If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our eNews and Update Alert feed. Thanks for visiting!

Happy Halloween to everyone in Smyrna Vinings. Looks like great weather for tonight’s activities. Be careful out there and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Brinkley Park Expansion

Brinkley Park expansion was recently completed. As part of the $22 million Smyrna Parks and Recreation bond referendum from 2005, the City of Smyrna put together an extensive list of new parks, additions and improvements.

The Brinkley Park expansion included the acquisition of land from the American Legion. Project elements include 3 lighted tee ball fields, a lighted 200’ baseball field, an open space field, trails, footbridges over creek, a playground and pavilion, concessions/restroom facility, parking and landscaping and a new entrance off of King Springs Road.

The project budget was just over $2.5 million and was one of the most significant projects from the 2005 bond referendum. Other significant projects under the 2005 bond referendum that are still in process include the Taylor-Brawner Park on Atlanta Road, the new soccer park on Oakdale Road and the adult recreation center at Church Street Park.

With all of these great park projects coming to fruition, it’s yet another example of why people love Smyrna Vinings.

Technorati Tags: City of Smyrna, Smyrna Georgia, Brinkley Park

[where: 30080]

Smyrna Municipal Court waives late fees for overdue citations

SMYRNA— Smyrna Municipal Court is offering a traffic citation amnesty for individuals with overdue traffic citations issued by The City of Smyrna Police Department. Late penalties will be waived for those with outstanding citations that make payments to the Smyrna Municipal Court from November 1 to December 31, 2008.

Persons can pay past due citations via mail or in person at the Smyrna Municipal Court by cash, money order or credit card. Only money orders will be accepted for payments by mail.

No payments will be taken online or by phone.

Operating hours for the Smyrna Municipal Court is Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Mail payments (money order only) or to pay in person at the following address:

Smyrna Municipal Court
2800 King St
Smyrna GA 30080
770-431-2804

CONTACTS:
Susan Hiott
City Clerk
770-319-5303

Cardi Early
Clerk of Court, Smyrna Municipal Court
678-631-5410

South City Kitchen Vinings Wine Dinner

South City Kitchen Vinings is back on the calendar with another great event. If you haven’t made it out to one of South City Kitchen’s special events, don’t miss out on this opportunity to experience another great Smyrna Vinings event.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6; 6:30PM
$55/PERSON (plus tax and gratuity)

Wine Dinner Details

Passed Hors d’Oeuvres
Chopped chicken liver profiteroles
Pickled beet and country ham skewer with pear
Domaine-Schlumberger, Pinot Blanc, Alsace, France ‘04

First Course
Pan-fried Georgia mountain trout with
grapefruit butter sauce and crisp capers
Solena, Pinot Gris, Oregon ‘06

Second Course
“Country Captain” Braised Lamb Shoulder with roasted tomatoes,
cured olives, dried cherries and Carolina plantation mushroom risotto
Domaine Alfred, “Goss Creek,” Pinot Noir, Central Coast ‘06

Dessert
Warm pear crisp with cardamom sorghum ice cream
Greut, Brut Rose, Sparkling Pinot Noir, New Mexico NV

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AND LIMITED— CALL 770.435.0700 TODAY.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Events,   Vinings Events,   South City Kitchen,   Vinings Wine Dinner

[where: 30080]

The week in review:

The financial markets once again experienced a sell-off at the end of the week as concerns over the global economy once again take center stage.  During the last two months, there have been 19 trading days with a 3% move in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  It had previously taken 6 years to see 19 days with a 3% move.

Home loan rates improved substantially at the beginning of the week, but due to the sell-off ended the week where they started out.

What to expect:

It will not be a stable and calm week. The Fed is expected to drop short-term rates once again at their meeting on Wednesday and their comments about the situation could move the markets in either direction.  There are also several economic reports due out at the end of the week. One is the Gross Domestic Product report which will be looked at for signs of recession and the other report will give us an idea if inflation is increasing or subsiding. Hold on!

Breg-ometer:

Next 7 days: I recommend locking-in as it appears markets could follow through with sell-off from the end of the week.
Next 30 – 90 days: Neutral

Courtesy of:
Bob Bregitzer

[where: 30339]

Smyrna Vinings Foreclosures

A lot of things have transpired to increase foreclosure rates of new and resale homes in Smyrna Vinings. If you’ve been looking for bargains, keep in mind that foreclosures can often create an excellent buying opportunity. Be warned, however, that not all foreclosures are created equal and foreclosures are not recommend for all buyers.

If you’d like to talk more about foreclosures, feel free to contact us and we can schedule some time to talk about your goals and how we can best help you. In the meantime, we’re going to be updating you weekly on foreclosure opportunities in the area, including lender-owned, investor-owned and other properties that are distressed. Keep in mind that this is a sampling of everything out there, but it will give you a good idea what to expect in the Smyrna Vinings foreclosure market. If you’d like additional information or to know what other Smyrna Vinings short-sale or foreclosure properties are available, just let us know.

But for now, this will give you some options for foreclosures and other distress properties:

Smyrna Vinings Foreclosure Properties

Cottages at Lois Pointe

Cottages at Parkview Village

Sherwood Park Homes

Sherwood Park Townhomes

Oakdale Preserve

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Foreclosures, Vinings Foreclosures, Smyrna Homes for Sale

[where: 30080]

[where: 30082]

[where: 30339]

The week in review:

It was another big week of news and volatility.  The current financial crisis is dictating the direction of the both the stock and bond markets.  Last week, pessimism about the $700 billion financial rescue package took the spotlight and economic reports took a back seat.  Home loan rates dropped about .25%.

What to expect:

There is a lack of market moving economic reports this week.  However, several items are in play this week: First, the continued concern over the financial crisis will be a factor.  Also, many companies are reporting earnings this week which will be a telling tale of our economy.

Factors such as decreasing inflation concerns, poor company earnings and recession talk should all lead to lower home loan rates.  As we have stated in our updates, the government’s backing of Fannie and Freddie will eventually bring rates back down and we should see that happen.

Breg-ometer:

Next 7 days: Lower rates
Next 30 days: Continuing the lower trend
Next 90 days: Neutral

Courtesy of:
Bob Bregitzer

[where: 30080]

Thought I should provide some more insight into today’s Smyrna Vinings real estate market. We have not seen a better time in years to buy Smyrna Vinings homes than right now. With everything you see in the news these days, you may very well be shaking your head, ready to “switch the channel”.

I was able to attend the Atlanta Small Business Forum on Friday and economists Dr. Donald Sabbarese, PhD. and Dr. Roger Tutterow, PhD. were very insightful in covering the state of affairs regarding our local and national economy and also covered key aspects such as interest rates, Atlanta home prices and much more. I definitely want to touch on some of those points today.

We talk to a lot of home sellers and homebuyers here at SmyrnaVinings.com and certainly there are a lot of people that express issues about the economy, the financial crisis, gas prices, job security and on and on.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. The financial crisis that has occurred has clouded people’s perceptions of the economy. In reality, the economy is fundamentally sound. What we have seen is a financial crisis that created a lot of uncertainty, but an economy that has legs. As the financial issues get resolved and more liquidity returns to the marketplace, concerns will disappear quickly.

2. Roger Tutterow touched on consumer confidence and noted that consumer confidence in the Atlanta market is at its lowest point since the early 1980s when we had severe economic issues, high interest rates and high unemployment. And what he has isolated as one causal factor has been the rise in gas prices. As gas prices continued to increase, consumer confidence decreased. His point was simply that while gas prices have increased, in reality it represents such a small part of a family’s budget it really shouldn’t impact consumer confidence. However, when all we talk about is rising gas prices in the news, it creates a misguided perception about the state of our economy.

3. People have recently been talking about how our current state of affairs is similar to the Depression. Once again this appears to be a knee-jerk reaction and a misunderstanding of our current economy. The unemployment rate during the Depression exceeded 25% while our currently unemployment rate is around 6%. Another important point that Roger Tutterow pointed out was that the Fed is increasing liquidity to eliminate any sort of “run on the bank” that occurred during the Depression as the federal government tightened liquidity then.

4. People have to have a place to live. It’s basic, but it speaks volumes about Atlanta real estate and your decision to purchase a Smyrna Vinings home. Today there are 4.78 million people in the metro Atlanta area; it’s predicted there will be over 8 million by 2025.

5. Interest rates go up and interest rates go down, but you can always refinance when money is cheap. We are in a temporary situation in which it’s hard to find money for non-owner occupied properties and in which the public’s perception is that interest rates are high. Perception is not reality and interest rates, while volatile, are still at historically low levels. New loans are being closed daily; if you are a good borrower, loans are available.

6. Inflation is our friend. — Sounds crazy, but controlled inflation can be helpful in growing our economy. According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, “Over the long term, home prices tend to rise with commodity prices. And with prices for commodities such as oil, copper, steel and cement commanding sky-high prices, sooner or later the increasing costs of raw materials will push home prices higher. Consider housing to be the ultimate commodity. And as the oversupply may be keeping home prices low for now even as the cost of raw materials rises, the long-term home price equilibrium will shift to reflect the price of production and the cost of land.”

7. The tax benefits of real estate are, indeed, too good to be true. But they are true. The annual tax benefits of owning your personal home are significant and the exclusion of any gain on your primary residence when you sell it is the single greatest tax benefit out there.

8. You have to think about real estate as an investment, whether purchasing as your primary residence or holding as a rental property. And there is no greater investor to heed advice from than Warren Buffet. Consider his statement “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

9. While you’ll never know when the market hits bottom until it has already happened and is rising again, most real estate experts project that the Atlanta real estate market has already hit bottom or is very close. This means right now presents one of the best opportunities for you to purchase a home and accumulate wealth. At the Atlanta Small Business Forum, Roger Tutterow felt that the Atlanta residential real estate market had hit bottom and you should expect to see significant improvement by the second and third quarter of 2009.

10. FORBES.com has ranked Atlanta as #9 on its list of cities most likely to see a rise in real estate values.

The basic rule of investing has never changed - buy low and sell high. Now is the time to buy. Period.

If our team can assist you with your real estate needs, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Homes for Sale, Vinings Homes For Sale, Smyrna real estate

[where: 30339]

[where: 30080]

Smyrna Fine Arts Street Festival

This Saturday, October 17, 3 PM - 9PM

The city of Smyrna and the Smyrna Artists’ Business Association are hosting the Spirit Talk Art Walk Fine Arts Festival.  The fall festival is a celebration of fine arts, story telling and street entertainment. Local artists will display their fine art throughout the streets of the Smyrna Market Village. Story tellers, street performers and musician will make this a fun, family event.

3:00 PM - 3:20 PM   –  Whitefield Academy Wolfpack Jazz Band
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM   –  Whitefield Academy Wolfpack Jazz Band
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM   –  Street performers
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM   –  Fortune Teller
4:00 PM Storytelling — Betty Ann Wylie - Folktales, Urban Legends, & Spine Tinglers Stories for the Season (Pre-K-5)
5:00 PM Storytelling — Sherry Norwalk -Spine Tinglers and Ticklers (Haunting Stories for stout-of-heart) (high-school-adult)
5:45 PM Storytelling — Tersi Bendiburg (GA legends/folktales) (high-school-adult)
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM   –  Wine Tasting (The Wine Cellars) - click here for more details
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM   –  Larry Griffith Band

Artists Exhibits

Come see local artists display their original fine art in the following categories:

* Fine art painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor etc.)
* Drawing (pen & ink, pencil, charcoal, archival inkjet)
* Printmaking (serigraph, lithograph, archival inkjet)
* Sculpture (metal, clay, stone, wood)
* Photography (wet process, archival inkjet)
* Ceramics (glass, pottery etc.)

Looks like it will be fantastic weather this weekend, so be sure to make it out to the first ever Smyrna Spirit Talk Art Walk Fine Arts Festival.

Technorati Tags: Smyrna Events,   Vinings Events,   Spirit Talk Art Walk,   Smyrna Market Village

[where: 30080]

Keep Smyrna Beautiful will be out and about on Saturday to help keep Smyrna’s roadways clean and litter-free.

Don’t like litter on the roadways? Join other dedicated volunteers to help keep Smyrna’s roadways clean. The event is usually 1 to 2 hours. Registration and equipment checkout begins at 8am at the Smyrna Recyclying Center located at 645 Smyrna Hill Drive, Smyrna, GA 30082. Refreshments, safety training and equipment will be provided.

Technorati Tags: Keep Smyrna Beautiful, City of Smyrna Georgia, Adopt-A-Mile