JUST REDUCED WATERFRONT LOT on Neely Hen

JUST REDUCED WATERFRONT LOT on Neely Henry in Ohatchee AL http://ow.ly/y9Diw

June is National Homeownership Month

With residential mortgages hitting their lowest interest rates of the year, now is a great time to start realizing the benefits of homeownership.

 

	1. Tax savings. Mortgage loan interest is deducted from your state and federal income taxes—tax breaks not available to renters. (Consult a tax professional about the tax savings benefits of homeownership.)
	2. Stability.  Fixed mortgage payments (principal and interest) will not change during the loan term whereas rent payments may increase annually.
	3. Build equity. Owning a home long term allows equity to build and thus your home investment to grow. Equity can be used to secure a loan or obtain a line of credit for home improvements, cash for emergencies, or big-ticket items.
	4. Appreciation. Houses may increase in value or appreciate over time, which is as good as money in the bank. Typically, house values appreciate at the rate of inflation, plus 1 or 2 percentage points.
	5. A place to call your own. Owning a home allows you the freedom to adapt your living space to your tastes and lifestyle and gives you a feeling of permanence in your community.

CHECK THIS EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY OUT!!!

CHECK THIS EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY OUT!!!

Thermostat as Fire Hazard causes RECALL

White-Rodgers, a major thermostat provider, hasrecalled over 1 million thermostats in the United States and Canada due to a fire hazard caused by alkaline batteries leaking onto the thermostat’s circuit board.

Which Thermostats are Subject to Recall? The digital thermostats are white with blue lighted screens and will have one of the following names printed on the front:

The thermostats have a battery door on the top, left-hand corner. There are three or four buttons to the right and three or four more buttons below the thermostat screen.

Recalled thermostats do not show a battery icon on the left side of the blue lighted screen.

Only thermostats without a battery icon are subject to recall.

What Should You Do? If you own one of these brands, check your thermostat for the battery icon on the left-hand side of the blue lighted screen. If the battery icon is not shown, contact White-Rodgers to receive a free repair or a replacement thermostat. Consumer Contact: Call White-Rodgers toll-free at (888) 624-1901 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday—or visit their website at www.white-rodgers.com and click on the White-Rodgers 1F8x-04xx Thermostat Recall link found at the lower, left-hand corner of the homepage for more information. Blog courtesy of Old Republic Home Warranty.

My Fab 5’s for Staying on Top in a Tough Economy

In this economy (which is getting better, by the way) I am thrilled to say that I just got a cash offer on a house that is not a foreclosure. PLUS, the buyer wants to close in 2 weeks! What?? I had almost forgotten the days of good ol’ quick deals. I am reminiscing of days past when our economy was a big hustle and bustle to buy. I needed this little refresher. I love memories. It reminds me that today, all the hard work it takes for each deal, is just as good as the old days. I am being trained to be better in my job during this tough time. Naturally, the bad agents are being weeded out in the process.

I am grateful that I can morph, learn, change, and grow with these times. I feel I am becoming a better Realtor. I know that I am educated more now just by hanging in during this ride of our real estate crisis. I hope that you, too, are hanging in there. I hope you are getting offers like this one to give you a smile. I say, Merry Christmas to me. I know this isn’t a philosophical blog. I’m not educating you with any pertinent information about the economy. I just hope that by reading what is happening here in little ol’ backwards Alabama, you get hope. Hope that things are good. Hope that the economy is picking up.

I can tell you what I have done to have 3 homes closing in the next 2 weeks. Prayed! lol. No, seriously..this is what I think may have helped me to keep getting buyers and sellers in this market.

1. Stayed motivated, despite what the reports were saying. No negative talk here.

2. Stayed out there. I did cut back somewhat on my marketing but I maintained my presence in the most important marketing avenues that worked for my area.

3. Stayed dedicated to working every day at the office (or where ever works best for you) by showing up each day whether I had work to do or not.

4. Stayed involved in community service. Although the funds I had before were not as plentiful, I still give of my time regularly so that people see me out giving back. That has left an impression, hopefully, that I am still doing well and still selling real estate.

5. Stayed educated. I have learned to grow with the changing economy. Taken an extra CE class, attended an online webinar, researched SEO and other computer related info, learned anew Virtual Tour program that was more efficient, joined new social networks, etc.

I hope maybe this list helps you to determine what you are doing that is working. And, for me, I got rid of the extras that weren’t working. We can make it in this market and we can grow to be better agents.

Don’t lose faith. Stay focused. Full steam ahead. We will be the cream that rises to the top in the end. I will see you there!

Nicole Anderson, Lake Expert

 

Things All Sellers WANT to ask…and some DO! Part 1

I was sitting around reading Facebook, seeing all the pictures of people doing their spring cleaning, and it got me to thinking about the sellers I work with and those “tough” areas of the home to discuss when on a listing appointment. I have some sellers that will ask me all kinds of questions about what to expect with other people coming into their home to view it. I thought I would write a simple blog about all the unruly places in our homes and the questions we all want to know the answers. Today let me start with a fun and messy one: Do buyers come into my home and open my closet doors? YES!!! A resounding YES! They open just about any door with a knob. They want to see the depth, size, length, etc. And, yes, of almost every single closet.

If you are like me, there are times in our lives when the closet is just not the most important thing to keep clean.

I have a tendency to pile things up in there, especially when I’m going through a season change. I remind myself often of how I HATE to look for things when I’m getting ready or in a hurry. This usually prompts a purge on my part. Just looking at these pictures makes me feel stressed! So, how do you think a buyer “feels” when they see this? Motivated now? I am wanting to go organize my shoes right this very moment! It is crucial to a mom of three, smaller homeowners, double career minded individuals, etc., for there to be plenty of storage space! How do we create more storage space with only 2 or 3 closets, you might ask?? Very simple, make your 2 or 3 closets look HUGE! In the following steps, I will break it down. You needn’t get overwhelmed because you can make your closets appear larger, add to the value and appeal of your home, AND improve your life at the same time!

STEP 1: Pick a day and a closet. Pretty simple start, huh? Write on your calendar that Tuesday evening you are going to work on the closet in the guest bedroom.

STEP 2: Purge. The rule of thumb here is “if you haven’t worn it in 2 years, trash it!”. If it doesn’t fit anymore and you are hopeful that you will get back in it one day, put it aside in a box labeled SIZE 6, or whatever size it is. If you get back to that size, go grab the box out of the garage, or from under the bed, or from the attic.

STEP 3: Organize hanging items. You can do it however you would like,  mine are done by color & type of shirt. I have all my tank tops at one end of my closet, then I start with white and go all the way through the rainbow to black. Then I have skirts, pants, cardigans and dresses. I have a hanging organizer with additional shelves and I have my t-shirts, blue jeans, and yard work clothes in it. I also have a belt organizer and I keep it by the tank tops.

STEP 4: Clean up the floor, and the shelves while you’re at it. Buy a shoe rack and push it all the way to the back, or a hanging shoe rack (but don’t put it over the door!). Put flip flops in a basket. I went to WalMart, purchased cheap brown bins and labeled them: scarves, purses, hats and gloves, and extra t-shirts. These were the piles on my top shelf.

**I don’t recommend purchasing expensive closet organizers since we are trying to get the home sold and get the most money out of the sale.**

STEP 5: Freshen it up! This is a biggie. Just as you’ve heard that your home needs to smell pleasing, don’t leave out the closet spaces. Too many times clients open the door to a stinky closet and then the tone for the rest of the room is set for a negative connotation. While you’re at it, vacuum or mop the floor.

THAT’S IT! Simple, huh? Purge, organize and clean. Such a small task, huge impact on the size of your closets!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series coming soon.

Our fabulous library event- Wild & Wonderful Wednesdays!

Meet retired FBI Special Agent, Jack Owens at the Pell City Library on Wednesday, March 19^th at noon as he presents his novel, Watchman: JFK’s Last Ride, published in October of 2013 by Keith Publications in Arizona. It blends what Owens knows as fact with what he created as fiction in regards to the events leading up to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and what followed.  He will share from his book, and address the gathering at the library’s Wild and Wonderful Wednesday event.  The program is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served afterwards.  Join us!

 

 Susan 

 

Jack Owens earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1966 from American University in Washington, DC, then his Juris Doctor degree in 1969 from the University of Alabama School of Law. In June of 1969 he began duty as a Special Agent with the FBI following four months of intensive training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.   He was assigned to the Denver Field Office initially, but transferred to the Birmingham Field Office in September of 1970, where he served until his retirement in August of 1999.  As a member of the first SWAT team in the state, he worked a variety of investigations involving bank robberies, kidnappings, fugitive apprehensions, foreign counterintelligence, and terrorism.  He assisted in the recruitment of women and minorities into the bureau, and coordinated the physical fitness program for all agents in Birmingham and North Alabama.  He worked undercover during the Cold War for four years against hostile intelligence services.

 

Since his retirement in 1999, Jack Owens has written a myriad of articles and short stories that have appeared in various publications. He published a memoir in August of 2009 entitled, Don’t Shoot! We’re Republicans! chronicling his thirty years “in the trenches” of the FBI.  Following the publication of his latest novel, Owens began work, under contract, on three novels which take place in and around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  They involve a serial killer named Pock who was inspired by the profiles of numerous serial killers he encountered during his FBI days. 

Annual Lakeside Cleanup Efforts

PELL CITY LIBRARY HAPPENINGS; jazz included!

Pell City Library welcomes Jazz great, Cleveland Eaton, joined by saxophonist extraordinaire, Jeff Lopez for a  noontime concert of jazzy favorites!   Recognized as one of the best jazz bassists in the country, Mr. Eaton has performed on stage or played in recording sessions with various personalities in nearly all music genres, including jazz with John Klemmer and Bucky Green, pop with Minnie Ripperton, and big band with George Benson, Henry Mancini, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald.

 

Lopez performs as band member, playing the saxophone and flute, with American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks and has played on stage and in recording sessions with a host of bands across the nation.  Eaton and Lopez bring their musical expertise and experience to Pell City for the library’s ongoing Wild and Wonderful Wednesday series.  The program is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served afterwards.

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21

 

Writers’ “Meet and Greet” at the Pell City Library at 6:30 p.m.   Scheduled in conjunction with the Mid-winter Writers Conference, the gathering is casual, free and open to the public.  Join us as we welcome writers and aspiring writers from near and afar.  Light refreshments will be served.  Attendees are encouraged to stay for (and participate in!) an informal “Round-Robin” Poetry Reading beginning at 7:00 p.m.

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 (It’s not too late to sign up . . . but you’d better hurry!)

 

Writers Anonymous, in conjunction with the Pell City Board of Education and The Pell City Center, is proud to sponsor the Mid-Winter Writers Conference. This conference will be held at The Pell City Center (CEPA Building) in Pell City, Alabama. The conference hours will be from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with registration starting at 7:30 a.m.  Workshops will cover everything from harnessing creativity to publishing, and everything in between. Whether your genre is poetry, fiction, non-fiction or blogging, there will be something there for you!  You must register to attend.  For more information, please go to  http://www.writersanonymous.us/ or contact Rita Moritz, conference coordinator, at  205-814-9852.

Pell City Triathalon!