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Memphis, TN

Happy July 4, from Memphis!

07-04-09
Joe Spake
Joe Spake: Real Estate Agent in Memphis, TN
One of Midtown Memphis's best known events is the Midtown Memphis' Central Gardens July 4 parade on Carr Avenue. The turnout is always great, and it's a real neighborhood happening with fire trucks, police, free hot dogs and drinks.

Just another reason that Midtown is one of Memphis' favorite places to live.

Requiem For A Real Estate Agent

David Saks - Broker: Real Estate Agent in Memphis, TN

                                           requiem

I woke up this morning, about 3am, put on my bathrobe, sat down at the Steinway and thought about our many, many friends, families and colleagues that have lost their jobs, their income, retired and given up their licenses, have had their homes foreclosed, and are struggling with divorce, illness, bankruptcy, hopelessness and unspeakable tragedy.

This is what I hear. And it seems as though there's nothing you or anybody else can do about it, while we're continuously being slammed with rhetoric, false positives, and the insane sophistry of politicians.

Hasn't the 'American Dream' finally become the American nightmare ?

When will the lies end ?

I had to stop because I felt like Nero fiddling while Rome was in flames.

I still have my job. I play the piano.. Do you have yours ? I hope so.



 

Community Involvement - It's more than just selling houses

06-30-09
Joe Spake
Joe Spake: Real Estate Agent in Memphis, TN

Earlier this year, the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® requested that Memphis real estate agents involved in community volunteerism submit profiles of their involvement, to be published in the Commercial Appeal Real Estate Section. I was fortunate enough to have this profile chosen earlier in the year for my volunteer work with the Center for Southern Folklore.

katie-shotts_profile_joe_spake1

Last week, I was featured again for my involvement with the Midtown Security Community, which coordinates citizen, business and police efforts to address neighborhood problems with crime. katie-shotts_profile_joe_spake2 I am a board member on both of these organizations, and I always enjoy my volunteer work. There is more to life than selling houses, and I believe in giving back to the community that sustains me.
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Why invest in Memphis Real Estate and not Memphis stocks?

Chris Clothier: Real Estate - Other in Memphis, TN

Why invest in Memphis Real Estate and not Memphis stocks?

Great article quoting Andrew Waite, Editor and Publisher of Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine, on the intricacies of investing in residential real estate and why most of Wall Street is missing out. Often times, Wall Street wants to mold and package Real Estate Investing into a nice, neat and tidy package and analyze it as a stock or commodity. Real Estate is both more complex and at the same time much simpler to understand. You just have to know what it is your looking for!

I have included a good piece of the article here and you can link through to read the entire article. Come back to me with any questions on how MemphisInvest is using the information and expertise of Andrew Waite and others, to fine tune our process. We have long prided ourselves on being able to adapt to the needs of our clients, and staying in front of the trends in residential investment real estate in Memphis has been our calling card.

Why Wall Street is Missing the U.S. Housing Recovery

[Editor's Note: This is the second installment of a two-part look at how the U.S. real estate market will affect the nation's economic recovery. Today's focus: The residential real estate rebound. Last Week: The foundering commercial real estate market. Watch for an upcoming "Hot Stocks" feature that looks at potential housing plays.]

By William Patalon III
Executive Editor
Money Morning/The Money Map Report

Wall Street created the U.S. housing bubble and now it’s missing the real estate rebound.

And Andrew Waite understands why.

Waite is the publisher of the Personal Real Estate Investor, a glossy magazine that focuses on investors who buy houses or condos to manage for income or to fix up and sell for a profit. But he’s not some industry cheerleader whose statements are nothing but spin.

He’s a true expert on the U.S. housing sector who goes out of his way to “educate” journalists about the true state of the American housing market, and who criticizes most of the “indicators” in use as useless and irrelevant. Plus, as a onetime Wall Street venture-capitalist who subsequently joined Silicon Valley’s Sand Hill Road private equity crowd, Waite really understands how the Wall Street investment game is played - and, in the case of the U.S. housing market, the missteps Wall Street made and why.

“Wall Street analysts and economists do not understand the housing industry,” Waite told Money Morning in a recent interview. “While stocks and bonds are (more)…

Memphis Area Music Festivals this summer and Fall

06-14-09
Joe Spake
Joe Spake: Real Estate Agent in Memphis, TN
Thumbing through a Rolling Stone the other day in the barber shop and ran across this year's list of music festivals. Memphis is probably best known for the Beale Street Music Festival which kicks off Memphis in Mud May every year, but there 3 fine festivals close by that bring in music fans from all over the world. Can Kansas or Ohio have a Blues Festival? Well sure; and they do, but Morgan Freeman and business partner Bill Luckett didn't name their Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS Ground Zero for nothing. Clarksdale_MS_080908 (6)I don't intend to go into a musicology discourse, but if you want to see what real roots Delta Blues and culture looks like, don't miss the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, August 7-9. This year's festival is a tribute to Sam Cook, a Clarksdale native. While the festival adds a name act or 2 that occasionally push the genre envelope, this festival experience gives you a real feel for the Mississippi Delta music and culture. Drive some backroads while you are in the area. Take Mississippi Hwy 1 to Rosedale; eat some Delta tamales and bar B-Q; talk to the locals- they are interesting folks. For Memphians, or if you have a place to stay in Memphis, it's a little over an hour drive to Clarksdale, so you can commute. Accomodations are a little sparse and book up early, but if you want to be a REAL Delta tourist, stay at The Shack Up Inn. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Tim Curry interviews Rockabilly legend Eddie Bond"]Eddie Bond[/caption] Next up, in chronological order, a festival I have been affiliated with as a volunteer, and more recently a sponsor, The Memphis Music and Heritage. Staged by the Center for Southern Folklore in 5 venues varying from out door stages, to small club setting, to restaurant/concert hall (all within a block of each other), the festival presents the rich culture of the Memphis area with demonstrations, story tellers, dancers, cooking demonstrations, and of course music. This has got to be one of the most eclectic festivals in the world. Where else, over the course of a couple of days, could you urban gospel groups, Delta Blues musicians, Rockabilly musicians that Elvis and Johnny Cash opened for, rappers, rockers, jazz, Blues and Funk and folk. This festival is Memphis' best kept secret. It is held the Saturday and Sunday before Labor Day (September 5 & 6) on Main Street. Plenty of accomodations Downtown and around Memphis (watch out for Ole Miss and U of Memphis fans in town for the traditional football operner.) Oh, and did I mention food? Just let me know you are coming and I will tell you where and what to eat. Also nearby to Memphis and across the river is Helena, AR, home of the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival. This is the venerable festival that used to be known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival, until organizers lost the right to use the name. It's a 3 day festival in October, probably the Mid-South's most pleasant month weather-wise. This is a big one. Lots of acts; lots of food; lots of festival atmosphere. At this writing they are still putting together the website for this year's event, but the festival has an impressive social media presence, so follow them on Twitter, fan them on Facebook, and subscribe to their RSS news feeds. Whether you are from the Memphis and Delta area or some other place in the world, these are truly one of a kind festivals. Y'all come see us.