Sterling on The Lake is a fabulous master-planned community in Flowery Branch, Georgia, 45 minutes northeast of Atlanta. Within this sprawling community on 1,000 acres sits a small enclave of 275 single-family homes by Jim Chapman Communities known as The Springs at Sterling on The Lake. Residents of all ages enjoy the low-maintenance living at this unique resort-style community boasting 200 acres of open spaces and lovely nature features including lakes, streams and waterfalls.

Homes in this intimate sized community are attractively priced from the high $100’s to the mid $300’s. There are seven floor plans to choose from, all of which are single-family designs sized from 1,700 to 2,900 square feet. Many offer options such as wooded home sites, outdoor living spaces, masonry exteriors, second-story loft spaces, basements and 3-car garages. Homebuyers appreciate the high-end touches such as gourmet kitchens with custom cabinetry and state-of-the-art appliances, zero-step garage entries, wider doorways, screened porches with fireplaces and much more. Numerous options are available to personalize each floor plan to create the perfect retirement destination.

Amenities at The Springs are centered around an 8,000 square foot clubhouse. Features include a fitness center, gathering room, catering kitchen and a movie theater with stadium seating. Outdoors there are sports courts for tennis and basketball plus playgrounds perfect for the grandkids. There is a wonderful outdoor pavilion playing host to community concerts and a fabulous swimming pool. The zero-entry edge, competition pool features a waterfall and infinity edge plus there is a wading pool for children with a water slide and a water park.

Throughout the community are 75 acres of lakes, all of which offer catch and release fishing with complimentary rentals of rowboats, canoes and kayaks. There are also miles of wide sidewalks perfect for walking, jogging or bike riding. Future plans call for a private outdoor swimming pool and recreation center reserved just for residents of The Springs portion of the community.

Although The Springs is not an age-restricted 55+ community, it does feature everything you’ve come to expect from an active adult resort-style community complete with fantastic amenities, low-maintenance homes and a full-time activities director. Residents enjoy a wide variety of special events, classes and social gatherings. Within the community and within the area residents enjoy wonderful shopping, retail spaces, recreation and everyday conveniences. Gainesville, Buford and the Mall of Georgia are all less than 15-minutes from the community while Atlanta is just 45 miles away.

For more information and photos of this and other GA active adult retirement communities please visit 55Places.com. To stay in touch with us please join our Facebook page by clicking the Facebook link below.

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Sterling on the Lake Homes for Sale Flowery Branch GA 30542

Sterling on the Lake homes for sale in Flowery Branch GA 30542. Find new homes and resale homes for sale in Sterling on the Lake in Flowery Branch in Hall County GA. Sterling on the Lake homes and new homes listings for sale.

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Sterling on the Lake is one of Hall County GA's finest swim tennis lake subdivisions! If you are looking for a great place to live in Metro Atlanta, you need to look at homes for sale in Sterling on the Lake! The Sterling on the Lake development builders included fine builders such as D.R. Horton, Peachtree Residential, Stonecrest Homes, Touchstone Homes, and Waterford Homes. For more information about buying or selling homes in Sterling on the Lake please do not hesitate to contact us. It will be our pleasure to work with you as your real estate agents.

Sterling on The Lake Homes for Sale

Square footage. Should be a pretty simple concept right? Well not really. I spend a good deal of time explaining to Realtors and to Borrowers/Homeowners how Appraisers DIFFER from Realtors when it comes to Square footage.

When Appraisers measure homes they determine GLA (gross living area) and Below Grade or (below ground) square footage and they are calculated at different per square footage rates.

IF you have a 2,000 Square foot ranch on a full finished basement with 3 beds 2 full baths on each level....Realtors will market this as a 4,000 SF home with 6 beds and 4 full baths.

Appraisers will appraise this home as a 3 bed 2 bath with 2,000 SF of GLA and another 2,000 SF of heated space in the basement/terrace level. I can't tell you how many times I get a call from the owner or Realtor upset because we missed bedrooms and baths and total square footage. I have been including a paragraph in my reports on this very issue so they know how we deal with square footage.

Even if the Terrace level is a full walk out and finished as nicely as the upper level/s, we separate this area and usually the value per square foot is lower. WHY? Because the market typically does not pay the same price for the basement area as they do for the main levels. There may be exceptions to this in certain markets where there is no difference in the market for terrace levels.

So the next time your homeowners think HEY that appraiser missed half my house in the appraisal. Look on the GRID page where we make our adjustments and also check the SKETCH PAGE and you will see all the rooms noted and there will be adjustments in the market grid page for the finished basement area.

One other thing! The COMPARABLES that we use are treated the EXACT same way, so we do compare apples to apples.

Okay my job is done here! Please pass this along to all you know because it is perhaps the most misunderstood part of the appraisal report!

More fun facts to follow in my Appraisal Reality Series.

Stay Tuned for my next BLOG on how Perceived VALUE may or may not equal MARKET VALUE.

Have a great day!

Mary Thompson

Certified Appraiser

http://www.marytappraisals.com

Decorating / Home Staging Class, Flowery Branch, GA - Week 4

Several weeks ago my church, Blackshear Place Baptist in Flowery Branch, GA, opened its doors for a new series of classes on Wednesday evenings called Life Groups. The purpose of the groups is to introduce non-church members to our church and faith through classes of general interest. Topics range from Shopping on a Budget to Biking to Scrapbooking to The Outdoorsman's Pursuit. I was asked to teach a class on Home Staging / Decorating. As hard as it is to believe, we are about to have our 4th (out of eight) session this Wednesday night. One of the men heading up The Outdoorsman's Pursuit class suggested I teach a session on "Decorating with Cammo." So far I haven't been able to work that one in, but here's a recap of what we have covered so far:

• Week 1 - Introduction. We spent a lot of time defining decorating and staging; their similarities and differences. I also touched on other topics we'll cover in upcoming weeks such as color, room elements, decorating styles, the elements of design and the principles of design. Many pictures of style and decor are shown in class on a flat screen via PowerPt to illustrate our topics of discussion.
• Week 2 - Home Staging. We discussed in depth the various elements of staging such as curb appeal, decluttering (ugh!), assessing room roles, getting rid of nasty odors, cleaning, neutralizing, rearranging furniture, accessorizing and generally making the home appealing to the widest possible audience.
• Week 3 - Color. Terms such as hue, value, temperature and intensity, tinting and shading were defined. We discussed primary colors, secondary colors, intermediate colors and the various color palettes. We then looked at various palettes used in decorating; namely, monochromatic, analogous, complementary and complex schemes.

In addition, class members are encouraged to email me photos of rooms in their own homes they need help with. We show the pictures and discuss dilemmas and solutions. So far we have conquered a family room, kitchen and bedroom. This week we have another family room on the agenda.

So what's on for this Wednesday evening? I am putting the class to work. They will finally get their hands dirty. Each member will draw a room in their home on graph paper and come up with a color scheme utilizing what they've been taught. They will then sketch out furniture placement. Each week we will add to the project until all the elements discussed in class have been incorporated into their home space.

If you live in Hall County or the North Metro Atlanta area, please join us! Classes are held each week on Wednesday evenings and begin at 6:30pm. We start with a short devotional, then embark on our lesson and project for the week. Please visit the church website for additional information and for a full list of classes. I hope to see you Wednesday!

Blackshear Place Baptist Church * 3428 Atlanta Hwy. * Flowery Branch, GA 30542

www.bpbc.com 770-534-7058