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

There real estate business is fraught with twists and turns that can suddenly derail any transaction. These days, selling real estate is almost like walking on rice paper. You must tread very lightly or you will tear through the paper and have to start over.

So when things go awry, it’s always better to have an alternative plan already in place. It can speed up the process, reduce the stress, and inspire more confidence in the action.

Answering the “what if” question ahead of time also strengthens your negotiating position. The fear of losing a deal becomes less significant if one knows in advance that other options are available.

The fear of the unknown is powerful and leads to anxiety and distress.

But knowing in advance where you are provides a comfort level that can make life easier and more pleasant!

And can help get the deal done!

Arbor Springs Plantation in Newnan Georgia is one of the most desirable and sough-after communities in Coweta County. Excellent prices, incomparable amenities and convenient location all contribute to the neighborhood’s reputation as THE place to live in Newnan!

The location is unbeatable, just minutes from two major interchanges on I-85, giving homeowners easy access to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Downtown Atlanta. It’s also just a short drive to the Newnan shopping district with every conceivable store and restaurant and to historic downtown Newnan.

Since all of the homes are custom built under the auspices of strict architectural control and stringent community guidelines, the diverse arrays of style and floor plans is second to none in the county.

Added to that is one of the most challenging 18-hole championship golf courses in the region, multiple fishing lakes and recreation areas, and the abundance of allocated greenspace that create a park-like ambience.

The centerpiece of the neighborhood is the fabulous Coweta Club, which operates the golf course and 15,000 square foot clubhouse. Inside, the Coweta Grill offers tasty creations and a fully equipped bar is perfect for sipping a concoction while overlooking the manicured surroundings.

Home prices within the subdivision range from the high $200,000’s to $2,000,000. Currently, there is a broad selection of homes currently being offered for sale. Whether your preference is Georgian, Victorian, Craftsman or any other style of architecture, there may be a home that is just right for you currently available.

But if you need a truly custom built home to your exact specifications, there is an ample supply of good building lots currently available. Lot prices start under $100K and it is easy to find one that is just right for any home that you choose to build.

No Newnan home-buying excursion  would be complete without a trip to Arbor Springs Plantation. It has become the de facto standard neighborhood that sets the bar home-finding excursion to Coweta County Georgia for all others!

Sometimes the struggles of everyday life can become an all-consuming obsession. It is very easy to fall into a daily ritual of doing what is necessary to survive.

Work days are divided into ever growing “to-do” lists, with most of our efforts being applied to mundane exercises and perfunctory obligations.

Some years ago, it might have been said that the indicators of change were temporary, mere blue blips on the overall radar screen of life.

Many are still attempting to ride out the storm in a futile attempt to endure the tempest until the winds subside and calm returns.

Ignoring the harsh realities will not make them go away. Sometime introspection followed by action in the only way to alter ones destiny.

You never know where the unfamiliar road will take you.

You will always only know where you have already been.

The Greenville - Lagrange Historic District in Newnan Georgia is a classic downtown neighborhood featuring every type of architecture from Greek Revival to Victorian.

Coweta County was formed after Chief William McIntosh ceded Creek lands in Western Georgia by signing the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825. The frontier town of Newnan soon attracted both wealthy planters and prosperous merchants, and remained one of the wealthiest towns in the country until the 1970’s.

Much of this grandeur remains visible today in the stately mansions along both Greenville and LaGrange streets, including “Buena Vista,” which served as Confederate Headquarters during the Civil War Battle of Brown’s Mill in 1863, and “Sans Souci,” an excellent example of Victorian excess!

But history aside, the neighborhood is still as alive and vibrant today as it was in the nineteenth century. The tree-lined side streets are dotted with cottages and smaller homes, and there is a wide variety of properties for sale at any given time, and at a price point that is appealing to a broad spectrum of budget constraints!

A short walk North along the shaded sidewalks will take you to the new Greenville Street Park, which features a public open-air amphitheater which is popular for weekend concerts. The park also features year-round gardens, a picnic area, and a fountain

Just beyond the Park is the architecturally pristine downtown area, with all of its specialty shops and restaurants, and the Old Courthouse Square.

The Greenville - Lagrange Historic District is served by two interchanges on I-85, which provides easy access to the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Downtown Atlanta. It’s thirty miles and a hundred years from the big city!

So for those seeking the comforts offered by laid-back lifestyle of the historic south, and yet desire to be near all of the latest amenities and conveniences that the 21^st Century has to offer, the Greenville - Lagrange Historic District should be considered as a premier moving destination.

Why not plan a visit to the area right now?

I went to a jam session at a friend’s house last night. Nothing fancy or formal, just a fun group of music enthusiasts that likes to pick guitars and do a little off key singing.

We had a new player in the group last night. She had met us during one of our tavern performances and mentioned that she played the guitar. So she brought her guitar seemed to have trouble “jumping in” as we played. So it was logical to assume that she might not play all that well and so well-intentioned tips were offered.

As it turns out, it wasn’t a lack of proficiency that kept her from participating, it was our musical selections. When we asked her to play a song or two that she liked she dazzled us with classical renditions of Beethhoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” “Ninth Symphony,” and “Fűr Elise.”

We were awestruck as we watched her fingers fly along the frets and we heard notes that apparently our guitars can’t even create.

The lesson to be learned from this is a simple one. It is sometimes better to find your niche field of expertise and learn to do it very well than it is to cover as broad a spectrum as possible at a moderate level of performance.

By narrowing your scope you can focus on becoming the best that you can be with specialized training and lots of practice. And if you don’t fit in with the rest of “the group,” so much the better!

Because the soloist always stands out from the rest of the crowd!

The College-Temple Historic District in beautiful Downtown Newnan Georgia is one of the town’s most charming and historically significant neighborhoods.

The centerpiece of the community is the Male Academy Museum and the adjacent Temple Avenue Park. The Male Academy opened in 1883 as an all boys private school, and today the building houses a collection of historic artifacts and archives.

The two and a half acre Temple Avenue Park is a passive common green with beautiful blooming shrubs and trees, quiet walkways, a gazebo and a fountain.

This park is also the home of the Coweta Veterans' Memorial Plaza. The plaza was just recently dedicated on Memorial Day, 2009, and pays tribute to all Coweta County citizens that served their country in the armed forces!

The district boasts many antebellum homes. Since Newnan served as a hospital town for both the Federal and Confederate armies, it was spared the torches of William Tecumseh Sherman. The College-Temple Historic district also features Victorian era homes and early Twentieth Century dwellings.

The tree-lined streets have level sidewalks and very conducive for walking tours. In spring, the entire neighborhood is resplendent with blooms of every color and fragrance, and a walk around a block is akin to visiting a botanical garden.

And best of all, the entire community is walking distance from Downtown Newnan, which is also designated on the Nation Register as an historic district. The shops and restaurants of downtown attract diners, visitors and shoppers from across the county and beyond.

Prices for resale homes in the district range from about the $150,000’s for a quaint two bedroom cottage on up to a million dollars for a classic antebellum home that has been updated to twenty-first century standards.

But for those that wish to enjoy the unique lifestyle of classic southern charm and graceful living without sacrificing any modern amenities, the College-Temple Historic District should be placed on the “must-see” list in Newnan Georgia.

It’s definitely worth having a look!

Note: “Photos of historic homes are for documentary and informational purposes only.

Lately I have been using FaceBook to search for old friends and acquaintances that I knew many years ago.

And when I say OLD friends, I really mean it literally! I have reunited with some of the “kids” from the old neighborhood in which I was raised. A few that I have not seen in nearly fifty years!

And so it has become increasingly apparent that somewhere in between playing with toy cars and trucks or wiffle ball in the back yard and today, that entire lifetimes have elapsed. There have been marriages and divorces and children born and in some cases grandchildren and entire episodes of life’s dramas have played through to their culmination!

Their moms and dads that were instrumental in raising us are now very elderly or have passed on. Some of the “kids” are now retired. It’s hard for me to think of them that way.

I guess that at some point comes the realization that even people that we interact with for relatively short periods of our lifespan have a significant impact on who we are and what we are all about. I look back to those days in Imperial Woods with fondness and many happy memories.

And it’s nice to reminisce about the good times with old friends!

I talk to potential buyers every day. Most of them give me a call about a specific property they have seen on the Internet that they want to see right away.

At some point in the initial conversation, I ask if they have talked to a lender about prequalification. Most admit that they have not, but indicate that they have excellent credit and have purchased many homes in the past.

Often, when I try to tell them that the criteria for obtaining a loan are much more stringent these days, they feel like I just don’t want to show them the property. That is only partially true. I don’t want to show them property until they talk to a lender.

There is nothing worse than having a buyer fall in love with a property that they later discover that they cannot purchase. It is morally devastating and a frustrating waste of time and effort.

It is much better start the process correctly, and to have a preapproval letter in hand, ready to attach to an offer to purchase. No time is lost, and the offer is much more appealing to the seller.

And even more importantly, it is better to discover potential stumbling blocks early in the game, when they can be addressed and corrected.

So when I ask a buyer to speak to a lender, I am not putting them off unnecessarily.  I am only doing my job as a professional to serve them better.

And to help you get the best deal on your next home purchase.

There are many new realities in the real estate market today. One of them is that buyers want to make low offers on many properties, in an effort to determine if any of them will “stick.”

Buyers also want to know early on which sellers are willing to “work with them,” and which ones are inflexible with price and terms.

And since preparing the typical real estate offer is arduous and time consuming, there has to be a better way to negotiate an acceptable purchase and sale agreement.

How much netter would it be to offer a simple “Letter of Intent,” either written or entered online, that addresses specific items such as price and seller concessions to be followed with a contract only if and when the basic terms are acceptable?

The letter would essentially consist of sales price, closing costs, length of due diligence, closing date, and all special stipulations.

Once accepted, a purchase and sale agreement would be proffered within a limited time frame, perhaps two days.

It would encourage more offers, speed up the process, and save a lot of time that is currently being wasted on deals that will never happen.

And it could help shrink the current inventory of properties on the market, which is good for everyone!

I went to photograph a HUD home today in an area that was not familiar to me. But I felt confident in my ability to locate the property, because I had my trusty GPS navigational device on board.

I knew that the house was in a remote area, but I was surprised when the pavement ended on the road that I was traveling for the first time and with seven miles remaining to the property.

Then, things took a horrible turn …literally! I was directed through an area that had just been logged, and the road was rutted, pitted, rocky, flooded and washed away in places. And worst of all, there were still miles more to travel.

At one point, I realized that it was impossible to turn back, and that my only hope would be to find another way out of the nightmarish landscape of mud and debris.

Finally, we came to the road the on which the property was located, and it was PAVED! Not only was it paved to the house, on the return trip we discovered that it was paved all the way to a major highway!

It seems that the GPS had calculated the shortest route without regard to the condition of the road. In this case, it nearly had me stuck in the middle of nowhere.

From now on, I’ll be sure to check a map before heading out into unfamiliar territory. Technology is great, but if we depend on it too much we might be taking unnecessary risks.

And the consequences could be dramatic!

Spring is arriving late here in Georgia. The blooming trees and shrubs all seem to have been confused by all of the Winter weather that we have experienced, but after a few warm days the explosion of profuse flowering has commenced in earnest.

We typically see these first blooms in early March, and by the equinox the first green leaves have already pushed out. But this year is far from typical.

Not entirely coincidentally, the pattern of the real estate business seems to be paralleling the weather. As the daily temperatures have warmed up so has the desire of buyers to capitalize on all of the excellent purchasing opportunities that have been lingering in the cold.

It’s looks like it’s going to be a red hot Spring!

It is a well known fact that real estate agents are Type “A: personalities, and as a rule, we are control freaks.

And so whenever anything goes awry in the course of our daily business, we always believe that we can fix it and get everything back on the right path.

But in reality, there are many things that are completely out of our control. And that is truer today than ever before, due to the tightening of mortgage regulations and modifications to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. (RESPA)

It is sometimes very hard to accept the fact that if others are derelict in their obligations, it could hurt innocent third parties and there is not a thing that we can do about it other than rant or rave.

Sometimes it is hard to let it go and walk away. But sometime, you have no other choicer if you want to remain mentally healthy.

And I desperately need to preserve what is left of my sanity!

Every other Friday night, a group of friends and I gather up our instruments and electronics and head to a local watering hole to create some musical magic.

And while we know how to play nearly a thousand songs, the odds of one of us knowing all of the lyrics from start to finish is fairly remote. As a matter of fact, we often find ourselves looking to each other with that quizzical look that asks: “line?”

For a guitar player, once the licks are committed to memory the seemingly innocuous task of learning the words seems inconsequential.

This is not unusual in any endeavor. There is a natural tendency to conquer the major elements quickly, and to set aside the “minor details” for either a later time or to depend on someone else to take up the slack.

But in reality, without all of the details in place, there is never a cohesive effort that results in a successful conclusion. All that remains is a lot of hard work with nothing of significance to show for it.

The devil is indeed in the details. And there is nothing to be gained by overlooking them.

If you need to ship important documents or goods you might consider sending it via the United States Postal Service’s Priority Mail.

After all, the word “priority” connotes placing the urgency of this delivery ahead of other, less time sensitive mailings.

Even the USPS.com website indicates a speedy delivery:

Take the guesswork out of shipping with Priority Mail® Flat Rates. Whatever fits in the box or envelope ships for one low rate—anywhere in the United States. There's virtually no weighing or calculating. And your packages reach their destination in 2-3 days. (USPS.com)

This is however, factually not true. The Postal service does NOT guarantee delivery of any mail except Express Mail. Your package could take a week, a month, a year or never be delivered at all, and unless you insure the contents, you have no recourse.

Any complaint about slow delivery times will only result in the recitation of “The only guaranteed service is Express Mail.”

This is despite the fact the Post Office is constitutionally charged under law to provide these necessary services.

So if you need to ship important, time-sensitive materials, I advise you to NOT use Priority Mail.

It’s a very low priority to the Postal Service,

St. Patrick’s Day enjoys the unique attribute of being directly associated with a very specific country and its inhabitants, its emigrants and all of their descendants!

And as March 17^th rolls around every year, men and women from all lineages and backgrounds discover that there is a little Irish in all of us.

The day is associated with joy and revelry, and the green of the Emerald Isle that soon will emerge as spring conquers winter’s grip of gray and brown and replaces them with verdant fresh growth!

So although the equinox is yet  a few days away, St. Paddy’s day is still the first day of spring as far as I am concerned.

And I will proudly don my green today!

If I had one and only one tip to pass on to a budding photography student, it would to look at the world around us from a different perspective.

And that would be to look at photography subjects not as objects or collections, but to observe them as assemblages of various degrees of light.

As the eye moves from reality to the focal plane, the brain must perceive the nuances of both shadow and reflection. It is not instinctive, but rather, it is a skill that can be honed with practice.

Morning and evening light is the best, as the lower angle and intensity creates natural contrast that makes photos come alive!

Photography is light. And understanding the properties of light will lead to better photos!

Yesterday I needed to call a business colleague in another state. I didn’t have his phone number handy but I was sitting in front of my computer.

So I simply Googled his name and his city and state, and got only one search return. It was a website with NO telephone number to be found. So I added his profession into the search mix and still nothing.

This professional was Internet-invisible. Which in this day and age seems almost unthinkable? I wonder how many other people have tried to locate him in the past only to be confronted with nada in the information department.

The Internet is no longer an adjunct to our system of information distribution. It is the go-to place where the overwhelming majority of people from all walks of life begin their searches for goods and services.

And it’s so cost effective that NOT having a strong Internet presence is just bad business.

And it can be frustrating for anyone trying to find you!

The morning after the Spring time change always leaves one a little bleary and confused. It seems like such a silly notion to defy nature and to alter time in a futile effort to improve productivity or life in general.

Especially since the biannual switch was designed to accommodate the average 9:00 – 5:00 worker and allow ample light to work in a ‘Victory Garden.” Since few workers are on a regular daily shift now and even fewer still have a garden that requires tending in the late hours of the evening, the practice seems a bit outdated.

It leaves in its wake a bunch of sleepyheads that take weeks to adjust to later sunrises and sunsets. But it is what it is and we all have to deal with it in our own way.

The world waits for no one, and time marches on. So have a second cup of coffee and get going!

I think that I’m going to need a third cup!

Just a quick reminder that Daylight Savings Time officially starts at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday March 14, 2010.

The clocks will be moved forward as we “lose and hour” to adjust to the longer duration of daylight, and our internal body clocks will have to adjust to getting up an hour earlier.

But the extra hour of daylight in the evening is perfect for getting to work on the lawn and garden and all of those other outdoor projects that were put on hold for the winter.

I find it interesting that many of our new time telling devices automatically make the change for us. Every year it seems that I have to manually reset fewer and fewer clocks. Technology has relieved a lot of the time-changing burden for us!

But there is one thing that technology cannot do for us. We will still need to replace the batteries in our smoke alarms!

And that could save our lives!

I had to get some very important documents to a government office today. I called and got BOTH an email address and a fax number.

In order to make certain that the documents arrived in time; I sent them via both methods. I got a fax confirmation and the email did not bounce back, so I assumed that I was covered and that the documents were received in good order.

But the gnawing feeling in my stomach would not let me rest. These documents were VERY important, so I did a follow-up phone call just to be sure.

Turns out that their email was down and the fax was nowhere to be found. Had I just assumed they had the documents in hand, I would be in big trouble. Instead, I sent them while the person on the phone watched for them, and finally, it was confirmed that they had what they needed.

Never assume and always confirm.

I knew better and I’m glad that I did!