4/7/08
 | By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
What a great time of year. The Savannah Music Festival has been a great success, The annual Historic Savannah/Christ Church Tour of Homes has been wonderful, and The Garden Expo too, why there is just too much to do around here!
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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3/30/08
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
More than one or two of the people who have heard my “green” move to use a three cylinder two seater (getting 35 to 50 miles per gallon) as my basic mode of transportation have raised their eyebrows suspiciously. I have heard “what happened to the rest of it!” and “boy, I'd hate to see you in a smash up!” But for the few skeptics I offer the following video clip of just how well these things handle themselves in a crash situation. and for those who can't believe how well these operate on the open road and how fast they can go, check out this race with a Ferrari And finally for those of you who say it is not green enough because it still relies on Gasoline you will be glad to know that they have been engineered to take a new a as yet undeveloped power train that will be even greener!
Everyday though, people constantly look and point and what I like about it the best are the smiles! This car makes people happy and I am so glad to be able to add a little joy to the world. And if you ever really want to become a believer, come take a test drive because that is what sold me. These little guys know how to handle themselves. Call me, I will be glad to let you drive it! If you really love it and have to have one, call my friend Alex Shelver at the Smart Center in Jacksonville, our nearest authorized dealer. 904-253-7300 and tell him I sent you, he may just be able to put you on a parallel list they keep for those buyers who do not take delivery for some reason - mine was supposed to have leather seats so when the buyer passed on it. I had the call on a Wednesday and on Saturday I was doing amazingly well on I95 all the way back to Savannah. One young couple, as I was almost at home in Savannah, pulled up beside me smiling (they we so cute) and snapped pictures!
Oh, and buying real estate? Don't worry, there is still Jim’s good old 2004 four door Volvo for those group property tours!
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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3/13/08
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
In 1997, I bought my first computer. It really has caused a revolution. I first marveled at the way you could easily write and edit text (I do love to write) found fun publishing software and then I went “on line” and searched and found other distanty related Melanders all over the world including Sweden where being a Melander is something akin to being a Smith in the USA (the TV broadcaster Sven Melander was mentioned to me) and that was real cool too. I actually spoke to a few of these international Melanders, one a student at Uppsala and the other an accomplished artist. Over the years as the Internet has continued to develop, and as I entered the highly computer/cell phone/ more/ more/ oriented world of Real Estate in Spring of 2005, I continue to be engrossed in the digital world, sometimes to the point that I can’t find time for the things that, in the scheme of things, might actually be a little more important like gardening and exercise! The picture above, taken in spring 1995, shows the results of efforts I made at growing orchids before my fascination with the digital world took hold. This photo illustrates the peak moment in that venture (this will happen again one day….) Meanwhile, where would we be without digital photography? I LOVE that!
I want to apologize for my absence as of late in the big world of the blogosphere. I had been doing quite well at my goal of a weekly blog from the beginning in July of 2007, right up until my last post on January 28, 2008. Recently though it fell to the bottom of my priority list what with marketing my listings and working with buyer’s and not to mention all the other things in my life – believe me, I HAVE been busy! So I intend to get back into the swing of things now. For me it is a way of letting you see a little bit about who I am and how I think. I also want to tell you about all the very exciting things happening in Savannah right now like Ellis Square and the projects surrounding that area, the drainage project under way in my neighborhood on Tattnall Street, my purchase last Saturday of a Smart Car and of course real estate news too!
Hey, B-T-W look for my smart fortwo passion cabriolet and I and a famous dignitary in tomorrows Saint Patrick’s Parade!!!!!!!!!!!
Please do me a favor. If you read this and want me to continue blogging for what ever reason, entertainment, learning, etc. Please shoot me an e-mail at RonMelander@Comcast.net and let me know. Sometimes we cyber kiddies appreciate a little reinforcement from the troops!
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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1/28/08
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
On 1-20-08, I did a cross property search in Savannah, an area bounded by East Anderson to the south, Bay to the north, MLK to the west and East Broad to the east. The properties include condos, single family, multifamily and a smattering of commercial properties that were listed in our MLS system. This does not include private sales that occurred outside of our system. There were a total of 355 sales in 2005, 275 sales in 2006, and 221 sales in 2007 so we can easily see that there has been a slowdown in this area. The drop off was not as bad in 2007 as it was in 2006 though. The question is, will we bottom out this year (the numbers seem to indicate the decline is slowing), will it get worse (a slowdown in the last ½ of 2007 as compared to the first half has some folks saying the situation is worsening rather than improving), or will we start to see some improvement in 2008 – a real possibility largely depending on the attitude of the buyers.
There is a tremendous amount of pent up need/want to purchase housing right now. Many, many buyers are sitting on the fence waiting to see what happens. With so many affordable rentals on the market and with some buyers themselves needing to sell before they can buy, everyone seems to be holding their collective breaths. With 526 active properties (for sale) in this search, it would appear that there is a two year supply of “inventory” out there. But it does not take an Einstein to visualize a year like 2005 which would certainly put a dent in that number although we must suspect many would-be sellers are waiting out there too. I like to compare the whole situation to a rubber band that is being stretched and the longer and harder we pull will affect the resulting release when we finally let it go – remember housing is a NEED not a want and Americans have this insatiable desire to control and own their own property – something you cannot do if you are a tenant. There are 21 units under contract (pending sales) in this search, an improvement over last month.
Here is to the power of positive thinking. Let’s make it great in 2008!
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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1/21/08
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
Recently Brian contacted me from the “World’s Largest Mortgage Community”, (over 25,000 members), the Mortgage fit web site, and asked if I would take a look at his site. I have spent some time with it now and I am impressed, especially with the discussions tab and the calculators. I would recommend this site to anyone who would like to do their own research and learn more about the issues relating to financing property. You can even ask questions and get answers from one of the experts. This is a really good place for first time home buyers to do some homework. Of the approximately 550 lenders enrolled in the web site when I did a rough count today, there currently are only 10 from Georgia and they seem to all be in the Atlanta area so any of you local lenders out there reading this blog might want to consider enrolling thereby helping to put Savannah on the mortgage fit map. I always, always, always recommend local lenders. Period.
This is another social networking website and is under the umbrella of the Our Community Power dot org web sites.
Thanks Brian! Best of Luck!
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty and Associates
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1/17/08
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
Mayor Johnson was the speaker at the Savannah Dowtown Business Association monthly Luncheon meeting held on January 9th, 2008 at the Hyatt (They did a GREAT lunch by the way). I asked a question about Consolidation and got more than I bargained for. This is a modified (improved) version of the e-mail I sent the next day to the mayor through the City of Savannah web site. I thought I would wait one week, and then share it with the world:
Dear Doctor Johnson,
I really enjoyed seeing you yesterday at the downtown business luncheon at the Hyatt. I ALWAYS enjoy seeing you!
I am Ron Melander, the realtor with Cora Bett Thomas Realty who asked you about consolidation. I really appreciated your response. I also came up to you afterwards and spoke to you about neighborhood corner stores in the historic districts. I am also a good friend of your supporters Robert and James who live in your Baldwin Park neighborhood.
My reason for writing is that I woke up after having thought about your response (my grandfather always did his best thinking in his sleep) and I just wanted to say I totally understand your attitude. But I want you to know that what the consolidation issue is about as far as the business community is concerned is demographics. Now that is not to say that everyone in the business community is color blind. We know there are many overlapping circles out there. But we all need to move beyond that. The reason this is so important is because when International and National companies look at Savannah they do not look at race, they look at numbers, statistics, and they try to see what our future is going to be like in terms of the particular investment they are considering making. And let’s face it, for as wonderful as all the things are that are happening here right now, Savannah is at a critical turning point and we need even more new people coming in if the things already on the table are going to succeed. And with the world economy as wobbly as it is, doing everything we can to help Savannah continue to grow is so important. It is simple arithmetics, by merging governments, the numbers look better. These are not black and white numbers; they are numbers to do with income, jobs, education and crime amongst others. I agree with you totally that it should be a merge of all the local governments and the county and probably “Briangham” too! Jacksonville, Florida did it years ago. But let’s face it, when people think about our area they do not think of Chatham County, they think of Savannah. Maybe you should turn the table around and take the upper hand on this debate to make sure that whatever happens favors an outcome to your liking? Be proactive rather than reactive. After all you did say that consolidation was probably inevitable.
FYI the simple reason why the consolidation advocates only ask Savannah to do this is because that is all they need to do to get the numbers they want. It is much easier to just ask one entity rather than dealing with a whole variety of entities. I wish you and the city of Savannah the absolute best in 2008. We are so lucky because there is no better place and time to be in than Savannah right now and I am very glad you are at the helm here in our coastal paradise.
Kind Regards,
Ron Melander Cora Bett Thomas Realty
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty and Associates
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12/24/07
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
May all good things come to mankind and our planet.
From our little corner in Historic Savannah, Georgia, USA.
Until Next Week
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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12/18/07
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
Growing up in New York State was wonderful. I lived in a house facing Saratoga Lake on land that my grandfather gave my father. Our family had the sort of thing being talked about now – it was like one of those family compounds with an uncle nearby and my grandparents around the bend. But it was really much bigger than that with a pond, gardens and farmland, a barn and the Indian Hill. There was miles of swamp land too and of course the lake. My grandparent’s house was originally known as Turtle Point Farm and many years ago they sold it to a group called the Saratoga Sailing Club. What a sweet spot that is, both now and in the memories of many of the Melander clan and our extended families plus those who came before us.
But this is the time of year I always hated the most. As we approach our winter solstice I am reminded by my current lethargy of SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. I was never diagnosed mind you but I know I had it. I would get cranky, have a shorter temper and sometimes just be downright depressed. We would often get six solid weeks of NO sun. Grey sky day after day after day. AND it felt cold and damp much of the time, Yuck!
Thank GOD for Savannah! One thing about our climate here is the sunshine. Out of 365 days we have something like 320 days of sun! And other than some unpredictable short spells of cold (does not compare to the northeast or the Midwest), our winter days in Savannah often feel like spring. Some people call it our fifth season. I love it! AND I do not get affected by SAD any longer. I still slow down a little bit this time of the year though but everything here in the south is much more gentle anyway. The weather here has an amazing affect on us all. I highly recomend it and I know you'll agree!
Recent interesting “area one” under contract:
7 East Jones $1,200,000
515 Tattnall Street $649,500
106 E Taylor Street $600,000
220 East 33rd (upper) $259,000
530 East Anderson Street $299,900
Recent interesting “area one” Solds:
819 Whitaker $979,000
416 Macon $875,000
318 Habersham $865,000
805 Whitaker - several units sold and under contract priced in the mid twos
125 E Broad - several units sold and under contract priced in the mid to upper ones
Until next week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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12/10/07
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
Last week Anne Hart of southernmamas.com asked me if I would share what I think are the best neighborhoods in Savannah for children. Let me preface the rest of this blog by saying that I will be talking about historic neighborhoods as that is my area of greatest interest. My first response was Baldwin Park as I have sold three houses over there in the past year and in all three cases, this neighborhood won out for my clients who are all professionals with young children. They all preferred this neighborhood over others we looked at and it is not surprising because you can get a lot of house for the money there and the neighborhood just plain feels good. It is kind of hard to explain because you have to be there yourself, sort of like when you look at all those on-line photos of a house and then you actually go – can be quite a different experience. Because I am familiar with the neighborhood and have friends Robert and James who have been living there for several years, I am not surprised by this. I love Baldwin too. The photo above is a couple young ladies from the Baldwin Park neighborhood enjoying the movie night in the park.
I spent my first 17 years living in the Landmark Historic District and when we got here in 1990 the Savannah Real Estate market was at the bottom of a slump with many houses for sale. We were lucky (just like the people who are buying in Savannah right now can be) in that we were able to find a wonderful house at that time in the best kind of location you can possibly find in Savannah – facing a square. A few years later the house next door – we should have bought it –sold - the young couple who were getting ready to have a child left downtown for the islands because “downtown was not a good place to raise a family”. And yet I can think of several couples since then who have successfully done just that such as Mark and Kim, Rolfe and Jean, Greg and Kelly, just to name a few. But the reality now is that downtown has become so expensive it is not feasible for the average income buyer. If you could have the best of all possible worlds though, here is my plan: 1) Be as downtown as you can afford. With all that there is to do and see and learn about you will hopefully raise a sophisticated little future adult. 2) If you are concerned about the balance between county and city than you can also spend a portion of that child’s life residing as close to deep water as you can afford. There is nothing like our coastal ecosystem to inspire the naturalist in us all.
Other affordable historic neighborhoods for children near downtown:
Until Next Week
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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11/29/07
| By Ron Melander; GRI, CLHMS Read more of Ron's posts |
I woke up today to the sound of a loud explosion. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:30AM and thought to myself, what WAS that? It really sounded like gunshots. We downtown residents tend to think that way (especially those of us on the outer edges - if you can call Forsyth Park the outer edge - you can tell I've been here awhile). After all, it was the time of night when the bars have been closed for awhile, so people can be out on the street. But as I gazed out my window I noticed smoke and then more and more very black smoke and I knew it was a fire. So I called 911 and headed out the door to look and sure enough, a car, parked in a vacant lot, was fully involved. So after the obligatory conversation with the neighbors immediately across from the fire, and knowing they were ok and that it was being taken care of by the police and fire departments, I headed back one block to the house.
As I focused back on home life and work I thought to myself that I had not called my client in Japan last night and I really should call her this morning. When I did, it was 9:15AM our time, 11:15PM for her!
SO WHAT TIME IS IT? What time is it REALLY? Well it really does depend on your perspective doesn’t it? More on aspects of time and how the Internet helps bridge the gap in a future blog…..
And where am I? If you can tell me where the picture above was taken, I'll give you a big hug! Really! Street and Address please. The window screen probably came from Bonaventure Cemetery or Laurel Grove Cemetery originally and may have a family connection to the House where these currently reside. I will e-mail you another clue if you need help once we have given everyone a little time to guess.
Until Next Week,
Ron Melander
Cora Bett Thomas Realty
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