Finest Day –

Is closing a Special Listing on Mobile Bay in Fairhope, Alabama.

Brilliant Sunset Sky

This is why I love living and selling Fairhope, Alabama. Night before last, our sky was brilliant from the setting sun. The above pictures shows the beginning to the end. Each night is different, but this night was special. Our little town of Fairhope is getting ready for downtown trick and treat. This will be Saturday from 10-2. Please stop by our downtown Ashurst and Niemeyer office.

Henry Ford once said “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

How this saying fits with real estate but also in all walks of life. This past Friday was of course the first Friday of the month but in FAIRHOPE it is “Art Walk”. Ashurst and Niemeyer’s downtown office on Section was open to our many clients as well as public. Music was provided by Jeff Farrow, who was incredible. Thank you for all that dropped by. This night was a tremendous success.

If you have not attended Art Walk, please put it on your calendar. You can start at the Art Center and stroll throughout the town. Be sure to make reservations for dinner to top off your evening. Fairhope is a truly wonderful place to live.

Cotton Fields back home….

“When I was a little bitty baby
My mama would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home”….

What a beautiful site to see, as I drove around Baldwin County yesterday.

I thought I would share a few of the pictures I took

Thinking of Selling your home? Here’s 7 Reasons to use a REALTOR

I am sharing this article to you. Definitely buying or selling a home is very stressful, but this article points out strategic information
that you need to consider in choosing an agent. The strengths of an agent is professionalism, marketing abilities, education and
understanding the industry. Read on for the 7 steps.

WE ARE LIVING IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Movoto, a real estate blog, managed by Randy Nelson, has ventured to rank THE 10 SMARTEST PLACES IN ALABAMA based on a series of criteria including number of colleges and universities per capita; library per capita; museums per capita; percent of residents with bachelor’s degree or higher; high school graduation rate; and average K-12 class size.
So which cities landed on the “A” honor roll as Alabama’s smartest? Here you go:
1. Mountain Brook
2. Fairhope
3. Chelsea
4. Helena
5. Homewood
6. Calera
7. Vestavia Hills
8. Huntsville
9. Irondale
10. Muscle Shoals, Montgomery (tie)

WE ARE LIVING IN THE RIGHT PLACE—FAIRHOPE RATES AS #2.

It’s a job keeping Fairhope beautiful

I have always wondered how plants are planted in Fairhope, AL. This photo shows the story. One of the employees using this wonderful tool that is called an auger digging the holes for all the beautiful plants and another follows along dropping them in. These plants are all grown in the city nursery, and changed 4-6 times per year to keep up with the seasonal changes. They do such a fantastic job keeping our city beautiful.

Selling this life style is so easy

Driving to work today, I thought about how blessed I have been to be in real estate in Fairhope, AL. Selling this life style is so easy. Oak trees cascade over Scenic 98/Main Street. Our sunsets are at our finger tips whether you live on the bay or just walk out on our magical pier at the foot of Fairhope Avenue. We all love to gather by sitting on park benches or walk the length of the pier. Fairhope is like a little village with beautiful homes within a short distance to downtown. This is a great place to live and again being in real estate. I feel that I am the perfect voice for this community. Look at our Sunsets, enjoy.

Shared by a 3rd Grade Teacher

7 Proactive Habits that will be woven into the teachings in her class this year.

Home Value: Walmart and Surf Breaks?

9 Surprising Things That Add Value to Your Home

A home’s value is dependent on many things. Here are nine factors you might not have thought about.

What do surf breaks, Walmarts, and public transportation have in common? Being near any of them can add thousands to your home’s value.

At least that’s what various university researchers have found based on their evaluation of variables that could be influencing home prices. Their conclusions might surprise you. Here’s what they found:

1. Surf Breaks

Being within a mile of a surf break (a spot where surf-able waves happen) adds about $106,000 to a home’s value, according to surfonomics experts at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Reality check: Mother Nature makes surf breaks, so it’s not like you could build your own DIY break to boost your home’s value.

2. Parks and Open Spaces

A desirable public park or other recreational open space boosts the property value of nearby homes by 8%-20%.

One study looked at 16,400 home sales within 1,500 feet of 193 public parks in Portland, Ore., and found these boosts to home values:

Natural areas: $10,648

Golf courses: $8,849

Specialty parks: $5,657

Urban parks: $1,214

Reality check: A park that’s not maintained and overcrowded can drag down nearby home values.

3. Living Near a Walmart

Along with making it easier to run out for a gallon of milk at midnight, researchers at the University of Chicago concluded that living within a mile of a Walmart store could raise your home’s value by 1%-2%, and living within half a mile could boost your property value by an additional 1%.

For an average-size home, that’s an uptick of $4,000-$7,000.

Realty check: What you gain in home value, you may end up spending at Walmart.

4. Solar Photovoltaic Systems

California homes with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems sell for a $17,000 premium over homes without solar systems, according to research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Reality check: Although costs for residential solar power systems are falling, they’re still rather pricey at $15,000-$40,000, depending on the size of your house.

5. Walkability

Being able to stroll to schools, parks, stores, and restaurants will raise your property value anywhere from $4,000-$34,000, says a 2009 study from CEOs for Cities.

Reality check: The biggest boost in walkability values occurred in large, dense cities.

6. Accessory Dwelling Units

Whether it’s a granny flat, an in-law apartment, or a carriage house, having a separate unit can increase your home’s value by 25%-34%, according to a study of 14 properties with accessory dwelling units in Portland, Ore. You can also get a steady stream of income from a second unit.

Reality check: Local governments often ban accessory dwelling units, so check zoning laws, building codes, and homeowners association rules before you add a unit.

7. Professional Sports Arenas

A new pro sports stadium can raise property values in a 2.5-mile radius by an average of $2,214. The closer you are to the new facility, the larger the increase in home value. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Alberta examined house sales in Columbus, Ohio, before and after the city added two sports stadiums.

Reality check: If a stadium is proposed, home values can decline a bit until the project is complete. And if you live really close to a stadium, you may encounter traffic and parking issues.

8. Community Gardens

Planting a community garden raises the value of homes within a 1,000-foot radius by 9.4% within five years, according to research by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and New York University School of Law.

The impact increases over time, and high-quality community gardens have the greatest positive influence. Poor neighborhoods saw the biggest gains in home values.

Reality check: Gardens on privately owned land and in higher-income neighborhoods don’t have the same beneficial influence.

9. Trees

No real surprise here — whether trees are in your yard or just on your street, they’re a valuable asset you should be aware of. Here’s a gauge of how much trees are worth to your home value according to a University of Washington research survey:

Mature trees anywhere in your yard: 2%.

Mature trees on your street: 3%.

Trees in your front yard: 3%-5%.

Mature trees in high income neighborhoods: 10%-15%.

Reality check: Trees usually mean work — raking leaves, trimming branches, and keeping roots out of sewer lines.