This closing gift idea for Atlanta short sale buyers was inspired by this listing photo of a Jonesboro GA short sale I closed last winter.Starting with a good frontal shot of the property -- here, I used the main listing photo which was used in the MLS -- a little artful digital manipulation in a photo-editing program produces the bright and cheerful image.After changing such elements as color intensity, brightness, contrast and choosing among an array of effects, I ended up with the above image. The frame effect was also added within the editing app.Notice there is room in the bottom third of the image for inserting a message, so this image could now be further refined in a free program such as Canva.com or perhaps a card-making template in MS Publisher to add some text, such as..."Cel... 10/26/2017

A few years ago,  my hubby, Vince, and I became members of the beautiful Frank Bailey Senior Center in Riverdale, Georgia.  Just ten years old now, it is a beacon of hope and renewal for senior members of this south Atlanta suburban community. We joined for access to the new gym and saline pool, but soon found that the center offers a variety of fitness classes and social activitiesI talked my big city born-and-bred husband into joining the garden club with me. During his working years, he'd never planted anything in his life, and always hired yard crews to tend our grass and pool. But he agreed, thinking I might need some help with the digging and any heavy lifting.Well, to my surprise, my city-dwelling man took to raised-bed gardening like a fish to water. He is now the president of t... 08/10/2017

Bag a Bargain at the Book Sale It's that time again!  Friends of the Clayton County Library is having another huge sale of gently used books (hardcovers, paperbacks, children’s books, textbooks, magazines) at crazy affordable prices from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on July 31, 2017 at the headquarters library, located at 865 Battle Creek Road in Jonesboro.  I've snagged some great bargain books at this sale! Friends of the Clayton County Library is a volunteer organization whose work contributes to the success of the citizens of our diverse community by offering a full range of library services that meet their informational, educational and leisure interests. Their events and outreaches aim at fostering the love of reading in our youth and the lifelong pursuit of knowledge for all. Since 1984, ... 07/27/2017

Clayton County Students Head Back to SchoolSeems like summer just started a few short weeks ago and now it’s already time for Georgia students to head back to class.The first day of school for Clayton County students is Monday August 7, 2017. Parents are loading up on school supplies, and students are putting together their “first day back” outfits. Clayton County Public Schools is the 5th largest school district in Georgia, serving over 50000 diverse students just south of metro Atlanta.For students (and their parents) eager to see the return of a new year of learning, here are a few dates to remember in preparation for the big event:Need to register a new student? There is still time for Saturday New Student Registration at the following dates, times and places:July 29, 2017 - 9 a.m. ... 07/25/2017

A free healthcare event comes to Clayton County GA every summer. Congressman David Scott will host the 13th Annual Thirteenth Congressional District Health Fair on Saturday, August 19, 2017, 9am - 2pm, at Mundy’s Mill High School, located at 9652 Fayetteville Rd., Jonesboro, GA 30238.   The event will feature free health screenings and information provided by many of the region’s leading healthcare providers and organizations. The huge Health Fair will provide vital health screenings and information at no cost from our region’s best health care providers and advocacy organizations. Free health screenings include: Clinical breast cancer exams; Prostate cancer (PSA); HIV/ AIDS; Diabetes (glucose); Blood pressure; Asthma; Cholesterol; Mental health; Sickle cell; Vision; Dental; Orthopedic;... 07/24/2017

Senior Gardeners Going for the Big Win...Again On Friday, July 21, 2017 from 10 AM to 2:30 PM, the award-winning Frank Bailey Senior Center Community Garden in Clayton County GA is going for another big win, with their 2nd Annual Community Garden Expo.  The senior gardeners at the Frank Bailey Center have placed first in the nation for two years running in the Programs of Excellence competition sponsored by the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) and the National Council On Aging (NCOA). They won in the area of Nutrition, Fitness and Health Promotion for programs that teach senior citizens to grow their own organic food and herbs.  Healthier eating with home-grown organic produce The 2017 EXPO theme is “Community Collaborations for Healthy Eating”. Working with other nearby comm... 07/12/2017

Clayton County Real Estate Market Report 2017 Active Listings: Based on information from the Georgia Multi-Listing Service (MLS), today’s Market Snapshot of the Clayton County GA real estate market shows 635 single-family detached  and 76 single family attached residential properties currently available for purchase, with an average list price of $161,400 for detached homes and $77,550 for condos/townhomes.  The majority of the inventory falls in the $70,000 to $200,000 range. The highest prices property currently for sale is $400,000. The lowest is an investor or handy-man’s bargain at $24,000.  This translates to less than 3-months supply of inventory now available to purchase. Clayton County homeowners are seeing increased recovery of home values. Across the board, prices continue to... 07/05/2017

Going out to celebrate America’s independence this year? Let the fun and the fireworks begin. Go ahead and party hearty, but please plan ahead to make sure you and your loved ones get home safely.According to AAA, more than 44 million people will be traveling 50 miles or more over the holiday weekend. Let's do our part to make sure they all get where they're going safely. Don't drive drunk.If you’re going to party over the Fourth of July weekend, the Auto Club Group is encouraging residents to plan ahead before having a little too much to drink.Since 1998, Tow to Go has safely removed more than 24,000 impaired drivers from roads across the Southeast and the Midwest. The Auto Club Group Traffic Safety Foundation and Budweiser provide this program to prevent impaired drivers from getting ... 06/29/2017

The supply of Clayton County GA real estate for sale is slightly lower this year than in previous years. In fact, a lack of housing inventory is affecting cities all across the country. With fewer choices and rising prices, buyers are left frustrated by their lack of options. Sellers can also be hesitant to put their houses on the market for fear of finding a new home themselves in a tight market. Buyers hoping to find a home to purchase in the Atlanta area are feeling the constraints of low housing inventory throughout the 13-county metro.  That's not really news. Overall, Atlanta's inventory sits at about 2 - 3 months supply. A balanced market is considered to be one with a 6-month supply of houses available for purchase. What's new is that Clayton County saw the highest percent decli... 06/29/2017

Clayton County Real Estate Report - May 2017 Based on current MLS statistics, today’s Market Snapshot of the Clayton County, GA real estate market shows a healthy real estate environment Monthly Activity (stats from May 1 - 31, 2017) Active Listings: There are currently 675 MLS active listings of properties for sale, including both detached and attached single family residences. The majority of the inventory falls in the $110,000 to $172,000 range. The highest priced property currently for sale is $1,600,000. The lowest is an investor or handy-man’s bargain at $24,000.   This translates to roughly a  4-month supply of inventory now available to purchase in Clayton County GA. Monthly sales:Documented home sales for the last full month of activity (May 2017) indicate a brisk market contin... 06/28/2017

A few years back, at the height of the housing meltdown, a lot of Georgia homeowners were having difficulty making their payments and receiving the dreaded N.O.D (Notice of Default) threatening foreclosure. Thankfully, that's not happening as frequently in the current market. Foreclosure filings have slowed greatly.However, even in a normalized real estate market, there may be changes in circumstances that can cause homeowners to fall behind in payments and get the "Nasty Notice". Back in the crisis, some real estate attorneys were recommending an effective stall tactic that bears repeating.Ask for your original paperwork.This is a tactic that may give owners more time to strategize -- and in some cases avoid foreclosure altogether. In these situations, any steps that will help to stave... 06/28/2017

Our professional lives are not wholly separate from our personal lives, are they? Real estate professionals are daily about the business of being a blessing to others, helping them achieve their dreams and step into new chapters of their lives. In doing so, we are also uniquely positioned to receive blessings back, in the form of new lifelong relationships forged, and important life lessons learned.   Helping people realize their dreams is the fun part of our job. But sometimes we are also witness to, and even partners in, the pain that comes with the loss of those dreams. We are privy to the most difficult situations some people will ever face. One thing I’ve come to realize while working with, talking to and especially listening to people who are suffering the untimely loss of their h... 06/26/2017

Georgia short sale FAQ: A short sale is often the best solution for underwater homeowners who need to sell. The single biggest hassle for most Georgia short sellers is the provision of required paperwork to the lender.  I always remind my clients that, just like getting a mortgage loan in the first place required the submission of applications and documentation, the same will apply when they request that their lender let them out of those loans with a short sale.  Ultimately, more short sales are slowed or even derailed by the sellers themselves. How? It happens when they fail to return the documentation as requested by their lender's negotiator. Short sale doesn't mean you can take short cuts. Borrowers seeking to modify their mortgage loans or get a short sale approved need to be dili... 06/24/2017

Georgia Short Sale FAQBankruptcy.  Many times Georgia homeowners will consider filing bankruptcy as a means of avoiding foreclosure. A bankruptcy filing does -- at least temporarily --  halt the foreclosure process immediately upon filing. Lenders can't foreclose or even try to collect debt until permitted to do so by the court.  In this way, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy delays foreclosure. But eventually, it usually results in the liquidation of most of your other assets. The way I understand it, Chapter 7 gets rid of all unsecured debt, leaving only secured debt, such as mortgages, exempt. In this scenario, borrowers still owe their mortgage payments but they are more likely to afford to pay them because all the other debts have been discharged. Chapter 13 may also be effective at helping y... 06/24/2017

Georgia Short Sale FAQ Q: Will my Georgia short sale result in a deficiency judgment against me? A: Not likely. A deficiency judgment is a legal order to pay off a remaining balance when a property does not sell for enough to satisfy the full mortgage debt. The amount still owed to the lender is called the deficiency. But, in order to even get a short sale approved by the lender in the first place, the borrower must have a documentable financial hardship. This is why short sales usually do not result in a deficiency judgment, but rather, the lender agrees in writing to accept a “short payoff” and forgoes any pursuit of the remaining balance. Track record of short sale success with NO deficiency judgments I have been helping underwater  homeowners sell their properties with bank-approved... 06/23/2017

A Georgia Notice of Default should never be ignored, but it may not lead to foreclosure if you keep your wits about you and investigate your options.Sometimes we all hit a rough patch in life. Circumstances beyond our control can temporarily send our well-planned lives into a tailspin. Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts to meet our monthly financial obligations, often robbing Peter to pay Paul....sometimes, we run out of money before we run out of month. And sadly, sometimes or mortgage payments get backed up. It happens, way more often than folks will readily talk about.So you sashayed out to the mailbox on this sunny Georgia morning and got an unwanted surprise: your lender has issued you a dreaded Notice of Default! They are threatening foreclosure unless you pay up now. Your ha... 06/20/2017

The sun at home warms better than the sun elsewhere.     ----Albania Proverb Be it ever so humble, there's really no place like home, is there?Every summer I am reminded of this truth. The warm months of summer are when my family gets away. And we love to travel, either to see and experience new places, revisit favorite vacation spots, or to enjoy precious time with friends and family who now reside in other parts of the country and the world.And yet....  it’s always good to get back to Clayton County GA -- back to our own comfy bed and the home-grown pleasures of our own backyard, to enjoy the welcoming familiarity of our humble but meticulously cultivated and arranged spaces -- inside and outside.The place we call Home.Everybody needs one,  don’t they?You can find many types of home s... 06/19/2017

If you want to snag a bargain home, this is probably NOT the best time in our lifetime for you to be house hunting. At least not in most areas of the hot, hot, hot Atlanta market, where homes are selling at a brisk pace without much need for lowering prices.BUT, there are  a few areas left where a buyer can actually snag a great property at  relatively bargain price. One of these areas is Clayton County, where good buys are still available. And you could save even more, if you are lucky enough to find a short sale.Clayton County short sales are still the best bet for getting  a real bang for your buck!By far, the best bargains now will likely be short sales or foreclosures. Of these two types of opportunites, short sales generally make better purchases than foreclosures, because they ar... 06/16/2017

The City of Morrow in Clayton County Georgia is home to fewer than 10,000 residents, yet it is a recognized jewel of the south Atlanta metro area. With fewer than 7,000 single family residences, the city has made a remarkable transformation from its humble beginnings as rural railway acreage to the home of one of Georgia’s finest state-of-the art universities and a center for lovers of art, music, history and outdoor recreation, including a branch of the U. S. Archives, the main campus of the Georgia Archives, Reynolds Nature Preserve, and the world-renowned and acoustically stunning performance center, Spivey Hall. Situated in what I call metro Atlanta’s “Golden Triangle” created by the confluence of the eastern Perimeter 285, Hwy I-75, and the spur Hwy 675, Morrow is conveniently clos... 06/15/2017

Unincorporated Jonesboro GA spans two adjacent counties. Conveniently located in the southerly suburbs of Clayton and Fayette counties in the greater Atlanta metro, unincoporated Jonesboro is home to numerous affordable communites loaded with country charm yet close to all of metro Atlanta's numerous amenities, services and opportunities.Jonesboro GA 30238 Clayton County, comprises a large area that includes the several shopping, business and industrial complexes, Country Greens Golf Club, numerous parks, and other family attractions. Nestled primarily between Tara Blvd./Hwy 41 and Hwy 85, the area also has convenient access to major interstate higways I-75, the I-85, providing easy access to all the amenities metro Atlanta has to offer.  Could Jonesboro 30238 be the ideal area for you ... 06/14/2017