About Fulton County, GA

Since 1992 the Crawford family has been going to Mama's Pizza.  Though the locations may have changed a few times from Roswell Mall to Mansell Road, to Kennasaw and now Old Milton Parkway..one thing hasn't changed!  Mama's Pizza has the best New York Pizza in the Atlanta area!  Their Sicilian slice my own opinion is better than anything my wife or I have ever had in New York!  Hands down! (No pun intended!)

If you like a great Greek Salad Mama's Pizza is also the place to find it.  Jimmy' and his dad 'Pete!'  Should bottle this Greek salad dressing.  It is perfection!

Making Pizza with Mark Hayes from Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta from Jimmy Vavaroutsos on Vimeo.

Ah, the 1970's when lease with an option to buy was common (until that went through the courts - can you say due on sale clause?) Today there are several kinds of lease purchases such as lease with an option to buy and a straight lease/purchase and any variation you can work out among the parties through an attorney. Many people today would love to do a lease purchase, but they don't understand that they will still need to put down non-refundable earnest/option money because the seller is taking the property off the market making it impossible for the seller to work any other lease purchase or sale.

Let me go over some very basic concepts of today's lease purchase, most especially because these purchasers also don't understand that at the end of the term, they must buy the house or vacate, and forfeit their earnest money and applied monthly escow. A lease/purchase contract is not an "option to buy contract" where you put down non-refundable money and at the end of the term if you don't like the house, schools, neighborhood, or whatever you opt, you don't have to go through the final purchase process:

1. The deposit money is nonrefundable because no one else can purchase the property during the term of the contract.

2. The buyer cannot assign the lease purchase agreement (unless the seller approves and they won't). This is not a rental sub-lease.

3. Buyers will generally be responsible for maintaining the property and paying all expenses which includes taxes and insurance.

4. The buyer is obligated to buy.*

*If the buyer defaults, the buyer will not receive any portion of the option money (deposit), the portion of the lease payments that were paid which would have gone toward down payment, and the seller has the right to sue for specific performance and report your default to the credit bureaus.

Here are some tips for anyone navigating the foreclosure market:

1. Don't pay too much. You may think, "duh!" but with so many exuberant buyers, bidding up a property beyond its worth can be easy to do. Don't allow the thrill of competition sway you -decide on your maximum price point before the offer is even made.

2. Get to know the banks (or have a real estate agent who does). Practitioners who establish relationships with asset managers at banks can facilitate good communication.

3. Factor in fix-up costs. Most banks would rather sell a property as-is, meaning no repairs, no allowances, nothing. Buyers should consider what shouldering that responsibility will cost. Touring the properties with a contractor can be a good plan.

4. Bid smartly. A good real estate agent should help the buyer get the inside track by gathering as much information as possible about other bids.

Source: CNNMoney.com, Les Christie (11/19/2009)

A lot of folks in real estate today complain bitterly how hard things are today. Yes there is a lot of change, and both real estate agents and companies are going out of business. In that sense real estate is not different than it was years ago. Today we have incredible mortgage rates, yet agents want buyers to have down payment assistance DPA and 100% financing. Things were not easy for years while buyers had to save their down payments. You had to nurture them along. Your contact manager was a box of index cards with hand written notes,a dn dates on it.

As for doing business...things were much more difficult. The real estate business required a lot more driving while hand delivering contracts, and marketing materials. Real estate back then was a lot more time consuming, and there was even wear and tear on the autos while running errands. There was no such thing as multiple color photos, virtual tours, and BING or Google maps to make your showing day eaiser! We had to drive around wihta real estate map book that more often than not was useless. You had to preview what you were showing! So real estate in the good old days was not as good as many make it out to be. There was however a lot of unproductive wasted time, waiting, and not as much commission from fewer closed sales. It was a lot more costly to market yourself and services. However, I prefer real estate the way it is done today. More closings even is a lousy market is an everyday reality since the advent of the Internet. Despite all the bellyaching, we've never had it easier in the real estate industry. Contracts on-line, PDF files, emails, e-fax, GPS, cell phones, Blackberry's, personal computers, access to the MLS at home and cell phones, electronic lock boxes that notify you when the home is shown, websites, office intranets, emails, attachments, personal color laser printers, label maker printers, and so much more! Do you miss the old days? I don't!

REMEMBER WHEN:

• 20-30% down-payment was routinely required?
• You paid your own closing costs?
• Buyers or sellers walked into your office regularly for help?
• Buyers used to come to agents to buy a home?
• Buyers used to get pre-qualified by the real estate agent in depth before they were given the name of a loan officer?
• Buyers were loyal?
• When Buyers appreciated your knowledge and thanked you for working on their behalf?
• When buyers referred other buyers to you because they appreciated your honesty even if they did not buy?
• When buyers read classified ads and real estate books?
• When buyers asked for addresses to the new listing ads, you did not give out the addresses until you first obtained a meeting with them?
• Desk duty?
• Thermal Faxes that curled up and were almost illegible within a week?
• MLS books, and the black ink on your fingers?
• MLS Map Books?
• Black and white photos?
• Going to the office to use a computer or access the MLS?
• Paper MLS listings you filed?
• When everybody represented the sellers?
• When they fined someone for trying to manipulate the MLS with wrong areas, addresses?
• Pay phones and rolls of quarters.
• Pagers?
• Realtors took the NAR Code of Ethics seriously?
• Multiple offers?
• Loan officers that referred business to you?
• You would get the HUD-1 before closing?
• Merrill Lynch Realty?
• 18.5% 30 year fixed rate mortgages in 1981?
• WRAP mortgages?
• 20.5% Prime Rate in 1981?
• Picking up the keys at an office to show a listing?
• Buying Film?
• Taking pictures of new listings?
• Waiting for the the developing pictures of listings?
• Literally cutting and pasting flyers and photos for a listing?
• Going to a printer for brochures?
• Waiting for printed marketing materials?
• Knocking doors for listings?
• Legal sized page contracts?
• Carbon Paper?
• Bulk mailings?
• Address Labels?
• Postage tongue?
• Previewing homes?
• 2 Page Contracts?
• The days before sellers property disclosures?
• The Days before homes were inspected?

Supporting other small business persons and friends like ourselves is a smart way to begin healing our local communitis. We feel Realtors can be at the center of the fix in he economy because we come in contact with so many individuals. We're calling this Blog Type "A Shout Out!" So this is the second of a few Local Blogs "Shout Outs" The Blog was written by my wife Ellen!

By Ellen Crawford

Custom Auto Reconditioning C.A.R. by our own resident magician Dan Merrill. Did you ever get home from the mall and find a ding that definitely wasn't there that morning? Do you want to purchase spinning rims for your son's tires for his birthday? Want the best overall reconditioning your car has ever had? How about repairing scratches; have you ever sent away for the stuff on TV only to realize it was clear nail polish or just plain bogus? Drop by Dan's CAR garage at 245 S. Main Street and have him give you some great ideas on how to inexpensively repair your bumper where you took down my mailbox - he'll be glad to meet you and dazzle you with his excellent work. http://customautorecon.com/contact.html

* This is not an ad, or endorsement, but rather a support of local businesses we've used. We were very satisfied on the two cars Dan worked on for us! He does gret work!