Real Estate Information

The 2011 Star Power Conference is July 24-27 in beautiful San Diego, California.  Take advantage of Early Bird Special Pricing just $499 for a limited time only.   Regular price is $699.

www.starpowerconference.com

I will be there and I hope you are too.

leslie edwards Star Power Star                                                                  RE/MAX Around Atlanta                                                                           Selling South Metro Atlanta                                                         770.460.9448                                                                    leslie@leslieedwards.com

I spent the past several days attending the Star Power conference.  The information was terrific and helped many of the attendees get back their enthusiasm for the job of selling real estate.                                                                                        Keynote speakers included the always delightful, Howard Brinton, the founder of the Star Power organization, Alex Charfen, founder of the CDPE designation and new owner of Star Power, Dave Liniger, a true visionary who founded RE/MAX, Alex Perillo from Realogy and Dave Ramsey, the financial guru with an easy to follow plan to get out of debt.                                                                                                   The STAR speakers, agents who are currently working in real estate, were able to speak to current market conditions, share a wealth of ideas and encouragment. There was certainly something for everyone.  If you have never been to a Star Power event, plan to attend the next one.  It is totally different from any other real estate event.

If you have a referral to South Metro Atlanta, let me know and I will treat them as my highest priority.

                                                                                                                              leslie edwards

770.460.9448

CDPE Certified Distressed Property Expert

CRS   Certified Residential Specialist

Epro  Certified Internet Professional

ABR   Accredited Buyer Representative

Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider

Selling South Metro Atlanta including:

Clayton, Fayette, Henry, Coweta, Merewether, South Fulton & Spalding Counties

All the towns and cities south of the Atlanta International Airport,

including:  Brooks, College Park, Fairburn, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Locust Grove,

McDonough, Newnan, Sharpsburg, Stockbridge, Palmetto, Peachtree City, Tyrone and more

Moving Families Since 1978

Let My Experience Work For You

fax:  770.460.0739

www.SouthMetroAtlantaMLS.com

leslie@leslieedwards.com

RE/MAX Around Atlanta

I watched a documentary last night on HBO called "A Small Act".  It was about a single woman, Hilde Back, who sent $15 a month to help a child in Kenya pay to go to school.  Education is the only way out of poverty in Kenyan and only the families with money or very smart children with scholarships get to go to high school. The boy she helped went on to graduate from Harvard and works with the UN for Human Rights around the world. He started an organization to pay for children's education by providing scholarships to the brightest students in Kenya and named it the "Hilde Back Foundation" although he had never met the woman who helped him.

While it is true that you cannot change the world one person at a time, if you help one person, you can change their world.

leslie edwards

environmentally aware, socially conscious, politically active

South Metro Atlanta real estate  770.460.9448 

Way back in Elementary School, my expectation was that I would go to college and study to be a therapist.  Some say that lots of crazy people go into the field to figure out what is going on with themselves. Hmmm...                        College came 5 years after High School (that's a whole other story) and it took me another 5 years to get a degree in Psychology while working full-time.          It was pretty exciting when I got my first job/internship with the Fulton County Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center.  I thought I was on my way to the career I had planned for since Elementary School.                                                       The reality of the situation was not at all what I expected.  The failure rate of addiction treatment was huge compared to a very small success rate. I found out quickly that the chance that I could actually help someone was minuscule.  All I could really do is listen, which left me seriously depressed.  If the patient cried, I often cried too.  I carried their pain home with me and it did not take me long to realize that the job was too hard on my own mental health.                  

In 1977 I got a real estate license on a lark.  Part time I closed a few transactions and soon, real estate was in my blood. I could actually help people get what they wanted and if they came back, it was a success, not a failure. At closing, everyone was happy. The buyers got a house, the seller got a check, agents, loan officers and attorneys all got paid a fair fee for their work. 

There is a "new normal" in real estate today and my job has changed so much that it now looks and feels more like my Therapist experience than my real estate experience of the first 30 years.

Today, buyers have to wait months to close a foreclosure or a short sale, both of which dominate the current real estate market.  Sellers who have to move, because of the foreclosures and short sales in their neighborhoods, are bringing money to closing or negotiating a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure with their mortgage companies, which has a huge negative effect on their credit ratings.  The fees for real estate agents, loan officers and attorneys have steadily decreased while expenses and the work involved have more than doubled.  So rarely at closings today, is everyone happy.  Often nobody is happy.   Listing appointments today consist of telling sellers their homes are not worth what they paid and finding out if they are behind on their mortgage payments and if so, how much.                                                                 It often feels like I am in my Psychologist mode rather than in my Sales Person mode.  A lot has changed in the past few years. So many sellers are experiencing hardships that make it impossible to make the payments and are at risk of losing their homes.  When I listen to some of them tell me their stories, I still want to cry and I still take their pain home with me                                                         

It does not look like things are going to improve any time soon.  The news reports claim people are once again spending money so the economy must be recovering.  I don't think so.                                                                  Often, right after people have an accident or serious illness, they will drive more cautiously, quit smoking, eat right and exercise.  Human nature is such that, over time, these same people will start falling back into their old habits. 

           My sense is that those spending money are just reverting to old spending habits that got them into trouble in the first place.

Foreclosures are moving steadily up in the higher price ranges.  There are also many interest only loans that cannot be refinanced because the appraisals willl not support the loan amount they approved when the interest only loan was made.  Because we have had historically low interest rates, those loans have remained manageable for many.  Once the interest rate starts moving up, and it will, those interest only loans will start to adjust to higher interset rates and monthly payments, causing a whole new stream of foreclosures and short sales.

The job has changed. Because I have 32 years of experience in the real estate trenches, I can help some people fix their problems and that is some consolation. Some people can't be helped.  Sometimes it is their own fault but most often something bad has happened to cause them to lose their home.

If you know someone who needs help, have them call me. I will do a free consultation to find out what we can do for them.

I am ready for the business to return to the time when we all got to be happy at closing, but until then, I am trying to help everyone I can.

You cannot change the world one at a time but if you help one person, you can change their world.

leslie edwards 770.460.9448                                                               selling real estate throughout South Metro Atlanta

environmentally aware, socially conscious, politically active

As a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Real Estate Provider, I regularly receive interesting information from Dave.  One of the things I like about Dave Ramsey is that his message is clear and he presents a plan that anyone can follow regardelss of the amount of their debt.  Another thing I appreciate about Dave is that he makes no bones about his politics. 

If you need help with your finances, call Dave.  If you need help with real estate, call me.

leslie edwards                                                                                                     770.460.9448 direct                                                                                            RE/MAX Around Atlanta                                                              leslie@leslieedwards.com                                           www.SouthMetroAtlantaMLS.com

Dave's Thoughts on the National Debt

The nation's debt now exceeds $13 trillion. Yes, $13 trillion. You know what you could do with just $1 trillion? You could pay the rent for every renter in the U.S. for three years or pay the monthly payments on all U.S. mortgages for 14 months. A $1 trillion stack of $1 bills would wrap around the equator 2.72 times!

And $1 trillion is just a fraction of the money the U.S. owes. Since Dave can't stand debt, including the national debt, he had some tough things to say as he discussed the issue recently on The Dave Ramsey Show. Listen to the clip here.

What Is National Debt?
The government uses debt to cover its expenses when it spends more than it makes from taxes or other revenue sources. There is no requirement that the country operate on a balanced budget, so, since the country was founded, the national debt has continued to grow.

In 2008, the national debt stood at $9 trillion—the total debt for the entire history of the U.S. In two years, we added $4 trillion to our debt, increasing it by almost 50%!

It is no different than one of us racking up credit card debt on groceries, then getting a car loan and a mortgage on top of that. All the money you make goes to keep up your payments. Not smart.

The Lines Are About To Cross
While $13 trillion of debt is overwhelming to think about, what's worse is the breakneck rate of spending. It only took six months to go from $12 trillion to $13 trillion!

Imagine the U.S. debt and revenue as two lines on a chart. The revenue line is pretty flat, if not declining, but the debt line is shooting straight up. The two lines are about to cross, and that means the country's debt will exceed its ability to pay the payments.

A Political Revolution
The majority of people in America want an environment that gives them a shot to make their own money, and they are not happy with the redistribution of wealth that is happening today. The ballooning debt is just one more reason for a political revolution—to fire the politicians who are doing the spending, regardless of their party.

That's why Dave doesn't buy in to the gloom and doom some political analysts believe. He talks with people all over the country who are angry about the direction the country is headed, and they are not willing to put up with it anymore.

Our debt problem has given our country the opportunity to come up with a solution. With such an impressive problem, the solution it inspires is bound to be great!

Subject:  2011 W-2 Tax Forms--Surprise, surprise!

 Should you want to verify this, go to http://www.thomas.gov/, enter "HR 3590" 
in the search box and look for "CRS Summaries."  This is what you'll find. 
  
Title IX Revenue Provisions—Subtitle A:  Revenue Offset 
"(Sec. 9002) Requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee 
the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored group health coverage 
that is excludable from the employee's gross income (excluding the value of 
contributions to flexible spending arrangements)." 

 Starting in 2011—next year—the W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be 
increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are provided.   
It doesn't matter if you're retired. Your gross income WILL go up by the amount 
of insurance your employer paid for. So you’ll be required to pay taxes on a larger 
sum of money that you actually received.

Take the tax form you just finished for 2009 and see what $15,000.00 or $20,000.00 additional gross income does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year. For many it puts you into a much higher bracket. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for fifteen (15) percent that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases, but it's not really a "tax increase" as such, it a redefinition of your taxable income. 
  
Also, go to Kiplinger's and read about the thirteen (13) tax changes for 2010 that 
could affect you. 
    
Additionally, the current 2.9% Medicare tax goes up to 3.8% and in addition to applying to payroll taxes, now also applies to interest, dividends, incentives, & all other income types.
Remember, the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year...that places everyone in a higher tax bracket.
_________________________________________________________________ 
Yet another very good reason to vote in the primary and the November elections.  Vote out the tax and spend politicians, whether they are Democrat or Rebublican.  The only change in the direction this country is taking will be the result of our votes.  See you at the polls. leslie edwards

Legislation containing a three month extension of the popular

homebuyer tax credits that would allow buyers to close by September

30th died in the Senate last night and the opportunity to extend the

credits past the current deadline of June 30th may have passed.

 The National Association of Realtors estimates some 75,000 first-time

and repeat buyers need the three month extension on closing in order

to qualify for the credits.  Short sales, which require the lender to

agree to take a loss on the seller’s mortgage, generally take much

longer to close than standard sales, and as many as 15 percent of

distressed property sales currently are short sales.

 New-home contracts rose 30 percent in March and 15 percent in April,

the biggest two-month gain in records dating to 1963, according to the

Commerce Department. About a third of the April signings were for

homes under construction, and a quarter were for those that weren’t

started.  Builders are working day and night to complete homes before

the deadline next Wednesday at midnight, but many won’t make it.

 Without the legislation to extend the closing deadline, buyers will

not be able to claim the credits even though they met the April 30th

deadline to have their offers accepted by sellers.  Credits are worth

up to $8000 to a first-time buyer and $6500 to a repeat buyer.  The

failure of the extension will leave thousands of buyers committed to

buy homes without the benefit of a credit.

The homebuyer credits were attached to a Democratic-backed jobs and

economic relief bill that collapsed in the Senate after failing for

the third time.  The defeat underscores the changed political climate

in Congress over spending and deficits.

 Despite major concessions, GOP moderates refused to cross the aisle to

help Reid and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.)

get the 60 votes needed to cut off debate. In the course of these

talks, the size of the package was cut in half, and, to reduce the

impact on the deficit, Democrats even went so far as to pay for state

Medicaid assistance by cutting about $10 billion from future food-

stamp benefits.

Senior Democrats in the Senate told the Washington Post they will

probably try again to attract GOP support for the employment benefits

measure, which Obama has called critical to avoiding the layoffs of

hundreds of thousands of state workers and propping up the nation’s

still-fragile economic recovery. After four months of talks,

frustrated senior Democrats said they are likely to delay further

action until after the July 4 recess.

“People are in the mood of letting the dust settle before finding the

next step,” said Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (N.D.).

When Congress resumes July 12, the dust may be settled but thousands

of credit-driven home sales won’t be.

It is really obvious that the interviewer is not really listening to his guest if after the guest says something, the interviewer asks the guest a question that he already answered. It is painful to watch the guest struggle to say something different than he said the last time.

Does any woman really look good with artificially puffed up lips? 

HD TV might be too real. Do we really want to see the pores on the news person's face?

The DVR is a great invention that allows me to discover some great original programming on obscure channels.

If you DVR everything, it cuts the time spent watching by 1/3 when you forward past all the commercial breaks.

The only way I can watch American Idol or Dancing With the Stars is to record them so I can forward past all the crap between performances and the commercials.

Now that there are hundreds of cable channels, why do we still need for the government to subsidize PBS.  The shows are old and riddled with pleas for money.  I think they are still showing the paint classes by the white guy with the frizzy afro who I am sure has been dead for awhile.  I would rather pay a set cable fee than listen to people harass me for a donation so I can get a FREE tote.

People have to pay attention to the actions of our elected officials and the way laws are passed.  This is a good example of the sausage making that goes on in local governments, States and the Federal Government.  It is time for Americans to take back their government.  When good people get elected, they get corrupted by the system that says if you don't play, you don't stay.  The system is broken. If nobody does anything, nothing will ever change. Get involved.

Preston Smith out as judiciary chair, Seabaugh gives up Whip over hospital vote
12:01 pm April 12, 2010, by Ernie Suggs
When the Georgia Senate passed the so-called “sick tax” earlier this month who knew that the Republican Party would be left battered and bruised?
On Monday Sen. Preston Smith of Rome took the Senate well and confirmed what everyone else has been whispering for days – that he has been ousted from his powerful position as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Smith, the youngest member of the Senate, made no secret why he lost his position.
It was punishment, he said, for voting against the controversial HB 307, which would impose a hospital tax to help fill a $600 million gap in Medicaid funding.
Despite the fact the Republicans are spinning the bill as a tax cut, Smith said it is obviously a tax increase. He took the well to speak on another bill, but delivered a calm, yet blistering, attack on his party and its leaders.
“In retribution for my refusal to go along with the lieutenant governor and the rest of the Senate Republicans and vote for a tax increase, my role as chairman was stripped away from me by the lieutenant governor, majority leader, president pro tem and senate republican leadership,” Smith said to a hushed Senate. “I take the well today with a heavy heart – not because of a loss of any position –  but rather because of what is happening in state government and its larger implication for the legacy of our Republican party and the posterity of our state.”
The conservative Smith said he promised his constituents that he would never raise taxes.
“I wanted to be a different kind of senator – one who spoke his mind and meant what he said. I made that commitment. But the commitment was to my constituents, not to some outside group,” Smith said. “I gave my word – my bond – that I would not come down to Atlanta and raise taxes…perhaps you should take your chairmanship and give it to a puppet who will feel indebted to you and surrender his constituents’ voice. I don’t need your position to have respect. And I don’t need your title to have honor.”
Smith and two other Republicans, Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) and Jeff Chapman (R-Brunswick), voted against the bill that could raise $170 million based on a 1.45 percent tax on patient revenue.
Two other Republicans, Jack Hill (R- Reidsville) and Judson Hill (R-Marietta) were excused from the vote. The bill passed 31-15, but on the day it passed Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle twice stopped proceedings to gather votes.
But Smith said it was more than that.
“He ordered the majority leader and president pro tem to go get the votes and to tell the members that their chairmanships were at stake,” Smith said. “[Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams] used to tell me that he would never ask me to vote against my conscience or my district. But at the meeting, Williams spontaneously called for a motion for a ‘caucus position’ on the bill.”
At that point, Cagle struck his gavel and ordered Smith to, “speak the truth.”
Smith went on to explain that if two-thirds of the caucus voted to support it, all the members of the caucus had to vote for it.
“There was no discussion. There was not opportunity for dissent. He did not even ask for the members who were voting no,” Smith said. “Like a scene from ‘Lord of the Flies,’ we marched back in to the Senate to follow the order.”
Although the Republicans carried the bill, the bloodshed over it was swift and brutal. Seabaugh resigned majority whip. Hill would not comment on whether he had been stripped of his chairmanship of the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee.
So Smith was left to do most of the talking, and he attacked the leadership block of Cagle, Williams and Chip Rogers, whom he said “used to be a champion of taxpayers.”
“He used to brag that he had never voted for a tax increase. But you cannot claim to be a champion of taxpayers when you vote to raise taxes and then punish those in your caucus who are convicted not to raise taxes,” Smith said.” For the rest of his political career, the Majority Leader will have to face voters who know that he not only sold out to vote for a tax increase but he fired some of his most conservative members because they refused to go along with a tax increase.”
Rogers said he was stunned by Smith’s comments.
“I started my day as a friend of the Senator from the [52nd] and I hope to end the day as a friend of the Senator from the [52nd],” said Rogers, adding that he would not comment on committee assignments.
But Williams said the party needed 29 votes to pass the bill and Republicans who voted no jeopardized the GOP’s position and threatened the bill.
Passage of the bill was actually helped by three Democrats – Ed Harbison (D-Columbus), Ron Ramsey (D-Lithonia) and Freddie Sims (D-Dawson) – who switched over and supported it.
“Twenty-eight Republicans thought it was a tax cut, and at the end of the day, we thought we had most everybody on board. We assumed Sen. Smith was good with the bill,” Williams said. “If we are going to get the job done, we need a team. This is not a business for the weak at heart. There are tough decisions we are going to have to make if we are going to govern.”
Smith said that at 8 a.m. Monday, he was called into Cagle’s office for a meeting, before the GOP caucus meeting.
“He asked me to resign and issue a state of apology,” Smith said. “An apology for voting against a caucus position.”
Jaillene Hunter, a spokesperson for Cagle, said he would not comment on private meetings. She added that the committee on assignments met last week andvoted unanimously to “allow the vice chairman of judiciary [Seth Harp (R-Midland)] to serve as chairman.”
Smith is the youngest member of the Senate and is widely considered one of the more popular, visible and outspoken members of the GOP. A rising star.
After his speech on the Senate Floor, Smith walked back to his seat in the back of the Chamber in silence. No one clapped. Occasionally, a senator would come by and touch his shoulder. He then watched three senators, including Rogers, step up to the well to re-argue the merits of the bill. Not one of them commented on the validity of his claims.
The Democrats, were unusually silent on the most drama-filled day in the Senate thus far.
“There is an old African proverb: When Elephants fight, the ants run,” said Sen. Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon), noting the irony of the what the GOP mascot is. “But this is a tax increase, conceived and delivered by Republican leadership. Sen. Smith just confirmed that and we feel vindicated in our position.”
By 6:30 p.m. Monday night Smith had 39 fans on a hastily constructed “Draft Preston Smith for Lt. Gov” Facebook page.

Check out these simple ideas you can choose from to help you and your family get up and get involved!

These 10 suggestions can easily be incorporated into everyday living so start today to form new habits.  Children often emulate their parents so let them get involved too. 

leslie edwards CDPE,CRS,ABR,EPro,GRI                                            770.460.9448 where your calls are answered 24-7-365 by a live person moving families since 1978                                              leslie@leslieedwards.com                                          www.SouthMetroAtlantaMLS.com www.leslieedwards.com/blog