About Barrow County, GA

Okay, today's edition of What You Get for the Money is a home that sold in the price range of $200,000 to $299,000. In case you missed Part I of this series, you can view it here: Part I: What You Get for the Money-$100,000

As we all know, home sales have been way down, so I only had two homes to choose from that had sold in the past two months in this price range. One was a rustic log cabin built in 1983 on over 14 acres in Bethlehem, Georgia. And when I say rustic, I mean it! The inside walls were logs, the columns and ceiling were wood beams and the floors were hardwood. Nothing was painted, no color, just brown wood everywhere. If you really want your privacy, I guess this would be the place for you.

I decided to show y'all the second home instead. So here's what you can get in Barrow county, Georgia for $200,000:

This bank-owned and never-been-lived-in property was built in 2006 and is in the city of Winder, Georgia. It's a ranch-style home with hardi-plank and stone accents. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. You get 1.23 acres, a 3 car garage and a full basement. In the kitchen there are granite countertops, black appliances, cherry cabinets and hardwood floors. The master is on the main level and there's a bonus room above the garage.

It closed November, 2008 for $217,900, although it was originally listed for $284,900.

*Based on information provided to and compiled by GAMLS.com GAMLS.com does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy.

Okay, tag...you're it! I want to see what you can get for the $200,000 price range in your part of the country! Check back on Monday for the next installment of this series--the $300,000 price range.

Thanks for reading!

Last night I was browsing through various blogs and happened to stumble across Ryan Hukill's blog series "What You Get for the Money--AR Style" that he did during February of 2007. I had been trying to come up with a blog series I could do over the next week or so and I think this is the perfect idea! It's based off HGTV's show, "What You Get for the Money" so you probably already know the basis of this. If you haven't seen the show, it compares three different cities across the nation and shows what type of home you can get in various price points from $100,000 to $1 million plus. It's a neat way to show what features and amenities are available at different property values.

Instead of picking just one city, I'm going to focus on the broader category of Barrow county, Georgia.

Here's what you can get for the price range of $100,000 to $199,999:

This is a two-story traditional style home made of hardi-plank and stone accents. It has four bedrooms and two and half bathrooms. The home is located in the city of Braselton and was built in 2006. It is on a cul-de-sac lot in a neighborhood with a swimming pool, tennis courts, sidewalks, and playground. The kitchen has hardwood floors, granite counters, cherry cabinets and black appliances. The home sits on a full basement with an outside entrance.

It sold in November of 2008 for $187,000.

*Based on information provided to and compiled by GAMLS.com GAMLS.com does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy.

Okay, now it's your turn; I want to see what you can get for $199,999 and under in your area. I'll be back tomorrow with the $200,000 to $299,999 price range.

Hoschton, Georgia was taken over by thousands of scarecrows this past fall; although the residents of the town only number 1,455 people, there was 5,441 scarecrows scattered throughout the 30548 zip code. The people's efforts at making this a memorable fall season were not in vain either, they were awarded an official world record for the "Most Scarecrows in One Location" by the World Records Academy. I happened to drive through this area and it was quite a sight to see literally hundreds of scarecrows lining the streets, grouped in front of buildings and scattered throughout people's yards. It would have been neat to actually walk around and look at the different ones in detail, but I didn't have the time.

Anyways, at this time, the city is not being awarded a Guiness World Record title due to a technicality. The office in London is saying that a zip code is not a location. However, the World Records Academy has a different point of view; they are saying that the same zip code counts as a location. A committee will decide within the month of January whether or not to appeal Guinness' decision.
The World Records Academy is going to honor the record with a full-page in it's 2009 book, which goes on sale this month. You can also see the city recognized on the company's Website: www.WorldRecordAcademy.org

If you need something fun to do this weekend, you can go to the city's bonfire held this Saturday night, January 3rd. It's being hosted by the fall festival committee beginning at 5 p.m. at the Kenerly farm, located at 1688 Georgia HWY 53. Everyone is invited to bring their scarecrows to burn in this fire controlled by the West Jackson Fire Department and to enjoy the hot chocolate and marshmallows which will be provided.

The Hoschton Fall Festival committee is asking its residents whehter or not they should attempt another world record next year or if they have any other suggestions regarding the scarecrows.

I found this article to be neat because Hoschton is fairly close to the community I live in. It's neat to see other communities coming together in a unique way to do something fun...and winning a world record and gaining recognition at the same time isn't so bad either!

I want to hear any stories you have about your town...have y'all attempted a world record? Are you known for something special in your area? Please feel free to share your stories!

The Riverwalk YMCA in Bethlehem opened this past summer and is another great asset to the growing community of Bethlehem. It is part of the Riverwalk neighborhood and is a beautiful craftsman-style facility. The fitness center features a swimming pool, playground, 4 tennis courts, beach volleyball court, fitness classes and plenty of cardio and weight machines.

We are members there and really like it, especially because of the current competition they have going. During the month of September they have a football themed competition where teams of 4 people can do exercise for yardage...basically the team with the most touchdowns at the end of the month wins a prize. For example, if you spend 30 minutes doing cardio you get 5 yards and if you do 3 sets of 10 on eight circuit machines you receive 10 yards. I am ashamed to admit that I've never made exercising a priority in my life, but for the first time ever I've been motivated to go to the gym frequently....I kinda wish they would just keep extending the end of the competition...maybe a year long competition would be better?!

The staff members are always friendly and the equipment is nice and new. They offer plenty of different group exercise classes and also there is free childcare while you are exercising. All in all, it is a great place to workout...and yet another reason for you to contemplate a move to the Bethlehem area.

If you are wanting to move to Bethlehem, Loganville, Athens or any other city within the Gwinnett, Walton and Barrow counties, please contact me today--I would love to help! If you have any questions about the YMCA or real estate in general...you know what to do, comment below.

The much-needed Barrow Crossing development is set to be finished just around the corner, Spring 2009. This development will be conveniently located at the Highway 316 and Highway 81 intersection. Some of the larger stores include: Best Buy, Target, Publix, Belk, Michaels and Ross. It will also include several smaller shops and some restaurants too.

Currently, Bethlehem residents must travel to Winder or Loganville to grocery shop and further to shop at stores like Target and Best Buy. Speaking as a resident of Bethlehem myself, I am really looking forward to not having to drive so far for groceries, but still live in a great location. I love that Bethlehem doesn't have much traffic and that I can jump on Highway 316 in a matter of minutes.

This new development is sure to impact property values (in a good way, of course)! So now is the best time to buy in Bethlehem. I really enjoy living in Bethlehem, not only do I have the benefit of living in a great neighborhood, but the "country" atmosphere is very relaxing...what I mean is that I love driving around and seeing farms and fields and so much green space. Bethlehem is one of the areas that my husband and I focus on in our real estate business, so if you have an interest to buy a home in this area, please don't hesitate to contact us! We would love to show you around!! You can visit us at www.TheRainsTeam.com for further information.

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UPDATE: 3/6/2009

It is with great excitement that I come with an update on this new development!!

• TARGET and BELK are now OPEN!!
• Publix, Staples and PetSmart should all be opening soon
• A stand-alone McDonald's is already open as well
• Also, the Barrow Crossing development did not get the Best Buy after all; it was put at the new development in Loganville instead.

Here are a few pictures from driving there today:

Thank You for Reading!

If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!