Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Looking for an inexpensive, fun-filled day that’s close to home? Look no further than Suwanee Day at Town Center Park. This highly anticipated, annual event will take place on Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Champions Run residents won’t have far to travel to participate in the day’s festivities that include a parade, exhibitions and entertainment.

The 10 a.m. parade kicks-off the Suwanee Day festival. This year’s theme is “hometown hero.” Participation in the parade is encouraged and anyone may join in the fun. Embrace the parade’s theme and increase your chance of winning a cash prize in a variety of categories including best of show, most creative, best reflection of the theme and most entertaining.

The festival also includes many exhibitors with artwork, fine crafts, unique gift items and an eclectic variety of delicious food choices.

Interspersed throughout the day will be more than a dozen organizations and performers to entertain Suwanee Day attendees. Some of the day’s entertainment will include the high school drum line competition, fireworks and performances by Atlanta Harmony Celebration, The Dance Loft, Shadowbrook Church Praise band and Wild Wing “Battle of the Bands” winner. Native Georgian, John Berry, will headline Suwanee Day’s entertainment.

Champions Run is close to so many family-friendly events in the city of Suwanee. The community of four, five and six bedroom homes has a variety of floor plans sure to suit any buyer. Visit the website for more information on these beautiful homes.

For updated information about Suwanee Day 2010, visit the website.

Labels: suwanee, Suwanee Day, suwanne

The City of Suwanee will commemorate Memorial Day Weekend with patriotic music, song, and a parachute demonstration by members of the Silver Wings. The Gwinnett Community Band and the Sugar Hill LDS Choir will perform in a free concert, sponsored by the Gwinnett Daily Post, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, May 22, at Town Center Park. Members of the Silver Wings, the Command Exhibition Parachute Team that is part of the U.S. Army Infantry based at Fort Benning, will drop in – literally – around 7:30 p.m, weather permitting.

The concert is free, but attendees are asked to bring a canned good to be donated a local food bank. Also bring picnic baskets, blankets, and chairs, but no alcohol please.

Labels: Events, Georgia, holiday weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, suwanee

We are working with more First Time Home Buyers than ever before! Call us - we can help!!! As a potential first time home buyer, you may feel a little overwhelmed with the entire process of buying your first home. Our goal is to empower you with the information and resources necessary to give you the confidence and financial help needed to make the dream of buying your first home become a reality. The more you know about the home buying process, the more likely you will be able to purchase the home of your dreams.

If you do not yet own a house of your own and are currently renting, here are 6 very, very compelling reasons why you should buy your first home.

1. Enjoyment. The primary reason you should purchase a home is for the enjoyment it will bring you and your family. You should buy a home that you will love living in! Undoubtedly, the first house you buy will not be the home you live in the rest of your life. As you mature your income will likely improve and your housing needs and desires will expand. You will likely sell your first home and trade up to a larger, nicer one. However, your primary focus when choosing your first home is to buy a house that will bring you enjoyment each and every day that you live there. If you do that, the improvements in your quality of life will be literally priceless.

2. It is an investment. My parents bought their first home in 1965 for $12,000. It was a modest home, just under 1,000 square feet, in a relatively nice neighborhood of similar homes on the outskirts of town. Today, that same home would sell for $175,000. Granted, much of that increase in value is due to inflation, but with government spending and deficits at record levels, inflation will continue and likely accelerate in coming years. By buying a home now, you will own an asset that will go up in value as inflation causes the general price level of everything to rise.

3. Tax Savings. The tax savings from mortgage interest can be huge. If you are currently paying $1,000 per month to rent your apartment, that same amount applied to a mortgage loan payment would result in a nearly $12,000 tax deduction (in the first few years of a conventional mortgage, nearly all of the payment goes towards interest, and very, very little goes toward paying off the loan. The interest is tax deductible). If you are in the 28% tax bracket, this one deduction would be an annual savings of over $3,300 on your income taxes.

4. Financial Benefits. Whatever you are currently paying for rent, it is money that is simply spent, never to return to you again. Contrast that to buying a home using a mortgage loan; instead of spending money on monthly rent, you are paying off a loan used to purchase the property. With each monthly payment, the loan balance goes down, and the equity in your property goes up. The monthly payment goes toward buying an asset that will go up in value. Besides the shelter that is provided, you get to keep an appreciating asset.

5. Privacy. As a renter, you are not entitled to the same level of privacy that a home owner is entitled to. It is common for landlords to retain the right to inspect the interior of their property upon giving the tenant proper notice 24 hours prior to the inspection. When you own your home, nobody is entitled to enter without your permission. It is your personal space on the planet that you have final say over. Your home is your private sanctuary for you and your family.

6. Freedom. Do you want to build a tree house in the backyard for your children? Would you like a volleyball net to use for weekend games with friends? Want to have a large 4th of July celebration for 100 of your closest friends? Being a homeowner provides the freedom to do these things and virtually anything else that is legal to do. You do not have a landlord telling you what you cannot do. The freedom is priceless.

Labels: Alpharetta, Canton, Cumming, First Time Home Buyers, Georgia, Johns Creek, milton, reasons to buy a home, Roswell, sandy springs, suwanee, Woodstock

With the inventory of unsold homes at continued high levels, homeowners are going to great lengths to differentiate and distinguish their home. According to experts, there are a few simple tricks that can help create a more appealing space and a more attractive listing in today’s increasingly competitive market.

Listing: What’s in a word? When putting your home on the market, the right phrase in your listing can be the key to attracting potential buyers. According to the 2008 MSN article. “What’s ‘beautiful’ worth? About $12,500” researches have found that listings with the words “beautiful” or “gorgeous” sold homes 15 percent faster, while “landscaping” bumped sales 20 percent faster and “move in condition” expedited the sale by 12 percent. Contrary to popular belief, sellers should steer clear of words that highlight desperation such as “motivated” and “must sell”. The study found the inclusion of those words in the listing slowed sales by up to 30 percent.

Branding: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Brand names create a point of differentiation and should be used as selling points for your home. There is no doubt that buyers will putt more weight in brands they trust. If choosing to make upgrades before listing your home, consider quality, recognizable products because they will ultimately provide the best return.

Staging: The ultimate showcase showdown. When getting your home tidied up for potential buyers, there are some specific tips that will help your home appeal to a wider range of buyers.

Cleaning: The number one rule of staging is to get rid of unwanted and unused items. Whether packed away until the sale or permanently donated, de-cluttering allows buyers to see more of the home. This also includes moving furniture out of rooms that may seem overcrowded.

Labels: Alpharetta, branding, cleaning, Cumming, duluth, Georgia homes, Listings, milton, Roswell, staging your home, suwanee, what it takes to sell your home, Woodstock