Coweta Fayette Real Estate & Newnan Homes for sale blog by Richard Weisser of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers

With less than two months remaining to enter into a contract to purchase a home and qualify for possible tax credits, the level of buyer activity will elevate to frenzy in the immediate days ahead.

The last minute buyers will compete for what remains in an artificially diminished inventory, and many will be force to “settle” for a property that does not meet all of their expectations.

But what will happen in the days after April 30, 2010? Many predict that the market will grind to a halt because buyers have come to depend on tax credits as part of the value proposition, and that once eliminated, there will be little or no reason to purchase real property.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Real estate has never been more affordable, and even though there may not be an immediate cash benefit via a tax credit, the opportunity to purchase value-priced real estate will continue to encourage buyers across the board to continue to invest in piece of America.

And the inventory of homes available for purchase will become normalized as buyers are motivated by the true market forces of supply and demand rather than a dangling carrot on a string.

So while there may be a few weeks of lower activity as the market stabilizes, eventually we will return to a market driven by a broader spectrum of buyers that are drawn to a better selection of properties at historically low prices.

Which should lead to a long, hot summer of real estate sales!

The role of a webmaster is not one of a singular undertaking, but instead, it requires the ability to of the developer to multitask in a variety of disciplines.

And while content is king, and consumes the highest percentage of allotted task time, the more mundane tasks of compliance and maintenance have to be addressed on a periodic schedule.

There is nothing more annoying to website visitors than dead links or missing or incomplete pages. What good is it to succeed in SEO only to lose the visitor because content is out of date or there are too many maintenance issues with the site.

I think that operating a website is a lot like gardening. You have to plant new material on a regular basis, nurture it with SEO and constantly weed out the spurious issues that arise, and remove aging growth that has already bloomed and is past its prime.

And it’s a never-ending cycle that requires dedication and perseverance. And like gardening, the reaping of the benefits may be many months down the line.

And the quality of the harvest will depend entirely on the strict adherence to sound farming principles.

Although summer draws the most visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, followed closely by hoards of October leaf-lookers, spring is a time of special beauty in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Since there are only a brief few weeks that are warm enough to allow the emergence of early blooming plants before the leaf canopy darkens the forest floor, the wildflowers appear en masse from mid-March through April.

Although the Park is known for magnificent vistas and enormous peaks, it’s always fun to enjoy the beauty “up close and personal!” And it’s fun to locate as many different kinds of blooms as possible.

My favorite wildflower viewing areas are Deep Creek near Bryson City, the Smokemont area north of the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center, and the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail near the Chimneys Picnic Area south of the Sugarland Park Headquarters.

If you have never visited the Smokies in the spring, I urge you to do so! You’ll avoid the crowds and experience a very special time of year in the mountains!

Photos courtesy of Richard Weisser and SmokyPhotos.com

I often hear complaints about how hard it is to purchase a home these days. It’s not only the bidding process on the home itself, but it’s really a lot harder to secure a mortgage.

There is a lot more documentation required, and the series of checks and balances along the way seem to be endless. Explanations are even required if Grandma gives you a hundred bucks as a birthday gift.

But haven’t we ALWAYS expected to go to a little more trouble to get a bargain? Isn’t that why customers camp out if front of stores on the eve of a big sale? We never complain about huge crowds or long lines at the cash register if the price of the item is low enough to justify the inconvenience.

And that’s where we are in the real estate market of today. The prices are LOW enough to justify a LOT of inconvenience. And while there are many more hoops through which to jump, the reward can be huge!

And while doing what needs to be done to purchase a home now can be a nuisance, it is relatively short term bother and eventually will be over.

But the benefits of a little trouble now can be enjoyed for the next thirty years!

There is a school of thought that believes that competition is primitive, and that an enlightened society should strive to eliminate it in every form.

However, competition is one of the most intense natural instincts imbedded into the genetic program for animal survival, and that fact is inescapable.

As animals, we instinctively compete for food, for territory, and for mates most likely to produce healthy offspring. It is the underlying principle of natural selection that subconsciously motivates us into action.

One needs only to visit the local supermarket before a snowstorm to realize just how intense the natural urges control behavior well beyond the boundaries of rational thought as the shelves are stripped in a frenzy of unbridled hoarding.

Competition in business drives us forward, and allows the fountainhead of thought to continually move us forward in technology and marketing. And while we may cooperate when necessary, it is competition that inspires us to excel.

There is no shame in being the best in your field of endeavor. One need not make excuses for superiority.

After all, it’s our nature to compete!

Photo: Men's 4X100 Relay 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

I often ask myself this question. If time and money were of no consequence, what would be my “dream” job?

Most people that know me would probably think that I would choose to be a professional photographer. And while it’s true that I love photographer and I am a serious amateur, I don’t really see that as a career choice for me.

If fact, I feel that my true calling is to be a trial lawyer. Not a title-searching, paper-signing, ten closings a day real estate attorney but a real legal gladiator desperately fighting to save himself and his client from jurisprudential ruin.

I often dream of making my final arguments in front of a jury, swaying them with both logic and the letter of the law. And it wouldn’t matter to me what side of the table I was on, as I could argue just about any case either way.

I guess that real estate has enough legal embers to keep the fire burning, but I’m ready to take this dream to the next level. I’m going to set the wheels in motion to make my dream a reality.

It’s going to take time, but I need something to do when I “retire” in a few years.

And I don’t have a lot of time left!

Egad! With all of the weather excitement and trying to squeeze in as much business as I can, the March 16^th deadline for filing corporate tax returns is less than two weeks away.

It’s hard to believe that the calendar is burning away so fast. I need to get my documents assembled as quickly as I can, and put the year of 2009 into its financial perspective.

Over all, it was not a very good year. Although sales were strong the average price of a sale dropped to the point where commissions barely exceed expenses. Sometimes they didn’t even cover the cost of facilitating the transaction.

But 2010 is starting strong, with a leaner and meaner approach that minimizes cash outlays and replaces them with a lot more personal effort.

And so I am very busy, and I am even on the verge of profitability. I’ll be glad to put 2009 in the file box of life and to never look back.

Instead, I will look forward into a better business future!

I decided to do a little server maintenance today. It’s something that I really mean to do a lot more frequently but there always seems to be some things that are higher on the priority list.

And in doing so, I examined my email accounts. I have to admit that I have a lot of them, but there was one that was completely full. All 250 megabytes of it!

So I configured Outlook to download the messages. As it turns out, there were nearly 7000 of them. After about ten minutes and with only a couple of hundred messages opened, I took a very rash and drastic action.

I deleted the account on the server, and set it up fresh and clean and devoid of content. It was very hard for me to do. Goodness only knows what might have been in those 6800 emails that I will never see.

I am certain that somewhere in the bowels of the abandoned mailbox mine was a rich vein of ore just waiting to be excavated, processed and refined into pure gold.

More than likely though, it was nothing more than adverts for those little blue pills and multiple communications from foreign nationals trying to deposit millions of dollars into my bank account.

Either way, I guess that I will never know.

It’s the second day of March, and there is a prediction for significant snowfall in the metro Atlanta area. “Significant” means one inch or more of the white stuff.

There are several considerations here that are noteworthy:

1)      This is Georgia.

2)      It is March.

3)      We have already had three snow storms this year.

But there is one interesting side effect of Mather’s Nature’s madness. In the past the mere mention of the “S” word would send Atlantans into a panic, assaulting grocery stores and stripping milk and bread from the shelves like deranged lunatics.

But now, we have become conditioned to the weather phenomenon. It’s just another work day. No fear, no panic, no stocking up on milk and bread.

We will go about our normal business today as seasoned snow veterans. We have made the grade! We have evolved.

It seems that a lot of the magic surrounding southern snow has melted away like so many snowmen.

And that’s a little sad.

A quick glance at the calendar tells me that it’s already the third month of the year. And it has been an eventful one so far.

There have been unprecedented snowfalls, the Winter Olympics, two major earthquakes in the Western Hemisphere and economic chaos.

As the first quarter of 2010 evaporates into history, it’s time to wet our finger and rise it aloft to see for ourselves if the winds of change are blowing in the right direction.

Many have predicted a modest recovery by the middle of the year. If that is to happen, the signs should begin to point in that direction.

The next two months are critical, and we as consumers can help by demonstrating confidence in the future. As we emerge from economic hibernation we must continue to go about the business of survival.

I sense that positive news is just around the corner. And I for one, am ready for it!

If this weekend is an indicator of things to come, the next two months are going to be very active in the Newnan and Coweta County real estate market.

The phone has been ringing off the hook with approved buyers seeking to grab a bargain priced house and grab a nice tax credit to boot.

And with interest rates still very low and with limits on seller contributions to closing soon to be enacted, there is a genuine sense of urgency to move now.

We are gearing up to make the dream of home ownership a reality for a many buyers as we can.

It is a noble calling, and we are ready and willing to fulfill it!

I went to preview a bank foreclosure for an out of state buyer yesterday. It was in a very rural area in the westernmost part of the county. And although it was chilly and a brisk wind was blowing, the sun was shining and it was a nice day for a drive.

The house was a bit of a disappointment, as it needed a lot more work than was expected, and that would probably keep it out of the buyer’s price range, There was termite damage and mold, much likely the result of water infiltration.

In addition the mechanical systems seemed to need repairs or replacement, making this particular property more of a project than a prospect. I took some photos to document the condition and then headed back to the truck.

It was that that I espied the glorious harbingers of Spring! There were clumps of the beautiful golden “jonquils,” as we call them in the south, in full bloom and announcing that finally, Spring is just around the corner!

And although these early birds typically bloom in February, this year has not been typical at all. It has been colder and snowier than I ever remember in my thirty-seven years of living in the area!

My attitude changed at the moment I saw these yellow blooms. I am rejuvenated, and ready for anything. My entire outlook on life is now one of excited anticipation!

Spring has sprung, and I for one, am glad!

Life is full of decisions. And there are two ways to approach the decision making process.

One option is to throw caution to the wind and plunge headfirst and willy-nilly into the dilemma and accept any consequences that might result.

The other is to first gather all of the information that you need, then carefully parse it, then analyze it, and finally come to a conclusion based on facts rather than chance.

And while sometimes it’s fun and spontaneous to venture into the unknown, it is probably not the best long-term practice for a successful business.

Because taking just one wrong turn might take you to “the end of the line!”

Real estate is not for the timid or faint of heart. Every aspect of the business involves a deadline of one kind of another.

Listings have a deadline. Contracts have many deadlines, for inspections, financing, appraisal, resolution, closing and others. Not to mention limited time frames for rate “lock-ins” or sale of property contingencies.  It is always a race against the clock.

In addition to all of the internal drop dead dates that are always pressing us forward, we also have to deal with external deadlines, such as the April 30^th expiration of the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

All of these ticking clocks can easily merge and transmute into one giant pressure cooker, and the stress can be intense. It takes steady nerves and a calm demeanor to rationally defuse a potential blow-up.

Life on the edge of the precipice can be both exhilarating and exasperating, but it’s all part of the real estate business.

And there’s no way to avoid it!

I have some good friends that spent a long weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At some point, they decided that it would be nice to experience the park up close and personal with a hike to the very popular Abrams Falls in the Cades Cover area of the park.

It’s two and a half miles from the trailhead to the falls, and of course it’s exactly the same distance back to the parking area. And the trail is considered “moderate,” with some elevation changes, and the typical roots and rocks that you have to step over on mountain trails.

Many people that are unfamiliar with hiking mountain trails do not realize how long it can take to walk a mile, and that a five mile trip can be quite strenuous. Many fail to carry drinking water and blister patches and other hiking necessities.

And once you are two and a half miles from the car, there is no way back other than to retrace your steps and to keep your now exhausted body moving. The last mile is always the longest!

Preparation and proper dress are key to enjoying the park in the more remote areas. Dressing appropriately, having good hiking boots and adequate provisions will make the experience enjoyable instead of painful!

I know that next time, my friends will be better prepared. And I hope that their blisters heal soon!

Photos: Abrams Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park courtesy of SmokyPhotos.com.

I mean REALLY! For whatever reason, all of our financial systems run on a monthly cyclical basis, and when there are fewer days in the month, we get less time for our money.

Our mortgages, utility bills, and now ALL credit cards (effective today) are due on the same day each month. And if that month happens to have only twenty-eight days, so be it.

Somewhere out there someone is making BILLIONS of dollars on this bizarre anomaly of the calendar. And it’s not like we don’t have enough months with a day to spare.

Of course, some people with birthdays on the 31^st of the month might lose out if their day was taken and applied to February! But there are a lot of “leap year babies” out there now and they seem to deal with it somehow!

And although I offer this article with tongue firmly implanted in cheek, that doesn’t change this simple fact:

I hate short months!

It’s probably a side-effect of the unseasonably cold weather here in Newnan, Georgia, but it feels like I have been spending an abnormally large amount of time staring at the LCD on my laptop.

But today, the spring-like weather is beckoning me to emerge from hibernation and to get outside and have a look. There’s a whole world out there waiting to emerge from the doldrums of torpor and to get out and discover new and exciting things.

It’s amazing how our internal body clocks and basic animal instincts take over, and refusal to give in to the primeval urges are pointless and futile. Nature calls us out to continue the eternal quest for survival of both ourselves individually and the species as a whole.

But I guess we don’t need to understand the scientific reasons WHY a beautiful day rejuvenates our spirits and replenishes our soul.

We just need to enjoy it!

It reached 60 degrees on a beautiful day in Newnan Georgia today. After all, this is supposed to be the sunny south!

Tomorrow we are expected to hit 67 degrees, but after that we will gradually return back to unseasonably cool weather, as Thursday’s HIGH temperature is predicted to only achieve the 35 degree mark!

This has been the coldest winter that I can recall since I moved to Georgia in 1973. We have experienced floods and heavy snowfall when typically we would be playing golf or working in the winter garden.

So I’ll enjoy the warm day tomorrow and will try to get going with some outside chores around the house. It’s something that I’m actually looking forward to doing!

Atlanta, like many other cities in the United States, has a perimeter highway that circles the metro area.

I-285 has long been used both as a traffic conduit and as a line of demarcation for real estate location, as a property is designated as either being “inside” or “outside” the perimeter.

Today, I will get to experience the loop in its entirety, as commitments will compel me to circumnavigate the entire sixty-four mile loop and soak up as much of the Atlanta traffic mania that I can.

It’s kind of strange to drive that far to get back to where you started. After all, we use the expression “I’m going around in circles” quite a bit in real estate today.

Bur rarely do we do it by design!

I have a very bad habit. I tend to preface a lot of my statements with the phrase: “You’re not going to believe this, but,” even though I have been admonished many times not to do so.

After all, if I don’t think that the listener is going to believe me I am either challenging my own veracity or indicating that I doubt their ability to comprehend what I am saying. Either way it doesn’t add to or embellish the message that I am attempting to deliver.

Another commonly misused inquiry is: “Do you have a minute?” We all know that the conversation that is about to ensue will be much longer than a minute. As a matter of fact, these dialogs typically only end with something like: "I have an appointment that I need to get to!”

Last but not least, is the question “What do you know about ______________?” This is not a scientific study about your level of genius, but is going to result in a plea for assistance on some problem that has already progressed beyond the event horizon of recovery. You’d better check your watch and your calendar before you answer that question.

And now, “you’re not going to believe this , but if you have a minute I need to ask what do you know about,,,,”