Cindy George

The City of Hoschton, Georgia, population of 1700 in the city limits, may have broken the Guinness Record for the most number of scarecrows in one place. The official city count was announced today, and we have 5441 scarecrows in Hoschton!

Click here for a slide-show courtesy of Main Street News.

While officials in the city are still counting, latest estimates are over 4800. The record now stands at just over 3300.

Just how did this little city pull this off?
The project is the brainchild of Robbie Bettis, a lifelong resident and owner of several antique shopsin the area. As a joint effort between the Hoschton Business Alliance and the City of Hoschton, organizers were assigned schools, subdivisions, churches and businesses. Many, many workshops were held in the Historic Hoschton Train Depot to show the community how to make a scarecrow. Hardware stores donated wood, and the Mayor and a City Councilman made frames for anyone who needed one. Some scarecrows are extremely clever, some lifelike, and some more normal like you would see in a garden. Prudential Georgia Realty, on the corner of Hwy 53 and Hwy 332, was one of the first businesses to kick-start the project with 50 scarecrows. The idea just caught fire, and spread quickly throughout the 30548 zip code. The competition heated up, and before long there was an entire football game set up on a field, baseball games, nativity scenes with choirs, the Ponderosa with the Cartwrights, The Wizard of Oz characters, and at least 10 Sponge Bob Square Pants. Visitors can be seen every day, stopping and taking pictures of the scarecrows. We'll have to wait for the Guinness people to give a final tally on the entries they will accept, but no matter- this community has pulled together for a common cause, as neighbors worked side by side to help put Hoschton (rhymes with PUSHton) on the map!

The Five Stages of Grief, Real Estate Style

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." Albert Einstein

Without exception, on every listing appointment I have had in the last 6 months I find myself faced with a homeowner who cannot accept the reality of the lower value of their home.

Homeowners hear on the news and read in print and online that the average price for a home in the Atlanta market is down 10% over the last 2 years. They hear it, they read it, but they do not accept it as truth for their own home.

As I talk with homeowners, over and over, I hear the same things. It's the 5 stages of grief, Real Estate Style.

1. Denial- "My home is the exception. Look at my upgrades. Look at my lot which is the best in the subdivision. Look at my finished basement. Look at my refinance appraisal from 2006.

2. Anger- "But I paid THIS for the house, and then I put THIS much more in it! And I need THIS much to buy that gorgeous house we saw last weekend (and pay off three credit cards and the boat loan....)

3. Bargaining- "Well, I don't HAVE to sell!"

4. Depression- "I can't believe I won't be able to buy that beautiful house on the lake that is $100,000 under appraised value!"

5. Acceptance- Hey homeowners, wow, if you get to this point, could you give me a call? I'd LOVE to sell your house for you!

Cindy George

www.CindyGeorgeRealEstate.com

It's official; Gas prices are crimping our style! We Americans are staying home and finding fun in our own backyards. A week in Disney? A condo at the beach?

Not this year! It's STAYCATION time!

I was at a neighborhood party and the talk was all about staying close to home this year. And guess what? We're having as much fun this year as we did when we spent the big bucks. My friends tell me their teenagers have been just as miserable as last year, but for half the money! Teens and tweens only care about cell coverage, WiFi and batteries for the Wii; it doesn't matter if they are at the Grand Canyon or in a campground 50 miles from home.

So what does this have to do with real estate? In Georgia, buyers are not spending Sunday afternoons driving around checking out new subdivisions. They aren't doing a drive-by of re-sell houses they found online. And I don't know anybody that would voluntarily spend a day in the car with an agent.

So how do they daydream about a better way of life for the family? They're shopping online of course!

And what do they want? Virtual tours!

There is little hope for a listing with only one picture online. If you don't have at least 10 pictures or a virtual tour, you are doing a disservice to your client. So what's the upside?

When your listing clients complain that there have been no showings on their house, you need to show them how many hits the listings has had online. Show them how many hits to the virtual tour. With these gas prices, a virtual tour is the same as a SHOWING. Yeah! It's a new day, and we all have a new reality. Isn't technology wonderful!

Visit my website at CindyGeorgeRealEstate.com

Cindy George

Prudential Georgia Realty