Moving to Atlanta - 25 Things You Want to Know

Moving to Atlanta
25 Things You Want to Know

So, you’re moving to Atlanta? Here are 25 things you may want to know:

1. To many people that live and reside in the City of Atlanta, they consider any areas inside the Perimeter (I-285) to be the “City.” Others feel that Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead and nearby surrounding areas are only the “City.”

2. I-285 is that circle you see on the map when you are looking at Atlanta on the map. It makes a complete loop around and joins up with the interstates.

3. I-20 runs east and west.

4. I-75 and I-85 run north and south.

5. Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead are just minutes apart and not at all like Manhattan. On a quiet Sunday morning you can reach Downtown to Midtown in less than 5 minutes. Downtown to Buckhead will take about 15 minutes on a quiet morning.

6. Peachtree Street runs north and south between the City. There are probably at least 50 streets with the name Peachtree in it throughout Atlanta (Place, Road, Street, Way, etc.).

7. Nearby little and very fun areas surrounding the City are Virginia Highlands, Poncey Highlands, Cabbagetown, Little 5 Points, Castleberry, Home Park, Loring Heights, and Brookhaven to name a few. Most of these are just minutes from the central core of the City.

8. When you are eligible for a "homestead" exemption on your property, you will get a discount of $30,000 off the value of your property in computing ad valorem taxes.

9. MARTA is Atlanta’s mass transportation; they are buses and trains. They have numerous stops and it is easy to get around the City using either one of these. MARTA trains are particularly useful when going to the airport. You can take the train and get off directly at the Delta terminal.

10. Within the areas of Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead, the cab rides are considered “zones.” You pay for your trip from one zone to another, so you avoid the “meter ticking.”

11. The sales tax within the City of Atlanta is 8%, which is broken up as follows: 4% for the State of Georgia, 3% for Fulton County and 1% for the City of Atlanta. Thus, if you purchased something in Fulton County but not in the limits of the City of Atlanta, your sales tax would only be 7%. Other counties such as Gwinnett are even lower at 6%.

12. Your automobile tags are due on your birthday. The amount you pay to for your tags is based on the "value" of your automobile. This was a big shock for us when we moved to Atlanta. So, the newer the car, as well as the type of car, will determine what you will pay for your auto tags. The good news though is that these fees decrease as your vehicle ages.

13. The main power supply company is Georgia Power. There are some small electric companies such as ISTA and there are a few condo buildings within the City of Atlanta that use ISTA.

14. The City of Atlanta Water Department is the municipality for your water source.

15. Comcast is the biggest supplier of cable and high speed internet; although there are a few others you can choose from.

16. MetroPCS works in the City of Atlanta. We also have Verizon and AT&T.

17. In Atlanta, you have to dial the area code along with the phone number to make a local call. In being from another state, it did take me a while to get used to that. The main phone number exchange is 404, although some people do have 770 and 678 as their exchanges.

18. If you move to a condo that is short on storage space, there are plenty of storage companies within the City.

19. The more prominent super markets are Publix and Kroger’s. There are other wonderful places such as Whole Foods and Fresh Market.

20. Walmart, Target, Costco and Sam's Club are all in the area or nearby vicinity.

21. CVS is the most prominent drug store in the area, some of which are 24-hour stores. We also have Rite-Aid, which formerly were Eckerd’s, and other some smaller pharmacies.

22. The biggest newspaper in Atlanta is the Atlanta Journal Constitution. We also have Creative Loafing, Atlanta Business Chronicle, along with others.

23. Within the "City" we have the High Museum, The Fox Theatre, the Alliance Theatre, History Museum, the Carter Museum, the Martin Luther King Memorial, and so much more. There's culture abound!

24. The City of Atlanta is home to the Georgia Dome, Turner Field, CNN, the Convention Center, The Governor's Mansion, and state assembly. That Gold Dome you see on the horizon is where all the legislative bodies meet since Atlanta is Georgia's State Capitol.

25. Piedmont Park is Atlanta’s NYC Central Park. Our residents thoroughly enjoy and make use of it from playing ball, with their dogs, outdoor concerts and movies, art shows and so much more. It is very “alive” during the spring and summer months, and when we have snow, it is the place most people go to for sliding down the hills and making snow angels.

Atlanta is a wonderful, fun and vibrant City filled with a diverse group of people from all walks of life. We have plenty of great restaurants, cultural activities and events that fill the calendar. It’s the New York of the South with a lot of charm!

Pat Mistretta, REALTOR
Your City and Loft Specialist
Morris & Raper Real Estate Consultants
http://loftsinatlanta.com/
http://atlantacityliving.com/
June 27, 2011

Copyright 2011 – all rights reserved
No portion of this document can be printed or used without the express permission of the author.

Summer Stroll on the Midtown Mile

I find it rather odd that I have not seen much advertising for this, but I just found out that on June 13, 2010 from 12-4 PM there will be a Summer Stroll on the Midtown Mile. "It will be an event focusing on the music, sights, food and shops on Peachtree Street from North Avenue to 15th Street. The program will feature a neighborhood market, food tastings at various Midtown restaurants and activities for children. At the 15th Street Plaza, live music and local sidewalk artists will perform throughout the afternoon. Visitors can also join the condominium open houses while getting a taste of the area through the various activities offered."

There will be:

*Bounce House at Colony Square
*Cupcake Decorating at 999 Peachtree*
*Story Telling at the Margaret Mitchell House
*Puppet Factory with the Center for Puppetry Arts
*Carnival Games at St. Mark United Methodist Church
*Roaming Magicians, face painters and balloon twisters
*Community Mural Project at the Woodruff Arts Complex
*Arts and Crafts projects at Utrecht
*Live country rock concert at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church
*Live music and plein-air artists at the 15th Street Plaza
*Sidewalk sales at Drew Lewis, Yes Home, My! My! My!, Ligne Roset, SCIC, Pedini and Space
*Seasonal Market and Cooking Demonstration at the 999 Plaza
*Free Giveaways
*Raffle Drawing
*Free parking at 1010 Midtown, 999 Peachtree, Viewpoint and Spire


(information and exerpt from Saint Mark United Methodist Church).

I can't believe it's been so long ....

I guess I have been pretty busy now that I noticed I haven't put anything on this blog since last year. It's already June! Jeez! I need to do much better here in the future.

Perhaps too, besides looking at so many lofts for buyers, I have been spending a lot of time on Twitter. I really enjoy it. I also have fun on Twitter posting a lot of the decorating features regarding furniture, fire places, stairwells, and so many things that would look great in a loft. Perhaps in the future, I will post those here too.

As Arnold says .... I'll be back!

FHA loans - New guidelines

Many of you might not know that the FHA provides a lot of loans to buyer's who are not in a position to put down 5% to 20% of the sales price. Thus, FHA has been an integral part in getting many homeowner's into their homes.

As of November 2, 2009, due to the crazy mortgage market, the FHA is issuing new guidelines. Unfortunately, for condo purchasers, this will make buying a condo a lot more difficult.

To begin with, FHA requires that the condo you are purchasing be FHA approved. In some instances, a developer or condo association will get the entire development approved. However, the vast majority has not. In the past, even though the development was not FHA approved, FHA would do what is considered a "spot approval." In essence, they would approve the one condo being purchased provided it met various guidelines. This allowed a homeowner to purchase in a development that was not entirely approved by FHA. However, the new change will be that there will NO LONGER be spot approvals. That being said, it means that a condo you might want might not be FHA approved and you will not be able to get financing from them. The only recourse is for the condo association or developer to go through the approval process for the entire development. If they are smart, I expect many will start to do that.

You may not think this is a big deal, but it is. For all of the wonderful complexes in the Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead areas, only a handful are FHA approved. I was amazed at how many developments were NOT approved. If you are wondering which complexes are approved at this time, check out this link:

https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm

The other changes that are planned are:

There now will be a maximum of 30% of all units in a complex that can be FHA financed. Previously, there was no cap. What this means is that you could decide to buy a condo in a particular complex, only to find out you are not approved because over 30% of the homeowners were financed with FHA. That could be not only a problem, but a big disappointment.

At least half of the units in a development must have been sold before you can get FHA financing. This can be a problem for new developments that have yet to reach this sales quota.

At least half of the units will have to be owner occupied. For a vast majority of the complexes in the metro Atlanta area, that is not a problem as the HOA normally has a cap of 20-25% rentals allowed. However, there are a few developments in metro Atlanta that do not have any caps. If you are interested in buying using FHA financing, I suggest you find out which complexes will not meet FHA requirements.

I realize that the mortgage industry needs to be tightened up. However, some of these FHA restrictions will make it more difficult for many great homebuyers to achieve their dreams of a condo.

Pat Mistretta
Copyright 2009

Follow me on Twitter: LoftsInAtlanta

Some cool things to decorate your Loft with

I am always searching for things that I think will be really cool for lofts. I always post them on Twitter (twitter.com/loftsinatlanta), but thought it would be fun to list them here too.

Here is something that is called "Digital Wallpaper." Although it is not wallpaper in the truest sense, it is rather interesting and different. I can only imagine what the musicans can do with it knowing they can figure out a way to coordinate their music with movement of the digital colors. Wouldn't that be fun?

http://www.homedit.com/digital-wallpaper-by-strukt/


Another thing is the use of concrete. For those of you familiar with lofts, concrete plays an important role in a lot of them in floors, ceilings, countertops and sinks. Well, here is another use for concrete in "Concrete Shelving." I only imagine that it would be expensive to ship, but it could give you ideas on making your own molds:

http://www.homedit.com/low-cost-design-concrete-bookshelves/


Last, but not least, is an idea of "Glass Curtains." Actually, these are pretty cool and can be used not only as curtains, but as room dividers.

http://www.homedit.com/modern-glass-curtains-design/

So, keep checking back, as I will continue to post some great finds. Again, you can also follow me on Twitter.

Think you can't paint vinyl floors? Think Again!

If you are like me, you probably think you cannot paint vinyl floors I always thought that to be the case. However, one day ....

I was sitting in my apartment looking at some really old vinyl floors in my kitchen. I was glad my then landlord gave me free rein on doing whatever I wanted. I knew I wanted those floors changed, but I also knew that I did not want to put any money out on new flooring considering I did not own the place.

Out of desperate measures on not wanting to look at this golden brown floor any more, I figured anything would be better than nothing. Since it was one of those older style vinyl flooring that had raised areas, I figured they were going to be my biggest problem as far as wearing down first. I decided to take some light sand paper and gently sand down the floor. No major work or elbow grease as I did not want to wear it off. Once that was done, I took a clean rag and wiped off all of the dust from the sanding, making sure it was all removed.

I then painted two coats of white primer paint. This primer paint was not made for floors, but for walls, doors, etc. I figured I had nothing left to lose but my time and a few dollars. I edged out the floors with a hand brush and applied the remainder with a roller. I was absolutely amazed how much just the white paint alone brighted up the entire kitchen!

I then looked at this white canvas and decided what kind of a design I wanted. Since I enjoyed seeing some white, I decided to paint my own black and white squares. Actually, what I did was just mark off where the black would be, using the white primer as my white portion. To add a little flair to the floor, I put in sporadic shapes as in circles, diamonds, rectangles, etc., all being a different color.

Once everything was totally dried, I applied 5 coats of clear polyurethane. I then held my breath not knowing if it would peel off from walking on it once it was dried. Guess what? It didn't! Yahoo!

The floor looked great and I was so pleased. Every time I washed the floor with a mild detergent, I just finished it off with another coat of polyurethane. It lasted for years!

So, if you have vinyl flooring and want to change it with just a minimal amount of money and more time ... go for it!

It works! Check the photo out.

Copyright - Pat Mistretta
2009

90 Fairlie Lofts

Nestled in Atlanta's Historic Downtown district is 90 Fairlie Lofts. On a side street surrounded by restaurants and shops, as well as area attractions, this wonderful loft building is a quiet secret. Although it does not have all of the bells and whistles as some of the newer loft developments with amenities, it has its own uniqueness and charm.

I had the opportunity to view one loft in this building the other day. Being a loft lover, I can say I usually like most lofts. However, the one I saw was very impressive. The size alone (2,600 square feet) was an attention getter. Add to that a gigantic circular kitchen of beautiful cherrywood cabinetry and top of the line stainless appliances, and I was immediately drawn into wanting to see more. Being an end unit, it had a wall of windows in it's large living area and master bedroom with various views of the City. Although there was no exposed ductwork, it did have the staggered cement ceilings to remind you that you were in a loft. Hardwood flooring throughout which made this already expansive space appear even larger. Cherrywood cabinetry continued through the bathrooms and the master bathroom had a very large walk-in shower with an added bonus of it's own private sauna. How cool is that?


The rooms in this unit were of a generous size, adding to it a dining area, as well as a divided space that would be perfect for an office.

I did wish that it had a balcony that you could sit out on. That would have just made it perfect! It did have a Juliette balcony, but I was hoping for an outdoor space. Time constraints preventing me from checking out the roof decktop, but I am sure that makes up for any lack of personal balconies.

Two things of my own personal taste that I would do to this unit. I would restain the flooring to the cherrywood. I have a personal love of that color for it's richness and quality. Second, I would add red bricks to the entire wall of windows. I have a fondness for red bricks, especially in lofts, and I feel that would not only enhance the windows, it would create an even greater loft feel. Again, it is all selective and that is just my own personal tastes.

I have to say, this unit impressed even me! I would even consider buying it. I am anxious to go back and check out more units, as well as the rooftop deck. I'll update my post with more info after I do that.