Tri County New Year's Eve

Well, does anyone else feel like 2016 has come and gone in the blink of an eye? I think my New Year's Resolution for 2017 is going to be to slow down and smell the roses.

However, 2016 isn't over yet!! And there are plenty of celebrations all over the Metro Atlanta Tri County area to help you make the most of what's left!  Check them out!...

          Cobb          

From the Top: A New Year’s Eve VIP Rooftop Event

December 31, 2016 @ 8:00 pm - January 1, 2017 @ 1:00 am

          Paulding          

          Bartow          

          And More...          

Why We Love/Hate Zillow

Ah Zillow. How I love thee.... let me count the ways...

Then there are all the ways I loathe thee....

Where do I begin?!


Zillow is SO great for so many things. It is great fun searching through all the homes on there for free, soaking in the eye candy of homes we can never afford. Dream and plan for that day "when" we win the lottery! Swoon....


And then. There's reality. Take a look:

This is a screenshot taken from their site, the page titled Data Coverage and Zestimate® Accuracy. You can access it here. This is their own self-assessment for their accuracy on their data. You can see from their own assessment, they are only accurate a SMALL PERCENT of the time! 

It actually cracks me up to see their accuracy grade at 4 stars for Cobb County. I am in the middle of selling my house, and for the last 5 years Zillow listed my house Zestimate® between $380-450k!!  I thought THAT was cRaZy. Then I listed my house. 

It's an older, decent size home in West Cobb, with a nice-sized yard (1.2 acres). I knew once it was updated it could be worth $250-$275k (NOT $380-450k!). As is however, I estimated $200k was fair. We had it appraised and guess what... $211,000. However, a week after I listed it, Zillow changed my Zestimate® to $116k!!! $116,000!!!! I had buyers calling me offering $130k because they thought the Zestimate® WAS AN APPRAISAL!!! I can't tell you how many times I had to send the ACTUAL APPRAISAL by the certified appraiser to show it was appraised at $211,000.

OK, so bottom line. Zillow is F-U-N, fun. That's it. Love it for what it is, a fun toy to play with. But when you need real results, an actual appraisal or a truly available listing to consider... call the professionals. 😉  Please.


- Much Love, Dianne =) 

Making the Most of Marietta

Marietta, GA has become one of my favorite cities!! I've lived in Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas and now Marietta. Each town has so many special, unique qualities about them that I can't wait to share them all with you! And I've loved getting to know Marietta these past few years! I think you'd love living here!

Georgia is such a diverse state with mountains, beaches, rivers and lakes it's beautiful! But I also love its rich history! Marietta is home to the Historic Marietta Square, which is just about one of the coolest places to me. Each year it gets better and better! We have the Farmers Market, Concert Series, Art Walk, Wine Tasting, Artisan Market, Food Tour and more! OH, and THE HOLIDAYS!! This past Christmas they brought in a temporary ice skating rink! That was awesome. Coming soon is the 4th of July celebration called Fourth in the Park!

How can we keep up with all these awesome activities and events? Why with the handy Marietta Calendar that the Marietta Visitors Bureau created! Click the link and check it out!! Then come back here and let me know which event you plan to attend and I'll plan to meet you there!!

Recipes for Simplifying This Crazy Life

Y'all. This. Is. So. Cool.

I realize I may be behind the times, but when I learn something new that totally blows my mind I feel like I have to share it!! Even if you probably already know about it, haha!!

In searching for a way to connect my Finding Dream Homes Blog with my Facebook page, I found this nifty little site: IFTTT.com, which stands for IF This Then That. You know, so IF I publish a new blog post, THEN auto publish it to Facebook as well. Yea, it totally worked.

However, after I registered, I saw a suggestion for recommended "recipes" (what they call the sequence you program based on whatever trigger you select) and one of them was called Recipes FOR THE HOME.

I'm like, "How do they know I love Real Estate?! (followed by: Oh this isn't about Real Estate per se, but about life at home.) But yea, OK, let's check it out!!"

And - Whoa! 

They have recipes to sync so many of the electronics I already have (or hope to get soon, hehe) in my home to make the most of them all and simplify my life all the more! Here's a peek at the few I could fit into a screenshot:

I don't know about you, but most days I feel like I'm a chicken running around with my head cut off. Because I am totally that girl who would lose her head if is wasn't attached. Which is why I have to write everything down. (And I do! I obsessively take notes all.the.time to make sure I don't forget something important. Like my clients' children's names or their anniversary or the fact that they absolutely MUST have a home with a basement. Whew... wanted to make sure you knew that so you didn't think I'd be a crummy agent!) But anyway, to learn there's a way to make my coffee maker start brewing WHEN I'M ACTUALLY AWAKE so it's ACTUALLY hot by the time I go get it, Um Yes Please! Since my schedule is crazy and I don't have regular hours (which I love) it's hard to know exactly when to program my coffee maker. So I never bothered to want a programmable coffee maker. But now, I kinda do! That way I can have hot coffee every morning, not just the mornings my son remembers to make it. (HA! No seriously, I love when he brings me my coffee in the mornings!! So Sweet!) And auto-opening the shades? How cool is that?!

Anyway, I'm getting off topic again. Can't wait till I have time (??) to browse through all those recipe recommendations and see how I can simplify some more besides auto-posting my blogs!! Let me know if you find some cool recipes on their, too!

Is 100% Financing Fantasy or Reality?

This is a question I have been asked SO often lately. Well, OK... you're right. No one has actually asked it in THOSE WORDS, but I know they're thinking it! They've asked things like:

"How much do we need to have for a down payment? I don't think we have enough."

or

"Are there any down payment assistant programs available for us?"

or

"Do they even offer down payment assistance anymore?"

The Lending Industry has changed SO MUCH in the past decade, it's understandable why there is so much confusion. I have to be honest, until recently, I thought the answer was "NO." I was sure 100% loans were a thing of the past!

HOWEVER.... I just had a closing on the Listing side where my Seller and I learned about an almost unbelievable 100% financing program. It's one of those "You gotta see it to believe it" it things... but I'm telling you, we SAW IT. And it's REAL. Now I can't wait to get some of my buyers who were desperate to buy but worried about affording it into this program!

Allow me to introduce you to:

NACA = Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is a non-profit who specializes in helping homeowners afford their homes. And this is not even a down payment assistance program! They offer true 100% financing with no closing costs and an interest rate buy down program that results in truly UNBELIEVABLE interest rates, thus making the payments super affordable. I'm talkin' interest rates that are as low as ZERO POINT something... I'm tellin' ya!! Head over to their site (in a new tab so you can come back here and leave me a comment about what you found!) and click "See The Testimonials" then hover over each photo and check out their rates.

So now you're thinking, what's the catch? Well, the catch is.... it takes time. This is not a quick 30-day loan process (do those even exist anymore?!), but is So. Worth. It. If you have time to attend the workshops (free) go to counseling (free) and make a budget (free) then you can't go wrong.

Go. Now. Read more at their website https://www.naca.com/, register for the next workshop near you and then come back and tell me about it!! When you're ready, I'd be thrilled to help you find your Cobb or Paulding County Dream Home that will be more affordable than ever!!

Home Sales in Dallas, Georgia

As a Real Estate Nerd, I've always enjoyed learning the statistics of how the market is doing. Really- even before I was a Realtor! Like, before the internet, I used to get those books at the grocery stores to see what's for sale and compare it to the next month's issue, LOL! Then when the internet exploded I was obsessed with searching online for homes and scrolling through the pictures. Even if I wasn't in the market!

In case any of you like to know that stuff, I'd like to share it with you on a regular basis for each town around our area. This one is for Recent Home sales in Dallas.

Wanna guess how many homes sold in Dallas in the past 30 days?! Go ahead, take a guess, then highlight between the lines below to reveal the answer written in white. No cheating!

| 146 |

How close were you? That's a pretty big number, isn't it?!  So then I wondered what the sales prices were compared to the original list prices. Did they get negotiated way down? Were they full price offers? Let's have a looksy...

Seems like lots of homes received full price offers in November and December last year, then were negotiated way down in January! And now they are coming closer but not quite there. Interesting.

As aside note, if you're thinking of selling, this is a great tool to indicate if homes are priced right or too high or low. You know the best offers are come during the first few weeks of being listed, and the longer your home sits on the market the lower the offers will be. So it's imperative your home is priced right at the beginning. If you'd like more info regarding pricing your home right, drop me a line and I'll send you a Seller's Packet that covers all this and more. No charge. I just like helping people.

If you're in the market for a home and would like to search the MLS... where agents post the homes they have listed for sale (much more accurate than Zillow or Trulia. Ask me why.), you can search the entire MLS database on my site www.DunnFindsDreamHomes.com. If you don't have an agent to help you find The One, let me know! I'd be thrilled and honored to help you!!

Lastly, I know someone out there wants to see proof that this number I quoted above is accurate. So I have a screenshot for you but I wanted to separate it from the answer above to give y'all time to guess :) See below:

Pretty cool, huh?? It's always a great time to buy or sell!! Call me for details!! 678.524..0265!

Free (Or Nearly Free!) Summer Fun Around Cobb and Paulding!!

Life with kids is filled with fun and non-stop activity whether at home or on the go. I've learned to let my kids get bored... it fuels their creativity. Some of my favorite memories are when they were "SO BORED!" they ended up having to invent a game to play because their mean mommy (aka, me) wouldn't let them get on the screen or take them anywhere fun. (I've secretly filmed some of those, shhhhh... don't tell them!)

However, sometimes, you wanna get out of the house. Especially in the summer. But sometimes, there is no $ in the budget.

What to do?

Enter... FREE (or Nearly Free!) ACTIVITIES in and around Cobb and Paulding!!!  

Hooray!!

You may know about some of these, but my hope is that you'll learn a new thing or two from this list! If you have one I didn't mention it, please share it below!!

• Marietta Fire Museum: This is so on my to-do list this summer! The Marietta Fire Department has a pretty spectacular display for you if there is a future little firefighter in your family! With photos, memorabilia and displays from as far back as the 1800s, Just thinking about those cool old firetrucks makes me wanna go RIGHT NOW! OH! And they do tours with 72 hours notice!! Check out their site for more info!
• Summer Movie Express at Regal Cinemas: This one's not free, but it's only $1 so I thought it was still worth mentioning! $1 movie? Click the link to find the participating theater closest to you. 
  
  
  
• Kids Bowl Free... did you know that?? You do still have to wear bowling shoes, or you can rent them for about $3. But that's still a deal to me! This link will take you to the registration for the Stars and Strikes in Dallas.
  
  
• Kids can also Bowl Free!! (if you have skates... or rent them for about $4 if not.)  The Sparkles in Hiram and the Sparkes in Kennesaw both participate in this program! Click the links to register your kiddos!
• Don't forget about the Free Activities at the Library! Here is a link for the Cobb County Library event list, and here you can find the Paulding County Library Activity schedule.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Speaking of books, how about earning a Free Book at Barnes & Noble?!
  
  
• Have you ever tried Geocaching?? My family LOVES it! It's like going on a family treasure hunt! And it is mostly free... just the gas to get around. Sometimes we find a park with tons of caches hidden! Jackpot! The kids enjoy trading the treasures they find around the boxes. There is also a similar activity called Letterboxing... hope to try this one soon!
  
  
• Michael's offers some super fun classes for your crafty kiddos! Between $2-$5 a class!
  
  
• More hands on fun that's free can be found monthly at your local home imrpovement stores! Lowes' Build as you Grow and Home Depot's Free Kids Workshops are must-do's!! My kiddos have been fans of these workshops for years. And yes, we have all the hand-made goodies to show for it, lol! We make 4 at a time each time we go, so I think we'll need to start gifting some of our creations as much as we enjoy making them! 

And if that's not enough, we found more! Check out this list with free things to do around Cobb County, and  this list of more than 50 additional Free things to do around Atlanta, and this one with 50 free and cheap things to do in Atlanta!!...


Let me know if you have more to add! I'll update this list as we find more, and will begin my research sooner next year so we can make sure to start the free and nearly free fun earlier next Summer!

Blessings,
Dianne :)

A Real Estate Blog Renewed

Hello all!!

Well, first, thank you for checking out my new Real Estate blog!! I'm so happy you're here and I hope you come back often!! I'll be sharing tons of fun information... some local, some not. Some Real Estate related, some not! But it'll always be my goal to keep it  interesting and relevant to you!  My favorite thing to post about on here will be regarding local events and festivities... especially the **FREE** ONES!!!

Many of you know this will be round 2 of my real estate blog. Our previous REblog... Focus On Acworth... is having technical difficulties. I hope to be able to move its content over to here so as to not lose all that fabulous info shared there!! But till then, we will be filling these pages with more and more real estate and real life info!! And not just about Acworth but also Kennesaw, Dallas, Marietta, Hiram and More!!!

...So Stay Tuned!!