Adventures in Real Estate!

Talk with a group of Realtors, and they most likely all have some amusing anecdote about their work with Buyers, Sellers, Open Houses, etc. Yesterday I had my most "interesting" event to report so far in my 4 year career.

Naked people, squatters, fierce dogs. Nope, none of the standards. I held an house open yesterday. Since it was a cold, winter day it seemed a perfect time to light the fire in the beautiful fireplace. Great idea--the homeowners and agents all agreed. Enter Laura--Hmmmm, gas logs, neat little turn key on the side, lighter, flue open. Seems I'm good to go. Nearly go up in flames, that is!

Anybody know how open the gas line needs to be to get one of these babies going? I do now--turn the gas on a couple of turns, try to ignite the lighter (and waste a second or two with the safety latch,) hold to the decorative coals. Whomp--smell burned hair. Think it is the fibers from my bulky, handknit sweater (I made it myself 15 years ago, and get to break it out once a year in Atlanta.) Turn down the gas as it seems I probably don't need that much. Check for any sparks in the room or on me. Go to the mirror to check my makeup. Discover that I've burned my bangs, my eyebrows, my eyelashes. Spend the next 10 minutes before the open house starts breaking off the burned parts so I don't look like a freak.

Oh, yeah. And open the doors to the cold outdoors to try to disperse the odor of burning hair before the guests show up. Which brings us back to the lovely fireplace which did an excellent job warming the place back up! And being thankful that this will all be but a memory in a month or so when things grow back!

Happy New Year!!

Well, it's been far too long since I've been in touch with my loyal readers! What with the holidays and the fact that there has been some last minute action in my Real Estate world, the time has flown by.

Yes, business has picked up some. One of my Buyers has purchased a house as an investment. Look for me to have the fixed-up version of this house listed in the Spring! Another of my Buyers, who has been looking for just the right place, finally found one with my help. Unfortunately, so did another smart Buyer who beat my Buyer to it! So here's the lesson--despite the downturn in the market and the thousands of properties on the market in the Atlanta area, when a house is priced right, has been "staged" properly, and is in a desirable neighborhood (remember "location, location, location"?) this market is still moving along pretty fast.

I do expect to see the market improve some over the course of 2008. This could be a great time to up-size or to purchase investment property. Let's get together to talk about the possibilities!

Also exciting for 2008 is the upcoming opening of Avenue Realty Inman Park. The office is being built out currently and we hope to be open by March 1. Did you catch that "we"? Yes, I've moved to a new brokerage, and I'm really looking forward to this next chapter in my Real Estate career. We'll keep you posted on the Grand Opening!