Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog: March 2012

If the purpose of the Georgia Department of Transportation's open house March 13 was float the idea of toll lanes on Ga. 400, it went over like a lead balloon.

The public hearing, and two like it in Forsyth County and Sandy Springs, are part of GDOT's Ga. 400 Express Lanes Feasibility study.

Residents who attended the GDOT meeting at the Cottage School listened to a 10-minute video on why High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes similar to the electronically billed tolls on I-85 in Gwinnett County were the most viable option to relieve congestion on Ga. 400 along 24 miles from I-285 north to Ga. 20 in Forsyth County.

HOT lanes, the video stated, offered drivers an alternative in exchange for a "reliable trip," rather than being held up in traffic – as long as the driver is willing to pay.

As in Gwinnett's HOT lanes, the toll continues to rise until the congestion in that lane abates. Of course, what it does to the congestion in the "free" lanes goes unmentioned.

According to the GDOT spokespeople at the meeting, there is no money to add capacity to Ga. 400 and on the GDOT priority list, Ga. 400 trails projects for I-75 in Henry County, as well as I-75 and I-575 projects in Cobb and Cherokee counties.

In other words, there does not seem to be much hope of getting any relief for Ga. 400 in the foreseeable future. But don't expect any help if the toll lanes are installed. GDOT says tolls alone are not enough to fund any new construction projects for the corridor. Tolls would only go to maintenance of the corridor.

A public comment board at the meeting did not reflect any support of toll lanes. Comments, often sarcastic, pointed out Ga. 400 already bears a toll.

GDOT spokespeople said the there simply is not enough money in its budget to get the projects already on the board done. GDOT's funding sources, $900 million from the state motor fuel tax and about $1 billion in federal transportation funding, are not enough for new construction.

Billy Wise of Duluth said he was opposed to more tolls on roads.

"I'm concerned that we are not spending tax dollars effectively," Wise said.

Jack Wyche of Alpharetta said the tolls on Ga. 400 that are collected now should be enough. He said he did not want to see toll lanes as well.

GDOT District Engineer Bryant Poole said State Transportation Board policy now is any new capacity for roads will have a toll component.

"Adding capacity will mean managed lanes [tolls]," Poole said.

But any additional lanes for Ga. 400 would not be programmed sooner than 2040. Meanwhile, Poole said he can understand the public reaction to more tolls.

"But we want to get the public's ideas. This is our normal procedure, to get their input," he said.

Labels: 400 Tolls, Ga 400, Ga 400 new exit, GA 400 Tolls

Are you among the millions of U.S. homeowners who recently lost a home due to foreclosure? Or maybe you have suffered bankruptcy or had a change in employment forcing you to downsize. Just because you have bad credit now doesn’t mean you can’t repave the path to homeownership. Through the TFL Homes HomeNow program, we offer you a rent-to-own option. The program puts you in your dream home now while your credit rebounds. While you are “renting,” you are really investing in your own future home.


Our rent-to-own program provides you the unique opportunity to put your past credit issues where they belong: in the past. Our goal is to help you become a happy and confident homeowner once again.

The beauty of our program is that we can help you choose and purchase the home of your choice, or are happy to work with buyers who already have real estate agent representation. We offer assistance with every step of the home buying process: house hunt, home purchase and even make any necessary repairs and energy-efficient upgrades. We then establish a lease agreement with an option to purchase in three to five years, once your credit has healed. Monthly rent is set up front, and purchase price is predetermined. A portion of rent will be set aside in a savings fund that will be used towards your down payment and closing costs. There will be no surprises as everything is set up front and transparent.

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Labels: home buyer, Home Buyers, home buying, home rentals, rent to own home, rentals

Hembree Road location accepting items for free from 8 a.m. to noon
MILTON, Ga., March 15, 2012 - The City of Milton Public Works Department and Milton Grows Green are offering residents a bulky trash amnesty day Saturday, March 24.

From 8 a.m. to noon, residents of Milton can bring items to the City of Roswell Public Works Division at 1810 Hembree Road in Roswell (click here for directions). Only City of Milton and Roswell residents will be served. Proof of residency will be required, and utility bills are preferred.

Some of the items that will be accepted are:
tires - must be off the rim, automobile tires only; limit 4 per car
sofas
tables
refrigerators
chairs
washers
dryers
televisions
deactivated cell phones
computer equipment and electronics
The following items will not be accepted:
paint
household hazardous waste
any fluids including motor oil and anti-freeze
household batteries
construction and demolition materials
yard waste
For proper disposal of these items, please contact either the Roswell Recycling Center at 770-442-8822 (motor oil and anti-freeze) or Chadwick Landfill at 770-475-9868 (construction and demolition materials).

Materials will only be accepted at the site on the day of the event and only during the hours of 8 a.m. and noon. Please note that the gate will close at noon.

Labels: Bulky, bulky trash amnesty day, Bulky Trash Day, milton, Milton City

How do you know when something in cupboard or refrigerator has gone bad --or on the flip side --may look a little weird but is perfectly fine to eat?

It can be easy to know when dairy and meat products go bad because of “use by” and expiration dates. Also our nose knows when those foods go bad. It can be harder, though, with everyday items that many of us keep stocked in our homes.
There’s also the issue of flavor. While some products may not go bad per se, they may start to develop an odd taste.
Jay Weinstein, a culinary professor, at The Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City walks us through what to look for with some of the most popular items we have around our kitchens. Some of the answers may surprise you.
Oh, and get a garbage bag handy, you may be dumping a lot of things. The last thing anyone wants is to get food poisoning, especially when it can be prevented.

Butter
Salted butter has a longer shelf life than unsalted. After unwrapping, salted butter should last ten days in the refrigerator before its flavor is compromised. Within two weeks, a translucent layer develops indicating the start of rancidity. It could also have a cheese-like smell.

Eggs
While the Food and Drug Administration recommends refrigerating eggs, Weinstein points out bakers usually leave them out, and they can last up to a month that way. As for the FDA’s recommendation, the organization say fresh eggs are good in the refrigerator for up to five weeks.

Juice
Non-pasteurized fruit juice starts to spoil within a week of opening, even if it’s refrigerated. Consumers wouldn’t notice much at first, since it doesn’t take on the sour smell that milk or meat products do when they spoil. Eventually though, it will start to cause a tingle on the tongue, like soda. There’s nothing harmful about drinking it this way, it’s just starting to ferment. Most people don’t like that taste and discard it.

Coffee
Coffee starts to lose nuance of flavor from the moment the beans are ground. Coffee’s essential oils are air soluble, and dissipate quickly. Spoilage? That takes months. It’s only spoiled when its remaining natural oils go rancid.

Brown sugar
Despite the fact that brown sugar goes rock hard within a week no matter how many layers of zipper-seal bags you pack it in, the stuff will keep for years in that petrified state. If you own a microwave you can pop it in there for about 30 seconds to loosen it up or put an apple peal in there to keep it moist.

White sugar
Weinstein, author of The Ethical Gourmet jokes that “white sugar is so highly refined, it may have longer shelf-life than petroleum. I’ve never known white sugar to become spoiled, even stuff I’ve found in camping supplies from previous decades.”

Maple syrup
Maple syrup that’s been opened is susceptible to a mold spore that causes a powdery film to develop on its surface. The mold looks like cinnamon, and can give a mushroom-like undertone to the syrup. This may occur within three weeks of opening it, or might not appear for months.

Vinegar
Vinegar starts to let off sediments which settle to the bottom of the bottle within three months of opening. The problem is most pronounced with red wine and cider vinegars, but will happen with most natural vinegars eventually. Distilled vinegar won’t develop this problem. While the sediment clouds the vinegar and makes it unsightly, the taste isn’t affected. You can keep most vinegar for up to a year.

Olive oil
Most people use rancid olive oil most of the time. Even filtered olive oil starts to develop a rancid, cardboard-like smell after just four weeks of opening. Plenty of people open a bottle of olive oil and leave it in a cabinet for months, using it a teaspoon at a time. A lot of consumers think it’s supposed to smell dusty. Ideally it should smell like artichokes and freshly ground black pepper, or if it’s lighter stuff like the French, Tunisian or California varieties, it should smell like butter and tree fruit.

Vegetable oil
Processed vegetables oils keep for a long time before rancidity sets in. You could keep an opened bottle of canola oil for almost a year before you’d detect that dusty, cardboard-like odor of spoilt oil.

Peanut butter
Packaged peanut butter has plenty of preservatives to keep it shelf stable for over a year. Natural peanut butter starts to go rancid within three months. Putting it in the refrigerator slows but doesn't prevent the peanut oil from going bad.

Salad dressing
Mayonnaise-based dressings like freshly-made Caesar should be consumed within a week. Vinaigrettes hold quite well for up to two weeks, assuming that there are no fresh herbs in them.
Ketchup & Mustard
Both are heavily seasoned with vinegar and salt and keep well for about a year.

Flour
This one could be a shocking to a lot of people. Weinstein says “flour is rancid so often that most people don’t even know what fresh flour smells and tastes like.” The chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America says “it should be used within three or four weeks of opening, but most people keep it in their cupboard for years and still use it. Fresh flour smells sweet. Rancid flour smells like cardboard and dust.”


Honey
Here's one you can keep in your cupboard. While honey may crystallize it should last forever with the same great flavor and sweetness.

Jelly & Jam
Natural jellies and jams are perishable. Despite the preservative effects of sugar, open jams will start to grow mould or rot in about six months.

Dry pasta
Like beans, dry pasta contains a tiny bit of water content that helps it hydrate properly when it cooks. This ultimately can make the pasta go bad overtime, but it is likely that bugs would get to it first. It should be used within two years of purchase.

Rice
Wholegrain (brown) rice is more perishable than polished (white) rice. Brown rice should be used within two years of purchase.

Labels: bad food

Now is definitely the time to be a homebuyer. Potential new homeowners have a lot of bargaining power in the current market, and can choose from a slew of different house types, including fixer uppers and move-in ready homes. Deciding which type of home makes the most sense for you depends on your temperament, remodeling know-how and move-in time frame, experts say.
“If you know what it will cost to fix up the house then you are in a wonderful position,” says David Lupberger, the home improvement expert for ServiceMagic. “Unfortunately, people underestimate the cost of the fix up.”
The housing meltdown flooded the market with foreclosed properties and a record number of short sales, which have created bargain prices, but many of the houses require a lot of updating and renovations. At the same time, there’s also a large inventory of move-in-ready houses.
“Most fixer uppers tend to be short sales and foreclosures,” says Doug Azarian, sales associate at Kinlin Grover Real Estate. “In foreclosures and short sales situations, the sellers don’t have the money to make the mortgage payment--let alone pay for maintenance.”
Before choosing whether to go with the fixer upper or a home that requires zero to little work, real estate experts advise considering your lifestyle and temperament. If you are working long hours, raising a family or have little spare time, a move-in ready home may be more ideal. But if you have the free time and the patience to deal with the stress associated with a renovation, a fixer up could be the way to go.
“If you enjoy working on homes and putting your unique stamp on them, or have the patience and budget to hire someone, a fixer-upper might be for you,” says Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List. “If you’re not handy, don’t like dealing with the minutia of a home improvement project, you should buy a move-in ready home – or one that doesn’t have major repair issues.”
When going the move-in ready route it’s imperative to ensure you’re not overpaying for the house. Buyers get swept up by updated kitchens, neutral wall colors and beautiful hardwood floors, but some upgrades aren’t worth the asking price. According to Lupberger, you have to know the market and the cost per square foot in a given neighborhood. Working with a knowledgeable realtor will ensure you aren’t over paying.
According to Hicks, most buyers are looking for turnkey homes or ones with fresh paint and bathrooms and kitchens that don’t need repairs because they don’t have the money to put into fixing up a home.
According to Azarian, when trying to find the ideal fixer-upper, location is everything. “If you buy in a better location at a discount and can be patient about fix ups, it’s worth it.” He lists new floors, kitchen and bath renovations and even roof replacement as repair worth doing if the price tag is low enough.
Calculating the cost of repairs is no easy task. Lupberger suggests adding 20% to your estimated costs because there are always unwanted surprises along the way. For example, if the house has lead paint or asbestos, expect to pay 30% to 40% more on the repairs, says Lupberger.
“There’s a lot of downside if you don’t know exactly what you are doing,” says Lupberger. If you have no home improvement skills, bring along someone that does to check out the house—including the foundation, heating and cooling systems, windows and the roof.
“Be aware of cosmetic or superficial fixes that a homeowner has made to get the house through the sale,” adds Hicks. She says hiring a home inspector is important because a good one can spot cover up or cosmetic fixes that won’t last long.
A home inspector “may cost you a few hundred dollars, but it will be money well spent, especially if a costly repair is revealed,” she says.

Labels: home fuyers, home inspections, Home Remodeling, Home Sales, homes