Localism: Georgia

Gwinnett County, GA: Where's a Cop When You Need One? Too often, responding to a false alarm.

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:06:19 -0500

Chuck Warbington,PE
Executive Director

Article by: Chuck Warbington, PE

It is probably that at one time or another, 99% of us have uttered the
phrase, "Where's a cop when you need one?" Some startling statistics that
offers some explanation to that very question can be summed up under the
term: False Alarms.

As has been reported earlier this year, the Gwinnett Village overall crime
rate was down by 1/3 over the first half of the year. However, Gwinnett
Village, like the rest of the County, does register as problematic with
false alarms.

Annually, the Gwinnett County Police Department receives just under 39,000
security alert dispatches; security alerts are the leading cause for
dispatches and exceeds moving vehicle accidents that accounts for just under
24,000. What is most alarming about these statistics is that 99% of these
security alarm dispatches are actually false or non-valid. Of the 6111
alarm calls that occur at the Westside Precinct that covers Gwinnett Village
thus far in 2008, only 22 were valid.

Information from the Norcross Police Department indicates that false
security alarm calls are also a problem for the City's force. Of the 1458
annual security alarm calls, approximately 2% are valid as provided by
police chief Dallas Stidd.

According to Gwinnett County Police, a false alarm dispatch can require one
to three officers to report to the scene. These false alarm calls can take
up to two hours of an officer's time, thereby deterring them from regular
patrols where an actual crime could occur. Not only do these false alarms
increase the threat of crime within the community, they are also serious
economic implications that are too easily dismissed by uneducated consumers
and the general public.

Police officials confirm that it costs taxpayers $58.40 for every dispatch -
a number that does not truly reveal the severity of this problem until
multiplied by the 38,405 invalid false alarm dispatches. Calculations
indicate that over $2.2 million in taxpayer dollars are wasted each year on
false alarms. In a time of budget shortfalls, this is a significant problem
that businesses and residents alike should be attentive to.

The police have provided these few tips:

.       Mare sure the type of alarm is the right type for your particular
business
.      Use the correct motion sensor in the appropriate location.
Circulating air can move wall mounted items tripping the motion sensor.
.      Make sure employees are trained properly and have established
protocols for when employees accidently activate an alarm.
.        For repeated false alarms, contact your alarm monitoring company for
an analysis of your system.

This article has been posted to Suwanee Talk with the express consent of Chuck Warbington.

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Real Estate Home Sales Market Bottoming Out

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:12:00 -0500

Every day I am asked when will the residential real estate market turn around and when will it hit bottom in Atlanta and begin to turn around. Based on the monthly and quarterly number we receive at Keller Williams Realty, it seems like we have already hit bottom. If you recall, the housing market slowly went into a decline and then declined rapidly. It is also slowly getting better and then it will rebound again quickly. Most consumers fail to remember real estate is a cyclical business with 7 to 10 year increases then decreases but overall, there is no better, and safe place to put their money for consistent growth. In addition, the laws of supply and demand show that since building permits have all most come to a complete stop in the past 24 months, inventory is being absorbed by the thousands of new home owners arriving in Atlanta, GA each month. Atlanta continues to be the fastest growing metro area in the United States and our population is estimated to double in the next 10 years. Certain neighborhoods with resales of older homes have barely been touched by the housing crisis including the intown neighborhoods of Ansley Park, Inman Park, Buckhead and Vinings to name but a few since there is no more land available to build new construction without tearing an existing home down. If you wait too long to purchase a home thinking "you'll wait until it turns around" you will miss the opportunity of a life time to buy relatively low price, with the lowest home mortgage rates in 50 years, hold and sell higher. Call me to discuss your real estate investment strategy needs at 770-874-6338. Rick Duda, REALTOR - Making Home Ownership A Zipity Duda day. Selling luxury high rise condos, townhomes with elevators, single family manor style homes with master on the main, and luxury foreclosure property to 55+ seniors in central Atlanta and the perimeter area including Vinings, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Smryna, Marietta, Roswell, and Buckhead.

Atlanta Home Staging - Certified Real Estate Stagers Performance Guaranty - Homes Designed To Sell

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:28:17 -0500

In an effort to build continued confidence in the value of home staging solutions for those with a home to sell in the current real estate market, Homes Designed To Sell has implemented another first in the home staging business; their Performance Guaranty. The staging Performance Guaranty works like this: a percentage of the staging service fee is discounted and earned by Homes Designed To Sell only when the home sells within a specific number of days which vary depending on the price and location of the home. One of the services we provide to our clients dramatically differentiating us from competitors in the staging industry is that we work in partnership with the home owner and/or their Realtor to aggressively market the staged home for sale, thereby dramatically increasing the showings which often lead to multiple offers within a matter of days that the home goes on the market. Not only is our reputation at stake to deliver consistent sales success stories but we have a financial investment with the client to guarantee their home sells quickly and for top dollar and clients see this as a win-win.

We have been featured on A&E Flip This House, The Atlanta Home Show, Fox 5 News, Georgia Real Estate Investor's Association, The Buckhead Story Newspaper, Taste of Business Buckhead, Cobb Association of Realtors, Women's Council of Realtors, Radio Sandy Springs and the Atlanta Board of Realtors Trade Shows.

This home sold in less than 60 days beating the average days on market, for top dollar and saved the sellers thousands in monthly expeneses since they had two homes.

Cartoonist to sign prints at Hamilton Mill Fast Frame - Dacula, GA

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:09:48 -0500

Cal Warlick, former sports illustrator and AJC editorial cartoonist will be at the Hamilton Mill Fast Frame, in the Publix Shopping Center at 2463 Hamilton Mill Pkwy on October 25th from 10 to 2.

Cal is known for taking the more liberal stance of the paper he's writing for but usually the cartoon and editorial comment are so funny that he gets a pass by locals. Partly because his humor is actually TRUE!

Cal will be signing famous limited edition prints and of course, you'll have a variety of frames on hand to choose from as well.

Another Way to Research Homes in Athens; www.hankbaileysellshomes.com

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:16:31 -0500

Teaming up with Athensgahomesforsale.com to increase exposure for home research in the Athens Area! Banner as seen at www.theoconeeleader.com.