Red Hot Atlanta Homes - Kathy Seger & Ben Staten

Rose Arbor is a small enclave neighborhood for active adults in Kennesaw near Highway 41 and Mars Hill Road. There are 40 single level, brick residences in the community. Homes in this ranch condo community have 3 bedrooms and a sunrooms. Finishing touches are the same as you would see in much more expensive home. Ceilings are 10 foot with heavy moldings and 6 inch baseboards. Kitchens have granite countertops and 42 inch cabinets. There is courtyard patio off the sunroom for relaxtion and grilling. If you are downsizing there is plenty of storage with permanent stairs off the garage to the floored attic.

Prices of homes for sale in the this community are $290,000 to $390,000. A few homes have basements also.

Rose Arbor is conveniently located near shopping, dining, golf, and lake. Community Features...Generous landscaping with beautiful roses through out the neighborhood thus the name Rose Arbor. Professional landscaped and maintained by the Homeowners Association so you can enjoy the beauty without the work. The landscaping is watered by a neighborhood well. Sidewalks and curb-side mailboxes are two of the best featur es. The driveways are wide allowing two cars to use the drives at the same time.

One of the nice features about living in Cobb County is you are exempt from paying the school portion of the county tax bill if you over 62 or older. This is a nice savings for Senior Citizens.

If you are looking to downsize, these are wonderful ranch condo homes. You can also find this same home in other areas of Cobb County.

White Columns is one of the premier neighborhoods of Milton, boasting a Tom Fazio designed championship golf course, recently expanded clubhouse, plus swim, tennis, dining and fitness facilities. The neigborhood is comprised of 434 residences in four sections. The majority of the homeowners live in the golf community on the northern edge of the course. Another 30% live in the gated section of the neighborhood to the south- most of these homes back to the golf course.

Membership in the Country Club is optional for homeowners. There are a variety of memberships available including those for non-residents, depending on your interests. White Columns is very active year-round with events for adults and children, gourmet dinners, holiday celebrations, pool parties, educational-based events and even a traditional Sunday brunch.

White Columns boasts relatively large lots of 1 acre of more. The homes are mainly tradtitional with brick or cedar-shake shingle facades. Home prices range from around half a million to well over a million- currently there are 27 homes for sale in this Milton neighborhood.

White Columns is conveniently located just a few miles off the Windward exit of GA Hwy 400. The area schools are excellent- Summit Hill Elementary, Nortwestern Middle and Milton High. There is also plenty of shopping and dining options within a short drive.

If you're looking for a beautiful and scenic neighborhood with lots of activities and a great social environment, White Columns is definitely a neighborhood to consider!

With the signing of the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit existing homeowners may now qualify for a $6500 Tax Credit. This new legislation is time sensitive and unfortunately does not apply to all existing homeowners. Here are the important points to know.

• Who qualifies - current home owners purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight qualify.
• Time Limits - as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.
• Income Limits - single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000-may receive the maximum tax credit. The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 for single buyers and between $225,000 and $245,000 for home buyers filing jointly.
• Price Limits - credit may only be awarded on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.
• Repayment of Tax Credit - there is no repayment of the tax credit if the purchased property is occupied for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount credit will be recouped on the sale.

Now you know the facts. What does it mean...

• You receive the Tax Credit by purchasing a home. You are not required to sell your current home - just make the new home your principle residence for 3 years.
• You can purchase a property for a higher value or lower value than your present home.
• You must act now...April 30 is the deadline.
• Upon closing the new home purchase you can file an amended tax return for an immediate $6500 Tax Credit.

Important to remember...

• The present low prices and mortgage rates will not last forever!
• Here is the opportunity to "move" to your dream home...something smaller, something larger, something one level, whatever is your dream

Signing of the legislation also extended the 1st First Time Buyer Tax Credit. The credit continues to be up to $8000 with a few changes.

• Time Limit - as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close
• Income Limits - single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000-may receive the maximum tax credit. The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 for single buyers and between $225,000 and $245,000 for home buyers filing jointly
• Repayment of Tax Credit - there is no repayment of the tax credit if the purchased property is occupied for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount credit will be recouped on the sale.

Recently we posted a blog showing before and after photos of the area around a fireplace in a townhome we had for sale. Around that same time, we had a vacant condo that we staged for a client as well and decided we'd put together a virtual tour showing the process.

In this example, we used our home staging inventory gathered thru the years. We "loan" home staging items to most of our clients that are selling and blend our accessories in with their furnishings to create vignettes to entice homebuyers. These items have two purposes: to give our photos going out to potential homebuyers (our consumer) more "pop" and warmth; secondly, we want to create that same warmth and pop when those same homebuyers are touring our listings in person.

While you'll see the entire staging process in the virtual tour, here's the SunRoom before and after:

After all, if a potential homebuyer is seeing 8+ homes in a day, you want your home to stand out from the crowd. And nothing is more sterile and uninviting than walking into an empty home or condo, turning on the lights and seeing nothing but white walls and white carpet. We consider home staging to be a critical part of our marketing plan when selling any home.

Meadow Brook is a beautiful Woodstock neighborhood in southeast Cherokee County located at the corner of East Cherokee Drive and Waters Road. The community consists of 105 custom homes, each with a unique façade, so that no two homes are alike. The homes were built between 2002 and 2005, with most homes having basements and three car garages.

Showing great wisdom, the homes at Meadow Brook were built around a lovely and heavily wooded nature trail that leads to a scenic pond. The neighborhood also features a pool, tennis courts and a playground area. There are currently 4 homes for sale in Meadow Brook.

Cherokee County takes pride in excellent schools- Meadow Brook is served by Arnold Mill Elementary, Rusk Middle and Sequoyah High. This is a fast growing area of the county, with convenient shopping and restaurants nearby. The location also provides commuters with easy access I-575 and GA Hwy 400.

We’re long-time fans of Meadow Brook and are happy to have sold in the neighborhood!