According to CNNMoney.com…

“Life in Cherokee County is pretty peachy. Close proximity to Atlanta, good schools, low taxes and an abundance of green space has driven the influx of families from other parts of the state. ”

Woodstock Real Estate: Woodstock’s Favorite Indie Bookstore

“I have this thing,” declares Karen Schwettman, co-owner of the Foxtale Book Shoppe in downtown Woodstock. “I have trouble staying inside the lines.” It was the morning of the book shop’s second anniversary, and I had handed her my notebook, asking her to record for posterity the greatest triumph of the last two years in business

Tucked away on a country  road where a lot of people might never think to look, there’s a tiny place called Sugar Pike Junction where everyone from millionaire land owners to day-laborers convene at a common table. Also noted for its breakfast biscuits and “fancy chicken salad,” Sugar Pike is revered by locals for having some of the best burgers around.

Woodstock Real Estate: Umm…. Yummy Gelato

Woodstock’s own Scream Puffs and Pasticceria and Gelateria, voted best ice cream shop in the Atlanta-metro by cityvoter.com , is poised to host their first ever “Happy Gelato Party” this Saturday, July 18. Made with milk instead of cream, gelato is a richly decadent dessert that is actually less fattening than traditional American ice cream.

Canton Real Estate: Canton Gets “Spooky”

“By a show of hands,” asks the Canton Ghost Tour’s guide Leisa Wilkie, “how many people here believe in ghosts?” Of the small group gathered at dusk outside of the Canton Fire Department, a couple of arms go up in the air. “How many believe there’s no such thing?” she asks. A couple more hands are raised. And then comes her final inquiry: “How many of you are not sure?”

Atlanta Commercial Real Estate-Beware Of Build Out

Certain commercial leases allow a tenant to build out space and be reimbursed by the landlord for such buildout. In the current economic climate, however, a landlord may be having financial difficulty or default on its mortgage and be unable to reimburse the tenant for the buildout.

A peaceful sense of calm leans in to meet you as you step up onto that front porch of the Magnolia Thomas Restaurant. Maybe it comes from the evening breezes that are just starting to lessen the sweltering of another Georgia summer day and swaying those rocking chairs in invitation to sit down and stay a while.
‘Context Based’ Real Estate Search Engine Comes To The Atlanta Real Estate Market

In their own words…. “Estately was created with the belief that home buyers need context when they’re looking for a home. At Estately you can learn about the surrounding area, the nearby shops, the character of the neighborhood and the style, size and price of a property.”

The beer garden beckons this Saturday afternoon as the Right Wing Tavern in downtown Woodstock invites you to sample some of its impressive Southern brews. Three selections each from the Abita Beer Company, Atlanta Brewing Company, Sweetwater Brewing Company, and the Terrapin Beer Company will all be represented at the event, which will be held from 1-4 p.m.

Woodstock Real Estate: Your City Of Woodstock Tax Dollars At Work

This morning, on my way to a Cherokee Association of REALTORS board of directors meeting, I passed these guys watering a hanging basket plant and couldn’t stop myself from posting this tweet:

“Just drove past 3 guys watering 1 plant. Your city of Woodstock tax dollars at work!”

My twitter account auto-posts to my Facebook account, so the same message appeared in both locations. Well, after my meeting I get a call from one of our Maxsell agents.

Woodstock Real Estate: Home Grown Music And Veggies

An air of festive abundance emanated from Fowler Street this past Saturday as locals gathered to stock up on fresh greens, preserves, locally-produced specialty cooking oils, and hand-cut flowers. Before I could even see the Woodstock Farmers Market, I could hear it.

Atlanta Real Estate: Avoid This Cost When You Refinance

Intangible tax can be a significant cost on your closing statement for a real estate transaction. You may be able to avoid this cost when you refinance your mortgage with your existing lender.

The Woodstock Coffeehouse has long been a gathering place for Cherokee County locals, whether meeting for a weekly Bible study or rocking out at Monday’s open-mic night.  The coffee itself is remarkable, and their food is highly superior to the coffeehouse fare that you would get at a franchised chain.

Atlanta Real Estate: How To Safeguard Your 1031 Exchange Funds

Did you know that your 1031 funds held by a 1031 exchange agent can be at risk to general creditors should tht exchange agent become insolvent?

In order to safeguard you exhange funds and, hopefully, avoid such issues you should ensure that:

I’ve always been a devoted fan of hidden places that don’t appear on any map, places that only the locals know are there, and I believe I’ve discovered just that kind of place in Two Brothers Barbecue in Ball Ground, Georgia.

Another Reason To Buy Atlanta Real Estate: The Georgia Aquarium

My family just made one of the most brilliant investments toward the enjoyment of our summer off of the couch-season passes to the world’s largest aquarium right here at our Georgia fingertips.

Last week on Agent Genius, I joined a thorough discussion on why NAR ruled to shut down an IDX solution because a web server could not tell the difference between Google and a scraper site. This happened when Paula Henry’s “website was reported for allowing the MLS data on my website to be indexed, which led the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of REALTORS®, (MIBOR), to issue a cease and desist letter to my broker for both our sites, or they would cut our feed”

Atlanta Commercial Real Estate-Take The Advantage In The Negotiation

After multiple negotiation sessions the deal has been struck and all that is left is to draft a contract. Who should draft the contract, isn’t it easier and cheaper to let the other party’s lawyer draft the contract and just have your attorney review the draft.

Atlanta Real Estate Brokers: The Importance Of Confidentiality And Non-Compete Agreements

Does this situation sound familiar? Your employee leaves your real estate company and turns in his laptop. Your IT experts check the computer and determine the former employee made a copy of sensitive company information.

Atlanta Real Estate Agents- Socal Networkings Real Value Is Relationship Building

Please be careful when considering Facebook Pages as a marekting tool. I know it’s tempting to tap Facebook’s immense community to grow your bsuiness, but be careful in how you approach it. Social networks should be for ‘network’ing and not your marketing plan.

Just a stone’s throw from both the bustling city streets of Atlanta and the quiet serenity of the North Georgia mountains , there exists a city that seamlessly merges the charms and character of both extremes.

Shawn Graves is an agent for competing firm in our market area.  I have no idea what volume of business Shawn does in real estate, but I do know he does things the right way.  He has proven to be vigilant about learning new technologies, yet has not missed the big picture that it’s not about the technology itself – it’s about the person behind the technology.

At Maxsell Real Estate we have 26 licensed agents (and two of those work primarily as management staff , but we’re going to count them in our numbers anyway).  For 2008, we had 6 agents make the Top Achiever’s Club (in a down a market).  23% of our agents are Top Achievers.