Welcome!

I am an Atlanta native and made the decision in 2007 to leave my job as an architect/urban planner to get my real estate license. This was a difficult decision but has been great since my very first day in my new career and I am really enjoying it! It is so rewarding helping people find that perfect home, and it allows me to continue to satiate my love of good architecture and great neighborhoods!

I attended Georgia Tech (GO JACKETS!!!!) which is where I met my husband. For almost a decade we lived in one of Atlanta's fabulous in-town neighborhoods in a great 1920's Craftsman bungalow with our two dogs and two cats. Following the birth of our first child, we bought a foreclosure in the west Buckhead area and fully renovated it using an FHA 203k loan, which was a fun and sometimes daunting process. And just prior to the birth of our second child, we purchased and renovated a home in downtown Historic Roswell, completing our personal tour of some of Atlanta's best neighborhoods to live in!

I decided to create this blog in order to share useful information and resources about the real estate market and home buying process, as well as hopefully bring some humor and levity to what is often a complex and intimidating process. Enjoy!!!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

JUST LISTED!!! Fabulous Sandy Springs Townhome!

This beautifully renovated townhome boasts 3 spacious bedrooms and 2.5 updated baths. Located in the heart of Sandy Springs just steps from great shopping and restaurants! The desirable Townhomes of Sandy Springs is a quiet gated community which boasts a fabulous pool, recently updated fitness center, ample secured parking, and one of the best school districts around. Hurry, this one won't last long!!!

Features include:

  • 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths
  • Spacious updated kitchen boasts tile floor, stained cabinets, full pantry, and large breakfast bar
  • Separate living & dining rooms with open, flowing floor plan that is great for entertaining
  • Gleaming hardwoods throughout the main floor
  • Brand new carpeting upstairs
  • TONS of storage, including large his & hers closets with custom shelving systems in the master
  • Details like crown molding, chair rail, designer fixtures, and updated finishes make this one stand out from thr crowd!





For more information, please view the listing details on my website or see a virtual tour here!
Read more!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Short Sales

Since I happen to be in the midst of a short sale right now, I thought I would comment on what can often be a complicated & frustrating process.....but one that can also be incredibly rewarding to the savvy buyer in the end.

A short sale is when a homeowner can no longer afford their mortgage and in order to avoid being foreclosed on, they negotiate with their lender to take a discounted payoff amount. This allows a buyer to get a home they often would not otherwise be able to afford, but the trade-off for such a deal is a process that can drag on for weeks - sometimes months - with no guaranteed outcome. The good news is, this process may be changing.

According to Kenneth R. Harney, "Fannie Mae, the single biggest player in the American mortgage market, plans to crank up the pace of short sales on properties in its bulging portfolio. Fannie intends to "streamline" procedures to enable pre-foreclosure sales to speed through what is currently an extended, and often complicated, process."

Read the rest of this informative article
here.

The bottom line is that if you are willing to go through the process, a short sale is one of your best chances to get a home that otherwise would be out of reach. Just make sure you know what you are getting into, be patient, and then sit back and reap the rewards!
Read more!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Help Save the Environment: Recycle Your Old Electronics

ATLANTA – Atlanta City Councilmember Carla Smith will host the city’s annual Electronic Waste Recycling Day on Saturday, April 26 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Turner Field’s GOLD Lot of Turner Field. Residents are encouraged to bring their old computers and household electronics to this Earth Day event.

An astounding 75,583 of electronic items were collected in 2007 – the largest amount ever collected.

“We are out to beat that record,” said City Councilmember Carla Smith, whose office has hosted E-Waste Recycling Day for the past six years. “Each year we collect more electronics than the year before, which shows there is a tremendous need for residents to properly dispose of these unwanted items.”

The goal of this initiative is to promote the recovery, reuse, and recycling of obsolete electronic equipment and to encourage the design, manufacture, and purchase of environmentally responsible electronic equipment.

The electronics industry is one of the fastest growing and most innovative industries in the world. Every year, newer and better products are being sold to consumers. While electronics account for up to five percent of landfill volume, the products contribute up to 70 percent of the toxins found in landfills.

The following items will be accepted at the city of Atlanta’s E-Waste Recycling Day:

COMPUTER MONITORS
TELEVISIONS ($10 fee required)
MICROWAVE OVENS
COMPUTER CPU’s
STEREOS
TELEPHONES
LAPTOPS
COPIERS
CB RADIOS
PRINTERS
VIDEO MACHINES
CD PLAYERS
DISK DRIVES
VCRs and DVD Players
PORTABLE RADIOS
FLOPPY DRIVES
CAMCORDERS
CELL PHONES
TEST & NETWORKING EQUIPMENT
CAMERAS
KEYBOARDS
MODEMS
RECORD PLAYERS
SCANNERS
CURCUIT BOARDS
SPEAKERS
ELECTRICAL PANELS
TYPEWRITERS
UPS / BATTERY BACK-UP
FAX MACHINES
CD ROMS
PROJECTORS
CABLES
COMPUTER MOUSES

The following items will not be accepted: consoles, projection televisions, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washers, dryers, freezers, de-humidifiers or humidifiers, gas-powered equipment, tires, household trash and NON-electronic equipment.




For more information, please call Councilwoman Smith’s office at (404) 330-6039
Read more!

Tax Benefits of Homeownership

Since it is that time of year, I thought I would address a common question I get: What exactly are the tax benefits of owning your own home?

The tax deductions you’re eligible to take for mortgage interest and property taxes greatly increase the financial benefits of homeownership. Here’s how it works.

Assume a loan of $150,000 for 30 years, at 7 percent, using year-five interest:
$9,877 = Mortgage interest paid

$2,700 = Property taxes (at 1.5 percent on $180,000 assessed value)
______
$12,577 = Total deduction

Then, multiply your total deduction by your tax rate.
For example, at a 28 percent tax rate: 12,577 x 0.28 = $3,521.56


$3,521.56 = Amount you have lowered your federal income tax (at 28 percent tax rate)

Note: Mortgage interest may not be deductible on loans over $1.1 million. In addition, deductions are decreased when total income reaches a certain level.

Information provided by the National Association of Realtors
Read more!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

A Little Humor

Just thought I would share a funny story that happened last fall......

We were having an inspection done on a house we had under contract and the listing agent met us out there to let us into the house. This agent is about 75 years old, is wearing a brown polyester suit, and has a serious comb-over with the few gray hairs he has left on his head. As he goes to leave, he turns to my client and asks if she knows how to put the keys back in the lockbox. Up until that point he had been very quiet.

Agent: "Do you know how to put the keys back in the lockbox?"
Client: "I am sure I can figure it out"
Agent: "It's simple, see. Now, have you every loaded a semi-automatic weapon?"
Client: "Ummmmmm.......not recently?"

Agent: "Well it's just like that, see. You pop it right in the bottom the same way you would a magazine clip. See? Easy as pie!"
Client stares at him in disbelief

As soon as he got out the door, we just died. To this day, however, I use the same analogy when explaining the mechanics of a lockbox!
Read more!