Scott & Tinsley Myrick, Gulf Coast Real Estate Professionals

Cary Jobe for The New York Times

ON THE WATER The marina at the Wharf, a development of condos, stores and restaurants in Orange Beach, Ala.

By JOE SAMUEL STARNES Published: December 23, 2008

DEBBIE AND BROCK HATTOX started their hunt for a second home with two conditions. “He wanted to play golf year-round,” Mrs. Hattox said, “and I wanted to be on some type of water.” The couple were living in Atlanta when they began their search 10 years ago. They visited many spots, including Hilton Head, S.C., where they had lived in the 1970s, and various waterfront sites in Florida.

When Mr. Hattox’s younger brother suggested Gulf Shores, Ala., Mrs. Hattox turned to the map. “I didn’t realize Alabama had a coastline,” she said. She learned that Alabama does in fact have 32 miles of shoreline, the shortest among the five states that front the Gulf of Mexico.

The Hattoxes visited the white beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach next door, studying housing options that included condos and houses that were on the beach, as well as properties inland along golf courses, bays and waterways. This part of the Alabama coast, where the Hattoxes built their second home in 1999, draws a range of part-time residents, including many from Southern states, but also contingents from the Midwest, Canada and California.

Development in the area took off in the 1960s and 1970s. After being devastated by Hurricane Frederic in 1979, the coastline rebounded in the ’80s and ’90s with the growth of beachfront condominium towers and inland golf course developments. Hurricane Ivan struck there in 2004, but the region is still growing, especially the condo-centric town of Orange Beach, where two towers promoted as being hurricane-proof recently opened. And two more are being built, despite the national economic downturn.

The Scene

When Mr. Hattox, a former chief executive of National Service Industries in Atlanta, retired in 2003, the couple moved full-time to the 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom house in Gulf Shores that they built for $1.2 million. It overlooks a small lake on the Cotton Creek golf course in the Craft Farms development. Mr. Hattox generally plays golf every other day, and often fishes for redfish and speckled trout in salt water and bass in freshwater lakes, while Mrs. Hattox spends time landscaping the yard. They regularly play bridge in a neighborhood group and are active in the Grace Fellowship Presbyterian Church. “It’s a big church-oriented town,” Mr. Hattox said. “And church is a big part of our lives.” Their house has a second-story room lined with bunks for their 10 grandchildren. Mrs. Hattox often takes her grandkids for a day on the beach, even in the tourist-heavy summer. “There’s so much beach that everyone spreads out,” she said. The region has wider and more open beach than most coastal communities.

The 6,150-acre Gulf State Park sits between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, providing two miles of uninhabited public beach, wavy with sand dunes and wild sea oats. On the western edge of Gulf Shores is Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, a 7,000-acre preserve. “You can go out there and walk for miles and never see another living soul,” said Wade Ward, a retired Gulf Shores developer who is president of the George C. Meyer Foundation, a trust that has donated more than a thousand acres for preservation and public beaches. There are plenty of shops and restaurants. Lucy Anne Buffett, Jimmy Buffett’s sister, owns Lulu’s, a restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway in Gulf Shores. One menu item is the Cheeseburger in Paradise for $8.95. In Orange Beach, there is the Wharf, a new development that mixes condos, stores and restaurants, and includes a Ferris wheel and an outdoor amphitheater. There are seven golf courses in the two towns, and another nine within a 30-minute drive.

Harold Morgan, a native of Birmingham, Ala., who moved to Gulf Shores with his wife from Atlanta in 2005, plays golf nearly every day. The coolest month is January, when the average high is about 59 degrees. “We probably have 15 days of the year that you have to wear a jacket,” he said.

Pros

The Gulf and the beach. And property taxes are lower than in Florida, said Hollis Messer of Ono Realty. For example, he said, a $1 million owner-occupied home on Ono Island, an unincorporated six-mile-long island just east of Orange Beach, has only $2,800 in annual property taxes.

Cons

Because of the threat of hurricanes, the cost of property insurance is high. The buyers of a $300,000 home that Mr. Messer sold recently paid $4,000 in insurance at the closing. “It’s not uncommon to find people paying $10,000 to $12,000 annually,” he said. And hurricane season can also put homeowners on edge when meteorologists start pointing at swirling cloud formations in the Gulf. “It’s always on your mind,” said Edde Gaylord, a plastics manufacturer’s representative from Birmingham, Ala. He and his wife own a condo in the Seaside Beach and Racquet Club in Orange Beach that suffered serious damage during Hurricane Ivan. “Once you’ve experience one, you always start tracking them.” The Real Estate Market ... Next Page »

Local lenders hope low rates spur buyers

Sunday, December 21, 2008 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor

How low can they go? Mortgage lenders hope the answer is low enough to spur potential home buyers to get off the fence and buy.

The 4.5 to 5 percent rates are "mighty good," said Ken Cramton, vice president of HMC, Home Mortgage Co., in Fairhope. He said the Federal Reserve appears determined to "drive rates down and bring the housing market back, which will bring the economy back."

The Fed last week cut its funds rate from 1 percent to a target range of zero to 0.25 percent and pledged to keep funneling money into the market for mortgage investments. Local and national mortgage brokers reported a surge of calls from borrowers trying to take advantage of the lower rates.

Some lenders were quoting rates as low as 4.5 percent for people with strong credit. Rates ranged from 5.19 to 5.28 percent for a 30-year fixed rate loan; and 4.92 to 5.23 percent for a 15-year fixed, according to Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

"We've seen a major influx of refinancing," said Sharon Thompson of Mortgage America in Mobile. "I'm working the 'old hours,' 12- to 14-hour days because of this."

What she has not seen, she said, is any "dramatic increase" in home purchases, what the lower rates were designed to do.

"But we expect that to change," she said.

Lenders have tightened their guidelines, but misconceptions remain about what's required from buyers seeking home loans, according to Thompson.

"I'm surprised every day when I hear people say they thought they had to put 20 percent down," she said. "There are still 100 percent loans out there."

Products that many local lenders offer include bond money from the Alabama Housing Finance Authority and loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture for people living in rural areas. The FHA does not have any income restrictions.

"We're all hopeful the rates are going to stir up some interest," said home builder Jim McDonough, who builds primarily in Baldwin County. "The biggest thing killing us is the media saying that the values of houses have declined."

While not true in Mobile, where values are up about 4 percent, home values have fallen in Baldwin County, he said.

Many potential buyers are renting while they wait for the market to bottom out or hope to grab a bargain in a foreclosure sale, according to McDonough.

But, he said, "builders have cut their prices as much as we can go." And, "what's the likelihood of finding your dream home in a foreclosure?"

Subdivision and commercial developers have had a tough time securing loans or satisfying bank requirements in today's market, according to agents.

"The biggest problem with the banks, up to this point, is that they received some relief from the (federal government) but were hoarding the cash and not wanting to lend," Cramton said. "They wanted to shore up the balance sheets, knowing there would be more shortfalls to come."

"The feds will probably put stipulations on the money to require the banks to make loans, he added.

Lower rates will help everybody across the country, lenders said, including people trying to buy cars or dealing with credit card debt.

Builders say they meet buyers from other places who move here for a jobs and want to buy, but first they have to sell homes in another city, so the new rates should help move even that inventory, agents said.

If buyers think the rates will drop again, they can get pre-approved for a loan and watch daily until they are ready to lock in a rate, said Paige Thatcher, owner of REMAX By The Bay in Daphne. "Some people have been sitting on the fence until this (rate drop) happened, and it's happening now."

Ruth Rye of Dauphin Realty in Mobile predicts more buyers will take advantage of the rates after the Christmas holidays.

"Everyone is so busy with family over the holiday, they aren't thinking about buying right now," Rye said. "The word will get out and hopefully we'll see more in January or early spring."

By Tinsley Myrick, RE/MAX of Orange Beach, December 17, 2008

After a very busy and active real estate year in 2008, it's been a little quiet on the Alabama Gulf Coast for the last couple of months. We don't anticipate this to last long. In the meantime, Scott and I have taken advantage of the downtime by getting some additional training/designations (scroll down to see designations acquired).

SOME OF WHAT WE LEARNED

We picked up some wonderful marketing ideas from the instructors, who had extensive real estate experience prior to teaching.

We especially enjoyed the Resort & Second-home Property Specialist (RSPS) class because the instructor went way beyond the scope of the course by discussing generational marketing & technology. I am a first year Generation X (born 1965). When discussing this with anyone, I typically follow it up with, "but I have the work ethic of a Baby Boomer." (I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a "slacker," which is what many Gen Xrs get tagged with!) The RSPS instructor (Theresa Barnabei) heard me say this .... and said, "Yes, but you do the work like Gen X and Y." I was very pleased to have a better understanding of why I am the way I am! Gen X and Y are very much into the technology (text messaging; Blackberries; social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, My Space, Active Rain, U-Tube). Since Gen X is now buying real estate, this is our present ... and our future! Furthermore, we understand the importance of asking each client about their preferred method of communication.

So, it was reinforced that Scott and I are on the right track because we embrace the technology, social media, internet marketing, email marketing, text messaging, instant messaging, etc. We also embrace the traditional ways of marketing, such as postcard mailings, advertising in a real estate magazine, phone calls, face-to-face listing appointments. We don't want to leave out the traditional folks! All in all, these designations are very specific to what we already do... and can only help us improve our skills! We strive to be the very best in our market!

Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS) - The instructor talked about the different types of luxury buyers and sellers and the unique needs of each. She outlined expectations of luxury clients, as well, as ways to target market to specific luxury buyers. I have the sales requirements to also become a member of the Million Dollar Guild (at least two sales over $1,000,000 in a specified time period).

Resort & Second Home-property Specialist (RSPS) - This is what we do! This designation required us to take 3 different classes in 3 different locations (Scottsdale, AZ; Atlanta; & Orlando), which we thoroughly enjoyed! It was great to network with agents from other second home/resort markets. One of the 3 classes was on 1031 tax exchanges.

Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR) - Specializing in the needs of buyers.

Fishermen report orcas galore in Gulf of Mexico

Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are understandably excited by a recent sighting of what may have been a "superpod" of more than 200 killer whales - all swimming relatively close together and apparently fishing for tuna.

Up until the sighting earlier this month, Charter boat captain Eddie Hall thought he had seen everything.

"Lot's of cool stuff, everything from submarines to ships to every kind of shark you can think of, never a killer whale," he said during an interview with Debbie Williams of WKRG News in the Mobile-Pensacola area. "Never ever thought about seeing a killer whale in my lifetime in the Gulf."

(If the screen below doesn't work, go straight to the WKRG Web site.)

WKRG.com

Until now, the population of killer whales in the Gulf had been estimated at 150, according to Williams' report.

Biologist Keith Mullin said 17 orca sightings have been recorded. "Ten to 15 in a pod; that's the most we've ever seen or really even gotten reports of," he told WKRG.

The stock assessment report (PDF 152 kb) by the National Marine Fisheries Service suggests that very little is known about killer whales in the Gulf of Mexico. A report written in October 2007 offers a guesstimate of 49 animals in the Northern Gulf of Mexico area.

Thirty-two individuals have been photographically identified to date, with 6 individuals having been sighted over a 5 year period, and 1 whale resighted over 10 years... The Gulf of Mexico population is provisionally being considered a separate stock for management purposes, although there is currently no information to differentiate this stock from the Atlantic Ocean stock(s)...

There are insufficient data to determine the population trends for this species. The total level of U.S. Gulf of Mexico fishery-caused mortality and serious injury for this stock is unknown, but the rarity of mortality reports for this species suggests that this level is insignificant and approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate.

As you can see, the knowledge about killer whales in the Gulf is considerably different from what we know about killer whales in the Northwest, where every birth and death of our two fish-eating resident populations are noted and where most of the seal-eating transients have been identified and monitored over time.

For a little more about the recent Gulf sighting, Steve Layton and Gary Finch wrote about the event on the Orange Beach (Ala.) Community Web site, where they said video would be coming soon.

Thanks go to Orca Network for tracking down good whale stories, wherever they take place.

Staging offers edge for sellers

Sunday, October 12, 2008 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor

Angela Blankinchip took a vacant house that had been on the market for nine months and turned it into an attractive, furnished home that brought an offer three days later.

The house sold for list price two weeks later, said Blankinchip, owner of the franchise Showhomes-Mobile/Baldwin County.

Staging homes to help them sell has become a hot ticket for builders, real estate agents and their clients, especially in the current market slowdown.

Homeowners and Realtors are asking how they can we get an edge in the market, according to Jane Ann Lance, owner of Staged Homes of Mobile, who noticed an uptick in activity six months ago.

"It's had a lot to do with the media and people's perception of the economy," Lance said. "They said they needed to do something more since homes weren't selling."

Staging is all about making a house look its showcase-best to attract buyers. There are several staging franchises in the area that will send in a crew to rearrange a homeowner's furniture, or pull from their warehouse of furniture and accessories to redo a vacant home.

Almost 95 percent of the staged homes sell within 35 days or less, according to stagedhomes.com, a national Web site for home staging professionals.

Showhomes also offers a home manager service, Blankinchip said. For a fee, typically 1 percent of the listing price at closing, a home manager will live in your furnished home and keep it in showing condition seven days a week, according to Blankinchip.

The fees vary for staging services, but furnishing a home averages just under $2 per square foot, according to staging experts.

Some homeowners want to fix up their own homes, and Lance of Staged Homes said she will do a property analysis with a punch list of items for each room, for about $300.

"A lot of people don't have any vision," said Shawn Cushing, vice president of FLC Living in Mobile. "It's intimidating to walk into a big room and wonder, 'Will my stuff work in here?"'

Cushing's company will provide the furniture and accessories for 22 homes for builders in the Parade of Homes in Mobile, to be held Oct. 18-19 and 25-26.

"Staging is a big part of our business," Cushing said. FLC provides furniture for apartments in Alabama and Mississippi, model homes in large subdivisions, corporate houses and builder's custom homes.

Staging homes is a good selling tool, according to Becky Miller of Dauphin Realty, who completed an Accredited Staging Professional course a year ago. "It's an extra service to provide for listings," she said. She does it free of charge, she said.

"I suggest what they need to do and use their things," Miller said. "A lot of times it's de-cluttering the home. They can't see it if they have lived there a long time. It takes a fresh eye."

Not every staged home sells in a week, Lance said, adding that her goal is to sell it within 90 says. There are several factors needed for a quick sale: Location, price, condition of the house and the presentation of the house, she said.

"The main thing is price and if the price is not reflec tive of all those factors, you've got a longer time on the market," she said. The staging concept is the same for a high-priced or less costly house, she said. "You have to know how you can best present the house to your target market."

Adding furniture to a vacant house adds value, according to Blankinchip. "Some people see a vacant house and think the seller is desperate and will make a low-ball offer," she said. "We want to help the homeowner get the most for his house."

/cut/2/cVICTOR CALHOUN/ Chief PhotographerAngela Blankinchip, owner of Showhomes - Mobile/Baldwin County, accessorizes a vacant house in The Preserve. She and her sister, Tammy Boothe, work together to stage vacant houses for builders, Realtors and homeowners. Other companies, such as Staged Homes of Mobile, work with occupied homes and help homeowners arrange their existing furniture or provide furniture to help the client. The stagers goal is to help sell the home quickly.