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

Today I will be closing out fiscal year 2011 for my business. And while the numbers were not completely disappointing, the amount of stress and hardship really was not commensurate with compensation.

Which begs the question: “WHY?”

Why indeed. The real estate world has become one of complete chaos. There are those that follow the rules and those that don’t. And even when there are no shenanigans afoot, new twists and turns tend to wreak havoc on EVERY transaction.

It is a natural law that entropy will continue to erode stability. Order will continue to deteriorate with each passing moment.

We can continue to choose to ignore the handwriting on the wall or we can make preparations.

Perhaps the Mayans were on to something after all!

The question I have been asked most often in the last few weeks is: What is the outlook for the real estate market in 2012?

It’s an interesting question, because there are many dynamic factors involved in the state of housing in North America.

First and foremost are the immutable laws of supply and demand. If there is more product than there are consumers, the market will continue to decline.

And while we can’t change the rules of the axiom, we can certainly control the variables. Either the supply of homes for sale has to be reduced or the number of buyers has to increase, a bit of both would be great.

The best way to increase demand is to make mortgages easier to obtain. We don’t want to return to the debacle of the early 2000’s but a little sanity in the underwriting process would help.

Many consumers with good credit scores want to buy houses but they can’t because of guidelines that have caused such trepidation regarding default that the money is kept safely tucked away and out of the hands of would-be buyers.

Alternatively, we need to figure out more ways to keep people in their houses that want to stay but have suffered a financial or personal setback. The flood of foreclosures continues, and many of the displaced homeowners that I have spoken indicated that they tried to work out an arrangement with their mortgage holders but were unsuccessful.

Unfortunately, nothing has been done to significantly affect real estate in the upcoming year. And so any real estate recovery is totally dependent on the economy as a whole. As the economy goes, and as jobs are created, so goes the real estate market.

And since 2012 is an Presidential election year, one should expect some temporary economic remedies being set into action to skew the numbers by November.

As a result, the real estate market should fare slightly better in the second and third quarters of 2012. The market will be far from robust, but it will be a bit stronger than 2011.

2012 offers some promise for better times ahead. However, just how much better it will be is still anybody’s guess.

With each passing year our standard Georgia Association of Realtors (GAR) contract forms are revised to adapt to an ever changing real estate universe.

Generally speaking, most changes to preprinted real estate contracts are reactionary and not preemptive. Whether successful or not, litigation drives change and most contract updates are specifically designed to avoid lawsuits.

These annual tweaks cost money. A lot of money. And the money comes from the dues paying members of the Board of Realtors. For years non-members have been getting a free ride.

Beginning in January 2012, the GAR contracts forms will no longer be available free of charge to brokers or agents that are not Realtors. Any agent or broker that wishes to continue to use the GAR forms that is not a Realtor will have to pay an annual license fee of $199.

It is not a punitive measure. The intention is to share the burden of expense with everyone that uses the forms, board member or not.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. There is some expectation of contract chaos in the first few weeks of the year.

Only time will tell.

Now that we are in the ‘tween” week between Christmas and New year’s Day, it’s time to wrap up the year.

I only have one more closing scheduled for this week, and so my 2011 business is pretty much concluded. But there is plenty that needs to be done in order to start 2012 off with a bang!

For whatever reason, I have always preferred even numbered years. Not to mention the fact that 2012 is a presidential election year and an Olympic year which will make for some pretty interesting events throughout the course of the year.

And so I am already moving new ideas from the drawing board to the implementation stage. Twenty-twelve is shaping up to be a formidable challenge.

My ‘tween week will be busy and interesting. And hopefully, it will be a harbinger of good things to come!

As a child of the 1950’s that was reared in a very large family Christmas has a special place in my heart.

In the days before video games and smart phones, Santa brought real toys for good girls and boys, and even those of us that were on the “marginal” list were rewarded with a treasure trove of new goodies!

Every Christmas Morning started the same way: Sleepy eyed children attempting to negotiate the stairs while being blinded by the array of intense movie lights that lit up the room like the sun.

As a result, all of the old movies are similarly themed. Most depicted small children shielding their eyes and wincing. And although the old films were silent, I am quite certain in real time there was a significant amount of screaming.

But the real noise started with the opening of all of the gifts. And even though we received little by today’s standards, when there are ten kids getting presents there were plenty of new toys and games to go around.

The din escalated throughout the day with the arrival of aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and friends of the family.

Every room was filled with people and the accompanying competition to be heard.

After being blinded by the light and deafened by the noise, we were stuffed with delicious homemade food.

Most of my fondest Christmas  memories revolve around cookies. My mother was Italian and cookies were as big a part of Christmas as anything. She would start backing in November and the freezer would be full of the confections by Christmas day.

My sisters maintain the cookie tradition to this day, and a trip to their homes on the holiday would rival any bakery anywhere!

Christmas will always be a big part of my life. And I will still have some trouble seeing and hearing today, but it will be due to the passage of time and the toll that the years have taken on me.

But if I close my eyes and listen very carefully, I will be there again.

Because that’s the magic of Christmas!

In the many years that have passed since my childhood, the holiday season has consistently expanded in length, scope and complexity.

As our society moves forward, we seek to retain our traditional ties to our past while at the same time, embrace the new interpretations of what the holidays mean to us as a culture.

The annual influx of “new” activities and additional rites by nature multiplies the amount of “celebrating” in which we will participate.

It can be overwhelming at times. And of course, there is a breaking point at which one becomes so jaded by all of the hoopla that the significance of the anniversary diminishes.

I for one, will never be bored by all of the seasonal revelry with all of it’s accompanying demands on both my time and psyche.

As far as I am concerned the bigger the better! I can’t get enough of it!

It always has, and always will be, my favorite time of the year!

With Christmas less than two days away, it is time to move from denial to acceptance.

As we attempt to reconcile our intentions with our actual accomplishments, there is usually a shortfall in the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” column on the balance sheet.

One might choose to engage in a fruitless frantic frenzy in an attempt to salvage their “Currier and Ives” or “Dickensian” ideal of what the holiday should be.

My preference is to sit back, relax, say to myself; “it is what it is” and enjoy the holidays without regret or self-loathing!

Instead, I’ll celebrate with family and dear friends who won’t even have an inkling of what I have or have not done as far as my” window dressing” chores.

We’ll just share our love enjoy the company of each other.

And that is the most precious gift of all!

Last night at 12:30 AM EST, the tilt of the earth relative to its solar orbital position achieved the maximum declination in the Southern Hemisphere.

As a result, here in the Northern Hemisphere we will endure the minimum amount of daylight between sunrise and sunset.

It’s the official “first day” of Winter,” and the beginning of the next phase of seasons as defined by both scientists and theologians alike.

It is NOT coincidental that the winter holidays for most cultures occur during this period of extreme darkness. Even the most ancient societies realized the significance of this astronomical event and observed rites and rituals to herald the threshold of new light and a fresh calendar.

As we combat the darkness with holiday lights, it is good to pause and reflect on the upcoming new year, and begin to look forward the new Spring that will assuredly follow.

And despite the limitations on lumens, the inevitable arrival of our holidays will press us into action to get everything done that needs to be done.

So today will be a busy one and I need to get going.

Because daylight or not, I have plenty to do!

In many ways when it comes to holiday music I am a traditionalist. It seems that in most cases, the older the song, the better I like it.

I love the ancient tunes from the middle ages. “Adeste Fidelis (O Come all ye Faithful).)” “Greensleeves (What Child is this,)” and  “In Dulci Jubilo (Good Christian Men Rejoice)” are among my favorites.

I also love the nineteenth century classics such as “Stille Nacht (Slilent Night,)” “Un Flabeau Jeanette, Isabella (Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella,)” and “Cantique de Noel (O holy Night.)”

As far as modern songs go, I love Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song,” which by the way is a guitar players dream because the chord progressions are awesome, and John Lennon’s haunting “Happy Xmas/War is Over.”

How about you? What is your favorite holiday song?”

Although it seems like centuries ago, just a few years back the holidays were treated a lot different in the real estate business.

In those better times, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas were populated with a continual stream of vendors and affiliates arriving at the office bearing gifts of food and drink and other goodies.

The perpetual holiday buffet of freebies left little appetite for supper, as we feasted on sweet and savory treats of every sort and description. It was a veritable Bacchanalia of celebration that was eagerly anticipated each December.

However due to the current state of the market, the former torrent of delectable edibles has slowed to a trickle. Actually, more like a dripping faucet.

The “Glory Days” of real estate are over. And now the concept of “belt-tightening” is more than a mere expression!

I have to do it to keep my pants up!

In an ever changing fast paced world that affects our lives in so many ways, the one constant is Christmas.

No matter how old we are and how many Christmases we have commemorated the spirit of the holiday ALWAYS takes us back to the magical times of our youth.

Christmas is a direct connection to our past that stirs the soul and warms the heart.

It is also a time to look back and remember those that are no longer with us. And even though these loved ones are no longer with us in the flesh, they live on in our traditions and remembrances.

And while it is true that people come and go and our circumstances dramatically change as life goes on, the one constant that both binds us to our past and renews our hope for the future is Christmas.

This season we will sing the same ancient carols that we have year after year, we will watch the glorious old movies that we have since we were kids, and we will eat and drink the traditional fare that just makes Christmas feel like Christmas!

Because the more things change the more they stay the same.

And the one constant is Christmas!

It happens EVERY holiday season. There are always things that we wanted to do, projects that we wanted to complete, and new traditions that we wanted to initiate.

But there is an inverse proportional relationship between holiday time and well-intentioned opportunity. As time continues to accelerate at an ever increasing rate with each passing hour opportunity diminishes with each passing second.

We are rapidly approaching the “event horizon for calendar year 2011. It’s time for a reckoning of what will actually get done this year, and what will be relegated to the “wait until next year” list.

Eeady or not, the holidays will come and go

There is still time to just sit back and enjoy the season!

The proliferation of photography due to the digital explosion has had both good and bad consequences.

On the good side, digital photography is inexpensive, relatively automatic, and easily instantaneously shared with as many eyes as you can convince to look at it.

On the bad side, all of those same reasons have led to a plethora of poor photographs prodigiously promulgated publicly.

A good photograph can be the result of one of two possibilities: It can either be the result of winning the “digital lottery” in which one takes as many chances as possible and hopes that there is a winner, or it can be the result of careful planning, proper equipment and set-up, correct lighting and having a complete understanding of what you expect to achieve BEFORE the shutter is released.

Knowing your photographic intent is essential before any of the above mentioned steps can be implemented. The photographer should try to visualize the desired result in order to choose a course of action that will lead to producing a permanent and lasting work of art.

And because digital photography is so inexpensive, one can experiment at will, note the results, and learn the craft “on the fly.”

My advice to novice photographers: Learn by doing, but try to remember how you did it!

As your skill set grows, so will your confidence.

Post edited: In case you are wondering...

Photograph 1 ... Christmas lights from moving position F8 at 6 seconds.

Photograph 2 .... Night forest, F5.6 at 30 seconds ... minimal color enhanced slightly.

Photograph 3 ... Set shot with flash ... F22 @ 1/125 seconds

Homeowner’s associations or “HOAs” have become the bane of the contemporary real estate transaction.

In theory, an HOA is a good thing. It provides an opportunity to establish rules, standards and guidelines for a community for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life and preserving property values.

In practice, many HOA boards are rife with ignorance of the law at best and corruption at the worst. Overzealous officers and directors often can derail a closing with ill-advised attempts to collect monies to which they are not legally entitled.

When faced with these obvious extortions at the most inopportune times, most parties will simply cave in for convenience and pay the money to expedite the closing.

My advice? Pay the money, close, and then SUE SUE SUE!

Judgments seem to have a way of modifying behavior.

It has been said that bird-watching is the most popular hobby in theUnited States. Many of us put out a feeder to attract different species of birds to our homes.

We enjoy identifying the birds that visit our feeders. Some are transient, some are seasonal, and many are year round regulars that have come to depend on a reliable source of food.

And the fact that they do indeed become dependent on a regular food supply makes it incumbent upon us to maintain the resource throughout the winter months.

Even though the cost of bird seed has risen dramatically over the last few years, once we have assumed the responsibility of controlling bird populations and feeding habits we must also continue to ensure that food is available.

The rewards far exceed the expense. It's a great way to see many species of birds "up close and personal!"

Our fine feathered friends are truly depending on us.

Let’s not let them down!

The holidays are upon us and time has become even more precious. As a real estate processional, I am always busy. If you throw in the seasonal demands of family gatherings and social obligations, every second become precious.

So it is not unusual for time to be meted less generously for suddenly secondary interaction in the online world of social networking. The meting of minutes for cyber pursuits dwindles consistently until the new year arrives.

There is still something to be said for the “face to face” in the “here and now!” We are social animals and we still need to live amongst real living and breathing human beings!

And so if I am not as active online during December as the rest of the year, please forgive me.

Because I will be spending time with those of you that are NEAR as well as dear to me!

Daylight dwindles, the Solstice looms
To herald Winter’s dark and gloom
Yet glowing warmth will pierce the night
To cheer the soul with festive lights!
                          (R Weisser 2011) 

One of my favorite aspects of the holidays is the proliferation of outdoor lighting displays. As winter approaches, the surety of impending storms and long hours of darkness are mitigated by the once-a-year festival of lights.

We always take advantage of the collective efforts of thousands of local revelers by taking drives to see the lights with holiday music playing in the background, or by walking through our community to see our neighbor’s efforts.

What is interesting is that year after year, you can tell if the same people live in a house by their decorations. And if you don’t see what you expect, you begin to wonder: “Did they move?” or “Do you think they are all right?”

And sometimes, someone just decides to go “all-out” with the decorations, and becomes one of those “destination” places that people travel from far and wide to see.

As long as I can remember, holiday lights have played a huge role in defining the season as one of joy and gaiety.

It’s seasonal, it’s fun, and it’s inspiring. And I love it!

Question: What about your area? Are holiday lights a prevalent tradition where you live?

Since the first drums were carved and wild reeds were hollowed, music has belonged to the generation that created it.

As a child of the late 50’s and 60’s, my key musical influences were Rock and Roll and the British invasion. And although fifty years and countless new songs have been proliferated since my “Glory Days,” I will still stop what I am doing when I here Elvis belting out a hardcore rock number or the Beatles harmonizing in 4/4 time.

And so when I perform in public, I am often asked to play a song that I don’t know or have perhaps never even heard.

That’s understandable because although I have over a thousand songs memorized, and several more thousands that are easily interpreted, by some estimates there are over two million songs that have been released in theUnited States alone.

In which case I might be able to play 1% of them if I am really on top of my game.

But if you ask me for a Beatles tune, the odds are nearly certain that I will know the song, because we ALL love and respect the music of our generation.

Each generation is defined by its music. The poets pen the words of social upheaval, contemporary history, and human relationships.

Music is the archive of our life, doled out in three minute episodes!

I get several calls a week from investors around the country that are attracted to our low house prices.

When you are getting about one percent interest on savings, the notion of 20-30% return on investment is pretty enticing.

Unfortunately, most of these callers are basing their interest solely on the price of the home and not any other factors. There are many reasons that a house is priced under $25K, and none of them are usually good.

And the occasional good house that slips in is gobbled up by an owner-occupant that lives in the area and is ready to move quickly.

Just because a house is priced at or below $20,000 does not necessarily mean it’s a good investment property. Our recommendations are usually foreclosure homes that are in relatively good shape in the $75-125K range that will produce good rental income and at least have a chance of future appreciation.

Before buying anything in an unfamiliar area, do your homework. Study trends and look at location, schools and amenities. The key is to purchase a home that people will want to live in and enjoy,

Because that is what determines the true intrinsic value of the house!

After the Mom and Pop shops evaporated in the radiant discharge of the Big Box stores, it seemed as if the paradigm shift in shopping habits had stabilized.

When shopping in the Big Box, one could see, feel, and touch all of their potential purchases in a climate controlled, intensity lit acre of countless hot item displays and rack after rack of merchandise.

But a new trend has emerged over the last five years in which these vast and expensive arrays of goods offer the savvy consumer little more than a test drive or a basis for comparison shopping.

When it comes time for an actually purchase the aforementioned products are purchased on the Internet and the resulting sale does not run through the Big Box cash register.

As a result we are seeing more and more of these “Big Box” stores close their doors forever. The business model is on the verge of being unsustainable.

Times change. Habits change. The ways of the past are but distant memories as merchants scramble for market share.

Where will it all end? Only time will tell.