Laura Leiden\’s Blog

3 Bedroom, 2 BAth home close in downtown Watkinsville.   125 VFW Drive.

References required.   $895/mo.

Ask about pet policy.

Just received this message from John Jackson, Superintendent of Oconee County Schools:
OCHS AND NOHS MAKE NEWSWEEK LIST OF TOP HIGH SCHOOLS IN NATION
Each year, Newsweek picks the best high schools in the country based on how hard schools work to challenge students with advanced placement, college-level courses and tests. Just over 1600 schools”only six percent of all the public schools in the U.S.”made the list.   For the first time ever, both Oconee County High School and North Oconee High School were included.  Placement on the  list is determined by  dividing the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Cambridge tests given at a school by the number of graduates.   If the result equals 1.00 or better, the school makes the list.   NOHS and OCHS ranked in the top 5% in the nation!   The full story and list can be accessed at http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools.html
 

Isn’t that exciting?   Both my kids went through all 12 years of Oconee Schools and I was very pleased.

If you want more information about Oconee County, Georgia, please go to www.lauraleidenhomes.com   and www.oconeega.com   If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the Greater Athens area, I would love to assist you in meeting YOUR goals.

laura(at)lauraleiden(dot)com

706-540-4181

Like to look at interestingly designed homes?   This one in North High Shoals, in Oconee County, is quite a show-stopper.

With 3 bedrooms, a master with its own office and an expansive terrace level game area, it is made for entertaining.

3601 New High Shoals Rd, Bishop, GA 30621.   $225,000

HOpe you can come see it tomorrow.

For more photos, look on my website at lauraleidenhomes. com.

DIRECTIONS:   Take 441S (bypass) past Watkinsville.   Take right onto New High Shoals Rd.   Drive past Family Life Enrichment Center and house #3601 will be on the left.

Laura Leiden, REALTOR

Keller Williams Realty Greater Athens.

706-316-2900 x209 or 706-540-4181

Remember to put canned goods out by your mailbox on Saturday, May 8, 2010 for your mail person to pick up for charity!   Laura Leiden Keller Williams Realty Greater Athens, GA.   706-540-4181.   Email me at:    laura (at) lauraleiden (dot) com  

My intrepretation:

The days on the market of Active listings is going down, as well as the number of listings.   That is good.   That means to me that there are less houses on the market and they are on less long.  

The days on the market of the solds is higher.   That means to me that we are having some of the older inventory is selling and that is good as well.

 At the rate we are going now, I would say we have about 18 months of inventory.  

A seller’s market is 5 months or less of inventory.   A buyer’s market is 7 months or more of inventory.   So that says to me we are lowering our inventory, but we are still definitely in a buyer’s market.

Hope this helps clarilfy our position right now.

Thanks,

Laura Leiden

PS   Call or email me with questions or if you know someone who wants to buy or sell real estate in …   706-540-4181.   I have had to remove my email address because some spammers have gotten ahold of it.   To contact me, please go to my website at lauraleidenhomes.com and email me from there.   Thanks!   I look forward to hearing from you.

What an incredible opportunity for buyers of an owner-occupied foreclosure property.

The Georgia Dream Neighborhood Stabilization Program Down Payment Assistance

Receive $14,000 towards your down payment!!!

This  is a  new program (started April 1, 2009) to help flush out the foreclosures in some counties in Georgia.   I have one family that is in the process of getting this program for their purchase.   It is a wonderful opportunity.

It can be challenging to find a lender who will give you this loan, but worth it!   Give me a call 706-540-4181 or email I have had to remove my email address because some spammers have gotten ahold of it.   To contact me, please go to my website at lauraleidenhomes.com and email me from there.   Thanks!   I look forward to hearing from you..

Here is the full description from Georgia DCA:

As a co-sponsor and speaker coordinator, I was thrilled with the attendance of 23 people to our Home Buyer Education Workshop.  

First Julia Menefield of EADC (East Athens Development Corp.) talked about budgeting and the importance of figuring out yourself how much you can afford, realistically, when you buy a house.

Secondly, we had Angie Wilkerson of EADC speak about how to read a credit report and how to improve damaged credit.

Then we had Cindy Carmean from WElls Fargo talk about the mortgage lending process.

Then I spoke  about the importance of getting a Buyer’s Agreement  with a REALTOR to protect the Buyer’s interest.   We also went over the important aspects of a  Purchase and Sale Contract.

Then Sam Hill of National  Property Inspections spoke about how to read an inspection report.

And then Chip Brown, a real estate attorney  of Blasingame, Garrard ,Ashley, spoke about the HUD statement and how to read it.

Then,  an extra hour was added  so that interested  buyers could complete 8 hours of Home Buyer Education.   The 8 hour certificate is required for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Georgia Dream.   That is when you could get up to $14,000  credit towards the purchase of a foreclosure.  

Carmean, Hill, Brown and Leiden sponsored the food and lunch for the day so that the entire day was free for the participants.

   To search for homes for sale in the Athens, GA area go to www.lauraleidenhomes.com

These homes will include Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Madison, Jackson, and Barrow counties and more.

Have a great day!

Laura Leiden  

I have had to remove my email address because some spammers have gotten ahold of it.   To contact me, please go to my website at lauraleidenhomes.com and email me from there.   Thanks!   I look forward to hearing from you.   706-540-4181

As a co-sponsor and speaker coordinator, I was thrilled with the attendance of 23 people to our Home Buyer Education Workshop.  

First Julia Menefield of EADC (East Athens Development Corp.) talked about budgeting and the importance of figuring out yourself how much you can afford, realistically, when you buy a house.

Secondly, we had Angie Wilkerson of EADC speak about how to read a credit report and how to improve damaged credit.

Then we had Cindy Carmean from WElls Fargo talk about the mortgage lending process.

Then I spoke  about the importance of getting a Buyer’s Agreement  with a REALTOR to protect the Buyer’s interest.   We also went over the important aspects of a  Purchase and Sale Contract.

Then Sam Hill of National  Property Inspections spoke about how to read an inspection report.

And then Chip Brown, a real estate attorney  of Blasingame, Garrard ,Ashley, spoke about the HUD statement and how to read it.

Then,  an extra hour was added  so that interested  buyers could complete 8 hours of Home Buyer Education.   The 8 hour certificate is required for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Georgia Dream.   That is when you could get up to $14,000  credit towards the purchase of a foreclosure.  

Carmean, Hill, Brown and Leiden sponsored the food and lunch for the day so that the entire day was free for the participants.

   To search for homes for sale in the Athens, GA area go to www.lauraleidenhomes.com

These homes will include Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Madison, Jackson, and Barrow counties and more.

Have a great day!

Laura Leiden  

I have had to remove my email address because some spammers have gotten ahold of it.   To contact me, please go to my website at lauraleidenhomes.com and email me from there.   Thanks!   I look forward to hearing from you.

We attended the Robert Osborne Classic Film Festival this past weekend.

It was a total delight.

Here I am with the Master of Ceremonies, Robert Osborne himself:

Here is a virtual tour of some of the people who attended the Saturday morning brunch.

http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1835571

After the brunch, we went to see Sunset Boulevard.   A wonderful classic film in the Film Noir genre.   I had seen it on Broadway with Glenn Close and loved to see how the film version was different and the same.   In the film you could really get close-ups of that scary woman and really see her “silent-movie eyes”, as my husband noted.

One thing that struck me about Sunset Boulevard was the comment made before the film about the difficulty in finding the right actress for the film.   She needed to have been a famous “has-been”, but couldn’t be too much like the lead part.   So they chose Gloria Swanson because she had smarts and had a lot on the ball and could bring a perspective of what it was like to be a big star, but wasn’t still living in the past herself.   They also commented that a lot of Hollywood was miffed with the film because they thought it was talking about them!   Also the audience chuckled about 50 being very, very old!

So, doesn’t this make you want to move to Athens, Georgia area?   We have cutting edge music, the University of Georgia, great pottery and the arts abound with things to do and see.   And you’ll already be living here for next year’s Robert Osborne Classic Film Festival?   What more could you ask for?

To search for properties available in the area, visit my website at www.lauraleidenhomes.com

And if you know of someone who is thinking of buying or selling a home in the Athens, GA area and would appreciate superlative service, please give me a call or email with their name and number and I’ll follow up with 150% service.

Have a great day!       Laura    

I have had to remove my email address because some spammers have gotten ahold of it.   To contact me, please go to my website at lauraleidenhomes.com and email me from there.   Thanks!   I look forward to hearing from you.

Robert Osborne’s Classic Film Festival was this past Thursday-Sunday at the Athens Classic Center here in Athens, GA.   It was the first time  we have ever been to a film festival and it was wonderful.

On Friday night we saw Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand.   And Saturday we saw Sunset Boulevard with Gloria Swanson.   Both were spectacular.   But what made it especially interesting was the commentaries before and afterwards by Robert Osborne and his various guests.   They added so many tidbits that told me more about the movie.

 For instance, I never realized that Fanny Brice was a real person.   After I got home, I looked online about her and found all sorts of things–particularly about her husband   Arnstein– that were not as the movie depicted.   For instance, he was in Sing Sing before and she had visited him there.   They lived together for 6 years before they got married.   That he reportedly had no problems spending her money and that he never pled guilty and she used much financial resources for four years for legal expenses to fight his conviction.   And then apparently after he was let out he never saw her or their children again.   By the way, it also mentioned that she had two children by him, but by mutual agreement, the son is not mentioned in the movie.

It was a beautiful movie.   I swooned over the costuming.   I wonder if I could get some dresses like that…. Ha!   Such colors and styling.   Especially when she goes into the “seduction red room”.   She is wearing this yummy periwinkle blue gown with sparkly empire bustline, and then it falls to silk flowers around her knees and then drapes to the floor.   I’m not explaining it well, but it was spectacular…and I want one just like it!

Here I am with Robert Osborne, head of Turner Classic Movies and our host for the event.   He was so knowledgeable, it was great to hear him talk.

Athens is a great place to live and be a part of the arts.   From its vibrant music scene, this wonderful annual film festival, the visual arts and performing arts, plus having the University of Georgia right here, there is lots to do and see!

 (Gotta a mention, if you know of anyone thinking of buying or selling a home in the Greater Athens, Georgia area, be sure to contact me with their name and number and I’ll follow up with 150% service).

Also you can search for a home at www.lauraleidenhomes.com.