thought to the issue. My remaining question is if I need a carrot to dangle in front of the inspectors faces in order to get them to make the inspection without the possibility of selling a treatment. The carrot might be the opportunity to bid on jobs which they did not perform the inspection for or maybe perform other pest control services for us when needed. We might make a few calls first to see if this is even necessary.

For now, this is the best solution I can think of. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave your comments. All ideas are appreciated.

The Morrow Conference Center

Fri, 25 May 2007 18:17:24 -0500

The Morrow Conference Center

I just read in The News Daily that the City of Morrow's Downtown Development Authority is contemplating the purchase of the old Macy's building at Southlake Mall for use as a conference center.

For clarification, we are not speaking of the current location of Macy's. Macy's is now located in the old Rich's building at Southlake Mall. Rich's was acquired by the parent company of Macy's some time ago and they eventually converted the Rich's over to a Macy's.

The building we are speaking of is the old Davidson's building which is now sitting vacant. Davidson's was also acquired by the parent company of Macy's and converted over to Macy's prior to the acquisition of Rich's. When the acquisition of Rich's was made they closed the Macy's and eventually made the Rich's a Macy's.

We may not have the acquisition stuff exactly right, but we do know that Davidson's became Macy's, Macy's closed, then Rich's became Macy's. It is the Davidson's building we are talking about, not the Rich's. Confused yet? Good. Now I am not alone.

The News Daily reports "...the target of the conference center would be groups of 25 people or less", going on to refer to likely uses being host speaker panels, job training conferences, civic club meetings and large birthday parties. The development authority plans to use the 65,000 square foot ground level for the conference center with the remainder being leased to retailers.

In the article Mr. John Lampl, City Manager for the City of Morrow and Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority is quoted as saying that other than the conference center and facilities at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport there are currently no similar facilities in Clayton County.

Arguably, there are no similar facilities in Clayton County, but there may be a good reason for it. Having, on occasion, needed to obtain space for meetings and other events I have had little difficulty finding a place to hold an event.

Birthday parties are easy. Many restaurants will provide a room for up to 20 or 25 people free of charge, provided they eat meals. Children, of course, prefer their parties to be at children oriented establishments, not at a conference center. Many churches will provide a free or low cost room in their fellowship hall for birthday and anniversary parties of their members. The supply of locations to have birthday parties is so large that it is doubtful could not make a significant contribution to the operations of a local conference center.

Civic clubs holding their meetings at the conference center was also mentioned. For years, Southlake Mall had a community room in which they allowed civic clubs to meet. I do not know if they still do, and if so at what cost. Like with birthday parties, many restaurants will freely provide a meeting room provided that many of the attendees also purchase a meal. I know of at least one civic club in the county which owns its own building and, the last time I had reason to check, occasionally rented it for meetings at a reasonable cost.

Hotels also provide meeting rooms. Holiday Inn South has for decades been an active conference site. I have attended countless classes and functions there, as well as other motels within the county.

I have the opportunity to attend classes related to my profession on occasion. Usually, these classes are held in the conference room of a motel under the arrangement that the sponsor of the event will receive a free hotel room and/or meeting room provided that a specific number of rooms are rented to those attending the class.

Certain government and quasi-government agencies also provide similar facilities. I have attended classes, meetings and functions at libraries, colleges, parks, bank conference rooms, city facilities and many other similar locations.

Over the years a number of "banquet" facilities have come and gone in the county. These facilities tried to provide somewhat similar services as is planned for the Morrow conference center. Off the top of my head, I can not recall any that have made it over the long haul.

The problem with privately owned dedicated facilities is the cost of owning the facility is so great that in order to make a profit off of ownership and management the rental rates you must charge for an event can be exorbitant.

Your customers do not realize that you must build into their rent the cost of owning and maintaining the space during the time it sits unused between events. This is why event space is often provided by business which can benefit either through direct event related sales or community goodwill resulting from offering the space.

I also see much of the problem as being not so much the availably of event space within Clayton County as there is no single place to go to discover who offers such space. To find a place to hold a meeting can take hours of phone calls, not to mention the considerable amount of time inspecting the space offered to determine its suitability for the anticipated event. (As part of the Whisper of Clayton County web site, Brande & I may consider offering such a listing of event facilities.)

What I do not know is if such a facility can cover its cost. I hope that the City of Morrow has had a feasibility study conducted to determine if there is sufficient demand to support such a facility. In order to justify such a risk of public funds, the demand must not only be evident, it should be substantial.

I would hope that such a study would indicate the probable sources for the demand and their relative impact. In other words, where would the business come from and roughly how much from each source? This is not to say specific users must be identified and analyzed, but market segments should be.

I think a study of the economic impact of the proposed venture on existing businesses within the market area would also be in order. While such an enterprise may help some businesses, what effect will it have on existing private businesses which already provides event space in the community? Even though the existing motels may not use their meeting facilities as much, will additional room rentals from conference center attendees more than offset the loss?

It would also be useful to know the habits of those attending functions at such a facility. What percentage of attendees only attend the function and spend no money within the community otherwise? What percentage will browse the mall and possibly spend money there. What percentage will venture out into the local community and spend their money with other local businesses?

Certainly there have been studies elsewhere across the nation which can shed some light on these questions. If nothing else, the businesses along Main Street in College Park could be polled to see how much business they derive from that city's convention center.

A successful conference center can be a real asset for the City of Morrow. But, the financial success of the venture itself can not be the sole criteria for determining its success. To be successful the venture must bring more revenue into the local private sector than existed prior to the venture. It must promote the creation of local private sector jobs and it must enhance the desirability of the city as a place to live and conduct business. Otherwise, the public's money should be used for a more deserving purpose.

To Appeal or Not Appeal

Sat, 19 May 2007 10:31:15 -0500

To Appeal or Not Appeal

Every year you get a statement from the county government telling you how much they feel your property is worth and, based on that, how much your property taxes are going to be. If you are like most property owners, you see your tax value creeping up each year, sometimes taking a huge leap.

After a while, you begin to feel the county has your property valued too high and think you might need to appeal the county's valuation. This is when you discover what disadvantage property owners are really under.

Let's assume that you feel your house is worth about $150,000 but the county says they feel it is worth $180,000. In most counties (but not all) in Georgia, your property taxes are based on 40% of the value, or in this case $72,000.

Assuming your county taxes you at 35 mils (the actual rate varies depending on the county, whether or not you are in the corporate limits of a city, and sometimes where you are within a county), your annual property taxes would be $2,520, unless you qualify for homestead exemption. If you live in your house you probably qualify for homestead exemption which would provide you with substantial savings.

If you were to be successful in getting the county's valuation of your property reduced to $150,000 your tax burden would reduce to $2,100, a savings of $420. A relatively significant sum, if my fat fingers did not screw up the calculation.

You decide to appeal your property taxes and file your appeal. In most cases there is not cost in filing an appeal to the equalization board. Between filing the appeal and the date of appeal you spend several hours researching your home's value. You check real estate listings in your neighborhood, you call a friend who is a real estate professional and she prints you a list of recent sales in your neighborhood, you prepare the information in an attractive package and feel you are certain to win your case.

On the day of the appeal you walk into the room and notice several people sitting at a table. Usually, they are older citizens, typically retirees, who are appointed by the county commissioners. You introduce yourself and they ask you to take a seat.

The county appraiser arrives, we will call her Sarah. She and the board members seem like long-time friends. They ask about her husband, her children, and her latest ailment. She asks about their families and health. They briefly discuss a recent appeal or two and she sits down at a chair at the table.

You each present your respective cases. You explain what information you have, telling a little about each house that sold. You feel you did a great job in your presentation. Sarah presents her case, she has more data than you and some of the information she has does not match the information you have. It tuns out she has spoken with the buyer, seller or agent involved with each sale that she used. Regardless, the information is not significantly different, just your conclusions are. You feel you have a great chance.

The board members ask you a few questions, beginning with your experience in real estate and or real estate appraisal. They continue by asking you questions about your property and maybe a few questions about the information you presented. Sarah is asked fewer questions than you and the questions seem to be more directed to help convince you Sarah is right. You leave the board uncertain what will happen.

A few days later you receive a notice that they appeals board ruled in favor of the county. You are certain you are right and have the opportunity to appeal the case to state court, but feel it is not worth the expense of getting an attorney involved, so you drop it and feeling cheated, pay the higher taxes.

What went wrong? Everything.

Property tax payers are at a distinct disadvantage when appealing their property taxes. Let's discuss just a few:

Equalization Boards are Appointed by the County Commissioners:

The equalization boards are supposed to be impartial, yet they serve at the pleasure of the county commissioners. Should the commissions receive enough complaints from the tax office that a particular board or board member goes against the county appraisers too often, the commissioners will make a change. After all, it is for the public good.

A better solution would be to have seats on the equalization board be elected positions with the board members serving at the pleasure of the voters. If this were the case, they would be more responsive to the community.

County Appraisers and Equalization Board Members Build Relationships:

The county appraisers appear before the board members day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. They can not help but to develop some form of relationship. In the best case, to the equalization board members the county appraisers are a friendly face, while you are a complete stranger. It is human nature to trust someone you are familiar with more than you trust a complete stranger. Don't we teach our children not to even talk to strangers? We are coached from our earliest years not to trust those we do not know. This does not change with age.

In the end you have to work twice as hard and be twice as convincing to overcome the relationship which has developed between the county appraisers and members of the equalization board.

The Expense of Appealing to the Board of Equalization:

In the above example, you did the work yourself so you had no real out-of-pocket expenses. But you did have time involved. How much is your time worth? How much do you get paid per hour on your job? If you calculated the expense of your time what would your savings had been if you had won?

You also had to take a day off work to appear. Did you lose pay, or did you spend a vacation day or sick day? In any event it cost you money.

What if you had hired a professional appraiser? The appraisal would probably have cost you $250 or more, plus the appraisers time in appearing before the board. This expense alone would have been greater than your anticipated savings. To get a professional appraiser with a successful history at being an expert witness could cost you several times your anticipated savings.

The county does not have to worry about this expense. They way they look at it is they are paying their appraisers already and it really doesn't matter if they are spending their time appraising properties or appearing before the board of equalization. What the county does not consider is that by reducing the number of appeals they could likely reduce the number of appraisers on staff.

Even with a professional appraiser you may not have faired any better. We have participated in discussions with equalization board members across the nation in which many have stated they have never voted to lower the county's valuation based on an outside appraisal.

The Expense of State Court:

For a house, it is almost foolish for the average person to appeal the tax valuation to state court. If you have money to burn and want to fight out of principal, your efforts would be appreciated by almost all property tax payers. But for the average homeowner to risk thousands of dollars in attorney feels, expert witnesses and other expenses it just does not make good financial sense.

For an owner of an expensive property it can make sense. We have known property owners to spend tens of thousands of dollars and even more in an attempt to win property tax cases. In these cases they often win because to spend those dollars they have to be pretty certain of their case up front.

The Fear of Retribution:

This ought not come into play, but it does - especially for those with a high success rate against a particular county. Get a county appraiser mad at you or hurt their feelings and, even if you win, as soon as possible they will up their appraised value again. If you win in court and they can not raise the value on that particular property for a few years, if you own other property in the county they will raise those values instead. It costs them nothing to harass you, the tax payers pay for it and even pay them for their time. They might even get a promotion if they win! But it can cost you thousands.

What Can You Do?

Focus on Condition:

With your tax appeal you can often be much more successful if, instead of arguing the sales data, argue the condition of your property versus that of the comparables used by the county. You know your own property better than anyone, certainly better than the county appraiser knows it or knows the comparable sales they utilized to estimate your value with.

Take plenty of pictures of any problem that exists with your house. All houses have some issues, be it a crack in the foundation, a cracked driveway or walkway, worn floorcovering, peeling paint, steep driveway, a missing or curling shingle or two, a stained or worn countertop, sink or tub, or any of a host of issues which can be photographed.

Even your neighbor's property can help you win your appeal. Take photographs of any problems which exist with the exterior of their property. After all, the appearance of their property affects the value of yours.

Photographs make great evidence, you can not take too many. Believe it or not, members of the equalization board are generally good people and would like to help others. But, they need something to go on. Photographs give them that something.

Look for Mistakes:

County appraisers are not perfect. Before appearing before the equalization board visit your county's tax office and get all the information they have in your file or in their computer records about your house and each of the comparables they used in estimating it's value. Carefully review these documents and look for mistakes.

The more mistakes you find the better you can discredit the opinion of the county appraiser in front of the equalization board. Do not reveal your findings to the county appraiser before the appeals board meeting, and at the meeting be very careful not to insult the county appraiser. You want to blindside the appraiser but do it in a way that they, or the equalization board, do not take offense. If the equalization board feels you are attacking the county appraiser they may come to his or her defense.

If you can discredit the county's appraisal without your information being discredited the appeals board may have sufficient reason to side with you.

Remember the Key Date:

The value of every property in Georgia is estimated as of January 1^st of the tax year. If your appeal does not come up until September of that year, do not appear before the equalization board with sales occurring that August. They will not consider them. You are better of with sales occurring the previous tax year, and you may be able to get by with sales closing in January or February of the tax year since they were probably under contract as of January 1^st.

By the same token, don't go in with sales a year or two old unless you have no choice. You need sales which occurred as close to the date of valuation as possible.

Arms-Length Transactions Only:

Be certain that all of the sales you use are arms-length. If Billy Bob sold his house to his aunt Wilma that sale is no good. Neither is the sale of a foreclosure or the sale in which any party is under duress.

I will not go into the definition of Market Value here, but, if possible restrict yourself to transactions handled by real estate agents and marketed through your local MLS. If possible, speak to the real estate agent and get all of the information you can.

Express Your Concerns:

Write your elected officials, both county and state, to let them know your opinion of the current system and any problems that you may encounter. For more on this topic you may want to read our free report How to Influence Local Politics.

Vote:

Your vote counts. Pay close attention to the opinions of those seeking office. On a local basis it is often easy to make contact with those running for office and discuss the issues with them.

Fight Out of Principle:

If you can afford it, fight. A few wins by those determined to be taxed fairly helps us all.

Get on Your County Appraiser's Good Side:

If you have one house this might not be worth the effort, but if you own multiple properties or a large property, it may be worth the effort. Make a point to discover the county appraiser's interests. If they are involved with a charitable organization, support the local chapter of that organization. Be certain that the county appraiser is aware of your efforts.

What Not To Do.

Insult the Equalization Board, its Members, of the County Appraiser:

Be careful not to insult anyone. If you have disagreements handle them in such a manner as to be cordially convincing and insulting. Those insulted will work against you now and in the future.

Lose Your Temper:

This is probably one of the easiest things for some to do. It is easy to get angry when you feel wronged. When you are angry you not always handle the situation in the best possible manner. Keep cool, treat it as a game not a life and death situation.

Personal Favors for the County Appraiser:

Gifts, loans, discounts and other gratuities for the county appraiser or his/ her family members are out of the question. Never even give the appearance of something like this.

If you are approached by the county appraiser for a favor, decline it gracefully, explaining to the county appraiser why you can not help them. Try to refer them to someone who can help them without putting you in jeopardy.

It's Your Call.

It is up to you whether or not you appeal your property taxes. If the county's value estimate is unfair, we hope you do. It will help us all.

The key to winning is to have strong evidence on your side. Without it, you will need to either point out problems with your property of which the county appraiser was unaware or discredit their appraisal.

One topic we intentionally did not cover was equalization: in other words, fairness. The county can not value your property for any more than they value other similar properties. A battle based on equalization is often even more of an uphill battle and would make a great topic for an article of its own.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

How To Influence Local Politics

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 16:51:38 -0600

Very often you wish you could change the way things are without becoming a politician. One of the disadvantages of becoming a politician is that you become a target for the news media. Perfection is expected of politicians. However, as a private citizen, you are given much more leeway by the press. Here are a number of ways you, as a private citizen, can influence local politics.

Attend Public Meetings: This is a very simple but very effective way to influence local politics. By being present at meetings, you will know what is going on in your community. What is more important, the politicians will get to where they will recognize you, and be more apt to listen when you voice your opinion.
Write Letters: Most local politicians get very few letters. Letters are often reserved for state and federal politicians. Because of this, letters are given significant weight when considering issues.
Make Phone Calls: This has essentially the same effect as writing letters, except it is more immediate. Even if you do not get to speak directly with the politician, ask the telephone receptionist to take a message and give your opinion in as few words as possible. Better yet, ask for the politician's fax number and fax him your opinion.
Vote: You may think your vote doesn't count. With elections which are not heavily contested your vote may not determine the outcome of the election. However, if you want to make a difference in local politics, it is important that you be a registered voter and that your name appears on the roll of those who voted in the last election. Politicians look at this list and, in small towns, know everyone who voted. If your name should come to the forefront in an issue, the fact that you did not vote may hurt your argument severely.
Distribute Circulars: This is a very good way to raise public interest, and works best when you are using it against an issue. With such a circular, you should list the worst possible things that can happen should the issue be decided not in your favor.
Start a Web Site: This runs very much along the Circular idea. The object here is to make your opinion known.
Make Campaign Donations: It is said that money makes the world go around, but it also makes votes swing. If you want to be certain that your local politician's door will always be open to you and your opinion, the easiest way to accomplish this is to write him a check. With local politics, even a check for $99.00 will insure an open door.
Write Letters to The Editor: Local newspapers love letters on controversial subjects. Write them. Politicians read editorials regularly, and your letter to the editor might stir similar responses.
Organize and Protest: Do a number of people in your community feel the same way you do? Get them all together and head down to City Hall. Be sure to call the local news media and let them know when and where you will be protesting.

All of these methods to manipulate local politics are based on the tried and true principle of "The squeaky wheel gets greased." In order to influence local politics, you need to squeak.

One word of caution, with "Public Figures" you can get by with saying pretty much what you want, so long as you don't go overboard. However, with private citizens, you can be held liable for slanderous or defamatory statements. So, be careful. Just because you think your neighbor is selling drugs does not give you the right to call him a drug dealer.

Fayette County Localism Visitor Poll: No 1.

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:37:21 -0600

We are conducting a poll of localism visitors to determine what they are looking for in a real estate agent. Please take one moment and answer the following question.

When choosing a real estate agent, which is the most important to you?

Chris & Brande Bradford
Bradford Realty Group
770-961-5520
http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com

Clayton County Localism Visitor Poll: No. 1

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:25:55 -0600

We are conducting a poll of localism visitors to determine what they are looking for in a real estate agent. Please take one moment and answer the following question.

When choosing a real estate agent, which is the most important to you?

Chris & Brande Bradford
Bradford Realty Group
770-961-5520
http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com

Henry County Localism Visitor Poll: No. 1

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:22:59 -0600

We are conducting a poll of localism visitors to determine what they are looking for in a real estate agent. Please take one moment and answer the following question.

When choosing a real estate agent, which is the most important to you?

Chris & Brande Bradford
Bradford Realty Group
770-961-5520
http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com

Vanchat Street and Flint River Road (Old Flint River Road) Renamed to Thomas Road.

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:57:52 -0600

Vanchat Street and Flint River Road (Old Flint River Road) Renamed to Thomas Road.
Chris Bradford
Bradford Realty Group
770-961-5520
http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com

The intersection of Flint River Road and Pointe South Parkway has been confusing for years. At this intersection, Thomas Road turns off to the south, Pointe South Parkway goes straight ahead (west) and Vanchat street turns off to the north, turning back into Flint River Road when it veers back to the left.

Clayton County is taking a big step towards ending the confusion by changing the names of Vanchat Street and the northern end of Flint River Road to Thomas Road. Now, Thomas Road will cross the intersection and lead out to Georgia Highway 85.

All that is left to do is to either change the name of Pointe South Parkway or the main Flint River Road so that there is only one road name leading from Tara Boulevard to Georgia Highway 85.

Off the top of my head I can think of a few other road names which they should consider changing.

Pineridge Road and Reynolds Road is the same street that changes name as it crosses Phillips Drive. To make matters worse, as it crosses Ash Street, the name of Pinridge Road changes to Pineridge Drive, or visa versa.

Lake Harbin Road and Morrow Road are the same street which changes names as it crosses Highway 54 (Jonesboro Road). The lake that Lake Harbin Road was named after has been gone for many years. It would make sense to change its name to Morrow Road.

Thurman Road and College Street changes names as it crosses Highway 54 in Forest Park, and with the new realignment of College Street with Ash Street as it crosses Main Street, all three of these roads will essentially be the same road. Why not have one name?

Highway 54 (Jonesboro Road) is known as Main Street as it passes through the City of Morrow and again as it passes through the City of Jonesboro. Most travelers have a difficult time knowing where the name changes occur. After living here all of my life and traveling Jonesboro Road almost daily, even I can not tell you exactly where the name changes occur.

With society being as mobile as it exists today, I think it would be a good idea to have as much consistency as possible in the naming of our roads. I am happy to see that Clayton County is taking some steps towards ending the confusion.

Sullivan Road & Ellenwood Road Renamed

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:09:22 -0600

Sullivan Road & Ellenwood Road Renamed
Chris Bradford
Bradford Realty Group
770-961-5520
http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com

It should have happed 20 years ago, but late is better than never.

The Forest Parkway leads from Interstate 75 east to Highway 42. East of Highway 42 it changes names to Ellenwood Road crosses I-675 and then changes names again to Panola Road.

Going west, after crossing Interstate 75, the forest Parkway changes names to Sullivan Road, then Phoenix Boulevard, then Godby Road.

Ok, it is true that of all of these roads, the Forest Parkway is almost the newest. I believe Phoenix Boulevard is only one put in after the Forest Parkway. It is also true that not all of these roads were originally straight paths from one to the other. Road realignments and interchange enhancements have made them so over the years.

All of that aside, it gets pretty confusing trying to tell someone how to get from Godby Road to Panola Road when you try to explain that you go down all of these roads without ever making a single turn.

Clayton County is now taking steps to partially correct this problem. The names of Sullivan Road and Ellenwood Road are now being changed to Forest Parkway. The elimination of these two road names will result in one road which leads from I-285 in College Park, across Georgia Highway 85, Old Dixie Highway, Georgia Highway 54, U.S. Highway 42 and I-675. It will lead from College Park, through Forest Park, Lake City and Ellenwood.

All of this will make it much easier telling people how to get around and make MapQuest directions a few lines shorter.

Now, if we could get Fulton County and Henry County in line and change the names of Godby Road, Phoenix Boulevard and Panola Road we could solve a little more confusion. I could see where they would not want a street named after Forest Park running through their communities. If that is the case, change the name of them all to a new ambiguous name.

I have no idea who the Sullivan's were. If any of their family is still surviving, I know they must regret the name change. That can take some condolence in the fact that an old section of Sullivan Road remains, and as far as we know will retain its name.

Although I wholeheartedly agree with the name changes, I most regret the loss of Ellenwood Road.

Ellenwood, to my knowledge, was never a city. It was just a small railroad community centered around a cotton gin. A gin which my father, as a child, used to travel to with his family. A gin which gave away free pencils and notepads to the children and used to let the children help unload the cotton.

The railroad is still there, as are several old buildings in what was once the downtown area. But the loss of the road name is one more nail in the coffin of obscurity.

Radio Dispatching: A thing of the future?

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:09:12 -0600

It was not too long ago that many service businesses advertised being radio dispatched. At their office they would have a tall radio tower and a base station. Each of their vehicles had a mobile radio unit so they could stay in contact with the base station.

When a service call came in, the office would radio a service technician who would in turn go out and take care of the service call. By advertising being radio dispatched, a business was notifying its customers that their service technicians were always on call and in easy reach. It gave the customers the impression that they would receive speedier service than the non-radio dispatched competition could offer because the service technician did not have to return to the office to get the service call.

To the consumer, radio dispatched was translated in their minds to mean immediate attention. It meant that their problem would he handled in the quickest possible manner.

The term "radio dispatched" has almost disappeared from use today. Even the old utility trucks which had the loudspeakers mounted on the outside so the workers could hear the radio are now silent. Today, the most you hear is the blurp-blurp of a Nextel phone, if that.

The convenience of radio dispatching has been replaced by cellular phones. With cellular phones no special license is required and the equipment is downright cheap. In the past, to be radio dispatched meant you were part of an exclusive club. You were one of the relatively small group of businesses willing to spend the extra dollars for the convenience of their customers and to gain an edge over the competition.

Today, the advantage of being radio dispatched is lost. Or is it?

What is a cell phone? It is northing more than a hand-held radio transmitter/receiver that connects to the phone lines via cellular towers and special switching equipment. To be certain, it is much better than the old walkie-talkie style radios which you had to depress a button to speak and release the button to listen, but it is nothing more than a radio.

Now, look at your business card or any other advertisement of yours or your competition. Does it even insinuate immediate attention anywhere on that advertisement? Cell phones have became so common in today's society that many do not even mention that the advertised phone number leads to a cell phone. Where once the statement "cell phone" carried with it some exclusiveness, today it might as well say voice mail or child's toy. There is no exclusiveness left, and certainly no illusion of immediate attention.

Business radios never became very common place. Today, for those of us with enough gray hairs to remember the term, radio dispatched still carries with it the same exclusiveness, the same urgency. It is just as appropriate to use this term with cell phones as it was with base stations and mobile units. The only draw back is the term is out-dated. It is like a baby boomer saying "cool" when the in-thing is to say krud, krunge, crock or whatever it is that kids say nowadays when they mean something is interesting.

There have been some attempts to replace the term. The most common attempts are the phrases "direct", "direct line" or "private line". But none of these carries with them the sense of exclusiveness and urgency as did the phrase radio dispatched.

What am I proposing? I don't know. But tonight, after I get up and turn off the television and lay back down to watch the picture shrink to a pin-head size dot before disappearing into blackness, I will get it some thought. I love technology.

My House is Potential Commercial

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:16:57 -0600

"My house is potential commercial" is a statement we often hear from owners of houses in commercial areas or on the fringe of commercial areas. A property located in such an area may in fact have some commercial potential, but does this potential add anything to value?

The first factor which must be considered is the value of the underlying land as if the property was vacant and available to be put to its Highest & Best Use.

Highest & Best Use

Highest & Best Use is a tricky topic. Many professional real estate appraisers have great difficulty with this. A detailed Highest & Best Use analysis of a vacant lot can fill a report of 100 or more letter size pages. The statement you see on most appraisal reports is the conclusion, not the analysis. Even most narrative appraisal reports contain only a brief summary.

The simple definition of Highest & Best Use (H&BU) is that the use must be legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive. Before we get into these, you should understand that a H&BU analysis can be very general or very specific.

A general H&BU analysis might be utilized to determine the best general use of the property, such as commercial, residential, etc... A specific H&BU analysis might be to determine not only the general H&BU of the property, but also what specific use should go on the property and to what degree the property should be developed.

Let's keep it simple.

First, let's tackle the legally permissible issue. Will the law allow the property to be utilized for the intended use? If not, is there sufficient reason to believe with considerable probability that a variance, conditional use permit or other governmental authorization can be obtained to allow the use? If the answer to both of these questions is "No", then the intended use can not be the H&BU.

If a property is not zoned for the intended use but you are reasonably certain that it can be re-zoned to allow for the use, the cost of rezoning (including anticipated legal fees, etc...) must be deducted from its value under such a use, as its value under said use is assuming the use is already legally permissible.

Zoning is not the only issue which could cause a use to be non-permissible. If the intended use is for a fine-dining restaurant, can a liquor license be obtained for that specific location? If it is for a taxi service, are there any taxi permits available? Does state regulations that prevent you from building within a certain distance of a stream prevent the use of the property? The list goes on and on.

Physically possible is fairly easy to determine. You can not get a 400,000 square foot neighborhood shopping center on a 25,000 square foot residential lot. Well, maybe you could if you built a high-rise building, but then you might run into the legally permissible issue as well as the following financially feasible issue.

The size of the lot is only one issue. How is it shaped? What is the soil type? Are there any streams on the property or maybe wet lands? What are the required set-backs and buffers? As you can see, these issues can overlap into multiple categories.

If a convenience store just went up on a three-quarter acre lot on the opposite corner would your quarter acre lot be worth the same? Probably not. Most prime corner users require more than a quarter of an acre. Your property will probably we worth less on a per unit (acre, square foot, etc..) basis since it lacks the same utility. Thus, should an owner want to price the property the same amount per square foot as a C-store location, he should do so only if there is sufficient demand by prime corner users who require very small sites.

Financially feasible is simple. Will the intended use make money for the owner? Can the owner build houses on the land and sell them for a profit? Can the owner build a retail center and lease the spaces for a profit? Can the owner build an apartment complex and rent it for a profit? If you wanted to get really detailed, the hard part would be running all of the numbers to determine if the answer to each use is yes or no. Luckily, common sense comes into play in all but the most extreme cases.

Maximally productive can be simple or complicated. It may be obvious in your market that a commercial piece of land will sell for more than an agricultural, industrial or residential piece. If so, and the land meets all of the other criteria, commercial use is the maximally productive use. But it can get much more complicated when comparing specific uses under broad classifications.

Back to your property.

Now, let's look at that property of yours that you have the house sitting on and consider some general questions.

Are there other similarly located properties in the immediate area which are utilized for commercial use? If your property is on a dead-end residential side street but abutting a convenience store, although your property sits right next to commercial property the governing authorities may not allow it to be used for commercial use. They may not want commercial uses to encroach any further down the residential street.

If the house is on a busy thoroughfare and there are adjacent commercial properties, the chances of re-zoning the property may be pretty good. But, it all depends on your local government. It would be a good idea to check with your local zoning department and get their feel for the situation.

Assuming the lot is vacant, is the lot big enough to be used for a commercial use? Can someone tear down the house and build a commercial building on the lot and have sufficient room for parking and such. What are the lot coverage restrictions?

Are commercial properties successful in the area? Is there demand for office or retail use? Is the location of the property such that there would be sufficient demand?

If your answers to these questions are positive, the H&BU of the land may in fact be commercial.

If the H&BU of the vacant land is commercial and if the value of the vacant land for commercial purposes exceeds the value of the land and improvements for residential purposes, then the H&BU of the property is commercial. It is that simple.

If the value of the vacant land for commercial purposes is less than the value of the house and lot for residential purposes, the H&BU remains single family residential unless the house contributes to the lands commercial value.

Does the house contribute to the commercial value?

That depends. Is the conversion of houses to commercial use common in the area? Does the house have some unique architectural features that make it so aesthetically pleasing that there would be interest in preserving it?

The easiest way to tell if the house contributes to commercial value is to check the sale of houses in the area that were converted to commercial use. Did the purchasers pay more for these houses than comparable vacant land sells for? Be sure the sales you consider are the sale of unconverted houses. Conversion can be expensive.

If the house does not contribute to the value of the underlying land, the cost of demolition and disposal must be taken into consideration. The value of the underlying land is "as if vacant and available to be put to its H&BU". In some markets it is possible to sell a house to be moved. My experience has been that this saves you the cost of demolition and disposal, but don't expect to get a lot out of the house.

You might find that in many cases the house does not contribute at all to the value of the underlying commercial land. In other cases the house will contribute a little. In my market area it is infrequent that a converted house will bring as much as a similar size commercial improvement of similar age and condition.

The reason houses often do not add a lot to the value of underlying commercial land is called functional obsolescence. A house is a house. Houses were not intended to be used commercially and were not designed for that purpose.

It is seldom cost effective to remove all of the functional obsolescence associated with a converted house. Additionally, features which add value to a house may not add value to a commercial property. Things like patios, wood decks, pools, garages and the like are not commonly found in commercial properties due to the lack of demand.

This is the cold, naked, over-simplified truth about "potential commercial" houses. When this situation arises much more research is often required than with a property which use is obvious. I have always found it best to do my homework and report to the seller my findings exactly as I see them. It is much better to lose a listing that won't sell than it is to waste valuable time and money chasing someone else's dream which stands little chance of coming to fruition.

Of course, there are exceptions in every market. Do not take this article as the rule. Instead, utilize it only as a starting point and perform your own investigation.

Track Your Way to Success

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:47:58 -0600

It is quite often I run across real estate agents who spend money on advertising without tracking the performance of their investment. Whatever sounds good at the time or whatever their friends brag about working is where their advertising dollar is spent.

These same real estate professionals typically rate the performance of an advertisement by the number of calls received rather than the actually business gained from the advertisement.

Tracking Focuses Your Efforts on the Most Productive:

Let's take the imaginary listing agent, Sherry. Sherry spent $100 running an advertisement in the local newspaper. At the same time she spent $200 running the exact same ad in a local home magazine. Her newspaper ad produced three calls and one new listing. Her home magazine ad produced 25 calls and one new listing. Based on these results, Sherry decided to re-run the home magazine advertisement and drop the newspaper ad. Was she right?

At $8.00 each, the cost per call was much lower with the home magazine as compared to the newspaper at $33.33 each. But the actual business gained from the ads were one listing each. The cost per listing with the newspaper was only $100 while the cost per listing with the home magazine was $200. As a listing agent, Sherry's primary function is is list houses for sale so, in this instance, the newspaper was the better advertising medium.

Of course, Sherry's results could have been a one-time fluke. The only way she could know for sure which medium produced the best results would be for Sherry to try the same experiment on several occasions.

By using a very simple table like the one below Sherry could easily tract the results of her advertising efforts and adjust her efforts so that they yield the greatest return.

	Cost	Responses	Cost per Response	Rank	Listings	Cost per Listing	Rank
Ad 1	$100.00	3	$33.33	1	1	$100.00	1
Ad 2	$400.00	9	$44.44	3	1	$400.00	5
Ad 3	$250.00	2	$125.00	5	2	$125.00	2
Ad 4	$175.00	4	$43.75	2	1	$175.00	3
Ad 5	$300.00	3	$100.00	4	1	$300.00	4

I wonder how many consumers know you spend can hundreds of dollars in advertising just to obtain one listing? More importantly, I wonder how many real estate professionals know how much money they spend to acquire a listing.

Tracking Works On-line too!

An almost unimaginable number of agents spend hours and hours placing on-line ads, many of which simply do not produce. Why waste your time? Track your results from every advertisement and see what works. If the same ad consistently gets results at one web site and not at the another, don't waste your time with the second site. Track your on-line results just as you would your off-line results.

Tracking can even gauge the performance of differences between one or more advertisements. Which works better, a white business card or a yellow business card? Do you get more responses by listing only your phone number in an on-line ad or by listing only your e-mail address. Track your results and find out.

Which advertising produces the most leads for properties you have for sale and which of these resources result in the most offers being received? You may find the the ad which produces the most lookers produces the fewest qualified buyers. Is this true in your market? Track your results and discover the truth.

All of this may seem like an awful lot of trouble, and it can be. But by consistently tracking your results you will eventually eliminate many efforts you are making that are unproductive thereby freeing up your time and financial resources to concentrate on your most productive marketing avenues.

Compare Apples to Apples:

One word of caution. There are many variables that determine if a particular effort is productive or not. Thus, you usually can not make a judgment off just one effort. You must track results over time, and consider all those variables which might be affecting your results. Here are some things which you have no control over that can affect your results.

Current Economy
International Events
National Events
Local Events
Seasonal Factors
Holidays
Weather

Do your best to run your ads under similar conditions. If possible, run them at the same time. This will give you the best indicator of the comparative results which can be expected.

Time is Money:

If you track the performance of your marketing efforts which require a financial investment and find it improves your effectiveness, try tracking the performance of your marketing efforts which require an investment of your time. You might be surprised at the true cost of some of the things you do.

How do you determine your hourly worth? Take the amount you earned last year and divide it by 2,080. That is the number of working hours in a 52 week year assuming you worked 40 hours per week.

Let's again consider Sherry. She made $50,000 last year. Based on the above formula she earned $24.04 per hour. Sherry estimated she spent three hours on-line per week night working the Internet last month and obtained one listing from her efforts. Based on 4.33 weeks per month, that listing cost Sherry $1,561.40 in time. Let's hope this listing was for a high-priced home.

Not All Results are Immediately Trackable, if Trackable at all:

Let's face it, some things are done only for good will. For example: and ad in the high school sports program or year book. Do not expect a measurable short term return off of these efforts. Over time, they may pay off in community recognition. However, you will probably never get a call where the caller says "I saw your name in the program at the high school football game last week." Good will marketing should be reserved for those times when you have the free money, not when you are trying to be highly effective.

Other forms of difficult to track marketing includes bumper stickers, imprinted pens and other specialty items.

How to Code Your Ads to Track Results:

The easiest way to determine where your prospects come from is to ask them how they got your name. In the heat of the moment though, most of us find this very difficult to remember to do. So, other ways of knowing where your prospects come are necessary.

Another very effective method is to code your ads so that the customer's actions automatically indicate what advertisement they are responding to. Coding ads is nothing more than making the ad unique from your other advertisements so you can tell, simply from the response, from what ad the contact was generated. Coding ads can be very simple or very complicated. It is up to you to determine what best satisfies your needs.

Original Advertisements:

The easiest way to code advertisements is to advertise a different listing or service in each advertisement. This way, when you receive an inquiry about that particular listing or service you know the call was probably generated by that ad. With this method it is difficult evaluate the effectiveness of your advertisement as the the service or listing may be more attractive in one ad than the other.

Coupons:

Coupons are a very effective and simple way to code advertising. If you run an advertisement with a coupon and a customer uses that coupon, you know the customer was generated by that adv. Hang on to the coupons until the ad run ends then count them. This will tell you the number of inquiries received from the coupon. Pretty simple, isn't it?

Should you run the same coupon in more than one publication at a time be sure and place a code on the coupon or change the coupon slightly so you will know from which publication it was acquired.

There may be some legal issues with coupons which are beyond the scope of this article. Check your local and state laws before running coupons.

Use a Special Phone Number:

This can be rather expensive, but is a very effective way to code advertising. When you advertise, you put a special phone number in the ad that only appears in that advertisement and no other.

Because of cost, I do no recommend this for most advertisements. I do recommend it for expensive or long term advertising, such as the Yellow Pages. All calls going to that phone number can be assumed to be generated by the advertising.

Instead of having the phone line actually installed in your office you may choose to use a voice mail provider. You can often obtain phone numbers from these providers for as little as $10 or $15 per month, and the calls will be forwarded to your regular office number or whatever number you designate. Although you will not immediately know the source of the call, the service will tabulate the calls for you and often capture the call information of the caller.

When using this method, after the caller becomes a customer or client it is very important that you give the caller an alternative phone number so they will not call in on the special line again. Handle this by telling them that the new phone number is the special phone number for your most valued customers and clients only.

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The above is not an actual ad. It is for illustrative purposes only.

Promotional Gifts:

With this method you advertise that should be customer call in and mention a special code they will receive a special gift. Anyone that mentions the code can be assumed to be generated from that particular advertisement.

The sample advertisement to the left has been coded, but it is completely transparent to the reader. Do you notice the coding?

The coding is the presence of the hyphens surrounding the statement "Call Brande Today" at the bottom of the ad.

The exact same ad can be placed in multiple publications, coded by replacing the hyphen marks with dollar signs, equal marks, asterisks, or other symbols so that only you are aware that the ad is being tracked.

Special E-Mail Addresses:

Free e-mail addresses are available all over the Internet. Use a different e-mail address for each ad you place so you can tell where your responses are coming from.

And Much, Much more!

There are an incalculable number ways to code your ads. Some of the ways not mentioned were special web pages and web forms, referral incentives and a host of other methods. It really does not matter how you do it, so long as the coding is appropriate for the media used and it is relatively transparent to the consumer.

By coding your advertisements and tracking your results over a short period of time you accumulate the knowledge necessary to properly allocate your time and financial resources. Advertising without tracking your results is like playing basketball and not keeping track of the score. You never know if you are ahead or behind and when you need to change your strategy.

Chris Bradfod sells commercial, industrial and investment real estate in south Metro Atlanta, Georgia.

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