About Decatur's Oakhurst

Ready to get out and enjoy this beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon? Check out Junktique at the Solarium in Oakhurst Village in Decatur GA.

Sunday, November 15th from 12 - 6pm at the Solarium, shop an exciting community marketplace and artist market at the first-ever Junktique.

Junktique is a benefit for Oakhurst Elementary School featuring a great artists' market, collectibles sale and yard sale with live music, good food, and beverages.

The Solarium at Old Scottish Rite is located at 321 West Hill Street Decatur GA 30030. It's right up the street from the Oakhurst Community Garden. Oakhurst is also home to Taj Ma Hound the bakery for dogs.

Once you've gone to Junktique come on over to Kirkwood and see about 30 homes open for Open House from 2 to 5 p.m. Be sure to stop by 49 Clifton St.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in or around Decatur and Atlanta GA contact Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024. If you are a real estate agent, I'm also looking for people to join my team.

View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search Atlanta GA homes for Sale

Atlanta Home Search - Georgia Real Estate

B R E A K I N G   N E W S ! ! !

Moments ago, the House voted 403-12 to expand and extend the Homebuyer Tax Credit (as part of the Unemployment Insurance Bill).  The bill is now on its way to President Obama for his signature... so this is ALMOST a done deal!

The agreement on the extension and expansion of the credit is as follows:

• Credit available for purchases before May 1, 2010. Prospective purchasers with binding contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 will be allowed an additional 60 days to complete the transaction. 
• Credit remains at $8,000 for first-time purchasers. No change to definition of first-time purchaser.  
• NEW $6,500 tax credit for REPEAT BUYERS who purchase between December 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010. Repeat buyers must have lived in their homes consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years.  
• Income limits are expanded to $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return. Current law $20,000 phase-out retained.  

     *New anti-fraud limitations will be imposed.  Stay tuned for more details.

    >>>  SEE ARTICLE ON CNN.com

If you, your friends, neighbors, co-workers or family are looking to buy a home soon, please let us know how we can help before the April 30 deadline.

********************************************************

  Thank you for visiting our Atlanta Real Estate Blog!

Posted by:  Kerry Lucasse - Atlanta GA Real Estate Agent - Atlanta Home Search Team
The ATL Home Search Team is part of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Intown Atlanta Real Estate, Condos, Lofts and Historic Homes

CALL ANYTIME AT 404.432.1844

Governor Sonny Purdue has issued a State of Emergency due to the rain and flooding in Georgia for 17 counties. This will affect any closings you may have in the next 30 - 45 days.

Due to the flooding and water damages, lenders will be requiring final inspections on properties that are closing and had been appraised prior to the declaration. Most of the lenders will require either a final home inspection or a disaster report, as they will need to confirm that they have loans that are insurable and that the properties are still a viable asset. The additional lender requirements are already delaying closings across the city, regardless of the lender.

If you are an agent in Georgia, a seller or a buyer who has a home under contract, please be pro-active and make sure that if the lender is requiring a disaster report and/or an updated home inspection, that they are ordered immediately to prevent delays.

The counties affected include: Carroll, Catoosa, Chattoga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Crawford, Dekalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker.

If you were impacted by the flooding this week, our thoughts are with you.

Posted by: Kerry Lucasse - Atlanta GA Real Estate Agent - Atlanta Home Search Team
The ATL Home Search Team is part of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Intown Atlanta Real Estate, Condos, Lofts and Historic Homes

In today's Atlanta real estate market the thought of selling your home in less than 30 days may sound like an unrealistic goal, but it really is possible. 

In this series of blog posts, you will have the tools and advice needed to sell your home quickly and for the fair market value.

1)  Whether this is your first time selling a home or the 10th, jot down a list of what is important to you in a real estate agent and/or your home sales experience. 

2)  Next, take a drive.  Drive around the neighborhood and see who is SELLING (not just listing) homes in your area.  Also, surf the the internet to see which REALTOR names appear when you google "homes for sale in XYZ neighborhood" or "Top real estate agents in Decatur GA".  From there, you can look at their website and blog, and review their credentials.

3) Then interview three real estate agents.  Taking the time to do this will not only help you find someone that you will feel comfortable working with, but one who also offers the strongest marketing plan for your Atlanta home.  Also, see how the agents stack up against your list of priorities (#1 above). 

A few important questions to ask the REALTOR:

1)  How do they plan to communicate / work with you?  Will they be personally responsible for weekly updates and buyer feedback or do they have an assistant or business partner?

2)  How familiar are they with your Atlanta or Decatur neighborhood? Have they sold any homes in the area in the past year?

3)  How many clients and/or listings do they manage at one time?  [There isn't one perfect answer to this question -- the powerhouse agent may have 30 to 50 clients at one time and a system in place to manage it or you could choose an agent who will give you personalized service and only works with 3 or 4 clients at a time]

4)  How's business?  [If the agent is a realistic optimist, that is usually a good sign]

5) What is your "list to sales price ratio?" -- if it is higher than your neighborhood average, that is another good sign

6)  How long does it typically take you to sell a home (i.e the average "days on market")-- this is VERY important if you want to get your home sold in 30 days or less!

After the interviews, if you just can't decide between the different real estate agents, go back online and "Google them" again.  In order to sell your Atlanta home quickly, the agent's internet marketing strategy is critical and you want to make sure that they will give your home the MAXIMUM INTERNET EXPOSURE -- from Blogs to Realtor.com, Trulia, Facebook, Twitter, Craiglist, Oodle, OLX and everything in between!

Thank you for reading "Selling Your Atlanta Home in 30 Days or Less - Choosing the Right Realtor®". 

Be sure to stop by again this weekend for Part Two in the series!

 

Thank you for visiting our Atlanta Real Estate Blog! 

If you are thinking of Buying or Selling a Home, call us anytime at 404.432.1844.

Kerry Lucasse - Atlanta GA Real Estate Agent - Atlanta Home Search Team
The ATL Home Search Team is part of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Intown Atlanta Real Estate and Historic Homes

Spotlight on Taj Ma Hound - Bakery for Dogs in the Oakhurst neighborhood in Decatur, GA

This afternoon I was in Oakhurst, a very cool neighborhood in Decatur, GA. A lime green building caught my eye. I just had to explore and see what it was. It's a bakery just for dogs with things like carrot cake muffins made with, of course shredded carrots, peanut butter, wheat flour, honey, eggs and vanilla. I was told they are OK for people to eat, but as much as I love carrot cake, I'll leave these special ones to the dogs.

Taj Ma Hound Bakery for Dogs has been open since October 2007 and is owned by Krista Aversano. They are located at 707D East Lake Drive in Decatur, GA 30030 across from Steinbeck's Ale House. It's near the corner of East Lake Drive and Oakview Drive. Call 404-377-9220 for more info.

Watch for a fun upcoming event, Dogtoberfest which will be held on Saturday October 3, 2009. Dogtoberfest will have a costume contest (for the dogs), dog trainer, adoptions, micro chipping and more. Check back here, I'll be posting more details as they become available.

Taj Ma Hound Bakery for Dogs has Dog birthday Cakes and homemade biscuits that look like bakery cookies, see the picture above. So, next time your dog needs a special treat stop in at Taj Ma Hound. If you're not in the area, you can order treats online. Let's support our local businesses!

--------------------

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in or around Decatur, GA contact local expert and Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024.

View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search for Decatur GA homes for Sale