Sunday, January 13, 2008

Blog Anthology, Posts 204 - 213 (1/06/08 - 1/12/08)

Woohoo!! I'm caught up. I can make these weekly until I cut this platform off.
BTW, the reason for the discrepancy in numbers is vebcause a number is assigned when I write a draft that isn't published. I will be altering this next week to just have the dates, rather than the post number and date.



Garage with a detached home

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Let's go to the review!

In what has become my Sunday tradition, I tossed up a couple of videos. This weeks videos include one rally video, and a short film by a French film-maker on one of the Pike's Peak entrants. Gratuitous rally and Pike’s Peak video

Each month, as soon as my local MLS publishes the numbers for the previous month, I jump in and run my Market report. It took a few days for the numbers to come out for my Market update for Gwinnett County, November/December, but I put them up. I have jumped back into the MLS to look at the numbers, and they have already started to update.

I read a lot of different sources of news each day. And every once in a while, I hit a story that is just funny on several levels. Moron arrested after driving truck into house is just such a story. If you want to know why... click!

Seth Godin wrote about the dumbing down of America. I was struck by the fact that we are constantly talked down to. I don't want to do that. I think that if i assume I have smart people reading, I will attract A better client? What do you think.

One interesting concept I've heard about recently is allowing buyers to Test Drive a house? What do you think? I see some great benefits, as well as some pitfalls.

Atlanta is hosting the monsters tomorrow was just a tease for the fans going to Monster Jam at the Georgia Dome on Saturday. I was next door watching the Thrashers beat the Penguins in a shoot-out (quite exciting, BTW).

I ran across an article outlining what needs to be done to Sell your Gwinnett Co., GA home fast. It wasn't about Gwinnett, but the same rules apply everywhere.

I look forward to seeing you at my new blog, or on my website.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Blog Anthology, Posts 191 - 203 (12/30/07 - 01/05/08)

Just about caught up enough to make these weekly. I wanted to get this one knocked out previously, but just didn't have the time. I'll be trying to update these each Sunday or Monday going forward until the traffic here drops off. Obviously, you can skip straight to the source by visiting LaneBailey.com each day, or subscribing there. Here is a banner with the latest headlines.

Garage with a detached home

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Let's get into the review.

With the New Year celebrations getting ready to ramp up (and the Christmas decorations getting ready to ramp down) I was a bit busy and just dropped some fun video. I started with WRC Video from the Rally of Portugal.

For New Year's Eve, I posted up a video of Trials Riding in California. These guys are amazing to watch. The goal is to cross the difficult terrain without putting a foot down.

Everyone has them, and I made my New Year's Resolutions County, GA or the Atlanta area, s here. Some are just about me, but if you are looking to buy, sell, or invest in properties in Gwinnettome might be worth a read.

Continuing on my fluff tour, I headed over to Ebay to find Ten cool tools... straight off Ebay. They ranged from a great welder to a project.

I'm often asked How many 4+ car garages are currently in Gwinnett County? (for sale). on the day I wrote this, there were... You'll have to read. And I plan on revisiting this one every once in a while.

Look for a featured garage next week. Ok, now it is this week. It is up...

I ran across a cool new tool for buyer and sellers. Now you can find out Is that a Superfund site... or just a lot of yard art? This is a government (EPA) site that graphically displays all of the known environmental issues. If you are wondering about it... it's there.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Blog Anthology, Posts 181 - 190

My primary blog has moved to LaneBailey.com and that is where all of the new material shows up. you might also check out my website, Garage Homes USA.

Probably the biggest story in real estate for 2007 has been the meltdown of the "Sub-Prime Mortgage" market. Big players went out of business, and the implosion touched (like a Three Stooges Smackdown) every part of the real estate market. Everybody put your heads on the desk is about one of the things in the aftermath. The President announced a plan that is intended to ease the burden on homeowners that are looking at resets, but I think the unintended consequences are going to reverberate in the market for years.

Continuing my Top Ten series, I hit cars. Again, I couldn't just pick cars that are on every corner, nor the ones that every teenager is already drooling over. Top Ten Nastiest vehicles you have never heard of... is that list. Land Rover power, Subaru power and GM EcoTech power aren't the first things that come to mind when SuperCars come up... but read and you will see.

Since it was almost Christmas, I tossed out a Christmas present from me. It's a nice little music video... a classic... but a bit twisted.

Heads Down needed a part two. Sometimes doing the right thing hurts is the part two. People ask me if I have a heart when I say that the government shouldn't be stepping in to save the homes of the majority of people facing foreclosure. I do, and I know that it sucks. But, what if the "cure" causes harm that prevents tens of thousands of other from having a chance to buy their dream home?

Bubbleheads are a favorite topic. If you don't know who the bubbleheads are, they are the ones that preach about the impending implosion of home prices. They quote each other as proof... I don't like that. Housing apocalypse revisited examines some claims about the coming devaluation. I cited the sources for all of my claims.

Despite the fact that I think the NAR does some good things, they really need to project a little more of a grip on reality when they talk about the market. It doesn't help with the credibility to always say the same thing... no matter what is going on. It seems like they just want to Say it until it's true... NOT!

The better way to look at everything is to find the positive... only if it is there. There is some good news in this market, and Seth Godin helped me find it. Of course, there are people that absolutely NOT get into real estate in this market... or any market.

Do you Plugoo? I just set up a widget on my blog to allow people to catch me on IM (anonymously) if I am online.

Another video quickie. This one is one of Those crazy Europeans drifting a truck. It just looks wrong... I mean really wrong. Tune in and turn on.

For international buyers, US Property on sale 17% off. I looked at the past few years and compared exchange rates with property values. The weakness of the US Dollar is creating a great buying opportunity in the US. Florida is on sale to the Canadians. Atlanta is a GREAT place for international businesses to create a presence.

I look forward to seeing you over at LaneBailey.com.