Archive for May, 2006

Inexpensive Community within Atlanta

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
Let’s have a look at what you can get for less than $200,000.  Luckily, the prospects in Atlanta, Georgia on this are higher than you might have thought. 

The Legacy Communities offers one location that really is, “in Atlanta”.  There are 12 different house designs within the neighborhood so you don’t have to worry about having that ‘they’re all the same’ feeling about the homes on your street.  Most of the houses are two stories; full basements are implied but cannot be guaranteed without further questioning.  The most common number of bedrooms offered at these sensible prices are 4.

Feel free to contact the builders through legacyatcascadeingcreek@legacycommunities.net, to ask for more details about their community located just 8 miles from I-20 within Atlanta.

If you are looking for new homes in Buckhead, visit us at atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta homes real estate agent.

Relocation Meets Girls Need

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
Here’s a bit of a twist.  Let’s say you have at least one daughter who “MUST HAVE” an all girl’s school.  Where in Greater Atlanta might you be able to live?  There’s good news for your family!  There is a girl’s only school girls anywhere within the 7th to 12th grade range that is located right in town, on Northside Parkway.  It is in fact, simply called the Atlanta Girls’ School.  

Unfortunately, if you were thinking of homes further out of town rather than close to the heart of the city, this won’t suit your needs as well.  You can still do it, as long as you position yourself close to the freeway and, or stay very in close with MARTA. 

Nevertheless, it is good to know, that if you are a family who needs an all girls’ school, you don’t have to ‘write off moving to Atlanta nor worry about ‘ruining your daughter’s education’ by relocating with the company.

For more information visit atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta real estate agent.

What about your kids in Atlanta?

Monday, May 29th, 2006
Okay, you’ve been looking for a new home for your family.  Clearly, needs and neighborhoods and budgets all come into play.  On another day we will check into the schools but today we’re going to have a think about what the city has to offer your children. 

In addition to numerous schools and a bright future, Atlanta also has special features for children, including offering a page specially for them at the city’s homepage.  The bright future is portended by the healthy growth of the greater area.  This is still one of the nation’s most progressive ‘city’s of the South’, and the trend is expected to continue for decades. 

Right now, the kids probably want to have a good time.  Well, Grant Park is one great area when there is some money, but the good news is that it doesn’t take much to access the Cyclorama.  Within this Civil War Museum there two amazing features: the entire world’s largest painting, and, an old locomotive that you can climb around on.  If you’ve even your vegetables, you have a chance at indulging in a Krisy Kreme donut.

If you are looking for new homes in Buford, visit us at atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta homes real estate agent.

Back Upscale into Garden Hills by Miriam Pia

Friday, May 26th, 2006
Fortunately we’re focusing on homes well within the Greater Atlanta area again today.  Today’s turf is a Northeastern neighborhood known as Garden Hills.  The charm of this stable, upper income neighborhood is that it is ‘an aged planned community’.  This means that the sense of crisp newness has been replaced by a deep sense of fitting-in and belonging.  The trees have had time to mature and the neighborhood now ‘feels like a natural taken-for-granted-as part of the city.  

This neighborhood was created in the 1920’s as a testament to the power of the mass ownership of automobiles, which made commuting feasible.  Of course, in those days, only the wealthy had cars.  Hence the connection.

Homes in this neighborhood do go on the market even now.  If you want status as a ’staple’ of where you reside, Garden Hills may be the right place for you.  Often very modest, of only one or two stories in height, the houses in the neighborhood are usually brick.  The styles however, vary from Georgian through Tudor to Spanish Revival.

If you are amongst the few, those who do belong to their local Country Club, then this is one of the best areas for you to look into.  If you are amongst the rest, then you may want to make a walking weekend tour of the area just to soak up some of the atmosphere.

For more information visit atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta real estate agent.

Gated Townhomes: Another Metropolitan Alternative

Thursday, May 25th, 2006
If your budget is a bit higher than some yet still rather modest then you may want a home that runs about $350,000.  Yes, it’s true, that for some of you placards announcing ‘homes in the $350’s’ may seem right.  Personally, I am still adjusting to the ‘K’ factor attached to such amounts.  I tend to think of Potassium, which is an element from the Periodic Table of Elements, rather than “thousands” which is obviously what it means in this context. 

Today’s option are row houses.  Freshly built ‘townhomes’ in the metro area.  Cobblestone and Brookhaven The Glen is a gated community.  Many either love or loathe these.  Since it is a planned development, there are a few amenities: public greenspace, cabana and swimming pool.

The homes are fairly spacious, with 2-4 bedrooms, 2.5-3.5 baths and here’s the ultimate for those in need: 2 car garage!  I know that for many of you, like myself, this makes a big difference.  This is one of the major ways that you know you have a house rather than an apartment.

If you are looking for new homes in Decatur, visit us at atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta homes real estate agent.

Even More Lofts Deep within Atlanta

Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
So, what is it that makes lofts different from apartments?  First of all, the ceilings are often much higher.  For example, the Mattress Factory Lofts have 16 foot ceilings, within the 47 unit building.  Another way in which they differ is that more of them are for sale.  Most apartments are only for rent, but you can often buy lofts. 

Nearly all lofts are converted buildings.  One way that you can express yourself is through the type of building that your loft is in.  The Mattress Factory is a redesigned warehouse.  However, the The Frederica Condominium has lofts re-done within a 1920’s ‘vintage building’ with a beautiful exterior.

Finally, lofts unlike many apartments are multi-levelled but ‘different’ in that they do not have ‘multiple stories’.  In this way they combine elements of ‘tree house’ fantasies, along with an incredible vertical range for air flow and for your vision.  Likewise, they combine the sense of openess with having more than ‘one floor’.  All of which is great.  So, add Kirkwood Flats, The Frederica Condominium and Mattress Factory to places to check out if you’re in search of a loft home.

To get idea about Atlanta real estate visit atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta Georgia real estate agent.

Downtown Lofts: $170,000-$450,000 by Miriam Pia

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
Here’s a whirlind tour of lofts available right within the very center of Atlanta! These buildings have been going up a lot lately.  Both Marietta and Centennial House are brick.  However, the former is a little more ‘old school’ so to speak with the deeper red and traditional lines that harken back a century or so.  Centennial is more ‘moderne’ in feel with a built-in parking garage and fitness center.  This one has two low peaks at five stories, with a two story high central area.  

Gasket City Lofts have more of that….particular kind of ‘converted feeling’ that gives them an added ‘zing’ or ‘hutzpah’.  What could be better than to get a nice home that women and contemporary men really do want with the childishly gleeful sensation of having turned an abandoned warehouse into one private personal clubhouse.

Prices range on these 1 and 2 bedroom homes as listed in the title.

If you are looking for new homes in Downtown , visit us at atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta homes real estate agent.

Dekalb-Less Than a Fortune Right in Atlanta!

Monday, May 22nd, 2006
After last week’s out-of-town roving, we’re back into the city today.  We’re working with DeKalb county today, which is the Eastern side of Atlanta.  Not only are we going within the “highway loop” but all the way to “Intown”.  You may have read about some of the lofts and condos. before but maybe you shied away due to price, or strangeness. 

Welcome to Euclid Flats, located in town!  These are one bedroom apartments that you may in fact buy for modest prices, prices you may have seen in rent and felt you could handle.  These make great nests for single people and for couples, as they are only one bedrooms.  In these places, you have access to the “urban dream”: the highway and MARTA rail service and the bustle of the inner city neighborhoods along with the business districts are all available.  Keep in mind, that although ‘inner city neighborhoods’ have often taken a bad rap in recent decades, you can find many good, clean, safe yet ‘hoppin’ areas deep within the heart of Atlanta.

For more information visit atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta real estate agent.

Home Location & Traffic in Atlanta by Miriam Pia

Friday, May 19th, 2006
Atlanta has so much to offer!  There is a vast diversity of neighborhoods within the Greater Metro area and housing ranging from extremely inexpensive for those a bit short on money all the way through the entire spectrum up into the grandiose homes.  If you want a genuine palace, then you won’t find it in Atlanta, but nearly everything else is available.  

Traffic is a major issue in Atlanta.  Unlike some of the quieter cities like Indianapolis, which is rather like ‘a well kept secret’, Atlanta has thick road traffic that is not going away.  Naturally, you should keep this in mind when you seek a home in the area.  Admittedly, this is a great argument in favor of finding a place that allows you to use MARTA- the city’s mass transit system.  Feel free to apply logic to the situation, to calculate which really takes longer, and costs more or less: public transit or commuting.  The worse the parking conditions, the greater the appeal of MARTA.

If you are looking for new homes in Druid Hills , visit us at atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta homes real estate agent.

Upscale in Atlanta: Mortgages in Buckhead!?

Thursday, May 18th, 2006
Let’s have another variation on looks at the housing market. Yesterday, we viewed some midlevel KB homes with the Martha Stewart name backing them up. 

Today we’re going to briefly check out what “million dollar home” means.  Luckily, in Atlanta, you can get a lot for your money.  Like many of the midwestern cities such as Indianapolis, the cost of living is rather low and your million dollar home is more likely to be the ‘little palace’ of your dreams.  This is to be appreciated, since in other parts of the nation, such as NYC, you can spend that much on a mere studio apartment.  Doubtless, it is probably exceptional in many ways, especially location and square footage with great windows, but in the end a studio is a studio.

Atlanta ranks in the top ten of cities with the greatest number of million dollar homes within the market.  So, this is a fantastic place if you are willing to make your home a major investment or if you are up and out there on the bell curve of wealth.  Buckhead is the city’s most famous, but not only area in Atlanta where you can find homes in this price range.

What is the mortgage on a million dollar home? Of course, if you can, you should buy it outright and avoid a mortgage- just like you learned playing Monopoly as a child.  If not, even a 20% down payment can stabilize your monthly mortgage payment to $5K/month, which amounts to about $60,000 per year.  The higher the down payment, the better chances of lowering your mortgage.  Remember, the principles involved are the same: down payment, length of mortgage, total cost, rates of interest…all work together to formulate a mortgage payment. 

To get idea about Atlanta real estate visit atlanta-homes-guide.com a Atlanta Georgia real estate agent.